Deceived

Chapter One: A Failed Attempt

It was a day of celebration. Today was the prince's birthday and a party was being held in his honor. Neji Hyuga wasn't into parties, but his cousins (mainly Hanabi) insisted that he have one. He hadn't celebrated one before, even though he was eighteen, and she wanted to put an end to that. He tried to talk her out of it, but she gave him 'the puppy face' and he couldn't refuse.

He tried not to look uncomfortable as he watched the performers in front of him. Several of them had come to the palace from distant lands, putting on a show for him. He wasn't into most of the flashy displays, but he had enjoyed the last swordsmen show and clapped when they were finished.

The guards that were stationed around the room seemed to relax as the swordsmen left. Then, their mood completely changed as a different gender entered the chamber; three to be exact. The females, dressed in scanty attire, made their way to the center of the room.

Neji's pale eyes suspiciously sought out his cousins who were seated to his left. Princess Hinata's eyes widened and she bit her lip in dismay. Clearly she was not involved. Princess Hanabi, however, waved and smiled at him. She had been hounding him about being single for quite some time now, even setting him up on a few dates with princesses. Of course, none of them worked out. Obviously, she was going to the extreme now.

Neji shook his head at her, causing Hanabi to lightly giggle.

Each girl (a redhead, blond, and brunette) wore outfits that showed off their slender figures. Their long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, with curls cascading down their backs. They had too much make-up on for Neji's liking, but they were beautiful nonetheless.

The brunette in red seemed to be particularly interested in him and threw a sultry look his way. Though he didn't want to admit it, Neji felt uncomfortable again, for a completely different reason this time.

The music started and for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of the brown haired girl. She was moving her hips in a hypnotic way. Apparently the dance was designed to draw a person's attention. It was working a little too well on him, much to his dismay.

A little further into the dance, the brunette reached up into her hair in a sexual manner, arching her back as she did so. The guards seemed to enjoy this and whooped a little in response.

They weren't the only ones affected. The prince's mouth suddenly went dry. Neji tried to control the physical reaction this woman was causing him. No way was he going to let someone have that kind of power over him. At least, that's what he tried to convince himself. But he found that his eyes were glued to her and nothing else.

He would find out later that that's what saved his life. For as she reached up into her ponytail, she extracted something.

In an instant, the dancer threw that 'something' directly at the prince. He jerked his head to the side, barely able to avoid the objects.

The music halted and the room grew ominously silent. Neji turned his head to see what it was. Two senbon needles were deeply embedded in his chair. If he hadn't moved out of the way in time, they would have pierced his throat.

The princesses gasped in shock.

The guards looked just as surprised as the other dancers that were there. Then, the men finally came to their senses and charged at the girls.

The blond and redhead swore they didn't have anything to do with it. They were taken into custody quite easily and led out of the room. The brunette, however, wasn't going down without a fight. She took the first two guards down that tried to apprehend her, round housing one and leg sweeping the other. Despite her efforts, she was soon surrounded by big burly men in armor with weapons.

Talk about overkill. She looked like a small piece of meat about to be devoured by a bunch of ravenous dogs.

Before they attacked, the prince's voice rang out. "Wait!"

The guards turned their attention to their leader.

To the girl's shock, the prince didn't look angry at all. If anything, he looked bemused, which greatly surprised her.

Neji stood up from his throne and walked down the steps to the main floor.

"What are you doing, cousin?" Hanabi stood from her chair, visibly angry. "The girl is an assassin. She should be executed on the spot." She looked at Hinata for assistance. "Don't you agree, sister?"

Hinata hesitated. "Well.."

Neji looked at his cousins for a moment. "I will decide her fate. It was me she was trying to kill, after all."

The girl let off a crazed laugh and stared boldly at the prince. "Actually, when I was through with you, I was going to take them out too." She nodded toward the two princesses, who flinched in response.

Neji began walking toward her, undeterred. The guards parted for him as he approached. "You seem undoubtedly sure of yourself, even though you've clearly failed at taking just me out."

The girl scowled at him, causing him to smirk slightly. Then, it vanished, making her wonder if it was truly there to begin with.

"Tell me, who sent you?" he questioned, standing right in front of her, his pale eyes piercing into her brown ones.

