Wow. Wow is all I can say. I'm at over 100 reviews. It's all thanks to you! I am so grateful you all love this story so so much! It makes me so happy! :D you rock! Thank you thank you thank you! That's all I can even say! Long chapter for my lovelies! Thanks sooo much for waiting ;) you're so great.
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
Chapter 22~ Sasuke and Juro; clash
.
.
.
.
Tenten rose extra early that next day, around 4:45 A.M. She sat up in the bed and looked at the sleeping Uchiha by her side. He was so peaceful. His naked chest was rising and falling with each deep breath he took. A soft smile spread across the konoichi's face as she admired him. As she stared at him, she remembered yesterday's events. She had been so weak, and she could hardly rest easy knowing that. So today she was determined to prove herself and everyone else by getting some good training in before dress shopping with Hinata and Ino.
Carefully and slowly, Tenten lifted the comforter off of her body and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Once her bare feet were on the ground, she slowly crept to her dresser and slipped on some black shorts and a red, tight fitting tank. She continually checked over her shoulder, making sure her movements were not wakin the sleeping Uchiha. Sighing silently when she realized he was still sleeping soundly, Tenten made her way down the hall into the kitchen. She was going to make sure she did have breakfast, it could very well have been the cause for her lack of stamina and energy yesterday, although she doubted it.
She knew cooking something was out of the question, seeing as how it could awaken Sasuke, so she settled for water, juice and a protein bar. She grabbed these things, shoved them in a small black backpack and rushed out the door slipping her shoes on as she stepped outside. Gotta train real hard today, ne? She thought to herself as she munched on her protein bar and walked toward the training grounds. The sun was barely peaking out of the sky, and the moon was still setting. It was quite early after all, and a slight chill was lingering in the air.
Tenten finally arrived at the training grounds and placed her backpack on the ground next to a tree stump. She took a quick swig of her water and then placed it back in her bag on the ground. After tying her hair up in a high pony tail, she stretched a bit and then began sprinting fast and hard. By lap one she could feel her stamina slowly start to leak, but this only made her run harder, and faster. It angered her to be loosing strength rather than gaining it. It was against team Gai's rules, their very motto was: 'Stronger today than you were yesterday.' It mattered. Strength mattered to Tenten. Tenten knew this should be a piece of cake, this was just running on two feet. If she had been with Gaj or Lee, it might be 500 laps on one foot blind folded or something ridiculous. She needed to prove to herself she was strong. So she continued on.
They were making their rounds, and patrolling the area, Neji and Itachi. Out early due to Neji's new day job as Juro. Neji noticed her as she sprinted. It was not an unusual thing for Tenten, however it was early even for any member of team Gai. It was extremely alarming to him what happened to her yesterday. It made his heart skip a few beats to say the least. He knew today exactly why she was out there. He tuned to Itachi who was also studying the girl.
Itachi was unsure what was going on. He was at a little bit of a crossroads. The woman his partner was desperately in love with, was now in love with his brother. Itachi wouldn't have things any other way, but he didn't like seeing Neji so distracted.
It was at this time that Tenten's legs nearly gave out on her and she stumbled, falling onto one knee, her other leg in front still afoot. She took a deep breath and stood back up. Placing her hands on her thighs, she doubled over, breathing heavily.
"I've gotta see if she's okay." Neji said to his partner, concerned for his former companion.
"Just don't forget who she belongs to now." Itachi warned before disappearing to patrol the surrounding areas.
Neji shook off the warning and leaped down from his perch on the tree and landed on his feet before Tenten.
Tenten was a little startled, but she almost knew someone was watching her the entire time. "What are you doing?" She asked between breaths. She stood up, making sure there were no more signs of weakness evident.
"I could ask you the same thing. You're being reckless." Neji said plainly.
"Reckless?! How am I being reckless?" She asked, a bit annoyed by his overly concerned attitude.
"Tenten, your stamina has dropped significantly, and your face is extremely pale, you could be sick." Neji said as he walked to he.
"I'm fine. " she said brushing off his statement.
"Tenten." He said putting his right hand on her left shoulder.
"Since you're here, I have a few questions for you." She said, once again evading him and his concerns.
Neji knew exactly what she was doing, but decided to let the subject drop. Althougj he was worried about her well being, the old Neji would reprimand her and drag her home, but he was far from that now. He had to respect her wishes, and he would. "Okay, ask me anything." He said. "But can we sit down?"
