Alright, so this was made for the contest thingie that Serenity Silence has going, so yeah.
I understand it's not that good, and that's a bit long for a oneshot, but bear with me.
Let's see...one bag should do.
Tenten reached up and grabbed one of the bags of ramen, put it in her basket, and checked a name off her list.
The holiday seasons are always busy times, as Tenten rediscovered. Almost everyone's out shopping, and you're bound to run into people you know almost everywhere.
"Hey, Hinata!"
Hinata spun around.
"Oh, Tenten!"
"I hope those dog biscuits are for Akamaru."
Hinata looked down at her hands. She had almost forgotten what she was doing, and chuckled when she saw that she was indeed holding a bag of dog treats.
"Yeah. I'm trying to think of something to get for Kiba, though. Maybe some soldier pills?"
"Maybe. So you're doing your shopping now too?"
The two chatted for a little while longer, then Tenten showed Hinata her list of people.
"Wow, you've gotten much farther than me." Hinata asked, "What'd you get Naruto?"
"A bag of ramen, of course."
Hinata laughed, and then looked down to the bottom of the list.
"Oh, good luck with your last one."
"Who, Neji?" Tenten looked confused. The others on her list were simple to get gifts for, why should one be so hard?
"Yeah, he never really gets into the Christmas mood, never really asks for anything, nothing of the sort. It's tough to figure out the perfect gift for Neji."
"Well, you obviously don't know me. I've gotten excellent gifts for everyone on my list for the past four years."
"Has Neji been on that list all that time?"
Tenten sighed. "No," she said, "I've been saving money all year, so I can finally get something for everyone."
"Well, good luck," said Hinata, as she began to head off, "you're going to need it."
The sun was setting, and after a long day of shopping, Tenten's list was done.
Except for Neji's gift.
She quickly went over some memories of him, trying to think of something he'd like. Nothing.
Maybe if I look around.
She looked around at the shops close by, and spotted a rack of gift cards.
No, those are the absolute last resort.
She started to walk about, scanning the stores for anything Neji may like.
Geez, there's really nothing!
She began to panic. She preferred the sound of five perfect years to four. She wasn't going to mess up this year.
There's got to be something…
She started to run. Her view would glace from this shop to that shop, seeing nothing that would fit Neji's tastes. She was panicking more and more with each store she passed.
Then she ran into a pole. That calmed her down.
Tenten picked her head up, and assessed the situation. She calmly got back up, and went home.
I'll sleep on it, I suppose. Tomorrow's another day.
She was up early the next morning, and wasn't very happy. She spent all of last evening thinking of things to get him, and yet nothing seemed right.
There's got to be some way to figure this out.
Wait, there is!
Tenten's eyes widened. She gobbled up the breakfast she made for herself, and dashed out the door.
"Hinata! Wait!"
Tenten ran through the street, trying to catch up with Hinata, who, for some reason, couldn't hear Tenten's desperate cries for her to stop. Without much time to slow down, Tenten ended up tackling Hinata.
"Tenten! What are you doing here?"
"I need to ask you a question. What does Neji like?"
The two got up as they continued talking.
"So you are having trouble, Tenten." Said Hinata, as she gave a Naruto-influenced grin.
"This is no time for "I told you so's"! I'm truly stumped! You're his cousin, you should know better than a ton of other people! What do I get Neji for Christmas!?"
"I really don't know. I usually get him a gift card-"
"No! No gift cards!"
"Well, I'm not the one to ask. Did you try asking Neji himself?"
Tenten stared dumbfounded.
"You've obviously never really known that surprises are the best gift, huh?"
"You've obviously forgotten that Hyuugas can see through boxes."
"Touché. Alright, where is Neji?"
Hinata named some possible places, and Tenten dashed off to the nearest one.
She finally found him out in the woods, by one of their training spots.
"Hey, Tenten. I'm glad you're here, I've got a few new techniques that-"
"Neji!" panted Tenten, "What do you want for Christmas?"
Neji looked over at her, startled that she would ask that.
"I'm not too big on Christmas. You don't have to get anything for me."
"No, Neji, I do have to get something! I've gotten something for everyone else but you! Now what do you want?"
"Nothing."
