Title:Two Beds And A Coffee Machine
Author:kinetic addicted
Summary: [A high school fanfic mainly focused on Neji x Tenten]
Legend:"Talking"
'Thinking'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Prince Staring Out The Window
Chapter One
'The span of time a person is given to live is called life. During this time, they are given a choice to either live with contentment or to live in emptiness. Some others though, are robbed of this choice; forced to live a life of slavery under the preference of others. Still some others though, deprive themselves of this choice purposely. They are the ones I'd like to call idiots; idiots who collapse from the pressure of everyday life. To me they are nothing but cowards who waste the life they are given by ending it with their own hands. I loathe them. They leisurely waste the minutes of their lives agonizing over the fact that they're weak. Pathetic. Don't they realize how much others sacrifice just to live another minute…'
His train of thoughts were ended when a cough forced itself out of his mouth. He coughed till blood dripped down the side of his lips. With his bandaged right hand, he wiped it away. The sound of his coughing must've alerted the nurses as they started rushing to his room.
"Young master are you alright?" A nurse came to his bedside to rub his back; attempting to soothe his pain. He bitterly swatted her hand away and glared at her with his pearl white eyes.
"Leave me alone." He looked away and stared outside the window. His gaze landed on a girl who was walking outside the gates of his family's manor. Though the nurses were in panic in the background, his world fell silent as he continued staring at the girl.
'There she is again, walking home as always. Wasn't she in the same class as I was? I don't… really remember anymore.' His eyebrows furrowed trying to remember her name. Annoyed at his failed attempts, he pushed away his blanket and got up completely ignoring the nurses' protests. He reached for his crutch and started walking out the door. The nurses tried helping him but he only pushed them away.
As fast as his injured legs could take him, he walked through the grand hallways of the mansion that were lit with yellow lights that hang from the ceilings. The walls were painted white and the corners where the ceiling and the wall met were rimmed with white stone carvings of Sakura flowers. As he went down the marble stairs, the stone felt cold to his feet and he realized that he forgot his slippers. For what seemed like forever, he finally reached the large front doors of his house. It was made of fine cherry wood with intricate carvings decorating its borders. A butler greeted him and opened the door for him and he quickly walked out. When he reached the gates of the manor, the girl was already out of sight. His eyebrows furrowed realizing the fact that he wasted what little energy he had for nothing. He was about to return to the manor when he heard a soft voice call out his name.
"Hyuuga-san." The girl stood there in front of him holding her black school bag with both hands. Her hazelnut eyes gleamed as the afternoon sun shone on her face. Her hair was done in two buns with yellow ribbons tied to hold them up. She was wearing their school's uniform but he noticed that her skirt was a little bit longer and that she was wearing sneakers instead of the usual black shoes. Now that he noticed it, she was dirty and sweaty. He'd examine her more but her voice stopped him from doing so.
"Sorry I just got back from soccer practice and the school showers were broken." She let out a sheepish smile which he found amusing. He continued staring at her as if signaling her to continue speaking. She seemed to notice this and started talking again.
"The class wanted to know how you were doing so they sent me since I pass by your house on my way home anyway…" She trailed off as she stared at his bruised and battered body. He had just been released from the hospital after the incident.
The boys' soccer team was on their way to the tournament training seminar when men clad in dark clothes ambushed them. Three substitutes died along with the coach while four other players were injured. Neji wasn't shot. He was kidnapped. Apparently they were after the large ransom they could get from the Hyuuga's, after all they own the current largest company in Japan. He resisted but there were thirteen men against him. During his resistance he broke his left arm. His legs were beaten to make sure he couldn't run. After a few days of trying to negotiate with the Hyuuga's they found out that they couldn't get a cent even if they killed him. To the Hyuugas, he was worth nothing. Who would after all, pay for the life of a branch member? While the men planned on how to dispose of him, he ran. Even though his legs hurt like hell, he ran. He managed to climb over some fence. The jump was high, but he made it. The landing wasn't so successful though for after he fell he fainted. He was then found by the house owner after his dog wouldn't stop barking behind the bushes in his backyard.
"I'm fine." He replied as he looked away. He didn't like it when people minded his business.
