You know, I mentioned this before, that I would put in bits and pieces of what happened between Neji and Tenten in the last chapter.

Well, I decided to basically do an overview of what happened all in this one chapter. I just hope you all like it. And if you want to read the story for yourself, it goes under, "The Tale of the Dove and the Orphan."

~

The shinobi had done just they agreed to do. As each day passed, the young shinobi kept an eye on Tenten and Sasuke as they did their daily routine to not only make sure they were truly alright, but to see if they were in an actual relationship or not.

Team Ten looked after them the next day, recalling to the others that they had spent most of the day outside, training and studying in silence.

Ino said, "Both of them seemed content with the peace and quiet, and they only ever spoke once in a while. They had then had gone back to their apartments, where Sasuke had spent the rest of the day at Tenten's, eating with her quietly before resting on her couch while she fell asleep in her bed."

"And how in the world did you find that out?" Sakura accused.

Ino sheepishly added in, "They had left the windows open by accident, so we looked in and saw Sasuke knocked out, and Tenten under her sheets."

"I didn't want any part in that," mumbled Shikamaru, shaking his head.

The next day passed with Team Eight as the watchers. They recalled to the others on how they didn't train as much that day, but they did talk a little more.

Hinata stated, "While they were shopping for vegetables, I overheard Tenten teasing Sasuke a lot about Sakura, but she wasn't paying attention and ran into a barrel of water, tilting and falling in."

Kiba held back laughter and expressed, "They went home soon after he pulled her out, each to their own apartments. They then sat outside and enjoyed the nice, cold air before departing to their own homes again."

Sakura pressed her fingers together and asked, "Hinata, what was Tenten teasing about, exactly?"

Hinata blushed softly and said, "She was teasing Sasuke about not having the guts to just go out with you, no matter how annoying you were. He simply rolled his eyes and tried to ignore her."

"His face had evident glee and amusement when Tenten fell in the barrel," Shino said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh," was all Sakura said. She didn't know how to respond.

On the third day, October first, Sai was called in by Danzo, and Naruto was off with Kakashi to see Jiraiya, leaving Sakura to follow Sasuke and Tenten around all day.

Luckily for her, Tenten and Sasuke had decided to skip training and just relax that day. She lingered nearby on the catwalk, keeping an eye on the duo as they sat and studied on their roof.

A sigh escaped Sasuke's lips, causing Tenten to look up. "Something the matter, Sasuke?" Tenten asked, not bothering to look up from her scroll.

Knowing Sasuke, he'd simply say it was nothing and go back to being quiet.

"Tell me about what happened between you and Neji." He said after a minute of silence.

The question caught both Tenten and Sakura off guard. She almost dropped her scroll before giggling nervously and asking, "What happened between us? What brought that question on?"

Sasuke shrugged. "No one else wanted to speak of it, and since you're the only one I can talk to, I might as well ask the source."

Tenten looked down at her scroll for a moment before setting it down on her lap. She then picked at an old scar, seemingly lost on where to start.

Sasuke, after seeing her mess with her wrist, gently placed his hand over hers. "You don't have to. You have a right not to speak as much as I do."

Tenten nodded softly and said, "You do have a right to know, though..." Sasuke retracted his hand carefully.

She smiled at him and said, "It seems so long ago. Neji was Neji. A little uptight and so sure of himself. He wasn't preaching about fate as much anymore, but once in a while, his words would be ringing in my ears."

A smile appeared on Tenten's face, causing Sasuke to roll his eyes. "Continue."

She giggled before saying, "Oh shut up. I guess you could say it started on the day I found out about my mother."

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. Tenten noticed but continued, not wanting to discuss her dead mother.

"I was crying and returning from Tsunade's office. He was sent to fetch me for training, but I just wasn't up for it. I go home and cry myself silly, and while I'm cleaning my weapons, the idiot suddenly shows up. He tells me he just wants to sit there, so I let him. He says nothing to me while I'm cleaning and then calls it a night not long after. I found it weird and didn't bother thinking about it."

