Hey, guys. It's been a long time. I've been going through some things in the past few months, but I really wanted to finish this story. So here it is. I hope you enjoy.
I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 4: All Along
"You did what?"
The cat was out of the bag. The plan, which seemed ridiculous, to get Tenten a man was in session. A date appeared to be the best route for the brunette, according to Ino, especially a surprise date. It's not like if she left it up to Tenten, she would find one for herself, anyway.
"I got you a date! Isn't this great? Go ahead, thank me." Ino munched away happily on the last her dango, pulling out her key to unlock the door to her house. With a click, the front door opened and the blond rushed straight to her bedroom, with a speechless kunoichi following behind. Ino led the way to her room, pushing open the door and settling down.
"Your date is tomorrow at nine. I don't really know the guy's name, so you'll just have to play it off." Ino faced Tenten, observing her dumbstruck expression, "Close your mouth, Ten," She patted the brunette's cheek, "You'll catch flies." Tenten replied with a growl, a giggle leaving Ino's lips.
"Now, knowing you, I doubt you have any decent attire for a date. Luckily, you have a great friend who happens to have plenty of cute attire-"
"And butts into others' lives…"
"And will let you borrow an outfit or two. But after that you have to buy more clothes! I'm telling you, this is a great idea, Tenten. Stop being such a grouch."
Tenten crossed her arms, "Ugh! You've really done it this time, Ino! You don't see me butting in your life, telling you how to date Sai! It's like you don't even care how I feel about these things."
Ino stared at Tenten, deep in thought. The brunette secretly hoped she, at last, got it through her thick skull after telling her the same thing many times.
"You know what…" Ino's tone was low, her eyes wide in realization, "Maybe we should invite Kurenai sensei over!"
Of course she understood what her friend was saying, she's heard the same stupid speech about a million times. But she felt sorry for her, and hated the thought of her friend being alone.
"Her makeup always looks great! I wonder if she'll let me borrow any of it…" The blond admired.
There was nothing wrong with makeup, no, Tenten even wore some herself, at times. Not to mention, Ino looked absolutely flawless when she did her own. But when the blond did the favor of giving Tenten a makeover, it was the first time she had ever been scared of her own reflection.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my face!" Tenten stomped out the house with her face boiling red with rage.
Ino ran to the front door, "Be back here tomorrow at six! We have a lot of work to do!"
…..
A frantic search had now become troublesome. Not that Lee was giving up, but annoyance had begun to set in. The village was not small, neither was the number of places Ino and Tenten could be, so it made sense that the hunt for them was taking up so much time. Sure, he could just wait outside of his teammate's house, but such news could not be delayed. He searched the village thoroughly for two hours, talking to multiple people with two buns on top of their head, which was much more than he expected. All his efforts leading him to a bench outside of some dango shop.
There had to be an easier way for him to find Tenten, all his methods were useless.
"Something up, Lee?" He lifted his head to the voice, leaving him practically tongue-tied. His search ended there, he couldn't find her, but, she found him. Tenten wasn't actually looking for him, the decision to talk to him came to her when he was looking down, and from the fact that she needed to rant.
"Tenten, I have- you look for! I mean I've been looking you, I…Here is your bag." He sighed, handing his teammate her belongings. She signaled him a thanks, although confused by his jumble of words. Now was the time. His next few words were either going to change his life or just break his heart.
He looked her straight in the eyes, "Tenten, I-"
"Can you believe that Ino set me up on a date?"
Lee's mouth dropped. He was speechless, then again, it's not as if he was expected to talk at the moment, anyway.
"I can't believe her! Always nosey when it comes to others' lives…actually no, just mostly my life! Who is she to tell me who I should date?" Rock Lee toned out the ramblings from his teammate. He couldn't believe it. This was worse than rejection, this was rejection before rejection. It was as if he wasn't even given the opportunity to have a horse in the race. He still had to try. He couldn't give up just yet.
"What do you think?" Hands placed on her hips, she gave Lee permission to speak his opinion.
"Let me take you on a date!"
The brunette scratched her head, "Huh? I don't understand."
"Tenten, let me be your date," He went for his second attempt, "I have been wanting to tell you something…"
"You know what?" It was as if a light bulb appeared over Tenten's head, "That could work!"
"Really?" Lee was surprised. He hadn't even officially asked her out yet, and she had already said yes. Maybe his years of asking out Sakura made him assume it would be just as hard with any other girl.
A grin filled her whole face. Her mood had completely flipped. "Yeah! You could wear a disguise, pretend you're my date, then boom! I'm home free."
A disguise? Something wasn't right.
"Tenten, I am serious! I would really like to-"
"Me too, Lee! Oh, this is great. Thank you so much." The kunoichi wrapped her arms around her teammate. Lee sighed, so it wasn't an actual date. But at least he made her happy, right?
"Well," Tenten slung her bag over her shoulder, "I should go. See you tomorrow, date!" She began on her way, leaving Lee with little information of what to do.
