Alright, so like I promised, this is the first of now regular updates of TYLE. I'm really excited about this chapter because it sets up the layout for the story, so I did my very best. Let me know what you think by reviewing or sending me messages.

I'm going for a very specific set of personality for the characters, without making them seem childish OR completely OOC. Enjoy :)

.xXx. Angel .xXx.

Chapter Three: Setting Off.

.xXx. Tenten's POV .xXx.

As soon as I found out that I wouldn't be all alone in the new school I was going to, I calmed down considerably, and started to actually think of some of the positive aspectsof the situation. I was seventeen, going to a school for excellence, with all of my best friends. I was going to be living in a new home away from my family eighty percent of the time, sure. But it could be an adventure. It wasn't any sweat of my ass that they expected me to find a man—I was in no hurry to do anything of the sort. I could have fun with my friends, and get an excellent education while doing it. Besides, there were lots of things about Shinobi High that I was definitely not going to miss.

Like all the idiots.

.xXx. Omniscient POV .xXx.

It was the last day of spring break, and Tenten was staring irritably at the four brand new, empty suitcases lying on her black comforter, all open and ready to be filled with her belongings. Her spring break with her friends had flown by seemingly at the speed of light, and in exactly one day, she would be starting her new life at the Konoha Academy of Excellence. Problem: a little thing called procrastination was now biting her viciously in the ass. Her closet and dresser were empty; she had frantically thrown everything in them onto her red carpet earlier that morning. All of her shoes and sandals were thrown into one corner of the room. Her make-up and jewelery were in a jumble on top of her dresser. In short, her room was a disaster.

She was contemplating setting the whole pile ablaze when her mother knocked on the door and then pushed it open, smiling at what she saw. Hisana's daughter was a complete mess; Tenten's long auburn hair was in a sloppy bun with stray hairs flying everywhere, and there was a crazed glint in her hazel eyes. She was wearing a navy tank top that was oddly crooked on her torso, with her gray cotton sleep shorts. And for some reason, she had one yellow ankle sock on.

Stifling her laughter, Hisana approached her daughter, who was standing in the middle of the room in front of her small mountain of a wardrobe.

"Good morning, Tennie. It looks like you could use some help."

Tenten groaned. "Mom, how the hell am I supposed to get this done? Ino and Sakura will be here in two hours to pick me up." She stomped her one socked foot on the ground, and then sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

This time, her mother couldn't help but laugh. "Only occasionally, sweetie. Now, let me help you. If we both pitch in, we'll just make it, and you'll be packed with maybe...mm...thirty seconds to spare."

Tenten had to smile at that.

"Deal."

In the next few minutes, Tenten was folding clothes and putting them in the first suitcase, while her mother put all of her cosmetics and jewelery into plastic zip-lock bags. She wasn't paying much attention to the clothes passing through her hands—tank tops, skinny jeans, sweat pants, old band t-shirts, cut off denim shorts, and several oversized thick hoodies. She was too preoccupied thinking about what the Konoha Academy of Excellence would be like. She hadn't yet been told where it was; all she knew was that Ino's mother Risa had hired a chauffeur to drive them to the location, which Ino knew and all of the others didn't. Herself, Ino and Sakura would be getting delivered to the school limo-style, while Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Sasuke would be getting flown to their destination by Itachi's luxury private jet. It wasn't a surprise to Tenten when she had been told; it was no secret to anyone that the Uchiha brothers had money. Itachi had gone into corporate business for communications technology shortly after the slaughter of his clan, and was now a millionaire. His motive had been to provide for Sasuke, and as a result, the kid could have anything he ever wanted. It certainly made him popular with the girls...

Tenten was snapped abruptly out of her reverie by more of her mother's laughter. She looked down to see what she was laughing about and saw that she had been pawing at the empty bed cover, having folded all of her clothes and put them into two of the four suitcases.

At that, she had to crack a smile, and when she turned to her mother, she saw sudden tears in Hisana's eyes. "Mom, why are you crying? What's the matter?" Tenten's voice was panicky. What was wrong with her mother? When Hisana spoke, her voice was even, but quiet.

