"How long has it been, Tenten?" Ino demanded.

How long had it been since her heart had become numb after suffering through debilitating breakage? It was hard to tell. One day just ran into the other; every minute seemed more meaningless than the last. How long had it been? Who cared? She didn't want to count, didn't want to know. She was only holding out for the day when it would stop – if it ever would.

"Hello, Tenten! Are you there?" Ino impatiently waved a hand in front of her face.

"It's been five days."

Just because she didn't want to know how long it had been didn't mean she hadn't counted every hour, every minute, and every second. 5 days, 120 hours, 7,200 minutes, 432,000 seconds.

"And your still moping around like your cat died?" Ino scoffed in disbelief.

Tenten glared. "My cat didn't die, my heart just got irreparably broken, so give me a bit of time to pick up the pieces, okay?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Three days is enough time to pick up the pieces. I gave you an extra day on top of that because you're not used to getting your heart broken. The first one is always the worst. Inexperience is a bitch. I think it took me two months to get over my first heartbreak, but after I got over it I realized how much time I'd wasted and swore I'd never let myself nor any of my friends do the same."

"But I love him."

"That doesn't mean you have to be a slave to that forever. It doesn't mean you stop living. You have two choices: you can either mope around like a lump of clay your whole life or you can choose to live it, and live it well, despite the pain."

Tenten flopped back down onto her couch, wishing she hadn't told Ino about everything had transpired between her and Neji so she'd be blissfully alone instead of pestered. "I really don't feel like living right now."

Ino put her hands on her hips and stood in front of the TV. "Of course you don't. I wouldn't much feel like living if I was watching the kind of movies you are! Please! Can you say lame?" She turned around the pushed the off button. "Problem solved. Now get your ass off that couch and get dressed because, honey, we're going out!"
————————————————————
It'd been five days. How much longer was this pain going to persist? It was becoming irritating. Even the simplest tasks seemed to sap his energy until all he felt like doing was lying down to sleep and dream and forget, even if only for a few hours. It was beginning to get ridiculous.

He needed something with which to distract himself. He'd tried to meditate - pointless. All he'd ended up meditating upon was his last encounter with Tenten, the way she had felt in his arms as he'd kissed her, the dead look in her eyes as he'd rejected her. He'd tried to train - pointless. He'd only been reminded of the many times he had trained with Tenten, the years of comradeship and memories he could not escape nor replace. He'd tried to help with various jobs of administration and the like around the compound - also pointless. He had only been reminded of the reason why he and Tenten could not be together, the stifling rules and restricting eyes that followed his every move.

His only briefs moments of reprieve were his conversations with his cousin, Hinata. She had constantly sought him out over the past five days to acquire his help with tasks she could easily do herself and distracted him with incessant chatter over nothing in particular. It was almost as if she knew what was happening with him and was trying to help.

But that was impossible. The only people who knew of what afflicted him were himself and Tenten, and perhaps Hiashi. He had just been summoned by Hiashi moments ago. He was at a loss as to why, though Hiashi had been acting peculiar this past week. It was almost as though he were taking pains to keep an eye on him. Whenever he happened to leave to compound, he always noticed the presence of a member of the clan wherever he went. He knew it was not coincidence.

He arrived at his destination and waited to be summoned further.

"Come, Neji!" his uncle and Lord called from behind the doors. Neji walked in to see his uncle sitting at his desk perusing the content of a variety of scrolls.

Neji bowed respectfully. "You wanted to see me, my lord."

Hiashi looked at his nephew fondly. "Have I not told you to call me Uncle in the presence of just us?"

Neji bowed again. "My apologies...Uncle."

"These past five days I have been searching through various files of our clan members. It has been most frustrating."

What is he trying to get at?

"Why is that, Uncle?"

"I have been in great pursuit of a particular file. I did not have a particular person in mind, only a particular type."

Why can he not just arrive at the point?

"A particular type of woman, of course," Hiashi continued and purposefully looked up to gauge his nephew's reaction.

Neji refused to react and kept his features perfectly void of expression. He had no doubt that Hiashi would be able to see past his stoic façade (he had been the one to teach him the trick, after all), but at least he would preserve his dignity.

"I see," Neji replied, for lack of anything better to say.

Hiashi returned his attention to the scrolls that lay before him. "Yes, yes. After a lengthy search I have discovered two possibilities: Hyuga Yuraya and Hyuga Masao. The potential and pedigree is so great in both that I cannot seem to choose, so I thought I would hear your say in the matter."

