A/N: Final chapter! Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to leave a review.

Disclaimer: "Naruto" is property of Masashi Kishimoto, Studio Pierrot, Viz Media, etc.

Sakura had been awake for half an hour, but she remained lying in bed, gazing up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't think of a logical reason as to why she asked Tenten that question in the library. Then there was Tenten's answer…

I would think so.

The warmth that had risen to Sakura's face returned, and she irritably draped an arm across her forehead.

Her mother began calling her down for breakfast, so Sakura finally, and somewhat grudgingly, slogged out of bed. She went to the window to open the shutters, squinting as the morning sunlight poured in. There wasn't much of a view as her window faced the interior of an alleyway. She glanced down to see if anything was out if the ordinary, and there was – a kunai was planted into the space below her window. Tied around the handle was a fold of paper. Carefully, Sakura reached to free the kunai, pulled off the paper, unfolded it, and read what was written inside.

She fell back onto her bed with a sigh, the note grasped firmly in her fingers.

Fwup! Tenten caught the kunai and then flipped it a couple of times. The projectile was tied to one end of a piece of string while the other was tied around Tenten's middle finger. She was killing time by pitching the kunai into a stump and pulling it back by the string to catch. She had repeated this so many times that bits of bark had fallen from the stump.

'Too bad it wasn't like this with Temari,' Tenten reflected. In retrospect, she should have known that her usual weapons assault wouldn't work against the sand ninja's wind jutsu. The force of her opponent's gust was so severe; Tenten's ninja tools might as well have been flower petals.

She started going to the library again to do research, hopeful that she'd be able to find something impressive to add to her arsenal… Then she found Sakura sitting across from her, and Tenten asked her an innocent question. Then there was another question, perhaps not as innocent, and then Sakura posed one of her own. Without giving it much thought, the reply flew from Tenten's lips, and she saw Sakura's eyes widen a fraction before she looked down at her notebook, not saying anything.

This was followed by a stretch of silence, which Sakura used to continue reading and jotting down notes. In Tenten's opinion however, she wasn't going about it very well. Sakura was going through the pages too quickly, and half the time she hedged when she turned to her notebook to write something down. It was nothing like the meticulous way Sakura scanned the books at the hospital.

Tenten decided to bring up their competition again, and when she abruptly did so, Sakura started. Putting it aside, Tenten asked her to again choose what they should do. Sakura quietly thought on it for a moment, and then suggested they test their physical strength. She wasn't sure what particular activity they could do to test this however, so she told Tenten to meet her at the training grounds the next day.

Sakura had set the meeting, but Tenten felt she should still remind her with a little message. 'I wonder if she'll bring the kunai with her…'

"Odango!"

"Ahh!" Startled, Tenten jumped, and consequently got in the way of the kunai's path so it grazed across her cheek.

A hand snaked down from behind her to grip her chin. "Hey, you should be more careful. Look, you're bleeding."

Tenten was about to make a retort when a head dipped down, and she felt the brush of a tongue against her skin where blood trickled. She broke away and crossly rubbed at the place where she had been licked. "I wouldn't be if you hadn't jumped me."

An amused grin crossed the other person's face. "If it's any consolation, your blood tastes sweeter than that Naruto kid's."

"Hardly," Tenten dispassionately replied. "And what's with the 'odango'?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Anko placed her hands above her head and chose to make groping movements to indicate Tenten's hair buns.

"Okay, I get it… Stop that!"

She did, and with a self-satisfied grin.

Tenten wearily wondered if all her encounters with the special jonin were to be this taxing. "Why are you here, Anko-sensei?"

"I was on my way back from a solo mission," she answered, as if it wasn't important.

"Shouldn't you be reporting to Lady Tsunade, then?"

At that, Anko's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but her smirk remained. "Huh, trying to get rid of me, are you?" The smirk lengthened as she leaned forward and she spoke in a half-whisper. "Am I intruding on some secret tryst you had planned?"

Tenten deflected the rib easily enough. "I know you're trying to imply something, but that's not what it is."

"What's not what it is?"

Deciding that ignoring Anko was the best approach for handling her, Tenten reached into her back satchel for some medicine. Hinata had given it to her on one occasion when she told the Hyuga heiress about her training with Neji. This was a while ago, but Tenten figured the medicine would still work well enough.

