New fic, yay! Featuring Teacher!Neji. I don't know how many times this stereotype has been done... but I was talking to Giada Luna about an out-of-control Neji, and this was what happened. ;) This story isn't my best where plot is concerned - just a warning so you don't expect too much lol. :P
Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.
Eyes Like Pale Thistle
Chapter 1: Her Name is Tenten
i.
It was almost too often that Hyuuga Neji found himself in such a situation.
He was behind his desk, grading papers with no measure of boredom, while a student sat at a smaller desk before him, diligently working her way through her assignment.
He breathed a sigh, and listened to the ticking of the wall clock.
Math wasn't too difficult a subject - the numbers came to him easily, like pieces on a chessboard, and like little digits etched into a calculator in his mind. It wasn't a well-known fact that Hyuuga Neji was far better at the subject than he led others to think, though it wasn't an area he was particularly interested in, either. All he was doing in this school was maintaining a low profile, while keeping an eye on his cousin, another teacher in the school.
Hyuuga Hinata loved to teach - she was in charge of the art department - but she had fallen ill in recent years. (She wasn't a very healthy as a child to begin with.) Thus, under the orders of the Hyuuga family, Neji had found himself a place at the very same school, always at the ready to act should anything befall Hinata.
Cousin aside, he supposed he didn't really mind the teaching job. He had been fresh out of college when the order came; Neji had no choice but to obey. The pay was decent, and the apartment the Hyuuga clan had provided him with (he was Hinata's next-door neighbor) wasn't bad, either.
Neji wasn't aware of his eyes glazing over as he lost himself in thought. His pen slowed over the page of neatly-printed symbols, and he stared blankly at the crinkled papers before him, wondering how different his life would've been had he not been forced into this no-prospects job.
"Neji-sensei?"
There was a movement from the student; she was waving at him sheepishly, an embarrassed smile on her face.
He jerked out of his thoughts, sweeping his eyes over the otherwise-empty classroom, before focusing on her. "What is it, Tenten?"
"I... I'm stuck on this question," she said, with a smile that was almost a cringe. "I don't think I understand non-linear ordinary differential equations."
Neji released a quiet sigh. Tenten was severely behind in her math classes (he hoped she wasn't as bad in her other subjects) - the rest of the students had advanced way past this, which was the reason why she was the only one to stay behind and request help today (as had been the case ever since term started).
"Come over - I'll explain it to you." Reluctantly, Neji set his papers aside, and pulled a piece of rough paper forward so he could scribble examples without giving her the answer directly.
With a clatter of her chair, Tenten stepped forward, crossing the two meters to his desk and setting her question sheet politely before him.
"Question fourteen," she told him, pointing with a paint-smudged finger.
Neji took the sheet from her and glanced at the problem. She held out her own answer sheet and showed it to him.
Tenten was, by no means, a neat student. There were scribbles and numbers that were shaded out, and carrots and arrows that directed his attention all over the place. He winced inwardly and drew his exhale out, gathering every shred of his patience.
"Remember how I mentioned the method of substitution in class?" Neji asked. She frowned as she tried to recall; he waited for all of fifteen seconds, then sighed and set his rough paper between them. "We don't often deal with nonlinear differential equations, though this is one of the cases we'll be touching on in this semester."
Quickly, he wrote a sample equation in large, neat strokes with a pencil. Graphite slid smoothly over paper, and he was done in moments.
"You have nice hands," Tenten blurted suddenly.
Surprised, Neji lifted his eyebrows; she blushed.
"Um, sorry, I lost my concentration," the girl explained awkwardly, giving him a pained smile. "I just, um-"
"It's fine," he told her, though Neji shelved her words for later rumination. "Do you remember this equation that I've discussed in class?"
She looked at the penciled algebra as if it read like alien-speak, and Neji shook his head by a fraction.
"It's fine, I'll start over," he told her. "You may want to pull a chair up while I explain this."
Tenten followed his instructions, and Neji turned the sheet of paper sideways, so that they could both read it at the same time, albeit only when they'd twisted their bodies so they were almost at right angles to the desk.
It was a long, laborious ten minutes before the student grasped what he was trying to say, her eyes lighting up. Neji breathed out and leaned back into his seat, watching as she pulled the sheet to herself to absorb that information.
This girl, Tenten, wasn't like the average girl he'd seen in classes over the two years he'd been teaching. Neji had been the target of plenty of adoring female students, many of whom blushed and batted their eyelids at him, and more who deposited love notes on his desk, with all sorts of praise penned into flowery poetry that he didn't bother to read.
He didn't know if she had any family name - her name merely appeared as "Tenten" on his class register, and aside from her staring at him a lot, he hadn't seen her attempting to attract his attention, or the attention of any other boy. Perhaps she had a boyfriend who didn't attend the school.