Sasuke noticed that her hands were trembling. "I couldn't sleep that night. That old house was my place of solitude, so without anyone telling me, I got up and trained on my own to fight back whatever tears I had about my mother and the confusing Hyuga. Not long after I started training, I was attacked."

Sasuke would've rolled his eyes had Tenten not looked so scared. "It wasn't a missing-nin or a thug. It was... Well.. I'll get to that later. I just remembered being tossed around and knocked out. I wake up on the anniversary of the day Team Guy became a team. I wake up an hour later, feeling bruised and weak."

Sasuke scooted closer to Tenten, seeing that the more she recalled her memories, the more it was affecting her.

Tenten took a deep breath and said, "After I woke, I spent time with my team, chatting and celebrating at my home. It was.. sometime before we ate dinner that Neji pulled me into a hug. It was after that that I felt a lot better. After that, we ate dinner with Guy Sensei and Lee, and then everyone left for the night. Well, almost everyone. Neji took it upon himself to stay and look after me."

A blush crossed from ear to ear as Tenten grinned softly. "He helped me bathe without looking, and later, we just.. talked a little. I don't know. I kind of told him that I didn't understand why he cared to stay since he naturally didn't care at all. He didn't give a direct answer, but I didn't mind. We went to bed without saying goodnight after a small argument, but he eventually came back and slept with me after hearing me cry. It was... Nice. Needless to say, I really did enjoy his company."

"It sounds like you did," Sasuke said softly.

Tenten bit back a smile. "I did.." She went quiet for a moment before Sasuke said, "If it's too much, we don't have to continue."

Tenten shook her head and said, "No, we can. It's not like you really just wanted to hear the cute stuff about Neji and I." Sakura held back a giggle as she leaned up against the wall.

Yes, that probably annoyed him, even though no one knew why.

Sasuke nodded. "As you wish."

Tenten continued, "The next morning was a nice blur. I woke up entangled with him, and I can barely remember Neji smiling down at me. It was after that everything seemed back to normal. We had gotten dressed and walked to join the others. Naruto wasn't there at the time because he was being trained by Jiraiya, and Sakura with Tsunade, so the only teams that did missions were our team, Team Kurenai, and team Asuma."

Sasuke couldn't help but to smirk at the way she said "Our team."

"We went to go hang out with them, but words were spat back and forth, and Neji stormed off in a quiet, slow sort of way. I didn't know what to do, because the argument was about Neji not caring. Kiba, of all people, had to start the argument." She sighed softly. "I went after him and was terrified when I saw how red his eyes were. He was so angry... Trees were broken in half, and dummies were broken."

Tenten's lower lip trembled a little. "We got into another argument, a bigger one this time, and I ended up holding my stomach and curling up against a tree. The wrong things were said, and we both lost it, but he got the first hit on me before I yelled for him to leave. I stayed there until Lee, Kiba, Sakura showed up. Unable to stop myself, I admitted to loving Neji once more but wishing I didn't because of how abusive he was to me."

Sasuke's hands balled into fists. 'So Neji was harsh with her.' He thought angrily. "... Abusive how?" he asked, although he knew the answer.

Tenten looked at him warily and said softly, "He would call me weak and emotional at times. He never really had anything nice to say. And he... Well, he never really was easy on me when we trained. We never cared to be friends because he never let me in. But that was in the past, of course."

Sasuke shook his head, biting his tongue for both their sakes.

Feeling that his silence was a signal to continue, Tenten said, "Moving on, I went home in tears. I found Guy-Sensei there and we talked a little. But he had to leave shortly after, and then the girls came over, and I just..." She sighed, gripping her pants. "They couldn't stay long either. I ended up going back to my mother's grave to say a few words, but instead I found Neji kneeling there, promising to protect me."

