Hey, everyone! Yes, yes I know. Working three stories at once isn't a good idea but seriously I had to put this story up because it was driving me crazy not to. This is gonna be a whole lot of Neji and Tenten jam packed romance with the wit of Shikamaru and Sasuke on the side. Please read all the way through and don't forget to review! I can't do what I do without all my lovelies who review and pm me, so thank you and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
-X-
There had never been a more perfect day in Konoha – pristine blue skies, golden-yellow sunshine, spring flowers intoxicating the air and Tenten felt as if the ground had been yanked out from right under her feet. She knew that being a shinobi was never going to be easy. But combined with the fact that she was now a high ranking Jounin and a female, no less, the weapons mistress had to accept the fact that she would, one day, be sent on specific missions that was a prerequisite for someone of her status. Seduction missions fit within the criteria of being a skilled kunoichi and sometimes a woman had to use her body in any way necessary to obtain information. Tenten knew that with her position, she could be called on at any time to perform one of these missions. Yet, it didn't mean that she never thought she'd actually have to go on one of these expeditions. But somehow or another, she found herself summoned to the Hokage's office and was delegated the assignment of seducing a man.
Tenten would have felt a lot more comfortable if she knew what she was doing. However, being the age of nineteen and bearing little to no sexual experience in her entire life, secured the fact that the bun haired girl was very inexperienced and rather unqualified for such a mission. Both Ino and Sakura, hell, even Hinata had been allocated seducing missions which were all performed successfully. Tenten was the only one out of all of her female friends who hadn't been assigned such a task before. And now that she had, she could feel the burden of having to live up to the expectations of her comrade's dawn on her.
She was young, inadequate and unqualified and the furthest she had ever gone with a man was nothing more than a simple peck on the lips. Yet, she couldn't reject the mission and her pride, dignity, reputation and even virginity, was on the line. Tenten didn't think that the situation could possibly get any worse than it was, but all she had to do was look at her team line up and she felt like she was going to pass out from sheer shock.
Three men? Seriously?!
Tenten could not believe her eyes. She blinked once. Twice. Three times. But the names did not disappear. So, she was to be sent off on a seduction mission, accompanied by three other men. And not just any men, three prodigies in their own rights – Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuga. If Tenten didn't have such great self-control over herself, she would've thrown a massive fit, worthy of a three year old child, right there and then in Tsunade's office. Instead she closed her eyes, tightened her hands into fists and gritted her teeth in an attempt to control her disbelief.
The weapons mistress was having a difficult time wrapping her head around the predicament she now found herself in. So, she was supposed to tempt some random male in the presence of a cold, egocentric Uchiha, a lazy, unimpressed Nara and her former childhood crush, Neji Hyuga. Could this day get any worse?
At that moment, the door to Tsunade's room opened and in walked the three said men.
"Ah, you got my message," Tsunade raised her head, greeting the prodigies as they filed in one by one. "Come in."
Tenten was already standing in the middle of the room, trying her best to avoid eye contact with any of the shinobi. Neji stood on her left while Shikamaru planted himself on the right and Sasuke, next to him. She could feel the lingering gazes all of three men from the corner of her eyes and she pointedly ignored them and focused on Tsunade who was rifling through a stack of papers.
"I have assigned you three and Tenten an A-rank mission," the Hokage announced, lacing her long fingers together. "I have already told Tenten the basics but now that all four of you are here I will relay you the details."
The three males all raised their eyebrows in curiosity at such a peculiar line up for a mission, but they remained silent and listened intently.
"This will be a retrieval mission," Tsunade began to explain. "We have a report that a couple of days ago, some highly classified documents were stolen from the village containing the profiles of our top shinobi. We have reason to believe they were taken by a shinobi from Kumogakure. A scouting team tracked the thief all the way to the border that the Land of Lightning share with the Hidden Frost Village. They weren't able to retrieve the stolen information but they did discover that the thief was working for a third party and handed the documents over to a man named Ryoku – a rich, power hungry mercenary."
"You want us to retrieve the coveted information?" Neji affirmed, his tone calm and matter of fact.
The blonde nodded in confirmation.
"It won't be as easy as it seems. We know that Ryoku lives just outside the Hidden Cloud village. He lives a life of luxury and he will have many highly skilled shinobi guarding his home. Seeing as we do not know where the documents are, Tenten will be sent in to seduce Ryoku and recover the whereabouts of the pilfered information and you…" Tsunade pointed a finger at the three prodigies, "…will do whatever it takes to reclaim those documents."
