Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Naruto.

Destined to Love
By: Chigiri Sasaki

Summary: He was a prodigy, with a damaged past and no future. She was a commoner, with a hidden secret. Strung together by fate, it was only a matter of time before she changed his life forever. [AU, NejiTen]

Chapter Twenty

Tenten sneezed.

She wiped her face with her wet sleeve, and sighed when the rain blurred her vision again. It felt like days had passed since they had fallen off that cliff. There was no indication to tell how long they had been there. The sky was still dark as ever and the rain was still pouring at a constant rate. She was completely drenched and sneezed every time a chilly breeze hit her. Right now, she was so muddy and wet she couldn't remember how being dry felt like.

She glanced over at Neji, who sat calmly beside her. He didn't seem to be affected by the rain at all; he didn't even make a sound or show the slightest sign that he was cold. He actually looked like he was marble or something—the little droplets of rain hit his forehead and simply slid down the sharp bridge of his nose and the planes of his face. She watched as one particular droplet dripped from his chin to his neck, down his chest—she suddenly blushed. His wet (not to mention transparent) clothing clung onto his body. It revealed his chiselled, muscular body, somehow accentuating each sculpted muscle. She quickly looked away.

"So," she said after a while. "Are we just going to wait?"

"Yes."

"There's no exit?"

"Correction. There's no simple exit. It's hard to see anything in this kind of weather."

"I thought you had the Byakuugan."

Neji made a noise that sounded something like a scoff. "Byakuugan won't help much at the moment. There is a simple way to get out of here, obviously; we could climb up. However, that is clearly impossible at the moment."

"And it's a long way up," Tenten added. "If we slip halfway…"

"Exactly. We could technically find an alternate exit if we followed the river, but we're already lost enough as it is. I don't want to travel any farther. And from what I could see, the river widens later on and becomes a waterfall." He gestured towards the river and frowned. "See that? The rush of the river is way too fast right now. If we start walking now, then eventually there would be no more land to stand on. We can't possibly swim, even if it is our last resort. Not only would we lose sense of direction, but it would also be a hard struggle to not get carried away."

"So basically we're stuck."

"Yes."

"Yes, but there other possibilities, right? Like… Lee could find us."

"What are the chances of that? He's still waiting for the storm to clear up. And I doubt anyone else is out here—no one in their right mind would leave their home at a time like this."

"You did."

"I have the Byakuugan," Neji replied coolly.

"But you just said that you can't see—" Tenten sighed and gave up; she didn't have the energy to argue. "Great. Why did it have to rain? I mean, it's winter. Why couldn't it snow instead? At least we could do something with snow."

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"We could have a snowball fight, or even make a snowman." When she saw his expression, she added, "well, at least it's better than getting soaked like this!"

"It hardly ever snows in Konoha," Neji stated matter-of-factly. "And even if it does, it'll probably melt by the next day or so. You would never have enough snow to make a snowman, let alone have a snowball fight. And be grateful. If it was snowing you would be a lot colder than you are now."

"What are you talking about? I'm not co—" She let out another sneeze.

Neji's ivory eyes were unfathomable. "You should be in someplace warm."

Tenten smiled slightly. "Obviously. I'm okay though. It's really not that cold, and it's not like I'm going to get hypothermia." She felt another sneeze coming up, but she quickly stifled it by squeezing her nose. She smiled sheepishly when she caught Neji staring sceptically at her. "What? Okay, so fine, I'm cold. My fingers are freezing. But it's not like I can do anything about it. No one's coming for us and the storm's not going to clear up. And besides, I'm not going get sick by being in the rain."

"By being cold and wet, your immune system is weaker," Neji stated. "You don't know what we're susceptible to, especially with the ongoing epidemic."

"Yeah, well, we can't always live in that kind of fear."

"It never hurts to be cautious."

"Yes, of course. But at the same time, you can't always live in fear. You're always at risk, no matter where you are or what you're doing." Tenten smiled slightly. "Isn't that what being a ninja is all about? Knowing that you can die anytime—"

"But you risk your life anyway because it's your duty," Neji finished. "You risk your life because you have to."

"No, that's not what I was going to say. You risk your life because you want to. It's your choice to serve your own country and protect the people in it."

"Not everybody has a choice," Neji said quietly.

"Well, of course everybody does. We're all given freedom from the very beginning. Everybody has the right to choose whether they want to enrol in a regular school or the ninja academy. Every child that attends the ninja academy must want to grow up to be a great—"

"I wasn't talking about being a ninja."

Tenten blinked in surprise when she opened her mouth and had nothing to say. How exactly was she supposed to respond to that?

"We all like to think that we're free, that we have complete control over our lives. It's empowering to us humans." His ivory eyes were so lifeless, yet she could see underlying hints of sadness. Why were his eyes so sad?

Tenten chose her words carefully. "What's wrong with believing in that if it makes us happier?"

"Because," Neji replied flatly. "You'd eventually discover the truth."

"And… is the truth good or bad?"

"Sometimes both."

Tenten's brows furrowed in confusion. Why were his answers always so ambiguous and vague?

"Sometimes you'd convince yourself and dwell in absolute hatred before you realise you just wasted your time."

"I… don't understand what you're saying."

Neji suddenly averted his gaze. "Never mind. We should go. The rain is starting clear up. Let's get you to someplace warm."

"Neji, I—"

"Tenten! Neji!"

The owners of the voices had shouted their names altogether, yet because they were so far away, their calls sounded like mere echoes. Tenten craned her neck in relief to see three familiar faces. Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Lee stood by the edge of the cliff. Lee had one arm around a large tree, while his other arm was looped around Sasuke's. Sasuke was the cleanest amongst them and held Hinata's hand. Hinata, who had her Byakuugan activated, gripped tightly onto Naruto, who seemed to enjoy being covered in mud.

"Lee! Naruto! Hinata! Sasuke!" Tenten cheered happily, even though she knew her voice was drowned by the rain. She turned to Neji with the biggest grin. "They found us!"

" I do wonder what they're planning to do."