A feeling akin to dread started to curl in Neji's chest. "In what matter would that be, my lord?"

"Why, the matter of your bride-to-be, of course." Hiashi gazed up into his eyes as if daring him to defy.

Neji felt rooted to the spot by a terrifying mixture of confusion, foreboding, and pain – so much pain. He opened his mouth but words would not come forth.

"I figured you would appreciate submitting an opinion on the matter, so you can choose between the two. I care not which one you pick; I approve of them equally."

The world ceased moving and all he could hear was his heavy breathing. It had been five days. Only five days. This could not happen now. He was not ready. He would not be able to bear it.

"I can't." He barely recognized his own voice. It had never been so hollow.

Hiashi's gaze hardened to stone. "Can't choose between them?"

He felt as though his energy had drained completely and he was left unbearably tired and weak and unable maintain is otherwise rigid posture.

"I can't choose either," because they are not Tenten. The unfinished sentence hung in the air between them as Neji finally understood.

Hiashi knew about her.

He had never questioned how Tenten had gained access into the compound that fateful day and had been much too distracted since then. But how else could she have gained access to his room? Hiashi had led her there purposefully, seeking to gauge his reaction to her presence.

Had Hiashi been watching for her the whole time? Waiting to see the state of her departure? Were that what Hiashi had been trying to accomplish, he would have seen a great deal. He would have known from the first second Tenten stepped out of Neji's room that he loved her. It also explained why he had been watched those past five days and why Hiashi was presenting him with this conundrum now. He wanted to know what Neji would choose – not between the two girls, but between the clan and his own desires, between the clan and Tenten. This was a test.

"It has only been five days," Neji croaked, his voice near breaking, as he abandoned all prefix of ignorance.

Hiashi deserted the scrolls and stepped in front of the desk. "Five days too long. This should never have happened in the first place."

Neji turned his face away. "It was not as if I could help it."

Hiashi sighed. "I suppose not, but you have always been high among the number of all people I thought would never allow themselves to succumb to the fickle emotions of the heart. It was in you that I saw a strength and determination that matched my own. I still see remnants of that strength and determination now, Neji."

He turned his face back to his lord.

"I have seen this strength and determination in the decision to turn her away. I am proud of you for that, but you are breaking. I can see it. You're a hair's breadth away from crumbling and giving into your lesser emotions - those worthless, unnecessary emotions. Do not disappoint me now, nephew."

Neji's heart and mind warred furiously. His heart lay with Tenten, his loyalty and life lay with the clan. If he gave up his heart, would he then live in a state of constant emptiness and pain? All he knew was if he gave up the clan he would no longer know who he was.

His very identity was etched with that of the clan's. All he'd ever been and hoped to be was found in the clan. All he'd ever cared about to this moment was found in the clan. The clan determined was who he was and he did not think he could live without it. He could not lose himself, because if he did his love for Tenten would become as hollow as he would be. He didn't want to infect Tenten with a poisonous love. He could not do that to her. Better to be in pain than cause her pain. She may be hurting now, but she would get over it. He'd make sure of it.

So there really was no choice at all.

"Show them to me."

————————————————————
Tenten sighed as she sat in the cosy booth with Ino and Hinata. Ino had dressed her up and dragged her out to a bar where they had met up with Hinata for their Girls Night Out. She hadn't much felt like moving off her couch since the day she dubbed The End of Her Life, but Ino would not hear any complaints. Even the word 'couch' was met with a sharp slap on her knee. So there they were, sitting down doing nothing but sipping cocktails and listening to Ino's sob stories. If this was what the rest of her life was going to be like, she might as well just marry her couch.

"Can you stop doing that, Tenten?"

Tenten looked up blankly from the table at Ino as she thoughtlessly spun the kunai around her in hand, guiding it through an array of intricate movements. "Don't worry; I'm not going to drop it." A kunai was practically a natural attachment to her body. She had as much control over it as if her brain was directly wired to it, as if it was part of her nervous system.

Ino huffed in annoyance. "I'm not worried about that! It's just bugging the crap outta me!"

Tenten sighed. "Sorry."

"And could you please stop sighing every five seconds! Geez!"

Tenten sighed in response.

Ino huffed again. "I know the love of your life had deserted you and all, but surely you can make it past five seconds without sighing!"

Tenten glared at her. "If you didn't want to hear me sighing then you shouldn't have made me come along!"

"Oh, and now you're attacking me! This is the thanks I get for being a concerned friend? Remind me never to take pity on you again!" Ino yelled.

