A/N: The above picture is Tomoko from this chapter. Hope you like her! I went with the clothing I could draw because I couldn't recall what she was supposed to wear. 

Flames licked the underbrush surrounding their group. Several of them had to drop to the ground to avoid the attack- only two managing to stay on their feet long enough to lock eyes with each other. Taking the silent cue- even if Tenten and Jun hadn't actually fought together on more than a handful of occasions- Tenten squeezed her eyes shut just as Jun finished the last, almost fumbled handsign.

"Lightning Illusion: Light Pillar!"

A swear escaped Tomoko's lips and a second before the area lit up, she and Saichi shut their eyes. Startled shouts escaped several of the masked attackers, as well as the civilians who hadn't guessed what was going to happen. Before the light cleared, Saichi began shoving them back towards the thicker part of the trees, trusting the Leaf shinobi to take care of the problem. Or at least, figuring they'd make for a good distraction while he made sure Ai was out of harm's way.

Not waiting for the opposing shinobi to recover, an instant after she'd closed her eyes Tomoko flashed her hands through a set of signs, relieved as her hands lit up with the tingling spark of electricity. She might not be able to completely perform the jutsu yet- something that when used would enable her to run electricity through the ground and send opponents within a certain range to their knees- but she could at least do this much. With that thought in mind, she dipped one tingling, sparking hand into her pouch and drew out two kunai with notches on their ends. The second she had one of them shifted over to her other hand and had gripped their hilts tightly, the electricity crackling over her skin began sliding over the kunai as well.

She'd bought them when she'd realized that her jutsu wouldn't be completed as quickly as she liked.

Tenten, on the other hand, had whipped out a scroll, summoning twin, kana weapons. Dropping the scroll, she snapped open her eyes and studied the area with a narrowed gaze as the light faded. Neither of the girls had a made a move, however, before Jun finished his next set of hand signs.

"Silent Illusion: Leaf Storm!"

A new technique. One that instead of simply sending a swirl of leaves around the target, literally bombarded them with razor sharp leaves until that was all that they saw. It was all in their mind, of course.

As the last of the light died away, their opponents came into view. There were five that the three shinobi could see, and out of those number, three were batting at the air, one was standing stalk still although they were quite pale, and one had shifted a tanto blade from some sheath on their person and focused their attention on the obvious cause of their problems. A powerful genjutsu user of Jun's level was almost as troublesome as if there'd actually been a jounin in the group. After all, an illusion that could trap multiple people at once was more effective than a jounin wielding a single blade.

The man who hadn't been caught noted all of this in a second. Lunging forward just as Tomoko's hands flashed out in reaction. Her intervention almost missed, one of the kunai skimming his arm. That was all it took for the electricity to jolt his system. Not pausing, she spun her other hand about as she twisted to completely face him, the kunai in her second hand burying itself in his back.

A noise of pain escaped his lips as several hundred volts of electricity surged through his system. Within seconds he'd dropped to his feet.

Tenten lowered her weapons, amazement on her face. The others were held securely in Jun's illusions for the moment, giving her time to question what she'd just seen.

"What was that...?"

Tomoko shrugged in response, tugging her kunai free of his back.

"Lightning Release..." she paused, trailing off as she scrambled for a name for her technique. She hadn't explored the books and checked to see if anyone else had created a technique from failure of the one she was attempting to reach. "Electric Touch."

Tenten studied her critically for a moment, considering whether or not to accept what seemed to be a hesitant title, but was distracted as suddenly there was a curse from the direction of the distracted shinobi. Two of shinobi that had been batting at the air had collapsed, apparently the genjutsu having been a bit too much for their minds to handle. If she had time to look closer, she might have also noticed that there was something like crimson pooling beneath one of them. She didn't have time, however, seeing as the one who hadn't been completely caught had lunged at another, tearing them from the genjutsu by slashing a hidden blade over their arm.

Out of the free shinobi, one of them turned and ran, the other critically studying the two people before them. Tomoko, being the rasher out of the three, didn't hesitate to take off after the escaping attacker, determined not to leave a threat to get them later. At that same moment, Jun released his genjutsu and raised one hand to rub his temple, a wince flashing across his face even as he focused on the threat left to him and Tenten.

Without hesitation, she brought her weapons back up to the ready. The man flexed his shoulders, gaze flicking between the two of them. Instead of coming to the same decision as his companion earlier- that the genjutsu user needed to be taken care of first- he dismissed the more tired looking shinobi as less of a threat and lunged at Tenten as he flicked his hands through signs. Not wanting to let him complete the jutsu- having recognized him as the one who'd used the fire jutsu at the beginning- she lunged forward and slashed out with one of the two kana blades. Stopping in his tracks, the man leapt backwards, then backwards again as a kunai flung through the air where he would have been standing if he'd paused.

Jun, one hand still rubbing his temple, had dug out a kunai. He wasn't backing down, even if his head felt like it was going to explode from the extensive genjutsu and the effort to keep that euphoria at bay. That thought in mind, as Tenten and the shinobi began facing off, blow to blow, he dropped the hand from his temple and began flashing his hands through signs once more. He'd caught the man once, he could do it again. He just needed to use a bit more chakra.

"Silent Illusion: Vine Dance!"

The shinobi stumbled in his movements, vines seeming to sprout from the ground and tangle around his feet. That single movement gave Tenten time to send one of her blades slashing through the skin of his chest, blood bubbling in it's wake. Pain flashed through Jun's mind, his will crumbling for a moment.

