Disclaimer: "Naruto" is property of Masashi Kishimoto, Studio Pierrot, Viz Media, etc.
The scene with Hanabi and Tenten is derived from "Firecracker Tales" by TeaLeavesGreen – much thanks for allowing me to use the characterizations/events.

Making passing innuendos in public, to a girl who was barely a teenager, was not wise. You could never be sure who might overhear… someone like the girl's sensei for instance. Before a stunned Tenten could react to Anko's suggestive leer, Guy had suddenly leapt forth from round the corner, shouting and pointing a reproachful finger at the special jonin.

Anko was very unhappy about this development. Like last time, Guy could make a production out of anything he found fault with, and this was certain to be the case now. He was in a tirade over her shameful misbehavior, the majority of which she was tuning out with an irritated look on her face.

While Guy was verbally debating who to report Anko to, Tenten had managed to slip away to lie back on the roof of a building with her half-empty bag of manju. She was gazing up at the sky, a clear ciel decorated with downy cloud formations; and like them, her thoughts were drifting. It was difficult to tell whether Anko had been serious about her attaining the rank of special jonin some day. In any case, she still had to achieve becoming a chuunin.

"Hey, you're in my spot."

Tenten craned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a boy standing a couple of meters away from her. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking at her with a flat expression. "Pardon?" she said.

"I said you're in my spot," he repeated with the same, plane tone.

She lazily turned her face back to the sky and closed her eyes. With no ill intent, she said, "Do you really need this particular spot? There's plenty of floor space, you know."

Shikamaru stared, bemused, at the girl stretched out on the roof, who showed no desire to move any time soon. This was definitely a bother. Usually when he came up here it was deserted. That's what made it such an ideal location for a nap. He considered going somewhere else, but that would require additional exertion on his part, and he was dead-tired. Reluctantly, he stepped closer and mimicked her, on the floor with hands pillowing his head, but tented a leg to drape the other across it.

… … …

… Silence. The same silence he was used to, but unusual because of her presence. … She was quiet. He turned and looked at her. Her eyes were still shut and she seemed perfectly at ease, like he wasn't even there. Weird… he had never met a girl who was this calm. Introverted, sure; obnoxious, definitely – but something in the middle? It escaped him. Well, whatever. As long as she was quiet…

"Why did you forfeit your Chuunin Exam match against Temari?"

… So much for that, thought. He shut his eyes as if to block her out. "Give me a break… I came here to relax, not talk about pointless things." He sensed her shift into a sitting position, her shadow muting the light against his eyelids.

"It's not pointless. You could have won."

There was a faint twitch between his eyebrows, a sign that he was thinking. "You don't have to hold a grudge because you lost to her. It was obvious you were going to lose anyway."

She tensed, and her gaze upon him sharpened. "That's not what this is about. You had her, you could have made it a clear victory, but you gave up because you were out of chakra. You could have tried something else."

He flipped onto his side, facing away from her. "Yeah, I had no chakra left. That was it for me, I had enough."

Had enough? He was satisfied with what he had done? True enough, his match with Temari had managed to enrapture a previously intolerant audience who only wanted to see Sasuke. His strategic patience had led an unsuspecting Temari into a trap that left her defenseless and bending to the will of his shadow.

He continued to lie inert beside her, intent on avoiding the conversation and getting some rest. He was totally different from the rest of her team, and even herself. There was no motivation, no drive. What he did have was his intellect; his composed intellect which earned him chuunin status and made him leader for the Sasuke retrieval mission.

She looked out over the village. It was still in the process of recovery, but was draped in a veil of tranquility. "I guess it worked out for you in the end."

Shikamaru stayed motionless, but his eyes were open. '… Not everything worked out.'

- - -

Over tea and rice crackers in the sitting room, Sakura had started her talk with Ino under the pretense of how their lessons with Tsunade were coming along and what they should expect for the future. Eventually they succumbed to idle chatter, but when that subsided, Sakura remembered why she had sought out Ino in the first place. She wouldn't tell Ino though, that she had been feeling lonesome. It would have made her look like the insecure girl she was years ago. Afterward, she politely left the Yamanaka's without knowing where she would go next. As she strolled along, her thoughts wandered to where Tenten might have gone off to since they parted…

"Would you give it a rest, already? I was only joking."

"So-called 'jokes' like that should not be directed at underage shinobi – and one of my students no less!"