"No, you can run with me." She said, preparing to spring forward.
"If you want me to talk, you'll sit. I already know what you wanna ask, so just sit with me please?" He plead.
Tenten wasn't sure what to do at this point. She desperately wanted to know how he came back from the dead in the first place, and what he was doing with Tsunade that was so secretive. At the same time, she wanted to continue her training. It had only barely begun.
"Fine." She mumbled as the two went to a small tree stump and sat together. It was so weird to be together and alone again. It made them both a little on edge and nervous.
"So, how the heck did you come back from the dead, and why didn't you tell me?" Tenten blurted.
Neji was slightly taken aback by her statement. What exactly was he getting at? "Well I can't tell you everything Tenten due to confidentiality. But I can tell you that I never really died. I can't tell you why, and I can't tell you the reason I never told you. It's between the Hokage and I." Neji explained.
"It's not that I'm mad..." She mumbled as she looked down at her sandals. "But it just surprised me when you showed up in my life again completely unannounced."
"I know." He said, gently placing a hand on her lower thigh. Realizing what he had done, he quickly yanked his hand away. "I..." He paused. "I really do wish for us to be together. " he admitted. "But I think in all honesty Sasuke is better suited for you."
"Neji." Tenten said, looking up at his masked face. "I love Sasuke. And my questions I had for you were not out of a desire to be with you again. If I'm honest Neji, sometimes I miss you. A lot, but I owe everything to Sasuke. His loyalty to me even when I hated him, is what took my heart. He took care of me even when I openly told him I despised him. And I can't imagine myself with anyone other than him now." Tenten said boldly.
"Well." Neji said, quite shaken by her words. It made him happy that she missed him, but the pain from hearing her say she couldn't picture being with anyone but him drown the happiness. It is true that he wanted her to be happy, but the more he saw them together, the more he wished it was him and not Sasuke. "I'm glad you're happy, Tenten. Take care of yourself and don't push too hard."
Tenten fought the urge to hug Neji, although she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was in pain, and she hated it. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be. It's me who should be sorry. I owe you a lot more explanations and I just can't give them. I'm glad I get to be part of your life in some way. even if it's short term." Neji said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, speaking of that, don't be late. We're meeting everyone at Naruto's around ten." Tenten said, smiling softly.
"See you there, Tenten." He said quietly before disappearing.
Tenten let out a sigh. She didn't imagine things to be this difficult. She loved Neji, but it had faded so much and so fast with Sasuke. She wasn't sure if she should feel guilty for that or not. She shook her head, stood and began running once more.
.
.
.
.
.
After running and training for a few more hours, Tenten returned to her home, dragging her feet each step of the way. Once she was inside she heard the shower running and sighed. Good, he wasn't worried for me. Must've known I was training. She thought to herself as she went to her kitchen. Exasperated and exhausted she leaned her elbows on the counter and closed her eyes. As she did, she heard her front door open with a creek. I could've sworn I locked that behind me. She thought as her head perked up and she grabbed a near by kitchen knife. Slowly, she made her way out of the kitchen corridor and saw Itachi Uchiha approaching. Tenten sighed in relief when she saw him, for reasons unknown even to her.
"Put the knife down, Tenten." Itachi ordered. Tenten looked quite threatening with a large butcher knife in her hands.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said with a nervous laugh. she made her way back to the kitchen and placed the knife in the sink. Itachi followed her to the kitchen.
"Do you know why I am here?" He asked.
"No.." Tenten replied nervously as she looked up at him. It was scary how similar he and Sasuke looked. It seemed as though she were looking at an older version of her love.
"I'm here to warn you. Be careful around Neji. He still loves you, and he may try to win you back at some point." Itachi said blanky. "I asked you not to hurt my brother, and I trust you'll keep that promise?"
"Who do you think you are coming in to my house and acting like it would be so easy for me to fall in love with Neji and run into his arms once more?! I love Sasuke more than anyone on this earth, and I don't need to prove that to anyone! I've already made myself clear to Neji, and now I need to do the same for you?!" Tenten snapped. Suddenly her vision became spotty and she wobbled a bit, losing her balance.
Quickly Itachi reached out his arms and pulled the girl to him, stabilizing her. Holding her in a tight embrace with one arm around her waist and one hand behind her head pressing her face to his chest, he began to speak. "I'm sorry, Tenten." He whispered. "I shouldn't have been accusatory."