When she pulled it out, Anko stepped closer to her and said, "Just a minute – I'll help clean you up." Again she caught at Tenten's chin, and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady the younger kunoichi.

"Hey, what are you doing?" As though she wasn't alarmed enough by Anko's proximity, Tenten started struggling when Anko moved in for the kill. "Stop! Get your mouth away from me!"

"… Tenten?"

Anko shifted to one side as she turned, and Tenten looked around her. Standing there was Sakura, looking quite pale and shocked.

"Oops, we've been spotted," said Anko. She tilted her head to one side and smiled. "Are you the one Odango's having a tryst with?"

"Uh… huh?" Sakura's voice was remote. She continued to stare at Anko and Tenten, thinking that she was seeing something she ought not to.

"Sakura, finally you're here!" Tenten pushed away the hand on her shoulder and went to Sakura's side. She turned and pointedly gave Anko a disapproving look.

The special jonin put her hands up, palms facing forward. "Ah, alright, I can take a hint." She mischievously eyed the girls and said, "I hope you two enjoy yourselves." Then she spun on her heel and took off to report back to the Hokage.

Sakura wanted to question Tenten about what just happened, but she wasn't sure how to begin. Then she saw the bleeding on Tenten's cheek and the question fell to the wayside in favour of another. "What happened to your face?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Tenten passed a finger across the trail of blood and readied to apply the medicine – only there was nothing in her hand. 'What…?' She scanned the ground, looking for it, but the container was no where to be found. Then something in her mind clicked. 'Wait, don't tell me… geez, that jonin is trouble!'

"Sit, I'll heal it for you," said Sakura. Tenten only wordlessly stared at her, so Sakura persisted. "It might scar. Let me heal it."

Tenten regarded her for a few more seconds, and then she sat on the ground and Sakura followed. She placed a hand against Tenten's face and told her to relax. Tenten did her best to do so, but her skin wouldn't stop tingling where Sakura touched her. Only when Sakura's hand began to glow green and warm with chakra did Tenten manage to settle down.

Sitting so close to Sakura, there was hardly anywhere else for Tenten to look but at her. She could begin to see, on some level, why Lee liked Sakura. The younger girl was cute enough, she supposed… fair skin, a round face, and striking green eyes which no one else in the village had; except her parents, Tenten guessed. She wondered if her parents also shared her remarkable hair colour, which though pink still looked quite natural and soft.

Sakura was startled when Tenten suddenly reached up took a lock of her hair in her fingers. Her concentration broke and her hand stopped releasing chakra. "What are you doing?" she managed to somewhat evenly ask.

"Your hair is an unusual colour," Tenten stated in a factual, yet gentle tone. "I wanted to know if it felt unusual." She looked at the strands lying against her fingers; fine lines of pink like candy floss that could melt if she held them for too long.

Sakura stayed perfectly still. The hand that had been against Tenten's face was now on the ground, steadying her. She pursed her lips to moisten them and swallowed. Her voice came out as a quivering whisper. "… Does it?"

Tenten met Sakura's eyes; those curious green eyes which now seemed uncertain yet open like a child's. Coupled with the rosy hue of Sakura's cheeks, her appearance was almost endearing…

A scream caused both of them to jump apart. They twisted around to see Ino and Lee standing side-by-side. From the pitch of the scream the girls first thought it had come from Ino, but judging by the way the blonde was looking at Lee and the trembling features on his face, it was clear who the source was.

"T-Tenten!" he spluttered. "How could you!"

"Eh? How could I what?"

He theatrically waved his arms and exclaimed, "How could you steal a kiss from Sakura!"

Tenten gaped at him. "I stole no such thing!"

Lee blinked at her, and then slowly, tentatively replied, "Then… she gave it to you?"

Tenten bolted up and stamped a foot to emphasize her point. "We did not kiss!"

Ino glanced at Sakura, who was still sitting on the ground. She watched as with a distant look, Sakura listlessly brought the back of her fingers to her lips. Even though Ino doubted the kiss, seeing Sakura make such a gesture perturbed her. "Sakura," she said, "have you forgotten about Sasuke so easily?"

Sakura looked up at her, as though Ino has suddenly shoved her for no reason.

