Disclaimer: I don't own Masashi Kishimoto's masterpiece "Naruto."
Party Drinks and Powdered Sugar
Kyuubi Tenshi
He deserved it…
Right…?
Sneaking up behind the Weapon Mistress of Konohagakure, and goosing her no less, was grounds for serious physical injury, wasn't it? If so, then the Hyuuga had gotten off way easy. Hinata came in behind the man, giggling lightly at what had happened.
THE Hyuuga Neji, prodigy of the powerful Hyuuga clan, was covered from head-to-toe in fine, white powdered sugar.
Tenten didn't understand what had gotten into him. Since when did this man tease in any other form from mind-games?! She looked at Hinata. "What in blue blazes has gotten into him?!"
She smiled sheepishly.
"I was trying a new recipe for a party drink. He… uh… I had him taste-test it for me and…"
"And now he's on a sugar-high," finished Naruto, coming up behind the Byakugan kunoichi and resting his head on her shoulder. "Never seen a thing like it. He's actually funny when he's high."
The brunette looked down at the empty bag in her hands. That had been the last of the powdered sugar, and she needed it to finish the recipe she was making! Though, as she glanced up at the still-sputtering Hyuuga, she couldn't help but stifle a giggle at how surprised he looked. That was a rare thing. She sighed, and turned back to the couple.
"I'll make you a deal. You buy me some more powdered sugar, and I'll keep the Hyuuga out of your hair for the rest of the day, deal?"
The two glanced at each other before consenting. All-too-quickly, I might add. As soon as they were gone, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a spare room in her house. Neji followed, though not without some very childish complaints. Her scarred hands sifted quickly through a trunk in the closet, at last coming out with a pair of worn, suede-leather cargo pants in one hand and a plain-white t-shirt in the other.
"The bathroom's at the end of the hall. Go change, take a bath, and I'll see what I can do about washing your clothes," she commanded, tossing the garments into his arms and pushing him down the corridor. Once he had tossed his clothes out into the hallway, she was mentally begging whatever deity listening that Lee or her sensei- or any other form of a human being for that matter- would not show up at her front door. Any time soon.
Ding dong!
Waste of a prayer.
She cracked open the door, and wanted to die on the spot. Of all people, the one person who just had to show up at her door at a time like this was Uchiha Sasuke! She mentally went through her arsenal at hand, noting that her shuriken were still soaking in the bathroom sink, attempting to rid them of blood from one of her latest missions, and three-quarters of the rest of her arsenal were either in her room or in the small blacksmith's shop that she had downtown. That left her with… a handful of kunai. Can't you tell how vulnerable she feels? Poor baby.
"Hey, are you going to keep staring at me like I the ghost of Christmas Past, or are you going to let me in?"
"What would you say if I chose the former?"
The Uchiha was taken aback by her answer, but the blank look on her face tainted with something vaguely uncomfortable had convinced him that it wasn't because she was being rude. Unfortunately, there were even more complications to follow. "I was just going to ask that you sharpen a few of my weapons for a mission I have to leave for tonight."
"Sure, whatever; put a tag on it with your name and toss it in the box next to the back door of my shop and I'll get to it ASAP. Bye!" And with that, Tenten promptly slammed the door in his face, swearing up a storm for all of Konoha to hear.
She dropped to the couch and rubbed her temples. This was insane. Her life was insane. This was supposed to be her day off from insanity. Of all days for her only sane friend to get on a sugar-high that didn't seem to be wearing off…
"Ten-chan, you feeling okay?"
She stiffened, turning slowly to her right and coming face-to-face with her charge. Literally. He was so close their noses brushed. Since when did he call her Ten-chan?
Psycho-ward, I'd like to admit a new patient please.
She flipped. He found himself pinned to the wall, a perfect outline of his body made by her kunai. She couldn't handle this. Not even a centimeter from her face was too close. Period. Even for him.
