Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

A/N: Hisashiburi minna-san! Apparently, I've taken quite a long hibernation. School's still as bugging as always but hey, it's still fun. I want to apologize to our dear readers for the veeerryyy long delay in updating! But thanks to my beta-reader practically breathing down my neck, the story continues! Anyways, the latest chapter is finally here so let's all celebrate! Yay!

Chapter 24: Hell hath no fury than a Tenten scorned

Recap:

Sakura was slammed to the ground, her back hitting the floor. "Ow…" she winced, the pain radiating from her back to shoulder. But at least, Koichi-kun was unharmed. Tucking the baby securely in her arms, she sat up, only to be yanked by the hair by Tenten.

"I'm not yet done with you," she hissed in her ear. She raised her fist up high, ready to smash it on Sakura's cheek. "Because of you, my life was ultimately messed up. If only you are not around, it would've been better!"

Naruto's eyes widened. This was unbelievable! T had gone insane! "Don't, T!"

"Say buh-bye to your beautiful face, bitch!" And she brought her fist down with increased speed.

Sakura closed her eyes and prepared herself for the impact.

Naruto closed his eyes in order for him not to see Tenten beat the crap out of Sakura. When he didn't hear any cracking fists or blood curdling screams, he spread his fingers wide. As soon as he could finally see, he looked to where Tenten and Sakura were. Huge shock was clearly shown on his face.

"Uh-oh! I knew this would get worse!" he berated himself. Now he and Tenten would be in real trouble.

"I have to help!" Before he was about to set foot and help decrease the casualties, a hand grabbed his collar and raised him up a few feet off the air.

…………

She was expecting the blow that the other girl was about to give. She didn't know the cause of Tenten's anger. If there was something that she might have done to make the other girl mad she would've done something about it. But no, and now, she was being beaten for an offense that she didn't even know.

But…

She couldn't afford to lose in this fight.

And if she stood up and fought back?

Who knew what Tenten would do…?

So she decided not to fight…and just try to absorb the other girl's anger.

But the attack…never came.

Sakura opened her eyes.

And she gasped.

…………

"Put me down! Put me down!" Naruto yelled.

He was dropped to the ground. The blond teen rubbed his sore butt and glared at his attacker. "Couldn't you have dropped me a little nicer? You injured a hot guy's valuable asset!"

"Maybe if you didn't scream like a little girl then I might have considered."

"I-Itachi-san! How did you get in here?" Naruto immediately stood up upon seeing the other man's face. Itachi sighed heavily as he stared at the blond in front of him. He raised a brow.

"I see that we're having quite a dilemma here. Just when I thought ototou's problem was hard…seems like this one is the worse."

"Eh? Problem? Sasuke-chan has a problem?" Naruto's eyes brightened immediately at the mention of the other Uchiha's name. He turned his head around eagerly for signs of his friend. "Where is he? I knew that love won't keep us apart! Wherefore art thou, my Sasuke-chan?"

Itachi sweatdropped. But nonetheless he raised a finger and pointed where his brother was. Naruto followed the direction to where he was pointing. And the blonde sweat dropped as well when he finally caught sight of him. Sensing impending danger, well…it was already danger so all he had to do was to haul his ass off and get to him.

Still sighing, Itachi followed.

…………

A loud smack was heard in the quiet aisle.

Tenten froze.

Sakura gasped.

And a loud growl could be heard.

"Ow!"

Her face in a twisted frown, the brown-haired girl tried her best to retract her now-stiffening fist from its contact with a purpling cheek. Feeling a bit sheepish and embarrassed, she only glared at the person who suddenly went in-between her fight with Sakura. "What do you think you are doing? I don't remember you interfering with our fight!"

Said person rubbed his cheek. Behind him, Sakura whimpered. With the knowledge that he saved her again, she was going to add this one to her never-ending list of "I-owe-you's". She blindly reached for him, clutching his sleeve. "A-anou…she's right. You didn't have to jump in…"

To her surprise, he stared at her eyes and growled. "And let you get beaten into a bloody pulp? Not when I'm around." He placed a hand on her shoulder and bent towards her. "And not until you fix 'that' stupid mistake of yours."

She gulped then nodded anyways. She already knew what he meant by 'that' stupid mistake. When Koichi started to squirm, she cuddled him. Sakura was rewarded by soft Zzzss indicating that he was asleep. That settled she turned to watch the ongoing conversation between Tenten and her unmistakable knight-in-shining-armor.

With a purpling cheek.

…………

"Why did you have to do that?" Tenten demanded.

She was very angry, damn right.

Facing her and rubbing his cheek nonchalantly, the victim sighed. This was the second time he interfered and his infuriated friend didn't like it. However, he didn't care a damn of what Tenten thought. She was stepping rather illegally on his property and this time, he would make sure that she would learn her place. Wincing slightly at the pain in his cheek, he frowned at her.

"This has got to stop."

"What did you say?"

"I said this has to stop. Why the sudden madness, T? You're supposed to be calm. And picking a fight with Haruno is an unladylike thing to do."