"Will you be going back to class soon?" She asked.
"I'll try going on Monday." He shifted his crutch as if trying to point out that he could barely walk and she was asking him to go to school.
"Oh. Then here, take this." She opened her bag and started looking for something. She pulled out a thick brown notebook and handed it to him. He didn't know how to take it. His left hand was on a sling and his right was holding on to his crutch. They stood there awkwardly until she gave out a sheepish laugh.
"Sorry I totally forgot about, your arm." She scratched the back of her head as she said this.
"Hn." He turned his back on her and started walking back to the manor as she stood behind him, dumbfounded.
"What are you waiting for?" He asked over his shoulder.
"Oh right." She caught up to him and they started walking side by side.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That night Neji sat on his bed staring at the notebook she gave him. It had sure signs that it was used but it was well kept. On the lower right corner of the notebook, he read 'Ama Tenten'. He opened it and saw the notes she kept. Her writing was neat and she noted a lot of important facts. As he turned more pages he found a smile had crept up his face. She had little drawings of a chibi version of her explaining the lesson from time to time.
On the last page of the notebook, he found a drawing of a boy staring out the window. He had long brown hair that was tied into a high ponytail with a grey ribbon. He wore a red sweater over his white long sleeved polo. He kept two buttons open revealing a strange cross pendant that hung on a silver necklace. On his left wrist was a shiny silver watch and on his right middle finger was a simple silver ring. Outside the window was a soccer field.
It didn't take him too long to realize that it was him she drew and he remembered that day clearly. It was the day before the incident and it had been raining badly. The fields were flooded but despite the bad weather, the higher ups refused to cancel the seminar tomorrow. Below the drawing, he found a simple quote.
'What his pearl white eyes see, I'll never really know.
But what my own eyes see, a prince staring out the window.'
"Hn. A prince with his arm on a sling and his legs broken. Hn, what a great prince." His every word dripped with sarcasm as he found himself helpless. He set the notebook on the side table and rang the bell button beside the lamp twice. In a few seconds, a butler came in.
" You need anything young master?" The butler asked after he bowed to him.
"Prepare breakfast for me at six and get the car ready by seven." He replied as he waved a hand in dismissal.
"Are you going to class tomorrow, young master?" The butler asked. Neji nodded and pulled the ribbon that held his hair to a low ponytail.
"I shall prepare your uniform then, young master. Have a nice rest." After that said the butler bowed once again and left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.
Neji ran his right hand through his hair making sure there were no tangles. After that he turned the lamp beside him off and pulled the blanket over him. He needed rest for he knew tomorrow, the school was going to make his day hell.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After eating breakfast and brushing her teeth, Tenten started fixing her hair up into two buns. Today her maid prepared red ribbons for they matched the red soccer uniform she wore this morning. She had P.E. for her first subject and as the captain of the soccer varsity team, she was excused from the class. But she wasn't going to waste the free time she had. She had to train for the upcoming tournament against Suna High. With the blond captain leading the team they were up against, it wasn't going to be easy. But she wasn't going to give up just because the opposing team had the advantage.
With her hair done, she flashed a wide grin and stretched a bit. She grabbed her bag and started running down the stairs. Just as she was about to reach the door, her father called out to her.
"Tenten." He smiled.
"Daddy. Why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to be in the airport for your flight to Singapore?" She asked as she walked over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek. He wrapped a hand around his daughter's waist and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"I'm about to leave. Why don't you come with me and we'll drop you off at school on the way?"
"Alright." She said as she held on to her father's hands and started walking out the door.
Tenten had lost her mom when she was eight. Her dad was all she's got. They owned a chain of companies and he was often away on business trips but he never fails to show Tenten that he loved her.
As the family driver drove to school, Tenten watched as they passed by the Hyuuga's manor that morning. The car was in front of the front doors and butlers were busy preparing.
'Perhaps he needs to see the doctor this morning?' She thought to herself.
In a few minutes, they reached the school. Tenten kissed her dad goodbye and got off the car. She started walking towards the locker rooms passed the hallways of the second building. When she got there, a few of her team members were already there.
"Good morning." She said with a soft smile as she leaned on the doors entrance.