Rephrase that: especially for him.
Her hands twitched. There weren't enough weapons nearby. She needed her lucky kunai so she could skewer him for daring to come so close to her. This was not a good day.
Neji blinked rapidly. Why had Ten-chan done that? Wasn't he always that close to her? When they were training, all kinds of things happened, and it wasn't as though they hadn't been that close together before. His poor, hyper-active mind just couldn't understand. He managed to maneuver his hands to remove a few of the kunai, and then deciding that it was a hopeless task, he simply slipped out of his shirt. Tenten seemed to be completely unawares as he walked towards her, hoping that that had been the last of her available arsenal.
The Hyuuga stared at her for a while as her breathing calmed, though she still had her eyes closed and looked like she was poised to kill. She looked pretty, even though she was still in her pajamas and her double-bun style was practically falling down. The angel hairs that framed her face were adorable, and gave her a soft, feminine look that he wasn't really familiar with. Before his mind even processed what he was doing, and what she might do to him for it, he had reached up and released her hair from its bindings.
Beautiful…And then he said nighty-night. Tenten stared at the unconscious Hyuuga for a minute.
His shirt was pinned to the wall.
He was bare down to the waist.
He was out cold on her living room floor.
Baaaddd thoughts, Tenten. Bad. The brunette shook her head, her untamed hair flying about her face in a graceful, flowing torrent. She had no choice but to drag him onto the couch.
She struggled with his body, her mind quoting something about muscle being heavier than fat that she'd learned no-telling-how-far back. Once she finally managed to get him moved, she collapsed, half on top of him and the other half dangling off the edge of the couch and onto the floor. This is absolutely-
"Oh, Tenten, one more… thing…" Sasuke had stuck his head back through the door, forgetting to knock, and this was the scene that greeted him. The brunette thought about skewering him to the wall like she had the Hyuuga, but she didn't even need one topless shinobi in her house, much less two.
I was going to say "stupid," but I think it's done passed that up. Now it's just plain uncomfortable.
She was in no mood for a fit of jealousy.
She was in no mood for anything, really.
"Sasuke-kun?"
He was still, evidently, in a state of shock. She got up from the couch moved to stand in front of the boy. Very close in front. She wanted to make sure he got the point.
"If you leave and say nothing of this to anyone, I won't be forced to send Neji on you once he's sane again, okay?"
And with that, she shoved him back out on her porch, closed (or rather, slammed) he door behind him, and locked it before anyone else got the opportunity to see her friend in this state.
If this got out to Sakura and Ino, she'd never live it down.
She walked back to stand beside the couch, and looked the man over. She had to admit, he was hot, but that was not something that he would ever know crossed her mind. It would be the death of her; though she couldn't seem to decide whether it would be literally or figuratively. Either way, it would be bad. He was starting to come around, so it seemed; curse that Hyuuga stamina; she couldn't keep him out for more than a few minutes.
Hmm… I wonder how sleeping pills would work…?
Tenten passed him by while he finished shaking off his sleep and worked the kunai out of the wall, pulling down the shirt and tossing onto his head carelessly as she continued back to the kitchen to finish up the recipe she's been putting together. Everything was fine for a few minutes; at least, until he crept up behind her.
"Ten-chan, what're you doing?" he asked curiously, setting his head on her shoulder, nearly causing her to jump clear out of her skin. She calmed herself down, continuing to stir the mixture, which was a fairly pretty orange color, in the bowl.
"I'm mixing up a favorite drink of mine. I was going to bring some to training tomorrow," she said stiffly. He reached to dip his finger in the concoction, but she slapped away his hand, glaring at him. "Don't. And no matter what kind of look you give me, even if it is unbearably cute, I am not giving you any until tomorrow, and only if you apologize for ruining my weekend with your sugar-high!"
He stared at her blankly, as though stunned, and she turned back to her work. After a few minutes, however, his chin came to rest on her shoulder again, this time accompanied by a heavy sigh. Silence prevailed.
