Legend of the Iron Monkey

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.

Chapter 10: The Nail Cutter and the Lotion

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As the sun arose to start a new day, the sun brought its shine through the window of the room, shared by team Gai. They had successfully completed the second part of their chunin exam ahead of many other squads and were allowed to rest in the tower until the five day period was over. So far, there are four days left until the end of the forest of death exam, so there was a lot of time to take care of anything else. Normally, after the second part of the chunin exam, the finals would be held where genin would test their skills in a one-on-one match against a randomly chosen opponent. The village leaders and land lords would from other surrounding countries were supposed to come and observe the remaining genin and decide which of them would become chunin, as they were the ones who would be choosing them for future missions. But due to a large quantity of candidates still remaining, a preliminary match was decided by the Hokage and the council. The priority of the exam would be to weed out the weak so that only the very best would be the ones that the village leaders and land lords would watch. They didn't want to waste their time on any others.

Neji had returned to the room quite early in the morning, after grueling hours of training, but still had no luck with how to dispel the healing abilities of his comrades. If Tenten was right and that their ability consumed no chakra, then concealing their tenketsu points would be pointless. He made that mistake with Lee already, and his healing ability just reopened the points that Neji had closed with his jutsu. But then, Neji had weighed his options during his training. Chances are, there would be other squads that would finish their exam and arrive at the tower. And because the machine that would decide their combat opponents, chose at a purely random chance percentage, there's a high chance that he would be pitted against someone else. Finding a loophole to their healing ability would be something that would take a very long time, one that couldn't be achieved in a few mere days. And it wasn't just their regeneration that was the problem.

Their physical strength and speed was a definite issue too. Neji assumed that Lee would be stronger and faster than Tenten. If Tenten's speed was already to the point where she couldn't be seen, Neji knew that Lee would be so much more of a difficult opponent. And because of his healing ability's second effect, giving him a constant flow of stamina, he would be a far more difficult opponent. Back then, Lee only ran on stamina, but now that he had a near endless supply, the one who would be exhausted first would be his opponent. The Hyuuga knew that there's no getting passed Lee's stamina, and the fact that he didn't run on chakra was another large problem. When a shinobi ran out of chakra, he's pretty much a dead punchingbag, waiting to be killed. Outlasting him would be impossible, matching his strength would be foolish, and matching his speed was just too much of a request. Lee had gotten stronger in every possible way and it just ticked the Hyuuga off. Neji slept on the bed that was meant for the three of them. When he entered the room, he was absolutely disgusted with the sight that he saw.

Lee and Tenten had fallen asleep on a couch, Lee being on top of Tenten. There was no sexual intention involved, as they both still had their clothes on, when Neji last saw them, but that sight was still something that he didn't plan on seeing at all. But that was hours ago. When Tenten awoke to start her day, she yawned and smiled, but felt something missing somewhere. Her eyes were still closed, still half asleep. She trailed her hands where Lee's body should have been, but he wasn't there. Disappointed and slightly agitated that her boyfriend didn't wait for her before he started his day, she opened her eyes and was about to get up when she noticed something. He was right there, next to her, knitting something that looked like black clothing. Tenten smiled and remained on a laying position, no longer finding the need to get up. If Lee was there, that's all she needed. It didn't look like he noticed that she had woken up, being too focused with what he was doing. Tenten decided to kick him on the side, playfully, just enough to let it be known to him that his girlfriend was awake. When she kicked him, he turned to her and smiled genuinely. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

"Slept well?" he asked.

"Yeah. Better than most days," she replied, kissing him back. Lee smiled and returned to his sowing. For some reason, Tenten found her arm clenching on the blanket that was over her body. Shrugging to herself, she was about to get up when Lee's voice stopped her. "You might want to wait until I finish."

"Finish what?" she asked.

"You asked me, about an hour ago, to knit your upper garments, as well as your sleeve less undershirt," he said, not taking his eyes off of his knitting. Tenten's face flushed bright red as she looked under her blanket. Flustered, her mouth opened at him.

"I didn't say that! I don't even remember being awake an hour ago!" she said. "Hold on, did you take my clothes off?"