"Um...you shouldn't yell..." Hinata tried to inject, but her voice was far too soft for Tenten to take any notice.

"I never asked for your pity in the first place so you can take it back, thanks." She was sad and sick and heartbroken and she bloody well didn't need Ino chiding her for it!

"Consider it returned! And after all I've done for you! I was the one who taught you how to seduce in the first place; therefore, I am responsible for you snagging Neji! You should be thanking me!" Ino retorted.

Tenten smiled harshly. "Oh, yes! Thank you so much, Ino, for helping me get rejected!"

Ino flicked her long, lush blonde hair over one shoulder. "Getting rejected was all you, honey. Don't blame me for not being woman enough to keep your man."

And then Tenten burst into tears.

"Tenten!" Hinata exclaimed as she leaped over to her side of the booth and enveloped her in a hug.

Ino slid around to her other side and joined in.

"Oh, Tenten, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that! I really didn't! I'm just being a bitch because I can't get the man I want and you can't get the man you want and Hinata can't get the man she wants! It's just all so depressing! Thank the gods Sakura's not here otherwise we'd have to depress it up another notch, because she can't get her man either!"

Tenten smiled through her tears. "What a lot we are. We should be called the Four Sisters of Unrequited Love."

Ino laughed. "That's not right. It'd be the Three Sisters of Unrequited Love. Your love is totally requited! Neji's just a blockhead."

Hinata laughed. "If it helps you any, Tenten, Neji has been deep in misery this past week. I've had to go out of my way to distract him otherwise he just stands in one spot and stares out into nothingness for hours on end! I've never seen him like this!"

"Hinata, how did you even know about all this?" Ino questioned in confusion.

Hinata smiled sheepishly. "My suspicions first arose after you returned from your mission, Tenten. It was unlike my cousin to leave for another mission directly after he had returned from one and to suddenly go on such a long one, at that! When he told me he was going, I felt a sense of urgency, like he was trying to get away from something as quickly as he could."

"That would be me," Tenten injected miserably.

"Yes, but Neji would not have had reason to flee if he were not feeling overwhelmed by feelings for you. He is not used to such intense emotion. He would not have known how to handle it," Hinata explained.

"So he did what all men do so well," Ino added. "He ran away."

Hinata giggled. "Precisely, but when he came back he was worse than before. He'd start to do something and then forget to complete it, he wouldn't hear me when I was speaking to him, and he barely ate a thing! I knew he was in love after that – an affliction I unfortunately know all too well - but I didn't know with whom. I suspected it might be you, Tenten, because I wasn't aware of any other close female acquaintances but I wasn't sure."

"So how did you find out?" Tenten queried. She had become increasingly interested in this little story.

"Well, one night just over a week ago he came rushing through one of the back entrances to the compound. I happened to be out in that particular courtyard practicing techniques. He was panting as if he'd just been running and his eyes were wide and his hands were shaking, which I noticed because I had my Byakugan activated. I asked him where he had come from, and he gasped 'Team Gai'. I knew it had been the night of the dinner and he was home much later than usual, so I figured something had happened. Then I surmised that something must have happened with you, because I've never seen him look so rattled over just the team as a whole before."

Tenten gasped. "That was the night I kissed his forehead!"

"So I was right." Hinata smiled serenely. "What I saw afterwards confirmed my suspicions completely. About five days ago I saw you rushing out of the compound."

Tenten gasped again. "You saw me?"

"Yes, and you looked a little...dishevelled." A crimson blush spread across Hinata's cheeks. "I'm sorry to have intruded, but you literally ran right before my gaze! I did not mean to see you!"

Before Tenten could reassure the girl, Ino let out a shriek of indignation. "You got freaky with Neji and you didn't tell me!" She groaned and fell back against the cushions. "Tenten, I feel utterly betrayed!"

Now it was her turn to blush. "How do you know we weren't just sparring?"

Ino snickered. "Maybe you were sparring, just in bed and without any clothes on."

Tenten squeaked, "I did no such thing!" She hastily turned to Hinata, whose face had deepened to a darker shade of pink. "Hinata, don't listen to her! I didn't! We didn't! I swear!"

Ino snickered again. "Maybe you didn't, but I bet you were getting close."

Tenten clamped her mouth shut and refused to meet Ino's knowing gaze.

Ino bolted upright. "Ah-ha! I knew it! I knew it!" She grabbed Tenten's shoulders and forced her around to face her. "Details! Give them to me!"

Tenten pulled herself away from Ino's vicious grip. "Later. I want to hear the rest of Hinata's story first."