It was Tenten however who spoke to her. "Hey, Ino, you like Sasuke too, don't you?" Her tone was rather somber, and would have sounded overblown to an outsider who didn't know the situation surrounding Sasuke. "You should be wary about liking him."

Ino's lips thinned and her voice became defiant. "I don't see how it's any business of your's who I like."

"I'm only saying it because of what might happen."

The blue in Ino's eyes flashed. "What might happen? Look, you – !"

"Stop it! Stop arguing!" Sakura was suddenly on her feet and between the two girls. She would never have been able to stop a fight between Naruto and Sasuke, but at least, she didn't want to see their strife reflected in Ino and Tenten.

"Sakura…" Tenten moved toward her, but Ino immediately grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her toward herself.

She fixed Tenten with an adamant gaze. "Sorry, but I want to talk with Sakura for a bit."

Tenten paused for a moment, and then replied, "Sure." To Sakura, she said with a half-smile, "It looks like we have to postpone another challenge."

"Ten-" Sakura nearly reached out to her, but Ino held her fast. She turned her head to look at her, and was astonished by the indomitable blue eyes that met her. When she looked back, Tenten had already put a fair amount of distance between them, and was taking Lee with her by the sleeve of his green body suit.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Sakura wrenched out of Ino's hold and spun around to face her. "Ino, what's going on?"

For a second, Ino was silent, her expression now less tense than when Tenten had been there. Then, she took hold of Sakura's wrist and pressed something into her hand. When Sakura looked to see what she had given her, she found a red ribbon lying across her palm – a nostalgically familiar red ribbon.

Feeling rather insulted by this gesture, she looked up at the girl in front of her. "Ino, I told you – "

"And I told you it was a gift," Ino interjected in a firm, obstinate tone. "You wore that when we were friends, and now we're friends again, so I'm telling you to keep it – understand?"

Sakura was taken aback by Ino's sudden pronouncement. When Sakura returned the ribbon months ago, it was a symbol of her resolve to be independent of Ino; to not walk behind her, but ahead of her. She would have given it back again… but instead of the exasperated and derisive attitude Ino had months ago, she was gazing at Sakura with a quiet, unyielding, and to some extent pleading expression. Sakura closed her fingers around the ribbon and nodded.

"Oh, so that's what happened." More so than sounding relieved that Tenten hadn't stolen a kiss from his crush, Lee seemed rather interested in the fact that the girls had merely met for another challenge. Of course, Tenten edited some of the details of what had happened at the training grounds. She couldn't be certain that Lee wouldn't have the same reaction as she imagined Guy would if she was overt in her explanation.

"It just looked like something else was going on from where you were standing. Honestly, me kissing Sakura…"

Lee leaned forward so abruptly and looked at Tenten that she nearly jumped. "What is wrong with kissing Sakura?" he demanded.

Tenten blinked, bemused by Lee's sudden change of opinion. A moment ago he had been horrified when he thought Tenten, his female teammate, had kissed his crush. Now he was offended by the inference that Tenten would never want to. "Eh? Nothing I guess, but come on, we're both girls and her personality is –" Tenten broke off. If she said what she really thought of Sakura, she had a feeling Lee would act up even more than he already was.

Unfortunately for Tenten, Lee had already picked up on it. "Tenten… can it be that you do not like Sakura?"

Tenten stared at him, surprised by the question and unsure of what to say. "It's not a matter of whether I like her or not…"

"Then…?"

She exhaled and said, "Lee, it's fine if you like Sakura, but don't be so rash when it comes to her." She paused, and then added, "You could have been in serious danger in the Forest of Death."

"But… Sakura is a precious person. I had to protect her."

It seemed futile to continue this discussion any longer with Lee. Their last few words were reminiscent of an exchange they had in the Forest of Death, and even then Tenten hadn't said anymore to him on the matter. She didn't even know what conclusion the current conversation was leading toward.

She gave him a weary look before glancing over her shoulder. "I wonder how those two are doing," she mused.

Lee gathered himself and grinned, not paying the change in topic any mind. "They seem like good friends."

"You think so?" Tenten incuriously replied.

He nodded, and his smile faded a bit. "… I never had any friends in the academy."

Tenten felt her muscles spasm. "Don't say stuff like that," she reprimanded. "You're on Team Guy now. I know we've had problems getting along, but I think we've come a long way since we first became teammates."

