If every attempt seems to fail, when do you draw the line to quit?
A/N: 3/4! I know, I know, I took freaking forever to update and I have no excuse. Besides, you know, being a loser and everything. Well, anywho! I've graduated from high school and have some downtime before college starts, so hopefully I publish some stories in the meantime! About the story: This is the third installment of the Pinky Swear one-shots. If you would like to read those, the first one is Pinky Swear (ShikaIno) and the second one is The Kit in Us All (NaruHina). They aren't really required to understanding what's happening, though.
Now I have to do that oh-so-obvious disclaimer...
Bleh.
Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto.
"Yubikiri genman,
Uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu,
Yubi katta"
The girls had been doing well to accomplish their missions of love. Ino had sorted out her problems with Shikamaru and Hinata had gotten Naruto to notice the woman in her. Tenten was third in the line-up and, so far, a disaster. While Ino and Hinata solved their love problems within days, Tenten had suffered the humiliation of failed attempts for weeks.
"Maybe we could…?"
"Didn't work," Tenten sighed. Ino had been trying her best, the poor girl. Neji simply did not possess the workable personality her previous opponents had. Shikamaru had clearly known what Ino was trying to do and Naruto…well, he was Naruto.
The stylish blonde hissed and paced the small area of Sakura's apartment like a furious cat. Her eyes glowed with glaring frustration, hair unkempt from repeated ruffling. "How about—"
"Tried that."
With a short scream of indignation, Ino threw up her hands. "That's it! That is it! Why don't we just tie him upside down by his damn toes and force him to commit!"
Sakura, curled up in her bean bag chair, gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. Despite Ino's only desire to do well, her ideas always seemed a bit…eccentric. Hinata swiftly entered from the kitchen with a tray of four cups of hot tea. Her presence immediately soothed the fiery woman and she collapsed onto the couch behind her with a huff. The pink-haired kunoichi hugged the warm cup to her chest before looking over to her childhood friend. "And how would you get him up there?" She looked amused.
The youngest Yamanaka gave a blank look. "Drug him."
Tenten didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. She had never been the type of girl to care about boys, make-up, romance, love. She was known as the tomboy who got along with everyone—the one who never missed a target. What a joke. The one target she could never strike was Hyuuga Neji, her own teammate and the first cousin of her best friend, Hinata. Tenten gulped the tea, feeling the immediate burning sensation in her mouth and throat. Physical pain felt better than emotional turmoil.
Running her tongue across her now-sensitive gums, Tenten stood. "I think it is about time I headed home, you guys."
"You're welcome to stay over, Ten. You know that," Sakura chimed, a pout gracing her lips. Tenten softly declined and left, ignoring the crest-fallen face of the blonde kunoichi on the couch.
When she opened her door, she tossed her oversized scroll carelessly onto the floor. The apartment greeted her with stale silence. Dragging her feet through the dark hallway, Tenten stripped and entered the shower, enjoying the change in water temperature. She rubbed her aching neck and shoulders. After about an hour, Tenten abandoned the shower. Wrapping herself in a large plush towel, Tenten shuffled into her bedroom and dressed to into quick sleeping attire before plopping herself onto the small bed. Five minutes later, she rolled to her left. Five minutes after that, she rolled to her right. The horrid sport continued. She groaned.
Nothing would go her way lately. Jabbing her fist into her pillow a few times, Tenten staggered to an upright position. She rubbed her throbbing temples. Her love-life was close to nonexistent and now even sleep wouldn't be caught dead with her.
What did I do to deserve this?
Tenten grunted with the effort of changing her clothes. She slipped on a loose, fuchsia-colored tank top; her vibrant yellow sports bra showing at all angles. Tugging her hakama-like pants back on, Tenten blanched in the mirror. She looked as bedraggled as she felt. Sifting her fingers through her damp chocolate locks, Tenten headed towards the door and swung her scroll onto her back.
The journey to Team Gai's training grounds had been short. The ground and trees were marred with unsightly scars and the dummy strapped to the center pole looked worse for wear. Multiple tears in its body resembled a cheetah with its many spots. Tenten swiftly untied the rope constricting it to the pole. The dummy fell with a soft thud, revealing a fading target design. The young kunoichi lightly stroked the symbol before turning her back to it. Just relax.
Walking a few yards away, Tenten spun on her heel and began her assault. Kunai after kunai, Tenten sliced the air with flooded frustration. Weeks of failure, weeks of living with defeat, weeks of hopelessness, weeks of everything fucking wrong with love. She felt sweat trickle down her neck and before she knew it, she was bent over, hands on her knees, panting like a dog. Her body heaved with the effort to control her breathing as she glanced up to examine her work.
