My fellow Shinobi! I'm writing again! (if that means anything to you, lol!) I was playing around with a few stories but since both Anime and Manga have been including LOTS of revalations for the past few months, half of my FanFics clashed with Canon events, long-story-short: I've had to change them all, including pieces from this story. Regardless, the main endings are all the same and should be up within the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy Tenten's righteous wrath...

"What is wrong with you two! Huh? Are you trying to make me look bad!" Tenten screamed, marching forwards to her bewildered teammates.

Opulema leaned to Sakura, "Is she with you?" she whispered.

"Er, she's one of us, yes; but she didn't come with us…" Sakura wanted to explain more, but she couldn't see how this happened.

"Tenten, why are you-" Lee began.

"Why am I here?" Tenten snapped, a fierce look of danger deep within her eyes, "I was employed by the man running tonight's show, to make sure nobody tampered with his work and to make sure everything goes well. Now I find that it has not only been stopped, but the venue practically demolished!" She roared.

Neji and Lee took the time now to scan the room, indeed there was hefty damage to the interior.

"And to cap it all off; the guys responsible for this 'mission failure', the guys responsible for scaring the guests half to death, is none other than my teammates, my friends!" She hissed, dropping her weapons and grabbing both by their shirts.

"Wait until Gai Sensei and Lady Tsunade hear about this! What were you two thinking!"

The others watched on in, dare I say, amusement (well, at least Naruto, Kiba and Choji were).

Opulema had briefly contemplated her own significance in Neji and Lee's rivalry during the fight. Indeed, when Sakura mentioned her friends fighting like this, she felt affinity, as if she was a part of this trio – her, Neji, Lee; a love triangle that would end in tragedy. Yet during the fight she felt powerless to stop them, she was a spectator, so how could she be a part of this trio. Upon seeing Tenten's appearance, she knew why she wasn't a real part of either man's lives.

They had both ceased fighting, they were both controlled. This new ninja, this Tenten, she wasn't afraid of them; she knew them, she knew their power, she knew their minds, she knew their pain.

Since the tremors of battle had subsided for over a minute, those outside and backstage dared to ponder if the battle had finally ceased. A few of the more courageous folk (meaning, those closest to the front, and therefore pushed into the hall) took in the image of the two destructive titans cowering under the oppressive rule of one pretty little ninja.

"I can't believe how badly you've embarrassed me! You jerks!" Tenten roared, shaking them violently.

"I-I-I-I am sorry, Tent-"

"Save it, Lee!" She shrieked, shaking him even more violently, "and what about you!" She hissed, glaring at Neji, whose eyes boggled around his head from the violent shaking, so much so he wasn't fully capable of returning a comment. Tenten, unfulfilled by his lack of a response, opted then to draw out a reaction. If this asshole made her look bad tonight, then she'd do the same, tenfold.

"Of course, ruining missions is something of a reoccurring theme with you two losers, isn't it! I mean, I had to see this coming after our trip to the Land of Tea, huh Neji?" She asked, loathsome of the man before her. Neji's head snapped back into position at this.

"...wow, she's…scary…" one wealthy onlooker commented.

"…they're being scolded…I feel bad for them…" another muttered.

"…so embarrassing…" one of Kiba's fan girls included.

Within the hall, Naruto was the first to speak.

"What happened at the Land of Tea?" he asked with a devilish grin, to those looking at him, he may have resembled some demonic fox.

"Naruto, you moron, now's not the time to be asking that!" Sakura spat, immediately turning up at his side and smiting him with all her might. Opulema took a brief moment to note this ninja girls seemed to do this to the guys quite a lot. Were the boys masochists?

"No, no, no Sakura. Naruto's question was incredibly valid for this occasion." Tenten responded sweetly, a gentle smile beaming at her other friends.

"How did it go again, Neji? Something like; Lee bringing a crap-load of curry and rice to cook when we set up camp. You, as I recall, didn't want to be outdone when Lee kept challenging you to an eating contest, so you decided to eat ALL the curry yourself. Yeah, smart move."

Neji's usually stoic and pale face was contorted in excruciating embarrassment, with his cheeks as blood red as the iris of a Sharingan. The group paid careful attention to the story upon seeing Neji's expression, what happened?

