Ranmaru let out a battle cry. He was sweating, in pain, and just wanted to lay down. He was woken up by his trainer, a man with insane eyebrows and a weird Bruce Lee hair cut. The man was abnormally cheery for it being five in the morning, however, Doctor Hyuga was on standby if anything drastic happened. Currently, the teenager was holding onto a walker for dear life, dragging his feet forward around the hallways; his spine on fire and ready to burst. It was now six thirty in the morning, and he couldn't take anymore.

"Yes, Ranmaru! Concentrate! Use the pain as encouragement."

"Lee, take it easy. He's been at this for an hour and a half." Neji said leaning against the wall with his clipboard.

"Not to worry, my dear friend! He is just not use to the length of excessive. His stamina will be well improved if we keep at it." The MMA fighter exclaimed. "It's just as Gai-sensei said back in high school, 'it takes pure willpower and guts to achieve anything you wish to achieve'."

The Hyuga Doctor sighed and shook his head. Yeah, he remembered that. Scribbling down some notes, Neji glanced over at the teenager. He had to admit, he was impressed. Ranmaru lasted longer than he had expected.

"I…" Ranmaru gritted his teeth. "Ugh!"

His knees wobbled before they finally gave out. Rock Lee and Neji grabbed him by his elbows and hoisted him up. He was panting heavily and shaking. The two men carried him back to his room. Neji sat him on the bed and held the stethoscope to his chest. Good, he thought, his heart was getting a work out. Looking at Lee, Neji nodded at him in approval.

"Ranmaru, your nurse will be around soon to help you wash up and get your breakfast. Just hang out, alright?" The Hyuga Doctor announced before gesturing for his friend to follow him out of the room.

Rock Lee hummed as he walked beside Neji, who was flipping through his clip board, dodging his other little patients as they ran about the hallways. Lee found is funny how his friend had gotten so used to dodging the little ones, he didn't even need to look up to walk around them as they zoomed past. MReaching his office, Neji took off his lab coat and hung it on the back of his chair. Lee had sat himself on the cot and watched aster do for began to type.

"When I was doing his physical before the surgery, I noticed that was a slightly underweight." Neji said. "For a boy of fifteen he should be constantly active and eating big meals."

"Didn't you say he lives with Granny Sancho? She feeds him well." Lee stated.

"I have no doubt about that. But he's rarely home anymore, according to her. He is constantly working, trying to save up enough to get his own place."

"Does he attend school? He has to belong to some public academy."

Neji shrugged. It wasn't his jurisdiction to go snooping into his personal life unless it affected his condition. That, he said, is Itachi's job. Lee shrugged, he had nothing to say to that.

"So, what do you think? How many more sessions will he need?" The doctor asked.

"If I cannot get him back in shape in a month and a half, then I cannot be worthy of helping him any further!" Lee announced.

Neji side glanced at him. There he goes, making insane goals again. Well, at least he didn't say something too outrageous. But at this rate...he might actually do it in a month and a half, especially if the nurses prompt him to practice on weekends when Lee was not present. Yes, he thought.

"A month and a half it is."

OOOOoOOooOoOooOOOOO

Tenten held onto Suta's hand as they walked down the block. The little Uchiha girl was skipping in her school uniform and pink glittered book bag. She loved how her shoes made clicking noises as she skipped. Tenten had picked her up early from school, since she had a half day. The bun head decided to take her to the mechanic shop with her. Her boss loved the little girl; he would always ask about Suta and say how much she reminded him of his granddaughter. He'd have Suta help with handing him or Tenten tools, or willing down the windows or the hood of the cars...and the little girl was alway willing to help.

"I'm here!" Suta announced to the garage.

The boss mechanic rolled out from under a car and smiled at them. Tenten noticed that there weren't many cars in the shop. Since she was only part time, she usually saw multiple projects being done. But this was a first.

"Suta, my darling! There are snacks waiting for you in the office." The boss told her.

Letting go of her mother's hand, the six year old trotted over to the office with a giant window. The boss' wife and adult daughter were sitting at the desks handling the filing work and taking phone calls.

"Tenten, I need you to take a look at the belt for me. The client wanted me to replace the brakes and had also said doe thing about not being able to turn the wheel when pressing on the breaks." Her boss said.

"Sure, boss." The bun head replied as she lifted the hood.

Taking a flashlight, Tenten looked at the area around the belt. It looked like these parts were well aged and used. There was dust accumulated around the engine but somehow the oil cap was still firmly in place. Reaching in she felt the piece of belt and lightly pulled. There was so much tension, it was stuck against its track.

"Boss, there's too much tension. If I pull even the slightest bit harder it will rip off." She told him.

The old man looked over her shoulder. The client also said that the last mechanic had done some repairs a few months back, but new problems raised.

"Pull it. Get it out. It's too short which is a problem since it rubs up against the mold and the friction can cause the belt to shave and eventually snap off itself." Her boss explained, "We're going to have to put in a new one."

Tenten nodded. She first tugged with only the slightest force, soon realizing how short it really was. So, she pulled harder. With a snap, the belt came off. Glancing down, she took a wire cutter and cut off the remaining pieces.

