Chapter 10: Realization (part 1)

Lee woke up with a splitting head ache. He yanked his eyes open but immediately closed them shut when he was blinded by the light. After a few more seconds, he opened them carefully, patiently waiting for them to adjust to the brightness of day.

Just as he was about to stand up, a hand grabbed him on the shoulder and stopped him from moving any further.

"Lee? What do you think you're doing? You're not trying to do any training now, are you?"

Lee looked up to see Sakura. She had a threatening expression on her face. She usually came around during lunch or dinner because she promised him that she would cook for him until he got better under the condition that he wouldn't train.

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing here this early?" Lee asked as he tried to make out a clear view of Sakura and her surroundings.

"Silly! I'm here to give you your lunch of course!" Sakura giggled slightly.

"Lunch?" Lee exclaimed in surprise. Checking the clock, it was already half passed 12.

"Yes Lee! It's lunch time now. Why? Did you think that it was still early in the morning?" Sakura asked amused.

"Ah… No! No!" Lee said as he scratched his head. He blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Ok. So get back into bed! You need to rest some more if you want to recover faster." Sakura ordered.

"Oh. Okay Sakura-chan." Lee brought his feet back to the bed and covered himself with the blanket.

"I hope you like what I made for you today!" Sakura said sweetly.

"As long as you made it, I will eat it! I'm sure your cooking is as wonderful and as delicious as ever! It brings me closer to heaven! My youth shall be enflamed with just one bite of it! It will rekindle my youthful spirit and I will live on a happy and fulfilled man! I will-" Lee was about to continue his rant about Sakura's cooking and youth but Sakura cut him off.

"Ok! Ok! I get it Lee." Sakura raised her hands up in defeat. His energy level was unbelievable.

"I just really want you to know how much I appreciate all of this Sakura-chan. With this I can die happy!" Lee looked far away into the horizon with tears streaming down his face.

Sakura could sigh as she glanced at the self-proclaimed beautiful green beast of Konoha incredulously.

Neji hit one of the trees again with his juken. It fell down slowly and dramatically, allowing another loud crash to resound throughout the area. He was far from pleased. His eye brows were scrunched up and his lips formed a scowl. He still hadn't thought of a plan to appease Tenten.

He released an exasperated sigh. No matter what he thought of doing or saying, nothing seemed to be right. Something was missing but he didn't know what. Neji growled in frustration. Why did were these things so difficult?

"Tenten, we need to talk." Neji began as he imagined the scene. A private place like the training grounds, or the park at sunset would do. "What I told you the other day in the hospital…" Neji cleared his throat in contemplation.

"What I told you the other day in the hospital. I apologize if I hurt you in anyway. I was only saying the truth." Neji paused, feeling more confident and assured. He was starting to get the hang of it. "But I really shouldn't have said all of those even if they were true. It wasn't all your fault. It was just because a few things you lacked. But you can always improve in them." Neji was smirking now. He finally found the right words to say. "That's why you have Lee, Gai and me to account for your…" Neji paused to think of a nice word. "…Ineffectiveness. That's why we're a team. I hope you can accept my sincerest apology."

Neji folded his arms on his chest and tilted his head on one side. It was easier than he thought. He wondered why people make such a big deal out of such a trivial process.

"Forehead Girl!"

"Pig!"

"Forehead Girl!"

"Pig!"

Lee could only sigh. He was looking forward to a Sakura-filled day but the moment Hinata came in with Ino it had been nothing but war between the two girls.

"What the heck is with all the noise? You girls are so troublesome." Shikamaru scratched his head in annoyance as he pushed his way through the door.

"Hey!" Kiba and Chouji said in unison while Shino simply nodded his head towards Lee's direction.

"K-Kiba-kun… Shino-kun…" Hinata stuttered at her surprise.

"Shikamaru? Chouji? What are you two doing here?" Ino asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're here to visit Lee." Shikamaru deadpanned.

With the onslaught of visitors, Lee couldn't help but think of his teammates. "Come to think of it, by chance, has any of you seen Tenten?"

"Hm… Now that you mention it, she hasn't come here to see you yet." Sakura replied. Lee then diverted his attention to Ino.

"Nope. I haven't seen her this day either." Ino raised her hands up in the air in defeat.

Lee then looked at Shikamaru, then Chouji, then Kiba and then Shino. They all shook their heads. They haven't seen her all day. Lee was getting more worried by the second.

" M-Maybe she is training with Neji-ni-san…" Hinata stated.

"Yeah! There's a big chance that she is!" Sakura agreed.

"That girl! She just recently got out of the hospital and she's off training her butt! She's unbelievable!" Ino said in disbelief.

"But has anyone of you seen Neji? Did he say anything about Tenten? Are you sure that she's really training with him?" Lee asked almost instantly and frantically that it freaked the rest of them out.

Sakura shook her head. "No. I haven't seen him. Why is there something wrong Lee?"

Lee's eyes were wide and anxious. "Hinata! Did he say anything? Anything at all?"

"O-Otosan said that he left early to train. J-Just like he always did."

"Did he mention Tenten?!" Lee practically yelled which caused Hinata to jump.

"Lee! What's with you?" Ino yelled worried.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Hinata!" Lee said irritated.