"Of course, little brat 'throws-his-toys-out-the-cot-if-he-doesn't-get-his-own-way' Neji here can't handle spicy food, can you? So we spent the next half an hour trying to find something that would cool his tongue, he was crying in agony, you see…rather pathetic." Tenten continued, her voice rather composed now, which somehow seemed more terrifying than when she was booming. It implied her finale here was premeditated, she intended to destroy Neji in a way Lee never could: she'd tear reputation to pieces.

"You swore you'd never tell!" Neji retorted, finally managing to speak.

"You just ruined my mission!" Tenten snapped back into her demonic anger transformation again, startling Neji into submission.

"What happened next?" Kiba bellowed, whilst he and Naruto crouched below the other ninja, and were proceeding to organise their now bustling collection of cheques, money and jewellery.

"I'll tell you: We find a farm. A real nice little place, an old couple with their three children and two grandchildren. They were real understanding, you see, milk is far more effective in killing spices than water is. Neji was allowed to drink as much as he needed, fresh from the cows. He drank over five gallons to stop the pain."

Sakura could see this didn't end particularly well; firstly, because this story was not all that embarrassing yet, it wasn't too funny to laugh that Neji couldn't take hot food, that's just his own taste buds, secondly, because she knew what kind of curry Lee opted to eat. If Neji devoured Lee's entire stock of curry on a mission, and then drank over five gallons of fresh milk, then he'd have to stomach the imbalance that would inevitably erupt.

"We say thanks, take our leave and head to the camp. A few hours into my watch, a figure flies out of the tent, screaming in agony, as some monster-roar echoed through the field. Turns out; Neji's stomach couldn't take all that curry and milk and it was about to explode. Partially dressed, Neji shuffled through the field trying to find a spot to go the toilet. Unfortunately, Neji's upper-class smug lifestyle suppressed the common sense to simply stop and go anywhere in the wilderness. He was too good to use the field. This cost him, big time!"

Even Naruto knew where this was going.

"You didn't…" Shikamaru sighed, looking at the Jonin before him, who stared only at the floor.

"Oh he did!" Tenten nodded smugly, "All over his nice white robes…"

There was a collective gasp and several hisses of disappointment; clearly to the civilian onlookers, Neji was no longer such an imposing character – what with him soiling himself.

Kiba and Choji doubled over in laughter, as even Sakura and Ino began to giggle. Hinata and several of the models, all with robes over their outfits, had stepped out in time to hear enough of this story. With her head in her hands, Hinata's face was as red as Neji's; her cousin's embarrassment was so intense it even affected her.

Naruto had approached Neji at this point, and placed an understanding hand on his shoulder – taking everyone by surprise, since no one would have put money on him taking the indiscriminate and sympathetic approach to the story.

"Neji…it's okay, man…" He sighed, as Neji blinked endlessly, was he being comforted by Naruto! If he knew this was where his angst-ridden rampage was going to take him, he'd have taken enough humble grace to not care what others felt about his mark, anything was better than this situation.

"…it's okay, man…I know exactly how you feel…"

There was a collective sigh of understanding from the leaf Shinobi, and even the still-hidden foreign Shinobi, all of whom were present or at least had heard about Naruto's…exploits…at his village's sports days.

The rest of the crowd, however, had heard of no such events and were equally disgusted with their hired ninja.

"Is this all these guys do! Just go around fighting and crapping all over the place!" One exclaimed.

"Ah, what do you expect? They're country bumpkins! They're no wiser than cattle!" Cried Sai's ex-artist-boss.

Sakura raised a hand to her admittedly-large forehead and rubbed it in frustration, muttering quietly, "Why did you have to go and say that in front of so many people, Naruto?"

At the epicentre of this storm of embarrassment, Neji couldn't believe how low his own arrogance had sunk him. He and Naruto were publically equal in the inability to control their own bowels. There was a fact he never thought he'd hold, all those years ago when he began his ninja training.

"Oh, Nee-san… Oh, Naruto-Kun…" Hinata whimpered. It was a dark day in the realm of the Shinobi when Hinata felt she was of a higher social standing than her cousin and her idol.