They suddenly both heard a distant shout that undoubtedly came from Naruto. Before they could figure out what he had yelled, a large cloud of smoke took over their visions, and by the time they opened their eyes again, they saw a large, red, bumpy frog that shook the grounds. They could only stare as Lee let go of the tree, and the four ninjas slid right off the cliff to land on the frog's back. The frog boss, also known as Gamabunta, croaked once, and then stuck out its front leg. "Get on, kids."

Tenten, who was tired and weak, had a bit of trouble jumping onto the frog's palm. Neji, who got slightly impatient, simply carried her with one arm and supported both of their weights with an extra boost of chakra.

"Tenten-chan, Neji-kun," Lee said the instant he caught sight of them. "Are you two alright? Did you end up getting the herb? How did you get all the way down there? Did someone fall? Someone, answer my questions!"

Tenten laughed breathlessly. "Well, yes, Neji did find the herb. And I was the one who fell—Neji found me and saved my life."

"Good thing Neji didn't let you die," Naruto added laughingly, patting Neji good-heartedly on the back. "Neji was actually useful, this time. A fall like that would ended your life."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You should stop talking, you idiot."

Naruto scoffed. "Oh yeah, Sasuke-teme? If I was such an idiot, then why would I bring… these?" Naruto reached into his backpack and fished out five ponchos.

"Oh, good job. You're supposed to wear it before you go out in the rain."

Before Naruto could retort, Tenten grabbed them and wore all five of them, layering them over her freezing body. "I wouldn't mind wearing them. Thanks, Naruto. And thanks for saving us, with…" She gestured towards the large toad awkwardly.

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing! Gamabunta-san is happy to help out. And see that, Sasuke? At least someone's grateful."

Gamabunta let out a noise that sounded like a loud burp. "I'm not exactly grateful to be in this situation, kid."

Hinata was the last one to say something. When she approached the two, her ivory eyes were close to tears. "Forgive me, Tenten, Neji-nii-san! I-I'm so sorry I couldn't find you two earlier—it was the rain, and the thunder, and my range isn't great enough to cover the entire forest—"

Tenten immediately gave the distraught girl a tight hug. "It's alright, Hinata, it's not like we broke a leg or anything. And plus, Neji saved me." It took a second for her to link Hinata's words to hers. Something didn't make sense; how was Neji able to find her, if Hinata said that her range wasn't wide enough?

It was like Lee read her mind. "Neji-kun, is your range that much greater than Hinata-chan's? How were you able to find Tenten-chan in such short notice?"

"I wondered that t-too," Hinata added thoughtfully. "I doubt even my father can s-search the entire forest with his Byakuugan. It surrounds almost all of the Fire country."

They all turned to cast Neji a questioning look, but the Hyuuga prodigy simply shrugged.

"It's not that hard to guess," Sasuke finally said, the corners of his lips twitching. "He probably stayed very close to Tenten so that he could keep an eye on her."

Hinata giggled. "T-that makes a lot more sense."

There was a great rumble beneath their feet, and all ninjas instinctively held onto Gamabunta's blue jacket. "Are you kids done yet?" Without waiting for an answer, the frog boss leaped from his strong hind legs and they were instantly out of the valley. They soared into the sky, and Tenten had never felt anything faster—all the raindrops pelted on her face, and she could barely see with all the air rushing into her eyes. Her fingers felt absolutely numb; she had never held onto something so tightly in her life. She could only imagine how hard the fall would be if she lost her grip. But then again, if Neji was there to save her again…

She turned to her side when she heard Naruto yell joyously. The blond was actually holding on with one hand, and with the other, he was swinging his Konoha headband wildly. It was like he had been doing this all his life.

Tenten turned to Hinata and mouthed, "he's crazy."

Hinata smiled softly.

Yamamoto Leiko sat quietly in her room, head leaned back against her great oak chair. Mornings spent at the Hyuuga manor were always peaceful. It was currently in the middle of winter, but she thought she would catch a whiff of spring if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough. She sighed. She was really beginning to get homesick—the only piece of home she had with her was her oak chair. The Hyuugas had kindly sent someone to the Rice country to fetch for her.

It was probably her favourite and most valued possession. It was passed down for generations. It first came into the family when her great-grandfather had gotten it custom made by a famous carpenter. She loved sitting in it; for some reason, she felt like she could always feel the ancient wisdom that belonged to its past owners. It always made her feel better. She didn't know where else she could get such inspiration or motivation.

Today, she was sitting in this chair because she was unsure of herself. She didn't know why she was here. At first, it seemed alright, since Neji was a handsome and polite guy, and the Hyuuga manor was even bigger than hers, and she was respecting her father's wishes. But lately, everything seemed to have changed. Firstly, she had never wanted to be here in the first place. And secondly, it wasn't like she had a good chance of winning Neji's heart; somehow, she knew that it would never be hers.

Just now, she was going over to Neji's room to talk, but she instantly stopped when she heard Tenten's voice. It was like Tenten beat her to it every time.

They were bickering, unsurprisingly. From what she heard, Tenten was trying to convince Neji that she should help him train for the tournament. And Tenten was winning the argument, too. It was such a simple matter but they just had to fight over that. However, despite the argument, she could tell that Tenten would always understand Neji on a different level. What was the point of her trying?

She could take yesterday, as an example. Most of the residents at the Hyuuga manor volunteered or were ordered to help out at the hospital. Leiko's shift ended late since it was raining, and she decided to stay at the hospital until the skies cleared up. It stopped raining around midnight.

It was almost pitch black when she exited the building. She remembered feeling cautious about the slightest sounds; she jumped when a bird swooped by. Suddenly, in the distance, she felt a large tremble and thought it was an earthquake. But it was only a large, humongous toad, carrying rather familiar people.

Neji and the rest of the ninjas slid off the toad quickly. Neji only acknowledged her with a nod when they all ran past. Leiko in return followed them back in, and stuck around for another while. She found out that Tenten had nearly lost her fingers; they were severely numb from being in the cold weather, and were coloured in an unhealthy pasty white.

