Disclaimer: These characters belong to a man named Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own any of the characters used nor do I gain any profit from writing this story.
-OoO-
Chapter 3: Of Squealing Girl Friends and Regressing Uncles
"He said he just doesn't feel the spark anymore! After that, he left me and went back to his ex! Guys, I feel so used!"
Yamanaka Ino wailed loudly, earning her curious glances and raised brows from a few patrons of the cafe. Across the grieving blonde, Haruno Sakura offered some tissues to the girl, whereas Tenten tried to console Ino by rubbing her back soothingly.
"A scumbag like him doesn't deserve you, Ino," Sakura declared righteously, and Ino sniffed in reply. "Guys like him should just, drop dead, you know?"
Ino nodded tearfully, blonde hair bouncing along, as she reached for another piece of tissue.
"Eh, if he wanted to see some sparks, he should have just told me. I'd be more than happy to have him electrocuted." Tenten added jokingly and smiled when Ino giggled softly.
Sakura laughed as well, and pretty soon, the three girls were giggling happily. Once Ino had calmed down somewhat, Sakura spoke once more.
"Don't cry anymore, okay? Forget that asshole and move on. Besides, I heard there's a sale at the mall today. We should check it out."
Ino sniffed once and dabbed her tear-stained cheeks with another ply of tissue, before she replied. "You sure know how to make me smile, Sakura."
"I've known you since Kindergarten, Pig. Of course I know what to do with you." Sakura said in jest. Her viridian eyes sparkled in amusement when Ino huffed and pouted at the nickname Sakura had given her.
"Oh, shut up Forehead!" Ino replied, and as emphasis, she flicked Sakura's rather large forehead. The rosette swatted her friend's hand playfully, and the shared a laugh at their own silliness.
"As much as I love you guys, I don't think I'll ever want to go shopping with you two again. I value my sanity, thank you very much." Tenten commented and smirked when her two friends shared a mock-hurt expression on their faces.
"But it's much better with you around!" Ino whined and instantly locked her arms around Tenten's left arm. Sakura followed suit on the brunette's opposite arm.
Then, both rosette and blonde stood up, forcing Tenten to stand along with them.
"Shopping time!" Sakura and Ino sang simultaneously, making Tenten cringe. "Come and join us, Tenten!"
When Tenten groaned, the two laughed heartily.
"I swear, you two remind me of "The Shining's" twin girls." Tenten muttered grumpily, as she let herself be tugged along by Sakura and Ino. [1]
"Oh God," Sakura mumbled, whereas Ino shuddered, "quit reminding me of that movie, Ten! Every time someone mentions that movie, I can't help but remember the creepy parts in it!"
"Ooohhh... and remember that part when—"
"Yes, Ino. I remember that part very well because like I said, that movie will forever haunt me for the rest of my life because every bit of it is tattooed in my brain. Now can we please not talk about the movie-that-shall-not-be-named-in-my-presence?"
"That's a mighty long name for The Shining, don't you think?"
"Tenten, I'm warning you! Any more about it and I will –"
Whatever the coral-coloured beauty had to say, it was interrupted by a shrill tone that came from Tenten's phone.
The brunette immediately reached for it as Ino automatically released Tenten's left arm. The former scanned her message and typed in her reply before pressing the 'Send' button. Then, she gave her friends a wide grin.
"Well," Tenten started, "I now have a very legitimate reason not to go with you guys! That was the vet just now, and she wanted me to come over and check in on Tobi."
"Vet? Tobi? What happened to Tobi?" Sakura asked, releasing her grip on her friend, whereas Ino demanded Tenten's phone as proof.
"Poor pup got run over," Tenten explained and handed her phone to Ino, who fussily checked her inbox for the needed evidence. "Luckily, he's ok now."
"Run over!" Sakura exclaimed. "Did you know who did it?"
"Oh, right!" Tenten suddenly gasped as she wrestled her phone from Ino's clutches. "I have to tell him too. He wanted me to update him about Tobi."
Ino's ears perked up and she grinned widely at Tenten. Seeing this and getting the blonde's point, Sakura raised a brow as well and gave Tenten an impish smile.
