Blackmail seems to be the only way to make Neji notice Ten-Ten as anything other then a teammate. But Neji believes that shinobi can't have romantic relationships within teams without leading to heartache. Can Ten-Ten prove to him otherwise or will he miss what's right in front of him?
Chapter 1
The Dirt.
Late one night in Konoha Village…
A dark shadow crept into the Hyuuga estate. The shadow paused on the walls and looked around carefully ever watchful for the guards who protected the noble inhabitants. Rather then heading over to the main house, where security would be tighter, the shadow headed over to the branch family's villa.
Once outside the intended target's room, the shadow paused beneath the window, listening for the sounds of movement from within the room. All that the shadow heard was a faint snoring coming from inside. Quickly, the shadow jumped onto the window sill and began opening the window. A slight creaking of the window as it was raised caused the shadow to hesitate, as a faint rustle of blankets was heard as the figure on the bed in the room rolled over, facing the window. The shadow swore under its breath, if the target woke up now, the plan would be ruined and it would have a huge amount explaining to do. Thankfully the figure did not awaken and the shadow continued to raise the window carefully.
Once the window was open, the shadow entered the room. It moved over to the bed and took a good look at the young man lying in the bed. With his eyes closed, hiding the amazing silver eyes from view and his body relaxed he looked nothing like the ninja prodigy that he was. His long black hair was loose and spread over the pillows behind him. He looked so carefree and so open, something that he normally never was. It was sometimes so hard to tell what he was thinking. He always kept his emotions under tight reign that he appeared apathetic. Only two people had ever forced him to lose his iron control – his cousin, Hinata and Naruto. Neji had graduated from Ninja Academy as the top student and had been hailed as the genius of his year. The shadow noticed that he had removed his headband that hid the curse that named him a member of the Hyuuga branch family, however the majority of the curse was hidden by a sleeping cap. The shadow did a double take. The sleeping cap was a lime-green frog. It made him look like he was getting his head swallowed by the frog.
The shadow shook with suppressed laughter. Oh this was classic. The shadow had always wondered what he slept in when he wasn't on missions and a green frog cap had never come into its wildest imaginings. The shadow had always figured that he slept in boxers and a t-shirt. Or maybe without a shirt at all. That was why the shadow was here in the first place, the shadow had gotten tired of wondering what he wore to bed.
A relaxed and content sigh came from the bed as he snuggled deeper into the blankets as the cool breeze from the open window drifted in. The shadow froze. Would he wake up? Realising that time was of the essence, since a ninja could wake up at any moment if they felt a prolonged presence of someone else, the shadow hurriedly set about taking a small camera out of a side pouch.
Backing up slightly, to get a better focus, the shadow stood before the window. Perfect. This way it would have a quick escape if he woke up because of the flash. The shadow clicked down a button. As the flash filled the room, the shadow took form. Ten-Ten stood in Hyuuga Neji's bedroom with a camera pressed against her face.
She had gotten it.
Ten-Ten froze again as Neji rolled over, thankfully turning away from her. It was time to make good on her escape. She slipped the camera back into her pouch and slipped back out through the window. Gripping the window tightly to prevent the squeak, she slowly slid it shut, this time without a sound.
"Night Neji." She whispered and was gone in a flash as she ran swiftly through the estate back the way she came.
Clearing the wall of the estate, Ten-Ten breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been caught. A grin spread over her face. She had gotten more then she bargained for when she had gone to see to see what Neji slept in and boy, had she been surprised.
A giggle escaped Ten-Ten's lips as she made her way across the village. I can't believe that Neji sleeps with a frog sleeping cap. I have to show this to someone. Ten-Ten stopped laughing as she considered how upset Neji would be with her if she showed it around. No, I can't do something like that. It would ruin my chances with him. He'd hate me forever. She had hoped only for a picture of Neji asleep, a memento of sorts, but fate had handed her something more when she had open that window.
She had always had an attraction towards Neji but on the day he saved her from drowning in an enemy's attack that attraction had deepened. She could no longer just look at him and say that he was a friend, not when her stomach would knot up whenever he smiled at her, or when her dreams were filled with him. However, her feelings for him were one sided. Ten-Ten knew that he regarded her as nothing more then a teammate and a friend.
Nearing her house, Ten-Ten couldn't help herself and finally gave into the chuckles that she had been holding in since she had seen what Neji wore to bed. She couldn't wait for the picture to be developed. A picture of Neji in that frog sleeping cap would be priceless.
Her chocolate brown eyes shining with mirth, she unlocked her door and entered her house. Hurrying to the dark room, where she prepared her weapon scrolls, she set about developing the photograph that she had taken.
Ten-Ten had always been described as a daring ninja and confident in her abilities. Known as the Weapon Mistress of Konoha, her accuracy was almost as legendary as her team. She could hit a bulls eye every time with nearly every weapon imaginable. She was also exceptionally patient – but then again she had to be, since her teammates bordered on insane sometimes. Many in the village had great respect for putting up with her team which was known for its excessive enthusiasm.
A few minutes later the photograph was ready. Ten-Ten held up the picture of her sleeping teammate, making sure that it had developed properly. She personally thought that the lime-green frog was cute, but she doubted that Neji would think other people would agree, especially since he never wore it when he was on missions. Neji was just too self-conscious of what other people thought of him. Although he tried to act as though he didn't care what other people thought of him, Ten-Ten knew better.
Sighing to herself, Ten-Ten vowed that she was going to make him loosen up and not worry so much about what other people thought of him. It was one of those things that she would hopefully fix with the photograph. Making up her mind, Ten-Ten nodded to herself. She was going to blackmail the great Hyuuga Neji.
"With this I might be able to get everything I ever wanted." She said to herself as she headed up to bed. Tomorrow will be fun. She thought, wondering what he would do when she showed him the photograph. She paused as she took her brown hair down from its customary two buns. I must just remember to hide the negatives and the extras I made – I am dealing with a ninja, and a genius one at that.
Authors note: This chapter was kinda short but I've never liked starting things, I always seem to jump straight in. So if it not up to scratch don't give up on me just yet. It will get better. Please review – I'd really like to know what you think.
Anyway the next chapter will feature Neji (awake this time) and Ten-Ten, as well as the familiar faces of Lee and Gai.
Ten-Ten makes her first demand – can Neji do it or is his reputation going to be ruined?