Author's Note: Hey guys! I can't believe I'm finally posting my first Naruto one-shot…actually it's my third, but it's the first to actually get posted. –heheh- Anyway, I hope this isn't too bad, considering I wrote it on an airplane –laughs- hey, I was bored, ok? Okay, enough nonsense rambling. I'd appreciate if you'd leave a review, since I know I can improve. But nothing too harsh, kay? I apologize in advance if the characters are a bit OOC. I tried my best. Oh yes, one other thing. If the idea is similar to anyone's I'm sorry for that too, got it?
Summary: AU. Day in, day out, her life's hectic. Not to mention her house is also haunted. But how bad can your life get when the ghost is Hyuuga Neji?
Pairings: Neji x Tenten
Disclaimer: Sure…I wish…all characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei.
Invisible
She was like any other woman her age. She had a job, like all did. She lived on her own, like most her age should. She was seeing someone, like most were, or hoping they were. Yes, she certainly lived in a happy-go-lucky world.
Sure. To everyone else, she was Miss Perfect. Hey, in a year or two, maybe she'd even marry. But that happy-go-lucky woman wasn't thinking at all like that; you could count on it. No, she had other things to think about. Things such as how in the world was she ever going to get out of the current relationship she was in. 'Happy-go-lucky', they say.
"Is everything alright, Tenten?" asked her date, Lee. They were at a classy restaurant in the upscale part of town. They were enjoying (or supposedly) a lovely meal, consisting mostly of different kinds of pasta. And the 23-year-old female had to admit, he was indeed quite the gentleman. Not to mention loaded. How much he spent on her after only their second meeting…she envied people like that.
Yes, she was a very frugal female indeed. She lived in the house her parents' left behind in their will. But less about her sad, sad life, and more of the present enjoyment of money spending.
"Yes, thanks Lee. I just have a lot on my mind lately," she gave a warm smile. Her chocolate eyes sparkled in the dim-lit room. Her hand patted down the two perfect buns atop her head, color matching her eyes. She wore a traditional Chinese dress. Tenten preferred that style, and usually in a turquoise fabric. It hugged her curves quite nicely. She had some stuff to flaunt too. It reached her mid calf, but ripped up to the thigh.
"Oh, I see," her date replied, and continued to bite into his ravioli with some unknown sauce covering it. He was hunched over so much, that she was afraid his dark hair would fall into his dinner. Then she scratched that previous thought. How could it, if it was gelled down that much? And why in the world did he choose to wear a green suit? Come to think of it, he was wearing green every time she'd seen him. Was that his favorite color, or something? Lee was very strange. Maybe a good friend, but as a date…let's just say Tenten had scored better.
The rest of the evening was rather uneventful, excluding the fact that on the way out of the restaurant, someone had spilt a salt shaker. The thing that Tenten had recently discovered was that Lee was very superstitious. He'd marched right over to that table and insisted the man throw it over his right shoulder. Making a long story short, they bickered about it for awhile, she, covering her face with her hand. She was about to die of embarrassment, since the whole room had quieted to stare. The man's wife had finally convinced him to just throw the damn thing and get it over with. Lee seemed satisfied, until the salt hit him square in the face, and then he was miffed again. This time, Tenten had to drag him out. He apologized numerous times on the way home. On the outside, she was cool about it, but still steaming on the inside. "No, I'll call you," she told him, stepping out of the Mercedes car, and heading towards her abode.
"Don't you get lonely living in such a big house by yourself?" he'd asked her during the dinner.
"No, not really," she had replied nonchalantly, "I have…err…interesting ways of keeping myself occupied."
Now walking up to the door, she chuckled at the memory. Thankfully, he hadn't asked much about the subject, since she'd probably be written off as crazy if she ever talked about…
"Now where were you? You were supposed to be back a half hour ago," the voice from down the hall spoke. Speak of the devil. Just like him to fuss over such a trivial matter.
"I'm sorry 'Daddy'. My date had some…issues to sort out. No need to get so riled up. I'm a big girl." She set her keys and purse in the hallway, and made her way to the kitchen.
There sitting at one end of the table, was a man, who looked around her age. He wore a plain shirt, comfortable pants, and a beige jacket. His hair was rather long and dark, and tied back in a low tail. His eyes were probably the most striking of his features. They were mostly white, with a hint of lavender. He folded his arms, "Haven't you ever heard of a cell phone?"
She pulled up a chair and looked at him in the eye somewhat lazily. "Sure. That would go over well. 'Who in the world are you calling, Tenten?' Home of course. 'But I thought you lived alone.' Why of course I do. It's just that I also have a ghost at home, see? Only I can see him though. 'Really now? That's quite amazing. How do you know he's a ghost?' Simple, one time I saw his head pass through my bedroom door." At this, he didn't answer, just watched her rise up to the cabinets and take out a bowl and a box of cereal.
"Didn't that idiotic date of yours feed you?" the soft-spoken male finally asked, when she sat back down to eat.