"Yeah. You were too tired to do it yourself so you asked me to do it with my eyes closed. I figured, sure, why not? Don't worry though, I didn't see anything that I wasn't supposed to see," he said, assuring her of the best. Tenten exhaled a breath of relief. It wasn't the fear of seeing her naked that bothered the young kunoichi, it was more leaning to the fact that she actually allowed him to take her under shirt and upper garment off. She shook the thought from her mind, she didn't really mind too much. As long as he was the one that did it and no one else, she didn't mind. Any part of her body that wasn't covered with clothes that she wouldn't show to anyone else, was for his eyes alone to see. If it were anyone else besides him, that person would have gone through the tower walls by now. Tenten sighed, at least she had her under garments on. Just then, she wondered what happened to her other teammate.

"Hey, what happened to Neji? Did he ever come back?" she asked. Lee nodded as he finished the garment that he was sowing. He held it over his line of vision, making sure that it was just right. He returned it to Tenten, it was her sleeve less undershirt. Tenten was about to wear it over her body, but decided not to. Earlier last night, when they were first shown the room, she found a closet nearby that probably contained some clothes. She decided to save her kunoichi outfit for the preliminary rounds so they don't get too messed up. Lee then got to work on sowing his girlfriend's upper garment. There wasn't much that was wrong with it, just a couple of scratches from kunai or shuriken, and a couple of holes from some jutsus.

"He's sleeping over there in the bed behind us. The bed is big enough for three or four people, but since we fell asleep on this couch, Neji took the liberty of hogging the bed to himself. He was kind enough to give us a blanket though," he replied. Tenten nodded, still holding on to the white blanket that was over their bodies. After Lee finished sowing the small holes and scratches, he gave it to Tenten, who started folding it. As Lee got started on his upper garment and undershirt, Tenten stood up and walked to the closet that she saw last night. When she stood, Lee took a glance at her upper back and waist curves, whispering to himself something about being an incredibly lucky fool. Much to her pleasure, Tenten found a few shirts and a few pairs of pants, inside the closet. She took her arm guards skirt, lacings, flip-flops, and high socks off, as she placed the pants and shirt on. She threw Lee a shirt and a pair of pants as well, but different colors. Her shirt was white and her pants were gray. Lee had a plain red shirt and a pair of white pants.

"Lee, is there a laundry machine here?" she asked, gathering her belongings. Lee placed how sowing kit down, as well as his materials and garments, so he could take off his pants. When they were taken off, Tenten was turned around but stole a quick glance at his toned legs. She smiled at what she saw and turned around again, maintaining her manners. Lee placed the pants and the shirt on and threw his shinobi outfit to Tenten.

"I saw a washing machine over there in the bathroom," he said, pointing to the direction of the bathroom. Tenten nodded and opened the door to it. She opened the hatch and started the water. Since her parents were gone, on missions or errands, most of the time, Tenten learned to wash clothes on her own. She was adequate with hand washing but prefered the machine to save time. She saw the soap required, on the drying machine, and placed just the right amount. As she placed her and Lee's clothes, Lee ran inside with Neji's clothes in his hands. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, I just remembered. Neji asked me to get his shinobi outfit washed when I would get mine washed. He changed clothes last night, when he arrived, and when I was about to sleep."

"Okay," said Tenten. Lee placed his comrade's clothes inside the machine and closed the hatch. He pressed a red button on the machine as it started to work its cleaning magic. "By the way, is there breakfast anywhere? I'm a bit hungry."

"Oh yeah. Even with your healing powers, you still get hungry, don't you?" he asked as he felt his stomach grumbling too. Tenten looked at his stomach, making sure that's what she heard. She raised an eye brow and looked back at him.

"You too? When was the last time you ate?"

"I'd say a good..." he trailed off, thinking. Because of the spirit of the Iron Monkey inside him, he didn't hunger for food as much as everyone else did, but when was hungry, it was a problem. He remembered eating all of their rations, when Tenten was training in the cave of the Iron Monkey, just because he was hungry. "... six days ago. But don't worry. I was downstairs earlier with one of the medic shinobi and he showed me a diner where squads can get a pretty good meal. The meal is cooked by some of the finest in the leaf village. He showed me the way but I told him I would wait for at least one of my teammates. I asked Neji but he was still training at the time. So I came back here and got a bit of sleep until about two minutes before he arrived. He gave us a pretty disgusted look though... not sure why."