Leiko was concerned; they all were. Yet, it almost seemed like Neji was the most responsible for it. Leiko didn't miss the way he kept his hands cupped around Tenten's, only letting go when the doctor instructed him to do so. Leiko also didn't miss the fact that late at night, after the doctor confirmed that everything would be fine, Neji watched Tenten sleeping for a full ten minutes.

Sighing, Leiko turned to her desk, grabbed her journal, and flipped to a fresh page.

Today, Tenten beat me again. I can't help but think that she's way better for him. Why do I have to be here? It's starting to get tough… I never knew that I would have competition. I almost wish that she was horrible and mean and everything, so I could justify disliking her. But she's so nice, I really can't help but like her, whether she's supposedly 'stealing my future husband' or not. I have to either try harder, or somehow convince my father that Neji isn't the right guy for me.

I wish I could talk to Izanami now.

"Hinata, Hinata, Hinata!" Tenten grinned cheerfully and she walked gracefully into the kitchen. She couldn't help but continue grinning as she inhaled the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread that contained a hint of cinnamon. She stood beside the Hyuuga heiress, grabbing a piece of bread and slathering it with whatever Hinata was dressing hers with.

"You're in a good mood today," Hinata replied with an equally cheerful smile. "How are your fingers?"

"Good as new!" Tenten balled her hands into a fist, and nodded in satisfaction. "It's such a relief knowing that my fingers are fine—I don't know what I would do if I didn't have them. Ah, the stupid rain. If it didn't rain, I wouldn't have been half as cold."

"Of course. It was a lot colder because you were c-completely wet, and then Gamabunta went flying, really adding the extra chill."

"No kidding. You're so lucky you weren't affected at all. I guess I'm just less durable than all of you guys."

"That's n-not true. We all came much later, and the rain wasn't as bad."

"Maybe, but, Neji was with me the entire time. I didn't see him shivering."

"I've never seen Neji shiver in my life," Hinata replied seriously.

Tenten raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? Wow. That takes some real tolerance."

"It really does. He trains in the same outfit, all year long. Whatever he wears in the summer, he would wear in the winter. I-it's almost like training with him—he's really all about mind over matter, and pushing the body beyond its limits. He would m-maybe throw on a jacket if enough people chided him."

"That's crazy," Tenten replied, "and you would think that he has weaknesses. That guy is practically invincible!"

Hinata's smile faltered. "Oh, I wouldn't e-exactly say that."

There was only silence then, as they both had nothing to say and no one else was in the small room. This was one of the many extra kitchens, built for the people who wanted to make something simple without going all the way to the main kitchen. Everyone else was eating their breakfast in the main dining room. She wasn't too fond of eating there. Even though most of the Hyuugas have accepted her, she still went out of her way to avoid the mean, cold Elders. They were all too silent for her liking anyway; she found it way too awkward to have so many quiet people in the same room. Sometimes she wished they weren't so controlled and orderly.

"So," Tenten said eventually, "are you planning to go to the festival? It's in a few weeks."

Hinata nodded fervently, seeming relieved that there was no more tension. "There has been so much advertising lately—I think it's an attempt to make things seem better."

"Well, there's always hope, isn't there? There's still lots of time until then, so I guess everyone has something to look forward to in the future."

"Of course. And, it'll give all the girls an ample amount of time to get ready."

"You make us all seem like girly girls."

"Aren't we all o-on the inside?"

Tenten chuckled. "That's true."

"So a-are you planning to go with someone?"

"Sure, with Sakura and Ino and the rest of the guys." Tenten's eyes twinkled. "It's too bad that I can't go with you."

Hinata blinked. "Why? I'd l-love to go…"

"Oh Hinata," Tenten said in a sly voice. "I'm sure you're planning to ask someone."

Hinata shook her head fervently. A slight tinge of pink surfaced on her cheeks. Normally it wouldn't be visible to the naked eye, but considering the paleness of her skin, the flush seemed quite apparent. "I… I don't k-know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?"

"I-It's j-just that…"

"Oh my gosh, he didn't break your heart, did he?"

"Of course Naruto didn't," Hinata replied instantly.

"So you are planning to ask Naruto."

"What? I—oh." Hinata sighed softly, and hung her head. She somewhat reluctantly looked back at Tenten, almost as if she was ashamed to admit her admiration towards the boy. "My family won't approve, of course. I d-don't want to give in, either. Naruto-kun's too important to me. But, at the same time, I don't want to risk too much. What if I give up everything? Would it be worth it? What if Naruto-kun doesn't care for me like the way I do for him? What if… what if he's just toying with me?"

"That doesn't sound like Naruto, and you know it." Tenten smiled reassuringly. "I don't know much, but Naruto seems like a really good guy. You're really lucky, Hinata."

The Hyuuga heiress smiled softly. "Thank you."

"And you know, sometimes you just have to jump and risk everything. You see that in all the movies—and hey, don't they all have happy endings?" Tenten chuckled. "And I don't believe for a second that you're not willing to jump that leap of faith. I mean, you're crazy about him—I haven't known either of you two for a long time, but I can tell already. Just describe him for me."

Hinata stared down at her fingers, twiddling her thumbs. "Well, I d-don't know. What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you want. What's it like, being with him?"

"I don't know how to describe him."

"If you don't know, then why do you meet up with him every morning?"

"Because… because I feel like I h-have to. Being with him… being w-with him feels amazing—beyond this world. It feels like… it feels like there's no one around us, and we have everything to ourselves. He m-makes…" The rest came faster, stronger, and with each word she sounded more confident. "He makes me feel so at e-ease, so special—like there's nothing wrong with whatever I believe in because it's who I am. He's never afraid to be himself in front of me. He's the easiest person to talk to, because he's actually a great listener. He's a lot more intelligent than everyone thinks he is. At first, he may seem like the silliest, most immature and carefree creature in the world—and he is. Yet at the same time, he suffers a lot more than he lets on. But he's still pure. He has faith in everyone… there's not one speck of darkness in his heart. He's always willing to help people. He's determined, he's kind, he's hardworking… He's everything that I want to be. I have my issues. But when I'm with him, I forget all my flaws… it feels like… it feels like there's nothing else in the world that matters."

