Disclaimer: Not even the Icha Icha Collection (those belong to Kakashi and Jiraiya). All copyright to Kishimoto Masashi-san. This disclaimer is for all chapters.
Thanks for my beta Junai Eclipse. I'm really grateful for your help! This is dedicated to you!
Under the Sun
01. Beginning of the beautiful Sky
"Why do you hate me so much…God?" The woman asked looking at the sky.
She was assigned to organize a party but they forgot to tell her that. Her best (soon-to-die) friend ran away…with her car. She got the wrong bus. She was lost on a road only-god-knew-where.
And, it was raining.
It wasn't fair. Really…She'd been stuck on the road for almost three hours. It started raining so bad that her bag was now soaked (she was currently sitting on it). It was supposed to be summer. You know? Beach… sun… hot breeze. Sun.
But NO! Heavens decided that today just had to end with an onslaught of rain. God forbid but…she was shitted. And soon-to-be jobless. Let's admit it, she wasn't a religious type because she was cussing and cursing every saint she knew.
She was Tenten, (ex?) best Party Organizer from Cheer with a Smile! ™. She was (almost international) famous for organizing huge parties (political ones included) and events for magazines. She had a taste for colors and accessories that just gave harmony to the place.
Her new (ex?) job was to organize a party at the Hyuuga Beach. It was a formal party, for 500 plus guests. They told her that they had ordered candles, tables cloth, the music was separated, and the food was in-progress.
How could she explain why she was late? Arrive and say 'Hi! I'm Tenten…I was late because my friend ran-away with my car. Nice to meet you…?' That wouldn'tdo it. I mean, she was really rich so why not have more than one car? Was it too bad to like the simplicity of things? Besides… she just had to get on the wrong bus…She almost went to out to the country and farms!
Now…If only God would give her a sign…
HONKKKKKKKK
Tenten looked at the sound and was blinded for some seconds by a light. Did God send a guardian to come and save her? 'Thank you God…I promise I'll do --'
"Why are you in the rain?" A voice asked. She looked at the black car and almost died from a heart attack. It was a girl with no eyes! "KYAAAAA!" She screamed. It was ok since no one could hear her in this god-forbidden rotting place.
"…"
"Holly crap! Your eyes! You…have no pupils!" Tenten yelped edging closer; making her face to face with the girl. "No…your eyes…they're pearled colored…" She said almost breathless. Those colors were simply a perfect combination. A genetic miracle!
Tenten must've been thinking really hard because she didn't notice the girl coming out of the car with an umbrella. How could someone have an eye color like that? Is pearl even a valid color? Or was she blind?
"What are you doing out in a weather like this?" The girl asked. Tenten realized the girl had a deep voice sounding almost like a…man? She blinked once, twice…
"You…" She said pointing at the woman, "Are a man?" Her voice didn't quite betray her confusion, luckily.
"…"
Her brown eyes widened in embarrassment. Shit.
"Really? Because well… I –uhh…Your hair is pretty nice," She tried to make things better.
"…"
Double shit.
"Sakura! Ino is waiting," Mrs. Haruno called from downstairs, making the pink haired teen sigh in annoyance. Couldn't her mom see that she'd grown up? That she's old enough and if she wanted to make Ino wait then she would?
"And don't forget your toothpaste!" Mrs. Haruno shouted again. Well, it seems that she still saw the old, whining, twelve year old, brat in Sakura.
"Oi, Forehead-girl! Don't you dare spend more fifteen minutes on your strange so-not-in-fashion hair!" Shouted a voice she clearly recognized as her childhood best friend; Yamanaka Ino.
"So what if I am?" Sakura shouted in fake anger.
"You'll sleep on the way, so it will get messed, duh!" Ino shouted back, irritated that they were starting late. They were supposed to start on the road at seven to at least try to get to Hinata's summer house by lunch. It was now eight and Sakura's bag wasn't even in the car.
"Yeah, yeah. Got it," Sakura said, throwing her bag in the back of the car, "Bye mom!" waving a somewhat teary goodbye to her mom. She knew shouldn't get all sentimental, after all it was only a week away from home and it was for Hinata's promotion party. A good cause. But still…she had a bit of separation anxiety.
Sakura sat in the passenger's seat, waiting for Ino to pull out of her mom's garage. She ended waiting five minutes because Ino was re-checking her make-up.
"I wonder how Hinata's dad allowed the party…" Ino said aloud. "I mean…He's so cold towards her when she first arrived at their Company."
"I know, I still remember her depression crisis. I think that Hiashi-san saw he could trust her with her being an adult now," Sakura replied. She was glancing at the window. It would take five to six hours car ride to arrive at the Hyuuga's personal beach.