Naruto, however, was oblivious to all this around him, and proceeded to give washing tips to remove the offending stains should Neji ever be undone again.

"Naruto…Naruto…NARUTO, SHUT UP!" He cried, over his friend's endless list of tips on washing detergents he'd received unsightly rashes from.

Lee, on Tenten's other arm, felt just enough gratification about the situation to let out a low chuckle. Tenten was quick to pick up on this, and turned with venom to her other teammate.

"Er, it took the two of you to mess this place up, Lee! Why should Neji field all the embarrassment? Especially when our camping trip story is finished yet…" She grinned diabolically.

Naruto, as quick as a shot, was back besides Choji and the money-counting Kiba, and now began to chant "tell us, tell us, tell us!"

"Well, Mr. Youth over here mistook Neji's swift departure from their tent as a challenge of speed, and was all too happy to oblige. However, so fast was our little Lee, he'd completely past me and Neji and it took him several minutes to return to claim victory on his 'race.'"

Again, Sakura felt dread for her browed friend; this story wasn't yet any embarrassing, but Tenten wouldn't have held off telling it for so long unless it were.

"Neji, having had to discard of much of his garments (what with the mess), was in the field – assuming the foetal position and refused to speak to anyone. Lee assumed Neji was sulking over losing the race, and upon seeing the lack of clothing, our Passionate Lee deduced that being naked was a part of the challenge."

Even this wasn't too bad yet; all of Konoha was well acquainted with Lee's abdomen, since his jumpsuit left nothing to the imagination. However, the thick eyebrows upon Lee closed in on his squinted eyes – clearly he didn't like where this was going.

"The clown then began a rigorous work-out, and forgot that we were in the middle of a farmer's field. As luck would have it, the sheep had managed to get out onto their pasture, and were rather hungry. Any movement on the farm that resembled a human would be processed as the farmer bringing them food. Naturally, they raced towards Lee.

"Lee didn't like this. Retreating slightly, he began to realise these sheep weren't going to leave him alone until he gave them some food. Despite his speed, it never occurred to Lee to leave the pasture – those sheep chased him, nipping at his butt for an hour."

Laughter began to swarm around the hall, as the mental image of Lee being chased by a flock of sheep raced through everyone's minds.

"Oh, it gets better! After the first hour, Lee loses his cool, and takes a wild swing towards the sheep. I'd like to note he was by the barn at this stage, and his attack broke some of the wall, and connected with something else."

Lee turned away from the crowd in shame.

"He hit a stallion, right on the ass. The stallion didn't like this. And Lee had conveniently given it an opening to retaliate, what with the great big hole he'd just made in the wall. Now, he'd spent the last hour outrunning sheep, he'd spend the next hour outrunning a pissed off horse and its two friends who chased out of curiosity."

"What happened next?" Kiba obnoxiously called, amidst the piles of cash and cheques he'd counted; to him, this trip couldn't get better – money, fame, fan girls, the ruined reputation of Neji and Lee – This was the best holiday ever!

"Lee, in a state of fatigue slowed down enough to be knocked onto the floor. As it turns out, the Stallion wasn't too pissed off, more…horny…."

This got a huge gasp from the crowd, as many of the girls squealed with horror, as Naruto looked on, still quite oblivious to the severity of Lee's situation. Shino, turning to Lee and opting to speak for the first time at the meeting, chose the most memorable line of the night:

"…Lee, did that horse make you his booty-call?"

"…" The lack of a reply cemented Lee's shame.

"Neji crapped himself and Lee was a Stallion's bitch. I mean, you think you know people, but then…" Shikamaru sighed, chuckling to himself.

"It was not as bad as all that! He did not…I mean… I managed to…he didn't ent-" Lee yelled.

"- Lee, Lee, LEE, SHUT UP!" Neji cried, trying desperately to maintain at least a little of their dignity.

Naruto placed a reassuring hand on Lee's shoulders, shocking people for a second time this evening by taking the mature and understanding position in the scene.

"Bushy-Brows…it's okay, man…I feel for you…" He nodded solemnly.

