Hi everyone! Welcome to the end of From Rivals, to Friends, to Something More Part I! Not much to say except enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are the property of Kishimoto Masashi-sama. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is made from this fic.

TenTen made her way to the hospital the next day to visit her pseudo-brother Naruto. It was another sunny day in Konoha, and the brunette was enjoying the nice weather while she walked. She wondered how the others and Tsunade would react to her request to leave the village to train. She felt that staying in the village wouldn't help her reach the level she wanted to reach. Hopefully, she wouldn't have too much trouble convincing the Hokage to let her leave…

Then again, she was only a mere Genin. This was going to be a little harder than she thought.

After reaching the hospital and getting Naruto's room number, TenTen walked through the sterile halls of Konoha Hospital. She reached Naruto's room, which was located on the third floor, and saw the door was slightly ajar. When the weapons handler peeked in, she saw Hinata sitting in a chair next to Naruto's bed. The Hyuuga heiress was trying hard not to faint as she and Naruto talked. It made the older kunoichi giggle a little.

"Hi Naruto! Hi Hina-chan!" greeted TenTen as she walked through the door.

"H-Hi TenTen," greeted Hinata.

"TenTen-nee-chan!" said Naruto happily as he waved.

"How are you feeling?" asked TenTen as she stood next to Hinata.

"Much better now!" said Naruto with a smile. "I just wish I could've saved Sasuke."

Naruto's frown made TenTen frown. She knew how close the Uchiha and Naruto were. If there was anyone who should've been told about this whole Sasuke situation, it was the blond. She hoped Tsunade would tell Naruto.

"I-I have to go now," said Hinata. "I'll see you two l-later."

"Bye Hinata!" said Naruto with a huge grin.

"Later Hina-chan," said TenTen warmly.

The Hyuuga heiress left the room after quickly waving to the other two occupants. TenTen then turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, what would you say if I told you I was leaving the village?" asked TenTen.

"Not you too!" said Naruto with a scowl.

"No, it's just to train," said TenTen.

"Oh! Then maybe you can come with me and Ero-sennin!" said Naruto, instantly brightening up. "He's taking me on a journey with him and he's gonna train me for the next three years!"

'That's perfect!' thought TenTen. She'd be able to leave if she left with Naruto and Jiraiya!

"Well, if Jiraiya-sama wouldn't mind, then I'd love to," said TenTen.

Right after she said that, a large toad appeared outside of Naruto's window. On top of the toad was a man with long white hair.

"Ero-sennin, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto as he pointed at the Legendary Sannin.

"Stop calling me that you brat!" said Jiraiya indignantly. "And I'm here to check up on you."

"I'm fine Ero-sennin," said Naruto as he crossed his arms.

TenTen laughed at the exchange between the two. Jiraiya heard it and looked at her.

"So, who's this Naruto?" asked Jiraiya with a smirk. "Your girlfriend?"

Both Naruto and TenTen nearly fell over. The two glared at the older man angrily.

"Naruto's like a little brother to me," said TenTen smartly. "I'm TenTen."

"Ah, so you're Konoha's weapons mistress," said Jiraiya. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Don't call me 'weapons mistress'," said TenTen.

"Why not?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I'm not a master of every weapon. I've got a long way to go before I'll be comfortable with that title," said TenTen. "That's another reason why I wanna leave Konoha."

"So you're going to run away like the Uchiha did?" asked Jiraiya.

"Of course not," said TenTen. "I'm gonna get permission to leave the village."

"Tsunade isn't gonna let you leave alone girl," said Jiraiya.

"It's TenTen," said TenTen through gritted teeth. Jiraiya ignored her.

"She can come with us instead, right Ero-sennin?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"I don't know," said Jiraiya as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm going to be teaching you a lot of advanced stuff and it's top secret."

"That's fine with me," said TenTen. "We can leave the village together, but I can just go my own way. We can meet up every once in a while so Naruto and I can spar. It'll help us find areas we need to improve in. Besides, I wanna come up with my own style anyway."