Neji's gaze drifted over the girl as she pursed her lips and looked at his writing. She was pretty, with dark, almond-shaped eyes and her hair twisted into twin buns on her head. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were full... and she had a nice figure.
He didn't allow himself to think about her beyond that, though her comment on his hands had him looking at hers. She had a strong bone structure, unlike Hinata's delicate frame, and Neji was sure she wasn't someone he'd have to worry about hurting by accident.
"You're staring, Neji-sensei," she said in a low tone, almost embarrassed.
Neji jolted out of his thoughts at her words, surprised that he'd been looking so blatantly at her. He gave a light shrug. "I see you hanging around school a lot after classes - do you attend remedial lessons aside from math?"
At that, she blinked, and gave a sheepish smile. "No, I just prefer to do my homework at school," she said, "It's more conducive to study around here."
He raised his eyebrows slightly - there weren't many students like that. Most opted to go home, or attend cram schools to further advance their studies in order to get ahead of their peers. (Cram schools were schools that students attended after classes every day, in order to get more learning in.)
"Does it help more than going to a cram school?" he asked. He didn't know if cram schools were beneficial - he'd had private tutoring, if only because he was already ahead of the students in most of his cohort.
Tenten shrugged, and chewed on her lip. "I can't afford to go to a cram school," she said quietly.
Neji nodded and knew not to probe further. He did, however, feel his attention catch on her moist lower lip, reddened from her biting on it.
It wasn't as if there was an extremely large age difference between them - she was in eleventh grade and seventeen years old, while he was twenty-four.
Relationships between students and teachers were frowned upon, though. And besides, it wasn't as if he was interested in her. Perhaps just her body-
Neji shoved the thought out of his mind. Maintain professionalism.
"Is that all for today?" he asked, so he wouldn't have to be caught staring at her again.
Tenten bit her lip thoughtfully, still looking at the sheet he'd scribbled on. "I think so. Thank you, sensei."
He gave her a polite nod and began to tidy his things. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, then."
ii.
They met again in an empty classroom, a week later.
It was the same scenario - Neji worked on grading his papers, and Tenten sat at her desk, struggling through a different set of problems.
Sometime through the week, it had struck him that Tenten had more difficulties than she'd let on, though neither of them mentioned it. Neji felt that it wasn't really his place to probe, and the only help Tenten asked for was with regard to her studies.
The mystery surrounding Tenten piqued his curiosity, though. There wasn't enough on the job to occupy his mind, and he found himself wondering about her - what her motivations were, what she did at home, what subjects she enjoyed... and what she tasted like.
It wasn't as if he was deprived of the attentions of women - but something about Tenten drew him in.
And he knew he shouldn't be attracted, because he was her teacher, because he had the clan as his first priority, because he had nothing to offer her. Or anyone else, really.
So Neji watched her from afar, and helped with her questions whenever he could.
iii.
It was a few weeks later that Tenten asked, after she'd digested his detailed explanation about more calculus equations, "Was teaching your dream job?"
He frowned at her, not having expected the question. "Pardon?"
Tenten gave a mild shrug and studied him. "You know, everyone has dreams, right? Like some people dream of becoming a politician, or a pianist, or a writer. Did you ever dream of being a teacher?"
Caught off-guard, Neji stared at her. The concept wasn't foreign to him, but his family circumstances had prevented him from really dreaming up a destiny for himself.
"No," he said carefully.
"What did you dream of becoming, then?" Tenten asked. She set the piece of paper aside and leaned forward, resting her forearms on his desk. "Are you sorry that you became a teacher?"
The same thoughts had occurred to him, though he hesitated to give her the answer. It wasn't any of her business, after all. "I... didn't have a choice," he finally replied.
Tenten frowned. "Didn't have a choice?" she echoed. "But surely your intelligence would have driven you to be more ambitious."
He arched an eyebrow at that. "My intelligence?"
She looked at him, as if trying to hide a smile. "Yes. You aren't passionate about math like Hinata-sensei is passionate about art. But anyone can tell that you're really smart."
"What's there to be passionate about in math?" Neji argued. He glanced at her paint-smeared fingers. "Are you studying under Hyuuga Hinata as well?"
"Yes, I am." Tenten grinned. "She looks and acts like she wants to be in the classroom. You, however, look like you're just going through the motions."
He stared at her, stunned. It had not occurred to him that someone else could read him, that anyone would even question why he was here. Neji weighed his words.
"I... came here because it was for the greater good," he said eventually.
Tenten cocked her head. "Whose greater good?"
He tightened his lips. "That's none of your business, Tenten."
She aggravated him, he realized. Not directly, nor obviously, though somehow, Tenten's questions crawled beneath his skin, and Neji couldn't explain why she made him feel just a little uneasy, as if she was threatening to undo the way he saw life.
