I was inspired and had to make this. I love NejiTen.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Neji Hyuuga was a busy man. At the mere age of 18, fresh out of high school, he was already an up-and-coming superstar businessman. Of course, as heir to the Hyuuga business, a multi-million dollar technology company, nothing less is expected for him. After graduating at the top of his class and learning important business skills from the professionals before him, Neji was determined to bring his family company to even greater heights. He felt like he was on top of the world, like nothing could stop him.
After every day around 6, Neji would get out of work and make the long drive from the Hyuuga headquarters back to his mansion halfway across town. He never minded the drive, though. He'd lived in Konoha his whole life, so getting to explore it every evening was never a hard task for him. Konoha, a large city in Japan that rivaled Tokyo in terms of population and attractions, had about 950 coffee shops.
Yet, for no particular reason, the past month or so he'd always stop in the same one during his ride home from work. The coffee shop it's self was nothing special: located on the corner of two busy streets, somewhat small, good coffee, reasonable prices. But it was something else that made Neji want to visit that exact same shop, every single day at 6:30 on the dot. Neji hadn't quite figured out what that thing was yet.
It wasn't the cute brunette barista with panda buns, that's for sure.
It wasn't because she had big, hopeful brown eyes, or an adorable smile, or the way she always served his coffee with cheer.
That was one thing Neji was certain of. He, a man of such fame and power, had no interest in a little coffee barista. But every day after leaving the shop, he sure wished he would've been able to sneak a look at her name tag. Not that he really cared about her name, of course. He simpy closed his white eyes and shook his head whenever the thought of her came to him.
Neji parked his million-dollar black Lamborghini in the small parking lot behind the shop. Not the wisest decision, sure, but with a license plate that read "HYUUGA1," most people knew better than to fuck with it. He stepped out of his car with a sigh. Raining again? It's been non-stop downpour in Konoha for days….He lifted up his black briefcase and covered his head, trying to cover his long, dark hair and nice black suit from the water that seemed to be falling even faster once he stepped out. He quickly ran into the green and brown themed shop, shaking the water from him. He tried to hide his smile as he heard the familiar "ddiinngggggg" of the doorbell as he entered the empty shop.
"Hey look, the regular's here!" The only coffee barista there sat up from her chair with a smile. She walked up to the register, where Neji was standing, patiently waiting with his signature Hyuuga stoic expression. "What'll it be? Wait, let me guess, a decaf grande black coffee with extra whip cream? It's what you've gotten every day for the past month." She found herself giggling, already pulling out a large cup to make his order.
Neji couldn't help but smile at this girl. The way she laughed was precious to him, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone, ever. Neji knew he was a good-looking guy, the girls at his old high school told him that every day. Yet he never really concerned himself with getting a girlfriend. Quite frankly, he felt no girl could possible measure up to someone like him. However, from the first moment he walked into this little shop a month ago and saw her, he knew she wasdifferent. Of course, this girl had no idea who he was. She knew his first name was Neji, as he had to give her his name to complete the order, but she had no idea he was the Neji Hyuuga, the business world's most promising newbie.
"Guess you know me a bit too well, huh?" He threw his hands behind his head, still keeping a smile on his face, a rare thing for him.
The girl's eyes widened. "Hey, you're smiling!" She turned her back to him as she began to make his drink. "I never actually thought I'd see you do that. You always come in here seeming so pissed off, or sad. I'm not quite sure which one." She pulled down the lever of the coffee machine, filling his cup more generously then she was instructed to when first given this job.
Neji frowned. Did he really appear that depressing to this girl? "I guess more stressed than anything, really." He walked over to the counter where you pick your finished order up. He watched this girl take her time making his coffee. I still don't know her name… He sighed deeply only to himself, so the barista wouldn't think of him as being any sadder than she already believed he was. He was determined to figure out what her name was.
This was the day he was finally going to grow the balls and peek at the nametag that happened to sit on her chest. He felt flustered at the thought of actually looking at her there, as Hyuuga men were thought to be much more classy and sophisticated when it comes to woman. But he wasn't really going to look down at her chest, just her nametag, right?
