I wish I owned Naruto, but apparently, I don't.
---
A kunai landed on the wall behind the dartboard.
"I'm sorry!" Hinata said. The Hyuuga lass had been more tense since the last time they trained. She seemed to have a lot of things on her mind, which kept her from hitting the target. Forget the target, she couldn't even hit the dartboard.
"I think you should take a break.. again." Tenten admitted. "What's wrong, woman?"
"I knew you'd be here." Someone interrupted. The voice was Neji's, they couldn't be mistaken.
Tenten made a face. "You're here to dismiss us, aren't you? Well I'm sorry, mister, I know you treated me yesterday, but I can't afford to let you dismiss this—for the third time."
"Who said I'll dismiss your class?" he asked with a bright smile on his face. "I'm here to train Hinata-sama as well. I won't let you get all the good parts, Tenten."
Tenten felt her heart skip a beat. That was the first time he called her with her name, and because of that, she felt her subconsciously nodded her head.
"Hn," he said as he picked up a kunai. "I heard that Hinata-sama isn't herself lately."
Hinata slightly blushed. "Th-that's.."
"Oh come on, Hinata admit it." Tenten said as she took the kunai on the wall.
Neji threw the kunai and got a bull's eye. On the other hand, Tenten, too, got a bull's eye.
"Well.. it's.. it's the party tomorrow." Hinata said. "At Sakura-san's place.."
"What about the party?" Neji asked.
"I think I get your point now." Tenten said. "Who is it?" she narrowed her eyes.
"W-well.."
Neji groaned, annoyed because he was being left out. "I think we should just practice for now."
"No!"
"Yeah!" Hinata quickly.
Tenten made a face. "Fine, be that way." She said. "Hinata has got one hit already."
"I see." Neji said. "Maybe you should start again, then she'll get it."
Tenten sighed. Perhaps Neji's idea is currently the brightest and most effective for now.
"Why don't you try teaching her, Neji?"
"H-huh?" Hearing his name in Tenten's voice never failed to have him awestruck.
Tenten sat down. "I'll watch you two cousins here." She smiled.
Neji bit his lip. Why did his heart suddenly start throbbing so hard?
"N-neji-niisan are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah.." he said. Hinata noticed the (very) sudden change in her cousin's behavior since Tenten called him 'Neji.'
"S-so.. where do we begin?" he asked himself.
Tenten cocked an eyebrow and stood up. "Fine, fine, let's do this together." She got the kunai from Neji's hand and placed herself. "Do you remember what I first told you about hitting your target?"
"Y-yeah." She said. "Concentrate, stand ninety degrees in front of your target, aim your kunai, double check and be sure of yourself."
Tenten threw the kunai—bull's eye. "See? That simple. You try."
Hinata placed herself ninety degrees in front of the target. She remembered what Tenten told her, but suddenly lost concentration the nanosecond before she threw the kunai, which landed right above the spot.
"That was close, you should try again."
"I'll try." Neji said, feeling left out again. He got a kunai and directed it to the target, though it missed and hit the wall.
"Hilarious, Hyuuga Neji." Tenten said with a little chuckle. She walked into him and grabbed him. She placed him ninety degrees in front of the dartboard. "You don't even have the right figure. Jeez, you really are an amateur."
"Shut up!"
Tenten laughed and smiled at him. Neji felt himself blush and quickly diverted his attention to the target. His heart was pounding so hard, that he found it hard to breathe, and his knees were shaking. Shit! What's wrong with me?!
"I bet you won't hit the target."
And in queue, the Hyuuga prodigy didn't, much to Tenten's satisfaction.
"See? Told you.."
He tried again. And again. And again. And again, but none of his hits touched the dartboard. Maybe because his hands were damn shaking, for a reason he didn't wish to acknowledge.
Tenten laughed. "Shit, you're worse than I thought!"
"Just shut up and watch! I just got a little out of sync." He said as he conducted another unsuccessful try. "Fuck this thing!" he finally gave up. He suddenly heard a giggle which was surprisingly not from Tenten, so he glanced over at his cousin, who bit her lip to control her laughter.
"Before Hinata copies you, I'll teach you the right way to do it. Hinata, watch this." She demanded.
The kunoichi picked up a kunai and gave it to Neji. She grabbed his wrist an ducked, which Neji, too, did.
He could smell her—a light mix of chamomile and jasmine. Often he was tempted to look her way, but he was afraid that he might collapse if he did. He wasn't even listening to her. Instead, he just moved like she did, and bit his lip to terminate natural twitches.
"Oi, Neji, are you listening?!"
He quickly snapped back, realized that she was telling him something he was supposed to listen to. "What? Sorry I didn't hear.."