Hinata pressed her forefingers together nervously. "I...well, there isn't much more to tell."

Ino slumped back onto the cushions again, her fun officially stolen from her. "Just talk already."

"After I saw Tenten run out, I was going to follow her but my father stopped me and told me to leave you be. As soon as he left, I went to Neji's room. I knocked but he didn't answer. So I opened the door and went in. He was sitting on the couch, shirtless, with his face in his hands. He looked utterly bereft. I was about to console him when he said 'Leave me'. It was the kind of tone you don't argue with in the Hyuga household, so I left. It was after that day that his temperament became worse, darker, lost. It wasn't until tonight that I confirmed my suspicions that you love him back, though."

Tenten blinked in shock. So Neji felt as terrible and bereft as she did? Then why did he continue to deny their feelings for each other?

Well, because of the clan, of course, she thought bitterly.

"Can we go back to the shirtless bit?" Ino spoke up. Tenten started laughing - that was just what she'd needed.

"I don't mean any offense to you personally, Hinata, but I really hate your clan right about now," Tenten grumbled.

Hinata smiled ruefully. "Don't worry. I understand."

Ino narrowed her eyes. "So the only reason Neji isn't with Tenten is because of the clan?"

Tenten sighed. "Basically."

"Well, isn't that just stupid!" Ino exclaimed in disbelief.

Hinata smiled sadly. "All Neji's ever known is his life as a Hyuga. He does not think he can exist anywhere else or as anyone else."

Ino took Tenten's hand and gazed seriously into her eyes. "Don't worry, Tenten. It's not personal. One thing you will learn in this life is that men always choose their professions over women!"

"Amen to that!" Hinata exclaimed vigorously, probably thinking of Naruto's dedication to becoming Hokage. Talk about a life-consuming desire! Tenten felt sorry for the girl - it'd be practically impossible to compete against an all-consuming passion that wasn't her.

"Enough with this bloody pity party!" Ino declared. "I'm sick of it already! Let's buck up and have some fun! Drinks on me!"

Tenten and Hinata smiled at each other. It figured. Though Ino could be hard to handle sometimes, she certainly had an ability to turn any depressing situation around. She was actually a really good friend. Incredibly blunt, but loyal to a fault.

"First things first." Ino turned to Tenten. "Go fix your face up. I feel like slitting my wrists just looking at you."

Yep, she was blunt alright.

"Are you coming with me?" Tenten asked.

"What are you, in fifth grade? You don't need me to hold your hand! Besides, I can't leave Hinata here alone. Who knows what sorts of nefarious men will try to take advantage of such obvious virginal innocence." Hinata blushed and Tenten smiled sympathetically and left. Ino did have a point.

Tenten pushed her way into the bathroom crowded with chattering females. As soon as she gained access to a mirror she gasped in horror. Her face looked like it'd just been dragged through dirt!

"Oh gods!" she whispered in horror. She didn't know how to fix this problem!

As she was staring at her reflection in despair, a girl with the distinctive white eyes of the Hyuga approached the basin beside her. Those beautifully pale eyes only served as a reminder of Neji and she felt tears start to burn in her despicably plain brown ones.

I can't start crying now! I'll never stop!

"Here." The Hyuga girl handed her a tissue with a small, sympathetic smile. "I think you need it more than I do."

Tenten thanked the girl and took her offering. She wanted to hate her simply because she was Hyuga, but couldn't bring herself to. The girl was too nice. How unfortunate.

Also unfortunate – she didn't even know how to begin to fix her face. Those tire-tracks looked like they'd need bleach to come off. Why, oh why had Ino made her wear mascara? Was it really necessary? Did guys even notice if girl's eyelashes were long? She thought not. It wasn't as if a guy saw a girl and thought 'Her eyelashes are so long! She's hot!' She was pretty sure that didn't happen.

But she was wearing mascara and there was nothing to be done for it now. She'd just have to clean it up the best she could.

Her best wasn't all that great. She no longer looked like a depressed clown, but she still sort of look half-dead. Her face was sallow - she could have sworn her skin had a greyish tint to it - and her hair was flat. She was tempted to tie it up but she had nothing to tie it with. Once again: how unfortunate.

Well, my appearance hardly signifies either way, Tenten thought as she walked out of the bathroom. It wasn't as if she was trying to impress anyone. It wasn't as if she was going to run into anyone else she knew.