Lee looked at her with some surprise. Then he gently smiled and agreed, "Yes, I think so as well."

They were well out from the training grounds now and passing by a reservoir of water that went through the village. A bridge connected each side of the source of water, and Lee remembered this as the place where Sakura had first come to give him flowers and cheer him up. Standing on the bridge presently was not Sakura, but someone else the two genin knew quite well.

"Ah, there's our fellow teammate now," Tenten remarked. "Neji!" She swept her arm up in a notable wave.

His pale eyes flickered over his teammates, and he waited for them to join him on the bridge. "What have the two of you been doing?" he conversationally inquired.

"Hmm, nothing much," replied Tenten. "What are you doing here by yourself?"

"Thinking," he shortly said.

"Hmm…" Well, thinking, or meditating rather, was normal for Neji. Tenten clapped her hands together. "Hey, do you guys want to have ramen together for lunch?"

Lee beamed at the suggestion. "I would not mind at all! I think we should make up for the bowls Naruto is missing out on."

Tenten giggled and then turned to Neji. "What do you say, Neji?"

He thought for a moment, and then said, "I think we would have to eat at least twice a week to eat the amount Naruto does."

Lee laughed, but Tenten was somewhat surprised by his response. Was he joking, or was he merely stating a fact? The former seemed unlikely, but…

As they made their way to Ichiraku Ramen, Tenten glanced at Neji and couldn't help asking, "So, what were thinking about on the bridge?"

Neji gave a sidelong look toward Tenten and Lee. The other boy was wearing a cheery smile as he walked alongside Tenten's right, probably enjoying the company and the thought of what they had planned ahead. Tenten was walking between them, still looking at Neji, waiting for him to respond.

He noticed that she was about five centimeters shorter than himself and Lee. He knew of course that they were taller than her, but he never knew by how much until now, as they walked side-by-side. As he thought this, he caught her scent on a passing breeze, and he was amazed to recognize it as Tenten's.

The wind drew Tenten's attention to the way it mussed with Lee's hair, but miraculously his trim fell back into place on its own. She commented on it, privately thinking how unfair it was since his cut was so unfashionable. When Lee suggested she get the same hairstyle, it resulted in a lecture about girls and their appearance.

Neji watched his teammates, thinking about what they meant to him, and the plans they had ahead. While Tenten was speaking with Lee, she didn't notice when her hand briefly brushed against Neji's. He felt it though, and the corner of his mouth tugged into a smirk. 'I think… everything is just fine.'

The ribbon swayed with Sakura's arm as she walked home. Ino had tied it around her wrist and instructed that she not remove it until she was home. She lifted her wrist and held it at eyelevel. The ribbon was meant for use in a person's hair, and thus looked too large and odd, on her wrist. Sometimes people would glance her way and she'd feel faint embarrassment. 'I should just take it off now, but… geez, why am I listening to her?'

"Good morning, Sakura."

Sakura stopped short of where she lived. In the side path of her house, someone was leaning against the wall underneath her bedroom window. When she realized who it was, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Her sensei pushed off the wall and held a hand up in greeting. Although she couldn't see him smile beneath his mask, she could still read his expression though his exposed right eye. "It's been a while. How have you been?"

She brightened considerably and said, "My apprenticeship under Lady Tsunade is going well."

"That's good to hear," he sincerely replied. "Are you returning from a lesson?"

"No, I had a meeting with Tenten in the woods."

At this, Kakashi raised a curious eyebrow. "Tenten, huh? She's one of Guy's students if I recall."

"Yes." Sakura became sheepish and she put a hand to her arm. "It seems I've become caught up in a rivalry with her. She wants us to challenge each other in competitions."

Kakashi quietly considered this. "Hmm, you don't say… Funny, I didn't think she was the type to take after him…"

His last statement caught Sakura's attention. "Eh? What do you mean?"

Kakashi seemed to pop back from his reverie and he nonchalantly said, "Oh, just thinking to myself out loud." He soon left Sakura with a farewell and, unintentionally, something else for Sakura to think about.

It was getting worse. Tenten knew that for certain. She was able to cover up the overblown outbursts and strengthening camaraderie with Lee and their sensei well enough, but it was useless to try when she lost total control of her senses.

