Chapter 2: All the Hurt

After their little "moment" last night, TenTen couldn't stop thinking about Neji. The way his arms felt around her waist, his breath on her neck, his skin against hers...it was breathtaking. She hadn't wanted it to end. If only they could have stayed that way forever...if only it hadn't been an accident.

"TenTen!"

"Y-Yes, Gai-sensei?"

"I said 'on three'!! We must show Team Kakashi the might of Team Gai (no pun intended)!"

She looked over at Team Kakashi, then back to her own Team Gai. All her teammates had their hands in, ready for a cheer - including Neji. However, he looked rather perturbed and very unwilling to do it. The kunoichi sighed and put her hand in as well. "Yes, sir." She noticed that Neji's hand was under hers. A slight blush rose to her cheeks as she mumbled the cheer; Lee and Gai were shouting at the top of their lungs; Neji merely stood with his eyes closed and brow furrowed. TenTen smiled a bit. He was so cute when he was annoyed. Strange how she hadn't noticed little things like this before now.

The Hyuuga suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight into hers, giving her an odd look. He'd caught her red-handed.

TenTen's blush heightened as she quickly looked away. Great. He'd seen her! He probably thought she was some kind of psycho now.

After the cheer was finished and the two teams began to part, TenTen felt someone catch her hand. "Sakura? What's the matter?"

"I should be asking you that!" retorted the pink-haired kunoichi. "You've been acting funny the whole time, and your cheeks are flushed. Do you have a fever?!" Sakura put a hand on her friend's forehead to check.

"N-No, Sakura! I'm fine! Just a bit tired, but..."

"No 'buts'! You're coming to the hospital for a check up. Let's go!"

TenTen groaned. Once Sakura was set on something, that was the end of it. She allowed the pink-haired girl to pull her along towards the building at the other end of the village, its white walls looming ominously ahead of them. "Sakura, really I'm fine. I need to meet for training and Gai-sensei is going to make me run laps if I'm late and don't have a good reason. You've seen how he is!"

Sakura frowned and increased her pace. "Well, I guess you'll have to run laps then, but I'm not going to let you go without making sure that you're 100 percent okay!"

The brunette finally conceded and stopped protesting. It was obviously a waste of breath anyways.

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"Has anyone seen TenTen?" Lee asked curiously in between his 13th and 14th set of push-ups. "I thought she was right behind us when we left. However, that was more than 47 minutes ago! It would be out of character for her to 'play hooky' as Naruto says."

Neji stopped throwing kunai for a minute. "You're right, but what are we to do about it? If she decided to skip, then that's her business. Not ours."

"Oooor...what if she's on a date?! Maybe with Naruto?" Lee's eyes got all wide and sparkly. "Ah, the joy of Youth. It truly is a wonderful thing...and that leaves Sakura open for me!" He blushed and giggled and did a little pirouette.

Neji's eyebrow twitched. "Imbecile..." he muttered irritably, returning to target practice. Like TenTen would skip training to go on a date. And with Naruto of all people! Besides, everyone knew the blonde had a thing for Sakura, and TenTen had never skipped practice ever. And for a date?! Ridiculous! Why would she rather spend time with Naruto than with him? Wait...Neji tried to shake it off. What was up? Why was he thinking like this? If TenTen wanted to, she should be able to spend time with whoever she wished.

He sighed heavily. The happenings of last night had weighed heavy on his mind as they had on hers. This had to stop before it went too far. They were just friends...teammates and nothing more.

Gai suddenly poofed in and struck a gorgeous pose. "Hola my estudiantes!" he shouted.

Lee saluted. "Greetings, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee, Neji. Gather around me." He put his arms around their shoulders and dramatically struggled to hold back his tears. "I'm afraid I have terrible news. Our lovely TenTen...the epitome of Youth...has been struck down by a terrible ailment." Gai started sobbing loudly. Lee joined in. Neji remained silent, but he was obviously shocked and not recovering very well.

"W-What do you mean, 'ailment'?"

"I can't say, but she was hospitalized just after our cheer. What a soldier! Even though she was on the brink of death, our beautiful TenTen stayed to celebrate the joys of youth one last time!"

Lee sniffed. "We must visit her immediately, Gai-sensei! Who knows how much time she has left on this earth?!"

"Right, Lee! Double-time to Konoha Hospital!"

"No, Gai-sensei! Triple-time!"

"No, Lee. Quadruple-time!! Team Gai – head out!"

With that, they all shot off. Usually, Neji would have protested against such a heavy pace, but today it seemed perfectly sensible. In fact, even at such a speed, it wasn't fast enough for him. Worry racked his brain mercilessly. The young Hyuuga prayed that it was nothing serious.

