A/N: hey hey guys and girlies! i've started on another Fanfic because i kind of wasnt really feeling the other one. if anyone wants me to continue my previous one, just let me know!

ok, so this one is a lot about my passion: horseback riding. no, i'm not going to go in painful details about riding procedures and equestrian trivia but a lot of the plot will rely on horseback riding!XD

and Neji's a total badass3 but he'll come in the next chapter!

kisses,
Iris:D

Disclaimer: Neji, Tenten and other characters (c) masashi kishimoto

Around the arena. Once. Twice.

A million times.

Countless times as the sun began to set, disappearing behind the lush branches of deciduous trees.

Numerous times as the sky began to darken and the stars began to shine.

Of course, the girl on the horse didn't notice. She didn't care.

She was only aware of how much time had passed when the arena lights snapped on, flooding the area with bright, fluorescent lights.

She blinked, her pupils dilated from the hours in semi-darkness. The lights bothered her a bit. They were too bright, too unnatural.

As she slowed her horse to a stop, a girl emerged from the shadows, cupping her mouth as she stifled a yawn. Her unusually colored hair – pink – glowed in the arena lights.

"Do you even know what time it is, Ten?" she asked, narrowing her apple green eyes.

The girl on the horse stared blankly at her friend. "I don't know."

"It's nine, Tenten," the pink-haired girl told her. "You've been riding for three freaking hours."

"And…?" The girl on the horse shrugged.

"Tenten," whined the pinkette, "I'm so hungry!"

Tenten laughed. "Then why didn't you go home, Sakura?"

"Because…you drove me here, remember? I don't have your keys!" Sakura reminded her friend.

With a sigh of resignation, Tenten took her feet out of the stirrups and swung her right leg over the saddle, landing onto the sand with a soft plop. She unbuckled her helmet, pulling out the elastic that held her brown hair in a pair of buns. The horse looked at her with dark, gentle eyes. Tenten patted its neck fondly.

"Even your horse agrees with me," Sakura joked. "She wants you to leave! Isn't that right, Sora?"

The horse threw her head up into the air, her light brown mane flopping around.

Tenten laughed and gathered the reins up in her hand. "Ok, let me untack her, brush her and put her back into the field, Sakura. Then we can go get something to eat."

"If I hadn't told you to stop, you would've kept riding forever, right?" Sakura glanced at her friend.

Tenten remained silent, slowly walking away from the arena and back to the stables. They walked out of range of the arena light's, now guided only by the moon above them. She led Sora with one hand gripping the reins, the other resting gently on her neck. Sora nuzzled her, her muzzle brushing Tenten's shoulder. Sakura followed them, waiting patiently.

Tenten closed her eyes and thought of the wonderful feeling of riding. The rhythm of the gaits – walk, trot, canter, and gallop – as the rider and horse moved as one, dashing over the earth as if they were floating. The soaring sensation as the horse's powerful hind legs thrust itself over a jump, remaining airborne for a few glorious seconds before plummeting back to the earth, both rider and horse yearning for more. The deep satisfaction as one completed a difficult jump course, strengthening the unbreakable bond between human and animal.

It was a feeling she couldn't live without. She'd be in pieces if it was taken away from her. She was, soaring, freedom within reach.

"Yes," Tenten finally mumbled, leading Sora into the brightly lit stable aisle, "I would keep riding forever. I would keep flying forever, because horses give me the wings that I lack."

--

Sakura displayed a long mascara brush, holding it to Tenten's eyelashes. Tenten eyed the brush warily, as if it might poke her eyes out. "Don't come near me with that thing," Tenten warned her friend.

"Oh, Ten," Sakura sighed, amused, "I'm not going to stab your eye." She frowned as Tenten tried to twist away. "But I might if you keep moving like that."

"Moving like what?" Tenten projected innocence as she scooted an inch away.

"You're so difficult." Sakura capped and screwed the brush back into the bottle.

