Dees-cah-ley-mah.
Whatever.
Do you guys think I should raise this up to M? Haha! Oh. Major OOC up ahead—as far as OOC goes anyway for suddenly hormonally-active young adults. –Nods–
The golden streams of sunlight danced through the lush leaves. The beautiful garden was decked in traditional Japanese embellishments, and in the heart of it all was a small teahouse where one brick was suspiciously missing off the roof. The teenagers of Rookie 9 gathered in the handsome garden, each silently admiring the effervescent beauty of Mother Nature, as Hanabi and Hinata Hyuga prepared the tea. Hiashi Hyuga sat inside the teahouse and held the creased paper in one hand, the expensive pen in his other. He silently ran the tip across the paper over and over again, as he concocted new plans for the Operation. He sighed.
Shino Aburame sat on the wooden porch, wordlessly observing a line of ants dutifully tending to their tasks. A slivery smile was on his lips, as other insects pooled on his feet. From afar, he observed a butterfly flap its beautiful wings as though beckoning for a mate, before another one fluttered over. A light bulb clicked in Shino's mind, and he turned towards his teammate to relay the idea. Kiba eagerly lent him an ear, and grinned broadly over his suggestion. The latter patted his back excitedly, as he shuffled quickly to Ino and Sakura, who squealed at the genius of it all. "Of course," Chouji mumbled, "Why had it never occurred to us?"
"Ah! This is indeed so youthful! What a wonderful revelation it is, Shino-kun! You are truly a genius!" Lee leaped towards the other boy, attempting to hug him, when Shino nimbly maneuvered and avoided his advances. With a flick of his fingers, his bugs swarmed after the spandex-clad loudmouth and chased him all around the backyard. Lee recoiled in fear of bug bites, bellowing the un-youthful-ness of it all, but still appreciating the little exercise it gave him. Shino shuddered in disgust over the intimacy of his friend.
"Do not do that ever, Lee-kun. You are a man. Men don't hug each other." He said icily.
Sakura was quick to convey the idea to their "leader". He beamed over the suggestion, and called them over to discuss the plan into perfection. They each pitched in their own thoughts, as the heiresses served them teas. After almost two hours of plotting, they settled on one final plan. Everything was perfect. The only problem was the timing. Sasuke said, "I'll handle Hyuga," he volunteered, "If it's only to hold him off, I can do that. I have a score to settle with him, anyway," he shrugged nonchalantly, skillfully fending off the blush and the hormones that suddenly went wild as Sakura rubbed her cheek against his in her overwhelming gratitude and ecstasy that her boyfriend was taking some initiative at last.
"Alright! That leaves Tenten." Ino chirped. "We need someone to hold her down, of course," she winked suggestively at Kiba, who clicked his tongue in return. "Alright, alright, when shall we begin?"
"As soon as possible." Hiashi chuckled.
Tenten pulled back from the hug as the words escaped. She coughed awkwardly, "Thanks again! By the way, how did you get this accustomed to me?" she smiled curiously, as she fingered the metal on her hand. Neji stepped back for safety measure, wary of what might happen once again. He composed himself quickly.
"Your weapons," he said, "Remember when I borrowed them? I used them to channel your chakra to that."
"That's possible?" she knew that transferring chakra was possible, but she never thought it could happen even with inanimate objects. Curiosity piqued, her chocolate orbs glimmered with excitement as she probed.
"It's nothing easy, but yes. It's among the Lost Techniques." He shrugged as he walked over to the opposite side of the arsenal, retrieving a scroll from his pocket. He bit his thumb and smeared the blood across the paper, as he placed a few polished weapons here and there. Tenten observed him from afar, before she resumed examining the artilleries before her. She walked slowly and peacefully, taking in every detail of the vast weaponries displayed meticulously. Many people took her for the obsessive type, peaceful in the presence of her weapons, and they were right. Metals soothed her. They gave her a sense of incomparable protection. Without even one shuriken or kunai on her body, she felt naked; vulnerable and prone to attacks. She was skilled with taijutsu, of course, and could protect herself even without her weapons, but to her, they acted as her security blanket or sorts. She could not go on without them. "Would you like to borrow some of these?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I couldn't impose," she shook her head politely, padding over to her friend, "Besides, I've got my own arsenal stocked up copiously anyway, so I don't really think I need to borrow some," she boasted, motioning towards her knapsack. Neji shrugged as he finished restocking, and led the way out of the armory. He locked it behind him securely, sealing it with his chakra afterwards. Walking along the cobbled path that led towards the Hyuga training grounds, Tenten ran her gaze up the tall, stone walls of the mansion, and asked, "Did this use to be a dungeon, Neji?" she wondered, spotting a few cobwebs and dust bunnies.
