A/N: Hello guys! Sorry for the long abscence. This is actually a piece that i wrote for nejiten month, from week 3 4's prompt. I had some difficulties uploading it to , so i posted this from my phone. Shiroi koibito literally translates to "white lover" in Japanese. It is a famous delicacy from Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. It is basically cookie with some white chocolate. I used is as a title cause i think it reminded me of Neji's eyes. This story is heavily inspired by the movie "Lust, Caution", which is a very wonderful movie. In fact, i posted this on tumblr since i saw a fanart posted by someone who drew a nejjten fanart based on the same movie. The storyline is quite similar, so if you don't want any spoiler I might suggest you to watch the movie beforehand. A few parts of this story is not exactly PG-13, so you might want to skip some parts.
Tell me how you like it and please enjoy!
IOIOIOI
She drops down under the spotlight and let her tears flow as the audiences clap heartily. She hugs Kiba as tight as she can, and he remains unmoving because his character is supposed to be dead in the end of act one. He saw her fellow actors slowly exiting the stage, leaving only her and Kiba as the main actors to create the last impression of anguish. The claps keep echoing but she is not listening anymore.
As the curtains close, she thought she saw a glimpse of long hair and white, white, eyes.
IOIOIOI
She returned to her personal backstage room for a twenty minutes rest. As usual, there are a few bouquets and trinkets from adoring fans and friends. However, there is something a little different this time. There, right on her table, was a pot of lavender flowers. There was no tags or even a simple note that came with it. It stands out than the countless roses, lilies, and chrysanthemums she received. Somehow she knew who gave it to her.
She re-entered the stage for the second act.
She does not see the pair of white eyes from before
IOIOIOI
The war was supposed to be over, and now they are under the rules of the Hyuuga Empire. She begins to realize that the eyes she saw a few years ago might as well belong to someone from the clan.
Which means he is one of the enemies.
Her old theater director joined a rebel force and gathered all his acquaintances which mostly consists of actors and actresses which dropped out of acting schools ever since the war started. Now that it has ended, they do everything they can the support themselves. She did not want to join the coup because she saw no meaning in it. In this time of transition, the most important thing is to survive, and being in rebel group does not guarantee anything except death if they make mistakes.
"We need you. We need someone strong enough to seduce him.", Kiba said while stroking her naked back, her sweat slowly drying on her body.
In the end, she joined the resistance. She forgot that she values those who need her more than her own survival.
IOIOIOI
He was married to another Hyuuga. They haven't had any children yet, and everyone could see that his marriage is only for political reasons. Merely a chess move to strengthen the Hyuuga bloodline. She was sent in with Kiba to act as a married couple that has several successful businesses in the city. She was to act as the bored wife, unsatisfied with her life and unhappy with her marriage. They are supposed to get close to the family, and her solo mission was to seduce him, who is now a general in the Hyuuga military. His wife is easy to fool. He, however, suspects her right off the bat. He invites the over for dinner and treats them with civility, then while his wife embraced her before they leave his house, he looked at her calculatingly. They return back to their mansion -which was specifically prepared for this mission- without any trouble. She noticed a black car that follows her and Kiba back home.
A fortnight later, he invites her over -and only her- for coffee.
IOIOIOI
Coffee, she muses, no one invites anyone for coffee in this area.
In this place, they drink tea more often than they can even hear the word 'coffee'. A foreigner like him would not understand the local habits.
She suspected about what their supposed meeting would become, and therefore came prepared.
She dressed herself up in lacy undergarments and decided to use a mint-green silk cheongsam which has slits that might seem a bit too high for just a simple meeting between new acquaintances. She uses some drops of heady perfume on her neck, wrist, and under her breast. She put on some light makeup but finished it with a bold lipstick.
She's ready.
She arrived at their meeting spot a bit too early, and was told by someone who guards the door to wait a bit and that Mr. Hyuuga will arrive shortly.
It is an apartment. Not a coffee shop.
He arrives exactly twenty minutes later, dressed impeccably neat as always. He seated himself on the only chair in the room, which is next to the bed with the satin covers, and pulled out a cigarette. Then, he stares at her.
She raised the hem of her dress and slowly began to peel off her stockings, inch by inch. Her eyes held his gaze. When her stockings reached her ankle, suddenly his hands are all over her. He pulled her and threw her to the bed. He started ripping off her dress, not even bothering to take off the whole damn thing. He slaps her butt cheeks, and then managed to take off his belt and proceeded to hit her with it until her flesh turns into an angry red color.
Then he quickly drive himself inside her.
It was at this moment that she starts erasing her surrounding, just like the first time she went on stage years ago. Focus on the act, she sternly reminded herself, embodies the character. This is all for survival. For the coup. For Kiba.
They need her.
When she wakes up a few hours later, it was raining. The smell of cigarettes and sex are mingling with each other. Everything hurts.
"Do you hate me?", she surprised herself when she found out her voice did not waver even a bit.
"I do.", he replied, eyes focusing on the smokes he blew out.