"Hmm, that does sound like a good idea," said Jiraiya. "Alright, I guess you can come with us. We'll just have to go talk to Tsunade."

"Yes! Thank you Jiraiya-sama!" said TenTen happily.

"Ah, it's no problem," said Jiraiya with a wave of his hand. "We'll be leaving in a week, so make sure you pack what you need and say your goodbyes."

With that, Jiraiya was gone. Naruto and TenTen looked at each other and high-fived. This was going to be fun.

After her visit with Naruto, TenTen went to visit her best friend. She hoped he was awake this time. When she got to the room, she knocked lightly, just in case he was sleeping.

"Enter," came a voice from the other side.

The brunette slowly opened the door, and saw that Hiashi was in the room with Neji. The Hyuuga prodigy was sitting up with the help of a bunch of pillows. The head of the Hyuuga Clan gave TenTen a slight nod and a small smile.

"Hello TenTen," said Hiashi. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello Hiashi-sama," said TenTen with a respectful bow.

"No need to be so formal," said Hiashi.

"TenTen," came Neji's voice.

TenTen's eyes met with Neji's ivory orbs. The two just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Hiashi looked at the exchange with an air of approval. Neji had his blessing if he decided to pursue the weapons handler.

"How are you feeling Neji?" asked TenTen after a while.

"Sore, but much better than before," said Neji.

"That's good," said TenTen distractedly.

How was she going to tell him that she was going to be gone for the next three years? How would he react?

"What is it TenTen?" asked Neji.

'Damn his perceptiveness,' thought TenTen. "Um, what if I told you I was leaving Konoha next week for 3 years?"

"What?" asked Neji harshly. Hiashi looked at the girl with surprise.

"W-Well, I'm leaving Konoha next week," said TenTen. "I'm gonna be gone for 3 years. I'll be traveling with Jiraiya-sama and Naruto."

"The Jiraiya-sama? Of the Legendary Sannin?" asked Hiashi.

"Uh, yeah," said TenTen sheepishly.

"What made you decide this?" asked Neji while trying to calm his anger. He couldn't believe his best friend was leaving him!

"You did!" snapped TenTen angrily. "Look at what happened to you during that last mission! I wasn't even strong enough to be considered a member of the team! Do you know how much it hurt just to sit here in the village and wonder what happened to you?"

Angry tears were filling TenTen's eyes. How could she not have been strong enough to help them out?

"I need to go Neji," said TenTen as her voice cracked. "I want to become stronger to protect those who are closest to me."

'To protect those I love,' thought TenTen.

Neji looked at his best friend with soft eyes. He could understand her frustration. If she thought leaving to train was best for her, then he'd support her.

"Besides, I think you still have a lot to learn from Hiashi-sama," said TenTen with a smile. "While I'm gone, you'll be able to train with him more and become stronger. You better become stronger you bastard."

Neji smirked at the kunoichi. "You better become strong too TenTen. I'll expect you to spar with me when you get back."

"You bet," said TenTen with a wink.

After leaving the hospital, TenTen began her trek to visit Tsunade. When she reached the Hokage Mansion, she saw Jiraiya standing in front of the door.

"You're here," said Jiraiya. "Well, let's go tell Tsunade you'll be accompanying me as well."

Three bottles of sake, a broken desk, and a chair flying across the village later, Tsunade agreed to let TenTen leave with Jiraiya and Naruto. The brunette thought things would've went much smoother if the Toad Sage didn't try to flirt with the Hokage so much. Now she understood why Naruto dubbed the man 'Pervy Sage'. While she was leaving Hokage Mansion, she saw Kotetsu and Izumo carrying the chair back to the Hokage's office. She also noticed Kotetsu was the unfortunate victim of the flying chair. 'Poor guy,' she thought.

The next few days flew by for TenTen. Neji was discharged from the hospital 4 days before TenTen's departure, and the two decided to just take it easy. The kunoichi told Gai and Lee about her plans to leave Konoha, and instantly regretted her decision. The two spandex clad shinobi cried and hugged for hours. Then Gai decided that the team needed to spend TenTen's last days in the village together.