"I see you going home with Hinata-sensei," she piped up after a while. "Are you two related?"
"She's my cousin," Neji said curtly. It still didn't sit well with him that his life was shaped to support Hinata's, and that he had no choice about it.
"Ah." Tenten nodded. "There are rumors that you and her are married, or that you're secretly seeing each other, or something."
Neji winced in disgust. "What?"
She bobbed her head, as if to try and convince him of the truth. "I'm serious."
"Why would anyone even think that?" he asked, trying to wrap his mind around the remote possibility that he would even be interested in his own cousin.
Tenten shrugged. "The students notice that you spend a lot of time around her. And you arrive at school together, and go home together."
Neji's forehead crinkled. "But we look similar."
She lifted her shoulders again. "Incest is a fetish, you know-"
The furrow on his forehead grew so deep that Tenten drew back a little.
"Well, you see, the two of you look similar - you have the same eyes and pale complexion, so people did wonder if you were related," she hurried to explain. "And incest, in general, is just very popular on the internet."
He slanted a doubtful look at her. "And what do you think of it?"
Tenten studied him; her disinterest was written clearly on her face. "I can't say it appeals to me."
"Do you believe that there's nothing going on between Hinata-sensei and I?" he probed.
"Yeah." She nodded.
Neji couldn't explain why he felt relieved at that, nor why he thought he would feel better with her approval. "It's a waste of your time to be thinking about things like that," he said finally. "You should focus on your studies."
"But I don't like math," Tenten pouted. "I prefer art."
"You'll need all the good scores you can get in order to enter a university of your choice," he pointed out. "And your math grades need to improve - your entrance exams are next year."
Tenten made a face and thought for a moment. "What if you gave me private classes outside school?"
Neji hesitated. "It isn't fitting for us to be seen outside school together - you're aware of that."
He didn't trust himself to have her alone with him in his apartment, either. Too many of his thoughts lately had involved her in his bed. Naked.
"What about at a coffee shop?" she suggested.
Neji gave his head a firm shake. "No. We'll continue these remedial lessons in school."
Tenten looked a little let down, but shrugged and smiled at him. "That's fine too."
He drew a deep breath to clear his mind. "Then I'll see you again in class tomorrow."
She reached out as he made to stand; Tenten paused when he did, moist lips parted. She opened her mouth, but did not say a word.
"What is it?" Neji asked, intrigued.
Tenten moved her lips, and finally said, sheepishly, "Do you have a favorite food?"
He blinked at the question, decided that it was inconsequential whether or not she knew the answer. "Herring soba."
Contrary to what he expected, Tenten's eyebrows rose on her forehead, and she glanced away, a wistful expression creeping onto her pretty face. "That's a coincidence," she said. "My mother liked all kinds of soba."
Neji stared. "'Liked'?"
Thin shoulders lifted, stretching at the white cotton of her blouse. "She's gone, now."
"And your father?" he probed, hoping that she had at least some family left.
Tenten shook her head. "He went first. My mother... she passed away a few years back."
There was a crack in her voice, and Neji hesitated. He had not meant to broach an upsetting topic with her, though his insquisitiveness had compelled him to, and he felt guilty for it.
"I'm sorry," he blurted uneasily. "Forgive me - I didn't mean to pry."
Her smile was thin, like the watery light of dawn. "You didn't know, sensei. Don't be sorry."
In an effort to strike a chord with her, he volunteered, "My parents are gone too."
Her deep brown eyes grew wide, and her jaw dropped.
Neji shrugged. "They died when I was very young. I was raised by my uncle and his family."
"I'm- I'm sorry," she blurted in turn. "I didn't mean to remind you..."
"It's fine. If you want to talk about that, I'm free anytime," he offered, not quite knowing why, only that he couldn't take his words back once they passed the barrier of his lips.
"I... Okay," Tenten said awkwardly. "That means Hinata-sensei is more like your sister, isn't it?"
He gave her a crooked smile. "I suppose she is."
"I have a brother," she told him, "Or rather, he's my adoptive brother. His name is Lee - I live with him and my foster father."
At that, Neji perked up. "I'm glad you have people to return to at home."
A light laugh escaped her lips. "Well... the entire home is green," she revealed. "When I step out to go to school in the morning, all I see is magenta."
He couldn't help but cringe a little. That sounded like way too much green in a house.
Tenten smiled at his reaction and began to pack her things up. "It's a happy home, at least."
"I'm glad to hear that," he said from the bottom of his heart.
After all, Tenten looked far more beautiful with a smile on her face.
A/N: So... there you have it. another oneshot gone out of hand lol. They keep doing that. :P
As always, thank you for taking the time to leave a review!