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.
WARNING! Rated T for language.
-OoO-
Chapter 4: Of Obvious Matchmaking and The Power of YOUTH!
When Neji arrived at the clinic, Tenten was already there with Dr Hana. The two ladies looked like they were having a deep conversation, but when the chime signalled Neji's arrival, Tenten looked up and gave Neji a huge smile as she beckoned him to come closer.
The young Hyuuga did not even notice that he had reached the distance in four long strides. But Dr Hana did, and she hid her discovery inwardly and instead gave the two a small smile.
"We were waiting for you!" Tenten said as soon as Neji was near. "Dr Hana was just telling me that Tobi's recovering well."
The veterinarian nodded and gestured toward the recovery room for the pets. "Indeed. If you want, you can actually go and see him."
Tenten immediately brightened at the prospect of seeing her pet that she did not even wait for the other two to catch up. Instead, she skipped to the room, a huge grin on her face.
Neji smiled at Tenten's retreating form, finding her glee to be very contagious. He did not even realize that he was simply staring, not until Dr Hana patted the back of his shoulders and let out an amused chuckle.
When Neji gave her a questioning glance, the doctor shook her head, amusement still etched on her pretty face. "It's nothing, don't mind me," Dr Hana reassured, although her eyes twinkled once more and the smile on her lips never wavered.
The pale-eyed young man nodded unsurely, but nonetheless, moved to where Tenten had gone. Dr Hana eyed him for a moment, before she shook her head again, very much entertained by the Hyuuga's obvious infatuation.
-OoO-
The first thing that Neji noticed about Tobi was that the pup was actually, kind of, cute.
Covered in thick fur the color of chestnuts, the little puppy was simply a bundle of energy! He wiggled his tiny tail when he caught sight of Tenten and whined as he pleaded his mistress to free him from the cage.
When Dr Hana did unlock the cage, the pup bounced out of the steel prison, before leaping his way into Tenten's open arms. His tail never stopped waggling as he cuddled in his owner's chest, whereas Tenten cooed at him and hugged him back.
Then, Tobi spotted Neji and pawed at thin air, as if asking the young man to come closer.
"Tobi wants you to pet him, Neji!" Tenten giggled as Neji raised a brow at the young dog. As if to prove her point, Tobi let out a yip, as if saying, "Tobi's a good boy, come pat me!"
Slowly, Neji neared Tenten and her puppy. He shared eye contact with the animal before his hand reached out hesitantly. When his palm landed on Tobi's crown, he awkwardly patted the puppy mechanically, hoping that said animal would not bite his hand.
Fortunately for him, Tobi seemed satisfied with the petting, and he wagged his chubby tail to tell Neji that he was enjoying the Hyuuga's attention. Tenten giggled softly, knowing that Tobi had already enchanted Neji with his cuteness.
On the other hand, Neji discovered that petting was actually... relaxing. Plus, the fact that Tobi seemed perfectly content with the strokes made Neji feel more at ease, until such time, the man's strokes no longer seemed as heavy and as awkward as before.
But the soothing situation all changed when Neji reached out to the left side of the puppy's face.
The Hyuuga simply wanted to fix the unruly fur that clumped altogether, therefore covering the animal's left eye. Neji just wanted to untangle the fur, but what he found made him jump in shock.
The puppy had no left eye! Instead, there was only a hollow indentation of where the left eye was supposed to be, which meant...
Oh God...
Oh God!
He just blinded an innocent dog! Well, technically, it was Hinata who blinded an innocent dog, but it was him who took the blame for his cousin, and now this puppy was going to live the rest of his life missing an eye!
And Tobi was not just anyone's puppy, oh no. Fate had to be a bitch and assigned Tenten, of all people, to be the pup's owner.
Shit! Fuck! Damn!
Tenten, seeing as Neji froze on spot and turned abnormally blanched, raised a brow and looked at Dr Hana for an explanation. The doctor shrugged before pointing at her own left eye.
The Sarutobi lady looked confused at first before her eyes widened in understanding.
"Neji, no," Tenten immediately placated and was relieved when the Hyuuga turned his pale eyes on her. "Tobi's always had a missing eye. It was a birth defect of some sort, and that's why Konohamaru and I are always so protective over him. It's not your fault."
Neji nodded, but he did not look too convinced. For one, he was still abnormally pale, his posture was stiff and uncomfortable, and his eyes were still shaking in shock.
Sighing softly, Tenten reached out to lightly touch Neji's arm, making Neji focus his eyesight on her once more.
"I mean it, Neji. It's not your fault, okay?"
When Neji nodded again, minus the flabbergasted look on his face, Tenten released her hold on him. Neji tried to control the tingles shooting up and down his arm at the light contact, and instead stayed paralyzed on his spot, watching Tenten watching him.
The spell only broke when Tobi yipped and selfishly demanded the attention back from both humans.
Neji was quick to pat the animal's head, whereas Tenten used her now free hand to tickle the pup's tummy. Neither noticed that Dr Hana had to duck her head to hide the silent snickers she made as she watched the scene between Hyuuga and Sarutobi.