"I can take a guess but that can come later. Can you take me to that place? I'm really starving," she requested. Lee nodded as he looked around the room for something. When he found what he was looking for, he grabbed the paper and a pencil that were both on a table, near their couch. He wrote what looked like a note, telling Neji that they went ahead to the genin lounge. He left the note on the couch where they slept on and left the room with Tenten. They closed the door gently, careful not to awaken Neji, as Lee led the way. When they arrived downstairs, Tenten took a look at her surroundings. She had the chance before, but didn't take it, not knowing why. As they walked, an aroma of good smelling food, entered her nostrils. It smelled like fried rice and beef stew, one of her favorites. When they arrived, it didn't look as fancy as she thought, but it wasn't too bad either. There were chairs and tables around the place, with a couple of squads already there. Team Kurenai and the ninjas of the sand were there, consuming their breakfast in silence. Lee's and Gaara's eyes met for a second, but lasted no longer. Kiba saw them together.

"Hey, you guys made it after all. I saw Neji in the training room earlier, working his butt off. I've never seen him so determined about something. But it must be for those preliminary rounds that I've heard about," he said. Hinata and Shino nodded in agreement. "So where's Neji?"

"Out like a log," said Lee. "The poor guy was so exhausted when I saw him last night."

"Yeah. I've never really seen him train before, but I didn't know someone like him could put so much effort into training. I thought people like him were born with talent and didn't need to train so hard, like the rest of us," said Kiba. Lee was about to say something but chose not to as Tenten arrived with a pair of steaming plates, on each of her hands. It was fried rice and beef stew for the both of them. Tenten smiled at him as she started eating. Lee figured that she ordered him something while he was chatting with Kiba. They both settled down on a table next to their fellow colleagues. Lee helped himself to his meal and almost cried from the taste of the food. It was so delicious, and it tasted familiar too. It was at that point when Lee saw someone behind the counter, the one person who could be capable of cooking something like this. It was Teuchi, the owner of the Ichiraku ramen stand. This was definitely his style, but not his art. The taijutsu master thought that he only made ramen, but this was pretty good too. Tenten looked to him.

"Hey, think we can squeeze in a bit of training after this?" she asked. "I don't want Neji to be the only one to take advantage of our stay here. We don't know what those sand ninja are capable of and we really should get ahead while we can. That guy with the red hair looks pretty dangerous."

"Yeah. His name is Gaara. He and I became acquainted before the start of the first phase of the chunin exam. He has a power inside him that does feel a little scary," said Lee. Tenten nodded in agreement. Before Lee was about to say something else, Shino spoke.

"Do any of you know if any other teams made it here after us? As far as my bugs have seen, when I told some of them to explore the area, it's just us and those sand ninja who are here right now," he said. The rest of them shrugged, except Hinata. She scanned the entire tower earlier, with her byakugan.

"It's just us for now, but I expect another squad making their way here shortly," she said. Lee nodded as he finished his meal. Tenten finished hers as well as both of them stood.

"When you guys are done, why not join us for a bit of sparring in the training room?" asked Lee. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, nodded. As they left the dining hall, Lee led them both to a pretty secluded yet very large training room. They stretched for about 15 minutes and also allowed their stomachs to quell the food that they consumed for breakfast. When they finished with their warm ups, Kiba and his squad arrived just in time. "Hey, you guys made it. Tenten and I are just going to do a bit of light sparring for a bit. While we do that, why don't you three do some of your own exercises? This is a pretty big room and I'm sure it can accommodate to all of us."

Kiba nodded as Hinata and Shino gathered on opposite sides, ready to attack him. It was a bit blunt, but it was just how the Inuzuka liked it. Tenten and Lee slipped into their fighting stances and reached for their pouches... only to realize that they weren't there. It took them about two seconds to realize that they tools and other weaponry were all left in the room that they stayed in. They sighed to each other, not having their weapons for training, but didn't mind it too much. A light taijutsu practice should be enough to get some blood pumping in their systems. Tenten was the one to charge at him first, making the first attack. Lee awaited for her to come within range of his kick. When she entered his circular space, he flipped to the air, forming a spinning kick that was heading straight for her face, but all he hit was air. Tenten swerved to the side and leaped to her other colleagues. As Shino threw two kunai knives at Kiba, Tenten caught those knives and leaped back to Lee, from Shino's shoulders. She traveled to him like a spinning drill, but he stepped back in time to avoid it.

