‘Huh.’ Tenten stared at the two rectangular pieces of paper she held in her small hand, as she slowly made her way through the busy noon-time streets. “Maybe Hinata?” she wondered aloud. “No; I don’t think she’d like it.” she shook her head firmly.

Lost in thought, her feet continued to guide her direction, without the kunoichi’s full knowledge as to her destination.

The morning had started out well enough; a day off, after a month of arduous work. She deserved a break. And the day really only got better. Tenten had been walking through the shopping district looking for a new weapon to add to her collection, when she happened to win two tickets to the airing of a new movie that she had been waiting to see.

The only problem now… who would she give the spare ticket to?

“Sakura?” Tenten thought it over. “No; then I’d have Ino on my back about not inviting her.” Tenten was growing slightly annoyed that her good-fortune seemed to slowly be turning into a headache.

‘Sigh.’ Tenten exhaled, closing her eyes in frustration, as she stopped in the middle of the street.

“Tenten?” a familiar baritone voice pulled the kunoichi from her thoughts.

Turning, Tenten realized she had absent-mindedly ended up walking toward the Ichiraku ramen stand, where most of the boys were sitting around the counter; apparently having gathered for lunch. Scanning the small group, she noticed the familiar blond patron was surprisingly missing from the group of five. There was only Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, and Neji.

“NEJI!” Tenten exclaimed excitedly as she ran up to group of boys.

“Hn.” Neji remained calm, as the ear piercing shriek sent the other four boys cringing in pain.

“Sorry.” Tenten apologetically smiled at the boys, before turning back to face her teammate.

“What is it Tenten?” Neji calmly asked the girl.

“Oh!” Tenten pulled out the two tickets in front of her, showing them to Neji. “I won these this morning.” She waived them in front of Neji excitedly. “I know its short notice, but would you like to come see this movie with me tonight?”

“Sure.” Neji nodded nonchalantly.

“Ok!” Tenten smiled happily before handing one of the tickets over to him. “Then I’ll see you at seven!” she added, before quickly waiving goodbye, and then disappearing down the street.

“Hn.” Neji briefly looked at the ticket he held in his hand, before calmly slipping it into his shirt pocket. (1)

“Hey Neji.” Kiba’s mocking voice called out from behind the Hyuga.

Neji didn’t even have to activate his Byakugan to know there was a teasing smirk firmly planted on dog-boy’s face.

“What?” Neji growled as he turned to face the cocky smirk he’d known would be greeting him.

“I didn’t realize you and Tenten were an item.” Kiba teased the prodigy.

“Hn.” Neji didn’t reply; knowing too well Kiba would continue to pester him as he always did.

“Normally, I wouldn’t agree with Kiba…” Shikamaru lazily began, “on anything.” He ignored the insulted expression on the Inuzuka. “But I think he’s right; that did sound an awful lot like a date.”

‘Date?’ Neji arched his eyebrow questioningly at the lazy genius.

“Neji-kun has a date?” Lee abruptly asked as he finally arrived to meet the others. “With who?” The past month had drained even the lively mini-green beast; leaving everyone surprised at his sudden calmness.

“With Tenten!” Kiba’s smirk widened as he noticed Neji was clearly beginning to feel uncomfortable with the turn of their conversation.

“NEJI-KUN!” Even his fatigue did not prevent Lee from shouted loudly at THAT piece of information.

“It’s not a date.” Neji sternly replied.

“Oh, it’s a date!” Kiba teased. “Even Shikamaru agreed it was a date.” He pointed accusingly at the lazy chunin.

“This is such youthful news, Neji-kun!” Lee excitedly cheered. “Gai-sensei will be so happy!”

Lee enthusiastically regained his youthful energy, if only momentarily, before quickly dashing through the streets to search for his mentor and inform him of the sudden development.

“Hn.” Neji angrily glared at his younger friend; he would be sure to make Kiba pay for that. Thanks to him, now Neji would undoubtedly have to deal with Gai and Lee’s insane attempts to bring Tenten and him together; that is, until they found some other crazy scheme to distract them. ‘Maybe I can pay Haruno to go out on a date with Lee. That should get them off my back for a while.’ Neji thought to himself.