At the mention of 'Tenten' and 'seduce', all three heads whipped around to stare at the brunette with rather apprehensive expressions. She bit her lip but resisted casting her gaze downwards with embarrassment. Tenten knew it was rather startling for someone like herself to be sent off on a seduction mission, yet she couldn't help but feel insulted at the anxiousness her team felt towards her.
"I know you haven't been on this type of mission before," Tsunade spoke directly to the weapons mistress. "So I must ask, how much sexual experience do you have?"
Tenten felt her cheeks burn with utter mortification but she kept herself composed and answered, "I-I must say I don't have much experience, Hokage-sama. However, I have been through basic training for this type of situation."
The older lady just nodded in understanding, her lips pressed together in a firm line. Tenten dared not look at the expressions of her fellow teammates. She could already visualise Sasuke with an arrogant smirk plastered on his unfortunately good looking face, Shikamaru rolling his eyes with indifference and Neji…well, she didn't know how he would react at the mention of her lack of sexual practice.
"Nothing I didn't expect," Tsunade surmised, leaning comfortably in her chair and Tenten felt her embarrassment deepen.
Was it really that obvious that even the Hokage was aware of her non-existent sex life?
"Tsunade-sama, if I may interrupt," Shikamaru suddenly spoke up in his lazy drawl. "Wouldn't it be better to send someone with more skill like Ino or Sakura on this mission? Tenten will have to convincingly seduce Ryoku in order to find the location of the documents. However, should she fail, she will most likely face certain death and then the mission will be blown and we may never retrieve those documents."
Tenten knew that Shikamaru's comments were directed as a concern for the success rate of the mission rather than a criticism about her, however she couldn't help but feel degraded at his words and she felt a sudden urge to prove herself capable at succeeding on such a mission.
"All I'm saying is that I think that sending someone with more experience will increase our chances of success," the brunette boy concluded logically before turning to Tenten and adding, "No offence."
"None taken," the bun haired girl lied smoothly as she watched Tsunade shake her head magnificent head.
"I understand your judgement, Shikamaru," she told the Nara prodigy. "However, I need both Sakura and Ino here in the village. The hospital is in a state of chaos and I need every helping hand I can get. I would normally send Hinata but she's in preparation for taking over the Hyuga Clan. We are short of highly skilled kunoichi I'm afraid and Tenten is the only choice left. Even though she is inexperienced, she is skilled in other areas and the most likely to succeed. I believe she will learn quickly enough under your tutelage."
At her last comment, Tsunade's gaze intensified on the lazy boy and Shikamaru nodded in understanding as a silent conversation passed between the two. Tenten wondered what she had meant by 'learning under Shikamaru's tutelage' but she had a feeling that it could not mean anything good.
"If the mission flows smoothly, it'll take you about three weeks to complete. That's assuming everything goes accordingly. If none of you have any questions, I suggest you start packing," Tsunade advised. "I'm allocating Shikamaru team captain. You leave in an hour."
The four figures bowed deeply before exiting the room. Both Sasuke and Shikamaru departed wordlessly, leaving Tenten and Neji to themselves. Tenten wasn't quite sure what to say so she didn't say anything at all. And Neji wasn't the most talkative person in the world so they both wandered down the corridor in silence and the brunette could feel an awkward tension arising between two of them.
The bun haired girl was long over her feelings for the Hyuga prodigy but the fact that he was still her teammate did not help the situation that she was about to seduce another man at all. If anything, it made the entire mission more unpleasant and arduous especially with Sasuke and Shikamaru accompanying them.
"You seem very disconcerted," Neji observed suddenly, breaking Tenten out of her reverie.
"Well it's my first time going on one of these missions," the girl replied with a light laugh at his statement. "Wouldn't you be feeling the same way?"
"I suppose," he responded without looking at her. "But you can't let your personal feelings get in the way of the mission. You must overcome them in order to be successful."
"I know that," Tenten rolled her eyes petulantly. "I'm not an idiot."
"Unlike some others that we're acquainted with."
Tenten could feel her lips curve upwards into a soft smile. Neji obviously meant Lee whose personal feelings came in the way of every mission they went on. Lee, though irritating and childish, was absolutely loveable and innocent with everyone's best intentions at heart. The green clad boy could really get on her nerves at times but the brunette couldn't help but love him. He was, in many ways, like the little brother she had always wanted but never had.
