Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. ( See A/N for more. )
Summary: Tenten is indebt and a really good liar. Neji's family is rich and is in need of a temporary niece. What happens when these two meet? ( Nejiten & minor others )
It was a bright and early morning. Calm ocean waves were lapping against the rocks and a tour bus, going way past the speed limit, was careening down the road.
The tour bus honked its horn as it swerved past another car. The cars that were driving by that bus could barely hear the muffled shouts that were coming from the one-way windows.
"Eh he…" The driver, a spiky, blond haired boy, tried to ignore the thumps coming from the back. His hands were gripped on the wheel so hard that his knuckles were near white. "Don't worry!" he called out to the passengers. "We'll be just fine!"
The car swerved to the left making everybody in the back follow as they smashed up against the windows. Murmurs of "oh" and "oh my" swept through the group of passengers.
"Sir…" a young man began as he popped out from behind a seat. "Are you sure we'll be there on time?"
"It's already been 15 minutes!" a woman shouted.
"What are you talking about?" a man cried out at her. "It's probably more than that!" A heated argument arose and the man at the wheel became even more paranoid than before.
"Darn…" the driver mumbled heatedly to himself. "At this rate, we'll miss the flight!"
The man drove diagonally and went faster, making the tourists on the bus slam into the bus' walls once more.
"Tenten, keep stalling!"
"Where is Naruto?!" Tenten hissed under her breath. She glanced up at the clock. Already 20 minutes had passed and they still weren't here. People walked to and fro inside the airport, indifferent to her current predicament.
The plane staff was eyeing her wearily.
"Eh… Heh, heh…" Tenten chuckled, turning to them. "Don't worry – they'll get here soon!" Then under her breath, "They better…"
"I'm sorry," a service lady said. "The plane is going to leave whether they arrive or not. We have already delayed the flight-"
"No!" Tenten cried. The staff gave her a look. "Err… I mean…" She began to sweat.
"No, my love!" she cried out dramatically. "Don't leave me!"
The staff looked at each other and then back at Tenten.
"Your lover… is on the plane?!"
Things were relatively the same as before on the tourist bus…
"We're already behind the plane time!"
It was filled with demanding, angry tourists and one pressured bus driver.
Naruto began to panic. He hoped that Tenten had done a good job at stalling the flight so far. If she didn't… well, that would mean that they would owe a lot of money to the angry mob contained in the back over there. His hands clutched the wheel even more as she swerved to the right.
Gotta hurry…
A crowd was formed around the ticket entrance in the airport. And… it was gradually getting bigger.
"Yes…" Tenten gasped, faking tears. A woman that was near her handed a handkerchief from her small purse and the girl snatched it from her hands and dabbed her eyes before blowing loudly into the damp piece of cloth.
She smirked inwardly as she looked at all of the people circling her. THIS would be plenty of time. Tenten continued to cry and moan out her story… or lie.
"I told him… to not go." She sniffed. "But… here I am. I love him… And I agreed in my heart to let him go." She blew her nose again.
"But… he left me with my child… and I just want to see him one last time and tell him… that…" She sucked in a big breath of air and belted out, "I LOVE HIM!"
She burst into tears, the handkerchief covering her face. Behind it, her eyes gleamed as she came up with something else.
All of a sudden, Tenten started coughing dramatically. The crowd gasped and a few women were on the verge of tears. Someone shouted, "Oh my stars!"
"I haven't… got much time to live…" she gasped.
She looked up and reached a hand out.
"DON'T LEAVE ME, MY LOVE!" As an ending touch, Tenten burst out into uncontrollable sobs, the handkerchief hanging uselessly from her right hand. The plane staff looked nervously at one another and then back at the girl that was groaning on the ground.
"Maybe… we should just let her look on the plane," the manager said hastily.
The other staff nodded and they led Tenten in.
A man was sitting down sipping a glass of water. He was on the quick flight to the city area of Korea. (1)
Bzzzz…
Hyuuga Neji put down his glass of water and picked up his cell. "Hello?"
"B-Brother (2)," a timid voice could be heard on the line.
"Hinata," he addressed.
"The translator for today's meeting c-cannot make it. Would you like the staff to find a replacement?"
"Hn."
"O-Ok. I shall try my best. The schedule for today and tomorrow is on your desk at the office." Silence. "Where are you now?"
The man traced the outside rim of his glass and heaved a tired sigh. "The plane…"
"OH DEAR!" Tenten cried out, fake tears forming on her amber eyes. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" Her insides were convulsing as she tried to stall the flight even more. It really couldn't take this long just to get to the airport, right? She stumbled through the aisles, trying to go as slow as possible.
CRAP! WHERE IS NARUTO? She scuffled along and coughed loudly every now and then to continue with her act. I'll have to buy more time… she thought wearily.
She glanced down at the passengers, shifting through them, to find a well-suited ex-husband… person. She weighed their appearances mentally as she continued along the plane going from the Economy Class to the Business Class.
Too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall, too superficial, too…
"Are you sure your lover is here?" the flight attendant asked. "He could be on another plane."
"No, I'm sure he's here!" Tenten replied automatically as she stumbled her way through the aisles. The attendant and the manager gave each other a look as they followed her.
"OH, MY LOVE!" she shouted in a high-pitched voice. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
Alas she glanced at a stoic looking passenger up front in the aisle. Her mouth twisted into a small frown, but bumbled over to him. He's got weird eyes, she thought to herself, but he's good looking and will do!
"MY LOVE!" Tenten gasped as she attached herself to the man's seat. "Why must you leave?"
The man looked down with a "what is this?" look on his face.
A little embarrassed, the manager said, "Come on, the plane can't leave with you on board…" He tried to help her up.
Tenten's grip tightened automatically. No! WAIT! I CAN'T LEAVE! THEY AREN'T HERE YET!
And with that thought, she fainted.
The attendant and the manager gasped, covering their mouths with their hands. "Mam, mam!" they began to cry as they shook her body back and forth.
The manager looked at the passenger and bowed fervently over and over again. "We apologize for this inconvenience."
Her "lover" looked down disdainfully at her. He looked at the staff as if he was calculating their intelligence. Then he looked at Tenten.
Slowly he went down and whispered in her ear:
"You can stop faking it now."
Tenten's eyes became wide. What the- How did he know?
(1) The place where Tenten lives is just a small island in Korea. The place where the plane is headed to is also part of Korea, but is a city area part of the mainland. I believe city airports do international flights to other countries. I apologize if I'm wrong.
(2) Brother is usually a word used in Korean to address someone (male) who is close to you. It doesn't mean that you two are related by blood. Sister is used for the same purpose, but for a female.
A/N. Haha. I think I got this idea from a Korean drama… Can't remember the name right now. It shall come to me. My Girl, I think?
Anyways, the story takes place in Korea.