“Well, there’s one way to know for sure.” Shikamaru suggested; bring Neji out of his thoughts.

“…” Neji once more turned a questioning glance at the lazy shinobi.

“What movie is it?” Shikamaru asked.

“That’s right!” Chouji nodded; understanding his best friend's reasoning immediately. “If it’s ‘date’ or just ‘friends spending time together,’ you should be able to know by what kind of movie it is.”

“That does sound logical.” Shino agreed from beside his snickering teammate.

“I bet it’s a chick-flick!” Kiba laughed. “That would prove for sure that it’s a date!”

“Chick-flick?” Neji repeated uncertainly.

“You know,” Kiba offered. “One of those mushy romantic movies that girls love to see. Where there’s kissing, love scenes, and a happy, fuzzy, ridiculously unrealistic ending.”

“Sounds like you’ve seen quite a number of those haven’t you?” Shikamaru taunted the Inuzuka.

“Sure have!” Kiba said unashamed. “Girls love those movies on dates.” He lecherously smirked as he said that.

“Well?” Chouji turned to Neji questioningly.

“Hn.” Neji pulled out the ticket he had placed in his shirt pocket. Glancing down at the title, he didn’t seem to recognize the movie. Looking up, he soon found himself surrounded by the other guys, who had been peeking over his should to try and see to ticket themselves.

“Never heard of it.” Kiba shrugged, before returning back to his seat in front of the ramen bar.

“And the title doesn’t give very much away either.” Shikamaru added, as he too resumed his previous position, of leaning over the counter.

“It’s probably one of those independent or foreign films or something.” Chouji suggested.

“Who would want to see one of those?” Kiba cringed.

“Some people enjoy them.” Shino monotonously replied.

“Tsk.” Kiba scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?” He rolled his eyes at his teammate. (2)

“But, it doesn’t sound very date-ish does it?” Chouji pointed out.

“Well, there are some foreign films that might… pass… as a date movie.” Shikamaru observed.

“Oh yeah!” Kiba lecherously smirked. “Didn’t Kakashi once get really excited about that one…”

“Exactly.” Shikamaru cut in.

“So Neji…” Kiba he turned toward the prodigy, smirking mockingly. “Hey,” he turned toward the others. “Where’d he go?”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“A date?” Neji wondered to himself as he walked the busy streets aimlessly.

Neji did not like the idea one bit. It wasn’t that he didn’t particularly enjoy Tenten’s company; it was just that he had never looked at her in that way before. Truth was, he had never looked at ANY girl in that way before; Neji had always been too busy with his training to concern himself with such trivial matters.

Tenten was a perfectly agreeable female, as far as Neji was concerned; she certainly didn’t bug him as much as the other girls he knew. If he had had to pick anyone, it would more than likely be her. But still, he didn’t feel for her; and he had never really thought she felt that way about him either. Neji always assumed Tenten saw him as he saw her; just a good friend. He had never suspected anything deeper than that; but as he considered the possibility, he realized that perhaps there had been signs he just had not noticed before.

She was friendly and supportive of most people, but with him, she always seemed to put in extra attention to everything he did. She would always cheer for him louder than for anyone else; always praised him to others. She would show more concern for his injuries than even her own; she never doubted him, even when he doubted himself. She always listened to everything he said; always followed his orders without question. The more he thought about it, the more Neji became convinced that perhaps she had meant this outing to the movies as a date.

The idea of it what this could mean to their team; to their friendship; it didn’t sit well with Neji. It would certainly create an uncomfortable situation within the team if it didn’t work out. And truth was, Neji didn’t see how it possibly could work out. Though they were good friends, and excellent teammates; romantically, Neji wasn’t sure there was anything to build on.

