Apply disclaimers standard. Please.
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Dance With Me
Dedicated to Naruto fans all over the world, including myself.
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Part One: Girls' Talk
By MyFallenAngel
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"Hey, have you heard about the dance?" Tenten asked, taking out an invitation from her bag and waving it on the empty air.
It was a sunny afternoon, and the girls were just having fun in Sakura's room, talking about... things, of course.
Sakura nodded as she sipped her jasmine tea. "Yes, of course!" She rolled her eyes. She was one of the best gossipers in Konoha, hearing just about this dance was so easy for her.
"What dance is this?" Ino asked, demandingly. She had been too preoccupied by the flower shop that she had forgotten the ways to gossip… not really, though. Hinata nodded, noting that she also didn't know.
Tenten shoved the invitation to their faces, while Sakura happily took the chance to reply, "It's a dance for all the jounins." She shrugged, but there was a twinkle in her green eyes, "But it's gonna be oh-so-fun! There will be food, drinks... such things."
Ino's eyes sparkled also. "And I bet the top notch is the dance!" She said, pointing to Sakura's nose.
Sakura grinned at her. "Of course. That's the main point, duh!"
Hinata nodded shyly, agreeing as she noticed how Tenten was silent. She tugged on her best friend's shirt and asked her, rather timidly, "Are you going to ask Neji-niisan, Tenten-chan?"
At the mention of his name, Tenten flinched. Ino and Sakura crowded over, looking at her curiously, their face bright and excited while Hinata wondered what she had just done wrong.
Seeing the guilty expression on Hinata's face, Tenten quickly came to the rescue of the timid girl. She put her arm comfortingly around Hinata's shoulder and gave her a smile. "Maybe not, Hinata." She replied quietly, and turned to the girls, "How about you guys?"
"I don't know." Sakura replied, "Asking them seems so... aggressive. Whoa."
"You're always aggressive, forehead-girl." Ino cut her out, her eyes twinkling gleefully, "But aside from that, do you think they will come? To the dance, I mean?" She shrugged a little, "I don't think Shikamaru will. He will just say that this is too troublesome."
Hinata nodded. "I-I don't know that Naruto-kun will come or not too..."
Tenten smiled to the girls. Being the oldest one, at times like this, she felt like encouraging them. "Hey, you're just thinking the negatives." She pointed out cheerfully, "I'm quite sure they will come!"
"Can you say the same about Neji, Tenten?" Sakura chirped in, bringing the light expression on the weapon mistress' face to darken again. She shook her head, hiding her disappointment cleverly. Teaming with Neji for almost eight years already, she was clearly used to hiding her emotions as well. He had affected her in that way.
Ino's eyes gleamed again. "Hey, how about we make it this way?" She asked suddenly, drawing attention to her, "We make a dare between us all."
"What dare?" Sakura eyed her best friend suspiciously. Knowing Ino, it will not be an easy dare.
Hinata also looked at Ino curiously, while Tenten kept silent.
"He should ask you to the dance!" Ino said happily, explaining the dare as it was a so-very-easy-and-lucky thing rather than deadly. "I mean, Sasuke-kun should ask Sakura, Naruto should ask Hinata, Neji should ask you, Tenten, and Shikamaru should ask me! This will make it fun, right?"
"I don't even know whether I will be going or not." Tenten said, sighing as she leaned on Sakura's bed. "Really, there's no point going too."
"Tsunade-sama will be there." Sakura said quickly, making the kunoichi a little hesitant. She turned to Ino, "But it will not be easy, Ino. You know Sasuke-kun."
"And you know Shikamaru." Ino rolled her eyes, "It's not easy for any of us. It's not even guaranteed that they will ask us and not other girls. They're not our boyfriends, for heaven's sake. Naruto probably wouldn't even know that there is a dance next week. Shikamaru, as I said, would think it is too troublesome. Sasuke-kun doesn't like dances, and Neji..."
"He doesn't like dancing, all right." Tenten cut her out. "Ino, I'm out of this. He is harder even than that Uchiha guy. How am I going to bail him? Neji will never fall for the bait."
"T-Tenten-chan is right." Hinata said, "Neji-niisan is..." She paused and gazed at Tenten. The weapon kunoichi smiled gratefully at her and turned to Ino, who was now smiling mischievously at her. "You're afraid to lose, aren't you?" Ino asked, baiting Tenten carefully and cleverly. One thing she knew about Tenten: she didn't like to lose. Not even in a dare.
"I'm not." Tenten said quickly.
"Oh, then why are you getting out?" Sakura helped, knowing Ino's plan. If they do this right, Tenten will fall. It's guaranteed. "Afraid, Tenten?"
"No." Tenten shook her head. "Listen, bailing me wouldn't have a use."
"We're not." chorused Ino and Sakura as they exchanged glances with each other. This time they shot a pleading look, and pleaded, "Please, Tenten? It wouldn't be fun if you don't come."
"If I have a reason to come, I will." Tenten said again.
