In the days before high school, before our falling out, we were inseparable…

And I loved him.

Going to different schools caused a rift; a painful rift between us. Now, I'm trying to keep a dying friendship alive…

And failing spectacularly.

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Our Rift
By: AndreahTreole
A NejiTen Story
Rating: T

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The new uniform had been delivered yesterday, and, without preamble, I tried it on. The skirt was snug to my waist, and the shirt tucked perfectly inside. The sweater was soft and fit over the collared shirt without bulging and being uncomfortable. The tie was a simple double-knot.

Now standing before my mirror, I turned over and over, checking out the back, the sides, and the front. I experimented on how far I could bend over without flashing my panties. Unluckily, it wasn't as far as I had hoped.

Oh, well, that's where shorts came in.

I laughed as I twisted and spun, enjoying the crisp new feel of my school's uniform. Rushing to my bed, I jumped onto the European-style mattress, one arm wrapped around a pillow, the other snatching the cordless from its cradle.

I plugged in the familiar digits without even looking at the number pad. Not that it would help, those numbers were worn off long ago. Placing the green phone to my ear, a gift from my adoptive father and brother, I flipped on my back.

After two rings, I heard him pick up. Before he could get out the greeting, I was talking, "Neji! Neji! Neji! Guess what!"

His sigh was audible, but I ignored it. Nothing would spoil my mood. "What?"

"My uniform!" I shouted, "It came today! I am officially a high school student!" His chuckle was warm and fuzzy, I grin stupidly into the speaker. "So, can you come over and check it out?"

"Come over and see you in a repulsively short skirt when you haven't even put on shorts?" How did he know that! Through my blush, he continued, "I'll be over in five."

I giggled insanely as I hung the phone up. Not bothering to charge it, I tossed it over my shoulder onto my bed. It bounced, but soon stopped. I sighed, resting my head onto my purple pillow. The imitation silk was smooth against my cheek, and I stared longingly at a photograph that perched on my desk. It was far away, but, by now, I knew every detail like the back of my hand.

Our hair would be down, an inside joke between the two of us, and a soft smile on his lips. I would be blushing, winking at the camera, laughing lightly. Our heads would be pressed together and his hand would be pressed to my side, tickling me so I would smile.

It was our middle school picture, when we were beginning the third year. Beside it was our sixth-year, grade school photo.

Downstairs I could hear the doorbell, and then the opening of the door. I winced as my Dad started talking to my best friend. I stood to save him. Leaving my room I heard the shouts of "youth", "flower", and "spring", but ignored the rest.

"Dad!" I called from the top of the steps, "Leave Neji alone!"

The man I called father looked to me, a wide grin set on his lips. I winced as the sun reflected off them, blinding me. Wait, did I just here a 'ping'?

Shaking my head, I descended the stairs, finally coming in view of the front door. Waving the foolish male from the open doorway, I mentioned about how Lee was looking for him. A lie, I know, but not really. Lee was always looking for, or up, to his father.

"Well, I better not let his youth wither with my dawdling! Good day, Neji, Tenten." I frowned, brushing him away before he decided to hug me. I was almost fifteen for Pete's sake!

"See you, Maito-san," Neji acknowledged, following me up to my bedroom.

I know, there is something 'morally' wrong with having a boy in my room, but, I don't care. We've been friends since, well, since early grade school. I think he pretty much knows everything about me as it is. And, I trust him. He's too much of a stick in the mud to 'take advantage' of me. Not to mention, I highly doubt he would want to, not with a four foot katana in my hand.

What? So I'm not your average female. I have an affinity to weapons. Any type, truth be told. Wood, metal, stone, plastic; anything.

Throwing open my door, I hopped onto my bed the second I was in. Sitting up, my legs curled under me, I eyed my best friend. He hadn't said anything to me since he got here. Usually he would at least say "hi". "Neji, what's up?"

He stared at me for a moment, "Isn't that the uniform for Matsushita?"

She frowned, "Yeah, I told you that I was taking the entrance exam…" I worried when he sighed again, "Neji, is there a problem with me going to Matsushita? It has an excellent creative writing program. Not to mention the best female soccer team out of all the high schools."