"Sure he did. I'm just not a big fan of spaghetti with imitation clam chowder on it," she said between mouthfuls. Tenten looked up from the 'gourmet' cereal to find her ghost friend once again gazing rather longingly (so it seemed) at the food. "Do you still wish you could eat?"
He looked up, white eyes resting on brown. "No, I didn't really enjoy food when I was…no, never mind." He lapsed into silence again.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot Hyuuga Neji doesn't like to talk about his past." She got up and put the bowl in the sink. She replaced the box and headed back out the doorway. "Coming?" and gave another smile. If there was one thing Hyuuga Neji couldn't resist (as much as he hated to admit it) it was her smile. He followed her up the stairs.
Tenten stifled a laugh, remembering how she and the Hyuuga first met. It was right on these stairs, after all.
She'd come home after her studies were done. Her parents had passed in a car accident, leaving their only daughter with their house, and whatever fortune they had. Because of that, she didn't need a very high-paying job. She'd first laid eyes on the house when she'd arrived. It was a two-story structure, and seemed just the perfect size…for two people. Yes, it was going to get pretty lonely. That is, until she actually started to climb up the stairs to the second floor.
Tenten had heard some shuffling downstairs and just happen to look that way when a certain male looked up. Yeah, it was a loud scream. "W-w-what are you doing here? W-w-who are you?" her usually calm composure had shattered.
"You can…see me?" was the first thing he'd said.
"No, I'm just talking to myself here. God, this place is supposed to be deserted and now I'm here and seeing this guy and he probably is like some…" the rest was incoherent as she walked up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. "Hey, I own this property so if you don't scram now, I'm calling the cops. Get it? Leave!"
"Wait. You, damn it, open this door now!" he spoke, not yelled, and with little threat.
"No! Leave! Damn just leave! Why wont you just…" and slowly his head appeared through the closed door. Insert another loud scream here. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-you're like a-a ghost!"
Yes, apparently Neji was living there when her parents did as well. He was like an invisible person. He could touch things, move things, do most that a normal human was capable of. Minus the fact he couldn't eat nor drink, breath air, feel certain strains like fatigue, and re/decompose his molecular structure (and that's how he was able to walk through that door. He'd explained it to her once, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense in her mind.) He also aged, just, slower then normal humans.
So now, the two were always doing things together, as long as it was in the house. Tenten flopped down on the bed, while Neji sat near the door on the floor. "Jeez, I'm tired," she was staring at the ceiling.
"I've forgotten what that feels like," he said monotone.
"Yeah…" her thoughts wandered again, to what kind of person he was like when he was alive. He said he lived in a rich family, but had no parents of his own, so resided with his cousins. He was apparently very smart, and had quite a career going for him once he was done university. That is, until he'd gotten shot, twice. It was just an open fire, and he was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. "Say, Neji," he looked up, "do you ever miss your family?"
"No. They and I weren't exactly close."
Even after a year and a half of living with him, she still didn't know exactly what to ask him. What do you converse about to a deceased person, the weather? Tenten rose to her feet and untied the buns from her hair. The brown tresses fell to her hips. "No matter how much I think about it, how much logic I put into it, things still don't make sense," she sighed. He stood up as well. No woman was ever higher then the Hyuuga prodigy. "Why am I the only one who can see you, talk to you," she grazed her soft hand against his pale cheek, "feel you. Why me?"
There wasn't a single change in his expression. "We've been over this. I don't know either, much to my dismay." He whisked her hand away.
She gave a tense laugh and turned away, tucking strands of chocolate hair behind her ear. "What I'd give to know." She waltzed over to the nightstand and opened the top drawer. "It pains me sometimes. I go on all these dates to get my mind off it." Her finger grazed over the blade of a knife. Without warning, it had left her fingers and was targeted towards Neji. He'd caught it inches from his face. "Still as sharp as ever."
"And even if I wasn't, it wouldn't matter anyway. I can't die twice," he handed her the knife. "Better luck next time," and then a signature smirk. It was a 'game' the two played from time-to-time. See if Tenten had the accuracy to aim her knife at Neji's head; which she did with precision, except dead or alive, he had incredibly fast reflexes.
"You cheat," she sighed, replacing the object back into the drawer. He cocked an eyebrow. "If you don't catch the knife, it won't kill you anyway. How can I take out my frustrations if I can't kill you?"
"A woman such as yourself should not carry such frustrations," he replied smoothly, "you'll have health problems later if you keep thinking that way."
"Well look who's suddenly concerned with plain, old Tenten. She'll really have more health problems then you can handle when these semi-permanent dates want to take things a step further."
"They won't. You're far too sensible to let that happen."
"No? What if they whisper sweet things in my ear? What if they slip me something? I'll be a defenseless little lamb, and nothing could change that."
"They won't," he said again, and pushed her onto the bed. "They wouldn't dare screw with you. Besides, they can't claim what's already mine."
"Oh, possessive, are we?" she held onto his fingertips, "don't worry. I'm not fun to mess with. I'll never be a defenseless little lamb. So you can lighten up a bit." She felt a weight on the other side of her, meaning he'd sat down.
