Chapter Four

Tenten tossed her luggage onto the double bed the moment she and Lee stepped foot into their assigned cabin. It was small, but it was doable. She couldn't help but wonder what the first class cabins looked like. They were probably huge. No matter. She didn't really care. She had everything she needed; she had Lee.

They had waited in line for almost an hour and a half, just waiting to board the ship. By this time, they needed a break to sit down, drink a tall glass of water, and use the bathroom. While Lee took the single bathroom in their cabin, Tenten flopped backwards onto the bed, stretching out and staring at the ceiling. While she knew that this cruise was supposed to be - and going to be - a nice time, she didn't like the fact that they separated people by their wealth, or how much money they wanted to invest in their ticket. It was almost a slap in the face to the ordinary people of society.

Oh well. The only difference between the first class ticket and the third class ticket was the room, right? So why did she care so much?

"Pfft," Tenten spit and rolled her eyes cupping her hands behind her head and sighing. "Like I care." She heard Lee in the bathroom, flushing the toilet and immediately jamming the handle of the faucet upwards. The double sources of running water were a little louder than expected, but she could live with it.

She took in a deep breath in through her nose and closed her eyelids for only a minute, but before she knew it, she was out cold. Her body's tension released, and her muscles experienced myoclonic jerks as she drifted downwards through the stages of sleep.

Lee emerged from the bathroom, only to find his fiancé dead asleep on their double bed. He blinked once, wondering how exactly she was able to be knocked out so quickly. She was always the first one to fall asleep, he had noticed when he would sleep over at her place, or she at his. The moment her head hit a pillow, she was down for the count.

Placing his hands on his hips, Lee glanced around the cabin room, looking for something to do. He didn't want to go out without Tenten, because she was the reason why he was here. They were supposed to be spending this time together, but considering the fact that she was asleep, it kind of put their vacation on hold.

Well, since there were going to be parties raging throughout the night, why not catch up on a few hours of sleep?

Lee laid perpendicular on the bed, his abs just barely an inch from the top of Tenten's head. He didn't want to disturb her, so he allowed the majority of his legs to hang off of the side of the bed. Bunching a pillow up, Lee placed it under his head and closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep as quickly as his lover could.

OoO

Neji and Natsumi walked down the hall with the trio of girls that they had met while standing in line to board the ship. It turns out that their room was almost directly across from theirs, so they would definitely be seeing a lot of each other this next week. He didn't mind; they were nice enough. He just hoped that they wouldn't try to woo him, because they would certainly fail. At least he was safe from one of them; Temari being in a relationship was one less girl that he would have to worry about.

Natsumi, on the other hand, seemed completely determined to find him a girlfriend, or at least a lady to spend some intimate time with. Why she was continuing on her quest, he wasn't sure. However, he wouldn't let her win in this game. He would surely find a man for her before she could find a woman for him. Unofficially, it was on.

"Are you two going to be staying up for the party?" Shizune asked us when she turned to the door of the cabin that she was sharing with her girlfriends. With tiny fingers, she slipped the thin card key into the slot and the light flashed green, granting her access.

"Maybe." Neji shrugged, but Natsumi nodded at her swiftly.

"We may be the first ones there," she commented, and Neji turned his eyes to his mother in concern. Just yesterday, she was still moping around the house, almost depressed that they were going on a trip. But today? It was as if her husband had never died in the first place. If a cruise was the thing that could solve her problem, Neji would have tried this a long time ago.

Shizune held the door open for her two girlfriends, but stayed outside with her foot propping the door. "Let us know when you're heading down," she said before ripping a square post-it note from her duffel bag. She scribbled something down on it and shoved her arm out towards Neji, offering him the slip of paper. As so not to be rude, Neji clamped his index finger and thumb around it and retrieved it, only glancing at the message. It was her cell phone number.

"Okay," Neji replied nonchalantly before turning to his own cabin door and inserting its card key. After it clicked, he glanced back over his shoulder and nodded at Shizune, giving her the okay to enter her own cabin. With a small smile, she did, and when her door latched, Neji let out a sigh. He stepped into his extravagant cabin, leaving his mother to follow him.