Lee yelled after her, "Tenten? How am I supposed to know what to wear? I do not know what this guy looks like!"
"Hey, don't worry about it! We'll just improvise. Just make sure your disguise is really good, okay?" The brunette waved before running back home.
Lee rubbed his eyes. What just happened? Somehow his plan turned into Tenten's plan. Calling for him to dress up in a costume and pretend to be her date. He needed to find the nearest costume store.
…
"Tenten, if you don't stop moving I will break all of your weapons in half!" It took a while, but Ino finally managed to wrestle Tenten to the ground, holding her in place to put on makeup. Kurenai sat in the corner, amused by it all.
"If you lay one finger on my weapons or my face, I'll break you in half!" Tenten shot back, causing more screams throughout the house. Kurenai sighed, she never really had to deal with things like this when it came to Hinata, she was more of the peaceful type.
"Alright, alright. Break it up, you two," They moved away from each other, giving each other evil glares. "Tenten is a beautiful, young lady. She doesn't need makeup." Kurenai grabbed Tenten's shoulders, leading her to a chair with a mirror right in front of her.
Ino crossed her arms, "Fine. You can do her hair while I pick out her outfit." She stomped out of the room, which was not that dramatic, considering the floor was carpet.
"So, you seem excited for this date." Kurenai stood behind Tenten's chair, examining the brunette's hair. She scoffed, her eyes rolling upwards at the thought of it. Kurenai searched her head for pins, pulling them out from their usual buns.
The brunette's hair fell loose, falling into silky curls. "You know me, I'm always up for dates I don't want with guys I don't even know."
"So, when's the last time you've been on a date?" Kurenai questioned.
"NEVER! CAUSE SHE'S ALWAYS AROUND LEE!" Ino muffled scream was heard from another room.
Tenten scrunched her face into a scowl, "SHUT IT, INOSEY!"
"Lee, huh? You two do seem rather close." Kurenai stated
Tenten crossed her arms, "Well, we are teammates. We've been through a lot together."
The brunette watched out for Ino, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "And between you and me, he's actually helping me out tonight."
"Oh, really?" Kurenai smirked.
Tenten nodded, "Yeah. See, Lee came up with this great idea. He just straight up said, Let me take you on a date."
"That's what he said? He just blurted it out?"
"Yeah, so he's going to show up tonight, and pretend to be my date. He came up with the plan pretty quick, too. I was surprised. But I always make the mistake of underestimating him."
"Mm, hmm…"
"What?" Tenten questioned her sarcastic tone, "What's wrong?"
Kurenai sighed, "Oh, nothing. Lee just came up with such a good plan so fast. And Ino says you guys are always around each other."
Tenten lowered her eyes. She wasn't liking Kurenai's tone. "What are you implying, sensei?"
"I'm not implying anything. After all, you do know Lee better than me. But I know it when I see it."
"You know what?"
Ino walked back in the room, with an outfit in each hand. The two immediately stopped their conversation.
"Okay, pick one." They were supposed to be two dresses, but they looked more like shirts to Tenten.
"Oh, hell no."
…..
Lee waited outside of Ino's house. He wasn't sure when he was even supposed to show up, an important piece of information that Tenten left out of her plan. He put on a brown afro and stuck a fake mustache onto his face. It was the same disguise Gai used when he first built his dojo, and what a good one Lee thought it was, too. With him not wearing his green vest, there was no way anybody could see through his disguise.
He walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. He heard screams follow, which sounded a lot like a panicky Ino. He adjusted the collar on his jumpsuit, gulping as the door swung open.
"I am here to take Tenten on a date." He spat out.
Kurenai tried as hard as she could not to laugh at the man in front of her. His disguise was definitely creative. But she expected it to look less like Lee, instead of Lee with an afro and moustache.
"Well aren't you a sharp, young man." She complimented. Ino stomped up to the front door, "He may be sharp but he's also an hour early! You know how long it takes a girl to get…" Ino gasped at the sight of Tenten's date. "You! What are you doing-"
"Ino, how about you tell Tenten that her date is here?" Kurenai interrupted Ino, staring at her intensely. Ino knew that Kurenai was way smarter than to believe that was actually her date. The stare she was giving her told her she had to play along, as much as she didn't want to.
She sighed, "Fine." She walked away mumbling as Lee explained himself.
"I am sorry if I am too early, I just have big plans for me and Tenten tonight."
Kurenai opened the door wider, "Oh, trust me, it's fine. Come in." She let him in, leading him to a seat in the living room. "I don't think I ever caught your name."
"Oh! My name is Lee…yoko! Leeyoko is my name." Lee stuttered.
Kurenai raised a brow, 'That's the best name he could come up with?'
"Okay then, Leeyoko. I know you will treat Tenten well. I hope you two have a good time." She studied his outfit, seeing that he didn't even bother to change his clothes. "That's an interesting choice of clothing."
"Thank you! It is the latest trend in fashion!"
Kurenai mumbled to herself, "Wasn't exactly a compliment, but okay."