A large smile formed on her lips. "I retreated back to my house only for the idiot to come to me, apologizing. I wanted to be angry with him; I wanted him to go get somewhere... But he was so sincere and apologetic.. I accepted his apology. I told him about my mother and.. we kissed. He took my first kiss. He promised me that he would prove our friends wrong about him. I wanted to tell him right away that I loved him, but I wasn't stupid. I didn't want to throw myself out there."

"Like Sakura always has."

Tenten slightly glared at him. "You have no right to make fun of her, Sasuke."

He raised his hands. "Right. But why? It's obvious that I don't want to date her, I never have. But Neji, he uh... He kissed you. He held you and promised to protect you. That's more than Naruto's ever done with Hinata."

Sakura held her breath a little, gripping her shorts. She really wished she didn't have to hear Sasuke's words about her.

Tenten giggled. "You know about Hinata's crush, huh?"

"Not hard to tell," he replied flatly. "But let's not get off topic. Continue please."

She nodded.

"It was after that that I had passed out. I woke up to Sakura, Hinata, and Ino at my doorstep. They had hoped I would agree to going to the Fall Festival with them, and since I knew Neji was going, I agreed. They got me all dressed up, we went, and I had fun. It was nice, even though I was stuck with Kiba most of the time."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What is it with you and him?"

Tenten smiled shyly and said, "He had a few feelings for me back then, and he expressed it more than Neji. It made them rivals of sorts, but it didn't last long. Kiba knew who I wanted to be with."

Sasuke nodded partially, laying down and looking up at the sky. "Continue please."

Tenten smiled wide. "I remember playing games and dunking Kakashi and Guy Sensei at the same time."

She stopped suddenly as Sasuke chuckled. Clearly the idea of making them fall in water together amused him. She giggled and said, "And after that Kiba got me to admit that I was trying to avoid saying how much I truly cared about Neji. We then got on the ferris wheel and took a ride. I saw the sun set and..."

Sasuke glanced up at her to find she was staring at the sky, and then he too, looked up once more. Based on the red and purple colors spread across the sky, the sun was to set soon.

"I saw the most beautiful sunset in the world, as corny as that sounds. I felt a great ball of joy grow inside the longer I looked. But it didn't last."

She looked back down at her lap as her legs stretched out. "Once we got off, Neji took me behind a tent and gave me a stuffed panda as a gift. I remember him saying weird things, as if he was about to die or leave. I tried to make him promise to never leave me, but he wouldn't accept. Instead, he gave me a chance to be his girlfriend. And... I took it."

Tenten looked at Sasuke and smiled, but he could tell that he eyes were tearing up. "That was basically the last decent day we had together, before everything fell apart."

Sasuke sat up, not realizing that he was literally sitting right next to her. ".... What happened, Tenten?" She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Sasuke felt the need to rub her back or at least give her words of comfort, but he simply stayed quiet.

Finally, she spoke.

"I remember getting up early the next day and being invited to a picnic with everyone. I ran to go get Neji and Hinata, and came across them. I noticed worry on their faces, but said nothing of it. I brought them to the picnic and sat right next to Neji...''

Her right hand pulled up her left sleeve and rubbed on a faint scar on her left arm; a scar that was at least six inches long. "I saw his fangs grow, and I witnessed his claws growing as well. He then ran. Being stupid, I followed him, only to get slashed badly by his claws. They went in deep, and even with skilled medical-nin around, the scar still stays."

She sighed softly, her fingers lingering there. "Once I found that Neji was checked into the hospital, I kind of freaked out. But Hinata and Guy Sensei managed to calm me down enough. I still cried though. Lee and Hinata kept trying to assure me that everything was alright, but I knew everything wasn't. I kept hearing the name Yoru, and it scared me."

She shivered, forcing herself to breathe right. "I ran into Tsunade stating that Neji was to be detained. I stormed in and tried to reason with them, but Neji basically slammed me and told me to leave. I did so, and I felt like crap afterwards. All this going back and forth with Neji wasn't helping the situation at all."

Sasuke nodded softly. "I can understand why he told you to leave. You were putting yourself at risk of punishment."