A moment of silence passed, and then Tenten finally breathed out and whistled. "And you're really doubting Naruto? Something doesn't seem to fit."

"I'm not doubting Naruto," Hinata said softly. "Perhaps I'm too afraid… whether I'm afraid of my family's reaction, of my father's approval, of getting hurt, I don't know."

"It's worth it."

"I know, I k-know. I can't bear losing our friendship, our closeness. He's just—"

"Disapproved of," a cold voice interposed. Both Hinata and Tenten jumped slightly from the sudden interruption. The presence had appeared without them noticing, and seemed to have eavesdropped for the most part of their conversation. "You shouldn't be viewing this boy like this," it continued, "as you are completely out of his league. A low-class person such as himself should know that."

Neji was standing by the doorway, his strong frame leaning against the wood, his arms crossed in a formal way that clearly expressed his current expression. His lips were set into a firm line.

Hinata instantly bowed with her hands clasped together in respect for her older cousin. "G-good a-afternoon, Neji-nii-san."

Tenten simply nodded in acknowledgement. "Hey."

Neji raised an eyebrow at her casualness. "I thought you said we would meet outside. It's been twenty minutes."

"Oh! I totally forgot. I'm sorry, Neji—I'll come now."

Neji simply swerved around to exit. Tenten quickly swallowed her breakfast, waved Hinata goodbye and followed Neji into the training grounds. It felt like they had done this for the longest time; Tenten couldn't help but reminisce the first time she had challenged him to a duel. She had won—and it was a well deserved victory, even though Neji was out of chakra by then. She quickly fell into a new stance she had seen somewhere, and smiled when it felt comfortable enough. She quickly lunged forward, and attacked Neji with moves she couldn't even recognise. It almost felt like she had done this before.

"Have you been training?" Neji asked suddenly, as he swiftly blocked her fancy sequence of punching and kicking. He ducked and quickly lunged to strike her lower half.

"I remember these moves," Tenten replied when an instant, split-second flashback hit her. "I… remember this. I've done these when I was younger."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…" Tenten immediately felt an adrenaline rush—the urge to strike harder, to strike faster. She suddenly saw an opening—she quickly latched onto his shoulder blade and spun around him, dodging Neji's punch to her stomach. He seemed to be rather befuddled by the body contact, but quickly came back to his senses and ducked to sweep her off her feet. Tenten instantly used this opportunity to push onto his shoulders and launched herself into the air. She landed gracefully, followed by various flips.

There were a few claps in the background. Both of the teens spun around to look.

Neji instantly scowled. "Hiro-sama."

"Neji," Hiro acknowledged politely, but his attention was focused on Tenten. "Hello, Tenten."

"Hi."

"My, you're quite good. No wonder Neji wants to train with you for the competition… looks like he has a secret weapon now."

A hint of pink surfaced Tenten's cheeks. "It's nothing, really."

"I wouldn't say that—I've been watching you for a little while, and I must say that I'm impressed."

Neji suddenly stepped in front of Tenten, shielding the brunette from Hiro. "Why are you here? Where is this praise coming from?"

Before Tenten could say anything, Hiro firmly pushed Neji aside. "What, I can't have a conversation?"

"It's not much of a conversation if you don't have anything meaningful to say."

"Well actually, I came here to say that Hiashi-sama wishes to see you."

There was a moment of silence. For a good minute or so, Neji was blatantly glaring at Hiro and Hiro was gazing back, equally as coolly. Tenten was the only one who stood between them, glancing between the equally intimidating Hyuugas. Finally, Neji spun around, heading back to the Hyuuga manor. The disdained expression on Hiro's face immediately disappeared when he smiled at Tenten. "I thought he would never leave."

Tenten mustered an awkward smile. "Yeah, I guess."

"So how are you? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you in a while."

"I'm good, thanks. You?"

Hiro chuckled at the polite answer. "Now, is it really necessary to be formal around me? You seem comfortable enough with other people."

Tenten shrugged shyly. "I act differently?"

"Sure."

"Who do I look comfortable with, then?"

"Neji."

Tenten blinked in surprise. "Neji? No, I'm pretty—"

Hiro interposed quickly before she could mindlessly babble in an attempt to justify her denial. "So you're probably wondering why I really came here."

"To tell Neji…?"

"No." Hiro shook his head and grinned dashingly as he leaned in, sending shivers down Tenten's spine. "I actually wanted to talk to you—alone."

"Sure," she replied in an odd tone—she had no clue as to where this conversation was going. "You have my attention now."

"Good. So I was just wondering"—he flashed her a dazzling smile—"if you wanted to go to the dance with me."

"Dance…? Oh—oh. You mean the festival. Um…" Tenten shuffled her feet, glancing at anywhere but the handsome Hyuuga that stood before her. Somehow, she felt uneasy; she was unsure as to why she felt awkward and uncomfortable in her current predicament. Hyuuga Hiro was probably one of the few guys that a million girls would kill to date. He was everything that a perfect date would be depicted as—he was handsome, tall, strong, smart, rich, and confident. He was a smooth talker. He knew how to treat a girl properly. On the other hand, she was just a plain girl. She was no prettier than any other village girl. But here she was, being asked out by a guy that literally defined the word 'perfection'. So why was she hesitating? What was wrong with her?

Quickly, before she could regret her decision, she blurted out, "yes."

"Excellent. And just in time, too—here comes Neji, and he looks grumpy." Hiro stood up to greet the rather annoyed prodigy. "Neji."

Neji narrowed his pearly white eyes. "What did you do? Hiashi-sama never called for me."

"I didn't do anything. Don't jump to conclusions so quickly," Hiro replied easily. "Just wanted to talk to Tenten alone. It's hard to do so when you're always around her."

Neji resisted the urge to ball his fists; he wanted nothing more than to wipe off Hiro's smug smirk. "She's the one following me all the time," the prodigy replied stiffly. "And what did you say to her?"

"There's a reason why I wanted you gone. You're not supposed to know."