"This part had always been an arsenal. The other wing is, though," he told her.
"I thought the Hyuga manor was Japanese?"
"Yes it is," he asked somewhat unsurely, "This is the basement."
"Ah. When was it renovated?" they turned to an obscured door, and Neji poked chakra-infused fingers against the stone. Their surroundings rumbled in protest as an opening cracked, and streaks of light danced inside. They docked to avoid the thickening cobwebs, and walked farther within the tunnel that led to the training compounds. There, the sun bathed them with its bright lights. The greeneries were well kempt, trimmed into perfection. It was surrounded by high stone walls, all suffused with chakras to obscure from plain sight. The duo settled their belongings aside, and made their way over to the tallest Cherry blossom tree.
"I was born into this kind of manor already, Tenten, I wouldn't know." He told her pointedly.
"Pfft…" she scoffed, plopping comfortably on the grass, "Don't you learn those in family history?"
"No… I suppose we didn't. Or I did not heed it any attention. Why does it bother you, anyway?" he asked, seating himself next to her.
"It doesn't bother me. I'm just curious." She playfully hit his arm. He smirked, as he caught her fist from dealing another blow. She giggled, attempting to retrieve her hand when he tugged back, a little more forceful, and yanked her frame towards his body. She fell awkwardly on top of him, splayed ungracefully as gravity tolled upon her. Her arms were on either of his side, and one leg lay in between his. Her face slammed against his chest a little violently from the impact. They froze. None dared make a move to shift from their current position—or perhaps, unable would be more accurate.
Oh god…
The single phrase ran over Tenten's mind, echoing loudly in the chasms of her thoughts. It kept her from coming back to her senses, kept her from willing her body to get up. It dulled her usually keen senses and dimmed whatever coherence she previously had. So she laid there, absolutely motionless, on top of the only boy she truly, romantically adored, nay, loved, while her thoughts swarmed in frenzy. She slowly lifted her face to meet his orbs—simply out of instinct, of curiosity to inspect his condition, if he faired any better than she was. Their eyes met, and she was frozen once again; lost in the deep opalescent abyss. She couldn't move. She was held captivated. She was at his mercy.
Oh god…
What if her emotions got the best of her once more? What if she jumped him again? No! Heavens, that was far too embarrassing! Even if he did hug back and it honestly was one of the most euphoric moments of her life, she couldn't risk another stunt like that. What if he caught on? Perhaps the last one was already too much of a hint, and he began to distance him from her. Ah! She couldn't stand that; she couldn't let that happen. Tenten has grown far too dependent on Neji's presence for her to lose him like that. It suddenly no longer mattered if their relationship was at the worst phase of platonic. What matters was that they shared something special. And her meager, unreciprocated feelings should not, under any circumstances, destroy whatever relationship she has with him.
Oh god…
She unconsciously whispered a melancholy sigh.
One might have thought that the ever stoic Neji Hyuga held perfect control over his self. It was a terribly mistaken impression, of course. He held an iron control, but it slipped out of his hands every once in a while. He, too, was human after all. And presently, he was in a very human and very vulnerable state of uncontrolled.
He didn't mean to yank her too hard. He only meant to—ah, why did he even tug back? When he felt she was about to take back her hand, he acted impulsively, subconsciously not wishing to let her go. Instinctively, he held her firmer and even jerked her towards him to ascertain she was within his grasp. See! Even his physical body has yearned too much for her, has gotten too accustomed to her presence. He really was growing too attached. Nay, he was beginning to be, dare he say, obsessive! And yet, not a single fiber of his being minded the over-dependence he had been developing towards her through the years. In fact, it felt oddly pleasant; the thought of having to watch over someone, and the need to have her by your side no matter what the cost, he liked it.