Every kunai missed the target. Every. Single. One.
"Ugh! Why can't I get anything right!" she screamed, burying her hands in her hair. Tears slipped passed her shut lids, dancing down her cheeks and falling to their doom. "I'm so done! I'm done with all of this!" She felt her fingernails grazing her scalp and ripping out hairs.
Tenten felt the pain on her cheek before hearing the thunk of a kunai clashing with the earth. She rubbed her tears away brutishly with her sleeve before cupping her bleeding right cheek. She felt the glare of his presence digging into her back.
Neji…
"You need more training if you can't even dodge that," Neji deadpanned, his face as blank as ever. He was perched high above her, his body obscured by the multitude of branches. Tenten turned her head slightly to peak at him in the corner of her eye. Her bloody hand fell to her side.
"I suppose the cards are just simply not in my favor." Tenten walked to her left to retrieve the discarded scroll she didn't remember tossing. Adjusting the strap around her shoulder, Tenten gave a parting glimpse to the Hyuuga male. "Well, goodnight. Tell Hinata she needs to come by." Giving a short wave, she started in the direction of her apartment.
"Why were you crying?" Neji's husky voice resonated throughout her body. His breath tickled her ear, her right hand caught in his left grip. She hadn't noticed he had moved.
She suppressed a shiver. "The question should be 'why am I bleeding'?" she bit out, her face surprisingly close to his. Tenten froze at the feel of his right hand on her cheek. Neji's tongue graced the injured side of her face, sliding along the cut before stopping at her ear.
"That's because you were crying," Neji cooed, his breath once again caressing her ear.
"Get off of me!" Tenten snapped, her face an embarrassing crimson. She struggled to be freed from his grip, the strap on her shoulder sliding down her arm. Once her hand was released, the scroll dropped passed her plump hips and landed on the ground. Unprepared, Tenten teetered; the strap constricting her legs and fell backwards. She cried out, her tailbone throbbing in pain. Why is this happening to me? Tenten rubbed it dutifully before remembering Neji and began wiping his saliva off her cheek, ignoring the tenderness of her fresh wound and the drying blood. "What do you want?" Tenten demanded, her chest heaving with all the energy she exerted. Tenten thought she saw Neji's eyes flicker to her chest, but the thought was so ludicrous, she disregarded it.
"How long have you and your friends been playing that silly game?" Neji asked nonchalantly, getting right to the point. At some point during her clumsy antics, Neji had reclaimed his kunai. He doddered it between his fingers in disinterest.
Tenten narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What game?"
Neji flung the kunai at her with the flick of his wrist, but her reflexes were alert this time. She easily swatted it away and lifted herself into a backwards cartwheel before standing upright.
Trap.
The Hyuuga male gracefully pinned the kunoichi to the tree behind her, both of her smaller hands captive in his strong grip. His right hand floated underneath her chin. "N-Neji…?" Tenten stuttered.
"My control is most prized in the Hyuuga household," his grip tightened, "and whenever you're near me…it threatens to break." Tenten furrowed her eyebrows, not quite understanding for such a skilled analyst. Neji quickly released her wrists to cradle her face before fiercely kissing her. Tenten's eyes widened with shock. His tongue teased the inside of her mouth, tantalizing her to return the kiss. Soon, she did and by the time they had to pull back for air, they were both huffing. The broad male gave her two more pressing kisses, pulling at her knotted russet hair. A hot blush clouded her cheeks. His hand slid out from behind her head to cradle her uninjured cheek.
Tenten snuggled into his hand. "Maybe you shouldn't try so hard."
His pale eyes softened. "Maybe I shouldn't."
Final Thoughts: Neji! Tenten! I friggin' hate you guys! I had an outline that they were dutifully following and then they flipped the script on me and started changing the story and doing what they wanted! Gah! I got into such a writer's stump because I didn't understand what they wanted to do. Ahh, well, it all turned out fine in the end. I snapped them back into shape and I finished with the outline's original idea...hopefully it's all fun-like...whatever that means. I haven't realized until now that this project started two years ago...wow. I'm almost done, though! The final installment is SasuSaku and I have no idea what they're planning!
And for those of you who were my KUA fans, I have a special treat coming up for you guys! A NaruHina special for you guys because you're so awesome! Ja~! R&R!
Update: Hello, everyone! I have some news to share; my quartet of one-shots are finished! My SasuSaku one-shot is up and posted! My next project is for my KUA fans!