This is how TenTen found herself stuck watching another cheesy movie with her teammates at their sensei's house. Gai and Lee bawled loudly and tissues were scattered across the floor. Neji's eye twitched and TenTen was trying to keep a migraine at bay. She had to get out of there before she went insane.

"Well Gai-sensei, this has been fun," said TenTen as she got up and stretched, "but I have to go now."

"What? Why?" asked Gai. "The movie was just getting good!"

"Well, um…" began TenTen, trying to think of a good excuse. "I… have to go pack! Yeah, I have to pack and… Neji's gonna help me! Right Neji?"

TenTen then nudged her best friend frantically. Neji looked at the other two occupants staring at him expecting an answer.

"Yes, she did ask me to help her," said Neji, feeling slightly creeped out by Gai's and Lee's staring. It was definitely the eyebrows.

"Well, okay then," said Gai.

"Bye Gai-sensei, bye Lee!" yelled TenTen over her shoulder as she dragged Neji behind her.

Once the two of them were out of Gai's apartment, TenTen sighed happily.

"I'm so glad to finally be out of there!" said TenTen.

"Me too," said Neji. "TenTen, you can let go of my arm now."

TenTen looked at her left hand and saw she still had hold of Neji's pale arm. She let it go instantly and blushed a little.

"Oh, um… sorry," said TenTen sheepishly. "So what do you wanna do now?"

Neji just shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't train just yet because of Tsunade's orders, so he couldn't think of anything to do to help them pass the time.

"Well, we have to think of something," said TenTen. "I do leave tomorrow after all."

Neji hid his surprise at the kunoichi's statement. How could he have forgotten? Luckily, it was still early in the day, so he had time to think of something the two of them could do that would be memorable.

"We still have time," said TenTen. "I guess we'll figure something out."

"Hn," replied Neji.

"You're a man of many words," said TenTen sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Neji smirked in return.

The brunets decided to walk through the village for a while. They figured it might give them ideas on what they could do. There was a companionable silence between the two as they were immersed in their own thoughts.

'I can't believe I'm really leaving tomorrow,' thought TenTen. 'I'm gonna miss the village… and Neji.'

'I hope she knows what she's doing,' thought Neji. 'Jiraiya-sama and Naruto better take good care of her or I'll kill them.'

"NEJI-KUN!"

"Damn it," said Neji.

"You can never catch a break with them can you?" asked TenTen.

"We've got to run," said Neji.

"No! You're still injured and Tsunade-sama said you can't do anything strenuous," said TenTen. "I'll take care of them."

The mob of fangirls were approaching the brunets fast, and TenTen stood protectively in front of Neji.

"Sorry girls, but Neji isn't interested," said TenTen.

"Who's the tomboy?" asked random fangirl 89.

"Is she trying to keep Neji-kun to herself?" asked random fangirl 102.

"Neji-kun wouldn't be interested in that," said random fangirl 306.

TenTen's eyebrow twitched. Who were these girls to judge her? Taking out a couple of weapon scrolls she twirled them in her hands.

"What was that?" she asked menacingly.

The fangirls looked back at TenTen and saw the scrolls. Their eyes widened as they remembered who the kunoichi was. However, it was too late.

"You have 3 seconds," said TenTen.

The fangirls began to shove each other as they tried to run away from the weapons handler. TenTen began to throw kunai, which made the fangirls more frantic. Once the area was clear of the fangirls, TenTen turned to her best friend with a smile.

"See? All better now," said TenTen.

"Did you injure any of them?" asked Neji. He really hoped she did.

"Nah, those scrolls had some of my blunt weapons," said TenTen.

"Damn," muttered Neji. TenTen laughed.

"Well, let's continue our journey," said TenTen.

"Journey?" asked Neji.

"To cure our boredom!" said TenTen. "Let's go!"

TenTen grabbed Neji's hand and began walking again. Even though he was being dragged once again, the Hyuuga prodigy couldn't bring himself to say anything. Her hand in his felt really nice, not that he'd admit it. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was getting ready to set. After scanning their surroundings quickly, Neji found the restaurant that the two of them went to when they were bound together by Sandaime.