Her sigh snapped him out of his reverie, and his pearl orbs focused on her crestfallen face. Something painful tugged on his heart, and, again, instinctively, the dire need to protect her from anything that disheartened her rumbled within him. He shifted them to a better position, so that she was entirely on top of him. He circled his arms around her waist as hers fell limp on his chest. Her legs were propped on top of his intimately. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
His throaty voice jolted her out of her stupor, and blood rushed to her face when everything settled down. She motioned to untangle herself, but he only held her firmer with each squirm. "A-ah… Neji…" she writhed in an attempt to stand up, completely oblivious to the effect it has on the lad beneath her. Neji no longer gripped her to steady her; he gripped her to resume his control over his suddenly-hormonal body. He remembered now. He was 19. He hit puberty a long time ago, but only recently had he become so aware of just how troublesome it actually is. Perhaps it was because he was too occupied with his goals to even bat a lash on whatever attracts the male specie that he successfully condoned some of the most crucial phases of puberty. At least he thought so. Reality had to sock people in eventually.
"Tenten…" his voice sounded so strained, that Tenten did stop wiggling, dead curious to trace the source of that sound. It can't be Neji. No. Not him, of all people. Tenten was no innocent kunoichi. She had been sent to her fair share of seduction missions, and she eventually grasped the ropes of the basics that went on in the male mind. She never lost her body's innocence to such missions, but her mind was far from pure now (and Kakashi-sensei, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, Chouji, and Lee were only partly to be blamed). She knew the masculine thinking well enough to know that such strain in their voices usually entailed to a struggle with their… err… needs. For a seductress, it was the telltale sign that he was close to caving in. But for Tenten, it was enough to drive her senses crazy, and not entirely out of the ecstasy that Neji was getting "needy" all of a sudden. No. Most of the voices that persistently rang in her head like banshees were admonishing her for even assuming that the Hyuga prodigy was… well, aroused. But— "Stop... stop wiggling…" he breathed.
Tenten nearly fainted. She almost did. Her brain was going haywire with the sudden surge of information it attempted to process. And with the blood coursing at a rapid, frightening pace through her head, it was not impossible for her to lose consciousness soon. Still, she willed to stay awake. She paused from her feeble attempts to break herself free, and focused on coherently voicing out her intentions. She never wanted this moment to end, heavens, no. But she was worried that if it did not end, she might regret her next courses of actions, "Neji… please… let me go…" she coughed out awkwardly. He eyed her skeptically, slowly, almost uncertainly, releasing her from his vice grip. She used his chest to level herself up quickly, but the sudden motion only gave her vertigo that knocked her arms down and brought her back to her previous position anyway, "Ah, sorry about that." Worried that her hands might betray her once again, she settled on rolling off him and onto the grass next to him.
Both missed the warm abruptly.
But neither would admit it aloud.
"I…I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to…" Neji trailed off uneasily.
"No, no, it's okay." Tenten smiled.
Awkward silence…
"Ah. I better go." Tenten quickly stood up and dusted off herself. She jogged over to her belongings and channeled her chakra to her feet, leaping over to the wall, before hopping over to the other side. She broke out in a full sprint, trailing after the familiar bouts of chakra nearby, miserably fighting off the thick blush that seemed to permanently color her face. She made turns left and right, docked occasionally, and eventually found her way in the Hyuga tea house, where her friends were amidst a very heated discussion. Dismissing the fact that she heard her name and Neji's name in their conversation, she ran over to them and childishly flung her arms in the air. "Guuuuuuuuuys~" she wailed as she threw herself over to Hinata. "That was so embarrassing! Oh gooooood!" she continued.
Hinata looked gob smacked, but regained her composure quickly. She cooed comforting words to her friend as she stroked the older girl's back soothingly. "It's alright, Tenten-chan. Tell us what happened." Instead, Tenten buried her face further in Hinata's embrace, refusing to utter one coherent word of explanation. She wailed unceremoniously, oblivious to the presence of the Hyuga head. They eyed her curiously, subtly stowing away the plan just in case. Ino and Sakura scooted closer to their friend and tried to calm her down. She was still adamant on bawling on Hinata, and it took almost half an hour for her to quiet down at last. When she pulled back, she quickly wiped away the tears that pooled at the corner of her eyes. "Alright… if you don't want to tell us, it's okay…" Hinata smiled tenderly.