The two were disrupted by the girls arguing as they appeared from out of the hallway. Ino attempted to adjust her friend's skirt, which was stopped by Tenten smacking her hand away.
"Here she is! Tenten without any weapons or buns!" The brunette scoffed, as if she was actually going somewhere without any weapons.
Rather than wearing one of Ino's dresses, or shirts, she wore a skirt. Her hair streamed down to her shoulders, and seemed to be curly, an advantage of wearing it in buns all the time. Regardless of the struggle it took to set it all up, Ino was proud of how Tenten turned out.
"Look, it's Leeyoko, your date. The one you met yesterday." Kurenai covered her mouth, covering her smirk.
"Oh gosh," Tenten shook her head. Maybe she should have helped him pick an outfit. This was not enough to trick Ino, not at all. She squinted, further examining her date. 'Is that an afro?'
It was too late at this point. She did say that they would have to improvise, so that was the plan. "Right. You're Leeyoko…the cashier." She answered in hesitance.
"Really? We're still going along with this? It's Lee in a stupid afro and moustache!" Ino sighed, she wasn't sure if they were pulling some kind of joke or what. But she couldn't take any of it seriously, especially with that silly wig on.
"Tenten," She grabbed her friend's shoulders, "Do what you want, just don't let this outfit go to waste. I want those clothes back tomorrow, by the way."
Tenten had to admit, she felt bad. Even though she never wanted the date, Ino was just trying to help. The blond always had good intentions, regardless of how crazy her plans were.
"Ino, I'm sorry. I just-"
"It's okay, Ten. Have fun on your little date with Lee." Ino smiled.
Tenten wasn't sure why she was still calling it a date. That's the one thing she wanted to avoid all together. Still, she just let it go, Ino didn't have to know what would happen after she walked out of that door. They hugged each other and Tenten and Lee left.
"I just don't know what to do when the real date comes." Ino placed her hands on her hips. She looked over to Kurenai, attempting to use her baby blues to her advantage.
"Oh no," Kurenai shook her head, "That doesn't work on me. You set up the date, you get rid of the date."
...
The two laughed at what just occurred. It all seemed silly now, the kunoichi guessed she should've put more thought into it. Nonetheless, she was glad at how everything turned out. She realized that all of her crazy adventures she's been in mostly came from hanging with Lee. Although, it may had seem terrible at the time, she's grateful for each and every one she's had. It was like anytime with Lee was a good time.
"Now that all that is over, you wanna go get something to eat?" Tenten nudged Lee's shoulder. Lee had no problem with her idea, it was more time he would get to spend with Tenten. But all still didn't feel right. The kunoichi seen his expression suddenly go down.
"Uh, are you okay?" She stopped in her place.
Lee tapped his fingers together, "Tenten, I think you misunderstood me earlier."
"What do you mean? When?"
"Yesterday when I gave you your bag, I was actually trying to ask you out."
Tenten was looking for something, anything to say. Frankly, her mouth just wouldn't allow it. She couldn't think of anything.
"I really like you, Tenten. But I can tell by the way you reacted yesterday, that you are not ready for a relationship. It is okay, though. I will wait."
The brunette sighed, "Lee…you look ridiculous," She reached up and snatched off his moustache, lifting up his wig. "That's better." She smiled at him and grabbed his hand. Lee looked down to see his fingers intertwined with his teammate.
He blushed, feeling all types of emotions at once. "Tenten, I-"
"What if you didn't have to wait? I mean, I think you're pretty sweet, Lee."
"You mean…?"
Tenten nodded, "Yup. I'm all yours." She giggled, stopping when she felt something wet drop on her hand. She felt Lee squeezing her hand a little harder than before now.
He fell on his knees, "OH TENTEN! I DON'T DESERVE A SOMEONE AS GOOD AS YOU!" Lee sobbed, wiping his face with Tenten's hand.
"Get up, Lee! Stop weeping all over my hand!" She pulled him up, trying to wipe his face with the puffy afro in her hand. "Come on, let's go get some curry." They held hands, and headed their way down the road, together.
"By the way, where did you get your little costume from, Lee?"
"From Gai sensei! He is also the one who told me I should just go for it and ask you out. We are so lucky to have a sensei like him, are we not?"
"We sure are, Lee. We sure are."
…..
There was a knock on the door. Ino sighed, opening the door to see what was supposed to be Tenten's real date.
"Look buddy, I'm sorry but you're too late. Tenten is already off with another guy." Ino didn't even give him a chance to talk.
He shrugged, "That's cool. You wanna go out?"
The blond gasped, "No! I have a boyfriend, thank you very much." She folded her arms.
"Whatever…what about her? She's hot." He pointed to Kurenai, sitting in the living room.
"No way! Just get out of here!" Ino slammed the door shut, sitting back down next to Kurenai.
Kurenai smirked, "He would've been perfect for Tenten…"
"Oh hush, sensei."
.
Well, there it is folks! Took almost a year but whatever. If I do write more, it will most likely be oneshots. But we'll see what happens.
As always,
PLEASE REVIEW!