"What's the matter, Neji?" Natsumi let the door come closed as she stalked her son into their cabin. Neji tossed their luggage onto one of the beds in the room and glanced out the roof's window, staring at the clouds. He fell backwards onto the bed on the far end of the room, folding his hands behind his head. "Aren't you going to call that girl, Shizune?"

"Mom, calm down," Neji puffed out a breath of air, almost agitated with Natsumi's desperation. "We just left one another; she just gave me the number." But no, he wasn't planning on calling her. He could tell what she wanted, and he just didn't want the same thing. It had nothing to do with anything about her; she was beautiful and she seemed friendly. However, he just wasn't looking for a relationship right now.

Besides, if he did allow something to happen between himself and Shizune, he knew that he would be feeling the rage of Tsunade; that woman would not be happy, and when she's not happy, the world around her was definitely going to feel her wrath. If he allowed any sort of physical activity to come about between himself and Tsunade's friend, he certainly would be seeing the world through two black eyes and a staggering pain in the groin.

Neji shivered at the thought of having her relentless power being drawn into his most sensitive area. Yeah, he could promise that nothing was going to happen with Shizune.

"Why don't you seem interested in them?" Natsumi asked and sat next to him, laying down at his side. He moved over in order to make room for his mother, who made her way onto the bed that he had claimed. "They're pretty girls, Neji, and they seem pretty into you."

Neji's sharp eyes traced the contours of the ceiling, noticing every etching of the intricate design that ran across its length.

What was he supposed to say? He wasn't interested in them; that's not like it was his fault. There was no chemistry between them, and he could tell this much. Sure, he didn't mind the idea of hanging out with them while they inhabited the same boat for a week, but he could see the gleam of desire in Shizune's eyes, and that just wasn't happening. Not just because he feared what Tsunade may do to him, but because he wasn't big on the idea of "hitting it and quitting it." Some of the guys at college talked like that, objectifying women as if they were playthings.

"What can I say to you that will make you understand?" he questioned his mother, whose gaze traced the side of his face. "Why are you so set on finding me a girl?"

Natsumi allowed her eyes to leave her son's profile, and turn up to face the same ceiling that he traced. "I just want you to be happy," she confessed. "I don't want you to grow old and bitter like me."

"You're not old, Mom." Neji shook his head. "And I wouldn't say that you're bitter. I think that you're the one who is lonely, and you feel that finding me a lady will bring you some sort of happiness." He turned his eyes to her, and she followed his lead. She was truly a beautiful woman, and she could definitely find a man if she really wanted to. If she really wanted to, she could probably have men flinging themselves at her left and right. "Maybe you should find a nice gentlemen to spend some time with."

Natsumi closed her eyes, and Neji watched as a tear washed down the side of her face, soaking into her hair. He could feel the pain that she was experiencing; the thought of his father was like making a deep incision across his chest and ripping it open with his bare hands. It was a terrible thing, to have to recall his father's passing.

No. Neji scolded himself and shoved away the thoughts of his father, sealing his agonizing pain back within his mind, back deep into his unconscious brain. He had worked so hard to rid himself of the excruciation that the thoughts of his father caused him.

"I can't replace your father," she murmured, and Neji touched the top of her hand, holding it comfortingly in his own hand.

"I didn't say replace him," he told her sternly. "You can't replace human beings. But that doesn't mean you have to live your life alone and in misery. You deserve to pursue happiness."

"I just feel like it's too soon to move on. I just don't want Hizashi to think that he was easy to get over."

"If I know Dad," Neji said, "then I can promise you that he would want you to do whatever makes you happy. He wouldn't want to see you wasting away lying around in bed." Swiftly, Neji bolted up off of the bed and held his hand out to Natsumi, who stared at it for a moment. "Let's go see what this boat has to offer for our amusement."

OoO

Tenten's eyelids fluttered open, and she wondered how long she had been asleep. Sitting up straight on the bed and fixing her hair, she turned around to see that Lee had fallen asleep at her head, and was still dead as a doornail.

