Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 9: She needed sleep. Why couldn't the noise stop?

Dedication: To formerlyanonymousinsanityisFUN! Thanks for the reviews!

Note: This and the next chapter, I left unedited. Hope it's still alright.

A/N: Hello guys! I'm sorry if I haven't updated for so, so, so, so, long! Our stupid school had been giving us too many projects and the such that I didn't have enough time… And I also couldn't think of anything to write! I hope this chapter is good enough for my long absence though, I've been racking my brains for weeks and finally this idea came to me one night… Hope you like it! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED!

NOISE

The 5 year-old bun haired kunoichi pressed the pillow tightly to her ears. She slowly opened her eyes and saw nothing but complete darkness, she was alone in the room. She remembered her friend's story about a white floating object above her head and immediately had goose bumps. She shook her head roughly and forced herself to sleep. Once she was asleep, she could forget all about those stupid ghosts. Once she was asleep, she wouldn't have to worry.

But the noise outside separated her from the rest she so much wanted.

"thonk, thonk, thonk." It called out through the dark. Who would want to build their house in the night? Couldn't they stop it for now and continue tomorrow? At least they wouldn't be disturbing anybody… At least they could continue building their houses without having to worry if they're depriving people from their sleep.

Tenten closed her eyes tightly and started imagining stars, houses, dogs and anything else she could think of. Her mama always told her to do that whenever she couldn't sleep. And it always worked. Until tonight. So instead of thinking about ponies and the such, her mind drifted to her first day of school. It was really fun… Her teacher was a guy with a big scar on his face, but he was really kind, he said his name was Iruka-sensei.

She had a few friends, too, and she met Lee, he was really talkative and loud, he had black hair, black, round eyes and big fuzzy eyebrows. But what Tenten couldn't understand was why the others kept laughing at him, sure, he was a bit—no—he WAS odd, but he was really kind. There was no reason for him to be laughed at.

She had a seatmate, too. But he was no fun, his name was Neji. He was really quiet, and…he was a Hyuga, which probably meant he was rich. He had long black hair tied with a ponytail, and his eyes… it was her first time to see eyes like those. They were white, with a tint of lavender, her favorite color. She tried talking to him, but all he did was merely nod and grunt. The only word Tenten remembered him saying was "hn."

Tenten smiled amidst the dark, maybe tomorrow she can ask him to be friends. She opened her eyes slightly but the same black scene greeted her, which made her quickly shut them again. She stayed like that for what seemed like hours before falling asleep.

xOxOxOx

She turned around in time to see her team mate walk towards her.

"Hey Neji…" She said.

"Hn." Was his usual reply.

An awkward silence followed.

"So… do you need anything?" Tenten asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Well… as you know, the finals of the chuunin exams are drawing near and…" Neji stopped.

"Sure." Tenten said quietly.

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Neji, you want help, right? I can train with you."

The Hyuga prodigy looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Uh huh…" Tenten answered, nodding. "I wouldn't say yes if I wasn't, right? Besides… what are team mates for?"

Neji smiled and left, but before he did, he stopped and whispered. "Thank you."

The scene replayed in Tenten's mind as she stared blankly at the dark. How long had she been spacing off into space like this? She quickly looked at her clock. Oh… 2 hours… She sighed as she peeped out of the window. Where was that earsplitting music coming from? Didn't they understand that innocent people were trying to get some sleep? That they needed the energy to fight the number 1 graduate of their class? That if they didn't they might end up in a hospital with their arms and legs broken? She glared one last time at the source of the piercing music before slumping back to her bed.

Had she been five years old, she might have been closing her eyes tightly, blanket pulled over her head, shaking from the thought of seeing ghosts. But she knew better, ghosts are just stupid, silly creatures made by some stupid, silly young girls who want to scare the wit out of you. Tenten rolled her eyes as the memory of her friend whispering to her about a white object floating above her head rerun in her mind.

What the young girl's name was, she couldn't remember anymore, she and her family moved out of Konoha to Suna after a few months. When she said those words to her… That was also when she first met her team mates… Lee and Neji. She never expected that she would be teamed up with the loudest and most silent people in her class, but that was exactly what happened.

And she was always stuck up in between them, too. Neji often laughing at Lee, while Lee would always challenge him in every opportunity he had, and the result was always the same, he would only be beaten down. Tenten tried to help, she told Lee to give up, there was no use challenging Neji, he was a prodigy, and Lee… well, he was the class dropout. But Lee never gave up, and eventually Gai-sensei came to his side, and together, they trained. Now, it was the chuunin exams, and thankfully, one of them, Neji would be able to reach the last round. Tenten lost to a blonde from Suna while Lee… he was badly injured by the creepy sand guy. Now, Neji needed to train, and unfortunately his uncle wasn't around. That left him with only one other person to train with… Tenten.

And quickly, Tenten agreed, she was eager to show him her strength, that she wasn't just some old, weak, tomboy from his team. And secretly, though Tenten would never admit it to anyone, she had developed feelings for the silent, stoic Hyuga. The weapons mistress shook her head again, turning her head to look at the clock, another hour had passed since she last checked. She sighed as she gently lay her head on her pillow the shrill music outside was still playing, and she focused, with all her might at the ticking of her clock, she stared blankly at the dark at what seemed like forever, until finally falling asleep.

xOxOxOx

Tenten stared quietly at the picture posted by their bed. A picture of the two of them. Neji never showed her any affection in public, but that day, as they took that picture, he wrapped his arms gently around her waist. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Tenten. When they told the others about their affair, they didn't seem that surprised. They said that they all had been expecting it. Ever since then, they had been together every minute of every day, though it didn't make that much difference, even when they were only team mates, they were always together. Tenten held the picture in her hands. It was taken just before Jiraiya-sama died.

They both looked tired and dirty… but happy. Happy that everyone was still together… happy that they still had each other.

But that was then. Now… now Konoha was in chaos… Everything was destroyed… many had gone… And the noise outside pierced her ears. Crying, shouting… everything was in turmoil.

Before she knew it, tears were starting to fill her eyes, dropping down to her pillow. She wiped them quickly away. Neji was beside her, and she didn't want him to see her crying. The people had been badly injured and everyone seemed to be losing hope. She hadn't slept for days, but she wanted to… she wanted to escape from the conflict and the havoc. She wanted to sleep and forget everything, but she couldn't. The noise outside prevented her from doing so. She tried everything she could, she thought of flowers, dogs and houses, she thought of the day when she, Lee and Neji trained together, but visions of the bodies and the blood kept entering her mind. Her pillow was becoming wet from her tears and she couldn't help but sniff loudly. Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped themselves around her and hugged her tightly.

"Don't worry… everything will be alright…" She heard Neji gently say as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

Tenten held onto him tightly, her eyes closed.

And finally, in his arms… she fell asleep.

END

A/N: :( I wanted this chapter to be GOOD… But… *sigh* I'm sorry…! Hope it was even just a BIT alright! I'll try to make a better one next time, though…!

I'll try to update sooner than next time, too. But I can't promise it… And if anyone has any ideas, It'll be a great help!

Please, please, please review!