"Don't be mean," she chided the Byakugan user as they stepped out into the busy streets of Konoha. "Lee will be Lee. He's just so passionate about everything."
"It's a wonder how he hasn't gotten himself killed yet," Neji answered with a derisive tone. "When his feelings get in the way he always goes off on his own agenda no matter the situation. He's almost as bad as Naruto."
"They are quite similar," Tenten conceded thoughtfully. "However, I still think Lee is worse."
"Much worse," Neji nodded in fervent agreement, his features grimacing at past memories. "Especially when he is with Guy Sensei."
A small groan escaped Tenten's lips as the memories of the two men flooded clearly into her mind – challenging each other, coming up with their own ludicrous rules and always striving for the unimaginable impossible.
"They are a deadly combo, those two," she muttered agonisingly as they walked through the crowd of bodies. "I'm surprised Tsunade-sama hasn't put a restraining order on both of them with all the antics they get up to."
"I will never understand them," Neji shook his head contemptuously. "It's a miracle that either one of us haven't been driven insane from their ridiculous tomfoolery."
"It's good to know their nature isn't contagious," Tenten laughed wholeheartedly.
"For that, I am grateful."
As silence descended between the two, the brunette found herself glancing at her teammate tenderly. They were walking side by side and even though he wasn't that much taller than she was, Tenten still had to crane her neck and tilt her head upwards to view his face.
It was no secret that the Hyuga prodigy was good looking. Even since their academy days, Neji had always been an attractive boy with his own fan club of squealing girls, gushing over his appearance and rare talent. But now, he was just devastatingly and impossibly handsome. Years of gruelling training saw his lean body transform into something much more muscular and toned. His ivory eyes had always been mysteriously appealing but they seemed to mature over time, making them even more striking beautiful and intimidating. His skin was a silken canvas, clear of any blemish and his jaw line was strongly defined as if chiselled from stone. Tenten didn't know how someone could be so unfairly captivating in the looks department. To top it all off he was the Hyuga prodigy and an honoured fighter.
Gazing at him now, she understood why she used to like Neji. But in the same instance she also understood that they were only ever expected to be friends and teammates. He deserved someone much worthier than herself, someone who would stand by his side and uphold the honour of the Hyuga Clan. That is why she decided to banish her feelings for him. Because she would never be considered as a suitable candidate for his affections and so she made the choice to stop loving him before someone else could. However, it still didn't mean she couldn't appreciate him for who he was.
At that moment, Tenten could feel the crowd squeezing her against Neji. His body felt warm and solid and the contact of his skin on hers sent little shivers radiating all over her body. She could feel his toned arm muscles through his shirt and she imagined what it would be like to have those strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. Immediately, Tenten mentally smacked herself for having such thoughts. She was over him and having those types of notions would not help.
"It's time we head our separate ways," Neji stated once they were out of the centre of the village. "I shall see you in an hour."
Tenten nodded wordlessly before parting down one of the streets to her apartment. As she began packing the essentials for the trip, it began to dawn on her the severity of the mission and the dire need to triumph. It was undoubtedly going to be the most challenging assignment she had ever gone on. Not only was she supposed to seduce a man with no experience whatsoever, she was to spend the next three weeks, and possibly more, at the mercy of three calculating, arrogant, dominant men.
-X-
Tenten made sure to arrive at the front gates of Konoha right on time. Shikamaru, Neji and Sasuke were already waiting patiently, unspeaking as she approached them, and the brunette already knew she'd be the one doing all the talking on this mission.
"Great conversation you boys are having over here," she addressed them sarcastically and in return, received the famous Uchiha scowl from Sasuke.
"Look, this is just troublesome as it is, so I'd appreciate if you'd just cooperate," Shikamaru drawled pointedly at Tenten, running a hand over his head.
"Everything is troublesome for you," the bun haired girl replied but the Nara prodigy ignored her.
"Right, well since we're all here I wanted to run through the plan I've devised," he expressed before shoving his hands in his pockets. "It'll take a week to get to Kumogakure so we'll head out in a single file formation. Neji, you'll lead the group out front. Use your Byakugan to scan for any traps or enemies that might be around. I'll be second in the line-up and I'll use hand signals to communicate with the others. Next will be Sasuke – because of your Sharingan, if we encounter the enemy you'll be able to provide support at either the front or back. And Tenten, you'll be rear guard. Your long range attacks will provide us with back up plus you can lay down traps if we are in pursuit."