"I'm just thinking about what life's going to be like without you once you're gone five days a week. It's definitely going to be different." Her voice cracked a little. "I'm going to miss you, baby girl."

Tenten suddenly couldn't speak around the huge, hot lump in her throat, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. Her mother wasn't the only one upset about the change. No matter how optimistic she was about going to a new school with her friends, she was going to miss her family.

"Momma.." Tenten's voice failed her, and in the next second, she was in her mother's arms.

Yes, this was definitely going to be hard.

~*4:00 PM, Tuesday*~

Tenten's four matching gray and blue suitcases were packed and waiting by the front door when Ino's limo pulled into the driveway, right on time. Tenten had the door opened just in time for her two best friends to come clambering through it excitedly, practically running eachother over in the attempt to reach Tenten in their frenzy.

"C'mon, Buns. We have new territory to explore here!" Ino's voice was as loud and catty as it got, and the blonde was practically vibrating with excitement. A moment later, Sakura joined in with her own excited chatter.

"She's right, Tennie! Aren't you totally freaked? We've gotta go right away, because the boys are already going to beat us there as it is and we have to have time to get settled and then do some exploring." The pink-haired girl's eyes shone with excitement, and it stirred up some of the old excitement Tenten had felt before the scene with her mother.

"Alright, alright, guys. I just have to say goodbye." Doing her best to remain calm, Tenten turned around to face her family, who were all standing in a line to see her off. She started by walking up to her father, who was at the beginning of the line.

"I guess I'll see you in a few days, Pa," she said softly as she looked up into her father's brown eyes. Silently, wistfully, she wished he could come with her. Tadase wasted no time in scooping her up into a bone-crushing hug. "Take care of yourself, kiddo." His voice was gruff, but Tenten was experienced in her father's ways, and she could hear the tears underneath his tough facade. He gave her one of her favorite lopsided grins, and then put her back down on the floor so she could move on to her mother.

Hisana stood at her full height, and she was just taller than Tenten. Her mother gazed intently into her eyes for a few moments, and then brushed back a stray lock of hair that had escaped Tenten's casual up-do. She kissed her on the forehead, and then murmered "I love you, sweetheart. Stay safe." Tenten's eyes started to water, and it was all she could do to choke out "Love you too, mom," and stumble on to the next person, her brother Daichi. The boy had his arms crossed, and his face looked disapproving. Tenten didn't know what to say to him. But thankfully, he broke the silence.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do without you, kid." His voice sounded slightly peeved, but Tenten thought she caught a hint of a smile under his initial tone. Then he broke into a grin. "I wish you luck. Who knows, maybe you won't totally bomb this." Tenten smacked him, then gave him a hug, and moved on to Karin.

The girl's face was stormy, and she was avoiding eye contact with Tenten, so she knew immediately that her younger sister was upset. "I'm going to miss you, Karin," she started out tentatively.

The younger girl's face scrunched a little. "Yeah, well, good luck with you're fancy new school. I'll be perfectly capable of holding down the fort without you."

Tenten had to smile. "Yeah, I know you will. I'm sure you'll do great."

Karin finally met her eyes, and her gaze was scorching. "Seeya later, sis."

That hug was bone-crushing, too.

When Tenten came to Ria and Akusho, they were holding hands. Tenten bent down onto her knees to look them both in the eye before she spoke to them.

"I want both of you to behave while I'm gone, okay? I'll be back before you miss me."

It was Ria who piped up. "But Tennie, I'm gonna mish you as soon as your gone." Her little lower lip trembled.

Tenten felt a pang as her heart went out to the little girl, and when she spoke, her voice had a quaver. I'll think of you all the time, Ri-Ri. You too, 'Kusho. You can call my cell anytime you want, okay?"

She was met with two huge pairs of innocent hazel eyes that practically made her heart melt. "Pwomise?"

She had to fight another throat lump to reply. "I promise."

After one last round of hugs from everyone, she couldn't put it off any longer, and she allowed her hyper-spastic friends to shuffle her out the door with all of her suitcases. When they got to the limo, the chauffeur took her bags and opened the storage trunk at the back of the vehicle to add them to the pile. When Tenten took a look inside, her jaw dropped.

Typical Ino.