This raised Lee's spirits slightly, until Naruto continued.

"it's okay, man…Sakura-Chan knows exactly how you feel..."

Naruto didn't get to see anymore of the scene. The damage done to his cranium was too severe. He would have been immediately healed by Ino, had she not been amongst the crowd trying to subdue Sakura from killing him. Once Sakura had calmed several minutes later, Ino did take note to fire a quick question;

"What was he talking ab-"

"If you know what's good for you Ino Yamanaka, you'll forget you ever heard that boy speak those words…" Sakura whispered.

The rest of the ninja also took note, and decided to shift their attention back to Team Gai.

"I can't believe you told them all that!" Neji whined, his face in his hands, as Lee now assumed the foetal position, hanging his head so low his fringe covered his weeping eyes.

Opulema had remained silent throughout – reassessing her opinions on both Shinobi before her. Lee's dedication to fight for her and help Neji out of his angst was admirable, desirable even, and she had toyed with the idea that the green-clad ninja was quite a catch. Meanwhile, Neji had been her protector and idol ever since she came to Konoha.

Really, what had she saw in either of them?

The situation was too much for Neji, whom swiftly departed, with Tenten in hot pursuit, leaving an eerie quiet hall, with a shamed Lee at the centre of everyone's vision.

Outside, Neji had slipped into an alleyway to avoid the fearful crowd, but hadn't managed to lose Tenten, whom landed before him.

"Leave me alone, Tenten!" He barked.

She sighed, arose and marched forwards, raising a fist and knocking his forehead.

"What's happened to you?" She moaned, "and don't give me that fatalist-crap! You swore to lose that baggage after the Chunin exams. You were actually becoming an easy-going teammate too…"

"Why did you have to tell them those things?" Neji growled, dodging her comments.

Tenten raised her chin and loosened her posture, "you gonna hit me?" She asked.

"…W-what!" Neji gasped.

"Go on, free shot! What're you waiting for? You're a monster aren't you? Some freak who's below human standards?" Tenten continued to mock.

Neji stared on in anger.

"I mean, I've just ruined your reputation, and I'm mocking you about that ugly mark on your head. Why aren't you 'exacting revenge' on me?" She continued to push.

"…"

"It's because I'm wrong! You're no monster Neji! You wouldn't harm a person like that! So why did you lash out like this?" She questioned, lowering her chin, and assuming a more gentle approach.

"…this mark-"

"Oh Come On! Right then, when I insulted you, you knew I didn't mean it, right!" She began, to which he nodded.

"It's because I don't care! Neither does Lee! Or Sensei! Or Your Cousins! Or Naruto and the others!"

She proceeded to knock at his forehead again.

"The only problem I have with this is the big deal you make of it! I mean, what's its real power? Does it zap out all the goodness that goes on in your head?" She joked.

Neji felt some clarity in her words, but tried to resist nonetheless.

"B-but you told them…about…"

"Yeah! I told them! Rule No. 1 of being a friend to Neji: When his arrogance and self-righteous side is dominant, the only way to stop him is through ridicule and humiliation. The opposite of arrogance is humility after all." Tenten retorted coolly.

He couldn't argue there. Certainly her appearance and story had crushed his will to fight, and allowed him to see his actions more clearly. What had he done here!

"…I'm…so sorry, Tenten…" He sighed, bowing his head so low the bangs of his hair nearly touched the floor. Tenten let out a giggle.

"Y'know, that's the first time you've bowed to me – a lot like Lee."

Neji arose and braved a smile, this time genuine.

"…and thank you…that's what I needed…" He confessed, leaning against the wall nearby and gazing into night sky.

"You haven't answered my question yet, Neji; why'd you flip out?" Tenten asked.

"…There was this girl-"

"A girl! Who?" Tenten asked, taken aback.

"It's…a long story…she was a little shocked at the mark…I took it the wrong way…I terrified her…broke her…" He began to mumble.

"…and yet you're here, with me, moping about yourself rather than apologising to her. Making sure she's okay!" Tenten chastised him.

"…you're right…" He finally replied.