"Him, Tenten? So it was a guy?"
"Yes, Ino. It was a guy. Unless of course, he happened to be lesbian and had undergone sex change and stuff."
"That's technically impossible," Sakura intervened, silly smile still intact. "Women cannot undergo sex change like men can." [2]
Tenten actually stopped her texting and scowled at Sakura. "Really? That's a bit sexist, don't you think?"
"A bit. But Tenten, dear, you are stalling," Ino purred coyly before she grabbed both her friend's shoulders and eyed Tenten seriously. "So spill, Tenten! Who is he? Is he younger or older than you? Is he married, single, or seeing someone? And more importantly, is he hot?"
Tenten merely shrugged and resumed typing her message, fully knowing that Ino was about to burst. When she was done, Tenten pocketed her phone and looked at Ino squarely.
"If you must know, it was Hyuuga Neji-san. Remember him? He was our classmate back in high school."
Ino's face drew a blank, but Sakura snapped her fingers. "Hyuuga-san! Yes, I remember him. He was the student council's president, wasn't he?"
Tenten nodded. "That's the one."
"Eeeh?! You mean that overly serious guy who would rather curl up and die than talk to other people?! That guy?!"
"Ino, you are exaggerating. To the extreme, if I may add."
"Nuh-uh!" Ino replied, furiously shaking her head. "When I politely asked him what conditioner he used to make his hair super shiny, he glared at me Ten! GLARED at me!"
The brunette had to raise a brow.
"Well..." Tenten said, smiling just a bit. "From a guy's point of view... your question made him look like he was gay, Ino, so..."
The brunette trailed off, but Sakura was quick in agreeing. "Ten's right, and besides. Since when have you been polite, Piggy?"
Ino pouted. "I can be polite, Forehead!" She replied hotly and earned a few snickers from her friends. "And you said he was in the student council, right? That proves it! Everyone knows that people from the student council are too serious and too obnoxious for their own good!"
"Uchiha-san was part of the council. He was vice-president, remember?" Tenten piped in and huffed when Sakura and Ino both shared dreamy looks as they reminisced about 'Uchiha-san'.
As Tenten was their 'Golden Girl', Uchiha Sasuke was dubbed as the class' 'Prince', mostly by the girls of course. After all, the boy had the power to make any girl squeal and faint what with his dark locks, sharp obsidian eyes, and God-chiselled jaw that could cut through butter.
He was also an unstoppable force in the field of sports, thus earning him the respect from guys as well. And although he only ranked second – academically speaking, of course, because Neji was the first – the Uchiha was still more popular than the Hyuuga, seeing as Neji was just not the type to flaunt about his good looks.
"Sasuke-kun's an exception to the rule, Ten," Ino boldly declared as Sakura nodded along. "Everyone knows that."
"Guys, seriously? Still hung up on that guy? Really?" Tenten huffed in annoyance and then placed both hands on either side of her hips. "Well, Sakura was the secretary!"
Ino shrugged and disinterestedly examined her nails. "And that actually proves my point."
Emerald eyes glared, but the blonde paid no heed.
"Hey, I resent that!"
"I'm just saying," Ino continued on, ignoring the seething Sakura, "that Hyuuga-san isn't the friendliest person in the planet, so I'm a little disappointed."
At Tenten's questioning stare, Ino finished her speech. "I was kinda hoping that the guy who ran over Tobi was, like, your destined lover or something. You know, like those in romance novels? Meeting by chance, a stroke of luck, by fate, and whatever thingies I failed to mention."
Tenten sighed. "That sounds more like a fairytale than real life, Ino."
"Oh hush! I'm just worried about you. I mean, you stopped dating after you and Suigetsu broke up, after all."
The brunette froze for a second upon hearing the name, before she immediately schooled her features and tried to look nonchalant about it. It worked, and Tenten was thankful that neither Sakura nor Ino saw the whirlwind of emotions that must have shown in her face a while ago.
"Yeah, come to think of it..." Sakura wondered out loud. "You never really told us why you two ended things."