Beside Sakura's four pink suitcases, there were eight matching white and blue suitcases, all monogrammed with the name Yamanaka Ino in rhinestones along the side. Her posh, wealthy friend was bringing literally twice as much along with her then Tenten and Sakura. Tenten could do nothing but shake her head, and Sakura was just as exasperated. She rolled her eyes at Tenten and said "what did you expect? We have a princess on board."

Ino wasn't ruffled by the comment in the slightest, and hurriedly pushed the girls into the passenger booth of the limo, closing the door behind her.

The inside of the limo was just as posh as the family who owned it. The seating arrangement was almost a complete circle, with a break in the plush grey seating for the door allowing people to climb inside. Small circular dish-lights followed the seating pattern up on the ceiling, providing warm, cozy yellow light for the interior of the booth. There was a glass coffee table in the center of the circle with built in cup-holders and slide out convenience trays, and hanging up against the glass seperator dividing them from the driver's cab was a thirty inch plasma screen TV. The lights were necessary because almost no light outside filtered in through the windows—they were tinted almost pitch black. A built in compartment under one of the many seats in the circle held a mini fridge, and when she and Sakura opened it, they found Pepsi and chocolate bars.

Tenten was completely blown away by the grandeur, and when she spoke, her voice was faint. "How much did this cost?"

Ino's voice was brazen and breezy. "Not too much. This is how we're going to go to and from the school every weekend." She beamed at her friends, obviously very pleased with herself.

Tenten could see that Sakura had already been hit with this news, because she only stared with huge eyes at Tenten, observing her response.

"Holy crap." It was the only thing Tenten could manage to mutter. Ino turned her attention to the chauffeur sitting in the drivers seat. "Simmons, let's roll."

The limousine was driving smoothly away from her house in no time, and instead of looking out her very dark window, Tenten settled into the soft back of her seat and dug into her patchwork boho bag, retrieving her sleek cellphone with the peacock blue casing a few seconds later. She slid out the keyboard and contented herself with composing a text message to her family. She addressed it to her mother's phone, and then started writing.

Off I go, into the wilderness. Haha, kidding. I'm super excited. I'll miss all you guys like crazy. Text you again when I get there. Love you lots. -Ten.

In a matter of minutes, all three girls were mowing down Br. Bigs and cans of Pepsi, watching an episode of One Tree Hill, to Ino's insistence. Tenten couldn't pay very close attention to what was on the screen; she was thinking about her family, and wondering where they were. When the episode finally ended, both Tenten and Sakura pushed their noses up against the glass so they could see outside, and after a minute of acting like she was too dignified to do the same, Ino gave in and joined them.

Konohagakure was near the border of the fire country, and the limo was taking them into a more rural environment than their hometown. The houses became farther and farther spread apart, with rolling expanses of lush green in between, until they were miles apart. Occasionally they would see a guy on a tractor, or a group of little kids chasing after a couple of chickens. Apart from that though, it was undisturbed scenery and silence. They drove for the better part of two hours, and through Ino's complaining about the trip taking too long and wanting to explore, a new sound hit the girl's ears. It was the sound of water. Of waves. They were close to the coast of the fire country, at the edge of the sea separating them from the water country. Soft rolling hills were preventing them from actually seeing the water, but they could hear it gently crashing against the coast.

After a few more minutes of driving, Tenten was ready to pull her hair out. The suspense was driving her crazy—were they going to transfer to some sort of super-posh Yamanaka Yacht at the water's edge and go motoring across the freaking ocean? She was about to open her mouth and say something when the black glass divider in front of them slid apart, TV converging into the wall, and Simmons gave them a knowing smile. "It's just around the corner now, ladies. I suggest you prepare yourselves." Tenten only had one more second to wonder, and then Simmons pushed a button on the dashboard. The tint on the windows diminished to nothing, giving them a clear and colorful view, and then the limousine was rounding the last curve in the road.

What she saw took her breath away.

They were coming up a long, winding dirt road that went up a large hill. A vast expanse of lush green meadow was on either side of the road, and continued most of the way up the hill. The hill did not have a descent—it ended in a jagged cliff that met the ocean below. The sun was just setting over the water, and it left a glittery blazing trail down the calm waves crashing gently against the cliff face as far as the eye could see.