"B-but maybe you could try asking Neji-niisan, Tenten-chan..." Hinata interrupted thoughtfully, "Y-yesterday I saw Hanabi teasing him about the dance... he should know about it..."
"... I know." Tenten shrugged, "Lee has been mentioning it all week too, in front of him. He knows, but he didn't ask me. End of discussion."
"Not really." Sakura said, smiling, "There are still three days before the dance, counting today. If they asked us before the dance, then we win the dare."
"All of us." Ino added. "There's no taxes, no consequences. Just a dare. It wouldn't hurt, right?" She eyed Tenten, "Please?"
Tenten groaned. "No." She said, holding to her determination. "You know Neji."
"No, I don't know him." Ino frowned. "I haven't even talk to him yet."
"Ah, but you know how he is." Tenten tried again.
"I don't know too." Sakura chimed happily, "All we heard are the infos from you."
Tenten frowned. "Don't try me."
"We're not." chorused Sakura and Ino cheerfully. "Tenten, there's no consequences." Sakura added, "All we need is to make them ask us, and we'll be happy. It's just that, nothing else. If he doesn't ask you, then whatever."
"Really..." Tenten questioned suspiciously.
"Yes." Ino said hastily. "I promise." She added.
"Then fine." The weapon mistress nodded, although she did looked a little hesitant. "I'm in."
"Yay!" Sakura grinned happily. She put a hand around Tenten's neck. "If you're in, I'm too. And Ino is in, of course." She eyed Hinata, "Hinata?"
Hinata blushed shyly.
"Hinata?" Tenten asked.
Ino eyed her with puppy-eyes.
"Okay." Hinata whispered timidly.
Ino grinned again. This will be fun, she thought.
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"You're late." Neji smirked.
Tenten knelt on her knees, exhausted. She had ran all the way from Sakura's house, which was at the corner of Konoha, to her training ground, which was the other corner of Konoha, and she was out of breath. "So-rry..." was all she could muster.
"... Let's train." He said, not giving her time to rest.
Tenten breathed and forced her feet to stand up, even though feebly. When Lee passed, she stumbled on him, and the green beast of Konoha helped her to get up again. "Tenten!" He greeted, like nothing was wrong. "Have you found a partner for the dance?"
She shook her head, now breathing quite regularly, "Not yet, Lee."
"I could be your partner!" Lee offered happily, but Tenten shook her head again. "I'm sorry." She said apologetically, although she knew that Lee was only joking. "I have someone in mind."
"It's okay!" Lee chirped, still cheerful. "Me too, Tenten."
She grinned at him and felt the piercing glare on her back from Neji. "I have to go now, Lee. Really." She whispered at him. "Good luck for your date."
Lee grinned back. "Okay. You too! Hope the springtime of your youth is blooming greatly and..."
"Yes, yes." Tenten cut him as she waved her hand and went to Neji. He immediately shaped into a familiar stance. It was a cue for Tenten to start her weapon throwing at him. She never succeeds, really. His 'perfect defense' was really perfect.
They started their spar match, and ended it about one hour after that. Tenten was, as usual, very exhausted, her body all sweaty and she was out of breath, while Neji was, as usual too, had not dropped a single sweat. At all.
"G-good match, Neji..." Tenten breathed feebly, feeling numb on her feet. She immediately knelt down and massaged them gently. She was forced to use the Twin Rising Dragon jutsu around six times today. Neji was being especially harsh - maybe because she was late.
"Neji…" She stated as she was kneeling down, out of breath. She looked up at him; hope perking up in her heart. He stared back at her, arching his eyebrows as he mustered a look that meant 'if-you're-going-to-disturb-the-training-just-do-it-next-time-Tenten'.
"What?" Neji asked stiffly. She stood up and gulped. She was not mentally ready to ask him. Really. Especially not when he's glaring piercingly at her.
"Nothing." She said, avoiding eye contact with the Byakugan user. "Well, Neji. Look at the time. I need to go home... and fetch myself dinner. I'm hungry. Really."
"... Fine." He agreed. "I'll walk you home."
"No need." Tenten coughed, but rejecting an invitation -more likely an order- from Hyuuga Neji had its own cost.
"Then come earlier tomorrow for training." He said quietly, coolly, casually, like the normal Hyuuga Neji, "We have some things to talk about."
Earlier? Tenten almost screamed. "What time?" She forced herself to ask.
"Four."
Four! Tenten almost screamed again. She shut her mouth quickly and nodded quietly. If she opened it one bit, there's a possibility that she will protest, and protesting his idea after rejecting him wasn't a good idea at all.
Neji is crazy about training, she decided, more to comfort herself, as she chose to fade away from the grounds. He trains from four to eight, then have breakfast, then from nine to twelve, then lunch, then from one to seven, then have dinner, and finally from seven to nine. Then he sleeps. His days are like devoted for training... She shrugged, I wonder whether Hiashi-sama is against his insane schedule or not.
Then again, he was Hyuuga Neji.
No one could really resist him.
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