Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights are reserved to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I've been super busy but now I have a week off so I'm trying to update as much as I can. I'm hoping to have another chapter up soon so, stay tuned. But for now... enjoy! Oh! and Happy Valentine's Day!
Naruto sighed as he stuffed the last article of clothing he had washed into his backpack. It had been a long, lonely night. He knew Sakura was mad at him, but that didn't mean her actions didn't not affect him. He shook his head and zipped up his bag. Standing up, he shot one final look towards his bedroom before sighing and slinging the pack over his shoulder. He still had to head over to the Hyuuga compound since Tsunade made a last minute change to his mission. The blonde was going to be traveling with Neji. He started to leave when he stopped and turned to the kitchen. 'I'll leave her a note.." he thought as he grabbed the notepad off his kitchen counter. Tenten had volunteered to help Naruto by watching over Sakura while he was gone since she has nothing to do anyway now that her training partner would be gone.
Sakura-
Tenten said she'd be over later to help you out.
I found out that I'll be traveling with Neji so the mission will probably go faster.
I'll be back in two weeks at the least.
There's plenty of food..
Ask if you need help.
- Naruto
He slowly put the pen down and set the notepad on the table where he knew she'd see it. He sighed and walked out of his apartment, headed to the Hyuuga compound. He knocked on the front door and was greeted by Tenten.
"Hello Naruto-kun'" She said with a smile as she invited him into the house. "Neji's in the dining hall going over the mission details."
"Thanks Tenten." He said quietly as he walked into the house, headed for the dining room. Neji looked up when Naruto entered the room.
"Naruto."
"Neji"
"I've been going over the mission details and-" He stopped and looked at his fiancee. Tenten blinked and looked from Naruto to Neji.
"Oh... I'll be in the kitchen making lunch." Tenten said as she ventured off into the house. Neji sighed and turned back to Naruto.
"As I was saying, I have been going over the mission details and things should go rather smoothly."
Naruto nodded and set his backpack on the floor. "I figured it would be too, but I think we should have some kind of plan of attack in case we are ambushed."
Neji nodded and motioned for Naruto to sit as they began planning out their plan of attack.
The two had been discussing for a good twenty minutes before Tenten re-entered the dining hall with a plate of onigiri and some tea.
"You two must be hungry by now." She said as she set the plate and drinks on the table and took her seat next to Neji. Naruto sat while they began to eat. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him and set her tea aside.
"Naruto you seem troubled. Is something wrong?"
Naruto looked up from his spot at Tenten. He sighed and shook his head, his gaze landing on the rain that was hitting the window.
"She said she hates me." Naruto confessed, looking down at his plate. Tenten's face softened. She knew how much that hurt the blonde in front of her.
"She doesn't hate you Naruto-kun, she's just upset. I'll go by and visit later today and smooth things out with her, but she's still recovering from losing someone she cared about."Tenten said.
She looked up at Neji and blinked.
"Oh! I almost forgot." She stood up and disappeared around the corner, only to return a minute. She walked up and handed both of them a small black bow. "Don't forget these, you two get hurt more often on missions than anyone I know, those have anti-venom, a basic first-aid, soldier pills, and tissues."
"Thanks Tente-...Tissues?" Naruto asked in disbelief. It wasn't until Neji sneezed, a human characteristic that was still startling to see come from Neji, that Naruto realized that the tissues were for Neji. It made sense. Neji and Tenten would be the only people out training late into the night despite how heavily it had been raining. Naruto cracked a smile and tucked the bow into his backpack. Silence befell the three for a moment.
"Two weeks huh?"
Naruto looked up, a confused look gracing his features.
"Sorry, I was just thinking that you'll be gone for two weeks. By then summer will be in full force." Tenten said she had been looking out the dojo window at the Sakura tree.
"We'll be back sooner than you think Tenten." Neji assured her as he rose to his feet. Naruto stood up and looked at the Sakura tree as well. He would have to take Sakura out to see the Tanabata festival if she forgave him by the time he got back. They were going to be beautiful that year. Naruto shook his head slightly and turned his attention back to Tenten.