Tenten ran up to him and started her flurry of weapon related attacks. Since she forgot her tools back in the suite, she would have to make do with Shino's belongings. When Tenten saw an opening, she swept him off of his feet. Before Lee fell to the ground, he grabbed her ankle and swung her body over his own, slamming her to the ground. Just as she landed, Tenten grabbed Lee's hand with her toes, and tossed him to a wall. Lee twisted his body to the left and only made an imprint on the wall with the left side of his body. He pulled himself out and smirked. Team Kurenai, who had been watching them since Tenten stole Shino's kunai knives, were amazed at how hard core their training was. The ground was made of concrete and still, Lee wasn't afraid of showing a bit more muscle into his moves than he should let out. And speaking of muscle, it looked like Tenten developed some, as lifting Lee didn't seem too hard for her legs.

"Whoa, getting a bit too rough there, are we?" asked Kiba. "You guys should tone it down a bit or you can seriously hurt each other."

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Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, panted hard after four grueling hours of training. They had completed their training regime that Kurenai assigned them to do if ever they had free time. Kiba was able to hold his own against Shino and Hinata. Shino was able to do the same against his two comrades, but Hinata was different. She held her own for a while but didn't last very long. They knew that it couldn't be because of the lack of stamina that was the problem, as they were all at about the same level in skill when Kurenai took them under her wing. She trained them all equally, so there had to be something else besides stamina. Hinata never really revealed the problem, as she didn't really know it herself. All she knew was that she couldn't fight for as long as her two comrades could and was ashamed of it. She wanted to be as strong as them... as strong as the one whom she admired. Perhaps it wasn't the lack of stamina, but the lack of self-belief. She thought she had gotten passed that problem, but perhaps not. When they finished their training, they looked at the other two who shared the room with them.

Lee and Tenten were still at it, their fighting spirit still flaming with the ferocity as it burned with, four hours ago. Tenten no longer held Shino's kunai knives, as those lay forgotten on the ground. Three and a half hours ago, just as Lee evaded a spinning kick from Tenten, he tossed the key to his room, to Shino. He asked the bug user to enter his room and grab the ninja pouches that lay near the washing machine. Lee also requested for a cylinder shaped sheath, to be retrieved, which was right next to the pouches. When Shino retrieved them, he tossed them to the two. Lee and Tenten both grabbed their accessories. Now, the ground was littered with ninja weaponry, and they still weren't tired. Neji arrived about an hour ago and started training on his own. Out of boredom and the need to do something, Shino joined the Hyuuga in his training and even sparred with him. Neji never realized it before, but Shino was a lot like him, and wasn't a bad fighter either. Tenten crouched down and jumped in the air, completely avoiding both kicks of Lee's Leaf Hurricane technique.

When she landed on the ground, Lee spun another full 360 degree turn, sweeping her off of her feet. He was about to continue his strike when Tenten slammed the ground with her palm, breaking her fall and cartwheeling to the side. She backflipped as she landed, kicked off of the wall, and charged at the taijutsu master. Just as she was about to strike, Tenten vanished from the air and surprised Lee with a kick to the chin, from below. She leaped into the air and kicked his body down. As Lee fell, he rolled on the ground to save his fall. Tenten landed on the ground and prepared herself for more. Lee readied his stance as well. Both leaf ninja decided to take it up a notch and zipped from their current location. Although capable of greater speeds, they didn't want to show too much of their abilities to their friends. They appeared a few feet from each other. Both fighters, thinking of the same thing, spun in the same direction, formed the same kick, and crashed their legs on each other. A crack of bones was heard as Tenten's leg was struck down. The kunoichi grunted in pain as Lee spun around and back-kicked her stomach, sending her crashing to the wall behind her. Lee walked up to her as her bones mended themselves and stretched a hand out.

"I think that's enough for now. We can continue later, but I need a shower," he said, helping her out. Tenten took his hand and pulled herself out. Once she felt her leg heal, her back fixed itself as well. She was definitely glad for having such a useful ability, but often wondered if she could ever defeat her boyfriend. Unlike him, she didn't possess the ability to get stronger after healing from a dangerous wound. Although none of her blows were dangerous, the power that was given to him from his kekkei genkai was tremendous. She smiled to herself. She would just have to train harder so she could keep up with him, and the healing ability would allow her to train for days without tiring. As she trained, she felt her healing ability becoming faster, every time her body became damaged. If compared to a video game, her healing ability would gain experience points every time it was used. When the experience gauge reached its peak, her healing ability would level up. At least that's something to smile upon, as well as the mastery of skills that she receives as she trains.