Her bold stare began to falter and she looked down at the floor. "Like I would tell you," she mumbled.

"If that's how you want to play it…" the prince trailed off, backing away a bit. "Guards!"

The men prepared themselves, weapons ready. The assassin, knowing she had failed her mission, closed her eyes and hoped for a quick death.

"Stand down!"

The girl's eyes shot open and she stared at the prince like he had just grown two heads. The guards moved away from her and lined up against the wall. The Hyuga's smirk returned and she wondered if he enjoyed playing mind games with her.

"Neji." Hanabi looked worried. "Don't tell me you're actually going to.."

Before Hanabi could finish, the prince peeked over at her, his smile widening a bit. She let out an exasperated sigh and sat down in her seat again.

Neji turned his attention back to his attacker. "Care to take me on again, in a fair fight this time?"

Confusion was written all over her face. "You're giving me a second chance?"

"On one condition," the prince added. "You must tell me your name first."

The kunoichi hesitated, but it was the least she could do since he called off the hounds. "Tenten."

"Tenten," he repeated. "No last name?"

She tilted her head down. "I don't have one," she replied, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "At least not anymore."

"I see." Neji was curious, but was more concerned about the task at hand. "Well, Tenten, you must still have something up your sleeve, if you were going to take my cousins out as well."

Her anger seemed to melt away. Tenten raised her head up to give him a sly smile. "You must have a death wish or something," she stated, reaching down into her top to retrieve a small scroll.

The prince arched an eyebrow. Well, that was certainly another place to hide something. He wondered what else she could have hidden in her meager attire. As soon as the thought came to him, Neji mentally berated himself. Never had he been so distracted by someone in his whole life.

Her expression deadly serious now, Tenten prepared herself for attack. Neji did the same, extending his left foot and palm forward, positioning himself into the Hyuga stance. Both fighters stared at each other for a few more seconds before the duel began.

Tenten leapt into the air, her scroll unfolding around her in grand splendor. She twirled her body into a fast spin, touching each seal on the paper. Weapons appeared and soon a myriad of kunai, needles, and shuriken came raining down on her opponent.

Neji stood his ground, a layer of blue chakra swirling around him. Waiting until the last second, he did a spin of his own. The chakra expanded into a protective dome, deflecting all the weapons and making them fall uselessly to the floor.

After her assault was over, Tenten landed with one knee on the ground. Breathing heavily, she stared in disbelief at her weapons that littered the room. Not one of them had hit their mark. "How did you.."

"Surely, that's not all you've got?" Neji questioned, a hint of smugness in his voice.

This angered Tenten and she stood up the rest of the way. She managed to control her breathing and gave him a determined look. "You wish."

Tenten touched the last seal on her scroll and a large spiked ball appeared. A chain was attached and she swung it around, launching the weapon with great force at Neji.

As the ball hurled toward him, Neji drew his arms into his side. Bending his fingers, he built up chakra and thrust his left palm forward. "8 Trigrams: Air Palm!"

A strong blast of wind blew the weapon back. The spiked ball slammed into the wall behind Tenten, barely missing one of the guard's head. The man's eyes grew wide when he saw how close to death he'd come.

The kunoichi was also knocked off her feet, landing painfully on her rear. As she rubbed the aching body part, the prince walked over to her. She looked up at him in anger and embarrassment.

"I think that is enough for today," Neji said, staring down at her with a blank expression.

For today, Tenten thought. Surely he didn't mean to keep her alive any longer. The thought was so preposterous, she wiped it from her mind.

"Guards!" he ordered yet again and the men stood to alert.

Tenten hung her head. She had failed to dispose of the Hyuga once again. Feeling humiliated, she almost welcomed death this time.

"Throw her in the dungeon with her companions."

"What?" Tenten's head snapped up. She stared wide eyed at him as a few guards helped her to her feet.

The prince turned his back on her. "And maybe get her some ice. She obviously needs it."

"Why you.." was all Tenten managed to get out before the guards started hauling her away.

As she was led out of the room, Tenten didn't know if she was suppose to feel grateful. The thought of ringing her savior's neck seemed to override anything else.

A/N: I'm taking a time out from my other story, because this plot came to me and It Won't Leave Me Alone. By the way, this is my first Neji/Ten story where they are the main couple, so please let me know if you like it so far.