It happened when their team had been out together for supper. Everything was going as usual, with two particular members of their team in an animated exchange and Neji attempting to tune them out. Tenten sat between them, tired, and reached for a sip of her water. What she drank instead, was Guy's sake.

Lee had been enough of a handful when this happened to him. A swig of sake, and he had turned into a one-man demolition machine, having torn the restaurant apart and carrying the destruction out onto the street. Tenten was a different problem. Whereas Lee used brute force to destroy his opponents, Tenten used weapons – weapons that could be flung anywhere at any time.

Everyone hit the floor when a flurry of kunai whizzed in all directions throughout the restaurant. One after another, Tenten chaotically flung her arsenal, breaking plates and smashing windows.

Guy finally managed to restrain her arms and drag her out of the building. He was beginning to think that perhaps he should stop drinking around his kids… for completely different reasons than the norm of course. At this rate, his team would be banned from eating at their favourite places.

When Tenten finally sobered up and found out what had happened, she buried her face in her pillow. Being recognized in the village on account of a public disturbance was not the sort of acknowledgement she had been hoping for when she signed up to become a shinobi. Besides that… those green bodysuits were becoming peculiarly alluring…

"It's been too long and it's getting worse! Isn't there something you can do?" Tenten appealed to the Hokage during her next appointment.

Tsunade sat across from her in her chair, considering the issue but seeming divided upon what to do. "I understand what you're going though but I still think it's best to let it run its course. It's natural to become quite ill before recovering." The Hokage leant forward in her seat and looked Tenten in the eye. She was serious – serious about curing her, and serious about what she said next. "Have you been having any strange feelings lately?"

She had asked Tenten something similar before she discharged her from the hospital. Tenten's reply then had been swift, but now the girl found herself reflecting deeply upon the question. Strange feelings… what did the Hokage mean by that? A thought crossed her mind, and then a memory, and then another. It came as a jolt to her system when she recalled how she acted back then… with Sakura. 'No way… is it possible? If it's Lee, then…' Her fingers tensed unnoticeably beneath her palms. "… No… there is nothing worth mentioning."

Tsunade's gaze remained steady. "Are you certain?"

Tenten nodded. "I'll be fine once my chakra realigns itself and I stop acting like Lee, right?"

"That is what I intend."

"Then I'll be fine."

Tsunade was still concerned about Tenten's feelings over the matter, but she allowed her to leave anyway.

Tenten stepped out into the hallway and slid the door shut behind her. She turned to go, but found there were two people in her way: Ino and Sakura.

They were both regarding her with stunned expressions, but while Ino's carried a sense of wonder, Sakura's seemed anxious. She seemed paler than usual, and panic, or perhaps understanding, was in her eyes.

"Did you hear anything?" Tenten asked, though already knowing what the answer would be.

Ino glanced at Sakura, but the Haruno girl lowered her gaze to the floor, showing no inclination to speak. "Yeah, we did," Ino answered.

Tenten looked between them, and her eyes settled on Sakura's bent head. Maybe she was ashamed of listening in on her conversation with Tsunade; or maybe she was so shocked by their conversation, that it felt wrong to look at her. Tenten closed her eyes. "Well, now you know." She strode past them without a second look, leaving them behind her in the corridor.

Ino watched her leave, and then she turned to Sakura. "Hey, Sakura… are you okay?"

She looked back up, but Ino couldn't see her face. Sakura distantly stared down the hallway, silent, until she finally said, "Yeah… I'm fine," and resumed to walk without Ino.

Her voice had sounded light, but Ino knew better than to fall for it. '… You're hiding your feelings again.'

Tenten wandered aimlessly through the village trying to mentally sort through everything that had happened. Her initial accident had lead to numerous problems, including one she just recently discovered; and if she thought hard about it, Sakura seemed to be responsive. If that were the case though, why was Sakura's reaction to her different from her reaction to Lee?

'Well… I'm not totally like Lee. I'm still mostly myself.' Ironically, that seemed to provide Tenten with some relief. 'But then… if the difference between Lee and myself is me, then…' She felt another jolt, this time centralized in her chest. What a bizarre twist this was – the girl falling for the boy's female teammate, a teammate who was rather off put by the girl in question.

'But, she still likes Sasuke – so much that she nearly left with him,' she quickly recalled. It was some comfort, putting aside the fact that Sakura seemed to make poor choices where Sasuke was concerned.