"Ladies first, mister. I need the shower too," she said. At this point, both of their bodies reeked with sweat, but they didn't mind. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, wondered how those two could fight so long. Neji never really told them as he figured that Lee or Tenten would tell them when they were ready, or they would find out just as he did. Either way, it wasn't his place to divulge the secrets of his friends, to other people, even if those other people are his friends too. Tenten grabbed her pouch and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it and looked to her boyfriend. "Hey, can you help me gather my ninja tools? I need to put them back in this scroll. Just grab them and throw them inside the scroll. They'll go in on their own."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun," he replied as he started picking up the ninja weaponry and tossed them inside the scroll, treating it like a popular western sport that his father told him of during his travels, called basket ball. Tenten smiled and giggled to herself as she watched him throw her ninja tools into her weapons scroll. He is so strong, so powerful, and extremely skilled, yet he treats life like it's nothing but a game... and he's having fun with it. That's one of the things that she enjoyed about him. He took his training and shinobi life seriously, as if life depended on it, but when it came to everything else, it was all just fun and games. Once, during her training in the cave, he told her that life was too short. Even though their healing ability slowed their aging process, life still wasn't long enough to fully enjoy. He told her to take her training and her kunoichi life seriously, but have fun with life too. She was a bit against it at first, not wishing to treat life as one big game board. But when she saw how much fun he was having, when he bathed inside the river, near the cave of the Iron Monkey, it was that part of her life that she missed all along, and he reawakened it from within her. Tenten joined him in his fun and looked to her other peers.

"Hey, this is pretty fun. You guys should come and join us. There's a lot of ninja tools to go around, just don't hurt yourselves. All you have to do is take them and toss them inside the parchment layer of the scroll. Come on!" she said. Kiba and Hinata nodded, allowing themselves a decent activity to do. Shino and Neji chose to sit it out, being uninterested in such childish games when their time could be spent training and getting stronger. If it was a game that related bugs, or being in the forest, Shino would have jumped at the opportunity. But the game that his comrades contained no such quality, leaving him uninterested. Neji just wanted to train, period. He was sick of having his comrades stronger than him, but it was probably a good thing. That drove him to train harder and a become better shinobi.

When they finished their game, the ground was completely clean. Kiba and Hinata thanked them for the fun activity, then joined with Shino and Neji to continue their training. Tenten rolled up her weapons scroll and placed it back inside her pouch. She and Lee grabbed their belongings and headed for their room. When they exited the training room, they met up with Shikamaru's squad, who seemed to have just arrived. They were following a medic nin, who was probably showing them to their rooms.

"Hey guys. I see that you all passed as well?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, we did," said Choji. It was at that moment when Lee remembered about Naruto's squad. He recalled handing them a scroll so they could enter the tower and finish their exam. So where were they now? They should have been here right after his own squad had arrived, or maybe a few minutes after, seeing as though Sasuke wasn't in such a great condition after Tenten made him eat ground dirt. "Choji, did you guys meet up with Naruto's squad on your way here? I thought they already obtained the scroll that they needed."

"Yeah, we met them yesterday," said Ino. "But both Sasuke and Naruto agreed that they would obtain a scroll on their own and burned one of their scrolls. They didn't say which one, but they did said something about maintaining their honor as shinobi. Sakura disagreed but Sasuke and Naruto seemed pretty adamant in their decision. It really does sicken me that they have so much pride, but then again, who am I to judge?"

"No, it's not a bad quality that they are like that. I actually commend them for making that decision," said Lee. "One must seek his own glory to find true satisfaction. I was the one who gave them the scroll that they needed. I thought they would take advantage of my generosity, but it's good that they didn't. It actually increases the respect that I have for them."

"Heh, I see," said Shikamaru. "You share the same views as they do and that's not entirely a bad thing. If it were me, I'd have taken the scroll and come here as fast as I can, but I understand why they want to attain their scroll on their own. I just hope they know what they're doing. Even if they are now my opponents, I still hope that they make it here."

"That's good, I hope for the same. Anyway, enjoy your stay here. There's a dining lounge down this hall, to the right. There's also a training room down this hall, but to the left. If you go now, I think you'll meet up with Kiba's squad, and Neji. They've been there for a while now and might be leaving soon. You should use this time to get in any last minute training, before the preliminary rounds commence," said Lee. Shikamaru nodded as they walked up the stairs to their room. Lee took Tenten's hand as they both made their way to their room. This was actually the first time that they held hands, and Tenten found herself blushing again. She actually lost count on how many times Lee made her blush, but it didn't matter now. When they reached the room, Tenten was the first to enter the restroom. She closed the door, about to lock it, but didn't. She knew that Lee wouldn't stare, even if she would allow him to. If he needed anything in the restroom, he would come in and take care of his business. There's a sheet that divided the shower from the rest of the restroom, so that's something to be glad for. If there was another person in the room, she would have locked it. When she turned on the shower water and began to undress, Lee knocked on the door.