"Ano… Ten-chan? Why do you hate me?"
Her hand stopped abruptly at the question She stared into space, a little hurt that he thought that of her. "I don't hate you, Neji."
"Then why do you not want to be with me today?"
She started to answer, but nothing seemed good enough. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with him that day, it was just that… he was so strange today, that she didn't know what to expect. His head grew a little heavier on her shoulder, and his next words were a low, sorrowful murmur.
"I really like you; I didn't mean to ruin your weekend…"
Whoa.
Freeze.
Where's the rewind button…?
What was that little thing WAAAY back there?!
She turned to look at him, forgetting their faces were so close, and a kiss brushed across his temple. He was as startled as she was, and his eyes shot up to search hers. Her hand dropped the whisk into the bowl lightly, and she turned toward him more fully. Just barely audible, she could hear herself ask what he'd said.
"I said I was sorry-"
"No, before that…"
He colored a bit. "I… really like you, Ten-chan. I think… I think I love you…"
The Weapon Mistress was completely speechless, wide cocoa orbs dancing ceaselessly with violet-tainted white. Her mind was completely blank, save that one line…
I think I love you…
She didn't even notice when he lowered himself to her in a sweet, chaste kiss, and didn't comprehend when her body moved towards his as though out of a mind of its own. He embraced her, first gentle and unsure, before he enveloped her in his strength completely and drew her next to him. It was a complete novelty when he begged, pleaded with her, to let him deepen the kiss, and when she did, her mind, what little was left of the sanity there, was completely gone, and the only thing she was aware of was that she was his.
Neji pressed his lips against hers, and entered when she conceded to his begging; it was a heated feeling that swirled through his veins, one that put the adrenaline rush of battle to shame, though suddenly all memory of what he was doing became a fog. Unknown to the two of them, the sugar in his system had finally worn off. Barely understanding what he was doing, he only knew that it made him feel powerful. The prodigy continued, and was shocked to hear a strangled groan come from this body he held so close. But he continued until at last, there was not enough breath in his body to linger, and he pulled away, just a little, just enough to allow his lungs the oxygen they so direly needed. What was it he'd just done, again? He couldn't remember, but he missed the feeling it gave him. All-too-aware of the breaths that ghosted his face, he opened his eyes to see what was before him.
For a moment, the impression of a sprite-like maiden was upon him; she had an unruly mane of deep, earthen-brown let to fall about her face in soft and curling tendrils, and her skin was just a barely-there tan. Eyes opened, and she looked up at him with those unfathomable depths, seeming almost to plead for more, like she begged for him to do it to her again, though he couldn't quite remember why he had kissed this unearthly beauty to begin with… why had she even let him near her…? It dawned on him.
"Tenten…?" he asked, his voice raw and unsure. She seemed to wish for him not to talk, as she quickly quieted him with another kiss. So this was what he had done… He couldn't help but feel that he liked it. Though, as she had initiated the kiss, he deepened it again, and his hands gripped her waist, pulling her even closer. The action evoked a strangled cry of surprise, but she was quickly quieted. Her hands tossed aside his headband, and the bindings that held his hair back, and caressed her fingers over his scalp, running them through his silky hair that was still somewhat damp from the shower. They broke again, though; and it was all-too-soon for the passions that dwelt inside them.
"I love you, Neji…" she murmured as he rested his forehead against hers, he raised his eyes up to her again, and smiled softly.
"And I, you, Tenten…"
/Two Days Later: Monday/
Tenten groaned. There were now officially three green monsters with which she would train. Hinata should have warned her which party drink she had made. That way, she wouldn't have made the same mistake again.
O, of Party Drinks and Powdered Sugar- look at the insanities they cause!
AN: I can't do Neji with anything but humor, seems like. (sigh) My second NejiTen oneshot; also written an age ago. Enjoy and REVIEW.