"This can get expensive. But I will do the replacement myself so you don't have to worry about the wiring." The man said.

"Alright, where should I put this…?" Tenten asked holdings it up.

"Hand it over...I'll call the client later and tell 'em to come look for himself." Her boss extended his hand with a sigh. "For now, those two cars in the back need brake work. I'll leave those to you while I start searching for decent pieces for this car that doesn't break the bank."

Tenten nodded and walked to the back with her flashlight and tool box.

OooOOoOooOoOo

Neji was typing away on his computer when his phone lit up next to him. Quickly glancing at the caller ID. Cocking an eyebrow he answered;

"Ah, fancy hearing from you in the middle of the day." he greeted. "Must be weird using your cellular device to actually call people."

"Whatever, man." Sasuke's voice sounded from the other line. "I've been really busy lately."

"Do tell," attitude was oozing out of the doctor. "Apparently too busy to call your only daughter who's been having night terrors for the past few weeks."

Sasuke inhaled sharply, which caused Neji to smirk bitterly. The Uchiha shot back that he did call Tenten and he did speak to his daughter. So, the Hyuga had not right to hold it against him anymore.

"Fine," Neji replied. "At least do me a favor and call more often. Tenten nearly broke one of my plates when Suta jumped in bed with us again due to nightmares."

"Actually, I had something to ask you about with that."

The Hyuga blinked. "Alright, shoot."

Sasuke hummed before he explained. He wanted to take Suta in for the summer, and possibly the holidays this year. The weather was getting warmer and he wanted Suta to spend time in the Uchiha compound to get acquainted with her other side of the family. The question that was posed what how to approach Tenten about this, knowing her she'd be quick to say no. The doctor scratched his chin; yes, that would be an interesting conversation.

"Well, why don't you come to the city and ask her yourself? It's hard for her to say no when you're there staring her in the face, remember?"

"R...right."

There it was, Neji noted. Although he has seemed to have made some kind of progress, that little characteristic was still there; hesitation. The Hyuga offered to look at a few places they could go for lunch and prompt him on how to handle his ex's suspected outburst.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay if she bursts," Sasuke replied. "Besides, Sakura will be with me."

At this, Neji shrugged. He had a very competent nurse and he gives her a whole bunch of credit for putting up with him. Ending the conversation, the doctor glanced at his computer. This can wait, he thought and stood. Grabbing his lab coat off the back of his chair, he walked into the hallways of his clinic.

OOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo

"Look, Tenten! Aren't those crazy cute?" Ino exclaimed as she pointed at her bouquet choices.

Tenten looked between the flowers. Ino had a thing for really big flowers and most of these choices included sunflowers to signify summer, which is when her wedding was. The bun head was dragged along with her daughter simply because the designer had chosen her to be the maid of honor. Her parents ran the Yamanaka Flower shop in the lower part of the city...so she was basically getting her arrangements for free (lucky her). The bun head preferred more elegant flowers that can be used all year-round, like lilacs, or lilies...even an assortment of white and red roses with baby's breath as an accent would be fine for her. However, this was Ino's wedding, not her's.

"These Snapdragons will go beautifully with those Spider Chrysanthemums," The blonde hummed as she pointed at two different assortments.

Suta walked over and poked her nose into a giant sunflower. Ino reached over her head and removed it from the vase. She handed it to the little girl who grinned and grasped onto it.

"Tenten, what do you think?" Ino asked. "Combining these two together?"

"Uh…" Tenten shrugged. "I guess you can some tables with that one and some with the other. You don't want the center piece to be too big."

Ino hummed and nodded. She walked over to her bag and took out a small memo book where she checked her wedding supply list. The bun head had to hand it to her, for only a few months, she's done so much for this wedding. The ceremony would be in an outside garden overlooking the lake, while cocktail hour and the party will take place in the lake hall. It was a pretty decent size since she only invited close friends and family. They had gone through the guest list before and the blonde somehow convinced Hinata and Naruto to fly back from the US for the wedding. This is a great occasion for all of them to get together and hang out.

"Say, let's head back to the shop. Deidara is gonna meet us there to look at the prototype dresses he made." the blonde said.

"Alright...I guess." The chinese woman said indifferently.

They three of them hopped into Ino's peach toned car and they were off to the boutique. Suta sat in the back holding the sunflower by the bottom of its stem. It reached all the way to the roof of the car, she noticed.

"I'm surprised you invited Temari and Shikamaru to this." Tenten said.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked. "Shikamaru and I are best friends and he is married to Temari."

The bun head nodded. There had been a bit of drama back in high school that tore their friendship up a bit. She remembered the blonde giving him the complete silent treatment for months. And when it came to the older blonde, Ino down right resented her. They reached the shop and Suta was still holding onto the sunflower as they walked inside. Deidara was standing in the middle of the sewing room with three mannequins set up. Ino hugged her cousin before inspecting the garments. Tenten's dress was a rich shade of gold that had a high-low skirt and while trimming. The spaghetti straps were laced with rhinestones that matched the belt. Tenten nodded slightly in approval, she could rock that. The regular bridesmaid's dress was of the same color as Tenten's however it stopped shorted and had was strapless. The third dress was obviously for the Little Uchiha girl. It was a glittered tulle ballgown with a belt that held fabric flowers with rhinestones randomly assembled on them; the straps were white and in a rope twist.