"That's good and all. I'm happy for you. Matsushita is a seriously hard school to get into, but…"

I wasn't dumb. I knew exactly what he was getting to, "Where are you going to?"

"…Nishigawa."

I blinked, "Whoa, if Matsushita was hard to get into, that place takes geniuses." I eyed him, "Yup, you meet the criteria." He chuckled, an airy attempt at sounding amused. "Oh, calm down, we'll still be friends! So, we won't see each other every single hour of every single day, doesn't mean we'll be anything less." I gave him a huge grin, "You'll actually be able to make guy friends."

He gave me a half-smile, "I'd have a few, if it weren't for you."

I stuck out my tongue, "Excuse me for being strong. They were just a bunch of social climbers anyway." I clapped my hands together, "Alright, depressing subject to the side. Now, for your opinion." I stood and turned, showing off my uniform. I paused, "So, how do I look?"

"Fine."

"Well, coming from you, that's like calling me the Taj Mahal!" I joked, nudging him in the ribs. "Now, turn around so I can change. I don't want to ruin it before the start of the semester."

He rolled his eyes, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

I put a finger to my lips and shushed him, "Gai and Lee's already over-protective as it is, don't let them hear you. And, anyway, that was an accident! You walked into the girl's locker room!" He snorted, but turned his back to me. Untying the ascot, I laid it on my bed, followed by the other two layers. Pulling my Capri's back on, I searched for the blouse I had thrown over my head in my haste to get dressed. "Neji, find my shirt."

"I thought you wanted me to look away while you dressed," he said, a little on the sardonic side. I frowned at his back, and he seemed to get the point. "Fine, fine." He walked through my room, helping me find the shirt.

It turned out, my top was hanging from the curled end of my light fixture. I sent Neji to fetch it. In those words exactly. Of course, he grumbled about how he wasn't a dog, but I ignored him. He dropped the pink thing into my arms, I was quick to put it on. As I buttoned the frog clasps, he stepped down from my bed.

"Watch where you throw things next time."

I fluttered my eyes at him in an attempt to get out of the lecture, "I'm sorry, Neji-kun." Oh, yeah, I was seriously sugaring him up. I never added an honorific if I could get out of it. "I won't do it again!"

He snorted, "Yeah, right. That'll be the day."

I swatted him lightly, "You're mean!"

"Just now realizing that?" he smirked, and I blushed. I stuck out my tongue again, blatantly disregarding his quiet snicker. "You'll never grow up."

"And you'll never grow down!" I snapped, not thinking. Of course, he paused. Before snorting and chuckling into his hand. I flamed, "I mean, loosen up." He didn't seem to believe me. I hung the uniform on a hanger, ignoring his humorous behavior.

I yawned tiredly. I spun sharply, falling backwards, my back hitting the bed. I stretched. "Today's boring," I said after a bit of staring at my ceiling. He grunted his agreement, before falling back to join me on my bed. It dip at his weight, and I allowed it to roll me slightly towards him.

"Take a nap?" I asked, worming closer to my friend. He muttered his lack of opinion, and I took it upon myself to lead us into a deep sleep.

---

When I woke up, I found that perhaps sleeping next to each other wasn't such a good idea.

Trying to extract myself from his grip, I huffed impatiently. "Come on, Neji, I'm hungry!" He mumbled his displeasure, but released me so I could get some nourishment. "Want anything?" I asked.

"Whatever. I don't care," he grumbled, turning on his side, his breathing returning to the slow cadence of sleep.

I pressed my knuckles to my lips to stop the giggle that bubbled inside me. Leaving my room, I hazard a glance at the clock. I blinked, I had only been sleeping for two hours? That's pretty short…

Groaning and reaching high, I cracked my back. Heading downstairs, I shuffled to the kitchen. It was lunch time and I was starving, I hadn't eaten breakfast.

Opening and closing cabinets and the refrigerator, I complained about how the house never had anything but fruits. "One a day, my buttocks," I jeered, tossing an apple back into the basket. Sighing as I conceded that I would have to make something, I pulled a pan from the hook above the stove. Filling it with water, I added some oil and salt to the mix. Not patient, I turned the heat to high.