"I didn't?" Tenten asked in surprise, before shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry, but it wasn't all that dramatic. He just had to move for his job, and we both agreed that long distance relationships don't usually work out."
Sakura frowned, but Ino fervently nodded her head in agreement.
Another shrill tone rang, and Tenten was quick to check her phone once more. She read the message, then gave her two friends a small, and somewhat apologetic, smile.
"That was Neji. Sorry guys, but I really have to go."
The brunette turned and ran the opposite direction, most probably to the clinic. She left her friends rather hastily, not even bothering to give Sakura or Ino any time to speak.
The two watched Tenten go, before Sakura turned to Ino.
"Huh, guess it's just you and me, Piggy." Sakura joked. But seeing as the blonde never made a reaction, Sakura paused to look at Ino, who looked at the direction Tenten had gone with a glazed look in her eyes.
Sakura snapped her fingers in front of her friend. It took a while, but the rosette finally jolted the blonde from her musings.
"What?" Ino asked in confusion and then looked at Sakura, who had crossed her arms on her chest.
"Pig," Sakura huffed in annoyance. "I am not your personal alarm clock, so don't expect me to wake you up every time you go off to Tra-La-La-Land! What gives, anyway?"
Ino scoffed. "If you must know, Forehead, I was just thinking!"
"Oh I get it. And then your brain malfunctioned, right?" Sakura joked, and ignored Ino's glares. "But wow. You were thinking. That's a surprise. What about?"
"I was thinking," Ino declared loudly, ignoring the slightly insulting comment from Sakura, "since when did our Tenten call Hyuuga-san as just Neji?"
-OoO-
He was tired.
Neji knew that his first day of the job would be stressful, hard, and strenuous, even if it was one of the lowest positions offered in the company. He was a new employee, after all, so even if he was the nephew of the company's owner, Neji still had to undergo what other newbies had to.
Not that he minded, heaven's no.
He was a hardworker by nature; therefore, the task, which was bookkeeping, given to him was performed without any complaints coming from his lips. He was also an intelligent and efficient man that by the end of lunch, he was able to finish his work easily, surprising the higher-ups in the process.
But no, the job itself was not the cause of Neji's stress. Rather, it was his uncle who was the source of it all.
Because throughout the whole day, Hiashi found it appropriate to breathe down on his nephew's neck, on the context that he was supervising Neji. The man only left, satisfactorily at that, when Neji mechanically enumerated the company's policies, when Hiashi asked (note: demanded) it from him, only to come back sometime before lunch to ask Neji what the company's vision and mission were.
The things his uncle did unnerved him. So much. That Neji was actually very, very, very thankful when the man had to stay for a few more hours in the building for a meeting, so Neji had to drive home without his uncle.
The Hyuuga promptly plopped on the couch, once he was finally home, despite it being very out of character for him to be this... lax. Pride be damned, Neji was Tired (with a capital T), and he achingly yearned to rest right now.
He groaned and covered his eyes with an arm, before dozing off. Minutes later, he felt the couch dip slightly because of someone else's weight. When he opened one pearly orb, he found Hanabi sitting at the edge of the couch and giving him a wide grin.
"Rough first day, big brother?" Hanabi asked with a grin. When Neji grunted, the little firecracker continued her interrogation. "Father gave you a hard time, didn't he?"
Neji exhaled loudly and closed his eyes, whereas Hanabi laughed lightly. Hinata soon joined in, carrying a tray of home-baked desserts and a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade.
Hanabi momentarily forgot to tease her older cousin as she squealed in delight, before attacking the goodies that her older sister brought. Hinata giggled and offered a piece of brownie to Neji.
"Take it, or else Hanabi will devour it," Hinata advised kindly, and when Neji finally rose to a sitting position and took the offered dessert, Hinata continued conversationally. "You know father can be quite strict, especially when it comes to work, big brother. Don't take it too personally. Please."
A scoff.
"Hinata, he waited for me while I was at the men's room. And when I asked him what he needed, he simply asked me to name the company's objectives."
"Then aside from being strict, father is also a very dedicated man."
"While I was driving for home, he called, Hinata. And he reminded me to set my alarm clock so I wouldn't be late for tomorrow."