Coming up on an intersection, Sakura saw Anko and Guy having an animated squabble as they crossed in front of her. If her ears weren't deceiving her, it sounded like Anko had said something lewd to one of Guy's squad members. Sakura made a face. She knew that the second procter for the Chuunin Exams could be high-spirited, but this perverted side was new; and something Sakura wasn't sure she was glad to be aware of.

"Look, I'm sure she didn't take it seriously. Give the girl some credit."

Sakura stopped in her tracks. 'Girl?'

"That's not the point. I'm beginning to think measures must be taken to keep you away from her. No good can come from you being near Tenten! First she's knocked unconscious and then her innocence is tainted…!"

"Don't talk like I'm some hooligan! Besides, at her age, I'm sure she's heard worse."

Guy gaped at her with horror before going off on a tangent about how kids are growing up too fast these days.

"Those two…" Sakura's weary gaze followed after them. "They have no problem arguing in public, do they?"

"Looks like it."

Sakura jumped and spun about, staggering back, wild eyes settling on the interloper. "Augh! Tenten!" She wondered if the girl always had this habit of popping up unexpectedly.

Tenten pleasantly smiled. "Hey, still up for that race?"

"Eh – ah… Sure?" Sakura wasn't thinking very clearly. She was still in shock from the back-to-back preceding events, but when she heard herself agree she quickly added, "But we'll both walk there."

Tenten's smile widened. "If that's what you want." She let Sakura fall into step with her and they began their trek through the village to reach the forest. A few seconds into their pace, Tenten queried, "How were things with Ino?"

"Fine, actually. She wasn't upset and we got to talking."

"That's good."

It somewhat bothered Sakura that she couldn't tell if Tenten really did think it was good, or if she was merely saying so for the sake of being agreeable. "Um, if you don't mind my asking… do you know what Guy-sensei and Anko-sensei were talking about?"

There was a slight distortion in Tenten's expression. It could have been either disapproval or exasperation. "Hmm… Anko-sensei said something to me and Guy-sensei overheard it. He's just being melodramatic."

"Oh…"

"What? Do you want to know what it is she said?"

For a split-second Sakura's eyes dilated, and she promptly averted her them but held her chin up. "No, I do not," she firmly replied. "Whatever it is I'm sure I can live without hearing it." Beside her, she heard Tenten quietly chuckle.

- - -

Her body was limp, resting against the curve between two tree roots. She couldn't remember ever sweating this hard, or having so much difficulty catching her breath. "I can't believe you made us do that ten times."

Sitting across from her, the other girl was doing a better job of controlling her fatigue. Her chest rose and sank with each steadying breath, but she sat upright and remained joyous over their accomplishment. "At least now you know to work on your stamina."

She expelled a tired breath of air in response, and was silent for a moment. She tilted her face up and felt the air cool her skin. Her tone turned wistful. "When Kakashi-sensei had us climb trees for the first time I was the only one who was able to properly do it."

"Really?"

Her gaze fell to the forest floor, shaded by the trees and their widely spread branches. Combined with the gentle stillness of the forest, it made the world seem almost like a dream, and just as close and encompassing. "Yeah… Naruto and Sasuke had to work at it for days." They had trained away from her while she kept watch over the workmen at the bridge. They were training again, away from her, while she stayed in the village. Sakura pulled her knees up, feeling unaccountably vulnerable. "I miss them…"

Them – both of them. Tenten did feel sympathetic. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she was in Sakura's position, with her teammates gone, because of a darkness that had begun to encroach upon the village… and taken one of them. "Sakura," she cautiously said. "You know what he is, don't you? Lady Tsunade may not have declared it, but… he's a rogue ninja."

It felt like a kunai had been plunged into Sakura's chest. Her body shook as if it were so. The blood had gone from her face, giving her the likeness of someone terribly sick. "Sasuke… will come back." There was a broken quality to her character.

Seeing her act like this was disconcerting. It was obvious Sasuke was an uncomfortable subject, but there was more to this than the desired outcome. "You don't know that for sure. He chose to leave, to abandon the village. One of these days, we might have to –" Tenten caught herself, diffident over what her next words might be.

Sakura picked it up. "No! That won't happen!" She pressed her fists against the wood of the tree, tears gathering at her eyes. Discussing this, and the possibilities, was sapping the energy from her. Her voice fell to a low pitch that shuddered as she blinked and the tears fell. "We'll bring him back. Me, and Naruto… we'll bring him back."

'… Naruto…' Tenten had to admit she had underestimated him. She never would have thought that, under his bravado, he had the power to back it up and ultimately defeat Neji in both body and spirit. Neji was no longer burdened by his fatalistic outlook on life. She could tell he had changed simply by the way he treated the rest of the team, now with more attention on teamwork and a kinder eye to Lee. If anyone could get convince Sasuke to return, Naruto Uzumaki could.

