Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Gah I haven't updated O_o. NARUTO'S ENDING WHAT IS LIFE.
Conflict coming up. I promise it's not boring. If you persist and read this and like this, please drop a review or favorite/follow! It really does mean a lot to me. If you like this style, check out my other stories (shameless self-advertising). Enjoy!
His cousin tapped his shoulder timidly, and he swiveled around to face her. "There will be misunderstandings," she said, her voice slightly wavering. "It will be up to you to clear it up when it is your fault." He breathed out in acknowledgement, fingering the ring on the wooden desk, spinning it around his finger and shuddering the table in vibrations. "I know. But this is something I can't let go. This is a relic of the past. Even if your father always tries to convince me to throw it out, I know it changed his life too."
His cousin smiled and patted him on the back in a sisterly gesture. "Don't just tell me. Make sure to tell her as soon as possible."
He smiled slightly to himself just at the thought of her. "I understand."
~X~
"Try to see both sides. If you don't expand your vision to different perspectives of the same situation, it's not going to end cleanly." The pink haired woman tapped her fingers on the wooden table.
"I've always been approached as a narrow-minded person. I think being with him could open up my eyes a little though."
"There will be dilemmas and misunderstandings. Sometimes you need to take it in your own hands. You can't practice for that when it comes along. It's not like a big performance. It's not like recording a CD. You can't change it later."
"I know the road isn't easy. When you're hurt, you can bandage it, but it won't heal quickly, and sometimes it scars. I'll have to extend my vision to all sides of the spectrum.
"I'm ready when it's not smooth. I'll take the wheel from his hands instead."
~X~
Tenten's phone buzzed on the table, vibrating the glass top. She picked it up after seeing the caller ID, her manager.
"Hello?"
"Great news for you, Tenten. You've been recognized as a breakthrough artist by some sort of magazine and they've requested you do a tour in two months. It'll be around the country. Isn't that something?" Her heart banged at her ribcage, and it took her a few minutes to calm down before breathily replying.
"That's great, really! I guess this is the time to say that I'm really honored. Thank you for arranging all this. Is it a solo tour for me with different orchestras or…?"
"I think this time, we're going to try something different."
"What do you mean by that?" Her brows furrowed together as she clutched her phone tighter. Her manager was unpredictable. Different could either mean amazing or terrible.
"It'll be a duo. A violin-piano duo. Don't worry about the pianist. I've found someone suitable enough for you." She clenched her teeth. If only…
"You know, that's fine. I already have someone in mind." I won't work with someone I don't know. Neji…
"Oh, I'm sure you're talking about the same person. He's coming by soon to meet up. I've got another call on the line. I'll talk to you later." He hung up immediately, and Tenten scowled. She debated calling him back to demand the piano accompanist from the recital a couple months ago (Neji, of course. She would make sure her success was his and vice versa).
The doorbell chimed, making her jump from the table in a panic. She walked through the hallway to the doorway. If Sakura was at home, the pink-haired woman would have opened the door and given the visitor a good beating in anger that she nearly got a heart attack, whether she knew the visitor personally or not, friend or foe.
She swung the door open, and Neji was standing there, arms crossed, a small smirk on his face. "What brings you here?"
He walked in without hesitation and wrapped his arms around her in a way of greeting. "Guess who's going on tour with you in two months?"
She smiled to herself. Maybe I won't beat up my manager. "Well, he must be better than you." Neji's smirk grew wider, bordering on the edge of a lopsided smile. "We'll see in a bit, huh?"
"Yeah, I'll say." She reached around the couch to pick up her violin case. She motioned to the piano by the window, clearly in a gesture that he should sit on the bench. "Do you have the program for the tour?"
"It's the same for every city we're in, so it's unnecessary to learn an overwhelming amount of repertoire. The program is also the exact same order for every destination, so if we do any informal or formal rehearsals, we know what to expect, and it's easier to do a clean program in one run.
"If you object to any, just contact your manager, and we'll find a solution. You haven't played any of them before because you were taught to be a solo artist, but they shouldn't be impossibly difficult.
"First is the Schumann Violin and Piano Sonata in a minor No. 1. I doubt you have never heard it before. Next is the Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 24, or "Spring." Last is the Stravinsky Duo Concertante. They are challenging but not impossible. With enough practice, which I'm sure you are quite familiar with, I can guarantee a clean performance."
She nodded. Despite their relationship status, they knew when it was time to conduct a serious and business-like atmosphere. Neji's eyes were cold (not a frigid, icy glare, but a kind of cool essence of elegance) as he wordlessly handed her the music. Her dark amber eyes roved the score, brows furrowed and mouth set into a thin line in concentration. It was different in the way how her part tied in with an equally important piano part, but, she thought as she put the music down on her stand, it was nice to try something different, out of her comfort zone.
"I assure you that neither one of us has ever tried playing through yet at this point. We have two months to prepare. It's October now, and we have to get through this by the time it hits December. Let's start sight-reading the Schumann." Neji adjusted the bench at the piano and lifted the top of the grand piano. Dust rose up in a cloud, and Neji emerged from it, coughing, wisps of dust decorating his long hair. Tenten had to stifle her mirth as his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. "When was the last time this was used?"
"A while ago. I'm sure it's in tune though. If it's not, I'll just call one over." Tenten snapped her case shut and took out her violin. Neji gingerly played a simple scale, shrugging slightly in satisfaction. She attached the shoulder rest and took out her bow. Neji watched her silently as she tightened her bow and took out a tuner.
