I needed to get this out of my system. ;) Written for white noise and brine, who came up with the ideas for a lot of this, too :P
Naruto and its characters don't belong to me.
Close Knit Shinobi
Chapter 4: Fish Net Outfits
"Here, the fishnet suits you asked for." Neji empties the two knitted suits out of his bag onto Tenten's coffee table, and seats himself on her couch. It has not been easy finding the time for them between missions, and replacing all the gaudy utility pole sweaters outside the Hyuuga compound, though at least Hiashi did not smash any more teacups when he opened the main gates. (There is now a critical shortage of teacups under the Hyuuga roofs.)
"Thanks, Neji!" Tenten grins, coming over to examine his new creations. "I heard that you've been knitting on every single mission!"
"I am the knitting prodigy," he tells her smugly. "I can even knit while executing my kaiten now."
"Wow," Tenten breathes, awed. "No longer a spinning yarn ball, huh?"
"It's too tedious picking up the stray pieces of yarn," he tells her flippantly. It is not easy trying to keep the blood off his knitting, however. Tenten rolls her eyes.
"Anyway, the fishnet suits," she says, drawing his attention to the black material on the table. Tenten pulls one out of the pile and holds it against herself. "Looks like a good fit to me."
"They tend to be stretchy," Neji explains. "Similar to spandex, as you've seen on Lee."
They share a wince.
Tenten grins suddenly. "I dare you to wear this out in public, Neji. With nothing else on."
Neji narrows his eyes. "No."
"And why not?" Tenten waggles her eyebrows. "Are you afraid to?"
"It's not that," Neji mutters, looking sourly at her. "It is not proper to, and besides, I have to uphold the Hyuuga clan's pristine image. Hiashi-sama will be disappointed in me if I were to parade myself in that... outfit."
"So you're afraid," Tenten tells him slyly, and nudges his side.
"You're not going to trick me into wearing that suit, Tenten," Neji says calmly, closing his eyes and folding his arms. She recognizes that pose - he's not going to be convinced anytime soon.
"Sure, sure," she replies airily, and grins.
Neji is on a mission with Team Gai two weeks later, one of those high-profile missions with high visibility by others. It is, perhaps, a twist of fate that he is the only one on the team to sustain acid burn on his clothes, and not just that - they are stuck in a swamp hours later, with all the slugs and bugs that make them crave a hot shower, and a change of attire.
Gai, being the perceptive leader that he is, books a room at an inn, if just for the shower that they all desperately need.
They take turns to wash up - it is to Neji's absolute horror, when he steps out of the shower, naked and dripping wet, that all the spare changes of clothes in his bag have disappeared, only to be replaced by one, lone, fishnet outfit.
He steps out into the room in the black fishnet outfit, clean and full of murderous intent, searching for Tenten.
Three pairs of eyes lock onto him.
Lee is the first to leap into the air, his fists held tight against his chest in excitement. "My eternal rival has finally caught onto my trends!" he howls, and pulls his matching fishnet suit out of his standard-issue backpack. Gai beams at them, his teeth gleaming, and pulls his own fishnet suit out of his backpack, too.
Neji looks accusingly towards Tenten, who is staring at him, her cheeks puffed out, trying desperately not to laugh. He glares at her then, and she doubles over, shrieking hysterically, clutching at her sides.
"I will dress myself in my youthful outfit, Neji, you shall not be the only shining star tonight!" Lee exclaims, and rushes into the shower.
"So will I! Lee, wait for me!" Gai exclaims, and sprints in after Lee, slamming the door shut behind them.
Tenten stares at them in utter disbelief, though Neji quickly captures her attention again, because he's stalking towards her now, looking dangerously at her. (She thinks being murdered by a semi-naked Neji isn't so bad, after all.)
Neji catches the way her eyes roam over his body (despite several attempts to prevent herself from doing so) and looks at her in outrage. "Tenten, how could you?" he says quietly.
"I... I wore mine too," she tells him with a small smile, and Neji stares in undiluted shock when she unbuttons her shirt, and shrugs out of it. The black netting crisscrosses and stretches over her chest, hiding nothing. Neji gapes, stares, and the next thing he knows is blood gushing out of his nose and a swift decline into unconsciousness.
They are all dressed in green spandex the next day, with the exception of Tenten, who has enough spares of her usual clothes for the next two weeks.
"Word has it that you were dressed in a 'fish net costume' on this mission," Hiashi comments, while they admire the new utility pole sweaters by the front gate.
"I did not!" Neji snaps indignantly. "I will never do such a thing!"
"You did, however, wear that awful green spandex," Hiashi continues. "I trust that you will not do it again."
"I was framed!" Neji sputters. "I would not subject myself to such humiliation otherwise!"
Hiashi nods slowly, studying his nephew from the corner of his eye. He thinks the snapshot of Neji in his 'fish net' outfit (stashed safely in his desk) will come in handy someday, courtesy of one grinning Tenten.
A/N: ...Somehow photographs make their way into my fics a lot :P Where is everyone? It feels as if people are not dropping by/commenting as much anymore! :O