Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (yet).
The first person Neji ran into when he returned to Konoha was Uzumaki Naruto.
"NEJI!" A burst of orange materialized in front of Neji as he stepped through the front gates. It was a relief not to hear the "kun" attached to his name, even if it did come from the Leaf Village's most annoying shinobi.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our resident hotshot jonin. Finally back from your mission, huh?" Naruto's grin was contagious, and Neji couldn't help but offer a small smile in return.
"Naruto." He nodded politely at the blond boy. "How is it going?" One must always be cordial to the comrade who brought one out of the darkness, even if the aforementioned comrade was dating one's gentle, kind-hearted cousin.
"It's been going great!" Naruto replied enthusiastically. "I've been training a lot lately, learning some new moves." A sudden smile creased his face. "And I'm taking Hinata out to dinner tonight!"
Neji's eyes sharpened. "Don't try anything funny," he warned, "or I will block off every one of your chakra points and kaiten a 30-foot crater into your gut."
Naruto wasn't even fazed. He was used to getting threatened by Neji on a daily (sometimes even hourly) basis. He simply laughed and gave Neji a wave as he turned away. "I've got to run. Granny Tsunade wants to see me about something. Catch ya later, Mr. Hotshot!"
Neji shook his head as he watched the orange speck disappear in the distance, but his lips curved into a smile nonetheless.
The second person Neji ran into when he returned to Konoha was Haruno Sakura.
"Neji!" The pink-haired kunoichi bumped into him just as he was walking past the hospital. "You're finally back! It's a relief that you returned walking on your own two legs, instead of carried in on a stretcher, like your last mission." She shot him an admonishing look, but the smile she gave him was genuinely pleased.
"Hello, Sakura. It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Neji." Sakura fell into step beside him. "You must be famished after all that travel! I'm going to Ichiraku for lunch. You should come – I'll treat you to a bowl."
Neji nodded, not bothering with words. They fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way to the ramen stand.
Sakura had changed since their genin days. She was stronger, more independent, less annoying. Although her eyes had a sadder and more serious cast than before, they were more real, more genuine. Nothing like the shiny, guileless green she used to beam onto "Sasuke-kun."
The rookies had all grown up…even Naruto. Especially Naruto. As Neji walked with Sakura to Ichiraku, he realized that he couldn't have asked for better comrades.
The third person Neji ran into when he returned to Konoha turned out to be one person too many.
Neji and Sakura spotted (or rather, heard) the screaming crowd of fangirls surrounding Uchiha Sasuke at the same time. The moody, black-haired boy was sitting at Ichiraku in front of a steaming bowl of noodles, industriously ignoring the date requests and marriage proposals thrown his way.
It was all quite typical…except for one tiny detail.
Neji's mouth opened and closed without making any sound.
Beside him, Sakura seemed to be suffering the same difficulty. "Is…is that…Tenten?" she finally managed. "What is she wearing?"
"Gah…gah…" Neji was unable to form a coherent reply. Mainly due to the fact that there were no coherent thoughts in his head.
Because sitting next to Sasuke, latched onto his right arm, was Tenten.
In a minidress.
-x-
Tenten tugged self-consciously at her new red minidress. The material rode up when she sat down, and for a girl who wore pants year-round, Tenten didn't feel comfortable baring her legs in such a public place, surrounded by at least a dozen fangirls. Although compared to what those fangirls were wearing, Tenten might as well have been a nun who had never been let out of her convent.
But even so…Tenten frowned down at the sweetheart neckline of the strapless dress. A few flirty waves had been loosened from her buns, and they now framed her shoulders, designed to draw attention to her…uh…womanly assets. Ino (who had no idea of Tenten's true intentions) had helped her style her hair just an hour before.
Ino had winked right before shooing Tenten out the door. "The boys will be dropping dead at your feet," Ino had assured her.
There was only one boy Tenten wanted to drop at her feet…and she didn't exactly want him dead. Besides, there would be no dropping (dead or otherwise) today, since Neji wasn't due back home until next week. Today was just a dress rehearsal.
"Sasuke-kun!" she squealed, trying not to choke in disgust on the sugary honorific. She pushed away two particularly persistent fangirls (ninja training had its benefits) and grabbed his arm. "Let me feed you your noodles!"
Sasuke didn't even spare her a glance as one eyebrow rocketed straight up. It was his small sign of being amused.