Then she rounded the corner and her eyes were drawn towards the Hyuga girl she had seen in the bathroom. There was something in the way she moved that caught the eye. Now Tenten was officially jealous. That girl was upper class Hyuga, she was sure of it. She moved exactly the way Hinata did, with that strange innate grace. And she was gorgeous. It would just figure that she would be part of the main branch.

She watched the girl weave through the tables, hating her more with every step she took. No doubt that girl's love life was well intact. What guy would dump her? Even now she was probably going to her table where some gorgeous Hyuga male sat waiting and-

Oh gods!

This was not happening. This could not happen. It was simply just-

Tenten poked her head around the corner, only to retract it immediately. She shut her eyes and pressed her back against the wall behind her, needing some form of physical support to keep her from melting to the ground.

It was happening.

The Hyuga girl was meeting someone and that someone was Neji.

She inhaled long, deep breaths, seeking to gain some control over the spiralling emotions that threatened to completely overwhelm her. She didn't know what she wanted to do. She felt like screaming and crying and moaning and running and freezing and falling and, most of all, dying. Oh yeah, dying seemed like an attractive option right now.

Why did this have to happen to her? What could she have possibly done to deserve such torment? Was it because she liked knives? Was it because she avoided her mother at all costs? She would rather go on a hundred blind dates with fifteen-year-olds than suffer through this reality. If all this would just vanish, she'd even procreate with one of them!

She chanced another look, just to make sure she wasn't delusional.

Nope, he was there and that girl was there and they were there together, on the same table and everything! She was pretty sure she wasn't just a friend because if Neji had a friend like that she would've known about it. She had been (note past tense) the closest female friend (outside of immediate family) that he'd had and he hadn't taken her out to dinner alone.

This was definitely – gods help her – a date.

Neji was on a date.

Not with her.

With someone else.

A date.

Five days after he'd told her he loved her.

No. No, no, no, no, no!

This wasn't the way things were supposed to be happening. If he couldn't be with her, then he couldn't be with someone else. She hadn't even thought about the possibility that she could be wrong. She hadn't been able to. But now...now it was staring her square in the face. No, it was assaulting her.

He would move on. It was what Neji did. He found a problem, fixed the problem, moved on. She was the problem, he'd fixed the problem, and he was moving on.

But five days?

The thought that he could move on so soon was like a swift punch in the gut. No, try a hundred punches in the gut...with a kunai. Yeah, that was more like it.

She'd known that she'd see him again. That was obviously inevitable as they were on the same team, after all, but she'd thought she'd have a little more time to prepare herself mentally, physically, emotionally...well...any way she could prepare herself, really. But five days wasn't nearly enough time - she'd just barely gotten off the couch – and she certainly hadn't been forewarned. She'd been relying on two weeks at the very least – she didn't know if it were physically possible to avoid Gai or Lee for more than two weeks.

But she was here now and he was here now and while she would love to just stand there for the remainder of the night and woe her general lot in life, she couldn't. Ino and Hinata would be wondering where she was. They'd come and get her. They'd drag her back. He'd know she'd been hiding.

He'd see her.

He couldn't see her. If he saw her he'd know immediately what hell she was in. She didn't think she could bear him knowing how affected she was when he wasn't affected at all. She just couldn't let that happen.

Now the predicament was how to get back to her booth without being spotted by him. She popped her head around the corner to scan the possible routes of escape around the tables. Left, right, left and left? No. The second left was in his direct line of sight. Right, right, left, right? The second turn didn't work. Right, left, right, right? The second turn again!

It seemed no matter what combination of rights or lefts she used, the Second Turn would always lead her into his line of sight. It seemed there was only one option left.

Down. She couldn't bloody well do 'up' in a dress, after all.

However, down still presented a number of tactical problems. One: people didn't usually crawl around on floors. Why would they? Two: it was possible that the unfortunate length of the dress would cause some flash-age. Three: ...people didn't usually crawl around on floors.

This presented her with a conundrum: to go down or not to go down? In a situation such as this, one must weigh the pros and cons.

Pro: escaping Neji's detection. Con: looking like a crazy person. Pro: she was well accustomed to that. Con: dress getting dirty. Pro: it wasn't her dress. Con: hands getting dirty. Pro: she wasn't eating so it didn't matter. Con: flashing unsuspecting patrons. Pro: she was wearing good underwear. Con: being asked to leave. Pro: she wanted to leave. Con: drawing attention to herself. Pro: she was on the floor so hopefully people wouldn't see. Pro: escaping Neji's attention (that one bore repeating).

Well, it seemed as though the pros outweighed the cons, so down it was!