Tenten groaned and sat up slightly, feeling the events of yesterday wear down on her body.
She also remembered that she and her sheets were stinking, so she quickly got out of bed. She made her way into the shower and washed herself, letting the hot water pour down on her aches and pains.
Once satisfied, she turned the water off and get out of the shower, getting dressed in a pink t-shirt and black shorts, and proceeded to clean out her sheets and pillow cases. She then got a quick bite of Chinese buns.
While the laundry was running, Tenten decided to lie on her mattress and get another hour or two of sleep.
She closed her eyes and started to drift, until she heard a knock on her door.
Tenten groaned softly and got off her bed, walking towards the front door. She opened it to find Ino and Sakura... Only, they weren't Ino and Sakura.
Sakura's hair was down as usual, but she was wearing a classic pink t-shirt, and a skirt that stopped at her knees. And as for Ino, she had one eye covered as usual, but her hair was tied almost like Neji's, and she wore a normal purple t-shirt and a long skirt that was a lighter shade of purple.
Both of them seemed shy, and when they both looked at Tenten, their mouths almost dropped. Tenten almost made the same move, but she figured it was some type of joke, so she said, "Very funny you two. Nice looks by the way."
Ino and Sakura looked at each other before Ino asked, "Tenten? Is that you?"
~
Tenten felt paranoid.
Neji had insisted that he stay the night with her, but Tenten didn't trust his motives, and told him to leave.
He acted neutral about it when she thought he would reply angrily. She almost didn't get a wink of sleep that night.
When she woke up, she placed her clothes in a hamper before walking into the bathroom to shower. She accidentally burned her arm when the water became too hot. And when she got out, she tripped and bumped her elbow hard up against the wall.
To make matters worse, when she tried to get dressed, she ended up ripping a new hole in a perfectly good shirt.
Tenten sighed as she pricked her finger a few times, doing her best to focus on sewing up the hole. When she was finished, she placed band-aids on her fingers before trying to make something to eat.
Tenten tried to make Chinese buns, but became so busy with the eggs that she forgot about them. In the end, both the buns and eggs burned, so she tossed them and prepared to go out to eat. As she slipped on her shoes, someone knocked on the door.
Tenten leaned up and hesitantly unlocked the door and found Neji and Lee standing there.
Tenten made a face of disgust before giving a weird smile.
"Tenten," Lee said, "Neji told me you weren't feeling well yesterday, so I just had to get up and check on you!"
"I told him that he'd just spread the cold he has," murmured Neji, sighing softly.
Tenten didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually mustered up the courage to speak. "I'm fine. I was just about to go out and eat. Late breakfast didn't go well."
"Well come and eat with us!" Lee exclaimed. Neji shook his head and said, "I don't know about that, Lee." "Aww, come on!!" Lee pleaded.
Tenten shivered and said, "Fine. It's been a while since we ate together anyways..." Neji raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
It was only a week ago that they had ate together, but he said nothing about it.
'Maybe Tenten is calling out for attention,' he thought.
~
She blinked at them a few times before saying, "Yes, of course it's me." But even as she said that, she started to wonder what they actually meant.
Sakura and Ino looked a little frightened, but relaxed shortly after.
"The gang is gathering, if you want to join, that is," Sakura said, "We also heard about yesterday and... Well, Neji is such a jerk! But, it's expected from a guy like him."
Tenten looked at them for a moment before laughing softly.
"All Neji did was reject me. In a sense. I mean, I never really, officially asked him out, so..."
Her words drifted as a small blush came across her face. Ino and Sakura looked at her in disbelief.
Ino stammered, "Y-You like N-Neji?!"
"That doesn't make any sense," Sakura added in, "You HATE him!!"
Tenten considered them for a moment.
"Neji may be annoying, but he's not someone I could hate, unless I wanted to. Now come on, we're wasting time."
Tenten, finished with her words, walked out and locked her door.
Sakura and Ino took a step back and Tenten walked down the steps. "Seriously though," Tenten said, smiling with uncertainty, "What's with the getup?"
"Getup?" Sakura asked, "This is our usual wear. It's you who looks a bit weird."
Tenten giggled and shrugged, figuring that they were indeed planning something. They were playing opposites of who they really were, but Tenten would've liked for them to have dropped the act already.
As they walked towards the park, Tenten sensed something really wrong with the area around her. She couldn't point it out, but it felt as if everything in the world was off balance just by her standing and breathing.
She suddenly heard Lee and relaxed, hoping that when she saw her teammates, she could relax once more.
As Tenten turned a building, her face was covered in shock.
She saw her teammates alright, and they were getting choked by Hinata, of all people.
~
Tenten sat a seat away from her teammates, unable to look at them.
It was all too weird for her, for them to just suddenly ask her out to eat.
She was sure that the perverted duo would try something on her, even though it was Lee that had interest in her underwear. Tenten shivered at the thought and focused elsewhere.
Neji noticed she was being distant and said, "If there's something on your mind, you could always tell us."
