undercover
disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warning: Plot is based on Summer in Seoul by Ilana Tan. That book is awesome. AU. OOC.
Chapter 1
"I'm still on my way home. I just got back from work. Yeah, I know it's almost midnight. Okay, fine, five minutes to midnight. Whatever."
Tenten continued walking. She held her phone in her left hand, and in the other, she held her yellow tote. She heaved a sigh and massaged her throbbing temples. She was really, really, tired and the man on the other side of the phone, Hiwatari Seiji, is the last person in the world that she wanted to talk to at this moment.
"Seiji-san, I have to go now. I'm really tired. Goodnight." She heaved yet another sigh and put her phone back in her bag.
It's been such a bad day. First off, she had a problem at the office where she works that included a woman yelling her ear off – she wasn't even sure what she was yelling about – and then getting yelled at (again) by her boss who insisted that the client is always right. And she's always wrong. Second of all, she had to work overtime because apparently, not only is she the boss's assistant, she's also the delivery man when said person is absent from work. And third, her boss is the most infuriating person in the world.
This isn't the first time – nor will it be the last – she worked overtime. Her boss, a famous fashion designer, is definitely not an easy person to work for. She yells at her for no apparent reason, and gets mad when the smallest things went wrong. The only reason why she's even working for her is because it will look good on her resume, for if she ever wants to work in this industry. It's her last year of college and she wants to make sure that she gets a job as soon as she graduates.
As she walked down the streets of Tokyo, she realized that the nightlife has just begun. Lights flashing, cars passing by, people walking by in groups and laughing loudly. Tenten crossed the street, entered a small grocery store and went straight to the snacks aisle. She picked up a few bags of chips, put down her things at the cashier, and smiled at the woman behind the counter who had been her neighbor a few months back.
"That'll be 475 yen." She said, putting all Tenten's purchases into a small plastic bag.
"Okay, hold on, let me just get my… wallet…" The brown haired woman replied, already digging through her bag in search of her wallet. "Oh, come on, it's got to be here somewhere… where is it…"
She continued to mumble to herself, digging deeper and deeper, as she start to pull out all her things. Hairbrush, makeup bag, tissues, notebook, keys. No wallet. Umbrella, sunglasses, handkerchief, ear buds, cell phone. Still no wallet.
Tenten was so determined in her mission that she didn't notice another person standing right behind her. Her ringtone started to play and she glanced at her phone on the counter. It wasn't her phone that rang.
"Nara Shikamaru here." Said the voice of the man behind her.
Oh, Tenten thought, we have the same ringtone. Fine. She didn't give it much thought as she continued rummaging through her (seemingly endless) bag with no luck. Seems like she did forget her wallet at home. Damn.
The low baritone voice reached her ears. "Yes, Neji. I got it. No, I didn't forget to buy your favorite. Okay, I'll be at your house soon."
"Tenten-chan, maybe you should let that man pay for his things first." The lady behind the counter reminded her gently, as she nodded at the man behind her.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry." Tenten replied, looking at him. He smiled a little as she took in his appearance. His hair is tied into a pineapple shaped ponytail, but something about his smile made him charming.
Another phone started to ring. Again, the man reached for his phone in his pocket and glanced at it. It's not ringing. He placed it down on the counter with his purchases (sake, she noted) and reached into his other pocket and pulled out a different cell phone.
Oh my god, she thought. One phone drove me crazy. Why would anyone in their right mind have two?
He paid for his purchases and grabbed the phone and sake off the counter as he continued to talk on the phone. As he passed, he threw Tenten a small smile. As he exited, she snapped out of her reverie and apologized to the older woman.
"Oba-san, I'm really sorry, but I think I forgot my wallet at home…" She mumbled as she scratched her head.
"It's no problem. Just pay for it tomorrow." The woman smiled, gave Tenten her bags of chips and grabbed some keys from the drawers behind her. "You better get going. Don't forget to take all your things, Ten-chan."
"I won't. I'll stop by here tomorrow on my way to school." She noticed that the older woman is getting ready to lock up, so she quickly put all her things back in her bag and walked out. She smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you oba-san, goodnight."
Tenten smiled as she looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. The stars blinked lazily above her as she walked, and she hummed a little song to herself. Not long after, she heard the sound of her ringtone (again!) from inside her tote and silently cursed. She answered it without so much as glancing at the caller ID. "Hello?"