"No, no, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to—" she growled, "Ugh. What am I doing, whining like this? God, I'm not 12, damn it." She furiously rubbed her eyes again, as she sucked in deep breaths to calm herself. At last, she ran her gaze around the room, not quite expecting to see Hiashi sitting quietly at a corner. Then it all clicked; their reason, their goal. She huffed again, "Ah. I'd give up if I were you." She shrugged unflappably. "Honestly, there's just nothing going on anymore."
"What?" Ino shrieked, "Why? What happened?" Tenten dreaded having to explain, but she needed to blow of her steam sooner or later, afraid that it might get to her. With a wary sigh, she cautiously began to explain her predicament, careful not to leave any detail out for their (wild) imagination to work on. When she finished, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Lee, Naruto, and Hiashi all but tackled her to the ground, gushing excitedly over the wonderful twist of events. They giggled childishly, fawning over the intimacy of it all. In an instant, they decided to pitch Tenten in their scheme. After all, she was one of the vital characters in it.
Neji wanted to hit his head against something solid.
That idea never occurred to him, because it was simply so stupid; something so uncalled for, especially from him. But as he sat down on the lush grass, his fists balling on the greenery, his entire posture rigged, for the first time, Neji Hyuga did consider ramming his skull violently against the chakra-infused walls, wondering if it should be enough for a concussion that can cause amnesia. He needed one; to forget the impulsiveness of his actions, how utterly helpless he has been as his body gave in to desires he never even knew he had. He scowled, glowering at how everything about him seemed to enjoy his misery. Lady Luck was one hell of a bitch.
Neji had no idea what kept taking over his body, and he was leaning into the idea that someone might have performed a peculiar jutsu on him—anything to keep him from assuming whatever he kept on doing was something he had yearned to do for a long time, that it kept surfacing every chance it got. He needed to cool down. He needed to vent this out on something physical, in fear that he wasn't in the most stable mental state. Ugh. Kami! What was going on? Why was his iron will slipping away all of a sudden? Or was it even his fault? Why did Tenten suddenly have all this effects on him? Why? So many questions plagued him, and he realized he didn't even have an answer. He sighed and stood up, dusting himself off as he heaved his belongings and headed outside with one destination in mind.
Kami, he really was going nuts.
He hesitantly placed his fist against the wooden door, motioning to rap against it. On the last second, he closed his eyes briefly, spinning on his heel and walking away. As he turned to the curb, he heard his name being called, and he immediately looked back, "Hyuga-kun, what brings you here?" Shikaku Nara asked idly, his spiky head bobbing from the doorway. Neji felt the odd twitch of his eyes again, and he hesitated. He walked over to the man out of respect.
"I wanted to see Shikamaru-san. Is he not around?"
"Oh? I thought he went over to your house to play?" Shikaku brought his entire form out, and lazily leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke, "Ino dropped by a while ago. She said it was something urgent, something about a special operation. I don't know. She kept rambling, taking a few of Shikamaru's weapons. I have no idea for what, though." He smirked. Neji nodded.
"I see. Thank you, Nara-san. I shall be going now." He stalked back to his quarters, determined to have a serious chat with the sleepy genius. Shikaku clicked his tongue
"Kids these days. Awfully troublesome bunch." He yawned as he entered his house.
Tenten understood the plan now.
All that's left was to pray—ah, to make it succeed. Yes, yes.
She reluctantly turned to her female friends, "Are you—"
"Heavens, Tenten, get a hint already!" Sakura moaned in exasperation, "You've been asking that for hours now. We're sure. We're positive. Now let's go! The sooner we get on with this, the better." The older kunoichi ignored the evil glint on the pink-haired girl's jade orbs as she was ushered inside an unfamiliar store.
Have you ever experienced that split-second when you lose control over your own body, acting entirely on impulse, and almost regretting it instantly? Say you see your favorite food about to be eaten by a friend, so you shriek like a banshee and fling yourself to protect the beloved delicacy? Or when you're simply overwhelmed so you start being so random? You get the point, don't you? I've had my fair share of these awkward events and I could tell you that the repercussions are usually too… ugh, grave. Now we all know Neji isn't one to get carried away, but how certain are we about that? After all, he is a boy, too, and he's had to have his own bouts of hormonal fits, right? I should know. I'm surrounded by hormonally-hyperactive guys regularly.
Reviews make me happy! Seriously. They make me all warm and fluffy inside. D'aww. I love you guys~!