"You better not have asked her—"

"I didn't."

"Does your w—"

"Since when do you care about anything, Hyuuga Neji?" Hiro's tone was so oddly curious it sounded patronizing. "I'm curious. Am I bothering you now because it is Tenten that I'm talking to?"

When Neji had nothing to say, Hiro only chuckled. It was so effortless and easy to render the boy silent. They both knew who was impotent and where they each ranked in the family. Finally, the taller boy patted Neji's back, bid Tenten farewell, and then left the training grounds without another word.

After a few hours of vigorous, silent, uninterrupted training, Tenten sauntered back into her room, breathing heavily. Technically, she would be still training right now with Neji if it weren't for her appointment with Akio Takashi. Akio was the name of the world's richest artist that also did photography. He approached her a little while ago, and asked her if she was interested in modelling for some of his projects. Tenten only agreed because Sakura, who Akio had also approached, took up on his offer. They decided that they were both going to feature in his next project.

Tenten quickly took a shower, changed into her usual attire, and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. She left her face completely bare. She didn't know what to expect – it wasn't like she was a professional model who knew what one should look like when arriving onto set.

She grabbed a bottle of water, dug out the piece of paper containing the address from her drawer and left her room. She nearly dropped everything when she saw Neji standing by her door. "Neji," she greeted breathlessly in surprise. "What are you doing? I thought you were—"

"Where are you going?"

Tenten knew she would sound stupid if she said she was going to model for Akio Takahashi. After all, didn't she tell him that she aspired to be like Tsunade? Quickly hiding the address, she replied lightly, "I'm just going to meet up with someone, that's all."

"Is it Hiro?"

Tenten blinked. What was up with him and Hiro? "No, Neji, I'm not meeting up with Hiro. I'm actually going to see Sakura." That technically was the truth.

"Fine," Neji said simply, and swerved around to leave.

"See you later, then?" Ignoring his strange attitude, Tenten went back to her room to wait for a little while. She didn't want to follow him on their way out—it would simply be too awkward.

By the time she arrived at the set, it was late in the afternoon. She had no idea as to how late she was, since she had been running the entire time and it was like she had never taken a shower. She needed the help of two different people to find the isolated building—it was in a rather deserted part of Konoha, where most of the residents were old and had no need to be close to the busy town. She was extremely surprised when she entered the seemingly ratty and dark place.

It was all white and bright once she was let in. It was like the outside was simply a disguise, so that no one but the elderly knew where Akio Takahashi worked.

"Ah! Tenten!" Akio, looking rather sharp in a black blazer and turtleneck, gave her a light hug and gestured her to follow him down the wide hallway. "It's a good thing you're early. I didn't know that you two would show up an hour before."

Tenten raised her eyebrows. "An hour, really?"

"Yes, it's only four o'clock now. I suppose four o'clock is fine too, since there's no harm in having more time for preparation."

"When are we going to take the shots?"

"At six, my dear. The sunlight at six is softer, not as harsh and much more natural."

"Right." As they continued their way down the hallway, Tenten passed by many impressive paintings and various light pencil sketches that were framed. "Are these all yours?"

"Yes, but they're simply for my own eyes to see. They're not suitable to be sold to the public."

"But you have so many fans; I'm sure everything will be sold."

Akio chuckled. "These are far from being presentable—they're merely inspirations or drafts of my next big project. And don't you know? The more rare your works are, the more they're worth. I don't want everyone having something that Akio Takahashi created."

"I thought paintings only become valuable after the artist dies."

"Well, I'm still alive and I am rich, aren't I?" Akio grinned and opened a door to their left. A light, floral scent immediately flooded their senses, and Tenten was greeted to rows and rows of lit-up mirrors, accompanied by fancy chairs and various tools. All the stations were empty at the moment, except for one—a familiar pink-haired girl occupied it. "Here's Sakura, getting her hair done. Sit in the chair next to hers, and wait for my beauty consultants to work on your hair too." He approached Sakura's chair and gazed at her through the mirror. "Sakura, ah, the beautiful Sakura-san. I love your hair—I don't think we need to do any work on it. I think it's ready."

Sakura grimaced. "I just came back from the hospital. I was working the entire time."

Akio nodded in approval. "Yes, and that is exactly why it's perfect for the theme. Now, onto makeup!" He gestured towards Sakura's face as he instructed the makeup artist. "Is her face washed?"

Nakuru, the redheaded makeup artist, nodded and waved her hand airily. "Exfoliated, cleansed, moisturised. Since when do I not properly prep our models' faces?"

"Good. That's the reason why you're still here. Well, I don't want much on her. Just maybe conceal those under eye circles, and dust some bronzer as blush—start from the temples, and—yeah, that's it—I want a bit of contouring too. Everything must be matte, except for maybe a bit of shimmer as highlight on her cheekbones. That natural, glowing look—well, you know what kind of image I want, Nakuru."

Nakuru laughed and began dipping a fluffy brush into a shimmery powder. "I've got everything under control."

"Good, good. Now… onto Tenten." He walked towards Tenten and spun her chair around so that she was facing him. Akio inspected her face. "I think… I think that Tenten should not wear makeup at all! Her look is perfect. Her skin is perfect—not a pimple or blackhead in sight. Great structure—I love the cheekbones. Just remove some of the excess oils—there seems to be a bit of sweat—girl, have you been running?"

Tenten smiled sheepishly. "I got here as fast as I could."

"You were an hour early." Akio clicked his tongue in disapproval when he lifted a lock of her hair. "My… such… such clean hair."

"I took a shower and washed my hair today."

"That's the wrong look though," Akio noted, more to himself than to her, and he observed the ends of her ponytail. "And your hair is so horrendously cut. There's no style whatsoever… and there are quite a few split ends—when was the last time you trimmed your hair?"

"Uh… I actually don't remember."

"That's horrible," Rika commented and she lifted tufts of her thick, wavy brown hair. "It's like she cut her hair herself. Tell me, Tenten, do you ever leave your hair down?"

"No, not really." Tenten shrugged. "I usually just tie it up."