"Then you must be a very lonely person.", she retorts.
He threw away his cigarette, and walk towards the door, leaving her on the bed with her ripped dress.
"At least I'm still alive."
IOIOIOI
They have a schedule now. They are supposed to meet weekly at the apartment, and usually go with him to several places for casual dinners. Her pretend husband is currently away for business in another big city and will not return anytime soon. It only took him 2 days after their first meeting to take her out to dinner.
IOIOIOI
She acts like nothing happened. She asks about what he do, and he answered vaguely. She asked about almost anything and nothing at the same time. She even asked him about his wife, which he answered smoothly without missing a beat. He asked her about what she does in her free time.
"II like to go to the movies.", she answered as she smiled at him.
"Really? I don't like the cinemas.", he replied her.
"Mr. Hyuuga, you are too busy. Movies are for people with time to kill.", She teased him, her lips pulled into a smile but her eyes steadily scrutinized him.
He took a sip from his glass of wine.
"I don't like the dark."
IOIOIOI
It's so easy to finish this, she thought as she took a glance at his gun, which was hung on the stand next to the bed. She is currently straddling him, and taking all of him deep into her. She glanced away from the gun and met his eyes.
He looked at her as if she is the most wonderful thing in the world.
Now, the lines between mission and lust are blurred. She don't know if she's standing on one side of if she actually has both feet on different sides.
So she took the pillow from under his head and instead use it to cover his face. If I can't pull a trigger, at least I can suffocate him, she planned in her head, all the while keeping the rhythm going on with her hips. She moans and gasps, and she can still hear him doing the same thing, so she pushed the pillow harder until she can see his neck turn red because of the lack of breath and his hands gripping her wrist too tight. She lets him pry them off, and rolled them around so he's now on top of her. She's now trapped beneath him, and it's him who is pushing deep into her, his face a little bit scrunched up but his eyes keep gazing at hers. She can't stand it anymore, so she pulled his head next to hers, and keep it that way until they both finishes.
It's his eyes, she cried silently, holding him close to her as she feels him slowly receding inside her.
I can't escape his eyes.
IOIOIOI
"I want to take you somewhere nice tomorrow."
He mentioned it so casually, their sweat still drying on their bare backs. The heat of the city in summer is almost unbearable, but being the rich person he is, there's a newly imported piece of technology that cools the temperature in the room. She enjoys it while dozing off, and she did not react immediately at his words. After a few seconds, she sluggishly open her eyes and stares at the ceiling.
There's a thousand things running through her mind.
Is this it? Is this the turning point? Or did he knew about her plans? What about her then? Will he kill her? When did he realized it? Perhaps this is the moment where he'd tell her his secrets, what and when he will ambushes the coup. This man would be the death of me, she silently muses.
"Oh? And where would that be?", she asks nonchalantly, desperately hoping that he wouldn't notice the hitch in her voice.
He smiled sheepishly at her, and she can actually feel her heart skipped a beat. Keep it together, Tenten. You're too close to fail now.
"It will be a surprise."
IOIOIOI
She have a meeting with members of the resistance right the next day. She was supposed to meet with the leader, and old man who called himself as the Hokage, and Kiba. The meeting place is a shabby looking motel room in the outskirts of the city, a far cry from the usual apartment room she usually visited during her weekly visit with General Hyuuga.
She decided her course of action this morning, when she woke up with Neji's arms around her waist, and a sloppy kiss from him on her neck. She wanted to stop, and quit this suicide mission once and for all.
Kiba was enraged when she stated that, and even threatened her with a gun. The Hokage watches her reaction carefully, his own bony hands caressing his gun.
"Are you saying that you actually feel for that guy now Tenten? Do you not remember how he killed our friends? Do you not remember Lee?", Kiba yelled at her, the point of his gun pushing against her skull but she still refuses to look up from the ground. She know that Kiba is very pissed, and that's why he mentions Lee. Both of them still remember vividly how one day after the end of a show, their energetic and low-tolerant to alcohol friend have suddenly dissapeared, never to be heard of again. Until a few days later, a package arrive at the entrance of their theater, right before their show. Inside it was a small jagged piece of Lee's green suit, matted with dried blood. The show was cancelled that day. So both Kiba and her understand that mentioning Lee is a low-blow, but Kiba is too angry to care.
But if there's anything she learned after being an actress for so long, it is to realize another person who is a better actor than you are.
So she lift her head up and looked directly to the Hokage, eyes flashing with anger.
"Why did you even think that this plan would work from the start? Don't you think about the consequences?", she said to him in a controlled voice.
"We are willing to take the chances and set traps for him. I thought you were on the same side.", he retorted back to her, disappointment lacing his voice.
She scoffed at his foolishness. The Hokage is known to be wise and very calculating. Had she known that he is just an old man with a very conservative way of thinking, she would have never joined the resistance.