Sakura nodded softly at that, sighing only slightly. She felt bad for Tenten though.

At least Sasuke didn't go back and forth with her or Tenten. He kept it straight enough. At least, that's what it seemed like.

"Yeah, I know," Tenten replied, "But it still hurt. I ended up retreating to Hinata's place, the Hyuga Compound, and kept her company there. But... It wasn't long after I had left to go wash my face that Neji had returned. He was different; terrifying. He was about to bite Hinata until I threw a kunai at close range, cutting him on his cheek. Hinata was able to escape, but Neji had started to approach me. I told him to stay back, but he was in front of me in seconds, holding my arm up and looking very guilty. I knew at that point that Neji was no longer just a Hyuga, nor was he just a human."

She took a deep breath before looking at Sasuke. He said, "If you need to... We can stop."

She shook her head. "If I stop now, I'll never want to continue. I never want to repeat any of this again. So please, remember everything I say, Sasuke."

He nodded softly, ever so slightly placing his hand on hers. "Continue."

She didn't think much of the gesture and did so. "He kissed my arm so gently that I felt like crying, but the moment didn't last long. A woman of white eyes and short hair appeared in the room, and she had told him to drink me. When he refused and tried to defend us, she just... Picked him up like he was a doll, and she flung him across the room."

Sasuke shuddered softly, recalling when Itachi fought him. She continued, "I tried to fight her, but she was too strong. She picked me up by the neck, doing the same to Hinata. I had never felt so scared in my life."

Tenten rubbed her neck slightly, and Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. He recalled Itachi holding him up by the neck. "Continue, Tenten..."

"She was going to bite one of us, so I attacked her and gave Hinata a chance to run, only to get myself caught once more." She winced a little. "I remember her claws sinking in my back; coercing Neji into drinking my blood. But he never did it. Instead, he pulled me to him and I... I passed out. I was so terrified, in so much pain, that I couldn't keep conscious. I end up waking up at this beautiful place. Lots of trees, but I was near the only tree within a hundred feet.
It was near sparkling waters, and I was almost sure I was dead. But I could feel the pain Yoru and Neji left on me, and quickly searched for him. I found him throwing up, his eyes burned and bleeding. I ran back in fear after he yelled for me to go, and remember waking up to him still in pain. He tried to keep me away, but eventually allowed me to clean his face and eyes... I let him drink from me; I can recall him crying. It was almost..."

She went quiet, and Sasuke finally rubbed her back as he said, "Don't stop, Tenten. I have a feeling we're almost done. Just keep talking; I'm listening."

Tenten sniffed a little and said, "I felt so helpless, knowing that all I could do was supply blood and care for his eyes. I wasn't like Sakura; I'm only great at bandaging things... I always envied her for that."

Sasuke smiled softly as he said, "Sakura is a great healer. But you shouldn't envy her. You have special talents as well."

Tenten nodded, and Sakura couldn't help but to smile wide. He had complimented her!

"As I continued to care for him, we talked a little. I remember telling him that comrades are supposed to trust one another, and of course he rebutted by saying that they're not supposed to hurt each other either. And then I told him that love was all about forgiving, but he said that one can only forgive so much.
It's like whatever I told him to help him feel better, he'd rebut it. So I kind of shut up afterwards. Not much happened after. He had nightmares, talked about this demon inside him, when it was really just him transforming. Everything was okay aside from that until I ate poisoned fish."

Sasuke's eyes widened some.

Tenten smiled and nodded. "Yep. Poisoned fish. Neji, not being able to see so clearly, raced back to Konoha as I was limp in his arms. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was surrounded by my comrades, only to find that Neji was arrested. Then, finding that the only cure to return Neji back to normal was gone, I had almost given up.
But Tsunade appeared before us and offered us a chance to find a rare flower, the Midnight Flower, whose pollen could reverse what was being done to Neji. It wasn't long before we split into teams to find the flower. I had gone with Kiba and Lee, only to be stopped by Hiashi. He told us that he didn't trust Tsunade to keep Neji chained up, and had devised a plan with the other teachers to capture Neji if he got out.
So... I dressed in his brother, young Hizashi's clothes, and continued the search for the flower. And added to my arm being completely bandaged and my hair tied in the right way, I was almost a replica of Neji's father. And as I found out later on, Hiashi was right."