"Yes…But I think he changed a lot," Ino replied checking for any signs directing to the beach area. "I mean, allowing us to stay a whole week in their private beach! Imagine all those rich people!" Ino squealed.
"I know! I know! And to think its summer vacation, meaning there will be tons of hotties around!" Sakura squealed with Ino. They were twenty years old and still thought it was something if you knew famous people.
They'd first met Hinata, new heiress of the Hyuuga Corp., owner of a very big exportation business (fish dealing…or something related). Then, being Hinata's friends, they were invited to some informal parties. They met model Temari from Sand, Tsunade-hime(along with Shizune) from Medic-nin, and Jiraiya; infamous writer of the Icha Icha Collection etc.
"Ino…What if we get to know Uchiha Itachi?" Sakura asked Ino while looking outside.
"Uchiha Itachi? Pfft. Are you having a mental-breakdown Haruno?" Ino told her friend, mocking her. "You are talking about the Itachi…I don't think he'd appear in a party unless Hyuuga Corp. sold something pretty valuable to Uchiha Inc."
Ino was referring to the fact that Uchiha Inc. and Hyuuga Corp. were rival companies. They rivaled in everything: from owning small companies to the salt in the market.
"Hey…Sakura," Ino said after a while in silence. "What if…What if Hiashi-san only gave the promotion to Hinata because the second heir of Uchiha Inc. didn't want to run the business?"
"What do you mean?" Sakura said, not really catching her friend. She was almost asleep.
"What if Hiashi-san only gave Hinata promotion to show that his company had someone to organize the business? I mean, what if he only did that because the heir of Uchiha Inc. didn't appear for the Taking Over Party?" Ino said again.
The Taking Over Party was the party when Uchiha Itachi would give a promotion. The promotion would mean owning the whole business. When the party happened, there was no promotion because the person Itachi called didn't appear.
"I don't think so…Hiashi-san loves his daughter. I think," Sakura said trying to get rid the cold feeling in her stomach.
"Eat Ichiraku Ramen and your day will find heaven," The owner of the voice gave a million dollar smile to the camera, showing a pack of instant noodles.
"CUT! That was amazing!" The director said toward his new-found actor; dead handsome Uchiha Sasuke. He was found walking around the beach and soon became a fever. He was in the toothpaste add, in the magazine for man's clothes, in those girls love slash teen magazines, in soap operas and maybe a movie. Sasuke was THE hit.
"Now that Ichiraku is done, you can go and enjoy your month long vacation," the director said. Sasuke just 'Hn'–ed him and left. It was a mystery why the boy didn't speak much. He, obviously, spoke in the commercials, but when he wasn't in front of the cameras, he would just 'Hn', 'Aa' or '…' at them.
Well there was one person who could make him talk. And better yet; get him pissed or yelling for the person to shut-the-hell-up. That person was Uzumaki Naruto; also an actor (but more of a model now), a bright kid that just didn't know when to shut-up.
"Oi, bastard!" The said blonde shouted at Sasuke, who only ignored him. "I was wondering when we were leaving for the beach house?" Naruto asked, as if he didn't notice the glare Sasuke was giving him.
"It's not 'we' who are going. It's me who's going. The beach house is mine, so I don't need to invite you," Sasuke replied already in the changing area.
"Yeah, yeah…But Hyuuga is throwing a party and they 'invited' me, so I'm going because I don't have a house there," The blond rambled. "I mean, I'm looking for a house to buy, but none is too good, and besides your house is pretty big. It could fit more than the two of us, besides I know you are -" Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth, stopping the boy to speak any further. It was annoying.
"We are leaving tomorrow after lunch," The Uchiha replied, leaving a grinning Naruto inside the changing area. It always worked with the onyx-eyed boy.
"Are you sure you asked for a party organizer?" Hiashi-san asked at his servant. The said servant bowed making the owner of Hyuuga Corp. sigh in annoyance.
His nephew was supposed to arrive two days earlier but there was still no sign of him. Neji was only supposed to take three days to deal with the fish market. Not five! And to make things worse, the girl he hired to organize his daughter's party was also late. Someone had told him the girl was brilliant with her job. No one said she had an issue with time.
He can't afford to have the party delayed!
His only daughter, Hinata, was officially his successor. He needed to show his (company) rival that his daughter would bring many benefits to the company. Err…She deserved the best.
Yes, that was the reason, completely; he didn't need to prove his company was better than other companies (coughUchihaInccough).