"Tenten, how long will you be in there?" he asked. Tenten entered the shower.

"A while, why? Do you need something?" she asked back.

"Yeah, I forgot my nail cutter there, on one of the drawers," he said.

"Then come inside and get it. The door is unlocked," she replied. For a while, she didn't get an answer, and when she didn't, she figured that he heard her anyway. It wasn't until a good 20 seconds later when she heard Lee speak.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. It's unlocked, so come on in and get your nail cutter."

"But... it's inappropriate."

"It's alright, as long as it's you. Besides, there's a waterproof sheet that divides the shower from the rest of the bathroom. You won't be able to see me anyway. And even if there wasn't, I trust you. I know you won't take a peek and even if you did, I don't know if I could find it in myself to get mad at you for it. I don't feel that there's a secret that I have to hide from you, even those that I should probably keep to myself until we are both a little older," she said, feeling herself turn red again. It wasn't because of the hot water, it was because she was practically inviting a boy inside while she showered. But he was no ordinary boy. He was so much more than that. Tenten heard the door open and some footsteps go inside. The drawer opened near her and closed after about two seconds. Lee was about to leave, but Tenten's voice stopped her.

"Hey, don't go. Stay here and talk with me while I shower," she said, not really being a fan of being alone anywhere.

"Um... alright. But it feels a bit awkward," he replied. He lowered the seat on the toilet so the hatch was fully closed, and sat down on it. "However, I guess now is a good time for us to get rid of this fear, right? This probably won't be the first time that one of us is taking a shower with the other inside the bathroom as well."

"Exactly. Might as well get used to it now, right?" she asked. Lee nodded, accepting her point. As he tried to think about a conversation to start with, his mind kept wondering at what was behind those sheets. During the bathing times while training inside the cave, Lee would stay in the cave while Tenten bathed in the fresh river water. He never really saw any more cleavage than what wasn't covered by her kunoichi outfit. Being inside this restroom, alone with her, really nudged at his brain, placing odd images inside it that he'd rather not have yet. In a desperate attempt to get his mind off of the subject that would probably piss Tenten off, he tried a little harder to think of a topic. When he finally thought of one, he wondered why he'd never asked it before, being the interesting topic that it was.

"Tenten..."

"Hmm?" she asked.

"I've been wondering... what's your last name?" he asked politely. Tenten closed her eyes, knowing someone would eventually catch on to the fact that she never really mentioned her last name. She figured that there'd be no harm in telling Lee.

"I don't have one. My family has long since adopted the tradition of not giving their children any last names. I don't know when it started, or who thought of this rather stupid idea, but I sort of wish I have a last name. I remember the times in the academy when the other girls would make fun of me for not knowing my own last name. I kept telling them that I didn't have one, but it never really sunk into their minds. I guess that's why I always hung out with the boys. They never questioned my last name, but some of them didn't exactly like me being around because I'm a girl," she explained, applying some soap on her skin. "How about you, Lee? Lee can't be your last name, can it?"

"It's not. Like you, I was never given a surname by the village. I think Lee would be my first name, and Rock would be the title that they gave me because of my endurance and perseverance being as tough as a rock," he replied.

"You were never given a surname by the village, so how about your real parents. You talked about your father, while we were training inside the cave, and you also talked about your mother, who died giving birth to you. What name did your father give you when you were born? Surely he gave you a name, right?" asked Tenten, curiosity getting spiked within her.

"Oh, that. Well, since you put it that way, I really do have a full name."

"Really? What is it?"

"The name that my father and my late mother gave me is... Kira Hanazawa."

"Hanazawa... that's... that's a really nice name," said Tenten, as she applied the shampoo and conditioner on her long hair. Just then, an interesting comment popped inside her head that almost caused her to slip. "Lee, how do you think this sounds, Tenten Hanazawa?"

"Um... I guess it sounds kind of... wait a second... what?!" he exclaimed, face flushed redder than pepperoni. Did she just say that? Could she possibly be interested in that kind of commitment at such a young stage of her life? He knew, as well as she did, that they were happy together, but he didn't know that she was thinking of those kinds of thoughts. That thought never even crossed his mind for a second. Perhaps in the future, when everything was settled down and peace is in order, but not now. "Just kidding, don't worry about it. I'm happy with just the way things are right now."

