So this is Chapter 11, the first one in two chapters to not be rated M. How exciting eh? Hope you enjoy this chapter. XD

Lee had been just getting up when she arrived, and had willingly agreed to practise with her. She was throwing kunai at the target, aiming with her heart for the centre. Lee was currently warming up, and the counting… one hundred and fifty-seven… one hundred and fifty-eight… one hundred and fifty-nine… followed the beating of her heart.

"Hey Lee?" Tenten asked, throwing a shuriken at the target this time.

"Yes, Tenten-san?" Lee answered, in between one hundred and seventy and one hundred and seventy-one.

"What do you think of ANBU?"

"Gai-sensei says that they are all excellent shinobi and full of youthfulness."

"Would you ever think of becoming an ANBU?" Tenten questioned.

"Gai-sensei says that it wouldn't be a very good idea for me." Tenten could see the reason; Lee would need more than just taijutsu to manage to stay alive in that job. As well as the fact that Lee would not make a very good assassin, he had no trouble killing when he had to… but countless cold-blooded murders would wear him out… destroy who he was.

"Why all the questions?" Lee inquired.

"No particular reason," Tenten shrugged as another weapon hit dead centre. She didn't really know why she wanted to become ANBU either. Maybe it was just time for a change, she ignored the voice in the back of her mind that said she was trying to avoid Neji.

Neji soon resurfaced, and their training went on like it always had. Although it seemed a little strained, they rarely spoke now and at least a few feet of distance was kept between them at all times, unless they were sparring. Gai-sensei and Lee seemed not to notice this, but they were oblivious to most things while training.

The three of them went on a few minor missions, nothing further than a couple days. Gai-sensei was no longer a part of their official team for he needed to train a new squad of Genin. He still trained with them together every morning and although he was not really their official sensei anymore he would always remain such.

It was maybe a week later when Neji said that Hanako wanted to meet them. Apparently she had been dying to meet his teammates for a while now. Lee readily agreed, leaving Tenten with no option but to agree as well. There was no way that she could decline politely.

The four of them sat at the table as Hanako served tea. Hanako played the role of the stay home wife very well. There had been brief introductions, followed by Hanako asking Neji how his day had been.

"The same as usual," he replied, eerily reminding her that he had given her that very same answer the day they'd left on their mission.

"How was your day Hanako-san?" Tenten asked, trying to be polite.

Hanako seemed delighted to talk about her day. Her dark eyes lit up, and her entire face beamed as she launched into a tirade about how she couldn't decide if she was going to wear her purple kimono or her white one for the wedding.

Tenten could suddenly see why Neji had ignored her, Hanako was clearly a spoiled noble child whose only interests were gossip, clothing and shopping. Still she couldn't help but pity the girl; she was in an arranged marriage with a man who did not love her.

"Oh Tenten-san! You must come see the kimono and help me decide!" Hanako dragged her along, leaving behind Lee and Neji still drinking tea. Once they were in the guestroom that Hanako was staying in, Hanako motioned for Tenten to sit on the bed.

"Is Neji-kun always so cold like that?" Hanako asked desperately.

Tenten inwardly winced at the addition of the suffix to his name. "He was like that for a long time when he was younger… until he met Naruto. You should talk with Naruto. Of course you'll probably have trouble getting a hold of him, he's training to be Hokage now," Tenten gracefully ignored the last question.

"How long have you been on Neji's team? How do you put up with him?" Hanako asked, she switched around on the bed so that she lay on her stomach, leaning on her elbows.

"Since we graduated from the Academy. And how I put up with him? Well Neji's always just been Neji."

"I don't think he likes me," Hanako said, her voice bordering on tearful. "I try to talk to him and he just says 'Hn'. He tells me that his day was the same as usual, and he doesn't even ask about my day."

"It's not that he doesn't like you, he just has to get used to you. And Neji's not one for wasting words. Neji will always say that his day is the same as usual, even if Lee were to randomly show up wearing orange he'd still say that his day was the same as usual," Tenten laughed at the thought.

"Does Lee-san always wear that hideous green jump-suit?" Hanako laughed.

"Yes," Tenten said with as straight a face as she could manage. The two girls laughed loudly together.

"You're actually really nice," Hanako said as the two of them walked back to join the boys.

Tenten smiled but said nothing. Hanako was nothing more than a naïve young girl, who had been protected all her life and did not seem to realise that the world was not an ideal place. She was unprepared for the stark reality that filled the shinobi lifestyle.

Neji gave her a look as they returned and sat down. It was such a sad thing for Hanako to be caught in their sick triangle, even unknowingly. Hanako was really just a lonely girl dying for friends in this strange land, who was agreeing to the marriage because that was what girls of her station were supposed to do, get married and have children.

Glancing at the clock Tenten prayed that she could leave and not sit here awkwardly caught between Neji and Hanako. "Oh I'm so sorry, but I'm late for lunch!" Neji and Lee knew immediately what she meant.

"Lunch with who?" Hanako asked.

