Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did (SPOILER) neither Jiriaya nor Pein would die in their fight; I like both of them. Though its seems pretty obvious which one will fall.
The Candidates
Neji paced around his room, trying to calm himself down. One month was all he had and yet, it didn't feel like enough time to him. He refused to marry someone against his wishes, so he knew he had to win this bet. It was like it was all going back to Fate, and since he didn't want to think like that anymore, he knew he had to win, to make his own path to follow. But his major problem now was who he was going to date, be around for an entire week.
He mentally began making a list of all the girls he knew in the village. The first one to come to his mind was Sakura, seeing she was everywhere and saw her all the time. He personally thought she was a moron. When they were all Genin, she had ruined the chance of him respecting her because she was one of those girls who complained when she broke a nail, who always had to talk about guys, mostly—no—always Sasuke. That drove him insane, too. How could he be with a girl who was constantly thinking about a traitor who still hadn't come back to the village yet? He could imagine the first date being hours upon hours of hearing her talk about Sasuke. The minute he heard that name, he would have told her to shut the hell up, or, to Hell with that bastard. He could bear her presence around him when needed, but he could not imagine being with her for longer than five minutes when he had the option of not being with her.
Aside from his personal feelings about her, he knew he would never hear the end of it from Lee if he found out he was thinking about dating his life-long could-never-have lover. That, and Lee was one of his close friends, one of the very few, and he wouldn't let their friendship end over Sakura, a girl he could care less about.
Next, there was Ino, and God so help him if he was ever seen around that girl! The first minute with her would force him to either kill himself or kill her, more the latter. He had a feeling Shikamaru would applaud him for that as well.
The next person to come to mind was Hinata…but he stopped before he could even complete her name. He would not stoop so low to date his cousin. Neji would rather be banned from the Clan than be caught thinking of doing such a thing!
Then he thought of Tenten, and he thought long and hard about her. Sure, it was possible, but Neji refused to believe he could date his teammate. Mostly because he kept telling himself that there was nothing between the two of them, that the burning feeling in his stomach when she smiled at him was normal. The happiness he felt when they talked, when he made her smile, when her hand accidently touched his, were things that just came as being good friends. That's all they were—friends. He drew the line there. But unlike what he did with the others, he left her name in his mind, deciding to come back to her if all other options failed.
He began listing names of people he knew faces of, but hardly knew anything else about them. He crossed them out shortly after thinking long and hard on their names. What was he going to do? Who was going to stay with him for one week, faking their enjoyment around him or not, just to get him out of this situation? What was he thinking agreeing with the whole thing to begin with? Sure, at the time, he would have jumped off a thousand foot cliff just to avoid marrying whoever the Elders had chosen for him. It seemed like an easy task when he accepted it, but now, he was not so sure.
Frustrated, he gave up. The deal didn't actually start until the following day, so he decided to ask for help. He cringed at the thought. Neji Hyuuga, ask for help? Who was he to ask for help? However, since he was Neji Hyuuga, he knew when he needed help and when he didn't. And since he knew nothing about what to do, he had to ask for help.
But who?
Neji knew all Hell would freeze over if he asked Lee, or Gai for that matter. He would never be able to leave, and they would be shouting phrases like, "You have finally found your youth!" or "Who is the youthful Neji going to date?!" No, he would not listen to them. His only other shot was Tenten, and he knew she was probably still mad at him. Plus, she would more than likely laugh at him anyway. Knowing he had no other choice, he opened his door and walked down the halls of the Hyuuga mansion and out into the night. He knew he was desperate now.
All Hell would just have to freeze over.
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"NEJI!! What is the youthful Neji doing over here at such an unyouthful hour?!" Lee exclaimed, probably loud enough to wake the sleeping village.
Neji sighed. What was he thinking coming to Lee and this late at night? Now he knew he would never be able to sleep; his obnoxious voice would be ringing through his ears all night. "I need some help, but before I say a word, you have to be serious with me, or I promise you I will walk away and kick your ass at training tomorrow."
Lee stepped away from the doorway, allowing Neji to step inside. He was still smiling, making Neji debate whether or not he was really going to go through with this.
"What could this youthful conversation be about? Have you finally realized your youth and wish to ask me about dating advise?"
Neji held back a groan. He hated the fact that Lee was already talking youth this early into their meeting. What angered him even more was that he was right. "You have to let me talk."