Tenten's brown eyes were wide with shock. Itachi Uchiha was holding her in his arms and comforting her? This was very unlike the man, a far as she knew anyway. It made her heart beat fast and she felt even more dizzy.
"Sasuke." She whispered before losing consciousness
"What the hell are you doing with Tenten?" Sasuke asked as he stared his brother down with cold and dark eyes. Sasuke was standing in a small puddle as his body dripped excess water, although his waist was wrapped in a towel.
Itachi lifted Tenten into his arms like a bride and turned to face his younger brother. "I came to speak to you." He lied. "But you were in the shower, and I was talking to Tenten and she collapsed."
"Oh shit." Sasuke mumbled as he rushed to Itachi and took Tenten from him. Gently, he carried her to the couch and looked down at her, she seemed to be breathing steadily, and her heart rate wasn't high. it was puzzling, he couldn't figure out just what was wrong.
Itachi rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a clean dish towel and dampened it with cool water. He then brought it to Sasuke who placed it gently on her forehead.
Tentens brown eyes fluttered open and she let out an uncomfortable moan. "What happened?" Tenten asked slowly.
"Itachi said you collapsed." Sasuke said cooly.
Tenten caught a clear glimpse of Sasuke and blushed slightly. "I'm sorry..." She whispered.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, bending down and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
Tenten gasped and pushed him away. "We have to meet Naruto and Hinata!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
They were only about 15 minutes late to Narutos house, and it was alright because Naruto wasn't even awake. Hinata sent Sasuke in to wake him up, which he gladly obliged. Tenten had insisted multiple times that she was just fine, and she literally drug Sasuke to Naruto's house. Sasuke wasn't thrilled with it, but he went along.
"Oy, wake your lay ass up." Sasuke said as he poked the blonde's face.
Naruto waved his hand around his face and moaned. "No Kaka sensei. 10 more minutes alright?" Naruto mumbled.
"Naruto!" Sasuke boomed as he planted a palm violently across Naruto's face.
Naruto responded by jolting out of bed and punching Sasuke hard in the chest. "What the hell was that for Sasuke!? I mean seriously who wakes a guy up like that?!" Naruto shrieked.
Sasuke coughed a bit and glared icily at Naruto. "You're keeping your Fiancé waiting. Ass hole." Sasuke growled.
"Oh shit that's today!" Naruto lept out of bed and began dressing himself.
Outside Juro stared at Tenten, studying her posture and composure. She seemed to be okay, but her colorig was still a bit light. He could hear the bickering inside between Naruto and Sasuke, and he though to himself: Somethings never change.
It was at that moment that Ino rushed up to the group panting and holding a bouquet of flowers. Her long blonde hair was down for once and she had on a pair of black dress pants and a nice white blouse. She looked lovely, and certainly caught Juro's attention. "Sorry I'm late, Hinata! I had to help Tsunade out with an errand. These are for you." She said as she handed the flowers to her ebony haired companion. Hinata took the flowers and smied.
"Thank you, Ino. Don't worry about it. Naruto is just waking up." She giggled.
"Oh that figures. Hey who's this?" Ino said turning her gaze to Juro.
"Oh, I'm Tenten's brother, Juro. I'm from the mist." He said kindly as he extended a hand to hers. Ino eagerly took his hand and shook it firmly.
"I'm Ino, nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly.
.
.
.
.
"Uh.. Well the color is really pretty." Tenten said nervously as she tried to point something out about the dress that wasn't rude. Hinata had tried on six dresses so far and this one was the worst. They were all very conservative and lacy. Poofy sleeved and high collared. Completely horrible.
Unlike Tenten, Ino had seen enough. "Hinata it's horrible! Is that really what you wanna look like on your big day?" Ino said as she walked onto the platform and turned Hinata to face herself in the mirror.
"We..well...n-no." Hinata said sighing and looking down. "It's just, I know my dad won't like it if I wear something too revealing."
"Hinata." Tenten said, standing up. "This is your day, you should wear a dress you love!"
"Yeah! Tenten's right!" Ino exclaimed.
Hinata raised her head and smiled a wide and glowing smile. "You're right. I actually had my eye on something In the window."
"I'll get it for you!" Ino said giggled.
Moments later, Hinata emerged from the dressing room in a beautiful strapless gown. It was a taffeta sweetheart top that had an a-line waist. The rest of the glen was long and full with clusters of rhinestone flowers all about it. She looked like a princess.
"That's the one!" Ino exclaimed loudly.