He swallowed as the girl turned around with his coffee. She had her trademark smile on as she walked over to where he was. She rested her hand on the counter and leaned over to hand Neji his coffee. "Here you are! A decaf grande black coffee with extra extra whip cream, my treat!" She added in a wink on the second "extra."
Come on Neji, you can do this. You're a Hyuuga, for Kami's sake! Just look at her nametag for a second, catch her name, and look back up. It's not that damn hard! He swallowed a second time as he slowly brought his eyes down to her chest. He reached her neck, followed by her collar, with was covered by a simple white tee. He finally managed to drag his eyes down to her green apron. He scanned her entire chest multiple times before he realized it. She… isn't wearing a name tag today…. Neji found himself simply staring at her chest, unable to bring his eyes of off it. Those damn Hyuuga elders never taught me what to do in this situation!
Her smile began to fade as she was left holding out his coffee. She tried to reach over and shove it in his face to no avail. It almost seemed like he was staring at her chest, but the barista shook her head, knowing a boy like that wouldn't ever do that, or at least get caught doing it. She sweat-dropped. "Uh, Neji?"
He snapped back to reality and looked back up to the girl with a smile. "Oh, I apologize, I was lost in thought." He took the coffee from her hand and took a sip of the steaming drink. "Mmm." Nice cover, Neji.
"Good, huh? It's from a fresh brew. I haven't made much today, actually." The girl pointed in the air all-knowingly. "So you lucked out!"
Neji took another sip and looked around. "It has been quite empty the last couple of days. I wonder why." He nonchalantly took another sip.
The barista placed her elbows on the counter and rested her face in her palms. She gave a heavy sigh. "It's gotta be all this rain Konoha's been having. Most of the costumers at this shop are older people who walk over here, but because of the weather lately, that hasn't been the case." She pouted her lips. "It gets boring around here. I actually look forward to when you come here." It took her a couple seconds before realizing what she had just said, and she gasped and looked away with a blush. "Y'know, so I'm not all alone."
Neji stared at her with an open mouth. He looked down and took another small sip of his coffee. "I... I should get going. I brought a lot of work home with me. It was nice speaking with you." He turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Yeah… bye…" The girl muttered, still not looking at him. He probably thinks you're a freak now. Way to go.
After a minute or two, she turned her head to the door, where Neji was still standing, not leaving yet. Neji turned to her with his hand behind his head and a cheeky smile, something almost never seen on Neji Hyuuga's face. "It's pouring." He gave something that almost sounded like a laugh. "I don't really want to go out there yet. Actually, I'd rather stay here with you, if that's okay."
The girl's eyes widened. "Sure! I mean no, yeah that's totally cool!" She opened the counter door and walked out of the worker's area. She took a seat on top of a small two-person table and stretched her arms back. "It's sucks being behind a counter all day. It's no fun."
Neji took a seat in a chair that belonged to the table the girl sat on. He took another sip of his coffee. "What would you rather be doing then?"
The girl looked down at him and thought for a minute. "Well, first I'd much rather be outside. I'm not really an indoor person. And I'd much rather be fencing… or practicing my archery. Or playing any sport, for that matter!"
Another sip. "Then why work here? You don't even look old enough to have a job."
The girl stuck her tongue out. "I'm 18!" Her playfulness quickly disappeared as she let out a sigh. "I don't have a choice, honestly. This was the only job I could find with good enough pay." Her shoulders sunk.
Neji raised an eyebrow. "Why the need for a job, if you don't mind me asking? Let me guess, so you could buy clothes, makeup, or other items girls seem to be attached to by a string?"
Her eyebrow twitched. The girl hoped of the table and sat in the chair opposite Neji, facing him. "Nope." She said in a monotone voice, much different from her rather cheery nature. "I'm trying to help pay my way through college." She looked down, wondering why she was sharing so much information with this boy, who was nothing more than a mere stranger. "I managed to get into Konoha University, but merely on sports scholarship. I also managed to get a crappy apartment near campus here, but paying for it is still a hassle. That's why I have to work here in this hellhole coffee shop."
Neji simply stared at her, taking a sip of his coffee. Hyuuga's knew nothing of money problems, much less how to empathize with someone having them. That's another lesson he wished the Hyuuga elders would've taught him.