He wasn’t exactly known for being the most affectionate type; whereas Tenten was very expressive when it came to her emotions, as well as to what she believed. She was hotheaded, while he was levelheaded; she was loud, while he was silent; daring, where he was routine; impulsive, while he was logical and systematic. They were too different for it to ever work out.

“I must end this before it is too late.” Neji determinedly stated.

“End what?” A sweet familiar voice called from behind the prodigy.

“Tenten.” Neji turned to face the bun-haired kunoichi.

“Hi Neji.” Tenten smiled up at the Hyuga.

“Tenten…” Neji began.

He was prepared to tell her that he wasn’t interested in starting a relationship with her, but then thought better. It was true that he could be rather bunt, and arrogant, but for some reason he didn’t feel like hurting her feelings by out right rejecting her; plus, there was always the possibility that he was mistaken, and she really didn’t have any feelings for him after all.

“I am afraid I won’t be able to make it tonight after all.” Neji pulled the ticket from his pocket and offered it back to the girl. “I apologize.”

“Oh.” Tenten accepted the ticket. “Well, that’s okay.” She warmly smiled up at Neji. “It was short notice, I understand if you had something else to do. Maybe next time.”

“Hn.” Neji nodded.

As he watched the kunoichi walk away, Neji suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of guilt wash over him. He hadn’t meant to lie to her; and in reality, he really didn’t; he had merely neglected to correct her assumption.

“It’s better this way.” Neji rationalized. After all, it wasn’t like he felt anything for her; it wouldn’t be fair to her to give her false hopes.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The movie was supposed to be getting out soon. Neji had felt guilty the entire day; the uneasiness had eventually lured him to stand outside the theater where Tenten’s movie was being played. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he couldn’t shake the need to apologize to her.

“HAHAHA” a bellowing laugh caught the Hyuga’s attention as the crowd began pouring out of the small theater. “THAT WAS SO COOL!” Naruto shouted, as he and Tenten walked out of the theater together. “That’s the most hilarious movie I’ve ever seen!” Naruto continued laughing.

“What. The. Hell?” Neji growled through clenched teeth as he watched the pair, from a distance, walking side by side out of the movie theater. They looked really close, as they walked side by side, laughing as they spoke. ‘growl’

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Good morning everyone!” Lee cheerfully greeted the other boys as he and Neji arrived together for their weekly lunch.

Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, and Kiba greeted the pair as they approached the table at the BBQ restaurant Chouji had chosen for their lunch that week. They had not seen each other since the previous meeting at the Ichiraku ramen bar.

“It looks like Naruto is going to be the last one to arrive again this week too.” Shikamaru commented as their two new arrivals sat down. The lazy genius was the only one to notice the slight twitch in the stoic Hyuga’s left eye; though he couldn’t quite figure out what it meant.

“So how was that date last week, Neji?” Kiba teasingly asked; having been eagerly awaiting their lunch all week, just to poke fun at the prodigy.

“…” Neji murderously glared at the Inuzuka; instantly silencing the younger shinobi.

“Hey! You’re all here already?” their missing blond companion yelled as he entered the restaurant.

“You’re late again Naruto.” Kiba accused as the annoying blond walked up to their table; attempting to shake Neji’s deathly glare.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“You seem to be picking up your sensei’s bad habits.” Shikamaru sluggishly commented; noting Neji’s murderous aura had intensified upon first hearing the blond shinobi’s voice.

“You’re one to talk.” Naruto scoffed.

“So what’s your excuse this time?” Shikamaru asked; ignoring the not so subtle jab at his former smoking habit.

“Eh, I just lost track of time.” Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” he turned toward Lee and Neji. “Tenten-chan and I ran into Gai-sensei earlier today, and he wanted us to tell you that your training this afternoon will be canceled.”

“What?” Lee stood up from his seat to face Naruto. “Why?” his face betrayed the heartbroken feeling inside, at the mere thought of canceling training. Beside him, Neji was all but fuming from the message.

“I don’t know.” Naruto shrugged. “I think he had a mission.”

