Chapter 24: Break

Loud cheers were heard all over Konoha.

The elimination round was over. A winner had been chosen under each specific group and the fun was just about to begin. The crowd was so ecstatic that the announcement of the winners could no longer be heard.

Tsunade massaged her temples in annoyance. The noise wasn't allowing her to talk at all. Gaara glanced at the Hokage's annoyed form and realized that she was about to explode any minute. Not wanting any casualties, Gaara immediately released the sand out of his gourd, creating a momentary sand storm.

Tsunade glanced at the Kazekage and nodded her thanks.

When the noise diminished, Gaara recalled his sand as Tsunade coughed on the microphone. "Now that you all have finally quieted down, allow me to formally announce the winners of each group."

Tsunade glanced at the waiting area for the fighters of the next round. "When your name is called, please come down to the middle of the arena for recognition." Tsunade paused.

"After the acknowledgement of winners, a two-hour break will be enforced before the second round commences." Tsunade continued. "Please use this time to recover from earlier battles.

Tsunade looked to her right and nodded at Shizune, who immediately handed Tsunade a scroll. The Hokage began to read the winners' names as the crowd continued to cheer. In finality, the screen showcased all remaining participants standing tall in the middle of the arena.

Tenten stiffly walked away from the arena. Ever since she got there, she's been getting weird looks from Lee and Sasuke. Lee was giving her meaningful glances because, as luck would have it, they would be fighting in the next round. But as for Sasuke, she had no idea. It was taking all of her self-control to stop herself from shoveinga kunai up his ass.

Tenten sighed. It was hard to ignore them. Lee was standing right beside her and Sasuke was standing a few paces to her left. No matter where she looked, she would see at least one of them at the corner of her eyes.

Tenten caught sight of the nearest exit to the arena. She needed peace and quiet. She needed to think. Perhaps meditating outside would be the best thing for her right now. As she headed out, she was relieved when Naruto and Sakura managed to distract Sasuke and Lee for her long enough for her to slip away unnoticed. She would have to remember to thank them later. Naruto and Sakura managed to get themselves into the second round as well. They only looked partly exhausted but Tenten saw no serious injuries.

Tenten neared the exit when her way was suddenly blocked by the Nara prodigy.

Tenten let out an impatient breath. "Something you need?"

Shikamaru looked at Tenten from head to toe before bringing his gaze back to Tenten's eyes still not saying anything. He was looking at her through narrowed eyes as if trying to decipher something.

Tenten's eyes narrowed in mild annoyance. "Well?"

Shikamaru sighed as he closed his eyes and scratched his head. "Forget it. Congratulations."

Tenten raised one of her eyebrows in inquiry. She planned on asking what it really was that Shikamaru wanted to say but she decided against it when she realized that Lee had caught sight of her again.

"Likewise." Tenten replied as she hurriedly exited the arena.

Shikamaru looked at Tenten's retreating back. There was something about her that he didn't like at all. But what it was he really didn't know. He felt as if she was hiding something from everyone.

Shikamaru was cut off his thoughts when he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Ino and Chouji. He was a bit taken aback by their melancholy expressions. Shikamaru sighed before he placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"It's alright guys."

Ino and Chouji couldn't hold their tears anymore. Ino cupped her face in her hands while Chouji wiped his eyes with the back of his right hand.

"We're sorry." They both said in chorus.

Shikamaru sighed as he took his hands off their shoulders.

"Don't worry. I'll be with both of you shortly."

Ino raised her tear filled eyes. "W-What do you mean?"

Shikamaru turned his head towards the screen that displayed the order of matches and the fighters who would be fighting.

"Take a look at who I'd be fighting."

Chouji and Ino wiped their tears completely and turned their heads towards the screen. Ino gasped in surprise while Chouji looked at Shikamaru in disbelief.

"N-Naruto? You're fighting Naruto?"

Shikamaru scratched his head and simply grinned. "Yeah. So like I said, I'll be with you guys in a moment."

Ino pulled Shikamaru's hand down from his head. "Stop that. It's anyone's fight!"

Shikamaru shrugged.

Chouji raised his balled fists into the air. "Yeah! It could be anyone's match, Shikamaru! Don't give up."