The girl noticed him just staring at her. She pouted her lips. "You must remember college right?"
Neji looked up from his coffee with a stare. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Aren't you old? Like late 20's?" The girl asked with a rather confused face.
Neji's face mocked her confusion. "I'm only 18." He sweat-dropped. "Do I really appear that old?"
"18 huh?" The girl leaned back on her chair and placed her hands behind her head. "I don't know. Maybe it's the way you look or dress, or the way you carry yourself. You seem very… mature, no-nonsense, y'know?" She noticed his face drop. "It's not a bad thing though!" She waved her hands back and forth reassuringly.
Neji stared at her and took another sip of his coffee. He let out a tiny grunt that sounded like "Mmhm."
"So you say you're stressed? What's so stressful? I mean, I'm stressed too, but I still smile all the time." She laughed to herself. "What are you studying to be anyways? From the look on your face, I'd always assumed you were a mortician or a vet who has to put the animals to sleep or something."
Neji almost felt like laughing. Not only did this girl really have no clue who he is, but she was actually pretty funny too. "Business, actually."
"Ooo, Classy!" She smiled. "I was almost sure I was right with mortician."
"Actually, I was really trying to be a mortician, but then I realized I was scared of dead people." He gave himself a little chuckle. He looked up at this brunette girl. She had managed to completely take him out of his comfort zone in merely 20 minutes. She must be a witch or something….. "So you're not from here?"
Her eyes widened up. "Actually yeah, nowhere near here. How'd you know?"
Neji lifted his eyebrows and took another sip of his coffee. "There are no girls like you in Konoha." Neji knew that's why she had no idea who he was. If she did, there's no way she'd be talking to him in this fashion. "So why do you always seem to be working nights here?"
"All my classes are morning classes, and I mean EARLY morning classes. So I just asked for the night shift here, which is pretty uneventful." She sighed at the thought.
Neji took another sip of his coffee. He realized it was almost gone and pouted his lips. "Let me ask you another thing then. Why do you always wear your hair in buns?"
"Huh!"
"I've come in here every day for a month, and you've had that same panda bear ears hairstyle every day." Neji laughed to himself.
The barista gave a light blush and reached to the top of her head. "Well, like I said, I have really early classes in the morning. I don't have much time to do my hair, and I can usually put these buns in during my walk to school." She smiled and slammed her hands to the table, putting her face directly in front of his. "But enough of me, tell me about you!"
Neji jumped back after she put her face so close to his, but eventually came back to his normal position. "Well…" He took the last sip of his coffee. "I'm Neji Hyuuga." He stopped there. He knew that was all she needed to hear.
"H-H-H-y-y-Hyuuga?" The girl's eyes were the size of planets as she stuttered his name. "I always knew you must have money because of that car you park here every day, but you're THE Neji Hyuuga?" Her body was frozen.
He looked down and sighed. "Please don't make a big deal of it."
The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled. She leaned back in her chair. "Okay, I won't!"
"Wait… really?"
"Sure!" She laughed. "I mean, in my head I'm freaking out right now, but if you don't want me to make a big deal about it, I really won't." She gave the Hyuuga heir a wink.
Neji blushed. Neji Hyuuga actually blushed. This girl amazed him. In that moment, he wanted to know everything about her. Especially her name. "Hey, I-"
She cut him off. "It's 8. Closing time." She stood up from her chair and picked up his briefcase off the floor. She handed it to him with a mocking bow. "Your briefcase, Sir Hyuuga." She giggled.
He laughed as he accepted his bag and began to walk towards the door. "I should be going then. The rain seemed to let up, too." He walked towards the door and stopped before pushing it open. He turned back to her with a smile. "By the way, I never happened to catch your name?"
She smiled warmly as she began to clean off the tables. "Tenten." She picked up a couple cups and turned to him. "Will you be back tomorrow?"
"6:30, on the dot."
"Decaf grande black coffee with extra whip cream?"
"Extra, extra whip cream." He corrected her.
"Of course." Tenten laughed."
"Until then, Miss. Tenten."
And with that, he walked out of the shop and he was gone. That is, until 6:30 tomorrow.