She gripped Sasuke's hand by impulse, trembling some. "They had come for me. Yoru had grabbed me by the neck again in rage, threatening to kill me, when the other shinobi arrived. Shikamaru tried to capture, but Yoru was too quick, and sped off. Shikamaru then caught Neji and me in a jutsu to be safe, but the moment we were set free, he was in my arms. I held him as tight as I could, and when Lee and Guy arrived, I felt complete again."

She smiled wide as a tear slipped through. Sasuke blinked a few times before looking down at his hands.

Tenten was held by the neck one too many times and right then and there Sasuke swore never to harm her again.

Of course, he didn't say this out loud, and he continued to watch Tenten carefully.

She sighed. "The Hyuga Elders wanted Hiashi to give Neji to Yoru because it wasn't worth the risk, and he was a Branch Member; a member lower than the Main House."

When Sasuke gave her a confused look, she said, "Meaning that Neji had to devote his life to protect Hinata and any other House member. I'm sure you've seen the green brand on their foreheads before. When activated, they burn brain cells and eventually kill the host altogether. It keeps the secret of the Byakugan from outsiders as well as putting any rebel Branch member in check."

Sasuke nodded softly. "He must've felt terrible."

Tenten nodded. "It was a burden he had to carry, as his father did. I never liked finding that out, and I always... I always wanted a chance to show Neji that he could be free in other ways. But, anyway..."

She cleared her throat, blushing a bit.

Sasuke said nothing and she said, "Moving on, Hiashi wasn't up for that decision, so we tried to think of other things. Eventually, Neji and I... Well, rested together again. He cried himself to sleep as I held him, and I eventually fell asleep. However, when I woke up.. I went to go use the restroom, and once finished, I ran straight into Yoru."

She shuddered. "She kidnapped me, knocked me out, and chained me in a cave. My injured arm was slit open just enough to where blood was slowly running out of me."

Tenten shut her eyes tight. "I remember Yoru trying to get me to talk, but I wouldn't. She mentioned my mom, how weak I was, but I wouldn't respond. And then... Neji appeared. He tried to save me, but he was weakened from the loss of blood. She knocked him down before me, and poured my blood into his mouth. After that... Neji wasn't Neji anymore."

She wiped her eyes, her breath becoming uneven. Sasuke noticed and gently returned Tenten's grip.

"They taunted me... Played with me until I couldn't run or hide anymore. Everything was so blurry. There was no use in hiding anymore, however, once I found the flower. I just had to get close enough. I almost blew both him and me up in the process."

She giggled a little despite herself. "But... Even as the pollen flew, even as it changed him back to as normal as it could... He left with her. He knocked me out in one of the most passionate ways and left."

She retracted her hand from his, turning away and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be crying about this. I should've gotten over it by now."

Sasuke gently grabbed one of her hands, removing her hand from her face. "Tenten, don't."

She looked at him slightly, unable to stop a few tears from trickling down her cheeks.

After a moment of staring at her he said, "What happened after?"

She sniffed and said, "I became suicidal.. A lot more so after I found out that Tsunade and Hiashi allowed him to sacrifice himself for me, Lee, and Hinata, as well as anyone else she might've hurt. I was placed under a protective watch once I was caught trying to cut and... kill myself." She looked away.

Sasuke sighed softly, wanting very much to trace his fingers over her scars, but knowing very well that doing something like that was an intimate move.

And he felt nothing from Tenten but friendship. At least, that's what it seemed like to Sasuke.