"Sakura! Wake up dammit!" Ino said angrily at her sleeping friend. The gas ran out! Ino read in the map that in ten kilometers there would be a gas station. But there was no gas station! And her friend was sleeping soundlessly in the passengers' seat!
"Really, Sakura!" Ino tried again. No. This wasn't happening to her! They already lost an hour with Sakura's tardiness and now another because of the car! Her car was new!
"Yo…need some help?" Someone asked from behind her. A pervert? Ino thought already readying a hand to slap the man.
Once she saw who it was she squealed in delight. "Shika?" She asked surprised. The said 'Shika' only nodded with a bored expression.
"You haven't changed, eh, Ino?" Nara 'Shika' Shikamaru, Ino's long LONG childhood friend (long before Sakura), drawled.
"What are you doing here?" Ino asked looking around. There was nothing on the road. Where did he appear from?
"Ahh…Chouji isn't feeling really good so we stopped ahead but I saw the car and decided to help," He explained, slowly thinking how troublesome it was to talk that much.
"Oh, in that case, help me get some gas," Ino said relieved. Now the trip to the beach could happen! "Ne, Shika…What are you doing in this area?" She asked again skeptically.
"Chouji's dad rented a house for us on the beach," He said, leaning on the car. Man, it was too hot to be outside. Ino nodded but then asked for how long and he replied that it was for three to four days because there would be other guests arriving after they left the house.
"Then let's get the gas already!" Ino exclaimed happily. She didn't know why but seeing her childhood friend made her over the top happy. Almost giddy.
"I see. Sorry for giving you so much trouble back there," Tenten apologized to the man next to her. He'd 'kindly' offered to take her to the Hyuuga beach house because he saw she needed help. Or so thought Tenten.
She, at first, was apprehensive to accept his invitation but she then remembered that if she didn't go with him then she would have to stay the whole day there on the curb. Besides, she couldn't go home because, one; she lived almost at the end of the city and, two; it was raining and she didn't have her car.
The man next to her turned out to be Hyuuga Neji – right hand of Hyuuga Hiashi; owner of Hyuuga Corp., making him very powerful and a relative to Hyuuga Hinata – the girl she was to organize the party for.
Oh, the irony of it all. God sure has his ways to make a connection, Tenten thought sardonically. But she was glad because at least she wouldn't be that late.
………………………………………………………………………
Four hours had past since Tenten accepted the offer and she was almost insane; she needed to speak. Maybe Lee was finally rubbing off her because he was the one who was always talking and she would just listen, occasionally comment here and there.
"Ne, Hyuuga-san wh-" She tried saying something. She wasn't sure what it as but she needed to open her mouth. "Don't call me that. That's Hiashi-sama's title," He cut her off mid-sentence making yet another awkward silence. Tenten lowered her head biting her lower lip.
Neji glanced at her, amused. The girl had been silent for hours. He thought that she would start to gossip about girly stuff and so on but, nope, she was quiet. And when she attempted to make a conversation he'd cut her off, making her feel uncomfortable under his presence.
At that he frowned. He didn't want people to be afraid of him. His way of speaking always made people think he was superior. In a way he is above them all but he didn't want them to look at him and shut up…
Then he thought of how he met her… he'd been riding to his uncle's beach house very late (the negotiation didn't go too well) and he'd found her sitting on a bag looking at the sky with agloomy expression. When he tried to help she was intrigued with his eyes – like everyone else in the world. But unlike the others, she didn't think his eyes were creepy. Instead she found them nice to look at.
And when she looked flushed because she thought he was a girl because of his long hair he had to use every ounce of his self control to contain his laughter. She looked kind of naïve. But interesting.
He glanced at her again and she was still looking down. When she looked at him she glowed a nice shade of pink before looking out the window. Upon seeing that the rain was gone and that the beach was already visible she let a squeal betraying her professionalism. It'd been so long since she went to the beach!
That day, Tenten thanked the sky for sharing such a beautiful sight.
And for the sun to be smiling at them.
A/N: this is a little something for you guys. This might need some changes, but I had to post this because I couldn't leave you guys hanging. I admit I was lost in other things but I returned to the NARUTOfandom! And don't loose hope because I'm returning from the dead!
SIDED NOTES: The weather is not the same if you guys realized. There's more than two ways to get to the beach area. Tenten's part is raining and for Ino's luck her side wasn't but the sun was too hot for Shika.
By the way, Tenten's and Neji's road is a lot faster than Ino's. It took Neji eight hours to reach the beach area because he was negotiating in a district and it just took four hours from where Tenten was. As for Ino it will take like six hours because they live on the city center.
P.S: …Review?