"You already stuffed me into this crap," Tenten pointed out, gesturing to her attire.

She was wearing a floral print blouse – tiny blue and light green flowers connected by delicate dark green vines on a cream colored background. The sleeves were ruffled and silky, the train running around her neckline. The shirt bunched at the waist, accentuating her slender waist. Her long, shapely legs were in very form-fitting dark wash jeans and she wore a pair of silver sandals that had a one-inch heel.

"Oh, come on, Ten!" Sakura encouraged her friend. "You look absolutely adorable! And your butt looks great in those pants!"

"It's not like I want anyone to notice that," mumbled Tenten, fiddling with her hairbrush.

Sakura had always been slightly worried about Tenten's love life. While she had been dating Sasuke on and off since they were fifteen, Tenten hadn't shown any interest in any guys for those three years. If a boy could get past her cool glances and curt responses and actually have the gall to ask her out, Tenten wouldn't try to be polite when she refused. "They should get the message," Tenten would always say when Sakura reprimanded her. "If they don't, then they deserve what they get."

Of course, Tenten liked boys fine. Especially the ones who rode. Tenten had met many a boy through her horse shows and from around the barn and had gotten to be wonderful friends with them. She always said that was why she couldn't see herself dating. Guys were her friends, not lovers.

That just seemed strange to her.

If there was ever a guy she knew she couldn't be friends with, then he was a possible candidate.

But for the time being, there was no one like that out there.

As far as she knew…

--

Sakura sped down the highway in her silver convertible. Tenten enjoyed the wind that whistled through her hair, not unlike on a horse.

Sakura glanced Tenten, noticing how she periodically touched the brown curls that framed her delicate face. "It looks fine, Ten."

Sakura had admitted defeat concerning make-up but she insisted that Tenten redo her hair.

"It's childish," Sakura had told her. "Do you know anyone our age that has their hair in two buns?"

"Yes," Tenten had calmly said.

"Who?"

"She's sitting in front of you."

Obviously that wasn't a good enough answer for Sakura since she proceeded to pull the elastics out of Tenten's hair, allowing her rich, glossy brown hair to cascade down her shoulders.

"I don't know why you don't where it down," Sakura had commented casually as she felt the curling iron. "It looks really pretty."

"It's because I look like a girl."

"That's not a bad thing."

"It is to me."

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Tenten grumbled.

Sakura flipped on the radio and began dancing in her seat to a catchy melody. "Your love life really needs some spicing up, darling. Come to think of it, you're still a virgin, aren't you?"

Tenten shaded her eyes from the sun. "Yeah, so what?"

It was so condescending and overrated how some people judged the quality of their lives by what age you lost your virginity. Does it really make you a better person to have had sex when you were fifteen? Of course, Sakura had, as well as many of the other girls from their high school. But Tenten flew above them, thinking they were ridiculous.

Sakura just shook her head, her long pink hair whipping around her face. "Nothing…it's just that you've never had a boyfriend."

"I did," Tenten protested.

"That boy that you met from the horse show last year does not count," Sakura pointed out.

"We went on a date," Tenten protested.

"Washing your horses together is not a date." Sakura kept her eyes on the road.

Tenten pouted. "It's an equestrian date! We were bonding!"

"But now you're going on a real date," Sakura said excitedly.

"It's a blind date," Tenten groaned. "That's just so tacky."

Sakura avoided the urge to roll her eyes. Tenten could act so superior sometimes but it was also one of the reasons why she was her best friend. Tenten was probably one of the few people – including Sasuke – who could actually put up with her stubbornness and sarcasm.

Sakura pulled into the parking lot of her favorite Chinese restaurant, parking next to a dark green Ferrari.

A handsome looking boy with hair so black it almost looked blue and deep, brooding onyx eyes leaned against the hood of the car, talking to someone on the phone. He was wearing a navy blue hoodie and faded skinny jeans, Converse on his feet.

He waved at Sakura and Tenten as they stepped out of the Convertible.