For a time silence hung between the girls like a curtain, and Sakura managed to calm her haze of emotions. Talking about Sasuke left her feeling exposed and fragile; enough for her to murmur, "I nearly went with him."

Tenten was on her feet, gaping at Sakura in her sorrowful state. "What? Why?"

Sakura remained silent. She withdrew into herself, gloomier than ever. At once, Tenten knew what it was; however, that was no reason to go rogue. He had a pretty face, but… She had seen how harsh Sasuke had been with Sakura prior to the Chuunin Exam preliminary matches. Sakura was crying, and he was glaring, gripping her arm and telling her to keep quiet. There was a baleful zeal in him that rivaled his compassion, which clashed in the Forest of Death when he took down the Sound Ninjas and protected his teammates.

'She had to fall for such a guy… and hard.' Lee crossed her mind. Whatever chances he imagined he had with Sakura seemed to have diminished. He was just as blind as Sakura was when it came to the person they liked.

"He wouldn't let me," she heard Sakura mumble. Tenten thought, There it was… the bit of Sasuke that showed he wasn't an absolute lost cause. He didn't bring Sakura into his increasingly darkening world.

She walked toward Sakura and sat beside, but slightly in front of her, so she could see her face. "I'm glad you told me this." She watched as Sakura raised her eyes to her; shimmering green rimmed with red from weeping. Tenten pointed a thumb at herself. "If you do decide to chase after him on your own, I will personally bring you back."

- - -

Another kunai hit the dirt with a dull thud, followed by a glower from a young Hyuga. After having managed to get on the board, completely missing was a huge disappointment and failure. She picked up a shuriken and threw it – it landed just outside the painted target on the wooden post.

"Hello, Hanabi."

The young girl swiveled and saw Neji's teammate, the girl, poised with her arms behind her back. She panicked for a second, speculating whether or not she had seen her awry throws, before composing herself like a Hyuga should. "Hello," she said a tad stiffly.

"Is Neji here? I wanted to talk with him."

"Neji is sparring with my father. He should be done soon."

"Oh, alright. I'll wait for him, then." Tenten crossed the grounds and took a place on the verandah, much to Hanabi's chagrin.

She wouldn't let the presence of an audience disrupt her training however, so she gathered herself and refocused on her goal. With another shuriken in hand, she tossed it across the length between herself and the target. It sank into the wood just above the ground. Hanabi bit the inside of her lip.

A kunai this time – twenty-eight centimeters from the center. Another kunai – twenty-one centimeters. A shuriken – fifteen. Shuriken – twelve. Kunai – seventeen.

How hard was it to get one in the center? The bull's-eye seemed to be glowing red among the monochrome ninja tools, like a fire that needed putting out. Hanabi gripped the handle of a kunai, aware that the other girl was silently watching her efforts. Having someone witness her failings was more shameful and flustering, especially when this person was…

"How… am I supposed to do this?" Hanabi felt like the words were being yanked out of her by force.

"Hm?"

She shifted so she was looking at Tenten, her pale eyes stern. "What is the right way to throw these?" she said with a mix of firmness and controlled frustration. When Tenten began to show signs of laughter, Hanabi stiffened indignantly.

"Hey, relax." A faint smile was all that remained of Tenten's mirth. "I only laughed because you reminded me of Neji. Using ninja tools wasn't one of his strong suits either," she added as an afterthought.

Oh… if Neji was like this as well, there wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

Tenten sprang onto her feet and walked over, lifting a kunai from the pile with a finger and spinning it into her hand. The metallic weight was familiar and comforting. She flipped it a few times before settling into a stance. "Okay, watch how I do it." She drew her arm across her body and then whipped it forward, releasing the kunai and shooting it toward the target.

Shunk – it hit dead-center.

"Alright, now it's your turn." Tenten stepped aside for Hanabi to take her place.

She stood before the target, kunai in hand, and did her best to replicate what Tenten had done. Unfortunately, the end result was far from it. The kunai swerved to the right, completely missing the wooden dummy. Hanabi suppressed the distress she could feel daring to show on her face.

"Um… okay…" Seeing such a clear miss evidently baffled Tenten as well. "I think you're concentrating too much."

Hanabi looked as though Tenten had just told her Neji used to wear skirts to the academy. "Excuse me?"