Shikamaru watched as Neji’s jaw tensed, and the Hyuga clenched his fist on the table.

“Jeeze, one day without training isn’t going to kill you two.” Kiba chided, believing the reactions from the two male members of team Gai meant the same time; Shikamaru however, was not convinced that was the case at, but he had yet to fully connect the pieces.

“Naruto.” Shikamaru began.

“Huh?” Naruto turned toward the lazy genius.

“You were with Tenten?” Shikamaru questioned; his suspicion instantly confirmed upon seeing the menacing darkness in the Hyuga’s eyes.

“Yeah.” Naruto sheepishly grinned.

“That’s right,” Lee nodded. “Naruto-kun and our team’s precious flower, have been spending nearly every day together this week.”

“Really?” Kiba’s head jerked towards them; joining in the conversation. “So I does that mean you’ve given up on Sakura?” he asked Naruto.

“Kiba.” Shino spoke in a warning tone; he too had begun to pick up the murderous aura emanating from the silent prodigy.

“What?” Naruto yelled surprised. “Of course not! Tenten-chan’s cute and all, but no one could ever compare to Sakura-chan.”

“Oh?” Kiba smirked. “So you do think Tenten’s cute then?”

“Eh?” Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Why would you think that?”

“Baka, you just said you thought she was cute.” Kiba yelled in his idiot friend’s face.

“I did?” Naruto absentmindedly wondered.

“You did.” Lee confirmed.

“Oh.” Naruto shrugged. “Yeah I guess she’s cute. And she’s a pretty awesome too. Did you know she could use over a thousand different kinds of weapons? That girl’s got some skills. The other day she pulled out this huge sword…” he extended his arms out to their fullest width to explain. “It was bigger than she was, and she spun it over her head as if it didn’t weight a thing. When I tried lifting it…”

“You’ve been training with Tenten?” Shikamaru cut in; noticing that dark aura surrounding Neji kept increasing the longer Naruto spoke.

Being the genius he was, Shikamaru could see where this was all leading up to. Normally, he wasn’t one to interfere with other’s personal matters, but he just wasn’t feeling up to the challenge of having to clean up the mess Naruto and Neji could create, were they to get into an altercation in the middle of the restaurant.

“Ah, well…” Naruto hesitated.

“Is it true that Naruto-san could possibly train with Tenten-san?” Lee voiced his amazement at the prospects.

“Nah, no way.” Naruto shook his head firmly. “She’s way too intense.”

“Then why’ve you been spending so much time with her?” Kiba knowingly grinned.

“Hey, hey.” Naruto waved his hands defensively. “I already told you, it’s nothing like that. I like Tenten-chan and all, and maybe if I didn’t have Sakura-chan –”

BANG

Everyone at the table jumped back slightly; startled at the sudden outburst, as Neji stood from his seat; his first having dented the table where he’d slammed it moments earlier.

“Neji-kun.” Lee called out to his infuriated friend. “Where are you going? We haven’t eaten yet.”

“I’m not hungry.” Neji replied; not even bothering to turn, before walking way from the stunned group.

“Oi, Naruto.” Shikamaru broke the silence left behind after Neji’s abrupt departure.

“What?” Naruto asked expectantly.

“You should try to avoid Neji for a while.” Shikamaru advised. “For your own safety.”

“Why?” Naruto stared back in confusion. “What? You don’t think he’s made at me, do you?”

“Che.” Kiba scoffed. “Baka. Even I’m not stupid enough to mess with Hyuga’s girl.” He shook his head in disbelief at the Naruto’s lack of common sense. “You really are an idiot Naruto.”

“WHAT?” Naruto jumped up challengingly staring at the Inuzuka.

“And yet he is still stupid enough to annoy Hyuga-san.” Shino commented about his friend; to which both Shikamaru and Chouji silently nodded their heads in agreement.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Idiot.” Neji fumed as he walked away from the restaurant in utter frustration. “Who does he think he is?”