If truth be told he was surprised. Indeed, he did feel he should be beside Opulema now, rather than crying on Tenten's shoulders. Given the original scenario, where Opulema was a person he felt distain for, and Tenten one he desired, he felt it curious that their roles had somewhat switched.

"…and you're apologising to Lee, too!" She ordered, before leading him back.

The crowd had flooded the hall, and discussion was a rife. Many of the guests even resumed their business from before the fight, and music began to play out again. It seemed most had decided to gloss over the 'little spat' and look forward to their show.

The Hidden Leaf ninja were licking their wounds, counting their cash, and negotiating with the foreign ninja to keep quiet, out of Naruto's and Kiba's now large pockets.

"Hey, that's our cash!" Kiba cried.

"Relax! This way, the other villages won't hear about this," Shikamaru retorted, gathering all his team around him (minus Team Gai, Hinata and the unconscious Naruto), "we're all agreed right? What happened here in Gurumarasu, stays in Gurumarasu!"

The group nodded in agreement, before turning to see Opulema sitting with Lee.

"You do not have to keep on thanking me, if I were not so ignorant of the situation between Neji and yourself, this disaster may not have happened." Lee weakly gave her a cheesy grin and thumbs up.

It appeared as if humility had done her some good too; a day ago, she would have waved off his friendly gesture as one of a loser, but here, having forgone any of her ego, she felt humbled enough to giggle at him.

"I am just happy that you were not hurt in our fight." Lee continued, warming her heart a little more.

"I'm just glad your friend Tenten stepped in to stop you two." She confessed, to which Lee nodded furiously.

"As am I! Tenten is a very good person; she keeps me and Neji in line!" Lee began to give a smile as he spoke of Tenten, "She is one who does not judge me for my mannerisms; or Neji for his personality. I am just truly sorry that I have upset her."

Opulema took a moment before responding.

"She's a good friend to Neji, isn't she?" Lee nodded again, "And you are too. Thank you for trying to help him."

"That is because she knows us so well. Anyone else would have left our squad long before now. It shows how sweet a person she is to call us her friends – who else would associate themselves with either me or Neji after all that has happened tonight?" Lee chuckled grimly, even with his confident personality; he wouldn't be living this down too soon.

Opulema thought on this statement. Both these guys no longer fitted the bill of a 'cool' ninja. And she did question why someone like Tenten would still stick around with them. However she already knew the answer; she hadn't known Lee and Neji anywhere near as long as Tenten, but she saw what was good inside them. Despite how the rest of the world sees their weird and melancholy antics, they were genuine friends and kind people. Would she be willing to stick around with a 'horses-booty-call' and a man who soiled himself in a field? After all that had happened in the past few days, she felt the answer probably was 'yes'.

She wanted to stay, watch more of Lee's funny postures and speeches, she wanted to watch Tenten exact her feminine might and bring order to the two guys. She wanted to make Neji listen to her, like he did with Tenten – she wanted that more than anything. But then a terrible thought crossed her mind. What if Tenten meant more to Neji? What if friendship wasn't the only barrier they crossed? Was she the reason why Neji rejected Opulema so much?

"Lee…are Neji and Tenten…an item?" She finally asked.

"No…but I feel it would only be a matter of time…" Lee revealed, she noted his head was slightly hung at this, was he upset too?

"Why aren't they? I mean…" She began, prodding Lee's emotions to get the response she was looking for. The guy's downward expression on the subject formed a theory in her head.

"I do not know? I have stepped back on the subject, allowing my two friends to be together…if that is what sh-they truly want…"

"…do you think that was the wisest move?" She asked, knowingly. Lee turned to face her, curious to see what she was getting at.

"I'm just saying, if there was maybe something you wanted to say to her, I think she'd be the type to listen to you." She responded, rising up and walking over to the other Leaf Ninja, letting him ponder on the statement.

At her arrival, the group turned.

"You okay?" Ino asked casually. Opulema could feel the tense air surrounding them. It didn't take a genius to tell her that their opinion of her left a lot to be desired – who could blame them?