The other side was quiet. "Hello, who is this?" Still nothing. "Hello, are you going to say anything?" She wasn't usually this crabby, but after a tiring day, there wasn't much else she could do. Her mood seems to worsen with every step she takes.
"I'm sorry, isn't this Hyuuga Neji's number? I'm Akimichi Choji." The voice at the other end of the line asked.
"I'm sorry, Choji-san. This is Tenten. You must have gotten the wrong number. I don't know a Hyuuga Neji." She hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.
As she walked, she could sense her mood getting worse. So then she decided to call her best friend to see if she can come over and they can just watch movies all weekend, starting tonight. She pressed number 2 on her speed dial and waited for her phone to display the name Yamanaka Ino. But it didn't. Instead, it says Nara Shikamaru. Tenten frowned. She's never even heard the name Shikamaru before. Or maybe she has. Either way, it doesn't matter. It's not Ino.
She cancelled the call and pondered. Okay. What is happening here? She looked at the phone in her hand. It's the same model as hers, the same ringtone, too. She looked through the contact list and stared. None of the names listed sounded familiar to her. She forced her brain to think.
At the store, she put all her things at the counter, including her cell phone. And then, she noticed that the guy behind her has the exact same phone and ringtone she does. He put his phone down on the counter as well. And when he left, he grabbed one of the phones on the counter. He must've taken her phone, and she took his. Tenten groaned.
She sat down on a bench nearby, close to tears, wanting nothing more than to go home, take a bath, and watch old movies until she fell asleep. But all those things would have to wait. She picked up the phone again, and dialed her own number. "Nara Shikamaru here." A manly voice answered. "Who's calling?"
Tenten sighed and began explaining.
"Hey Neji," a voice called out.
Hyuuga Neji turned around and looked at his friend and manager as he walked into his living room. "Hey. What took you so long?"
The other man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, traffic." He placed the sake he bought on the table in front of them and sat down on the couch.
Neji nodded at him and asked, "Have you read some gossip about me today?"
Shikamaru glanced at his friend lazily and nodded, stifling the urge to laugh. "Yeah. Since when are you gay, anyway?"
White eyes glared at him, and the voice was stiff as the man replied, "You know full well that I'm not gay. Why would they even say that about me?"
"Fine, fine. Oh, I don't know, Neji. Maybe because you haven't been spotted with a woman since, let's see… ever?" His manager replied back sarcastically, reaching for one of the sake bottles and opening it. "And you know how those tabloids are. They get bored of one story, and make up another. You just happen to be their next victim."
"Ah, well. Let them think what they want then. It'll blow over soon enough." The longhaired man said, fully intending to forget it ever happened.
Shikamaru sat up, shaking his head. "I'm afraid not. Your new single is going to be released in three weeks, and I don't want this to affect your sales. And plus, one small rumor usually get blown out way out of proportion. I think it's better to get rid of all suspicions before it gets out of control. Think about your fans. What will they think? Will they still buy your single then? This is important, Neji."
Neji sighed, but he knew that Shikamaru was right. This was one of the reasons why he hired him. The man is smart. He could calculate things, predict what's going to happen, and a lot of time (or rather, all of the time) he ended up being right. "So, now what?"
"You should probably date."
"What? No."
Shikamaru's phone rang. He flipped it open and answered. A series of yeah, uh-huh, and troublesomes entailed. As soon as he hung up, he turned back to Neji.
"That was Choji. He said that you should be photographed with a girl by next week if you don't want to date. It's the most effective way of proving that you're not gay." He explained calmly. "And when it got leaked to the media, just say that she's your girlfriend."
Neji had to give his publicist props. He always knew exactly what to do.
"Well, there's only one problem, then."
"What's that?"
"I don't have a girlfriend." Neji stated.
Shikamaru smirked. "That can be arranged."
"What does that mean?"
"Just find some girl and say she's your girlfriend. As long as she's not a celebrity, then you should be fine. You don't even have to go see her or anything, just walk with her in public places and you should be good to go." Again, Neji had to give him props. The man really is too smart for his own good.
"What if those damned reporters start investigating her life? And, where would we even find a girl who will agree to such a ridiculous task? We can't just pluck a random girl off the street and force her into it."
Shikamaru pondered as he thought of possible solutions.
"Also, what kind of girl are we going to pick? Am I handpicking her? Or do we just choose anyone who walked by my house?" Neji continued asking.