"Imagining you're going to hit it is fine and all, but if you think about it too much you lose sight of other important facets." Tenten picked up a shuriken and began tossing it up and down as easily as if it were a ball. "Certain weapons are about being an extension of your body. Using them should feel as naturally as when you strike with your palm." She swept her arm to the side where the shuriken spun off to connect with the wood.

It was quite a feat, Hanabi privately thought, to be able to reach the target with only a moment's glance. She nodded slowly, thinking over Tenten's instruction, and prepared to try again.

"Do you see the target? Good. Now close your eyes."

"What?" The word fell from Hanabi's mouth.

"It's so you won't feel tempted to think only about where it's going to hit."

Grudgingly, Hanabi did as she was told and lidded her eyes. She immediately felt lost without her sight, seeing only a dull lightness through the dark. "Remember where the target was," she heard Tenten say, and she visualized the wooden dummy with its crimson target, situated clearly in the shadows. She threw, and as the kunai left her hand it felt like part of her was going with it.

Thunk! She opened her eyes. The kunai was eight centimeters from the center.

"That's it!" Tenten approvingly exclaimed. "Keep that up and you'll get it in no time."

Hanabi was still staring at the kunai she had just thrown. Was this really working? Only one way to find out… This time she tried a shuriken, keeping in mind the way she had felt when she threw the kunai – seven point five centimeters. Six. Five. Anticipation and glee was bubbling inside her.

"Tenten?" A boy's voice spoke.

The shuriken slipped from Hanabi's grasp and flew into the bushes. She inwardly cursed, not so much because of the interruption, but because she allowed herself to be distracted and showed her cousin an inglorious moment.

"Hey, Neji." Tenten stifled her amused response to Hanabi's mistake and went toward her teammate. She started to move into the direction he was facing, then turned back and said, "Keep up the good work, Hanabi! Good luck!"

Hanabi simply watched as Neji walked away with her, down the verandah and around the corner.

Neji had just completed his training for the day with Hiashi, and was on his way to clean up before dinner. Coming across Tenten with Hanabi had been an unanticipated surprise. He queried, "Hanabi asked for your help?" as they traveled deeper into the Hyuga complex.

"Yes, she did," Tenten breezily answered.

"Hm…" Neji was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. "Well, if there's one person to ask for advice on ninja tools, it would be you."

Tenten looked at him with slight wonderment. It was unusual for Neji to give direct compliments toward others. She supposed it was another one of those things that was changing about him. "Ah… thanks."

He nodded. "Is Lee able to dodge all your attacks yet?"

"I haven't done that with him, actually."

There was a minute pause before Neji replied. "Oh?"

"For the most part he's been helping me improve my close-combat, among other things."

Neji's steps abruptly halted, causing Tenten to stop as well. He was thinking again, and then: "It's true that Lee excels in that area, but he could benefit from facing your ranged assaults. Attacks such as those would be difficult for him to cope with."

"Uh… Yes… I suppose you're right."

He faced her and curved the discussion to what he thought might be a lighter matter. "What is it you came here for?"

Tenten looked hesitant, almost nervous. It was enough to tell Neji that this would not be a light subject. She rarely ever looked that way. "I wanted to ask you something," she began, and then took a moment to breathe and steel herself. "How angry were you when you thought your father was forced to die in Lord Hiashi's place?"

An imperceptible flicker of emotion passed Neji's features. "Why would you want to know about that?"

She slackened her posture and Tenten's expression revealed a melancholic guilt. "I said some things to Sakura about Sasuke."

"… I see…"

"I don't understand why he left. If it's power he wants why doesn't he work for it like the rest of us do?"

Neji's bearing took on an established air. "We don't know the full story, Tenten. He left the village for a reason. There's something he wants he can't seem to get here."

She cast her gaze into the garden, which was sparsely ornamented with a stone path running alongside a small pond. A couple of birds were splashing around in the water, while another was content to sit in the shadow of a tree. "I didn't know him or anything, but he is – he was – a Konoha ninja. A shinobi leaving a village means he's taken their secrets with them, but there's something else." Her eyes darkened. "Sasuke dismissed the feelings of those who care about him."

"It was his decision," Neji stated. "Let's just hope there's a better outcome."

Tenten was unresponsive. The bird beneath the tree had flown away.

He noted her subdued mood with some apprehension. Without much thought, he said, "Would you care to stay for supper?"

She looked up at him, her temper doing a turnaround so her eyes were bright and clear; perhaps because the invitation was so unexpected. "Is it soba?"

He blinked. "How did you know?"

Tenten shrugged and clasped her hands behind her back. "It was just a guess. Herring soba is your favourite."