"Sasuke-kun…" she whined. "Why won't you ever look at me? Does my dress displease you?" Tenten forced her mouth into a pout. After Ino had attacked her with her entire cosmetics collection, Tenten's lips were coated in a shiny layer of Risky Business raspberry lip gloss. It was the lesser evil, seeing that the other lip glosses that Ino had threatened to use on her were named things like "Pillow Talk," "Orgasm," and "Supervixen."
Sasuke's chopsticks paused in picking up a noodle strand as he smirked, still not looking at her. Yep, he was definitely amused.
"Sas –" Tenten started again, but was cut off by a scream from a redhead in the back.
"MARRY ME, SASUKE-KUN! I LOVE YOU!"
Tenten winced. So this is what Sasuke went through on a daily basis… And she'd wondered why he left Konoha in the first place.
"You went out of character."
Tenten glanced at Sasuke in surprise. It was the first words he'd said all day. Taking the hint, she quickly transformed her grimace into a syrupy sweet smile.
"Sorry," she muttered through her smile. "Even I couldn't mask my disgust at that sickening display of devotion."
"Well, try," he said under his breath, "because your little dress rehearsal…just turned real."
-x-
Sakura watched Tenten and Sasuke whisper to each other across his steaming bowl of ramen. They seemed like they were in their own little world, untouched and unbothered by the shrieking fangirls around them.
She cringed as marriage proposals were shouted out from every corner of the ramen stand, clogging the air with their shallowness and superficiality. She had been like that once upon a time. She had loved Sasuke for his looks, his grace, and his bad-boy aura, not bothering to dig deeper and look further.
But now…
Now you like him for more than his looks? Inner Sakura suggested.
No! she argued back furiously. Now I don't like him AT ALL!
Inner Sakura shrugged and retreated back to the corner of Sakura's mind. Whatever you say…
Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand here and watch Sasuke whisper more words to Tenten in one lunchtime than he'd ever said to Sakura in an entire lifetime.
"I-I've got to go," she blurted out, barely sparing a glance at the frozen Neji. "Uh…hospital…er…forgot…my shift." She backed away a few steps before pivoting and fleeing down the road.
Sakura was known more for her strength than her speed, but that day, to the stunned civilians crowding the streets, she was an unidentifiable red blur.
-x-
Without even realizing it, Neji had activated his Byakugan. His gaze drove right into the heart of the crowd of underdressed fangirls, where Tenten was clutching the Uchiha's arm like he was mankind's last salvation. Sasuke tilted his head an almost imperceptible fraction of a degree and spoke to Tenten out of the side of his mouth.
Hn. Uchiha probably thought he was being oh-so-sneaky, but Neji didn't have the Hyuga clan's Kekkei Genkai for nothing.
Neji also didn't have the Hyuga clan's stone-faced impassivity for nothing, which didn't explain the strange feeling burning away at his chest. Was it irritation? No, it was too strong, too intense. Was it anger? That seemed a little closer to the mark, but still…anger was an irrational feeling, born from the seeds of emotion and passion. And Neji was cool, analytical, and – above all – rational. So what was it, then? It couldn't be…
…Jealousy?
As soon as the thought snuck into his mind, Neji beat it back. No. No! Jealousy was for rash and unthinking fools. He was called a genius. And therefore, he could not be a rash and unthinking fool.
From her position at Sasuke's side, Tenten suddenly jerked and scanned the air frantically. Neji trained his eyes on her, not averting his gaze even when Tenten's anxious eyes clashed with his own. Her mouth widened into a surprised "o". Her eyes followed suit, widening in horror until they became endless pools of deep brown. She looked like she had been caught doing something very, very naughty.
Neji scowled. She had been caught. Flirting with Uchiha Sasuke.
Of all the blockheaded shinobi in the entire village, she had to choose the Uchiha. Neji's scowl deepened.
He had always felt a strange sort of kinship with Sasuke. After all, they were clan prodigies, they possessed brains in addition to excellent shinobi skills, and they had suffered rocky, angst-filled pasts. It was a bonus that they were both proficient in the art of impassivity.
But now, as Neji stood rooted to the spot watching Sasuke and Tenten having an intimate conversation in the middle of a pack of fangirls, he felt a deep and unreasonable fury.
He clenched his fists and strode forward.
Author's Note: Ahhh! Don't kill me for not having Neji and Tenten talk yet! Mostly because I have yet to figure out what they'll say to each other. But don't worry – I promise that angry words will fly in the next chapter. :) Reviews are my succor, and you guys have been great about leaving super nice and thoughtful comments. Don't be shy – review away!