Rika nodded understandingly. "No wonder no one ever told her she needed a haircut."

Tenten frowned—she had never thought her hair was that bad. She was hardly ever commented on her appearance, so she had no idea that her hair was that supposedly horrendous. But then again, she never knew her bone structure was great, either.

"Don't worry, Tenten," Rika said kindly. "We can always do something about your hair. So what shall we do, Akio-san?"

Akio put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, her hair is so… old-fashioned, uncared for. It's supposed to look modern, with texture, and colour and shine." He continued to grab a lock of her hair. "Well, we can start by messing up her hair, Rika. Trim the ends, especially. Give her lots of layers. Tease the crown slightly, pull the bangs away from her face, smooth the ends. Should we consider highlights? Her hair is so plain—no, that won't look completely natural. I want that distressed, choppy yet chic and natural look." After a moment, he seemed satisfied enough with the progress and decided to leave. "I shall go prepare… see you two in a little while."

"He's really… commanding," Sakura said after he left. She laughed. "How do you guys manage to understand everything?"

Rika chuckled. "We're professionals, dear. We're hired to follow all the commands of any demanding photographer. And, you look absolutely gorgeous, Sakura. You should definitely consider being a model."

"True," Tenten added with a smile, "but she's too busy helping people and being a ninja. Speaking of which, how are things?"

"The usual… the patients have almost stopped coming in, but there are still a lot of people to treat. It's really hectic."

"Did Tsunade-sama find a cure?"

"She's working on it. I personally think she's restarting every week."

Tenten didn't know what to say next, so she kept quiet. Finally, she asked, "Amaya?"

"Amaya's… doing alright."

A frown marred the straight line of Tenten's lips. "Sakura…"

"She's going to leave, Tenten. She doesn't only have this bug crawling in her brain. When she first came in a few weeks ago, we all thought that she just had brain tumours—but it turned out that they were the beginnings of this epidemic. However, now that the virus has stabilized in her body, we discovered that she really does have brain tumours. They're at the final stage—there is honestly no hope, Tenten. She's going to die."

"No, no—no, there has to be some way," Tenten insisted. "She's so young—why can't she go through surgery? Can't you remove the tumours?"

"We don't have the time, or the money. We spent way too much money finding a cure for this new disease, and Konoha isn't earning much money at the moment. Tsunade-sama's not accepting any missions."

"Why can't the Tanaka's pay for it? They're rich, aren't they? And don't they have a bunch of herbs? They should have some kind of rare herb or something that you can use!"

"Maybe, maybe not. Again, they receive all their stocks from sources outside the Fire country, but we severed all connections. We cut all our resources, because we're vulnerable right now and any country that is targeting us could easily sneak in another virus. So right now we're basically living on anything we could find here. But even if we did have the money and resources, we can't perform anything on Amaya. She's too weak. She also lost a lot of blood from the coughing fits."

"No blood transfusions?"

"We're constantly giving her them, but her body is still fragile and she has an abnormally weak immune system. She's still only a child. Tsunade-sama thinks she won't make it if she undergoes surgery."

"Well, shouldn't you try? If she's going to die either way, then you should at least try to save her! If she undergoes surgery, at least she'll have a chance of surviving!"

"Exactly," Sakura said grimly. "We know she's going die either way—that's why we want to her live the rest of her life normally."

"What normal life?" Tenten burst out. "She's cooped up in a hospital and is coughing up blood everyday!"

"Surgery will cut her life short, and preparation for such a serious surgery will take time," Sakura replied, her voice rising as well. "We're only going to waste money and time by performing surgery on her. She might as well live the rest of her life like this, with people visiting her and looking out the window all day long. She's going to be drugged before she dies—at least she'll die in peace. It's way better than slicing her open and then watching the life in her eyes pass out!"

Tenten stopped immediately; she suddenly saw Sakura's lifeless and tired eyes and instantly felt guilty for shouting at her like that. Of course she was working as hard as she could—everyone in the hospital was—and obviously they were trying their best to save every patient.

"I'm sorry, for shouting at you like that," Tenten said quietly. "I know you're trying your best, and I can see that you're really tired. It's just that… it's just that it isn't fair."

Sakura gave one, short laugh. "Is life ever fair?"

Starting from there, the girls began catching up on much more positive things, such as what they were planning to wear to the festival, or how some of the contestants decided to drop out of the tournament. Sakura even inquired Tenten about Hinata's secret affair with Naruto. Tenten wondered how Sakura could've known, but the pink-haired girl quickly explained how the chemistry had always been there, and that there was really no point in hoping that Hinata would like someone else.

They were all livened up and much more cheerful by the time everything was prepared and they were led to the set. The photo shoot, they found out, was taking place in a park. There was no one else around, and there were no swings or seesaws or anything of that sort. There was nothing but grass in a vast area, and large trees that provided shade for the rest of the crew.

Akio was wearing as simple, grey V-neck t-shirt with a pair of dark jeans. He was testing the lighting, walking around and picturing how some poses could work. He finally turned to the girls. "Well, hello ladies," he said, nodding professionally. "Are you two ready?"

Sakura nodded slightly. "Although, I can't say that I will be good…"

"I haven't had any experience," Tenten added. "I don't even read fashion magazines."

Akio waved his hand airily. "Never say that! I like the models with little to no experience. The ones that are professional… they seem to do well, but eventually the poses become redundant, and the intensity in the eyes and whatever gets boring. Newer models usually bring something fresh to the table, and I see that freshness in the both of you. It's actually better that you don't read those magazines, Tenten—it only means that you're under no influence. Don't try to look like someone else—just relax and let your mind disconnect from your body. Find your own, effortless look. Don't over think it. Is this understood?"

Tenten and Sakura nodded.

"Good. So today, we're actually going to shoot a cover for a book. I won't tell you what it's called, since it hasn't come out yet and I can't let it leak. However, I will tell you that it has to do with best friends, and both of them have to deal with addictions. Yes, a cliché idea, but there are some extra interesting twists. The character you're going to portray, Sakura, is addicted to drugs. Tenten's character is addicted to someone who is no good for her. Both of you, however, have to deal with the death of a loved one, whether it be a family member, or a lover, or a friend."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Are we supposed to portray that into the cover?"