She shook her head and heavily sighed. "Whatever… I'll just let it play out like Lady Tsunade suggested." With that decided, Tenten took a moment to gather her bearings. She wasn't that far off from the dango shop, and she considered whether to pay it a visit or not. Then she spotted someone sitting on one of the benches outside, and she hesitated; but when she thought upon it at length, she made up her mind to approach her.

Tenten casually took a seat beside her on the bench, and leaned back on her hands. "This all started when I hit my head," she began, as though speaking to a psychologist who had asked about her problems.

Of course, Anko was no psychologist and she hadn't said a word – but looking at Tenten, she decided to indulge her. "Hmm? What did?" she asked between bites of dango.

By the time Tenten had finished explaining her troubles to Anko, the special jonin had finished two skewers of dango.

"I have to say, that part about you and the Haruno girl is kind of amusing." Her opinion did not change when Tenten glared at her. "But anyway, so you're worried you're becoming like Lee or that sensei of your's?"

"I just don't want it to interfere with who I am or what I want to do." Tenten gazed across the street toward a building that sold scrolls for sealing. "Some parts… I don't know if it's something I'd do."

Anko lowered her cup of tea, resting it on her knee. "You know… I picked up a few habits from a sensei I had a long time ago. He's – wasn't, a very good guy; but it doesn't bother me that I have some of his habits. I know what's really important is who I am deep down and what choices I make – not some weird quirks everyone makes a big deal about."

It seemed like an obvious answer, but Tenten hadn't considered it until she heard it from someone else – Anko, of all people; although, if the reference to her past was true, then perhaps that made the advice all the more viable. Tenten was rather amazed that Anko shared it with her. "Hm… I really don't know what I'm thinking these days."

"If you spend too much time thinking about life, you end up not being able to live it." Anko picked up a skewer of dango and offered it to Tenten. "Here. Think of it as repaying you for that bun the other day."

Tenten stared at the dango, surprised that Anko chose to pay her back, and with dango she had ordered for herself. Appreciative, she accepted the dango and bit into the topmost sphere. The mitarashi sauce tasted sweeter than usual.

The setup was perfect. She made sure to practice in a location where the explosion wouldn't hurt anyone – aside from herself, potentially, but Tenten was confident the blast would not reach her. Her work over the past few days had been thorough, and fueled by a fervor born from Guy and Anko's pep talks.

Numerous kunai protruded from a sphere which contained explosive material, and when lit by a paper bomb, was meant to explode while propelling the kunai to tear through the air. Tenten planned to test the bomb itself first, before combining it with a release from a scroll. She'd already purchased the scroll she planned to use, a large one, which was a bit heavy now but would be no problem to carry with some more training.

The bomb was placed in an open area within the woods, surrounded by trees which would provide some cover for Tenten. She held a paper bomb between her middle and index finger, and then threw it so it stuck neatly to a bare space of the sphere. Just as the paper landed however, a squirrel ran out from the underbrush and stopped near the bomb – within the radius of the calculated explosion.

The next time Tenten opened her eyes, she saw a ceiling that was very familiar, but knew it was not the ceiling of her home.

"Good, you're finally awake."

She tilted her head to the side. It hurt to move, and she winced. "Shikamaru?" she said in a muzzy voice. Behind him was a white curtain. "… Am I in the hospital?"

"Yeah. My dad and I found you unconscious when we went into the forest for training."

Tenten reached back in the recesses of her memory for the last thing she could remember. "… The squirrel…"

Shikamaru blinked. "Uh, yeah… there was a squirrel. It ran off when we got to you."

"Oh… so it's okay."

He blinked at her again, and then realization dawned on him. "You've got to be kidding me."

Tenten was silent on the issue.

'This girl really is troublesome… but not in the way Ino and Sakura are.' Shikamaru sighed and allowed his shoulders to sag. "If you plan on tinkering with explosives in the future, I suggest you have someone supervise you."

"… Yeah…I'll consider it," Tenten absently replied.

The privacy curtain rustled and clinked as it was pushed aside, revealing a person behind it. It was a girl a year younger than Tenten; the same girl who had visited her in the hospital all those times before. Her features were blotched with pinkish tones, and she appeared to be emotionally restraining herself.

"Oh, hey Sakura," said Shikamaru.