Carefully, as so not to shake the bed and disrupt her lover's sleep, Tenten stood up and wandered towards the door, wondering what exactly was on this massive ship. She grabbed her card key and slipped it into the back of her shorts' pocket before unlocking the door and opening it quietly. It clicked open, but Lee didn't budge. He was a heavy sleeper, and could probably snore his way through a nuclear war.

Tenten smiled to herself and slipped out of the door, holding it as she gently latched it shut. She tapped her pockets to make sure she had her cell phone and her wallet, and when she felt both bulges, she nodded and was on her way down the hallway.

Really, she wasn't sure how people were able to maneuver themselves through these things. This ship was massive, and she felt as though she was already lost after walking a straight line. She found herself under the sun and strolling across the deck. There were more people out than she had expected, having just gotten on the ship and all...

Oh, wait, she remembered, and she almost laughed out loud at herself. I fell asleep. I don't know how long we've been on board.

She fished her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the time. It was almost seven o'clock in the evening, but the sun had yet to begin setting. Tenten moved through the crowd of people, wandering around aimlessly and looking for something amusing. The wind blew her short tresses back as she made her way from the stern to the bow, accidently bumping into other people and genuinely apologizing to them. They returned her amends with kind words.

Everybody seems so mellow, she thought as she continued on her quest along the left side of the ship's length. Her hand drifted to the rail, and her eyes dropped down to watch the waves be parted by the large body of the cruise ship. The salty air enriched her senses as she breathed it in, and she immediately felt rejuvenated. Already, she didn't want to go back to work and to real life. She could stay here forever, and she would be completely okay with that.

She glanced at the lifeboats that were strapped to the side of the boat, and she mentally noted their position, just in case. The odds of something happening were slim, but it was always nice to know where the exit was.

Tenten watched all of the people around them, wondering if she knew any of them. It would be nice to know more than one person on this ship, for reasons like this; Lee was still asleep, and she didn't want to be the one to wake him up. But even so, it was still lonely being around all these people who were talking and laughing with one another. Did they know each other from previous days, or had they just met because of this cruise?

Perhaps it was possible to meet some new people. She just had to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe a good place to be was a bar, if they had one out right now. Apparently, the open bar didn't start until after one in the morning when all the minors were supposed to be in their rooms. If that was true, it was quite unfortunate; she could really go for some liquor right now.

Tenten made it, finally, to the bow, where there were more people than there were on the stern. A teenage girl came up to her and threw a green lei around her neck, and it fell across her chest gracefully.

"Thank you," she barely managed to get out as the girl continued onwards, tossing the frilly neck pieces at the guests on the cruise ship. She glanced down at the solid green lei and laughed, realizing that they were probably beginning to get everybody pumped for the party.

Tenten watched as people jumped into the pool at the front of the ship. It was a very care-free environment, which was evident; people were plunging into the water both fully-clothed and in swimsuits. She couldn't help but smile at the excitement that surrounded her in the entirety of the atmosphere. This was going to be fun, she could tell.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tenten caught sight of exactly what she was in search for. To her right, about a hundred feet away, was a shaded bar tended by a young woman with dark hair and a coconut bra. The thought of alcohol instantly gave her nervous system a buzz. It had been so long since she had the free time to drink. At home, she had so much that she had to do, between working at the diner and coaching teenage boys, and there was no time to waste on drinking.

And alcohol games! She missed the days that she had spent with friends when she was in college. Beer pong was highly popular among her and her friends, who were mostly guys. All through school, she had been labeled as one of the guys; it was less drama than hanging out with a bunch of girls. She remembered attempting - and succeeding - the twenty-one shot challenge on her twenty-first birthday. She was pretty sure that the guys who were with her that night had gotten more drunk than she did.

Tenten sat down on one of the stools that were bolted down onto the deck and placed her elbows on the surface of the bar. The lady in the coconut bra turned to her and grinned warmly. Whether it was a genuine smile or a rehearsed one, Tenten wasn't sure.