Sakura walked over to him, her white ankle boots clacking against the pavement, her light pink and white wrap-dress sashaying in a most feminine way. She pecked him on the cheek as Tenten stood there impatiently.

"Hey." Sasuke greeted Tenten in his usual way: a cool upwards nod of his head.

"Hey." Tenten tugged at the floral blouse, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Another one bites the dust," Sasuke joked, looking up at his pink-haired girlfriend.

"Oh, shut up." Sakura slapped his arm good-naturedly, her Coach bag falling to the crook of her elbow.

"If it makes you feel any better, Tenten," Sasuke began, "I think it's a nice change from your normal outfit of sweatshirts and jean shorts. Who knew you actually have boobs?"

"Who knows if you actually have a dick?" Tenten responded, smirking.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose as he gave a chuckle. "Sakura knows I have one."

Sakura blushed. "Bastard," she mumbled. "So when's your friend getting here?"

"He's not my friend," Sasuke pointed out, "Just a classmate who agreed to go on this date."

"Why?" Tenten was skeptical.

Sasuke shrugged. "He heard about you and your 'boyfriend binge' and was cocky enough to say that he could get you to fall for him."

"I'm not on a 'boyfriend binge.' Anyway, I don't like him already," Tenten answered.

"I don't like him either but Sakura here is determined to get you a boyfriend by the end of this month."

Tenten glared at her friend, but Sakura pointedly looked away.

Sasuke glanced at both girls and, with a sigh, stood up. "Alright, let's go. We can wait for Tenten's blind date inside."

"For the record, I'm so above blind dates," Tenten felt the need to add as she followed Sakura and Sasuke into the restaurant.

She watched them, the subtlety of their gestures but the obviousness of their relationship. How Sasuke's arm snaked around her waist, resting loosely against her left hip. How Sakura placed her head on his shoulder, as if depending on him to guide her. How they walked in unison, walking with the same feet at the same time.

They looked perfect for each other. They looked whole, complete. If you took one of them away, the other would look so lonely, so solitary, like only half a person.

But Tenten didn't need to be entirely dependent on someone. She was her own independent person. Give her a horse, a field and a lifetime and she wouldn't need to think twice before mounting the horse and galloping away, not even considering when she would return.

As they reached the front door, a black SUV pulled into the parking lot and a green-clad young man stepped out.

Tenten's breath caught in her throat. It was Rock Lee, the overenthusiastic Leaf University mascot. His green spandex workout gear, black pudding bowl haircut, and bushy eyebrows were easy to single out.

Sasuke turned around. "Oh look. It's your blind date. What was his name again? Dee? Fee? Bee?"

Tenten didn't hear him. She watched as Lee walked closer, smiling broadly and waving to them.

She frowned.

She didn't need this. She didn't want to feel dependent on Lee. She didn't want Lee to be half of who she was. No, she couldn't be half Bushy-Brows.

"Sakura, I don't feel well," Tenten mumbled. "Let's go back…"

"What's wrong, Ten?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Tenten shook her head, reaching into her bag, groping for her cell phone. "I…have to go…"

Sasuke smirked. "I know…Lee really is something, isn't he?"

Tenten pulled out her cell phone, punching in the numbers, and put it to her ear. "I'll…see you around, Sakura…Sasuke…just tell Lee that I had a…family emergency…Bye…" She ducked behind the restaurant and concentrated on the phone ringing.

"Hello?" said a person on the other end of the phone.

"Ino? Hey, it's Tenten…" She bit her lip. "Can you come pick me up from the Chopsticks House?"

"What's wrong, babe? The blind date not going well?" Tenten could practically hear Ino smirking.

"Just get your ass over here…" Tenten mumbled, watching Lee look confused as Sasuke told him about Tenten's excuse.

"Well, I was kind of on a date with Shikamaru so…hold on, let me ask him." There was a sound as Ino most likely placed a hand over the mouthpiece. "Hey, honey, is it okay if we go pick up Ten? Her blind date was a disaster."