"C'mon, Neji, there's got to be something!"
"There's not."
Tenten gave him a glare. Neji returned it. Tenten's glare was no match for a Hyuuga's. She walked off, disappointed.
"Mark my words, Neji Hyuuga, I will find the perfect gift for you."
Days passed. There were only a few more days until Christmas, and Tenten still didn't have anything.
"Hey, Tenten!"
Tenten looked up. She was sitting on a bench in the park, going into her deepest thoughts to figure out what to get Neji. It was Ino that had greeted her.
"How's the excursion going?" asked Ino.
Tenten looked blankly, then realized Ino was talking about her perfect present search.
"I've still got nothing." She said, as she put her head back into her hands.
"Y'know, most people would have given up by now." said Ino, as she sat down beside her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you really care about Neji, like you really love him enough to spend this much time for him. And that means you'll find something."
That got Tenten thinking.
Is that what's keeping me going?
"Did you get anything for Neji?" asked Tenten, hoping the answer may give her ideas.
"Nope," Tenten's head dropped at this point, "I didn't. But I did have a tough egg to crack. Shikamaru. I eventually had to spy into his room to figure something out."
Ino laughed, but Tenten was getting ideas.
"No, no, I wasn't suggesting that you-"
"That's a great idea! There's bound to be a clue as to what he likes in his room, and that leads to what he'll want! Thank you so much!"
Tenten gave Ino a hug, then ran off. Ino, realizing what she might've done, ran right after her.
Eventually, the two found themselves on a Hyuuga roof, using a telescope to peer into Neji's room. What did they see? White walls, white bed, and nothing more.
"The Hyuugas are strange people." Said Ino. All Tenten could do was scream in frustration.
It was Christmas Eve, and Tenten was going on her last legs. She would do anything to find out the perfect gift for Neji.
Neji was out practicing in the forest again, his hands beginning to numb in the frigid cold. He heard a noise to the side, and wondered whether he should use his Byuakugan or just turn around.
"Hey, Neji."
It was Naruto. Neji, decided on turning around, and gave a grunt of a hello.
"What are you doing out here?" asked Neji.
"I was looking for you. You've made Tenten go crazy, it's not even funny."
Neji's ears perked at the mention of her name.
"She's still looking for a present for me?"
"That's what she's doing? I thought you guys got in a fight or something. What is it with you two, are you dating or something?"
Neji looked surprised, but gave a bit of a smile.
"Heh…sadly, no."
"Sadly?" said Naruto, his eyes widening, "You like her like that?"
"Erm…" Neji muttered, realizing he slipped up. Naruto grinned.
"No worries. I won't tell her."
"Erm…thank you, I guess." Neji said. Deciding he said enough already, he dashed off into a different part of the woods. Naruto walked out of the woods, grinning to his ears. His hands clapped together in the proper symbol, and he transformed back into Tenten.
"That's right, Neji, I won't tell her. You've already done that."
Christmas day. The village was full of the spirit of Christmas, and gave most everyone a smile.
Even Neji was giving his own kind of smile. He had decided to take a walk in the snow, at Hinata's odd request.
She probably has some surprise. She already gave me a gift card…
His train of thought was stopped by a voice.
"NEJI! Hold it!"
Tenten. Of course.
He stopped, as he was curious as to what she seemed to accomplish. She continued to run up, a box in hand.
"Merry Christmas, Neji! I finally found the best gift for you."
Neji looked down at the box. It wasn't that big, probably smaller than his head.
"And no peeking, Neji. You know what I mean."
Neji gave a small sigh, and took the box. He unraveled the ribbons tied all around the box, which were on quite tightly.
She certainly wasted no time wrapping this.
He held the ribbon in one hand, as he tried his best to take off the wrapping paper without ripping it with the other hand. He failed, but got it off faster. He put what was left of the paper in the ribbon-holding hand, and lifted the lid of the box. He reached in and pulled out what was inside.
He raised the small ornament up to his eyes, and blinked.
Mistletoe?
He moved the mistletoe to the side, to give Tenten a confused stare. What he got instead, was a warm kiss. The two fell into the snow, where they layed for a few more precious moments.
Truly, the perfect gift.