Disclaimer: I no own.

It was nearly noon, yet the weather remained pleasantly cool thanks to the breeze that drifted inland from the east, carrying a faint, salty scent which reminded her of the ocean hidden behind the vast mountain ranges surrounding Lava Country.

The marketplace was lined with dozens of stalls, each adorned with brightly coloured signs, their wares neatly arranged for all to see. The hustle and bustle was mixed with the occasional shopkeeper's enthusiastic advertising to potential customers as well as their heated bargaining with patrons of their stands.

If it weren't for the multitude of unfamiliar faces and the lack of forehead protectors, she would have thought that she were back home in Konoha.

Then she noticed the looks she was getting from the people passing by. Some worried, others curious.

Suddenly feeling very conspicuous, Tenten tucked her bangs behind her ears, her fingers brushing against the symbol etched into the cool metal of the offending object.

"That's not what I meant," a undoubtedly male voice said hastily. "I just thought-"

"Well you thought wrong!" another gruffer, angrier voice shot back. "I wasn't anywhere near your precious volcano last night so you can take your observations and shove them up your-"

Tenten didn't need to hear the rest, she was already pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered in front of the one of the near-by stalls.

"Suzumura-sama allowed-"

"-restricted area-"

"-unnecessary trouble."

So much for peaceful, she sighed inwardly as her brown eyes took in the situation before her.

The first man, or at least the first one she noticed, was so tall and broad that he was at least three times her size. His beefy hands were clenched into large fists, making the muscles in his arms even more prominent. Fortunately, they weren't raised, but she could already feel her hand straying to her holster.

The second had a slight build that was dwarfed in comparison to the first. Even the absurdly large bag he was carrying on his back didn't make him appear bigger. On the contrary, it made him look even smaller. His hands were raised in the universal gesture of peace, and he seemed to be trying to explain something to the other man, who was obviously not listening.

"Is there something going on here?" Tenten questioned loudly and with as much authority as she could muster, the metal plate strapped across her forehead flashing in the sunlight. The chatter immediately died down and heads turned to look at her.

"I assure you miss, there's nothing going on here," a smooth voice said, the owner walking out of the shade and towards Tenten. She recognized him as one of the traders from Earth.

"I apologize if my partner has caused you any trouble," he said politely before looking at the giant. "Ryu."

Tenten could clearly see the tightening of the tendons in Ryu's thick neck. However, he merely grunted and obediently followed his fellow merchant into the shop. The crowd steadily began to disperse, leaving the second man and Tenten standing in the middle of the once-congested street.

The man sighed as he bent down to pick up a pair of shattered spectacles from the ground. He tucked them into his front pocket and started to leave.

That's-

"Hey, wait." The young man turned around. "Thanks for the warning yesterday," Tenten said. She hadn't recognized him without his glasses.

The young man smiled back at her. "It's no problem..."

"Tenten," she filled in.

"Nice to meet you, Tenten-san. I'm Fujimura Soichiro."

"Lava Country is such a youthful place!" Lee declared jubilantly as he and Neji were passing through the crowded marketplace.

"Hn."

"Gai-sensei would love to come here. Maybe we should all come here for a vacation when we-" Lee stopped when he realized that his teammate was no longer beside him.

Several feet away, Neji was standing in front of a small shop with rows upon rows of katanas, all different shapes and sizes, displayed behind a glass window. Most were simple and plainly decorated, but some were so elaborate that the Hyuuga prodigy doubted that they could even be utilized effectively in combat.

Though, she would probably be able to use anything as long as it was a weapon.

"You interested in buying a sword?" A friendly middle-aged man, whom Neji assumed to be the owner of the store, asked.

Through the reflection in the glass, Neji could see Lee walking towards him.

"If you're not looking for swords, these fuuma shuriken just came in today. Specially imported from Konoha-"

Neji was already gone. Lee quickly grabbed a brochure from the shopkeeper before hurrying after him.

"It says here you can even get custom-made katana," Lee said, scanning through the contents of his flyer. "I think Tenten will be absolutely thrilled when we tell her about this-" Lee's previous excitement vanished when he saw that Neji was no longer looking at the store, but at the mountains in the distance.

"Neji, are you-"

"It's fine," Neji replied quietly.

Because he can be there for her when I can't.

"Then, I shall continue with my shift. Say 'hello' to our youthful blossom for me."

The Hyuuga prodigy watched his over-zealous teammate thrust the sheet of paper he was holding into his hand with a salute before disappearing into the crowd. Sighing, he folded the advertisement and tucked it into his pouch in case Lee wanted it later.

Neji was supposed to see the daimyo and inform him about what happened. But before that, he needed a change of clothes.

Lava Country was definitely not the place to wear thick, linen robes.

The small room was filled with steam; the mirror hanging above the sink and the glass door of the shower stall were completely fogged up by it. The warm water spraying from the showerhead ran in rivulets down her body and she could feel herself relaxing, the tension in her body disapearing like the soap suds flowing down the drain.