Tenten turned to look at Neji, expecting a smirk or some form of tease, but Neji was serious. She felt confused, so all she could do was say, "Thanks, I guess." She turned forward and dug into her food once it was placed before her.
Lee and Neji did the same to theirs, and all three ate quietly.
Lee didn't notice it, but there was an awkward silence hung in the air. Neji could sense it, and kept glancing at Tenten, who said nothing.
Once they finished, Lee gave a sigh of satisfaction and said, "Shall we go for a walk?" Neji nodded before looking at Tenten. Not looking at either of them, she nodded and paid for her meal.
All three exited the area and walked down the dusty road. Lee seemed content with just walking in silence, which Neji found almost surprising. Finally, Tenten broke the silence.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
Neji looked up thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "Hinata wanted us all to gather at Naruto's place." "Naruto?" She looked at Neji in slight confusion.
She had heard the name before, but couldn't quite place her finger on it.
Neji nodded and said, "It's spacey enough to enjoy company, so we figured why not. You don't have to go if you don't want to." She shook her head and said, "I'll go. I have to ask, uh, Naruto a question." She gave a sincere smile, but Neji saw the confusion in her eyes.
Confusion and fear.
Neji looked elsewhere as he walked, not understanding why Tenten would be feeling either. It was just a simple gathering with the other shinobi; a place where she should feel happy and comfortable.
But Tenten wasn't acting herself at all, and it drove Neji to question if that was truly Tenten walking with them or not.
~
Tenten couldn't believe what she was seeing before her.
Hinata was beyond furious, and she looked completely different.
Makeup, shorts, her shirt open and exposing her bra; Hinata looked like she belonged on the side of the street, trying to attract a man's attention.
Next to her stood a man who looked like Naruto, but his hair was black and he wore no t-shirt. He looked irritated but said nothing as Hinata unleashed her fury on them.
Her Byakugan was activated, and she looked like she was about to unleash hell on Earth.
Tenten stepped forward and yelled out, "H-Hinata, stop it!!" She glared in her direction which in turn sent shivers down Tenten's spine. She gulped and continued to walk towards them.
Hinata, highly irritated, dropped Lee and Neji on their rear-ends. Tenten took the situation in as quickly as she could, realizing that something was very much wrong. Neji rubbed his throat and looked up at her, chuckling softly and shaking his head.
"Tenten," Hinata said in a low, threatening voice, "I suggest that you stay out of this."
Scared but steadfast, Tenten said, "And I suggest that you back away from my teammates. I don't know what the hell is wrong with you or what they did, but the route you're taking is the wrong one!"
Hinata's hands flared in light blue chakra, causing Tenten to back up but not back down.
The Naruto look-alike chuckled and said, "Ah, leave them be for now. Besides, the rest will be here soon, and you know how that gets." Hinata snorted and hesitated before backing off. Tenten shivered before walking to Neji and Lee, who were still on the ground.
She helped them both up and asked, "Are you alright?"
"We're fine," Neji said, glaring at his cousin.
Tenten sighed and turned to see Ino and Sakura, who were both completely terrified.
Tenten didn't blame them.
She glanced at the look-alike and Hinata and wondered what other surprises were in store for her.
~
Tenten's jaw almost dropped.
Hinata seemed so... Kind.
She blushed easily and it seemed as if Neji and she got along. Hinata had hugged Neji, to his slight surprise, but he calmed down and smiled. It was almost unbelievable.
Hinata looked at Tenten and said, "Are you hurt? Your fingers seem to be a little damaged."
"I'm fine," Tenten replied, feeling a little scared.
Hinata smiled at her and said, "Everyone else should be here soon."
Neji looked around and asked, "Where's Naruto? I thought he would've been here since it's his own house." "
Well, Neji-Kun," she said, "He said he was off to get Sakura and Sai."
Neji nodded and got comfortable at Naruto's table. The door suddenly opened, and Ino walked in with a wide grin. However, it lowered when she saw Tenten.
"Tenten," she said worriedly, "are you alright?"
Tenten stared at Ino in disbelief. Ino didn't look like her usual self, but rather... More open. It was like she and Hinata switched places.
Everything felt so wrong with the situation.
Tenten felt sick and out of place, but didn't show it as she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I kind of burned myself at the stove, but it's minor." Ino asked, "What about that area you patched up? I thought you didn't know how to sew."
Tenten said questioningly, "But I do?"
Ino of all people should've known that.
Ino frowned as she watched Tenten nervously squirm in her seat. Someone suddenly appeared behind Ino and said, "Come on, let us in! I don't remember having to show ID!"
Ino giggled and said, "Sorry, Naruto," and stepped to the side.
Tenten watched with wide eyes as team seven stepped inside. She realized that something was very, very wrong.
Naruto locked eyes with her, and moments later he realized just who she was and yelled, "EHHHH?!?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHERE'S THE OTHER TENTEN?!?!"
~~~
Hinata would intimidate anyone. Hell, she'd scare me. 0__0 I remember watching the movie and thinking, "Lord help us if she pissed off the Neji we all know and love." xD
~ Nimo