Lee sat down across from his friend and put his hand over his eyes, saluting the Hyuuga. "I will let you talk, Neji! Please, do tell me what your youthful self has in mind!"
"I need help, and I came to you only because you're the only other baka here who would be up this late at night."
That's when Lee went from happy to crazy. "Ooh, Neji!! This is wonderful! My youthful rival has come to me for help!" Lee had his trademark Waterfall of Tears flowing down his face. "What can I possibly do for you?!"
"Calming down would be a good starting point." After Neji looked up at him, he wiped away the remaining water from his face and straightened up, turning serious. "If I am going to say one word to you, you cannot say anything to anyone. Understood?"
Then he struck his Nice Guy pose. "Alright! I promise to you, Neji, I will listen and be a good friend. If I do not, I will do one thousand push-ups and five hundred laps around Konoha!"
It seemed good enough to Neji, so he sat down and decided to get it over with. "And you can't laugh. You'll have to triple those push-ups and laps if you do." He waited until Lee nodded in agreement before he continued. "My uncle gave me a challenge. I have to find someone to date in a month, and have to date them for a week. If I fail by the end of the month, I have to marry someone that they have chosen for me."
Lee was quiet, so quiet that Neji had to look up at him to see if he was asleep or even paying attention. When he saw his face, he fought back the urge to wrap his hands around his neck and choke him to death.
"Don't you dare, Lee."
Lee was bright red, trying so hard to hold back a laugh. Tears fell from his eyes, and before Neji could say or do anything, he let out his laugh.
"Ahaha! You came here to tell me that? You? Are you sick?!"
Neji cursed beneath his breath while listening to his friend's laugher. "You told me you wouldn't laugh."
By now he was on the floor. "I know, I know! I am so sorry, but—I would double my laps and my push-ups for the rest of my life to hear that again!!"
"Well stop!" It took a few minutes, more like fifteen, for Lee to calm down enough for Neji to even speak. "I don't know what to—" He was stopped when Lee started laughing again. All Neji did was glare at him until he was able to speak again.
"Sorry, Neji, it's just that this is so rare coming from you! I knew the day would come that you would realize your youth, but—I was not ready for it now! And you came to ask me for help! I always thought I would hear about it from someone else! This is too good to be true! Gai-Sensei would be so proud of you!"
"I think I have realized my mistake in wasting my time trying to ask you for your help. I will take my leave now."
Lee stood up quickly and rushed to block the door before Neji could get there, a sudden change in attitude clear on his face and in his tone of voice. "No! I will do anything for you to tell me! Please, I want to help you!"
"You just want to laugh at me," Neji said as he reached past Lee to grab the handle of the door.
Lee grabbed his hand. "No! I will do laps and push-ups all day with no breaks. I'll even do what you tell me to do! Please, Neji!" As badly as Neji wanted to push through him and leave, he wasn't stupid enough to turn down the much needed assistance when it was given, whether it came from Lee or not. Help was help.
He sat back down and decided to continue his mistake in confiding in his outlandish teammate.
"I made a mental list of possible solutions…um…candidates, who might work." He could not believe he referred to these girls as 'its'. It wasn't a simple math problem, even though he wished it was just as easy. Maybe this was getting to him more than he thought. "Problem is, no one seems plausible. Who would you—?"
"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed loudly, holding a hand high in the air. "She will be a great person!"
Well, Neji wasn't expecting him to mention her, due to his undying love for the person he could never have. Maybe he realized that, or maybe he just thought she was a great person. But he had his own problems with her. He had already talked himself out of dating her.
"She likes Sasuke. I refuse to date someone who has an eye for a traitor to this village."
Lee dropped his head in disappointment. "But—she's a good person. I think you should at least give her a shot."
Then, another thought popped into his head. "What if she says no?"
Lee lifted his head and broke out into his famous pose. "I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make her say yes!"
Neji knew that with that pose and that tone, it was a real promise. He mentally made a note to himself that he would never ask for Lee's help again, no matter how desperate he was.
"You don't have to do that, Lee."
But he did not give in. "No, this is what friends do for each other. I promise to you that I will help you in your time of need. A promise is a promise, and I never go back on my word!" And he sealed it with another Nice Guy pose.
Neji knew that he was going to be in for the longest month of his life.
Alright, so Neji has his first date chosen! How will it go? You'll just have to wait and see.
Kratos Wilder Next Chapter: The Drama: "I didn't know I walked into a joke!"