"You've got a new instrument," he remarked, and she looked over her shoulder at him, stopping in the process of applying rosin. She continued after a second's pause. "It's been five years. When you get better, your instrument should too." He smirked.
"You could say that. I have a Steinway music room grand at home." Tenten put the tuner on the stand, moving aside the metronome that was there before. "Then you should be pretty excited to play on a Steinway concert grand when we go on tour."
Neji smirked to himself and crossed his arms as Tenten started to tune. A few minutes later, when she was finished, he replied, "You have no idea."
In a few minutes, the flat was filled with the sound of singing keys and dancing strings, a flowing melody sounding like a rushing river. Music obscured their vision as it took over their minds. Sinking so deep into something that most people viewed as an abstract form was the deepest form of connection anyone could have.
They couldn't stop smiling at the prospect of working together again, but this time, as equals. And, she thought, her manager was right. It was time to do something different.
~X~
Evening settled the skies, painting the recently azure sky into a palette of fiery oranges and rosy shades of red, the sun illuminating the horizon in the last few minutes of the day, a day that Tenten wished went by more slowly, increasing the time she spent with a certain white-eyed young man.
They achieved a lot through a few hours, getting the pieces nearly without any bumps or stutters. And it was nice to see each other as equals, in a new light. She was slightly disappointed when it was time to pack up her case and wipe her violin, as well as his turn to pull the cover over the keys and shutting the top board. She wanted him to stay longer, not just for rehearsal purposes (Besides, she thought, Sakura has to work late tonight at the hospital.). But Neji brought it up first.
"Up for a nicer dinner?" He had his jacket slung over his shoulder, eyes expectant and mouth, yet again, set in his infamous smirk, which had such an effect on dewy eyed high school girls so that they would nearly faint at the sight. She smiled up at him in reply, dark hazel eyes shining with suppressed mirth. "I have to be honest that I haven't exactly been looking for another night of takeout." He smiled slightly, the fading sunlight outside making his face glow in ethereal light. "Let's go then. Call Sakura first. I'll wait in the driveway."
"Yeah, I'll be right there." He walked outside and put on his shoes, pointing his keys to the car. Tenten heard the chirps when the car unlocked and the sound of the engine revving up. She looked down at her cell phone and quickly dialed Sakura's number.
Sakura answered after a few moments. "You know I'm working late tonight, and Sasuke is also. We are both going to be done around 9:00. He said he'll take me out. Don't worry about it!"
"What a coincidence. I'm going out for dinner too. My manager notified me about an upcoming tour around the country he's arranged, and it's a duo tour. I'm working with Neji on it, so he came over for rehearsal. He's taking me out. I'll probably be back home before you. I have to go now; he's waiting for me outside. I'll see you later."
"Have fun, lovebirds." Tenten scowled goodnaturedly at the screen and hung up. She locked the door behind her and headed out. Neji was sitting in the driver's seat, absentmindedly "playing" the Beethoven sonata on the dashboard without a keyboard. He looked up when she closed the car door after getting into the passenger seat.
"Where too?" He smirked. "You know this place as well as I do. How do you feel about seeing Sai again?" Tenten scowled again but not in disappointment. He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, and she chuckled slightly as his hair tickled her neck. "Yeah, sure, that's fine. At least it's not instant ramen."
~X~
The sky was like ink when they left. The city lights flickered like fireflies atop soaring towers that prickled the sky. Tokyo was still busy at night, cars flashing from place to place, rushing past each other on the bustling highway. Headlights and tail lights illuminated the roads. A typical city night.
Neji was right. She did catch another glimpse of Sai, moving around tables like an expressionless ghost. When he was encountered by other customers, he always plastered on the fake smile, creepy and unnatural, enhancing his appearance as some sort of phantom haunting the place. Not that she had anything against him, but she sometimes had to physically repress the urge to shudder. When she had told Neji about her slight phobia of the waiter, he had laughed silently to himself when he exited the highway and braked at a red light. He had said, "Do you always picture him as some sort of slimy and creepy stalker?"
She had replied, "Not a stalker, perhaps, but maybe slightly a transparent sort of phantom pedophile." Neji laughed again at this point, then quickly stopped, directing his focus to the road ahead. He turned into her neighborhood, headlights seemingly paving a path for them in the darkness.
Neji pulled up onto the driveway of her flat. Tenten noticed that Sakura wasn't back yet, seeing as she was working later tonight. She got out of the car and fumbled slightly with her keys before retracting the one to the flat. Neji got out as well, seemingly in a gesture of seeing her off before leaving. In the doorway, she smiled at him in gratitude. "Thanks for tonight, and thanks for staying those hours for rehearsal. I don't think I really have deemed myself capable of accomplishing that much in a few hours' worth."
Neji smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's nice working with you again."
"Yeah, it is. It's different from being a soloist. It's time to hear our new voices." His smirk stretched a little wider, and he leaned in to kiss her, his hand perched gently but firmly on her shoulder. "I'll see if I can come around tomorrow. Or," he paused slightly, "you can come over to my place. I'll pick you up sometime in the afternoon. I'll call beforehand to make sure."
Tenten's smile seemed to shine in the darkness, face bathed in a golden glow from the porch light. "That's fine with me." She reached out to wrap her arms around his middle, and he settled his arms around her waist in response. He pressed his smirk into her temple, and her whole body vibrated when he replied, "See you soon."
She found herself still waving toward the direction of his car soon after its silhouette disappeared into the shadows.