Thorns sprouted on the vines, cutting through the enemy's flesh and sending hot crimson flooding down his limbs. Tenten froze, confusion flooding across her features as the blood continued to coat his form, seemingly out of nowhere. A second later her gaze tore from him to where Jun was messaging his temple, eyes squeezed shut as if they weren't in the middle of a battle. From what she could tell, he seemed to be mumbling under his breath.

The man before her groaned, struggling where he'd crumbled to the ground, his hands suddenly seeming glued to his side by unseen restraints.

"...Jun?"

He didn't move, just continued mumbling to himself.

"Jun!"

He practically jumped where he stood, his hands dropping to his sides as he spun around to face her with a startled expression. As he opened his mouth to speak, however, he stiffened. His gaze shifted to where the man was lying in a puddle of blood, the wounds having stopped appearing the moment Tenten had startled him. As he blanched, Tenten could only stare.

"Jun... what just..."

"Nothing, it's nothing," he muttered instantly, turning on one of his Jun smiles. "I just kicked their asses is all. We should find the others!"

"Ju-"

"Looks like you handled things rather easily," Saichi cut in, suddenly reappearing with the civilians in toe.

He'd noted the lack of noise and figured it was safe to return. Noting the tension in the air, however, he glanced about the clearing, taking note of the mess of a man at Tenten's feet. Eyes narrowing, he studied her, noted the lack of blood on her person, then his gaze flickered to Jun and his pale face.

"Ah."

Jun's jaw locked, the only betrayal of his bright expression.

"Without your help," he quipped. "Guess that just goes to show, I'm still better than you when it comes to fighting, Saichi-kun. I bet I could kick your ass, too."

Sadou stepped up next to Saichi, his gaze flickering over the clearing much as the shinobi's had done. As Jun continued to attempt and lighten the mood, the princess's attendant simply studied the collapsed figures, his eyes lingering on the bloody figure longer than the rest. Thoughtfulness crossed his expression for a moment before being locked away as the last figure of their party rejoined them and the shinobi began rounding up the enemies to escort the nearest town to be locked up.

They'd turn over the bandits- make sure to tell that a few of them seemed to have training- then continue along with the trip.

After all, they'd been skilled, but bandits were bandits. No need to stop a trip over something so simple.

___________________________

It quickly became obvious to Tenten as the trip continued that Jun was avoiding her. He wasn't even attempting to be subtle about it. If she tried to pull him to the side and ask him about the matter- and perhaps about what she'd overheard a few nights ago around the fire- he'd find some reason he had to be somewhere else. Typically he'd use Momoe, whom they'd met up with upon arriving in the port town where the ship was waiting to take them to the Moon country.

Slowly, the situation was becoming rather frustrating. She wasn't known for her temper like some, but that didn't mean she didn't have one. A temper- she might add- that he was beginning to cause to fray at the edges.

Something that was probably the direct cause of the reason she was currently settled with her bottom on the railing of the ship they'd boarded with a scowl on her face as the crew ran back and forth to prepare for setting sail. Jun was standing near the door that led below deck, his usual grin on his face as he told Ai a joke, or perhaps just teased her if the flushed state of her face was any indication. As she studied him, she noted something she might not have noted before. Sometimes, when Ai would glance away or get talking rather animatedly, he would glance past her. In those seconds his jaw would clench, or his frame would tense, but there was no other indication he'd even looked elsewhere. If she hadn't been studying him so closely, she might not have even noticed it.

The words that she heard the other night flashed through her mind.

'You know, hallucinations are the beginning of the end. From what I understand, the moment your kind lose touch with reality, those around them start to be in danger. I wonder, how in touch with reality are you?'

Unable to help herself, well aware he would probably run away again, Tenten slipped from the railing and to her feet. Crossing the deck, she laid it out in her mind as she'd memorized it so far. There wasn't very many places for him to run, even less once they set out. In such a situation, she should be able to corner him somehow. It was just a matter of making it happen.

"Jun, Ai," she greeted.

At the sound of her voice, he visibly stiffened.

"Tenten," he greeted cheerily. "Come to join the fun? I was just telling Ai about the time we got arrested."

Ai nodded, her amusement obvious.

"Did he seriously get you dragged before the hokage?" she demanded. "That had to have been embarrassing!"

Tenten put on a smile, her eye twitching slightly.

"As are most of the situations Jun gets people dragged into. If you'll excuse us for a moment, Princess."

Then, without waiting for an answer, she grabbed ahold of his sleeve and dragged him around the small cabin they'd been standing before, and to the back of the boat. Jun struggled as moved, but she shifted her grip, locking her hand around his wrist.

"Tenten-chan, what's the-"

"Shut. Up."

Wisely, he stopped talking. Within moments she'd trapped him at the back, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What was that?"

He rose a brow, a playful smile flickering across his face.

"I was talking to the princess, obviously. What, are you jealou-"

"Jun."

He flinched at the stony tone of her voice, but didn't drop his expression. Instead, he braced his hands against the railing behind him, cocking his head to the side as his lips twisted up even further.

"Not jealous. Got it," he teased.

"You've been avoiding me."

He shrugged.

"Are you sure you're not just paranoid?" he questioned.

"I'm certain."

For a moment, they stared at each other, silence between them. His expression might have been light, but for the first time, Tenten saw past it. His eyes were anything but cheerful. She'd never thought of the blue color of his eyes as icy, not until that moment. They were serious and blocked. Blocked meaning that she realized in that moment that no matter what she said, she wasn't going to get to the real him. The him behind that cheerful wall.

Then, without a word, he released the railing and shouldered his way past her.

"Don't be."

Tenten pursed her lips, spinning to face his back with a narrowed gaze. She didn't look away, not even after he'd disappeared back to the front of the cabin.

"Jun..."

What exactly was he hiding?

A/N: So much fun drama!