"Yes, thank you. I er…want to apologise to all of you…" Choji and Kiba stood their ground arrogantly, they felt this was too little, too late, "If I hadn't been so selfish and dragged your friend here, none of this would have happened…I'm really sorry…" She bowed low before the ninja, and both Choji and Kiba felt their resolve waver.

Sakura was the first to speak.

"The only ones who really need to apologise are Lee and Neji. If anything we should thank you; me and Ino would have killed to get here, you just gave us a valid reason," Ino nodded at this, "As for Kiba, Naruto and Sai; well, they're going home with as much cash as a Feudal Lord, and if nothing else, it's been an experience."

The other's nodded and murmured in agreement. At this moment, Neji and Tenten had snuck into the clearing without alerting too many guests.

Kiba elbowed Shikamaru and pointed towards them.

Instantly, Shikamaru cast another shadow, this one connecting with Neji.

"That won't be necessary Shikamaru. I'm quiet calm now." Neji pleaded, but his friend was none compliant.

"Maybe so, Neji. Would you be willing to take that chance if it were someone else?" Shikamaru retorted.

Neji sighed in agreement. He must have looked a moron to his friends.

"Good thing you're in control of him too, Shikamaru, we don't want him having any accidents!" Choji laughed, along with the others. Neji stared at the ground and went red with embarrassment again. He knew what he had to do: suck it up. After how he had behaved, he knew he was liable to as much abuse as Naruto got.

"…I just want to say, I'm so sorry for everything. I was a jerk. I-I didn't mean what was said," He looked into the eyes of each friend, and turned as well to Lee, who was in earshot, "I was hurting inside, I was willing to say anything that would have made you feel the same way, to know my anger…that was wrong…"

The others didn't respond. They hadn't accepted the apology yet, but they hadn't refuted any of his words – true to what Tenten professed, they weren't judging him as if he were inferior, they listened to him as friends. This warmed him more, and he spurred to carry on with his apology, as Opulema looked on. He made a note to apologise to her in private, he owed her at least that much.

"…I know this has been no way for a Jonin ninja to act, and I've risked so much for all of you be lashing out like this…but you all tried to stop me, to help me…you're true friends…so thank you…" He bowed low before them, as each weighed up the apology in their heads. When no one spoke up, Tenten felt obliged to intervene.

"It's not like he's getting away with this if you forgive him, guys; if you'd like, I could tell you some more stories about our missions-"

"Tenten!" Neji exclaimed, as everyone began to laugh.

"That's okay Tenten, Neji's on…trail…for forgiveness, okay?" Shikamaru declared, "we'll see how he does between now and when we get back to the village, is that good enough for you?" He nodded to Neji, who agreed humbly, feeling it went better than he'd hoped.

Standing aside, Opulema beamed. She had felt obliged to apologise for her actions, but it meant so much more to Neji that he is forgiven. Seeing this side to him, this calmer persona, made her feel right, more so than when she met him. Was this Tenten's influence? Could she calm him like that? She wasn't sure, but knew now she was willing to try. First she needed to get him alone.

"Neji-Kun, I-"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, after that prolonged er, spectacle, I'd like to declare this years fashion show, open!" Every head turned in time to see a catwalk rise from the ground as lights flashed around the hall. Each beautiful model strode gracefully down the catwalk, earning the eyes of each spectator, whom all adored Futoi's new clothing range. The Leaf ninja however, had a few questions.

"W-what are they wearing!" Ino shrieked.

"They're Akatsuki-chic clothes. It's all the rage apparently…" Kiba explained, half-heartedly.

"…I…see…" Shino frowned.

This went on for several minutes, with each of the men questioning exactly why Ino and Sakura had wanted to come here in the first place. They were just walking up and down a line.

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen; wearing my newest original design, our newest model: Hinata Hyuga!" The crowd cheered as Hinata marched, albeit quite clumsily and bashfully down the catwalk, to the gawking reception of her friends at the far end of the room.

"W-what has he made my cousin wear!" Neji cried. Amidst the shock, only Opulema held enough composure to comply.

"I don't know, I think it'll look better on you, Neji-Kun!"

Well? I've found it a little hard to keep the narrative style of the story since I started this last winter, but I hope this chapter works just as well as the previous ones. Love it or not, why not drop a review?