Grabbing some noodles, I waited for the water to boil. Fifteen minutes later, I was draining the freshly cooked pasta in a colander. I had warmed some sauce from last night's meal, and separating the meal into two bowls, I drizzled the heavy liquid over the steaming noodles.

Grabbing my chopsticks, and a pair for Neji, I headed for the stairs. "TENTEN!" But, not nearly fast enough. Lee emerged from his room, a smile tugging at his cheeks.

"Hey, chipmunk," I called. I adored my (slightly) older brother, even though he acted younger then me. He had acquired his nickname because of his attraction to squirrels. When I first referred to him as 'chipmunk', he'd been confused, then tried to suffocate me in a hug. Guess he figured that I had approved of him.

But that was, like, eight years ago, when I first was adopted by Gai.

Lee eyed the bowls in my hand, "Neji's here?"

"Yeah." I smiled, "There's some noodles left for you and Dad, help yourself." I went to climb the stairs, but the little double of my father stopped me.

"Do you need drinks?"

I nodded, "I planned to come down and get them after dropping off the food."

He grinned, shooting me a thumbs-up, "I'll get them! Neji owes me a fight anyway."

"You two," I sighed. "I'll never understand why you constantly want to battle him."

"It's a rival thing."

I grinned slyly, "Doesn't a rivalry mean that there are two participants?"

He sputtered, looking scandalized, and I took the time to dash up to my room. Entering the room laughing, I didn't feel any remorse for waking my friend. He scowled, his dark hair mused by sleep. My laughter doubled and I had to place the bowls on my desk to keep from dropping them.

When I cooled, coincidentally about the same time a pillow smacked me in the face, I pulled our food off the desk.

Handing him one, I reached for the cushion and tossed it near the headboard. Settling on the bed next to him, I was a little less refined while I ate. "Lee wants another fight," I said after slurping a bite of noodles into my mouth. I licked my lips to clear them of sauce. "He'll be up here with drinks in a little."

Neji smirked, swallowing his own mouthful of pasta. "He'll never beat me."

"Well, he probably could," I ignored the 'no, he couldn't', from Neji. "He could, if he was motivated enough. Wanting to beat a genius isn't quite enough incentive, you know?" I slurped at my meal.

Before he could answer, my bedroom door flew open. In ran my brother, hands scrambling around three drinks and a bowl of noodles. I cursed, thrusting my noodles into Neji's hands. Helping my brother by grabbing two of the drinks, I immediately went into a whirlwind of anger and rebuke. "Lee, be careful will you! You're such an idiot sometimes." My voice wasn't too heated, hence the reason he wasn't blubbering about with tears in his eyes.

Instead, he gave me his cutest face and blubbered. I sighed. "You're not eating on the bed," I muttered, pointing to the desk chair.

His smile was infectious, and I ended up returning the grin with a small one of my own. "Thanks, Tenten! You're the best sister ever!" He sat on the chair and began to vacuum up his food. I shook my head, the kid had an appetite.

Returning to my seat, I retrieved my bowl in exchange for the drink. With our refreshments on the nightstand, Neji and I returned to the meal. Downstairs, I heard shouts of "youth" and "flames", and I looked at Lee. "Hey, chipmunk, what's with Dad?"

He barely looked up, "He's making tea."

Hand meet forehead, "AGAIN?" I stood, my empty bowl in my hand. "I told him not to!" I ran to my door, before a sudden thought flitted through my head. Leaning back into my room, I balanced myself on the doorframe with a hand, "You two, behave. No fighting in my room." Then I was gone.

Flying down the stairs, I slid on the hardwood that lined the hallway before the kitchen. Digging my heels into the un-giving ground, I slowed enough to swerve into the room where my father was boiling water. The kettle was hissing and wheezing. "DAD!" I shouted, running to the stove and tossing him away. Turning off the range, I snatched the potholder off the counter and lifted the poor kettle from the stove.