The scenery was beautiful, but it wasn't the main source of Tenten's astonishment. It was the academy itself—it was magical. The road winding up to it was unpaved, until it hit a large, old fashioned grey-stone courtyard, with four low stone walls fencing in the area and a large wrought iron gate at the enormous entrance, which was currently open. The courtyard was decorated with vibrantly colorful flowers, both in large stone pots and hanging from stone pillars placed at equal intervals down the length of the courtyard. There were stone benches built against the walls with stone flower pots to compliment them, and in the center, there was a magnificent stone fountain with three tiers, water gushing from the top and falling back down into the basins below like a series of waterfalls.

As they approached the school, Tenten ignored the excited squealing of her friends and took in more details. The building was massive, and it looked like two mansions had been cut in half and then put together; the front half was made of red russet bricks, and was connected directly to the courtyard by a massive grey-stone staircase leading up to the main entrance of the school—two enormous oak doors that had to be twenty feet tall. The face of the school had many long, elegant thin windows displaying intricate panes, and a giant circle of stained glass directly above the main entrance. Through the stained glass, Tenten could just barely make out a very grand, elaborate staircase, leading upwards into the school.

Turning her attention back to the outside of the building, she noted that halfway through the body of the school, the brick cut off completely. The roof, although still shingled in the same dark, rough shingles, spiked up several feet, and the difference was made of old looking timbers of oak wood. After that, the back half of the house was made completely of creamy white marble, laced with streaks of pearl and silver. Secondary doors were on either side of the school on this half, and long wooden staircases led down onto the back side of the hill, close to the cliff drop, where there were multiple grassy landings. And instead of long narrow windows, the entire back wall of the house was made of a mirror reflecting back the image of the sea and sky behind it.

It was like a fairytale—so perfect that Tenten was afraid to breathe, in case it disappeared.

Sakura had scooted next to Tenten in order to get a better side-view of the school, unlike Ino, who was practically foaming at the mouth with excitement, babbling about sight seeing and exploring. Simmons had reached the open wrought iron gate, and they drove into the courtyard, which served as a ring-shaped driveway for the school. Once they were up close, they noticed four small figures on the main staircase; the boys, waiting for them. All three girls spilled out of the limo and ran to their friends, while Simmons flipped open a cellphone and made arrangements for the luggage to be brought into the school. Tenten was the only one to think to look back and wave goodbye to the older man, and he gave her a crooked smile and a salute before turning his back to continue his conversation.

The boys didn't meet them half way, but that suited the girls just fine. They went running up the staircase as fast as they could, and when they finally met up, a conversation started about where to go first, what to look at, who to talk to, registration and arrival notification, getting timetables...and of course, Shikamaru wanted to know about getting some food. After a couple minutes, the herd charged up the stairs and up to the double doors.

"Wait!" Naruto's voice was loud and commanding, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Whaaat?" Ino's voice was whiny and impatient, and she crossed her arms in frustration; Tenten had to smirk.

Naruto continued on. "This is a special moment. I think she take a minute to admire what we're about to go walking into."

Everyone stared at him, shocked that the usually energetic and adventure-loving blonde was being so profound. Maybe out of pure shock, they stayed staring at the heavy polished oak in front of them for a minute.

Taking advantage of the brief pause in their quest, Tenten grabbed her phone out of her bag again and fired off another text to her mother's phone.

Finally got here! You guys would not BELIEVE the this place—it's amazing! I've only seen the outside, but so far, I love what I'm seeing! I'm sure the inside is going to be just as mind-blowing. I'll send pics later, promise. -Ten

She slipped the phone shut and put it back in her bag, not having any idea what kind of a shock she was in for.

And...that's a wrap.

This is where the ball starts rolling..plus, I love leaving people in suspense :)

Tell me what you think, R&R, leave me messages. Oh, and if you're into Twilight, be sure to check out my other two stories. Theres My Golden Eyed Future, about Alice and Jasper, and The Black Flower, about Renesmee and Jacob. Hope you enjoyed ^^

.xXx. Angel .xXx.