The fury in his step sent everyone within his close proximity running for their lives. Even the icy Hyuga façade did little to hide the flames burning within the young prodigy. Anyone within a miles radius could sense the impending doom surrounding him.

“Che.” Neji scoffed under his breath. “As if she were some consolation prize… That idiot.” He balled his hands into fists once more; ready to hit the next thing to approach him.

“Who’s an idiot?” a cheerful voice asked from behind the Hyuga.

“Tenten.” Neji was shocked to see the kunoichi standing behind him; for a moment, he lost his composure and almost gasped in surprise.

“Wow.” Tenten stared stunned at the genius. “I must be getting better. To have walked up behind you without your even noticing.” She teasingly smiled up at the young man. “So who’s an idiot?” she repeated her question.

“Naruto.” Neji replied; unable to lie to the girl, though he wasn’t sure how she would react. Secretly, he was afraid that the kunoichi might come to the knucklehead’s defense; the thought of it only served to further infuriate him.

“Yeah.” Tenten nodded laughingly. “He really is a baka. Can you believe he tried to lift my Nodachi the other day?” she shook her head in disbelief. “It took me years to nearly master that sword; and in the end, the only reason I can use it is because you taught me how to channel my chakra through it to make it lighter to my touch. But even that took years to accomplish.” (3)

“So you can finally lift it?” Neji asked. He was slightly hurt that Naruto had been the first to witness her triumph over the monstrous blade; especially after all the time he had spent helping Tenten trying to achieve that goal.

“Well, not quite.” Tenten shook her head. “But almost.” She smiled proudly.

“Hn.” Neji nodded. “I’d like to see that some day.”

“Definitely.” Tenten beamed happily. “As soon as I can really do it, you’ll be the first one to see it. I promise!” She stuck her thumb out before running off. It reminded him a lot of how Gai would often make them promises in their genin years; only on her, it didn’t seem as ridiculous.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Oi Neji!” an obnoxious voice called out from behind the Hyuga prodigy.

Neji had still been wandering through the busy streets; having long since lost his sense of time and direction as he aimlessly maneuvered through the multitude of people.

“Hey Neji!” Naruto called out again. “I’m talking to you!”

“…” Neji stiffened; vainly attempting to restrain himself from doing anything rash. “What do you want Naruto?” he spat out, as he stopped his walking to face the younger shinobi.

“What’s your problem?” Naruto demanded when he finally reached the Hyuga.

“I do not know what you are talking about.” Neji replied as calmly as he could manage.

“Like hell you don’t!” Naruto spat back. “You’ve been acting weird since that day at the theater.” Naruto faced the Hyuga unflinchingly, even as he faced the deadly glare from the older shinobi. “And you didn’t even bother to say hi when we spotted you that day.”

“…” Neji’s glare disappeared as he stood stunned at the new information. He had not realized he’d been spotted that day outside the movie theater.

“You know, I don’t care if you act like a jerk to me, but you really hurt Tenten-chan’s feelings by ignoring us. And all that after you bailed on her for the movies too. Jeeze, you should have seen how bummed she was when I ran into her on the way to the theater. If I’d had anything important to do that day, she would have ended up going to see that movie all by herself.”

“Then you two…” Neji looked questioningly at the younger boy.

“What?” Naruto repeated; not quite sure what Neji meant.

“Nothing.” Neji responded. “You are right.”

“I am?” Naruto looked up stunned at Neji. “Yeah of course I am.” He affirmed; not quite sure what he was right about, but he certainly wouldn’t disagree with something like that.

“I shall apologize at once.” Neji replied.

“Yeah. You do that” Naruto nodded. “Oh, and Neji?” Naruto called out as Neji began leaving. “It was never a date. She really did win those tickets; so you were worried about nothing.” Naruto paused at the sudden surprised look from the Hyuga. “But hey, at least now you know how you really feel.” He smirked knowingly before waiving goodbye and walking away.

‘Huh.’ Neji stared incredulously at the blond loudmouth’s retreating back. ‘Maybe he’s not as big an idiot as he looks after all.’

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
THE END
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-