All three shinobi nodded in agreement and Tenten couldn't help but feel impressed by Shikamaru's quick planning. He certainly wasn't Konoha's top strategist for nothing.
"Lady Tsunade gave me a map of Kumogakure, however we still don't have the exact location of where Ryoku's home is," Shikamaru continued with a slight yawn. "We will have to collect some information while we're on our way."
"I suggest we trade in our shinobi garbs for some civilian clothes once we get to the border of the Land of Lightning," Sasuke proposed in his low voice. "We must keep a low profile and Tenten will definitely need to change in order to seduce Ryoku."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"Alright, stay alert and focused. We don't know what we're up against yet and the enemy may realise we're after them. We'll come up with the rest of the strategy as we go along."
Once everything had been affirmed, the four shinobi took off into the trees and bound their way into the forest. Tenten could feel the nerves beginning to flutter in her stomach. The entire mission depended on her getting the information out of Ryoku and she knew that she just had to do her best and try for the sake of the village. Plus she had Neji, Shikamaru and Sasuke to protect her if things went horribly wrong, right? Not that the weapons mistress actually thought she'd need their help. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself.
However, Tenten didn't know if she could survive the next few weeks with the three most uncommunicative people she had ever met. If Lee or Ino was on this mission at least she'd have someone to talk to. Well, she had Neji, but then again he wasn't a big fan of small talk. Shikamaru was too lazy to hold a proper conversation and Sasuke, well, he was just too intimidating to speak to. The raven haired boy spoke even less than Neji did and Neji said a limit of three words a day.
Tenten often wondered at how Sakura fell for the Uchiha prodigy. She had never met someone more stoic or cold as Sasuke, except for maybe Neji, but then again at least the Hyuga had some shred of compassion. Sure, he was good looking and gifted, but the phrase 'if looks could kill' was kind of a reality when it came to Sasuke. During their days as a Genin, Sasuke always had a fiercely intense persona and most people would shy away from him. But since he began dating Sakura a couple of years back, his features had relaxed and he seemed, at the very least, a bit more inviting towards other people. The pink haired girl balanced him out quite nicely and they made such a sweet couple.
On the other hand, Ino and Shikamaru was a chaotic mess of a relationship. Tenten really liked her blonde friend but she knew that the girl was very high maintenance and Shikamaru was the laziest person she had ever met and lived for the simple things in life. So it astounded the brunette to no end at how the couple were managing to work it all out.
And then there was Hinata and Naruto. Their relationship was simple and charming. The couple was so endearing it was impossible for the two to not be together. Tenten remembered having to persuade Neji why that 'dobe' was good enough for his cousin. It took a while but the Hyuga prodigy mellowed out eventually and accepted their relationship.
Tenten sighed gloomily. Once again she was the only one out of all of her girlfriends who wasn't in a serious relationship. She would always sit and listen, unwillingly, to all the wild sex stories Ino would spout, she would smile at the romantic outings Sasuke planned for Sakura and she would offer advice and encouragement to Hinata when she needed it.
The bun haired girl felt rather out of place and a twinge of jealousy ran through her body. Before each of her friends had their respective partners, Tenten noticed that the girls always encountered a lot of attention from other males. However, the brunette never quite received the bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolate or admiring gazes that Ino, Sakura and Hinata did. She knew she wasn't precariously gorgeous like Ino or effortlessly beautiful like Sakura or elegantly pretty like Hinata but she never thought of herself as horrendously ugly. Yet, no one ever asked her out or made a gesture to show they were genuinely interested in her and it made Tenten realise that she was probably more cut out for weapons than boys anyway.
Tenten glanced up ahead and she could just make out Neji's figure right up front, leaping gracefully from tree to tree. He would have no problem whatsoever finding a suitable partner if he was interested. All he had to do was choose any girl he wanted and they would flock to him without a question. Neji would marry well – someone who was wealthy, came from a prestigious family and matched his good looks. And Tenten, well, she would consider herself lucky if she just got through this seduction mission.