"Troublesome."

"…be right over, Tenten darling!"

With a sigh of relief, Tenten pressed END.

--

Ino pulled up in her navy blue Porsche, Shikamaru in the passenger seat.

Tenten looked up and smiled, relieved. She had been hiding behind the dumpsters because Lee, Sakura and Sasuke had been placed at a table right by the window.

"Tenten!" Ino called, taking off her sunglasses. "Get in!"

Without a backwards glance, Tenten raced into the car, slamming the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally…what took you so long? I called you half an hour ago!"

"Technically, it was only twenty-five minutes," Shikamaru corrected her.

She good-naturedly stuck her tongue out but he didn't see her.

"Where to?" Ino asked as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

"Um…my barn's good," Tenten mumbled.

Ino checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, tossing a strand of her blond hair over one shoulder. "So, why'd you bail out on your blind date?"

Tenten involuntarily shuddered. "It was Lee."

Shikamaru turned around and smirked. "I don't blame you for wanting to get out."

"What was Sakura thinking?" Ino kept her eyes on the road. "Did she really think that you and Lee were going to end up together?" She tried to keep herself from laughing. As much as she loved Sakura as a best friend, her wild antics always amused her.

"Actually, it was Sasuke's idea…" Tenten told her.

"Then, he doesn't have any sense at all." Ino shook her head.

The ride proceeded into Tenten looking out the window as the landscapes flew by as Ino and Shikamaru made plans for their anniversary. The conversation was frequently punctuated with Shikamaru's utterance of 'troublesome' which then led to Ino laughing and ignoring his outburst.

Ino pulled into the dusty parking lot of Bajutsu Stables, which had only one lone white BMW, and Tenten dashed out of the car. She waved good-bye as Ino blew her a kiss and the Porsche sped away.

Tenten looked around her; the sandy arena she had been riding in for three hours yesterday; the hazy blue sky overhead with the occasional burst of shade as a puffy cloud floated in front of the sun; the leafy green trees that lined the arena and congregated into a forest.

A dirt path twisted among the pasture fences and serene forests, leading to the stables and indoor arena. Tenten strolled on the walkway, taking off her sandals and enjoying the feeling of grains of sand floating over her toes.

The sun was strong; the heat was intense. Tenten tied her hair up into a messy bun and pulled the ruffled blouse over her head, leaving her in a thin, white cami. She rolled up her jeans.

There, that was better.

Tenten strolled through the aisles, tittering hello to the stalls' occupants. She paused by her palomino mare, Sora. She stroked her neck, offering the horse an apple slice. Sora took the treat gratefully and blinked slowly.

"No riding today, Sora," Tenten murmured. "I don't have my riding clothes on…although I wish I could ride…"

The horse seemed to understand and continued to munch on her hay.

"Instead, I think I'll go into the hayloft," Tenten continued. "Maybe even to the roof of the barn. It's beautiful up there…"

With that, Tenten said good-bye to her horse and walked away, satisfied with the conversation even though it was rather one-sided.

She headed towards the ladder that led to the hayloft. She placed one foot onto the first rung, ignoring its rickety, squeaking protests. Tenten continued to climb up into the dusty hayloft. Letting her blouse, shoes and purse fall onto a hay bale, Tenten breathed in the pleasant smell of dust and hay.

Dust swirled around her. The early afternoon sun illuminated the dust, giving the place a magical appearance.

Tenten climbed over the hay bales, her destination the little wooden hatch over by the far side of the building. She unhooked the door to the hatch and poked her head onto the roof, surprised that it was already occupied.

A/N: how'd i do? good? bad? awesome? terrible? please review and let me know!

so, in this one, i tried to slow the pace down a bit because my previous fanfic was kinda...fast moving. so...yeah! Neji makes an appearance in the next chapter! *squeals happily*

please review and the next chapter will be up shortly!

kisses,
Iris