"So, you're from Konoha," Soichiro said, pushing the new pair of glasses that he had retrieved from his room earlier up the bridge of his nose. Tenten nodded, taking another bite of her onigiri.

"What would a ninja be doing here?"

"Diplomatic mission." It wasn't much of an answer, but she guessed that he knew better than to ask again. Placing his chopsticks on the table, Soichiro started rifling through his bag that was on the floor beside his chair.

Something hit the parquet floor with a soft clatter; Tenten reached under the table to pick it up.

"What's this?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"It's a diamond from the mines here, also the reason I'm here. I came to study the rocks, mountains and other landforms. More specifically, the volcano and the diamonds..." The rest of his explanation was lost to her.

"Tenten-san?" Tenten looked up and saw Soichiro looking at her, slightly disappointed that she hadn't been listening.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She took a moment more to glance at the gem sitting in the middle of her palm.

"Here."

A thought occurred to her then.

That diamond was the same colour as...

It wasn't just the color. The size, shape, how the light played on its surface; especially the way it reminded her of ice. Cool, clear and hard. Ice that would never ever break or melt.

The only difference was the feeling the it had given her. The diamond was beautiful, much more so than most of the things she had see in her seventeen years. But his eyes...

She could lose herself in them forever and never find her way out of their brilliant white depths.

There was a small squeak as Tenten turned off the steaming stream.

That time at the memorial, he felt so... familiar. His eyes were so... sad.

When I saw him like that, it was as if my tears had a mind of their own...

"What on earth is wrong with me?" she murmured, pressing her forehead against the cool, white tiles and closing her eyes. "It's been three months and I'm thinking about this now?"

She straightened up and stepped out of the stall.

"Maybe I've seen him around somewhere or went on a mission with him or something."

Tenten picked up a fluffly lavender towel from the rack and wrapped it tightly around herself. The soft fabric tickled her thighs as she walked towards the door.

"Great, now I'm taking to myself," she muttered dryly.

With a small sigh, she started to turn the knob.

Neji unlocked the door and entered the room. It was exactly the same as it had been this morning.

After closing the door and curtains, he removed his long-sleeved shirt and selected fresh Hyuuga robes from his bag. With both sets of clothes slung over his arm, he headed for the bathroom and opened the door.

There was an unexpected rush of light and warm, humid air. When Neji saw her standing in front of him, he froze.

Her wet hair fell in water-darkened tendrils around her shoulders, sticking to the sides of her face and arms. The hand that had been on the doorknob was now hanging limply at her side, the other was clutching a strip of cloth wrapped around her body.

The towel cut off any view of what was beneath, much to his relief and annoyance. It clung to her dripping figure, barely skimming her thighs and leaving her long, slim legs unhidden.

A droplet of water was trickled down her cheek as white met brown.

...

Drip.

The stunned confusion in her hazel eyes was replaced with wide-eyed horror.

"Kyaa!" she squealed, her arms instinctively covering her chest. Neji turned away and hastily pulled the door shut.

...

"Neji-san, could you-"

Neji was already walking over to her side of the room. In stark contrast to the unmade bed, there was a pile of neatly folded cloth sitting on the duvet.

When he knocked, the door swung open just enough for him to put his arm through. Neji handed Tenten her clothes, withdrawing his hand the second he felt the material leave it.

"Thanks."

Neji wordlessly returned to his bed and began to meditate in an attempt to get that image out of his head. He was failing miserably. Any lesser man would have died of blood loss by now, but he was a Hyuuga for heaven's sake.

Which is exactly the point. You do have a kekkei genkai, you know.

Neji's eyes snapped open and he proceeded to glare at his pillow.

"Che."

The mirror was still slightly misted from her shower earlier, but she could see tell that her face was red. The hot steam wafting around the room only made the atmosphere more uncomfortable than it already was.

The only sound she could hear was that of the water hitting the wet tiled floor, her own ragged breathing and the almost deafening, erratic pounding in her chest.

Tenten took a deep breath as she leaned against the door, forcing herself to calm down. She wasn't angry that Neji had walked in on in her.

She was downright pissed.

And no, it did not matter how well-toned his chest was.

The temperature suddenly became forty degrees warmer and she felt her face flush involuntarily.

Then again, she was the one who left the door unlocked. Also, her current state of dress, or rather her lack there of, wasn't his fault either.

Tenten tossed her towel into the hamper before retrieving her clothes hanging on the rack next to it and slipping them on. Once the obi around her waist was no longer in danger of falling off, she opened the door and exited the bathroom.

Neji was sitting cross-legged on his bed, meditating by the looks of it and, thankfully, wearing a shirt. How he managed to remain so collected even after something that embarrassing was beyond her.

"Where did you get that?"