"You're such a troublesome little vixen. But you already knew that." His voice seemed huskier now.
"Yup, but how can't I? I'm simply pulling the wool over the eyes of those poor saps. I'm not interested in any of them, as you know," she sighed again, "I simply can't help the fact that I'm hopelessly in love with a person only I can see."
"Very open with your feelings," he remarked, raising an eyebrow, but not sounds the least bit surprised.
"Well I have to be, to make up for the both of us," she stated plainly. And of course then they ran out of things to say, yet again. So she backtracked. "So earlier you said 'they can't claim what's already mine'. Did you honestly mean that?" he looked at her through the corner of those captivating eyes, but said nothing. Regardless of that being a yes or no answer, she responded to his silence. "That's so sweet of you," and brushed her lips gently against his. It was hardly a kiss, more like just a tease. In any case, they both looked away.
It wasn't the first time for them, but you could call them both being children about the situation. It was a long hush again. Tenten refused to look back his way, a playful scowl on her face. Neji, also back turned to her, look rather lost in thought. "I think I'm finally starting to understand how come you're never with the same person more then a month."
"Really? Enlighten me," she turned to him, only to meet his back.
He waited awhile before responding. "It's because you can never give a guy what they want. After awhile they're going to expect more then just a peck. You're even nervous giving one of those." He was starting to pick up her way of thinking, which wasn't at all good.
"That's very funny," she replied flatly, "are you implying that you expect more from me? You think I can't do better?"
"Did I say anything like that? It was merely a thought. But it isn't like I've seen you do better," he glanced over his shoulder. "Scaredy-cat."
She looked slightly offended and slightly surprised he actually said something like that. "You wish. It's all in your head. I can even prove it!" Once again her mouth moved before her head. Now he wasn't going to let this one slide.
"Prove it, you say?" now his full attention was caught, and he turned around. "Show me."
Tenten mentally sighed, she knew his response would be something like that. Trust Neji to not take things as a joke. "I…alright then," she spoke confidently, but took no action. So for the longest time, they sat there staring at one another. She willed her hand to move, and after some time it did, just very slowly. She placed it at the side of his neck. He felt warm, despite not being alive. She used it to hull herself forward. Soon they were barely inches apart, hovering, not daring to move. Had he been alive, she would have felt his breath combined with hers. Then she realized how stupid their position was, and if she was going to do something it was now or never. So slowly she brushed her lips against his, much like the previous time. Maybe she was a scaredy-cat…no! She would never admit that the Hyuuga was right. So being a bit more daring, she pushed a bit farther. It was like she'd suddenly become more comfortable with him. She could trust Hyuuga Neji. Her free hand wandered to his dark hair, where she ran her nimble fingers through the dark hair, with it, removing the hair tie. He looked that much sexier without it anyway. His hands slowly made their way to her thin waist, where the fingers blindly traced the patterns on her dress. It sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. How she prayed the moment wouldn't end. But of course being the human that she was, the necessity called air was needed.
They both looked away again. "How was that?" but it was more rhetorical then anything. "Why…why aren't you," Tenten paused, "alive?" Her tone was grave.
"Because God really hates me," he replied without giving any hints of being offended.
"I guess that makes two of us. I love a person I can't have."
Foreign dark locks fell into her face. She twisted them around her fingers sadly, not looking him in the eye. "What exactly are you saying?"
"Listen, I want someone to settle down for the rest of my life with. I want children. I don't exactly know how that would work with you, and even if it did, what would the kid look like?" then her face turned a slight shade of pink from the topic of the new conversation. However, she continued, "Can you imagine that? I'd see a perfectly normal child, then I'd go out on the street and people would be screaming, saying that he has no head."
At this, Neji gave a rare small smile. "I see no problem with that." His back was up against the backboard of the bed, the woman wrapped in his arms, their long hair mixing together.
"No, but I do. I like to look normal, thank you very much."
There was a set of footsteps heard from outside. Now who in the world could that have been at this hour? The door swung open, revealing another woman of around a similar age. "Sorry for barging in like this, Tenten," she said, pink tresses hovering at her shoulders, "the door was open so I let myself in. We need to discuss…" Her emerald eyes gazed to where her friend lay.
Great, she must have looked like a total freak, lying in some weird position against some invisible support. "S-Sakura?" she sat up quickly, straightening her hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry, this is probably a bad time, this late and all. I guess I disturbed you and your boyfriend there. I'll drop by in the morning." And as quickly as she'd come, she'd left.
Well that was good, she didn't think that Tenten was a freak. Something was off though. I guess I disturbed you and your boyfriend there. The two looked at each other. Just rewind a sec. Hyuuga Neji was…visible to someone else?
In a flash the tired female got a boost of energy and was bounding down the stairs. The other wasn't moving as fast but still right behind her. "Sakura! Wait!" she called out, hoping she was still downstairs, "you can see him?"
End