"You didn't hear? I'm right beside your ear!"
"Yeah, I know."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever.. I said that Hinata already left since she got a bull's eye."
"She did? When?"
Tenten released Neji's wrist to hit her forehead. "Kami-sama.. where were you?"
Neji smirked a bit when he remembered that he left something outside. "I'll just get something."
--
After less than a minute, Neji returned inside with his left hand behind him.
"What's that? Oh. Another flower?"
Neji smiled, which made her skip a heartbeat. Ever so handsome.
"Sort of.." he said. "If it were.. will you accept it?"
"Hm... who knows?" she replied, without a hint of romance in her voice.
Neji's smile only widened. He revealed his left arm, finally, which was holding three pieces of red roses. "For you,"
Tenten looked at the roses as she tried to keep a smile from her face, but she just couldn't. For some weird reason, ever since her heart-to-heart talk with Neji the day before yesterday, things changed between them. She noticed that she grew more comfortable around him, and that she smiles, talks and laughs a lot when she's with him. What's in this guy? She would ask, but she never got to answer, because Hyuuga Neji was everywhere. And every time she'd begin to think about it, he'd just appear. It's very weird the way he always finds her. Instinct, probably, but why? It's not like they were that close..
Or maybe she thinks they're not that close?
"These are the second, third and fourth you gave me so far. Wait, no, third fourth and fifth." She said as she got them from him in a more cautions manner than she previously did. "Aren't you getting tired of purchasing the same things over and over?"
He snickered. "Why would I?"
'It's a waste of money, duh."
"No it's not. It's for you, so why would it be such a waste?"
She cocked an eyebrow. "You don't get my point don't you?"
Neji sighed and thought that it was Tenten who did not get his point. "By the way, what was Hinata-sama's problem?"
"Something about the party at Sakura's tomorrow."
He blinked. The party at Sakura's tomorrow? "Are.. you coming there?"
"Maybe,"
He blinked again. Maybe this was his chance? "About the party.."
"What about it?"
"Everyone's probably going in pairs, right? Let's say Shikamaru and Ino, Naruto and Sakura.."
"..And your point..?"
He gulped. "Iwaswonderingifyoucouldcomewithme."
"Uhm.. cherries?" she guessed. Neji spoke too fast that she didn't get to hear him properly. He cocked an eyebrow, to which she replied, "I didn't understand you, idiot."
"What did you say?!"
"Idiot. I said idiot."
"Who gave you the right to call me an idiot?! I only asked if you can come with me to the party tomorrow! Sheesh!"
His statement was preceded by a laugh, unmistakably from Tenten. "You really are an idiot, aren't you, Neji?"
He pouted. "Whatever,"
"Sure I'll come with you." She said. "Just don't expect too much."
He felt like he was in a bliss when he heard her agree. "Really? You'll come with me?"
"Didn't I just say it?"
He chuckled. "Sorry,"
She almost got shocked with his apology. Hyuuga Neji apologizing?!
"Erm.. so I'll pick you up tomorrow at your place? At.. seven?"
"The party starts at five six thirty, Neji."
"Oh, right. So it's six?"
"Okay," she said. Her attention fled to the roses Neji gave her. She began smelling it, which made Neji blush. "You get good flowers, really!"
"Th-thanks, I guess."
"Why do flowers have to melt?" she opened her eyes. Her cheeks slightly tainted pink.
"Don't worry they don't. They only wilt."
"Oh.. whatever." She replied. "Why do they have to die?"
"I don't know. Maybe they don't die." He said. "I think a flower's essence is not in the flower, but in the reason they giver gave it. That's why flowers never die, because that reason never stops."
She smiled faintly. "Does that mean these flowers are dead already?"
"Huh?"
"What is the reason that you gave them to me?"
What is the reason that you gave them to me?
He blinked. What was the reason? "G-gratitude. Since you're always there like nobody else was."
She chuckled. "Oh right?"
Neji looked away, preventing Tenten from seeing his pink face. What was wrong?! Why is he this tensed?!
--
Thanks for reviewing :D they're very much appreciated. It gave me inspiration to update even though our finals is in 2 days!! Haha! In case I think of other things to happen in this chap, I'll make sure that I'll replace it at once. :) Sorry I had a hard time describing them. I had shortage of words. And.. sorry if Tenten's attitude here suddenly changes. I call it adaption XD. Well, I hope I did explain it clearly somewhere there, ne? In case you got questions, just comment it and I'll answer on the next chapter. so that other readers will also know.
Ballagurl06: I don't really know their ages here, so you guys decide on what age they should be. Their ages aren't really important, and if I put their ages here, it might confuse other readers. So I decided to not put their ages here.