-X-
They had been running for almost a day at top speed since they left Konoha and Neji could tell it was starting to take its toll on Tenten. He kept his Byakugan activated, scanning ahead for any booby traps, but every so often he would glance behind him to check on the rest of the team. For the first eighteen hours, Tenten was able to maintain the exhausting pace they were travelling at but now, she slowly kept falling further behind the rest of the team. He noticed that her body was subconsciously alert but her gaze was rather unfocused, as though she lost in deep thought. Neji assumed she was worried about the mission and he would consider her a fool if she wasn't. Hell, even he was worried about the mission and all he had to do was take down a few shinobi.
In all truthfulness, he was nervous for Tenten. Nervous because he knew she was still innocent and pure – an 'unblossomed' flower as Lee and Gai would say. He knew that a first seduction mission could be very traumatising indeed, especially for someone with no clue as to what they are supposed to do. When Neji had first heard the nature of the mission and that Tenten was chosen to be Ryoku's seducer, he thought it was a rather cruel joke to plunge his teammate like that into the deep end. If Shikamaru hadn't spoken up and suggested using someone more skilled, he most certainly would of.
The thought of Tenten seducing another man left an unpleasant feeling in the pit of Neji's stomach. He cared about his teammate, he knew that. What he didn't know was that he probably cared about her a lot more than he should have. But a mission is a mission and this assignment depended on Tenten using her body to find out where the stolen documents are. Neji just hoped that Ryoku would relay their whereabouts to her before it could go too far.
The Byakugan user scanned behind him and saw that the bun haired girl was straggling a good ten metres behind Sasuke. So he slowed his pace ever so slightly in order for his teammate could catch up.
"Is there something wrong, Neji?" Shikamaru suddenly called out, noticing his change in speed.
The Hyuga visibly shook his head before muttering only loud enough for the Nara prodigy to hear, "Tenten."
Shikamaru whipped his head around to see the weapons mistress trailing behind Sasuke and a small smirk formed on his lips. He knew that the Hyuga always had a soft spot for his female companion to the point where it could be interpreted as over-possessive. He had wondered how this mission would affect the white-eyed prodigy once he realised that his own teammate was to be used as a sexual distraction and Shikamaru knew Neji was not happy about it. Neji had always been the reason as to why Tenten never had any admirers. He was a looming, protective shadow and most men were smart enough to realise that winning Tenten's heart was not worth fighting the Hyuga over unless they wanted to end up in a bloodied, paralysed heap in the hospital. Neji didn't even realise it himself but it was a subconscious gesture telling the world that Tenten was his and only his.
The couple were destined to be with each other, even Shikamaru couldn't deny that. Yet they were both proud and stubborn, refusing to let their romantic feelings come in the way of what they already have. Shikamaru was never the sadistic, matchmaking type. However, this mission gave him the perfect excuse to watch both Tenten and Neji flounder about their affections for one another. If anything, it would provide him with some entertainment and he was sure the Uchiha would get a kick out of it as well.
The lazy shinobi gazed up at the sky which indicated it was mid-afternoon and he decided it was time to set his plan into motion. Jeez, Ino must've been really rubbing off on him.
"It's time to stop," he announced loud enough so Tenten could hear right at the back.
All four shinobi leapt onto the forest floor and Tenten immediately slumped onto the ground with a sigh of relief.
"Finally, a break!" the weapons mistress gasped as Neji handed her a bottle of water.
"Alright, we'll set up camp here," Shikamaru suggested scanning his surroundings.
"We're pressed for time, shouldn't we keep going?" Sasuke frowned disapprovingly as the brunette shook his head.
"We need to recuperate our strength," he explained before adding slyly, "Besides, these rest breaks will provide us with the perfect opportunity."
"Opportunity for what?" Tenten inquired before standing up and dusting herself off.
"You didn't think Tsunade-sama would let you go into this mission blind, did you?" the Nara prodigy asked rhetorically with a smirk. "No, this will be a good opportunity to train you up a bit before we reach the Land of Lightening."
"Train me up?"
"Yes, Neji will help you," Shikamaru explained before a conniving smile plastered his face. "I'm going to teach you how to seduce a man."
A/N – Shikamaru, you little minx! Haha so that's chapter one finished everyone! I can't wait to get this story underway. If you like this story so far please favourite, follow and review. I'm open up to criticisms and complements and if you haven't seen my other stories check out Falling for the Extraordinary and Paper Memories which are still in progress. I'll get back to you soon!