I tossed the melting thing into the sink, and I turned on the water. The hiss was loud and I winced. "I swear, you are the only man on Earth that can burn water." Well, that wasn't true, you can't burn water. He just let it evaporate until the metal of the container was starting to melt. "I told you, after the salad fiasco, you weren't allowed near the stove!"

The tall man flashed me a grin, and there was the 'ping' again, "Tenten, my flower! Do not yell at your father or I shall make you sweat!"

I sighed, before shooting him a glare, "You make me sweat without even trying." Gai laughed, jovially, his chest shaking with the exertion. I decided to return to the previous subject. "What were you trying to do? Burn down the house?"

"NO!" He shouted, " IT IS COMMON MANNERS TO TREAT YOUR GUEST TO TEA AND A POLITE CONVERSATION."

"Neji's not a guest," I countered, "He comes here and leaves stuff like he plans on moving in. He practically does live here." I shut off the water and turned to my adoptive father, "And polite conversation?" I asked. "I don't think the word polite is even in Neji's vocabulary."

"SILLY, TENTEN! OF COURSE NEJI HAS THE WORD 'POLITE' IN HIS VOCABULAY!"

I heaved a sigh, "It was sarcasm, Dad," I muttered.

Of course, at this time, I heard a loud thump from upstairs and my eyes widened. "Oh, no they didn't!" I exclaimed, dashing from the kitchen. "DON'T TOUCH THE STOVE!" I yelled over my shoulder, catching onto the end of the banister and flying up the stairs.

Would you believe that this is a normal day?

You should see it when it's crazy…

When I got to my room, I found a relatively relaxing sight. Neji was sitting, sipping from his drink. If I hadn't remembered that Lee was up here, I would have dismissed the noise from earlier. "Neji, where's Chipmunk?"

He raised a brow in my direction, a relatively thin eyebrow. Oh, how I was grateful to see normal eyebrows. "You mean Lee? He's somewhere over there." He pointed to the other side of my bed. Warily, I inched over to where he pointed, then groaned.

My brother was sitting on the floor, dazed, his bowl covering his head. Sauce leaked from the rim, cover his face and my carpet. I was furious. "Lee! In the bathroom, now!" He yelped, dashing from my room and to the adjoining bathroom. "Neji, get me a can of spot remover." He shrugged, not scared of my wrath, before standing and grabbing the metal can from under my nightstand.

I told you this was normal…

After that, and the long discussion afterwards about obeying my rules, Neji had to leave. I know, that early? Well, the new semester was going to start in a few days, and he liked to be prepared. In short, he was going to submerse himself into a study coma, only coming up for air when I call him in the morning.

I grinned as I walked him to the door, "When you get your uniform, you've gotta show it to me!"

He frowned, "I'm not a little doll, I don't dress up for other's amusement."

"You do for me!" I argued, pushing him out the door before he could counter. "See you tomorrow!" He raised a hand in a mockery of waving. I stuck out my tongue at his back, "I fed you! You could be a little more enthusiastic."

"About leaving?"

I paused, "Okay, fine," I conceded, murmuring huffily. When he was out of sight, I couldn't help but, mutter, "Egotist." Probably the most dead-on description of my friend.

---

After the opening ceremony for the first year's, and my first day in high school, I was in a positive mood. Neji and I have kept in contact for days now, and this will be our first test to see if going to different schools will effect us. I'm confident that it won't.

I ran most of the way to Nishigawa, only pausing when I had to board a monorail.

Matsushita, my school, was located in the North-eastern district. Neji's school was in the West district. I'm glad I'm in shape, or I'd never survive the long bouts of distance I had to cover on feet.

Rounding a corner, I barely avoided a flock of people that were coming from the school. Among them, I noted a flash of lengthy hair, and I stopped, "Neji-!"

My mind went blank when I noticed he was surrounded by three other boys.

Standing in the middle of the crowded street, I watched as he disappeared from sight.

And that was only the beginning…

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Ending Notes: Well, here we go. A NejiTen story. I was hoping to get this out sometime before February, but thing's came up and I had to postpone. Now, it's out, so everyone, rejoice! Or review, either works for me!

Translations:

Nishigawa: West of the river

Matsushita: Below the Pine