As if hit by an idea, Shikamaru reached to his jeans pocket and pulled out a phone and returned it to Neji.
"Here's your phone back, by the way. It's not broken. You're just being paranoid again." He pineapple hairstyled man was just about to tell him about the girl who called the phone, saying that she got his phone and he got hers, when the doorbell rang.
"Who is that? Why are they coming at this time of night?" Neji thought out loud, but Shikamaru was already out of his seat to open the gate.
Tenten sighed again. It's been such a long day. The man who referred to himself as Shikamaru had given her an address that she should go to if she wants her phone back. Really, at that point, she was exhausted beyond belief and just wanted to get it over with. When she arrived at the (huge) house, she was too distracted to even admire the grand style and sophisticated design of it.
The man she had seen at the store earlier opened the gate for her and smiled a lazy smile. "I'm Shikamaru. We spoke earlier on the phone. Please, come in. Your phone is inside."
Tenten knew that she shouldn't go inside stranger's houses, especially at this time of night. But she was far too tired to even think straight, and that man didn't look like he was going to kill her or anything, so she figured that it was okay. The faster she could go home, the better.
When she stepped inside the house, she immediately noticed the expensive decorations and design that must have belonged to someone with status. As she followed the Shikamaru guy in, she could hear another voice. It sounded strangely familiar.
"No, I'm not Tenten. I think you dialed the wrong number." The voice said.
Tenten pointed at the man who was talking to her phone, and nodded.
The Shikamaru person laughed. "That's your phone, alright."
"I'm sorry, Seiji-san. But I don't know you. Or this Tenten you speak of." She could hear him getting frustrated. As soon as he said that, he closed the phone flap. "I think my phone is broken."
"Hey Neji. That phone is hers." She heard Shikamaru say.
And when the guy seated on the couch turned his head, she realized who he was.
It took Neji several minutes to absorb the explanation offered by his manager. He kept looking back and forth between the girl and Shikamaru. He observed how she looked. Her hair is tied into two buns on the top of her head, and she was carrying a huge bag. She looked tired, and stayed quiet the whole time Shikamaru was talking.
"Oh, okay. So this phone is yours, then?" Neji said, picking it up from the sofa where he put it. He extended his arm to hand the device to her and said, "Oh, just now, someone, what was his name – ah, sorry I can't remember – he called and asked for you. Tenten, right?"
Tenten smiled softly and nodded. As she received it, it began to ring again.
"Just go ahead and answer it." Neji said.
The girl glanced at the caller ID and rejected the call. "It's no one." She said carelessly, "Okay, then. I'd better get going now."
"Hey, wait." Said Shikamaru, "I notice you didn't come with a car, and I feel bad that I made you come all the way here. Why don't you just wait here for a minute, and I'll take you home?"
Tenten shook her head. "It's alright. I can take the bus."
"We'll take you to the station, then." Neji replied easily. He wasn't sure that she could go home on her own, seeing that she looked like she's about to collapse any second.
Tenten stayed quiet, her expression hesitant. He could understand that, of course. After all, a girl who agrees to go home with two random strangers (guys, nonetheless) are, you know, troubled girls.
"Don't worry, we're not bad people." Shikamaru said, though it doesn't make much of a difference in Neji's opinion.
"That's really not what I meant," She complained, shaking her head.
Neji grabbed the keys on the table, and said to her "We'll take you to the station, okay? Let's just take your car, Shikamaru."
During the whole ride, the girl stayed quiet. She didn't talk a lot, and only answered when they asked her specific questions. Neji looked at the rearview mirror to glance at the brown haired girl in the backseat.
Suddenly, she spoke up "I can just get off right here."
"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked, "we can take you home if you'd like."
"Oh, no, that's okay. I can manage." She opened the door and got out. "Thank you so much for the ride."
When she was ready to turn around and leave, Shikamaru lowered the car window and asked, "Miss, do you recognize my friend over here?"
Neji realized Shikamaru meant him and looked at his manager with a questioning glance.
Tenten nodded. "Yeah. You're Hyuuga Neji, that singer right?" As if struck by realization, she looked at him and said, "Oh, um… You have good songs."
- t b c -
A/N: So, how was it? I know it's off to a slow starting point, and it doesn't make a lot of sense yet, but I'll get there! The book is really good, and it works out perfectly in the Naruto fandom, lol. Thoughts? Review!