"I appreciate the encouragement guys. But we all know I don't stand a chance against that guy even if I'm in my best condition. The past eight fights really tired me out." Shikamaru sighed. "I'm as good as dead."

Tenten walked slowly around the trees in search of a place to meditate when she suddenly sensed familiar chakras nearing her. "You guys!"

"Congratulations!" Mifuyu said with a smile.

"You were great Tenten-sama! You managed to fight without using any elemental jutsu!" Griselda said as she raised a fist in the air.

"We're very proud Oujo-sama." Yue nodded in approval.

"T-Thanks…" Tenten scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"You should have your injuries check." Lucas interjected as he eyed the perimeter.

"That's my cue!" Mifuyu clapped her hands in the air.

"We should head back. We shouldn't let people see us together." Lucas said as he turned around to leave.

"Don't worry. I'm on the lookout." Griselda replied. "Nothing is within a 50 meter radius. Not on land, not in the sky."

Lucas nodded. "But regardless, we need to be more careful. We'll leave her to you Mifuyu."

"Good luck on your next match." Yue bowed and left.

Griselda turned around to wave goodbye. "Don't lose to anyone!"

Tenten smiled at their retreating backs and waved back.

"Tenten-sama, let's see those injuries." Mifuyu said as she folded her sleeves and took out a water bottle.

"I can do it myself really." Tenten insisted but Mifuyu was bent on ignoring her pleas.

After inspection, Mifuyu nodded at a few deep cuts, bruises and burns. "None of them are serious." Mifuyu smiled. "Just a few scrapes here and there. We'll be done in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Tenten smiled in reply.

"I see you're fighting your former teammate in the next round."

Tenten could only sigh in reply.

"Will you go through with it?"

Tenten chuckled in reply. "I don't have a choice. If I back out Lee will never let me hear the end of it. He'll challenge me insistently every day. He's just that kind of person. It's either I fight him now, or later. Bottom line is we'd still end up fighting. So I can't back out of this."

Mifuyu nodded in understanding. "There. All done."

"You should head back now, Mifuyu. I'll be fine now."

Mifuyu nodded. She turned around to leave but she stopped herself. She turned to look at Tenten again.

"Tenten-sama, I just want to remind you what we talked about before." Mifuyu paused with a meaningful look. "Your blood limits react to danger. Whenever your life is at risk, they activate almost immediately. So please be very careful."

Tenten sighed. "I know. I understand that. But I can't back out of this."

Mifuyu nodded in acceptance, a kind smile on her face. In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

Sighing, Tenten began to head back to the arena. She knew she said she would go through with it, but she had no strategy in dealing with Lee. He was unpredictable. His stamina was crazy. Add in all those years of training with Gai-sensei, Tenten could only predict he was at Gai's level by now, or maybe even better.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Tenten cursed her luck. Of all the people, she had to be pitted against Lee.

"Where the heck are they?!" Kiba said impatiently as he skimmed the area.

"We already told Sai to get them. They should be here shortly." Shino nonchalantly replied.

"But what if he doesn't find them? Those idiots! They fight their asses off during the elimination rounds and then disappear during the preliminary rounds! What are they thinking?" Kiba folded his arms and slumped unceremoniously on a chair.

Shino fixed the glasses on his face.

"If they want to skip the preliminary rounds, then that is none of our business."

Kiba sighed out loud and glanced at Akamaru. "I know." Petting Akamaru, Kiba couldn't help but smile. Hinata had done a good job healing Akamaru. His gaze went to slashes which adorned his arms earlier. All that was left were a few superficial scratches. He had to remember to thank Hinata again later.

"Oi!"

Shino and Kiba turned their heads towards the voice.

It was Naruto running towards them with Lee. Sai simply nodded at both before heading back to the spectators' seats.

"So you guys are finally here!" Kiba said as he punched Naruto on the shoulder.

"Ow! Watch it dog boy!"

"What the hell did you just call me!?"

"I called you a smelly dog! What's it to you?"

Shino sighed as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Children."

"Hey, has anyone of you seen Tenten-san? She's not here yet." Lee exclaimed slightly in panic.

Kiba, Shino and Naruto began to look around the waiting area when Naruto suddenly yelled in realization.

