Special thanks to Yahboobeh and expiration for inspiring this part ;) Prompt: "Write about something supernatural." (Thank you Zero!)
Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.
Demon in My Chariot
Part 9: Supernatural
In his mind, he had pictured himself at the end of today ensconced in a meditative trance. In his mind, There and Back Again was a whimsical mortal book about fuzz-footed creatures, not a tedious journey between his home and the very depths of a burning Hell, so scorching that his skin had begun to peel.
In his mind, Neji had not expected himself to be hurrying back to Heaven, foreboding and worry twisting into a tight mess in his stomach.
"Discuss our proposed alterations to the mission with your partner," the archangel Kakashi had said, single eye glued to the thick gilded book he always kept by his side. (Neji was never certain whether the cover was a front - his superior sometimes wore the most lecherous grin reading that tome and snapped it shut in a hurry whenever the King of Heaven breezed by, wizened and shrewd.)
"I will expect the changes to be carried out immediately," Kakashi had pressed, flicking a dismissive glance at Neji. "You shall intercept her wherever she is."
There had been no choice but to obey, except there was a little problem: Tenten was not to be found anywhere on the mortal plane. Neji had checked. Her apartment, and her friends', McDevil's, and even the school as a last resort.
Aggravated, he had returned to Kakashi, explained the situation.
Kakashi had sent him to Hell.
And there, Neji had been overwhelmed by everything. The heat, the despairing screeches of souls burning alive, the rickety carriages. The splinters Tenten had told him about burrowed into the backs of his thighs, and Neji couldn't disembark from the carriage quickly enough. How the blazes did Tenten survive in that place?
He had very quickly decided that he did not like Hell. Especially when the Queen was a drunkard - she took liberal gulps from waist-high bottles of wine, each sparking into flame at the very mouth of the bottle when the seal was cracked. (And unlike Tenten, who looked like a human as much as he did for the most part, the Queen had rich blond hair and a glistening red gem on her forehead, and an ample chest that had all but spilled out of her leather armor. The sleek horns protruding from her head did not help.)
The Queen had taken one look at him in utter disdain, and waved him off. "Tenten is in Heaven," she had announced imperiously. "There are things she will be conferring with you about."
His eyes had widened. "Is she allowed in Heaven, Queen of Hell? Where would she be?"
Her Royal Deviousness had glanced at him like he were a fool. "In your quarters, of course. I granted her permission."
Neji had gaped and spluttered before the Queen.
"But those are my quarters!" he had protested. Surely Tenten would be gloating over all of this - her queen putting him down, and her prancing about his rooms. There would be chicken nugget crumbs everywhere.
"Watch your tongue, angel-spawn," Queen Tsunade had snapped. "Begone with you."
Neji had found himself thrown unceremoniously out of Hell.
.
And so he scrambled back to Heaven in the most dignified manner possible, speed-walking through the wisteria trellises crisscrossing lush orchards. It was made worse by the sheer numbers of couples walking hand-in-hand obstructing him at every step of the way. (Why had no one told him it was a holiday? Surely he was entitled to a day off in lieu.)
He hurried down marble-lined walkways with large arched windows, finally sought out his rooms (which was really just a large sitting area with his bed at the far corner - he didn't have that high a rank, after all) and slammed the door open.
"Oooh! Hi Neji!" Tenten wriggled her fingers at him. "Took you long enough to get here!"
She was sitting in his bed. Eating those damned chicken nuggets.
Neji could've groaned - he was willing to bet there were chicken nugget crumbs between his sheets.
"What are you doing in my bed?" he bristled, after making sure the door was well and truly shut.
"Well." And here, Tenten shrugged. "It's cold up here, Neji! Why didn't you say so earlier? I figured that since you're my host, you're responsible for my welfare, which includes keeping me warm. Your bed is so soft, by the way."
There were so many things fighting for dominance over his tongue that he remained silent for a moment, utterly flabbergasted. Tenten possessed extraordinary logic. (Perhaps he ought to expect that much of a supernatural being of her status.) Finally, he prised his lips apart. "Which part of 'You never get in someone else's bed' do you not understand?"
She made a face at him, and crawled out slowly, heaving a large bucket of nuggets along with her. "Well, I don't see those rules anywhere around here."
Tenten looked pointedly around at his walls; he tried to keep his temper down.
"I will present you with a written set of rules after our discussion," he groused. "For now, there are things that require our attention."
Tenten smiled brightly at him. "Sure," she said, kicking her bare feet against the side of his bed and pointing. "Now fetch me my shoes, and we shall talk."
Neji stared between where Tenten's shoes were lying haphazardly across the room, and the demon herself. "No," he bit, trying not to groan. "Get it yourself."
Today really sucked.
A/N: Poor Neji. LOL
To those of you who are still following my updates/reading/reviewing, thank you! :)