"So when's the big event planned?" Naruto joked.
Neji turned away from the blonde and Tenten flushed pink. "Oh shut up Naruto-kun! It's in a month and a half if you MUST know, but you can't tell anyone. Ask Lee what happened when I got a hold of him."
Naruto laughed, "Don't worry about it." He said holding his hands in front of him in defense, not that it would help if the bun haired kunoichi decided to make sure that her wedding stayed a secret. "I won't tell anyone."
The group shared content smiles as age had brought the shinobi of Konoha peace among the hardship.
"We should leave." Neji said, turning to Naruto. Naruto nodded and grabbed his backpack. The three left the Hyuuga Compound and made their way to the front gates of the village. Naruto stopped and turned to Tenten.
"Thank you... for everything,Tenten. If anything -"
"Naruto, She'll be fine. I promise." She reassured the blonde with a smile. Neji cleared his throat and Naruto turned.
"Right... Let's go."
Tenten waved good bye to Neji and Naruto as they left the village and once they were out of sight, she turned towards Sakura's apartment to bring her some things before she went to see the hysterical kunoichi in Naruto's apartment.
"Hey Neji, how come nobody knows you and Tenten are getting married?" Naruto asked as they made their way deeper into the lush forest that surrounded Konoha. "Ino's worried you'll never ask her."
"Tenten wanted only a couple people to come and she's so stressed out she doesn't want too many people making a fuss. It's July 28th, you should come. You'll get the invite in a week anyway." Neji replied. Her turned his attention back to the mission as the caravan they had been requested to escort came into view. The two ANBU members secured their masks and swooped down from the canopy to announce their presence to the caravan leader.
"Oh, Konoha ANBU thank you for coming. I am sorry to have you on such a boring mission, but we're selling precious stones and several of my caravans have been hit by bandits before." The fat old man said. His belly jiggled as he used large gestures that showed off the rings and stones that adorned his person. Taking one look at him the bandits probably attacked the caravan for his jewels and were pleasantly surprised to find a stock full in the wagons. Naruto and Neji exchanged glances before bowing and taking their place next to the caravan.
"Sakura-chan, open the door please it's Tenten." Tenten called knocking gently on the door. She couldn't hear any movement, but when the pink haired kunoichi opened the door and invited Tenten inside, she could feel the sorrow Sakura felt. The poor girl was almost inconsolable. "Sakura-chan you're dye is fading, and it was such a lovely shade of red." Tenten said with a smile, trying to distract Sakura. Sakura motioned for Tenten to sit while she took up residence in the corner of the couch.
"Naruto-kun asked me to come check on you to see that you were alright. He's very worried about you." Tenten said as she sat on the couch next to her.
"He left me," Sakura mumbled as she bit her lower lip and wrapped her arms around her raised knees."they both left me here." She whimpered, sobs suddenly erupting from the small kunoichi. Tenten grimaced. She moved over to Sakura and could do nothing but hold her younger comrade until the crying subsided. Had Naruto been dealing with this the entire time?
"I know what will make you feel better. Go take a shower and we'll re-dye your hair and go look at baby clothes, then you can help me pick flowers for my reception." Tenten said. Sakura nodded and walked towards the bathroom. "He'll come back Sakura. I promise."
"I know" Sakura replied in a voice barely louder than a whisper and she closed the door to take a shower.
Tenten sighed and looked through the basket of Sakura's belongings and pulled out the red hair dye. She remembered when Sakura first dyed her hair six months ago. She'd been assigned a undercover mission and she'd ended up keeping it after she came back. Everyone was shocked at how nice it looked. The kunoichi's pink hair had always made her look slightly childish, and though they were all still very young the deeper color gave Sakura a more mature presence to her.
'Today is going to be a long day.' She told herself and got up to prepare the hair dye.
A/N: I'd like to thank Alter-Kyo for help with this chapter. I was stuck until Alter helped me! :D