Then, it was not long before the veterinarian reminded the two that the clinic was going to close soon. Tenten looked conflicted for a moment, not wanting to leave her pup inside the clinic all alone, but the veterinarian assured the young woman that Tobi was going to be fine on his own.
"I left some toys for him to play with in his cage," Dr Hana said, pointing at the chew toy inside Tobi's temporary home. "And I promise I'll contact you as soon as possible for any updates, alright?"
Reluctantly, Tenten nodded. She placed a kiss on her pet's head before carefully putting him inside the cage. She patted the dog while telling him to 'be a good boy and recover fast, okay little buddy?'
The dog barked once in affirmation.
-OoO-
They were almost out of the clinic when Dr Hana had to rush back inside, saying that she left something important in her office.
Tenten just smiled, whereas Neji nodded at the doctor. However, the Hyuuga had a distinct feeling that the veterinarian was planning something else. When the doctor winked at him before disappearing inside her office, Neji instantly knew that his suspicions were correct.
"I'm really glad Tobi's healing pretty fast," Tenten mused out loud, making Neji turn to her.
"Animals recover faster than humans, I believe," Neji answered, "so I guess this isn't really surprising."
"Really?" Tenten said in amazement, her eyes widening in surprise. "That's so cool!" She breathed out when Neji only nodded.
A comfortable silence ensued between the two, before Neji coughed. "It's getting late," he said and motioned to the now-setting sun. "Allow me to drive you home."
Tenten looked ready to decline, but Neji was quick enough to usher the girl to his car. "I would not feel at ease if you do not let me, Tenten. Please, just indulge me."
The girl pouted cutely but nonetheless slid inside the car to sit at the passenger's seat. When Neji settled in the driver's seat, Tenten graced him with a huge grin.
"Still the gentleman, I see. It's good to know you haven't changed one bit!"
Neji smirked at her but did not reply as he slowly revved up the engine.
-OoO-
It turned out that Tenten's place really was not that far away from the clinic. Her home was situated in one of the many subdivisions in their city; a rather small abode, if you compare it with the Hyuuga's mansion-like house, but it definitely looked more homely and cozier.
He stopped the car, just in time for the gates of Tenten's house to open. Out came Sarutobi Hiruzen, Tenten's grandfather, with Konohamaru in tow.
Now Neji knew the old man, partly because he was related to Tenten (and Neji actually reached the point where he knew almost anything about Tenten way back in high school), and mostly because the man was the principal of the school during Neji's high school years.
The senior Sarutobi was a fair man, and every teacher in the school had high regards for him; heck, even the creepy Biology teacher Orochimaru respected him! And although quite old, Hiruzen was definitely wise and perceptive (but there was this rumor circulating along that the old man used to be quite a pervert. No teacher actually claimed it true, nor did they deny it.).
And Neji found that he felt slightly uncomfortable when Hiruzen regarded him with a knowing glance, the old man's gaze darting from his granddaughter to the Hyuuga.
"Good evening, grandpa!" Tenten greeted jovially as she skipped to her grandfather. She placed a kiss on the old man's cheek, before reaching out to ruffle Konohamaru's unruly locks. "Hey Konohamaru!"
Konohamaru whined and swatted his sister's hand away. Hiruzen laughed at his grandchildren, before he approached Neji.
"Oh grandpa! That's –"
"I know, I know." Hiruzen said and gave Neji a friendly smile. "Hyuuga Neji, I believe?" At Neji's nod, the old man laughed good-naturedly. "Batch 2007's valedictorian, of course. Thank you for bringing my dear Tenten home. I hope she was of no trouble?"
"Grandpa!"
"No, not at all," Neji replied smoothly. "Although she was very chatty during the whole way here..."
"Neji!"
"That she is!" Hiruzen laughed once more, ignoring his pouting granddaughter. "Ah, we were just having dinner, my boy. Come and join us."
Neji shook his head respectfully. "Thank you sir, but I will have to decline. My uncle is expecting me home."
"I'm sure your uncle won't mind, Neji. Now come and join us. I insist!"
The Hyuuga raised a brow as he assessed the old man coolly. Was it just him, or was Hiruzen forcing him to join dinner with them? He was about to say something when Konohamaru butted in.
"He doesn't want to join grandpa! Quit pressuring him!" Konohamaru grumbled.
Hiruzen frowned for a moment before nodding once. "Ah, yes. It did sound like I was coercing you back then," the old man mumbled to himself, then gave a warm smile. "Do forgive this old man, Neji."
"You don't have to apologize, sir. I wasn't offended at all."
"That's good to know..." the old man huffed in relief before turning his gaze to his grandchildren. "Well then, shall we eat?"
Hiruzen thanked Neji one more time before disappearing inside the house. Once the old man had his back turned, Konohamaru gave Neji a dirty glare and reached out to tug his sister's hand.
"Sissy, let's go. Or else the food will get cold."
Tenten nodded but smiled at Neji first. "Thanks again for the ride, Neji!"
Neji murmured a 'no problem', and the last thing he saw, before Konohamaru firmly closed the gate, was Tenten's enchanting smile.