"Let's eat," was all Neji said as he dragged his best friend to the restaurant.

"I remember this place!" said TenTen. "We came here for lunch back when we were still rookies. We sat over there!"

TenTen pointed at the unoccupied table by a window. The brunets sat down in the same seats as before.

"Hi, I'm Ak- hey, I remember you guys!" said Akane. "You came here a couple of years ago!"

"Your name is Akane-chan right?" asked TenTen.

"Yes!" said Akane. "Are you two still stuck together because of the Hokage?"

"No, we're here together because we want to be," said TenTen.

"Ooh, so that means you guys are a couple now then?" asked Akane hopefully.

"N-No!" said TenTen with a blush. "We're best friends now."

"Kuso!" said Akane disappointedly. "I still think the two of you would look good together."

TenTen was trying not to blush more, and Neji was concentrating on not blushing at all. This waitress was weird if you asked him.

"Anyway, what'll it be?" asked Akane.

"Do you remember what we ordered before?" asked TenTen to Neji.

"I had fish soba and green tea," said Neji, "and you had the sesame dumplings with green tea."

"Wow, I'm surprised you actually remember," said TenTen. She then turned to Akane. "We'll have what he just said."

"Alright, it'll be out soon!" said Akane and left the table.

TenTen and Neji were stuck in an awkward silence after that. What was with people thinking that they were an item? They were just friends! Neji's mind went back to the kiss TenTen gave him while he was still in the hospital. The Hyuuga prodigy felt his face heat up and cursed his pale complexion. He knew how he felt about TenTen; he just wasn't sure if she reciprocated those feelings. His pride kept him from asking though.

"Here's your food!" said Akane, interrupting their individual thoughts.

"Thanks Akane-chan," said TenTen. Neji nodded his thanks.

"No problem! If you need anything, just ask!" said Akane happily, then left the table once again.

After a quick "Itadakimasu", the two began to eat in silence. 'I wonder if this is what it'd be like if we were on a date,' thought TenTen. She almost choked on her food and blushed a little. Why was she thinking something like that right now? She was leaving tomorrow to train; she didn't have time to entertain her girly side!

"…TenTen?"

"Huh? What?" asked TenTen as she looked to her friend.

"I asked you how's your food," said Neji.

"Oh! It's really good," said TenTen. "How's yours?"

"It's acceptable," said Neji. TenTen rolled her eyes.

The brunets paid for their meal, then began their walk through the village once again. The full moon was high in the sky and gave everything it touched a pale glow. After a while, Neji and TenTen found themselves at their usual training ground. They walked into the clearing, and TenTen happily lied down on the grass. Neji took a seat next to her.

"It's beautiful out here tonight," said TenTen as she looked at the stars above. "I'm gonna miss Konoha."

"You don't have to go," said Neji.

"Yes I do," said TenTen. "It's the only way I'll become stronger."

Neji looked down at his best friend. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. The moon gave her such a heavenly glow, like she was an untouchable being. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled down. Now he was lying next to TenTen.

"Look at the stars with me," said TenTen. "It's really beautiful."

Neji looked up at the sky, and his mind wandered. He really didn't want TenTen to leave. The Hyuuga prodigy knew it was selfish to think like that, but he couldn't help it. 'She's mine!' thought Neji. He let out a small chuckle; he wasn't really surprised that that thought popped into his mind. Even if she didn't know it, TenTen was Hyuuga Neji's and no one else's, and that's final.

A soft warm hand enclosed in Neji's cool pale one. Looking down, he saw that TenTen's hand was entwined with his. He turned and saw the weapons handler looking at him. Neji stared into the warm chocolate orbs and knew that no one else would be able to melt his icy exterior except for this girl.

"I'm really going to miss you Neji," said TenTen with a soft voice.

"I'm going to miss you too," replied Neji as his thumb rubbed small circles on TenTen's hand.