"What can I get for you, dear?" she asked, and Tenten's eyes flickered to the list of drinks that they served on this boat. There was no hard liquor, and no sign of tequila on the list. It just looked like a bunch of girly drinks. That was unfortunate.

Well, Tenten thought to herself, I guess I'll just have to drink more to make up for that fact.

"Give me an Elvis' Rum Punch," she said, and the lady got to work right away with my order. Tenten placed her chin in her palm and glanced around at the people around her; right now, she was the only one at the bar. However, she could tell that others had been there before her, because they held their drinks in their hands as they conversed with other people.

She glanced at her phone, which was contained in her left pocket, and she wondered when Lee was going to wake up from his nap. She knew that he would probably call her the moment he drifted back into consciousness, but she couldn't help but miss his presence. After all, they were on this boat to celebrate their engagement.

It was partially her fault, though, because she had initiated nap time. Damn her ability to fall asleep anywhere she could close her eyes. If she hadn't fallen asleep, then they would probably be roaming the boat together, hand in hand, and seeing everything it had in store for them.

"Your rum punch," the lady handed Tenten her pink drink and sent her off with a friendly smile. Tenten exchanged the grin and swiveled around on the barstool, gazing out over the boat and watching the people interact with one another. She took a large gulp of her rum and crinkled her nose; it was nowhere near strong enough. What a bummer.

Tenten pressed her bottom lip to the tall glass of the sorry excuse for alcohol and chugged it. It was just like drinking orange-pineapple juice. Legitimately, she wondered if the lady had actually put any sort of alcohol in this drink at all. This was a slap in the face to alcohol, and should never be categorized in the same class as an actual drink.

Disappointed with the fruit juice, Tenten placed the glass back on the bar, much to the surprise of its creator, and she began moving in the direction of the pool, finishing her self tour of the bow. She wondered how deep it was, and if there were any jets to hang by. The jets that propelled water out of them were the best. It was like getting a massage from thousands of little bubbles.

Tenten paced slowly around the edge of the pool, watching as everybody enjoyed the water. She began losing herself in her thoughts, remembering the last time she had been in a pool. It had to have been her senior year of high school, maybe, at one of Sakura's parties. The memory was very vivid, despite having been five years ago. She remembered playing chicken with everybody, and always ended up being the person on the bottom, acting as one of the guys that held the girls on their shoulders. Her team always won, of course.

Tenten's thoughts were broken as she was bumped and went plummeting on her left side into the pool. It all happened so fast that she didn't really realize what was actually happening until she hit the bottom of the pool with her hip. She couldn't tell if the water was warm or cold, due to the initial shock of suddenly being pushed in unprepared. She had accidentally taken a little bit of water in through her lungs, and immediately used her feet to shoot herself back up to the surface.

The moment her head broke the top of the water, she began choking out for air, and almost vomited as a result of inhaling the chlorinated water. The feeling of half-drowning was disgusting and made her head pound and her stomach churn. Coughing up the water that had invaded her lungs, Tenten threw her hand over her mouth, just in case the contents of her stomach decided to come up with the water.

With rapid eyelids, she blinked the water out of her eyes and saw a hand outstretched towards her. Before taking the hand that was held out for her, she followed it up his arm to his shoulder, and once her eyes set upon his face, she was hypnotized by beautiful gray eyes.

Tenten linked her hand with his and allowed him to yank her out of the water gently. The moment she was back on land, the man with the captivating eyes stared at her, watching to make sure she didn't lose her balance.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, but she was too busy admiring his flawless face. "I'm so sorry." Tenten blinked once and snapped out of her trance, remembering that she was engaged to another man. In a guilty panic, she laughed off the incident and scratched the back of her head.

"No that's fine," she said before shoving her hand out in front of her, feeling like a bumbling idiot. The angelic man before her glanced down at her outstretched hand, dripping with pool water. Her entire body was drenched, which gave birth to a puddle of water at her feet on the deck. "I'm Tenten," she introduced herself and grinned. The man who had accidently knocked her into the swimming pool cracked a smirk on a single side of his face, and he reached one hand out to grab hers.

"Neji," he said, and the two shook hands upon becoming acquainted.