"Yes and no. To me, one of the basic appeals of these characters is that they look nothing like drug addicts or suffering teenagers. They're described as carefree, beautiful, innocent-looking girls, and no one ever suspects them of being that pained. It's partially the irony, partially the dark, hidden pain, partially the unbreakable bond between the girls that makes it such a beautiful story. So what I want you to do is simply give me a picture that depicts pure freedom and happiness. I want light-hearted smiles and laughs, but, there has to be a hint of darkness. That is why I chose this lighting—the sun's still up, but the sky's dark on one side and there are shadows cast."

Tenten and Sakura were then ordered to stand in the middle of the field, and simply pose. Neither of them knew what they were doing, and the fact that a crew of twenty people were watching them made the two even more awkward. For the first hour, both of them couldn't feel comfortable at all, and it was evident in the shots.

"You two have to relax," Akio said. "There's too much tension in the shoulders, and don't try to posture so much."

Sakura nodded. "Should I move it to this angle?"

"No angles. Just fall on the ground, as you normally would after a long, tiring battle."

"I thought you said we had to look carefree."

"Yes, so pretend that you're just resting after a long game of tag or something." He pointed the camera towards them. "Tenten, move to the side, stare into the distance, and think about your dying loved one. Sakura, look towards the camera. Bring some sad intensity in your eyes, but you have to relax your lips—no, don't let them droop. You have to control them… Perfect. No, don't care about the wind—Tenten, you can try falling into it. You're happy; you're the definition of purity and innocence. Well, appearance wise anyways."

Tenten tried her best to follow his instructions. She tried to have that dazed look, where she would be staring out into the distance, as if she was waiting for someone to come rescue her. She was wearing a shapeless white garment, with just a black ribbon that wrapped around her waist. She tried to enhance the shape of her body; the wind was blowing from behind, so she tried to accentuate the curves of her back while trying to give a natural, effortless smile. She stayed close to Sakura, who was on her knees, facing towards the camera, and had a similar ribbon tied around her neck.

"Your eyes are blank, Tenten," Akio stated. "Your face is getting lost in your hair. Don't turn too much to the side."

Tenten tried to do as she was told, but somehow her eyes wouldn't portray the right emotion. She had no idea as to how to appear happy and delicate, yet sad at the same time.

"Pretend you knew a sad secret," Akio suggested, walking around them. "As if you had cancer but you didn't want to worry anyone."

"Or," Sakura murmured beside her, "as if you knew that someone was going to die from an epidemic."

Tenten immediately thought of Amaya—the innocent little girl was going to die, yet she was constantly still so happy. She lived in the hospital, but she never let that bother her. She seemed even happier than Tenten, who had lived way longer and still had many more years to come. Why did Amaya have to die? Tenten suddenly recalled her big, bright eyes and uplifting smile.

"Tenten-nee-chan, I sometimes think of you as my fairy godmother."

She was so young, yet she still had hope. Which was what this entire shoot was supposed to portray, right? She was supposed to play a character who was constantly suffering on the inside. She would never let anyone else know about her pain; she didn't want to burden anyone. She would smile through her tears; she would laugh, even though she was dying on the inside. Yet, despite the dark secrets, there would always be hope. Was this what Akio wanted to capture? The classic portrayal of how humankind was dark and cruel, but there would always be hope? That one should always fight, because everything would be okay in the end?

Tenten took a deep breath, and finally stepped into Amaya's shoes. Amaya, you will live, damn it.

"She finally got it," Akio suddenly murmured, and the photo was taken.

That night, Tenten returned to the Hyuuga manor to see that Neji was missing from his room. She found him back in the training grounds once more, and like a few days ago, he was working on his aim. He was using the same targets, except they were more ragged than ever, since it had been raining. A black shuriken was shot, but it hit another shuriken that was lodged into the wooden board. As a result, the little black piece of metal bounced off and fell onto the ground.

Her eyes softened as she sighed in admiration. She couldn't help but admire his constant persistence, his willpower, his determination—it was like nothing could stop him from doing what he wanted. She could almost see why he had so many female followers; maybe there really was something under that darkly handsome face. He knew what he wanted in life, and every goal was important to him. He stopped at absolutely nothing to achieve his dreams. Sure, he was always cold and reserved, but there were moments where he showed his softer side. He was actually nice and caring—she couldn't help recalling yesterday, when he cupped his warm hands around her cold ones.

And he was also definitely nice to look at. His face was flawless, and he had the muscular body to match. He wasn't overly bulky, or lanky; he was tall with broad shoulders and lean, prominent muscles. His arm muscles flexed every time he shot a weapon—they actually stretched the material of his attire. Of course, he wore a longer, warmer attire that was suitable for the colder weather of Konoha. She wondered if he trained shirtless during the summer.

She snapped out of her thoughts when a kunai clashed against a shuriken. Now that Tenten looked closer—she realised that every inch of the target board was covered, except for the centre. If it weren't for the tiring day, she would've laughed. "You're still having trouble?"

Neji grunted.

"You're not doing it right," Tenten said thoughtfully. "Try stretching your arm completely when you extend it."

"I don't need you to tell me the basics."

"Well, just trying to help. You might know what you're supposed to do, but unconsciously do it incorrectly." When he missed again, Tenten stood up from the ground. She was about to approach him when he held a hand up, telling her to stop. "Neji, try using more of your shoulder and your whole arm. You can't depend on your wrist and expect the shuriken to go a far distance."

"My aim is fine."

"Yes, but is 'fine' good enough to satisfy your standards, Neji? You're training for this hard for a reason."

Neji frowned. "I can hit the targets."

"Yes, but you can do better. Like"—she quickly summoned five weapons, and shot them at five different targets consecutively—"this."