Tenten went in a rage. Her? Mad? Unladylike? Her fist clenched and her jaw stiffened. Did he just side with that pink-haired hussy? She stomped towards him. "You called me unladylike? Gee, thanks a lot for that stupid display of gratitude!" She stopped in front of him and poked him angrily at the chest with her index finger. "And what about you? You chose her instead of me, your friend! Care to explain that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke did not say a word.

Instead, he stood firm and tall in front of Sakura. His coal-black stare bored into Tenten's own eyes, effectively keeping her in her place. Tenten tried her best not to fall under the spell of his evil stare. Even Medusa with her stone gaze would easily melt like butter under the Great Uchiha Sasuke's glare.

Focusing her gaze on Sasuke's black sneakers, she asked again. "Would you please care to explain yourself why you're choosing her instead of me, Sasuke?"

He shrugged. "I don't want you hurting people."

"That's bull! I know there's a reason behind your actions and I want to know it right now," she ranted. Oh how she wanted to smack the raven-haired Uchiha upside down and force him to see the truth. The foggy glasses he wore as a disguise must be affecting his eyesight. Or he was really born dense according to Professor Naruto's observations.

She stomped forward at him. "That hussy is Hyuuga Neji's girlfriend. And Hyuuga Neji is your rival! You're supposed to beat the crap out of your rival. But what's this? You're frolicking around with his girlfriend!" She pointed a finger accusingly at Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. She was beginning to understand the rationale behind the other girl's behavior. She never noticed the slight tensing of the Uchiha's shoulder or the twitching of his right brow. She gulped at the realization. "I see…this girl is…"

On the other hand, Sasuke was annoyed. This wasn't supposed to take long, he had to rush back home fast or everything he worked up so far would vaporize in thin air. Casting a slight glance at the girl next to him, he was surprised to see a thoughtful look in her pale face. 'What the hell is this girl thinking? She was about to be reduced to nothing but yet she looks like she knows something that I don't.' he thought.

But then his eyes caught something unusual.

And then the air suddenly turned cold.

Extremely cold.

…………

Naruto was almost close to his goal when he accidentally tripped on spilled milk and fell face first onto the floor. "Itai!" he yelped as he rubbed his nose. Quickly, he whipped a mirror out of his pocket and inspected the bruise forming on his nose. "Oh no! What should I do? I can't face my Sasuke-chan like this! My beautiful and be-whiskered face! Now RUINED!" he whined as tears fell from his eyes like a fountain.

He heard a small sigh behind him. Itachi stared at his crumpled form and commented wryly. "I feel sorry for you, Naruto-kun. Your perfectly tanned complexion has been marred. But I think if you stay on the ground long enough, you'll miss a very good drama."

"What?" Naruto looked up and see his two friends engaged in a staring contest. From his vantage point, he could see Tenten's tense back and shoulders. Her fist curled hard and her expression…well, furious. And he could also see his Sasuke-chan's rigid posture. And as always, there was that unreadable expression pasted on his face.

But something was wrong.

Naruto squint his blue eyes to get a clearer look.

And he panicked.

'Uh-oh! Now this is going to be even worse!' he screamed inwardly as he stood up and ran towards them. He knew that very 'look' and that same look might cause serious consequences. This was the second time he saw that look in the raven-haired Uchiha's eyes and no one, not even Tenten had seen it.

Well, except for him of course.

And he had to stop them.

Before one of them really gets hurt.

On the other hand…

Itachi clasped his hands together and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Aww…I forgot to buy popcorn! But I just can't afford to miss this!"

A/N: And there we go! The much awaited chapter! (Dodges stuff being thrown by the fans) Yup, we know! We know! We're gone for a long time and we want to apologize to the readers! We're very sorry for our disappearance. As you can see, my sister transferred to another country and well, i accompanied her until she adjusted. it's hard to be apart from her, and well, i keep close contact with my beta-reader so that the chapter will be done. yup, as it turns out everything is now taken care of!

Yup, and I have another announcement! As of this moment, I'm going to take over my sister's account for awhile! (TT) Yup, it turns out I'm also going to take over her works, you can check her out if you like. Her pen-name's crimsonbutterfly21 and her works are specialized in Naruto and Tennis no Oji-sama. She's also a good writer, I highly recommend her fic IZOU. But since she has to focus in her work and studies, I'm going to continue her work. Wow, do you think I'm suited to write a drama and angsty fic? Anyways, sorry to leave you guys hanging again! But it's good to be back and reunited with my ever sadistic beta-reader. Yeah, I missed her a lot when I left. Missed her hitting me on the head all the time! LOL.

B/N: (Bonks author on the head) I do not hit you all the time! Please forgive us for not updating on time. I'm extending my apologies and gratitude to our faithful readers. I promise, next time I won't let him do sloppy work! But, please be patient with him minna-san, since he's going to continue his sister's fic and there's a possibility that updating will be slow. But don't worry, we'll give you updates in our profile. Until now, ja ne!

A/N: That's my line! Anyways, since you missed us very much, we have something for you! Yup, you guessed it! The dreaded question!

"Who will win? Tenten or Sakura?" and "Will Naruto be able to make it in time to save his Sasuke-chan?"

Anyone who can guess the answer will win a date with our Sasuke in his nerd outfit! Hey, it's better that way or you'll spend the rest of your date hiding and fending off jealous fangirls! Till then, ja ne!