"Oh just the girls," Tenten said as she got ready to leave.

"Could… Could I please come along?" Hanako asked shyly.

The silence was awkward as everyone waited for her answer. "M—Maybe some other time," Tenten said, lightly biting down on her lip. Hanako didn't look upset, though she did look a little put out as if she had expected to be invited along. Glancing at the girl, Tenten felt another pang of guilt.

Saying her goodbyes swiftly she left, almost running until she was past the Hyuuga Guards. If only she could run from everything, run from her feelings, run from the guilt, run from the promise she'd made to herself.

After lunch with her friends she sat at the kitchen table looking over the transfer form. She'd filled in everything, now all that remained was her signature. Picking up the pen she'd laid down on the table as she'd thought it over once again, she signed it.

Then she folded the form up once again and put it on the table. She still wasn't sure, she didn't know what she wanted even after a week to think on it. She'd told no one about considering joining ANBU. Even Neji didn't know, and she didn't want him to.

He would protest to her leaving Team Gai, but it was time for her to leave before he could leave her. Although it wasn't really leaving… only running away temporarily, because even if she didn't see him during the day she'd still see him during the nights.

Two weeks later Team Gai received an order to report to the Hokage. Tenten was not surprised to see that Lee was already waiting at the Hokage Tower, he'd gotten the message first and then passed it on to her. Neji was still not there yet.

Once Neji arrived, the three of them entered Tsunade-sama's office. "Good morning," Neji greeted the Hokage.

"Oh yes, here's the file…" Tsunade-sama handed Neji a file, after sorting through the documents on her desk for a bit. "It's an A rank delivery mission. You'll be heading up to the northern part of the Land of Earth."

"Is Iwagakure aware that we're passing through?" Tenten asked. It was well known that Iwagakure was not on friendly terms with Konoha.

"Yes, they're aware. They've agreed that as long as you mean no harm they will not attack you. But I'd stay on alert, which is why it's A-rank."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Lee said as the three teammates left, to pour over the file.

According to the file they were delivering a message to someone who currently resided in the Land of Earth. Originally it would have been a B-rank mission, but Tsunade-sama had bumped it up due to the fact that Iwagakure was not friendly to foreign shinobi.

The allotted time for the mission was at about three months, due to the terrain of the Land of Earth, as well as the fact that winter came early that far north. Still despite that, the letter was clearly important which was why they would be braving snowstorms.

Neji could see why they'd picked Team Gai for this mission. With Lee's strength they'd be able to make it past the mountains, with his Byakugan they'd be able to find shelter should they need it, and with Tenten's weapons they'd have food.

They planned to leave tomorrow evening; Tenten had suggested the fact that they share a single tent between the three of them. Lee appeared shocked when she first mentioned it. "It would be less weight to carry, and more body heat would be shared. When they say it's cold up there, they don't mean cold, they mean frozen solid."

Lee agreed, and then headed off to tell his family or their friends that he would be gone for a while. Neji remained behind, carefully keeping distance between them. He said nothing, and she could not figure out a way to break this silence. So instead she lifted her head and smiled a sheepish smile. "I should probably be going now."

"Goodbye," Neji answered solemnly, his words delivered in the same emotionless voice as usual.

She'd gone home and contemplated packing, but her eyes had instead settled on the transfer sheet on her table. She stared at it, as if hoping that it would give her the answer, waiting for it to tell her she was making a huge mistake or that it was the right thing to do. It wouldn't answer, so she needed to answer for herself.

She felt guilty about breaking up Team Gai, but in reality she knew that they had maybe a few more years before Team Gai was broken up. Once Lee reached jounin level it was very likely that they'd be going separate ways in ANBU, or taking on a set of genin students.

She'd gone to the Hokage Tower and submitted her transfer request to the ANBU office. The ANBU officer seated at the desk took one glance at her before turning back to his paperwork. It was now out of her hands.

Neji wasn't coming tonight… that was what she told herself as she saw the time on the clock read 3:00 am in large red numbers. Neji wasn't coming because he was busy, busy saying goodbye to his family; busy telling his fiancée that he was leaving.

This was the first night that he hadn't been with her, hadn't been in her bed. Maybe he wouldn't ever come back to her, the thought made her want to cry. She didn't want Neji to leave her. But it was okay for her to leave him, she thought with a sad smile.

With a sigh she turned around to lie on her side, facing away from the window. She felt alone; she was so used to his warm form beside her. The absence of his warmth left her too cold, she got up and grabbed the thick blanket at the foot of her bed.

The clock said that fifteen minutes had passed. Tenten closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She would feel this weariness on their mission tomorrow, she was supposed to be asleep already. Still here she was lying awake, waiting for him. He's not coming, she told herself. She wanted him too though.

Their parting earlier today had been too short, she wished they'd had longer but she knew that the longer the time they spent together the more painful the parting would be. Cloudy eyes slowly slid closed, she was too exhausted to fight it, worn out between her charade in the day and loving at night.