"Morning!" They all replied with wide grins on their faces.
"Are you guys ready? Lets go." She said as she dropped her bag on one of the benches and started off to the fields for their early morning exercises.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"G-good m-m-morning Neji-n-nissan." The younger Hyuuga stuttered as she tried to greet her cousin. Neji nodded but never greeted her back. When they got to the car, a butler opened the door for Hinata but Neji opened his on his own. Usually he'd open the door for her, but in his condition he decided that the butler could do it for her. They sat in silence as the car drove off.
"H-how are- anou… Did y-you sleep well Neji-n-nissan?" Neji sighed at her failed attempts on asking how he was doing.
"Hinata your stuttering would get you no where." He replied as he looked away and stared out the window.
"I'm s-sorry…" She bowed her head low.
"I'm fine. The medications ease the pain. The doctors said I could walk without the crutch in a few weeks but my arm has to stay on a sling for three more months."
Hinata smiled at her cousin. She knew that even through his cold words, he cared for her silently. When they were young, he used to loathe her a lot. But even if that wasn't the case anymore, old habits are hard to change and Neji grew up to be silent and cold. She got used to it over time.
They arrived at the school soon. It was hard not to gain attention when black cars in rows would enter the school. Everyone would start moving away to make space as the Hyuuga's guards would get off and assist their masters out of the cars.
Hinata stepped out first. The butlers ran to Neji's side and started assisting him out slowly, making sure he wasn't hurt in the process. After a while he finally stepped out. As he did, he flipped his hair off his shoulders. He didn't do it on purpose but it made the girls scream in the background. He glared as the screams boomed through his ears. His personal fan club was there to greet him. Apparently they saw the car leaving the manor this morning and they prepared cakes and chocolates and banners just in time to welcome him back after the month he took off school.
"Neji-nissan s-sure is popular." Hinata stuttered as she walked side by side with Neji.
"They're annoying." Neji replied as he slowly walked through the hallways. The butlers took care of the chocolates and cakes for him for he had his hands full. Even if he didn't though, he still wouldn't take them. The girls screamed as they all welcomed him.
" Yo Neji!" A familiar blonde shouted from the end of the corridor.
"Eh? You're still alive?" A smirk crept up his face as he watched the annoyed blonde bounce towards his direction and greeted the younger Hyuuga with a wide grin.
"You bastard! We got all worried when news came saying you were half-dead when they found you!" Kiba kept his hands behind his head as he followed the blonde towards him.
"Seeing as he can still be sarcastic in the condition he's in, he's fine." Shikamaru let out a loud yawn as he chewed on a stalk of wheat from who knows where he got it.
"NEJI-KUN! I KNEW YOUR SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH WOULDN'T RUN DRY SO EASILY! MY FAITH IN YOU WAS RIGHT!" The bundle of green that called itself Lee dashed towards him with utmost glee. He was sure that Neji missed his best friend. Yes, he was Neji's self-proclaimed best friend.
"Does that mean we get to eat chips at Neji's house again sometime soon?" Chouji asked innocently between bites. Shino remained silent but nodded towards the Hyuuga, signaling he acknowledge his presence back in the school.
"Eh? You lazy bums actually came to greet me?" He asked as his smirk grew wider.
"We heard from Ino that you were coming so." Naruto grinned widely as he slung a hand over Sasuke's shoulder.
"Welcome back, Hyuuga." The young Uchiha greeted him with a smirk.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Preview:
"What… what did you just say?" Kiba asked with an unsure voice that dared waver from the shock that hit them.
"I don't like repeating myself." Neji deadpanned but he kept his cool and his emotions tucked.
"What do you mean you can't play soccer anymore?!" Naruto screamed unable to contain his emotions.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Authors Notes:
This story was written on a cold morning when I suddenly decided not to sleep and to feed my boredom by trying to cure my writer's block. I haven't written anything in a while for most of my previous fanfics got flamed to the point of me giving up. Yes, I took three years off from writing and hopefully I've improved enough for this fic to have a proper progress. Read and review please. I'll try taking flames a little better this time.
The next chapter would be released two days from now so don't forget to come read it!