"Yes!" Tenten said, eyes wide with amazement.
"I think so too! Thank you both for helping me." Hinata said with a blush. It was the first time Ino and Tenten had seen Hinata so confident. It made then both quite happy.
"Thats our job right?" Ino said placing a hand on her hip.
"Now you need a tiara and you'll be set." Tenten said still staring at the girl who would soon marry her cousin.
"Now it's your turn to turn to try on dresses." Hinata said with a smile. "I actually have them picked out."
"Oh God please tell me they're not as hideous as your first few choices..." Ino asked.
"No no, they aren't I promise. Follow me." Hinata took her companions into the changing room where their dresses were laid out for them. For Ino it was a silver above the knee dress with one sleeve and the other side sleeveless. Tenten's dress was a pastel lavender, sleeveless like Hinatas with a silver rhinestone belt. Both were gorgeous and fit to a T.
Once the girls were done squealing and dancing in celebration, they went downstairs in the bridal shop where the men's department was. Of course they had changed out of their dresses. Narutp was wearing a white tuxedo with a lavender vest as bow tie, standing in the platform staring at himself in the mirror. His face was a bit pale, but you could tell he was excited. Juro stood next to him wearing a black Tux with a silver vest and tie. He seemed to be encouraging Naruto. Sasuke sat slumped on the couch, from what they could see he was at least wearing a suit jacket,but they couldn't really tell from the stairs.
Hinata's jaw dropped at the sight of her future husband. She rushed herself downthe stairs and stood in front of the platform. "Naruto you look amazing."
Naruto blushed and turned to her. "Hinata... I had no idea you were here."
"Hehe... Sorry.. We just got done." Hinata said. At this Juro turned to look at Ino and Tenten who stood on the stairs still. Ino blushed a bit as she saw him. He looked stunning in his tux, but soon after, Sasuke stood and turned to face Tenten. As she caught sight of him, her heart pounded hard in her chest. He wore a black tux with a lavender vest and tie, a white shirt underneath. He looked stunning.
"Tenten." Sasuke blushed.
Tenten looked a bit flush, but she took a step down toward him. Once again those cursed legs gave out on her and she fell toward the floor, lucky for her Ino grabbed ahold of her before she could.
"Hey, you alright?" Ino asked.
Tenten winced in pain. "N..no." She moaned.
"Okay, that's it. We're going to the hospital." Sasuke said as he rushed to aid Ino in holding Tenten up. Quickly he lifted Tenten into his arms and rushed up the stairs and out the door. Several employees yelled at him, telling him he had to pay for his clothing. He didn't care. Tenten was sick and he wasn't gonna listen to her telling him she was fine, it was clear she wasn't. Juro followed after him quickly and they rushed to the hospital.
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh my... Oh my gosh." Neji said as he stood with Sasuke and Tsunade in Tenten's hospital room.
"It's not your business. Why is he still here?" Sasuke asked Tsunade.
Before Tsunade could say anything, Neji spoke again. "You know what you did?!" He yelled. "Do you have the slightest idea?"
"What are you talking about?!" Sasuke barked, narrowing his eyes and staring at Tenten's former love.
"You! You have taken away every dream she ever had! She can't do all the things she aspired to now, thanks to this!" Neji exclaimed.
"This isn't your business, like I said before. But since we're on the subject, it was mutual! We didn't know this would happen, but it did, and you're gonna have to get over it." Sasuke recoiled.
"You don't know her. You don't know anything about her!" Neji yelled, tears threatening to fall from his honey eyes.
"You know what, you little prick. I've spent an awful lot of time picking up pieces that you left behind. That girl has been through hell and back because of you, and you wanna tell me I don't know her?! I think it's you who doesn't know her, and it scares you, doesn't it?" Sasuke said cooly.
"You don't know what I've done for her! You've ruined everything for her!"
"Boys!" Tsunade interjected. "Shut the hell up. She's awake, good job."
Tenten sat up slowly in her bed and stared wide eyed at the men before her. The argument seemed quite intense, any moment she expected the first punch to be thrown. "What happened?" She asked perplexed.
"Tenten." Tsunade said as she approached the girl and stood by her side. "Sasuke brought you here with Neji because they were concerned for your health. They told me your strength has decreased dramatically and that you've blacked out twice in one day. I ran some tests, and.." She paused and looked down at the brunette girl. She was looking up at her mentor, desperately awaiting the answer. "You're pregnant, Tenten."