"What do you think this trap is ? My body ? Who do you think he is ? He knows how to act better than you guys. He does not only want to be inside my body, but to worm his way into my heart like a snake. I'm like his slave, allowing him in. I can only loyally wait, playing my role to get into his heart. He'll make me bleed and cry in agony before he's satisfied. That's the only way he can feel alive.", she whispered silently, and now she is unable to look at both Kiba nor the Hokage. They would choose her death over failure. She did not know when it started but when she finishes, she can feel a tear made its way downward on her right cheek.
The Hokage stay silent. He then motioned Kiba to come closer and offered him something that she cannot see. Kiba returns back to her.
He handed her a gun.
"You will use this to protect yourself. Tell us the meeting place and we will carry out the mission by ourselves. You are dismissed.", The Hokage strutted back to the door, and Kiba followed him even though his eyes flashed at her in anger.
She stayed for a little bit longer before taking the gun and heading home herself.
IOIOIOI
Kasumigaseki 2345-1, 2nd floor.
That's the only thing written on the piece of paper he left her the night before. He wanted to meet her there, and she had also told the resistance group about the plan. It seems there are no way out anyway.
She arrives at the place and looked out through the window of the second floor of the building. She can see some agents disguising themselves, and a car parked nearby. She can see the Hokage himself dressing as a homeless person. You just need the lights and this would be one hell of a play, she humored herself.
"You're here early.", his voice woke her up from her daydream of the events that are supposed to happen later.
"Unlike you, I am never busy.", she smiled at him with practiced ease. He replied it with a small lift on the edge of his lips.
He opened the door to the next room where an obese man wearing a headpiece sits. When he saw both Hyuuga and her, he rises up from his seat and ushered them in.
"General Hyuuga! So good to see you again.", the man took Neji's hand and shake it heartily, his eyes darting between both him and her.
"Likewise Radja. Do you have my order?", Neji asked the man while retrieving his own arms back from Radja's grip. Tenten used this time to look around the room and gasped because of the realization she understood in that moment.
It is a jewellery store.
Please don't tell me that he is going to do what I think he would, she groans quietly.
She sat on the seat that is offered to her, and for some reason Neji looked at her expectantly. Radja took a small velvet case and opened it for her. Her eyes widen.
It is a huge ring with a ruby as centerpiece, with around a hundred small diamonds surrounding it. It is the most extravagant thing she ever laid her eyes upon, and she does not want to know the price of that thing. Heck, it could even pay for the whole resistance army.
"Do you like the one I choose?", Neji quietly asked, but his eyes looked at her with anticipation and hope.
She found out that she does not even know the answer to that, and could not even begin to comprehend the bittersweet aftertaste of this whole scenario.
"I am not interested in jewels.", he speaks after a few moments of silence, his lips pulled into a small smile.
"I only want to see it on your finger."
At that exact moment, she can feel her walls, that she meticulously build since two years ago when this whole thing started began to crumble. She has long forgotten about the mission, about her actual purpose. Their relationship have developed into something more, something thrilling and dangerous. Something that happened at the wrong timing and wrong situation. Something that both of them can't afford to have right now. She thought she was drowning alone and has prepared herself to face the consequences. Years of acting have taught her to block out certain feelings, to be numb when prompted to. But it does not prepare her for this. She did not know he was willingly falling with her too. She did not realize when did it started, when did their roles reversed. When did she began to have the upper hand. At that exact moment Tenten knew that if she told him to leave his wife for her, abandon the Hyuuga clan and run away to another country with her, he would. For her, he would.
Because even though he did not mention it, she knew he needs her. Just as much as she needs him.
And she valued those who need her more than she valued her own life.
So she said the only thing that her mind told her to do, and it would cause her a whole lot of trouble but she did not care. He need her. That's all that matters. She gathered up her courage and uttered a single word that would be her downfall.
"Run."
Realization flashed through his eyes for a flash second, then he lunges through the window to the next room right before bullets start breaking the glass windows and flying through the room.
IOIOIOI
In the end, it was a suicide mission after all. General Hyuuga managed to escape and told his men to capture the resistance including her. The Hokage managed to escape alone and to be honest she couldn't care less for his wellbeing. They were brought out in the middle of the night, hands tied behind their back and mouth gagged. The guards took their head covers roughly and it took her sometime to adjust to her surroundings.
They are standing right on the edge of a cliff.
A guard approached Kiba who was pushed down to the ground until he was kneeling. He cocks his gun and pushed it to the back of his head.
BANG
Kiba fell to his side, and his eyes still wide open.
The guard move methodically to the person on the right which happened to be Shino. Tenten stared, shocked but also knew from the start that this could happen anytime. But Tenten, in her last moment, realized something.
Someone used to say that life is a play, where people's roles and lines have been cut out for them and try as they might, they would not be able to change the storyline.
As she stares at the lifeless eyes of Kiba, fearful stare of Shino, and the betrayed glance from Naruto she understood the big joke played on her. She could hear the guard approaching footsteps and the tension intensifies; she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to prepare herself for the final act.
Perhaps their roles were not written to survive. The