"I borrowed it from the innkeeper. It's much warmer here than it is in Konoha and most of the spare clothes I packed are for winter," she explained, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze by looking at her sleeves and tugging lightly at the cloth that ended a few centimeters below her wrist.

"It's a little big though, they ran out of the smaller sizes. I think I'll change into the ones I wore yesterday once they're washed."

She looked up and had to fight the heat that was already threatening to flood her cheeks. It could have just been over-exaggeration on her part, but his stare was so intense that it felt like he was undressing her with his eyes.

That isn't helping.

"Err.. Neji-san, about earlier," Tenten said, staring down at the carpet when he opened his eyes and looked at her. "I forgot to lock the door and I didn't know that you'd be back so soon-"

"I apologize. I shouldn't have barged in like that," he said quietly. His emotionless voice didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

He probably enjoyed it.

You know you did, the traitorous voice in her head continued smugly.

"Did anything happen?"

"Not really," Tenten answered, grateful for this temporary distraction. She sat down on her bed, pulled out a smaller towel from her bag and began to dry her hair. Unbeknownst to Tenten, her movements made the neckline of her yukata to slide just a tad bit lower, in turn causing a certain Hyuuga's throat to go dry.

"I met someone when I was in town. He's a foreigner who came to study the volcano. I thought you might want to meet him since he'd be more familiar with terrain here. He's busy now, but he should be back sometime this evening. I'll take you to see him later."

"Aa." Tenten could clearly see him swallow.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He still sounded somewhat strained, but she decided to take his word for it. Tenten bent over slightly to reach her comb which had somehow gotten from her bed to Lee's.

"What about-"

Neji stood up abruptly.

"I need to meet Suzumura-sama. We'll talk later."

He left the room without another word.

Tenten blinked, sighing before starting to brush her hair.

Men.

"I thought your shift was until eight?"

"Neji requested for me to switch shifts with him," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Oh."

Lee watched Tenten as she sorted out her weapons and sealed them into her scrolls. There was a neat row of kunai lined up on his bed which Lee assumed was going to be placed inside her holster. She was always like this- meticulous when it concerned her weapons, and messy when it came to everything else.

It's been months, but there's still no sign of improvement, Lee thought sadly.

After she had seen Neji, Tsunade-sama had called him and Gai-sensei to her office. She told them everything and forbade them from saying anything to Tenten.

"It's for the best," the Godaime said simply, her voice betraying her own uncertainty.

Gai nodded, his face serious and solemn.

At the time, Lee had done the same. But even now, he still couldn't be completely sure.

If this really is what's best for her, then what about-

"Lee," Tenten said as she looked up momentarily from her work, interrupting the aforementioned boy's musings.

"What's Neji-san like?"

Lee's ever-present smile faltered slightly.

She never used to call him 'san'.

It was back in place a second later.

"Neji is the genius of the Hyuuga clan, my eternal rival and the strongest ninja I know next to Gai-sensei. He's a kind person and a very good friend."

"I see," Tenten said softly.

Even though he wanted to, Lee knew that he was honour-bound not to interfere with his teammate's affairs.

Not directly at any rate.

"Come to think of it," Lee said thoughtfully. "He looked slightly strange when I met with him earlier. Perhaps something occurred that has caused him to lose his youthful vigor."

"He looked okay to me." Tenten had busied herself with her weapons once more, but Lee noticed that her cheeks were tinged pink when she said this.

Lee's grin widened. Maybe things were going better than he'd thought.

For now, all he could do was try his best to help Tenten regain her memories. If she did, then maybe things would go back to the way they were before...

But even he wasn't naive enough to truly believe that. It was just as Gai-sensei had told him after they left the Hokage's office that night.

"It is my duty as a sensei to guide you, and yours to assist your teammates where you can. Yet, there is only so much we are able to do. Things will change, Lee. There is nothing we can do to prevent it."

"Hai, Gai-sensei." Tenten was so engrossed in her packing that she didn't hear Lee's softly repeating the words he had murmured back then as well.

Things were already beginning to change.

In more ways and places than one...

Author's Note:

My sis was pretty amused when she read this chapter. She said "Neji isn't a pervert." I told her that as long as he is a normal (slightly questionable), healthy male with hormones, there is a possibility that he is one. All I'm doing is exploring that possiblity. ;D

Hmm...the only difference is the amount of -coughcough- "self-control" he has as compared to other guys and for now, it looks like he still has quite a bit left. ("I do not!" screams chibi Neji with a vein popping out the side of his head. "Ahem," coughs chibi Tenten holding a kunai. "Embrace your flames of youth, Neji!" chibi Lee and Gai shout.) XP

If anyone can guess what's going to happen in the next chapter, I'll give them cookies. And if you do that would mean that you're smarter than my sis!

Beta-read by Midnight Memories (Check out her latest fic 'Denial'. It's really good!) and my sister aka emerald-fire-angel (her summaries are really sweet).

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