"What is it?" Shino asked.

"I can't find Sasuke either!"

Tenten jumped down a tree, doing a few twirls and tumbles before landing gracefully on her feet. Sighing, she was sure she had only less than five minutes before the second round begins.

"How frustrating."

She balled her hands into fists. If she fought Lee, there was a huge chance her blood limits would appear. She didn't even want to think of the consequences if that happened. But if she surrendered, she'd end up looking like a damn coward. How could she possibly face Lee if she forfeited their match?

Tenten allowed herself to fall backwards on the grass. She was out of ideas. Both options had such big disadvantages. The tranquility of the forest was relaxing for Tenten but it didn't last long.

Raising her feet up, Tenten pushed herself off the grass, a kunai at hand. She bent down and raised the kunai up to nearly eye level.

"Who's ther-?" Tenten narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "You."

"What do you mean you can't find him?" Kiba said in slight irritation. "We just saw him here a moment ago! Right, Shino?"

Shino nodded in approval. "He was here before us."

"Then where the hell is he?!" Naruto scratched his head with both hands in annoyance.

"How the heck are we supposed to know?!" Kiba yelled in response annoyed at Naruto's incessant screaming.

Kiba, Shino, Lee and Naruto continued to look around to no avail.

"What the hell are those two doing?" Kiba paused to ruffle his hair in frustration. "The second round is starting in less than five minutes."

"To be precise, three minutes and seventeen seconds." Shino corrected as he glanced at the timer on the screen.

"They're lucky they're not fighting the first match." Kiba stated.

"Where could Tenten be?" Lee released an exasperated breath. It wasn't like her to be late.

"Sasuke-teme! I can't believe he's not here yet!" Naruto yelled in frustration.

"Kiba, still no sign of them?" Shino asked.

"It's pretty hard to catch their scent with all these people here." Kiba paused to sniff a few more times. "How about you Akamaru?"

Akamaru simply shook his head.

"There are too many people. And since Akamaru can't smell them either, They must still be pretty far."

Naruto growled in frustration before grasping the railings of the waiting area. "Where the hell are they?!"

"Is this a habit of yours? Pissing people off? Because if it is, then you must be happy to know that it's working." Tenten stood straight, the kunai down to her side, but her guard never went down. "Just what is it that you want, Uchiha?"

Sasuke looked at her with slight amusement in his eyes.

"Well?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her irritation.

When Sasuke remained silent, Tenten let out a tired sigh as she turned around to leave. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was standing in front of her, just a few breaths away on her right.

Tenten narrowed her eyes, fingering the kunai she kept in her hand. She stiffened slightly when she felt his arm reach up to encircle around her shoulders, his right hand dangling carelessly behind her left shoulder.

Tenten gritted her teeth. "You have three seconds to let go."

Sasuke scoffed, amused at the threat.

"One."

Sasuke brought his face down near the level of her right ear. "Win your fight against Lee…"

It was Tenten's turn to scoff in disbelief. Who was he to command her to do anything?

"Two."

"Win. Then fight me."

"Three."

Tenten spun to shake Sasuke's arm off her with amazing speed before sticking a kunai onto his heart.

POOF!

Tenten looked up a tree branch only to see Sasuke looking down at her with emotionless eyes. He said nothing more before he disappeared into thin air.

Tenten gritted her teeth as she stared at the log housing the kunai meant for the Uchiha's heart. "Asshole."

Retrieving her kunai, Tenten headed back to the arena. She couldn't begin to understand what was going through Sasuke's mind but she would be lying if she said it didn't bother her. She was growing steadily paranoid at the Uchiha avenger's attention. Did he know her secret?

Tenten shook her head. There was no way he would know. She was careful. They were all careful. But then, why the hell was he so adamant about fighting her? Clicking her tongue, she sped to the arena. Either way, she had no choice but to fight her battles.

A figure stepped out from behind a tree. Pearly white eyes narrowed in confusion and irritation. The veins on his temples did nothing to tame his intimidating look.

"Neji-san, the exams will begin in a few minutes. Your presence is required."

Neji turned his eyes towards the squeaking radio. He withdrew his Byakugan as he tapped a button on the microphone hanging from his ear piece. "Roger."