"Yeah, me too."

"Anyway, I'm almost done in here but I have one thing that I'd like to ask you," she said. Lee's nodded, but his silence was enough for her to know that he was listening. "Are you looking forward to battling with anyone so far? The preliminary rounds may partner you up with someone very strong, are you scared?"

"First of all, I'm not scared. Second of all, I'd like a shot at that redheaded kid from the sand village. His power seems kind of scary, really. Sasuke is another one, if his curse mark is activated, he'll be a pretty good opponent. Naruto might prove to be a challenge as well. I don't know what he's got inside him, but I sensed something there too that is similar to the power that I sensed in Gaara. Lastly, there's that Dosu guy from sound village. He seems to be the strongest in his squad. Besides them, there's only one other person whom I wouldn't mind fighting," he said.

"Huh? Who's that?" she saked.

"You," he said. Tenten's body twitched. "Besides those four people, fighting you gives me the best thrill. You can heal from my attacks and can take the brunt of my techniques without having to worry about your own safety. And when we fight, you don't usually hold back, even with the knowledge that I'm much stronger. You always strive to get as strong as me and I like that about you. Other guys have that effect when they lose, but girls usually don't. When a guy beats a girl, the girl accepts it, but you don't. I guess I have to thank the fact that you hung out with a lot of other boys in your childhood, for that effect on you. For you, being a good kunoichi isn't enough and never will be. You want to be the best in your field. I guess I'd like to fight you too because I know that even though you don't share my bloodline limit, you always appear stronger, every time I meet you in battle."

"Well, if you put it that way, I wouldn't mind fighting you either. I like how you don't hold back against me, but maybe that's just because you know I can take it and I can heal from it. Is that right?" she asked, hoping it wasn't so.

"Not entirely. Even if you couldn't heal like I could, I'd still be giving it everything I've got. Well... almost everything. I mean, if you couldn't heal like I can and I launched my strongest techniques against you, you'd be dead for sure. I want you to get stronger, not to get you killed. So in a sense, you're half right, but you're also half wrong," he said.

"That's a good answer," she replied as she turned off the shower water. "Can you hand me the towel next to you?"

Lee looked to his side and saw a white towel for bathing. He took it in his hands and inserted it through the sides of the sheet. Tenten took it from his hands and dried her long hair with it. When she was finished, she wrapped it around her curvy body, making sure that it was tightly secured. When it was around her, she stepped out of the shower, hair still damp but no longer dripping with water. Before he could realize what was going on, Tenten clenched the chest area of his shirt and pulled him down to her level. She encased his lips with her own, tasting him once more, as she did last night. He still reeked of sweat, but she didn't mind at all. Lee wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands along the curvy traces of her body. They kissed passionately for a few seconds before pulling away. Tenten looked deep into his eyes, mesmerizing herself in them. Just as they were about to kiss again, someone opened the door.

"Lee, can I borrow your nail cut--" said Neji, cut himself off when he saw the sight before him. He rolled his eyes and turned around. "Okay... not something I wanted to see. Never mind, I'll use Shino's."

"Neji, do you guys have lotion? Ino is complaining that she forgot hers at--" said Shikamaru, cutting himself off when he saw exactly what Neji saw. "Geez, where'd you two learn to lock a door?"

"What the hell, Shikamaru? You said you'd meet Shino and I in--" said Kiba, being the third one to interrupt himself. Lee and Tenten were looking at them like they were about to murder them. Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba, backed away a bit as Tenten approached them and kicked them all out. She closed the door in front of her and huffed out an irritated expression. Now everyone knew about them and their little secret would spread. Oh well, it's about time they knew about it anyway. When Tenten walked to her boyfriend, he was carrying a shirt, under garments, and a pair of pants, in his hands.

"Where did you get that?" she asked as he handed the clothes to her.

"I zipped, quickly got you some clothes, and returned in the same second. I'm sorry but I had to use you for that second so they would be distracted. I think they'd be a bit weirded out if they magically saw a set of clothes appear in my hands," he said.