"Tenten's dress is perfect. But for the other girls I want the skirt to have a petticoat under to fluff it out more, but I also want to see it peeking out of the bottom hem line a little." Ino said.

"Am I using glitter tulle for this?" Deidara asked reaching for his supply bag.

"Mmmm, yeah why not. It'll be cute." The blonde replied.

Suta ran her hand along the skirt of her new dress. The glitter had transitioned onto her hands, to which now she was trying to shake off. She looked over at her mother who was also running her hand down the fabric of her own dress. The little girl can't remember the last time her mother dressed so fancy-like. The Hyuga dinner they went to wasn't much since she just wore and old black dress that she wore to everything.

"Go try it on!" Ino said taking the dresses off the forms.

"Wait, now?"

"Yeah go ahead! Hinata sent me her measurements weeks ago so her dress is being worked on. Just it on so I can get an idea of what it would look like." the blonde said pushing her to the back room to change.

Suta followed her mother into the room and watched as she changed. Her mother glanced at herself in the mirror a few times; turning, smoothing out the skirt, running her fingers across the belt.

"What do you think? Good?" The bun head asked her daughter.

The ravenette nodded, still holding onto the sunflower. Her mother's tan complexion was practically glowing with that dress on. Tenten helped her daughter change into her flower girl dress. The zipper was smooth and the dress hit the floor. The bun head hummed as she felt the tulle skirt, it was cool enough for Suta not to sweat in, but she figured she'd put her in sorts and bring extra clothing just in case she wanted to change. The two walked out to the showroom and Ino smiled.

"Perfect!" she cried. "Suta you look so cute!"

The six year old twirled in her new dress, the glitter tulle lifted and shimmered. She looked like a princess like in those movies she would watch sometimes.

"I like the idea of her holding the sunflower, hmm?" Deidara looked at his younger cousin. "Maybe the girls can hold two each, and Suta can hold the basket. It can be lined with fake sunflowers so she can keep it later."

"That's a great idea, quick, write it down before I forget it." Ino said.

Deidara rolled his eyes before taking out a huge bundle of glitter tulle he brought with white tulle stretched across the as he measured the skirt for the petticoat. Suta ran over and ran her hand on the white tulle. Glitter was now covering both the floor and her hands. She looked over at her mother, who was being inspected by Ino. They were discussing hairstyles and shoes to match with each other. The Uchiha put the sunflower down on floor and grabbed the tulle. She lifted it over her head and watched as it shimmered...and yet she could still see through it...what is this? Her skirt was made of it, but it was more puffy and not see-through. bringing it to her face, she looked around the room. She felt the fabric tug in her hands which caused her to look in the direction the tulle was trying to go. Deidara was pinning the tulle to a piece of shiny fabric. Suta dropped the tulled and picked up the sunflower before trotting over to her mother.

"I think having my hair up would be more summer like." Tenten stated. "You know, since I have a lot of it and it's curly?"

"But the curls will look mega cute if they stay down." Ino replied.

"What about a ponytail? you could still see my curls." Tenten asked.

"Mmmm…" The blonde hummed. "I'll think about it."

Tenten shrugged before calling Suta over. Pulling out her phone she told Suta to smile. The chinese woman snapped a quick picture and sent it to her parents and to Neji.

"So, what's he wearing?" Ino asked. "Hunky Doctor Hyuga?"

"Oh geez, you sound like Haku now…" Tenten cocked an eyebrow at her. "And probably a dark grey suit why?"

"Make him get a light grey one with a yellow button up and white tie." Ino said. "Goes better with the season."

"Er….alright?" Tenten hummed.

After all the fittings, Tenten and her daughter changed before hopping on the bus to head back to the condo. All of this work for a wedding, she thought. This will be her soon, but she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with the annoyance of fretting over minor details of what kind of silverware or how big the centerpieces would be. Waving to Kiba, she walked to the elevators. Despite the constant running around, she supposed that planning was the fun part of it all. Ino was so excited to browse around shops and websites to get ideas...she wondered if it would all be worth it in the end anyway. She didn't have all that money to spend on custom gowns, big venues, and such. She's saved up enough to maybe rent a small hall for maybe a handful of them to celebrate. But did she want a small wedding? Tenten hummed as she opened the door to the condo. She didn't know; she might not have a choice. Neji's family would want to see their genius offspring make the second biggest commitment of his life (second to choosing his career). And granted her side of the family would definitely want to come after the whole Sasuke catastrophe that happened years ago. Sitting on the couch, she flicked on the t.v. and Suta ran to her room. Hell, Tenten and Neji weren't even officially engaged yet. He wanted to talk her father, a very traditional move on his part, then he'd have to announce it to his uncle. She knew the Hyugas approved of her, especially after the dinner they attended, but what will her own family think about her marrying a man who was not the father of her daughter? granted her grandmother on her father's side would have a cow, but over all….they might be good.

She was almost positive.