She wiped her eyes with Itachi's handkerchief and said, "Afterwards... I was kind of able to move on. Eventually the nightmares stopped, and I felt happier. But I knew that if I even thought about him for a good amount of time... I'd slip. I moved out of my house for that very reason. It was too painful to live there anymore, and I avoided the Hyuga Household for a while. But now that I find he's dead... I can't help but to think about what could've been. What we could've been. I'm hanging onto a memory that needs to be let go, but I don't know how to let it go."

Sasuke sighed softly. Tenten looked as sad as she did when she told Sasuke of the deadline.

"Tenten," he said gently, "...I know what it feels like to live in the past. I know it hurts. And.. Well, just know that..." He sighed and looked elsewhere, shifting to where his back was turned to her.

Tenten looked at him in confusion. "Just know that you what, Sasuke?" She asked.

Sasuke turned slightly to look at her and said, "Just know that if you ever need to talk about the past, I'll be your ears. That's all I wanted to say."

Tenten nodded softly. "Thank you, Sasuke."

He nodded slightly before looking towards the horizon. "The sun is setting." Tenten stood up and looked in the same direction.

Sakura carefully made her way to the other side, watching as well and smiling. 'She told him everything. Thank you, Kami.'

Tenten smiled softly and said, "Not as beautiful as the one I saw years ago, but it's pretty enough. I'll be right back. I need something to drink." Sasuke nodded and watched her as she jumped down.

The moment he heard her door shut, Sasuke sighed and jumped down in front of Sakura, shocking her. Before she could respond, he slammed both arms near her face, causing the pink haired shinobi to jump again.

"Well well," he said in a dangerously low tone. "Someone doesn't know anything about privacy."

Sakura gulped, her eyes never leaving his. At first, she was sure he was going to snap at her for eavesdropping.

However, Sasuke simply sighed and lowered his arms, taking a few steps back.

"No need to worry if we're getting along or not, Sakura. Tenten will keep her title, and I won't be leaving again."

Sakura almost said that she already knew, but she felt that it would help her case better if she didn't. "Oh, I kind of know. She opened up about it so... Yeah. You won't see me spying anymore."

Sasuke scoffed before saying, "Something tells me you already knew that. What, scared I'll hook up with her?"

Sakura blushed furiously and opened her mouth to protest, but he said, "Whether I did or didn't doesn't really matter. It isn't like we're going out anytime soon."

Sakura looked down, feeling a bit hurt. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but he sure as heck wouldn't apologize. Not completely. "We're not going out. Both she and I are content on being just friends. Just go back home. This might not fare well with Tsunade if she found you were talking to me."

Sakura blushed hard and said, "O-Oh, of course. Well, goodnight. See you tomorrow." Before he could say anything else, she jumped down and sprinted elsewhere.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, grateful that although she was like Sakura in quite a few ways, Tenten had a few charms to her that he found... Interesting.

"Are you alright?"

He blinked, not realizing that he had spaced out. Tenten had held a bottle of water to him.

He took it and said, "Thanks. And I'm fine. Are we done studying?" Tenten nodded and said, "I think we've done enough to make Tsunade happy. What do you think?"

Sasuke looked up in thought, already knowing the answer but unable to keep his amused smile from appearing. "Maybe. I don't know, we'll see."

Tenten pouted and said, "I know as much as you do that we'll get by, even if barely." Sasuke looked at her, forcing his smile to disappear. "I'm sure."

He smirked, and Tenten couldn't help to blush slightly. As much as an asshole he could be, Sasuke did have his... Moments.

Sasuke said, "So. Are we done here? You and I know that we're going to need all the sleep we can get to have patience with the two bozos returning tomorrow."

"They're not bozos, Sasuke," Tenten said, getting a little irritated.

Sasuke chuckled and said, "I'm sure. Let's call it a night, shall we?"

She giggled softly. "Yes. Let's."

~

WHAAAAT? What is this madness?! Three story updates in one day!

Yay me! Also, the picture above hints the cute stuff I have planned later on.  Crack ship awaaaaaaay!!!

Until the next Update!

~ Nimo #IFanonNotCanon