A snicker from Hanabi was heard.
"We-Well... fa-father i-is also ver-very punc-punctual a-and.."
"Face it, sis," Hanabi cut in, mouth full of chewed cookies, "father's slowly entering the regression stage. Pretty soon, we'll have to hire a nanny patient and willing enough to handle him and his eccentricities."
"Ha-Hanabi! That wa-was very ru-rude of yo-you!"
"She speaks the truth though," Neji grumbled under his breath, earning him a betrayed look from Hinata. Meanwhile, Hanabi seemed very amused. "I swear, if uncle calls again, I will –"
Neji never finished because his phone (a newly bought one, of course) vibrated in his pocket. The male Hyuuga looked royally pissed off as he yanked his phone out of his pocket and proceeded to transfer all of his anger on the technology's touch screen.
Beep.
And then...
"Yoooooooosh! Neji-kun, it has been long since we've sparred! Come, youthful rival, we shall –" [3]
Beep.
Neji broke the call immediately, hands already shaking in anger. Beside him, Hanabi snorted.
"Careful with that or you'll break another one," Hanabi said smilingly. Hinata, on the other hand, was already preparing herself for the onslaught that was to come once all of Neji's bottled anger erupts.
Beep.
When the tone rang once more, Hinata slowly edged away from her older cousin, whose waves of anger became too obvious that if they were in an anime, Neji by now would be steaming in blue aura-like waves.
But then, a miracle happened. The volcano that was Hyuuga Neji did not erupt, no sirree. Instead, the active volcano abruptly calmed down until it was no longer spewing smoke and lava, leaving the people (Hinata and Hanabi) to awkwardly stare at it and wonder what in hell's name just happened.
The two girls both stared incredulously as Neji's aura transformed from a painful tenketsu-point sealing technique to a tranquil sight of a freed caged bird. And... and... oh, gracious heavens from above, there was a smile on the young man's face as he read the message he just received!
Soon, he pocketed his phone and immediately stood up with newly found vigor. He grabbed his keys and left the room in haste, but not before telling his speechless cousins that he was needed somewhere. (The two girls could only nod, but by then, Neji was already on his way to his car, a not-so visible bounce on his steps, but a very noticeable smile on his lips).
It was only when Neji started the engine and was already out of the garage did Hanabi finally snap out of her trance.
"The fuck just happened?" The young girl demanded, eyes still locked on the door where her older cousin left a while ago.
Hinata, miraculously, did not even flinch at Hanabi's choice of words. Instead, the girl also stared, wide-eyed, at the empty space where Neji was a few minutes previously.
"I-I think... I thi-think that was Te-Tenten just now..."
-OoO-
NOTES:
[1] I watched The Shining when I was around... seven? Yeah, those twins creeped the jeepers out of me.
[2] About this, I'm not really sure, but I do recall one of my instructors mentioning this. Then again, that was like... three years ago, and I'm not sure if this is still the truth regarding sex change. After all, the field of medicine is always improving, so maybe it's already possible for women, right?
[3] I think we all know who this is. For pusa, because she wanted LEE here to spread the youth. YOOOSH!
Anyway, short chapter is short. And I regret to inform everyone that most of the chapters from now on will be as short as this. However, if I promise to update this weekly, will that stop you guys from hunting me down? xD
Oh, and as always, thank you very much for the reviews! And seeing as I had a few anon reviews, let me use this corner to thank you guys personally!
Dianananana: Thank you. And I've read that story too! It's absolutely amazing, isn't it?
Guest: Thank you very much!
Ichigo-chan: Thank you. And ahh.. fluff and fluffies. You can never get enough of them.
Monzie: Thank you. And I will continue it, of course.
HS: Thank you. Mhm, fate. That word will forever remind me of angsty Neji. xD
Guest: Thank you very much!
Anonymous: Thank you, thank you. I'll try to update this every week, maybe around Saturday or Sunday.
Guest: Oh wow, thank you for pointing that out. I appreciated it very much.
ANYHOW. Please review and tell me what you think. Feedbacks are always appreciated. :)