"Alright, I forgive you. Anyway, you really should get inside that shower. I don't mind your smell, but I'm sure others would when you go outside," she said. Lee nodded and began to undress up to his boxers. Tenten bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from squealing or smiling from seeing his very attractive figure. When he stepped inside the shower, Tenten saw his boxers thrown in the air as the shower water was turned on. Without even moving aside, the pair of boxers fell on Tenten's head, as if that's where Lee was aiming for. Tenten took the boxers to her hands and was about to put it away, when some its scent entered her nostrils. Instead of passing out, she found that it smelled quite nice. Unaware of what she was doing, she was about to take it up to her nostrils further when Lee's head popped to face her, but his body was still covered. Tenten quickly tossed the under garment behind her, smiling at him.

"Hey, can you hand me my nail cutter on that shelf?" he asked, pointing above. Tenten nodded and turned around, reaching for the metal accessory. Lee was about to return to his shower but noticed his boxers on Tenten's hand. He was about to ask her why she was holding it but no longer cared after a few seconds. Tenten grabbed it and gave it to him. Lee smiled to her and returned to his bathing. Tenten sighed to herself as she looked at the boxer. She had no idea why she was acting like that, but it had to stop. She and Lee had barely been together for almost two days and she was already acting like they'd been together for so much longer. She tossed the dirty piece of clothing away and washed her hands on the sink, as well as her face.

"Jesus, Lee... if only you knew how attracted I am to you. I myself didn't even know until now," she said to herself.

"What was that?" asked Lee. Tenten was surprised and wondered if he had actually heard her. "Did you say something?"

"No... I mean uh... yeah um... I asked if you could uh... tell me what else you have planned for today," she said, stuttering in the first half of her sentence. She really didn't want to tell him that she was having fantasies about him, even though now would be a pretty good time to tell him that, as it would really matter if a girl has fantasies about the boy that she likes while they're together.

"Well, I don't really know. Besides training, I guess I could relax for a day or two, since we still have a little more than that until the preliminary rounds start. Mostly though, I'm worried about Naruto's squad and how they're still fairing outside. The two other rookie squads have already made it inside. They were the last of the rookie to be out there with so many other experienced squads. Lee really hoped that their squad would make it inside and not have to be disqualified.

"I wouldn't mind taking a day off. By the way, what are we going to tell the others? Our secret is pretty much out," she said, hoping for the best. She really didn't want anyone to know until another month or two, but then again, ninjas have eyes and ears where they shouldn't be.

"I just hope they don't bother us," he said. Tenten nodded as she started putting on the clothes that Lee had given her earlier. It was pretty much the same set that she was wearing, except it was clean. She placed her dirty clothes in a container and at the same time wondered which teams actually made it passed the second phase. She really hoped some strong squads made it. She didn't mind being paired up against Lee, but she also wanted to become a chunin too. She found it to be a little weird if a chunin was dating a genin. Perhaps others wouldn't but maybe it's just personal preference. Tenten shrugged to herself as she checked on the clothes that were being laundried. It looks like they were already in the dryer. Neji probably took the liberty in placing them there, before he came down to the training room, this afternoon. When everything was where they should be, she checked up on her boyfriend. He'd been quiet for a while and it was making her wonder.

"Lee, are you alright in there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm done," he said as the shower water turned off. Tenten handed him a white towel as well. Lee dried his hair and wrapped the towel around his hips and below. When he exited the shower, his hair was literally all over the place, and still slightly damp. Although she didn't know why, Tenten found his hair to attractive. Actually, everything about him was attractive to her. Even though it was a good thing, it kind of scared the leaf kunoichi. It scared her because there were so many signs that led to him possibly being the one who was meant for her, and she found him at such a young age in her life. She wondered what her parents would say, having only met Lee once and that was back before his change. Her parents actually hoped that she would one day get together with Neji so she could earn their last name, Hyuuga. She grinned at him, his hair still dripping with water. Tenten took his hand and led him back to the room where he picked out his clothes from the closet. Tenten turned for a second to put her towel away. When she turned to face him, he was already fully dressed. She wondered how he got dressed so fast, but decided to not bother in asking him.

"Let's go outside and join Neji and the others. Maybe Naruto's squad will be there," said Lee. Tenten nodded as she placed some slippers on and handed Lee a pair, which were actually right beside the door. Both leaf ninja walked out of the room together and headed to the dining hall.

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Well, there goes a filler chapter. Sorry to those who don't like filler chapters, but I figured that I should write one about their stay in the tower. The next chapter will start the preliminary rounds. You guys might be surprised at which ninja I've pitted against whom. I tried to make it as even as possible, but we all know that because of the star and co-star of this story, nothing will really be even. Anyway, that's it for now. Hope to see you guys again on the next update!

Ja ne!