"N-No! W-When I woke up Neji-ni-san already left the house. A-All that I know is that he left early to t-train. That's a-all." Hinata answered evidently disturbed by Lee's behavior.

"Could you look for Neji then? Ask him about Tenten! Please! I just really need to know something." Lee said anxiously.

"Need to know what Lee?" Sakura asked confused.

As if on cue, the door of Lee's hospital room flew open.

"Neji!" Lee shouted.

"Is everything alri-?"

"Where's Tenten?"

"What do you mean where's Tenten?" Neji asked even more confused.

"Where. Is. She." Lee asked slowly but anxiously.

"How should I know? I haven't seen her all day." Neji replied smoothly.

"So not a single one of you here has seen her?" Lee stated to see heads nodding in approval.

"Calm down, Lee." Neji commanded.

"You can't just expect me to calm down! Tenten's missing!" Lee said irritated.

"We're still not sure of that." Shikamaru intejected.

"What else could explain this situation?" Lee said as he glared at Shikamaru.

"What situation?" Ino asked in exasperation. Lee was getting way too paranoid.

Kiba clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You've been acting insane ever since you mentioned Tenten."

"What's with her anyway?" Chouji asked as he munched on his chips.

"Has something happened to her?" Shino spoke for the first time. Even he was getting anxious with Lee's strange behavior.

Lee gave Neji a stern gaze. "You know her as well as I do."

"And your point is?" Neji replied coolly with one eyebrow raised.

"My point is that it's not like her to not visit someone injured in a hospital especially if that person is one of her teammates!"

"So? That doesn't mean that she'd visit you every day. You're just being paranoid." Neji tried to hide his own anxiousness. He knew Lee was right. He just didn't want to admit it himself.

"Neji! You know her as much as I do or even more! You know how she is!" Lee said in disbelief at Neji's dismissal of the serious matter.

"Well, maybe Tsunade-sama sent her on a mission."

Lee just grunted frustrated at Neji's reply.

"That's impossible. She just got out of the hospital yesterday. Tsunade-sama wouldn't even think of sending her on a mission." Sakura replied softly when she sensed Lee's irritation towards Neji.

"Maybe it was urgent and they needed to make an exemption." Neji replied nonchalantly.

"I can't believe you're saying this Neji!" Lee shouted.

"She can't have gone on a mission without any companions. And we're all here." Chouji said.

"Maybe she had other teammates." Neji replied as he began looked annoyed at the incessant questions.

"NEJI!" Lee shouted. This time he was getting angry. "Aren't you the least bit worried about Tenten?"

"I don't need to because I have no reason to be." Neji replied slightly exasperated.

"Don't you at least find this situation alarming?" Lee persisted.

Neji looked at him blankly. "As a matter of fact, no."

Lee was fuming now.

Sakura sighed. "How about we all just look for her in the village and we'll tell her to come visit you when we find her. Is that ok, Lee?"

Lee allowed himself a few moments to calm down before nodding in agreement.

"J-Just get some rest Lee-s-sempai…" Hinata thoughtfully said.

Sakura helped Lee get back to bed and made him rest despite his pleas that he'd help them look for Tenten.

"We'll look for her. Just get some rest. Imagine what Tenten would say when she saw you out of bed." Ino argued.

Neji exhaled in resignment. "Fine. I'll check her apartment." He headed for the door rather hastily. Despite his calm demeanor, Lee could tell he was bothered as well.

"Has anyone seen her yet?" Shikamaru said through his wireless radio.

"No…"

"Not here…"

"Haven't yet…"

"I-I've not seen her yet …"

"Nope…"

"She's not here!"

"This is just so troublesome." Shikamaru whispered under his breath. He was wondering how the hell he got mixed up in all this. The girl could be sleeping in her own bed and here they were out looking for her like as if it were an S level mission.

Neji continued to knock without any response. He withheld the use of his Byakugan to provide his teammate some privacy. Not wanting to wait any longer, Neji picked the lock and let himself in.

"Tenten?" Neji called out. There was no reply.

"Tenten? Are you home?" He called out again. This time a little louder. If ever she was home, she'd hear him.

He searched for her in the kitchen and living room but she wasn't there. He went to her bedroom and knocked.

"Tenten? Are you in there? Open up." He ordered. After several seconds there was still no reply. Neji was getting frustrated.

"Fine. I'm coming in then!" Neji pushed the door open only to be greeted by an empty room.

Neji cursed under his breath. He wasted so much time. He should have used his Byakugan.

He was about to leave but then his eyes fell on three white envelopes placed neatly in a row on Tenten's bed. He scrunched his eye brows, holding each of them up. Lee. Neji. Gai-sensei.

"Letters?" Neji furrowed his eye brows in confusion. Why would Tenten leave them letters?

He didn't know why but his heart was beating at a rapid pace. He held the letter that with his name on it. Lee was getting to him. It could just as easily be nothing.

Neji opened the letter and read it slowly. Word for word. Over and over until he lost count of the times he's read it. When his hands subconsciously lost their strength, he allowed the letter to fall from his hand and onto the cold concrete floor. Staring at the seemingly forgotten piece of paper, his eyes darted to the word written in bold letters.

GOODBYE.