Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own the Naruto series. It is copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto, whose genius has made this entire fandom a reality.

Notes: Fate Said You're the One rewritten! Hoozah! And the title isn't too shabby either, right? –nods in self satisfaction-

Prologue

"Neji, my youthful rival, do you still see our team's youthful flower, as a woman?" Lee mumbled, eyeing his teammates pointedly. He heard the ceaseless clash of metal against metal, punctuated by their occasional grunts and groans. He frowned and glanced at his watch. "It's eleven, you know." He said, his voice clouded with fatigue, yet there was still that familiar passion they had gotten accustomed to.

Neji dealt one painful blow on his enemy, before he hopped on a bark, "One must do what he needs to do if one wishes to become stronger."

Lee's eyebrows twitched. He stood up and dusted his pants, "I never went against your principles as a man, but I wish you'd see them as a gentleman, sometimes." He groaned, shaking his head. He wasn't feeling himself, and he certainly didn't act so. He was too tired. His flames of youth were dying out, but perhaps, only for tonight. He needed to hit the hay. He hasn't had a wink of sleep since his beloved Gai-sensei took him out to train some four days ago. He was beat.

Tenten felt oddly out of place for the first time. She elevated herself on another tree branch, and pocketed a shuriken, "I appreciate the concern, Lee. But I'll worry for myself this time, if I were you. Do yourself a favor and hit the sack. A few winks wouldn't hurt you."

But Lee was already gone. With the last spurt of his passionate youth, he darted to his house and flopped himself on his couch—he couldn't make it to the bed. Ah, but the youthfulness of it all was still a truth he'd console himself with; at least for tonight—that the couch was as youthfully fine a place to sleep on to anyone who would bat a lash.

Neji knew his teammate was no longer there, but it barely mattered. With his eyes trained dexterously on the female before him, he got into his fighting stance and readied himself for the torrent of attacks that were to follow.

He could never let his guard down with this girl.

A few hours had past and the once immaculate greenery that served as their training field, was now cluttered with a plethora of every blade in existence. Tree after tree had been toppled over. The land had patches of brown where lush grasses once stood. And in the heart of it all, a panting Tenten who had been exhausted beyond words lay motionless. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, hinting of her consciousness.

Beside her, Neji sat with his legs stretched out. He sat as a man who had conquered a fiery battle, yet held the grace of the noble that he was. He too was panting heavily. His forehead protector was obscuring his pearl eyes.

"T-that was… a good f-fight…" Tenten chuckled. Neji mumbled his usual reply and gathered his energy. He stood up, albeit the slightest bit shaky, and retrieved what he could identify as his weapons and neatly stuffed them away. "I-I'll do you a favor and get mine back. It's easier that way." Tenten summoned what was left of her chakra. Almost all of the weapons disappeared into thin air. Two scrolls materialized next to the girl.

"I was saving you the trouble." Neji said and resumed his position next to her, but only briefly. "I'll say this once: congratulations. You have officially defeated me in sparring. Don't let it get to you. It will never happen again." Tenten scoffed. "You're getting stronger, Tenten. You always have been. Well, let's call it a day. Do you need a lift?"

"I'll take that as an invitation to walk me home," Tenten smiled, grabbing Neji's outstretched palm. He heaved her up and steadied her as she stood. This was the 'lift'; no lifts as in to carry, nor to ride in some fancy convertible. It was a simple lift, as the word itself means; to get her up—literally. "Thanks."

"Let's go. Its two hours past midnight now. You need to sleep."

"As should you"

The duo crossed the short walk back to their village from the forest. Almost the entirety of Konoha was enveloped by darkness, spare for a few lights flickered on in some houses. Nearly everyone was asleep. The silence only served to further lull Tenten to sleep. But she couldn't yet; a few more steps. If only she still had enough chakra (and energy) to hop over the roofs and dash to her house…

"I asked you before if you needed a lift, and I meant it literally," she heard her partner say. She looked at him pointedly, but his eyes were trained straight ahead. He was serious; he was planning on carrying her. "Hop on. I know you're tired." He spoke calmly as he always had, but Tenten had been the wiser. He was as nervous as she was, because the Hyuuga prodigy was never one for intimacy.

"You don't have to force yourself."

"I could say the same for you. I'm being a gentleman, Tenten. Grace me with your adherence, at least." Tenten laughed as she bobbed her head in agreement. She placed her hands on his broad shoulders and heaved herself behind him. He caught her in time and steadied his hold. "You're awfully heavy."

"I know you don't mean that." She said menacingly. Her heart was racing; trying to break itself free from the confinements of her chest. She knew that she harbored more than innocent feelings for the man who held her in an awkward piggy back, and acknowledging the mere thought itself unnerved her. What if he could feel her shaking? No. He most certainly does. The real problem was what if he asks about that. After all, if there was anyone who would come as close to the denseness of the densest idiot Naruto, it would have to be Neji.

Or it was, at least, something only Tenten knew and understand deeply.

"Hey… Neji…" Tenten whispered. Sleep was slowly creeping into her senses.

"Hmm?"

She mumbled something inaudible, even to the trained ears of the Hyuuga prodigy. She was fast asleep already. Neji sighed and continued to her house, where upon he reached for her keys (he knew she kept them deep within her left pocket) while steadying her with one hand. He kicked the door open gently and laid her first on the couch. He stretched his muscles; they had been sore from the previous sparring. He helped himself with some water (she would understand) before he reached for her again.

He stopped.

'Well… this is awkward…' Neji thought to himself. He had realized now he had to carry her bridal style to get her to her bed. He shook his head, telling himself he had no reason to feel uncomfortable around her—this girl who had sparred with him for practically half her life; this girl who deemed herself equal before him (he who was of noble blood whilst she didn't even carry a last name); this girl who, for as long as he would like to remember had been a part of his life.

Neji gulped. 'Yes. It is most awkward indeed'. He heaved her up nonetheless and carried her to her room. He laid her gently on the bed and gazed at her a little longer, before he turned on his heel and headed outside. He locked the room and the house just in case, before he mustered what little chakra he still had left and dashed quickly to the mansion.

Neji had a queer feeling that he was being watched, yet he decided to shake it off in favor of the much needed rest. As his feet landed on the mansion's ground, he all but ran towards his room while managing to maintain a sense of gracefulness in his moves. He flopped tiredly on his bed and allowed the growing fatigue to consume him entirely.

Not completely unbeknownst to the ANBU captain, a pair of curious eyes had witnessed his romantic antics and had caught the entirety of it on tape…

Someone was hellishly rich now.

The intruder hopped off the roof and walked cheerfully back home, tucking the camera away safely.

At last! I've finally got down to rewriting Fate Said You're the One, and I have finally concocted a far more decent title to it. Props to me! Yay! Yay! Ya—why do I get the feeling I'm only patting myself on the back? –Sobs indignantly-