Neji remained silent when all of her weapons hit the centre. Her aim hit the dead centre, even though her fingers were frozen just yesterday. He glanced at her lithe, effortless movements; maybe she did have a thing or two to teach him. He tried to mimic her movements, but that strategy failed when he missed completely. How was it possible that she was able to hit all the targets, but he couldn't? Neji, now more determined than annoyed, began to shoot another shuriken, followed by various kunai, followed by scythes.

"Here," Tenten suddenly said when Neji was ready to shoot another weapon. She touched his fingers lightly, positioning them in a way that would make wrist movement easier. Neji didn't even flinch when her fingers guided his. However, he resumed back to his normal method right before releasing. He seemed to be resolute in his refusal to admit that she was better.

"Neji! No, you shouldn't have moved your fingers again—doesn't your index and ring finger hit each other? When you shoot a needle, you need to launch it with two fingers. It's not the same as shooting a kunai."

Neji didn't respond and began attacking his targets.

"Neji! You're still not doing it right! See—"

Neji would have easily ignored her, as he normally did, but she suddenly went behind him and grabbed both of his arms. At the unexpected physical contact, he felt all his muscles contract. He instantaneously twisted, sending her away, but she was still holding onto his arms and as a result, they both toppled over.

"Get away from me," Neji growled lowly. He wanted to say more—he really did, but he suddenly found himself lost in her seemingly endless brown eyes.

It was hard, keeping his cool demeanour intact. His annoying peer tutor was on the ground and he was on top of her, his entire body pressed against hers. He was reacting quite differently than he had expected. His heart was suddenly pounding and he felt a hot, burning sensation all over his body. It struck a new part of his heart, or brain, or whatever controlled that feeling—that feeling of desire and yearning. What was this? It was impossible that he felt that way. He had spent just about the past few weeks avoiding her and convincing himself that she was up to no good. Neji desperately tried to gather his senses so he could pick himself off Tenten, without any more of his uncharacteristic behaviour or those little chats she was trying to engage him in.

But as he was contemplating this, he suddenly felt something soft touch his cheek. He froze completely as Tenten stroked his cheek, gazing into his ivory eyes with an unreadable expression. He felt his heart stop and couldn't move.

"Neji-kun? Neji-kun? Where are you?"

Leiko's call could be heard throughout the entire garden and training grounds. The fingers that were on Neji's cheek immediately left and he felt Tenten push him off her rather roughly. Finally snapping to his senses as well, he stood up stiffly.

"Sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking," Tenten whispered quickly. Before he could register her words, he saw her disappear into the Hyuuga household. His head was light and swirling. He could hardly think. What had just happened? It felt like he was numb—almost the same numbness he felt when his chakra points were shut off, but not quite. There was something more, something underlying—a strange, strong yearning. Eyes narrowed, he stared at the ground before kicking it savagely.

None of this was supposed to be happening. He promised himself that he would commit to becoming one of the strongest ninjas, even if he died protecting someone of the main family. He trained day and night for that purpose, and was even recognised for his strength and abilities. Yet, what kind of prodigy was he if he couldn't even escape a mere situation like that? He couldn't even stand up. And it was all because of a commoner.

Meanwhile, Tenten was inside the house, storming to her room. Why was she so dishevelled and in such turmoil? He had simply fallen over her, which was something common that happened to ninjas during a battle. What about Neji that made her react so… so much?

She couldn't see or hear anything that was happening around her. Why had she done that? But when he was on top of her, when she felt his body against hers, when she felt his muscles tighten, she couldn't think—she couldn't breathe. All of a sudden, she just had the urge to reach up and touch his flawless face. She wanted to look into his beautiful eyes and get him to accept her. She wanted to know more about his past. She wanted him to open up to her.

Yes, she had a right to know more about him. Getting him to open up was a part of her job as a peer tutor. But there was no excuse as to how her body had reacted—how could she possibly explain why her heart fluttered? It took Leiko's call to break the trance she was in—Leiko, as in Neji's future wife.

Tenten shook her head fervently. She had to clean up her act. She was here to make him a better person. That was it.

"Tenten."

It took her a moment to realise that someone was calling her. She looked up, and smiled sheepishly. "Huh? Oh, hi Hiro."

He chuckled. "In a rush?"

"Sort of."

"Then I must not get in your way," he said understandingly. He turned to his side to make room for her, even though there was plenty of space in the Hyuuga corridor. "Tell me though, Tenten, how was your day?"

She raised an eyebrow at his casualness. "Great," she muttered, walking past him. "Just great."

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A/N: I'm finally done a chapter, and this time it didn't exceed 10,000 words! Woo for a (kind of) short chapter! Aheh, I love how my story just talks about the most random things. I know, it's going soooo slow, but I honestly think that it's unrealistic for the classic "i-move-in-to-a-new-place" and then "i-meet-everyone" and then "neji, you're-hot-and-bam-we're-in-love" type of thing. Granted that that's a lot more interesting to read, since it's always full of action and chemistry, but life isn't like that. Those stories (like Twilight) are always fun to read, but they're just an idealised version of what we want love to be, not what it actually is.

Well anyway, I guess that I couldn't keep my promise from the previous chapter. (Sorry!) Summer has been absolutely hectic, and I actually didn't have much time to sit down to write. There were (obviously) moments where I would just sit there and do nothing, but I've done a lot with my summer. Between swimming lessons, and piano lessons (I had an RCM examination for ninth grade… it was terrifying), and my volunteering (OMGGGG, there was this really, really, really, really hot guy.. he was seriously sex on legs – I mean, his arms, his abs, his voice, mmmm), and my cousin's wedding (I travelled to Toronto!), and hanging out with friends (I probably spent 5000$ this summer), and reading four books for school (I only started one, boo), I guess I didn't have all the time in the world to write my story. Not that I'm going to give up… I hate having unfinished projects.

Well, school's starting in 13 days for me, and I'm going to be in tenth grade. I'm only looking forward to going back to school because I'll get to see everyone again. That's it. The schoolwork, and the extra pressure… bleh.

So peoples! How were your summers & what do you like best about going back to school? :)

I'm really nosy, and I'm always curious about what you guys have to say, so enlighten me! Haha.

Love always,
Chigirii