When they finally arrived, he practically shouted at the nurse when she had to look up the room number. Lee and Gai had to apologize profusely as Neji took off running after she told them "Room 307".

He burst into the room, his heart racing more wildly than he'd ever remembered before. There she lay – dressed in the white patients' robes, an IV stuck in the smooth skin of her forearm. She was staring blankly at the ceiling when he ran in. The two sepia orbs shifted over and met his pearly ones in surprise.

"N-Neji?! Why are you here?"

"Why do you suppose? We heard you were sick! Lee and Gai are here with me too," he replied coolly.

"Oh, well you shouldn't have bothered...who told you I was sick?!"

"Gai did. He made it sound like you were dying...You're not, are you?" Even though he was trying desperately to remain stoic, Neji was having a rather hard time of it. His voice quivered slightly.

TenTen smiled, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. "No. Definitely not. Sakura dragged me here earlier and insisted I stay overnight. I tried to tell her that I was just tired, but she never listens!" She shrugged and shook her head. "I hope Lee and Gai didn't start crying."

"They did."

"Well, that was half-expected. I'm sorry to have worried them though. They're so sweet." She looked out her window and sighed wistfully. Neji wasn't sure what about however. He shifted uncomfortably and opened his mouth to say something when Lee and Gai burst in.

"TenTen!" Gai sobbed dramatically.

Lee threw himself across her bed, tears flowing freely. "TenTen! I thought I'd never see you again! At least now we can say our good...our goodbyes!!" He buried his face in the blankets and began to sob.

"Goodbyes?" she asked, quite confused.

"Lee, Gai-sensei. Nothing is wrong with her. In fact, she's quite alright."

"Really?! TenTen, thank God! Our flower of Youth is safe!" shrieked Gai, kneeling by her side. "You know what this means don't you? For skipping practice today, you must run 20 laps around the hospital!"

"Uh, sure thing, Gai-sensei. I'll get on it as soon as Sakura signs me out," she replied miserably.

After a while, Sakura did indeed return, releasing TenTen from her bedridden state. However, she scolded Gai for being so hard on the poor girl. As Sakura continued her lecture, TenTen changed in the bathroom and then stood, waiting patiently to see if she'd still have to run the 20 laps.

Neji was pissed. For one thing, Gai was actually making her run laps after being in the hospital for crying out loud! However, the thing that bothered him most was the fact that TenTen thought only Gai and Lee were capable of worrying about her. What a load of crap! He was worried sick about her, but did she see that? No!

"Neji?" The brunette stepped a bit closer to him. "What's the matter?" she whispered.

He turned away irritably. "Nothing," he replied.

"O-Oh, okay. You looked annoyed about something. Are you sure noth—"

"I said it's nothing!" he snapped viciously.

TenTen was taken aback. He rarely spoke to her like this. The poor girl flushed painfully and turned away so he wouldn't see the hurt. "Sorry I asked! Guess I won't try to care anymore..." she retorted angrily, growing defensive.

Sakura and Gai stopped arguing and turned to see what all the commotion was.

Neji clenched his fists. "Perhaps you shouldn't. You can't afford to waste your precious feelings on me – a cold, heartless monster incapable of feeling anything!"

She whirled around to face him again. "Then I won't! You're right! You are heartless, you stupid jerk!"

"Oh, that's right. Even if I was worried sick about you today, I'm still heartless. I'm glad you think so highly of me, TenTen." The sarcasm dripping from his words was more bitter than usual. Lee flinched unconsciously. He'd never gotten this from Neji, and Neji didn't even like him all that much.

TenTen was at a loss for fighting words. "Y-You...were worried about...me?"

Neji scoffed and waved her off coldly. "I was, but that was a mistake." His back was turned so he couldn't see her run from the room with tears running down her face. He only heard the stifled sob and clatter of heels as she left.

Sakura was glaring furiously at Neji with her fiery green eyes. "She's right. You are heartless..." she spat before heading after her friend.

Gai and Lee merely stood gaping. They'd never seen this side of Neji. Usually he was so...stoic!

"Such passion..." murmured Gai.

"Such...ungentlemanly behavior!" retorted Lee. "Poor TenTen did not deserve those harsh words. Neji, you should be deeply ashamed for treating her so badly!"

The young Hyuuga scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. His response was merely silence. Gai and Lee left after a moment to see if TenTen needed a few words of encouragement. Neji fumed angrily. How was he in the wrong her?! She was the one who had been so judgmental. Jeez, she was so...annoying sometimes! Suddenly, he was wracked with guilt and an increasingly familiar sense of worry. How much had he hurt her this time? Neji had to find her.

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And that's it so far for Chapter 2! Hope you guys are enjoying it. Please review if you feel inclined to do so.

- Hikari