TenTen smiled at him, and Neji couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips in response. Only she could do those kinds of things to him. TenTen moved closer to the Hyuuga prodigy, and lied her head against his shoulder. Neji lied his head on top of hers and the two of them continued staring at the sky, each with a content smile on their face.

This was definitely a night to remember.

The next day, TenTen was up bright and early. After checking her supplies and doing some last-minute packing, the brunette headed out of her apartment to meet Jiraiya and Naruto at the village gates. Her mind went back to the previous night, and a smile blossomed onto her face. It was definitely enjoyable and memorable. It also tempted her to just stay in the village, but she knew this was something she had to do. She had to protect her friends. She had to protect Neji.

Neji was at the Hyuuga Compound training with Hinata. He was surprised at the Hyuuga heiress's progress. She was definitely much better than she was during the Chuunin Exams. As he dodged another of her attacks, the Hyuuga prodigy remembered something.

"Hinata," said Neji. "Doesn't Naruto leave today?"

"O-Oh! Yes, he does!" exclaimed Hinata. "Isn't TenTen leaving with them?"

The two young Hyuuga stared at each other for a moment then immediately went to Hiashi's office to excuse themselves.

"You are to return as soon as they leave to resume your training," said Hiashi.

"Hai!" replied the Hyuuga cousins and ran out of his office. Hiashi shook his head and chuckled.

At the village gates, TenTen saw that Naruto and Jiraiya were already there. She also saw Sakura, Gai, and Lee. She wondered where Neji and Hinata were.

"TenTen-nee-chan!" called Naruto.

"Hey Naruto!" said TenTen as she approached the blond.

She ruffled his hair playfully, then turned to the other people to greet them. Sakura approached her with uncertainty.

"Take good care of Naruto," said Sakura.

"I'm sure Jiraiya-sama will take good care of him," said TenTen. "I'll be looking out for him too. He is my little brother after all."

Sakura smiled at the older kunoichi.

"Make sure you learn all you can from Tsunade-sama," said TenTen.

"H-Hai!" said Sakura.

"S-Sorry we're late!" came a timid voice.

"Neji! Hinata! You guys are here!" said Naruto.

"H-Hello Naruto-kun," said Hinata with a blush.

Neji and the rest of Team Gai approached TenTen. She looked at them and smiled shakily. They were like her new family, and the weapons handler was going to miss them.

"WE WILL MISS YOU FAIR TENTEN!" yelled Gai.

"SHOW THE WORLD THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!" yelled Lee.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Neji and TenTen ignored the two as usual. The Hyuuga prodigy approached his best friend. He gave her a small smile.

"Well, this is it," said TenTen with a sigh. "Take care of yourself Neji."

"Same to you TenTen," replied Neji.

The weapons handler approached the spandex clad duo and hugged them. Even though she thought she'd be choked to death, TenTen wouldn't have had it any other way. Turning back to Neji, the brunette enveloped him in a hug. The Hyuuga prodigy wrapped his firm arms around her waist and closed his eyes, imprinting this moment into his memory.

"I really am going to miss you Neji," said TenTen.

As they pulled back from the hug, Neji noticed a single tear escape TenTen's eye. He wiped it away with his thumb and tilted her head up.

"I'm going to miss you too TenTen," he said.

TenTen's eyes widened as she felt surprisingly warm lips on her forehead. Pulling away from the kiss, Neji gave her another small smile.

"See you in 3 years," said Neji.

TenTen nodded with a smile on her face. Picking up her pack, she began to walk with Naruto and Jiraiya. Even though she was going to miss Konoha greatly, she knew she was making the right decision. Looking back at the village gates, TenTen smiled.

'I'll be back in 3 years, and I'll be stronger than ever.'

That's the end of Part I! What do you all think? I had fun writing this, and I can't wait to get started on Part II! Thank you all once again for the support you've shown to this story. I can't say it enough. I appreciate all of the views, reviews, alerts, and favs that I've gotten throughout the course of this fic. This story is far from over, so I hope you all will be back to read Part II. The first chapter for that will probably be up by next week. Ja ne!

KuroiOokami89