-OoO-
When Tenten gave him another update on Tobi's health, it was a Wednesday.
And... And Lee was with him, because the lively man bemoaned that he and Neji had not bonded in a long time and today was definitely the day they embrace the springtime of their youth! Therefore, the man actually waited until Neji finished his work at the company, leaving Neji with no choice and reason to avoid him.
And because Neji already established that fate was a bitch when it came to him, Tenten soon texted later, saying that Dr Hana had some news on Tobi. Having no choice, Neji brought Lee along, who positively beamed when Neji relayed to him the whole story.
"How very noble of you to help such a defenceless creature!" Lee announced, sobbing slightly. "As expected of you, dear roommate of mine!"
Neji's response was a grunt.
When the pair arrived, Tenten was already there with Konohamaru by her side. The two siblings did not look like they were talking, as Konohamaru was busily looking at his phone, whereas Tenten had her eyes closed as she listened to some music in her iPod.
And once Neji parked the car safely, Lee sprung out of the vehicle and bounced toward Tenten and Konohamaru, who both looked confused at the sudden arrival of a man in green spandex.
Neji felt his heart sink...
"Oh you must be the glorious Miss Tenten whom I have heard so much from my roommate! You are indeed a beautiful blossom, and I am most certainly captivated by your loveliness!"
And his dignity sunk along with his heart, but not before it was stuffed inside a blender and shredded into tiny, tiny pieces.
"A-ah... yes... My name is Tenten..." the poor girl trailed off, her eyes glued on Lee's enormous and wiggling eyebrows. "Uhhm... Nice to meet you...?"
"I am Rock Lee!" Neji's closest (well, according to Lee anyway) friend declared enthusiastically. "And it is such a pleasure to have met your acquaintance, dear lotus who has captured my eternal rival's heart!"
"Ex...Excuse me?" Tenten asked unsurely, but Lee only gave her a thumb's up in reply.
And then, Lee gave the siblings a wide smile. His pearly whites, as strange as it may sound, pinged at shone brightly like rare jewels. Tenten smartly looked away as a bright array of light almost burned her retina. Konohamaru, bless his unfortunate soul and his even more unfortunate eyes, was not quick enough to look away like his sister.
The poor boy groaned and panicked as he was momentarily blinded by Lee's award-winning, toothpaste commercial-worthy, smile.
Neji was about to do something (along the lines of physically hauling Lee away from Tenten and Konohamaru), when Dr Hana cut him off by telling them that Tobi's medicine had already been administered and that the pup was finally ready to receive his guests.
Lee positively glowed at the news.
"How wonderful! I would love to see such youthful creaturein action! Yoooosh!"
He gave another sight-stealing smile at the Sarutobis. And this time, both Tenten and Konohamaru were ready. The former, as always, looked away, whereas the latter actually turned around, closed his eyes tightly, and counted to twenty.
Then, Lee skipped merrily inside to visit Tobi, leaving behind one flabbergasted Tenten, a severely confused Konohamaru, and an extremely humiliated/annoyed Neji.
A few moments of golden silence passed before it was shattered by a loud crash and a few shouts of apologies from Lee. Then, a yelp from a puppy came next, and Tenten was suddenly hurrying inside.
More crashes ensued, and both Neji and Konohamaru wisely stayed glued to their spots.
"You have a weird friend," Konohamaru suddenly spouted, a few minutes later. "And he wears spandex!"
"He has his moments. But he is indeed a trustworthy man," was the Hyuuga's simple answer.
"He wears bright green spandex!"
"Lee works out."
"In a bright green, body-clinging spandex?!" Konohamaru yelled incredulously before pulling a disgusted face. "Gross!"
'Yes. And the images of him running around your shared room in said spandex while sweating profusely will make you wish you were blind.' Neji wanted to add but quickly decided against it. The boy was already... ah, scarred, by Lee's teeth pinging, after all.
Instead, the two men stood on their spots as another crash was heard.
-OoO-
NOTES:
That awkward moment when someone calls your name and you turn around, only to find that you were not the addressee of the call but someone who has the same name as yours.
-sigh-
I wish my parents gave me an extra cool, extra unique name.
ANYWAY! I'm still jumping around in the field of daisies while conversing with madin456 about Neji as a POKEMON! Oh yeah! xD
-cough-
Uhhh...On to my replies for anon reviews!
Ichigo-chan: What crappy analogy are you talking about? I get what you mean, so there's nothing crappy about it. And I'm glad to know that Lee's bit made you smile. Hopefully, with this chapter, I made you smile once more. xD
Guest: I'm having fun writing him in OOC mode too! But eh, I should turn it down now. Seriously. Or else Neji will Jyuuken me till I scream uncle. xD
marissa: Thank you! I'll try and be ambitious and update this weakly... errr, I mean WEEKLY! Yeah... weekly. -cough-
Anywho, reviews are always loved, constructive criticisms are always appreciated, and flames are going to be used for my bonfire party/campfire to cook some barbecue (with pusa bringing along some marshmallows and hotdogs! Yum!).