"Hi, Shikamaru." Her voice sounded distracted, though she was looking right at the boy. "You should know Ino's looking for you."

"Huh? What does she want?"

"I don't know, but she said it's important."

He sighed again and pushed off the chair he was sitting on. "Alright, I'll go and look for her. Thanks for telling me."

Sakura nodded and stepped aside to give Shikamaru room to leave. When he was gone however, Sakura only looked at the empty chair, seemingly lost in thought. She gave a start when she heard Tenten's voice, as though she hadn't known she was there the whole time.

"Hey… you can sit down, you know."

At last, Sakura's eyes shifted to the girl lying on the hospital bed. There were cuts up and down Tenten's body, and a dusting of dirt clung to her clothes and skin. What wasn't visible, Sakura knew, was how her muscles must be aching from the impact of the explosion. "No, I'm fine," she quietly said. "I'm here because Shishou sent me." She paused and watched as Tenten blearily blinked. "She said you're fine now. I mean – not including your injuries from the blast."

Tenten blinked again, comprehending the meaning of Sakura's words. A rush of euphoria shot through her, and she might have smiled if she wasn't lay-up in bed and the mood in the air wasn't so overcast. "Oh… that's good." She caught a movement which was Sakura fidgeting with the hem of her red dress. "You know everything, right?"

Sakura stopped. She pinched the fabric between her fingers. "… Yes…"

Tenten turned her head so she was facing the ceiling again. "… Sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"It wasn't trouble," Sakura quickly said. "Just… confusing sometimes."

Tenten peered over at her and saw the colour in Sakura's face, though her green eyes were turned away. Maybe it was because she felt weary, but Tenten found herself saying, "Listen, Sakura… I don't know if the person you'll spend the rest of your life with is Sasuke, but you deserve to be with someone who'll make you happy."

An astonished, but distressed look flashed across Sakura's face. She looked down at Tenten's left arm, where the bandage she'd taken to wearing had become dirty and ripped. A poignant smile came to her lips. "… Thanks…"

Her expression affected Tenten the way Sakura's expressions would whenever Sasuke was brought up. It irked Tenten to see her like this, for a number of reasons – one of which, Tenten felt, was what she thought Sakura was dwelling upon. She seized the bother rising within her and channeled it into her next words. "Hey… choosing you as a rival was my decision. I chose you – okay?"

Sakura stared at Tenten, who held her gaze with deep, serious, brown eyes – eyes that always showed Sakura that Tenten meant what she said. When Sakura next smiled, it was sincere. "Okay."

Echoes of the villagers' efforts to rebuild the village carried through the air, all the way up to the roof of the structure where Tenten stood. It was the Hokage's building, but Tsunade allowed Tenten this one request. She was out of the hospital now, and her hands were on the railing which ran the roof as she gazed over the village, picking out bits of movement which indicated the village at work. Much had happened when Orochimaru and his sound-nins attacked… and much had happened when Anko had attacked Tenten.

Yet like with all experiences, what had happened served to develop her as a person. Had that day when Tenten inadvertently smacked Anko with dango not occurred, her relationships and confidence would not have strengthened the way they had.

She turned around and looked up at the faces of the past Hokages carved into the rock face overlooking all of Konoha. As soon as the reconstruction of the village was completed, the next task the villagers had planned was for the immortalization of Lady Tsunade. Tenten couldn't wait for that day, when she would be able to look up here and see her idol like on the day of Tsunade's inauguration. A gust of wind swept by as she turned back to face the village. 'I'll keep working hard to achieve my dream, in my own way.'

"Heyyyy! Tenten!" a voice called from below.

She looked over the railing and saw two boys, one with his arms crossed and the other waving with great sweeps of his arms.

"Tenten, we have a mission!"

She smiled and lifted a foot onto the railing. A breeze carrying flower petals passed as she pushed off to join her comrades.

Dancing flexibly and firing speedily, a lively and magnificent kunoichi!

A/N: The last line is from the second "Naruto" data book.

So yes, no definite pairing; unfortunately for any of you who wished for one. I wanted to write this with the intention that it could fit into canon, during the time skip – and since post-time skip there is no evidence that Tenten is or was involved with anyone, I chose for her not be with anyone by the end of the story. It was fun writing with a harem for Tenten in mind though, haha.

Thank you for reading!