Bring the Hammer Down

4

TenTen sat on the ground with her katana leaning against her shoulder, panting. She looked across the training grounds at her current partner and sighed in frustration. He had done the katas perfectly after only a few times (and a couple of clubs upside the head from her) and the little punk was still going like he wasn't even winded. She huffed, and laid back on the ground. She trained for years with Gai-sensei and Lee, so why was it that Naruto, who trained with one of the laziest jounin out there, was such a fucking stamina freak? Even Lee would have passed out from exhaustion by now, mumbling in his sleep about 'the flames of youth'. Feeling the thump of the hammer as it hit the ground, she looked up to see Naruto heading her way.

TenTen couldn't help but be impressed constantly by the boy's physique. He wasn't as ripped as Lee, but he didn't have the body of a genius either. Naruto was a very good compromise between the two. Not relying entirely on power but not entirely on jutsu either, he had the faint outline of a six-pack. The fact that he was shirtless (saying he didn't want to ruin his gi) and had sweat glistening off his body only made him that much more attractive to TenTen. She always appreciated a hard working man. Maybe that's why she quit seeing Neji in a romantic light a while ago. He simply didn't work as hard as her or Lee. Sure, he trained but he didn't do it until he was exhausted. She wearily looked up at the blonde and saw his lips moving. She turned red when she realized she had been admiring his body instead of listening to him. Lucky for her, the idiot didn't notice.

"...go get something to eat? Hey TenTen! I asked if you want to get something to eat?"

"Umm, yeah that sounds great. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. You're the guest, you decide. As long as its not sushi again."

"Aww, spoilsport. Fine, let's see. Hmmm, no, no, maybe, ah I got it. Let's go to that barbeque joint that Choji frequents."

"What if Choji's there? You know they shut down when he comes in."

TenTen just shrugged and stood up.

"Then we'll readjust our plans. Now let's go."

She took two steps and fell flat on her face. She hadn't realized that she had used up most of her energy teaching Naruto and helping him with his forms. Dodging that damn hammer was harder than it looked once he had a small sense of direction on what to do with it. Naruto, meanwhile, was freaking out over what to do.

"TenTen? Are you ok? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you train me till you killed yourself. Please, come on, get up."

"Naruto, shut up. I'm not dead you idiot, I'm exhausted. You wore me out. Guess we won't be going to lunch."

Naruto put on a big grin and swung his hammer to his back. After much cajoling he had convinced Sanosuke to make him a holder that could handle the strain of carrying the hammer, attached to his back. TenTen looked at him with interest and suddenly found herself being picked up bridal style an adjusted against his chest. A quick 'eep' from her and a soft knock against his skull, and she looked up to find those silver stars again.

"I'm not passing up lunch because you can't walk. I'll carry you there. We'll probably make better time with me carrying you than normal anyway."

"You saying I'm slow?"

"No, I'm saying you're slower than me. Now shut up and enjoy the ride."

Naruto took off, running as fast as he could. TenTen slung her arms around his neck and decided to really enjoy the ride. He had put his gi back on and she buried her nose into his chest, inhaling his scent. It smelled...different from every other guy's. It smelled of the forest and ramen, and yet it had another, underlying scent, one of danger and yet protectiveness. She found it intoxicating and found herself all to soon being sat down in a chair at the barbeque joint. The ride was over all too fast for her taste and she wondered if she could convince him to carry her again on the way back. It wasn't often that she got to act like a girl instead of a warrior and she rather liked the attention he lavished on her. He left momentarily to put his hammer outside and she ordered for him. 'I could really get used to this.'