Don't Ever Let Me Go

Chapter 12: Scam Gone All Wrong

Author's Note: And like promised, I updated!:D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Titanic!


"Come one, come all! Make a bet and find the Lady! Let's see how great your memories are, and challenge the great Bella as she makes the red Queen disappear," Naruto said with mystery to the large crowd coming in and surrounding them as curious passerbys' came to see. He had a corn colored mustache on his face as its hairs tickled his lips each time he talked, and was standing on top of a lounge chair on deck as he gazed about to the many people with a Charlie Chopin hat.

Naruto's blue eyes lingered on them all until they found a victim. "You there!" He pointed to the wealthiest man in the circle of people. "You seem like a clever man. Care to try your luck, sir?" he asked tipping his hat out to him, so that he may drop his money in his hat, while gesturing to Tenten standing behind a simple table with a cardboard box on top with his other hand. She had three red playing cards bent from the corners so that they could be easily grabbed.

"What do I have to do?" The man came up, indeed interested by the gambling game.

Naruto smirked at him. "It's simple really," he deepened his voice to sound older and hoarser. "All you have to do is find the Queen of Hearts." Tenten lifted the card in the middle to show the stranger and everyone else the card. She was wearing, like Naruto, a suit with a bowler hat. Her wavy hair perfectly placed under her hat. She looked fabulous. "Once you find her you get your money back, plus more." No one could detect the scheming tone Naruto had when speaking to them.

The man looked arrogant, crossing his arms. "And why should I play? I already have money—so why should I play?"

"I like your confidence!" Naruto pointed at him. "And I see what you mean by that, but when you have all the money in the world, what's there to lose when playing a little game of Three-card Monte?" His manipulative gaze came down to meet the other man's. Naruto was playing this good. He knew what he was doing, and he already knew he had this man playing in the palm of his hand.

The man grinned. "You're right," he shrugged. "I have nothing to lose by playing the game." He came up and placed a simple dime in Naruto's hat. Naruto gladly took it, placing the hat back on his head.

"Good choice, mate! Good choice indeed! Now, step right up, don't be shy, come and challenge our extraordinary Bella~!" Naruto ushered him in closer. Tenten glanced up at him, and Naruto winked at her, giving her the signal. Go ahead and do your thing, he encouraged in his mind.

Tenten grinned. Then looked to the unfamiliar man standing in front of her. "How do you do, mister?"

The man smirked at her, charmed. "Just fine, thank you. Now shall we begin?" he asked.

Tenten nodded, starting to explain. "Yes," she said. "And like my friend said before, all you have to do is find the queen. Once you find the queen, you win. Simple, right?" She gave him a smile.

"It is simple," the man went along with her, clapping and rubbing his hands together.

Tenten refrained from rolling her eyes at the stupid gambler. Idiot, she thought, doesn't know what he just got himself into. Nevertheless, she gave the man what he wanted.

"Keep your eyes on the cards," she advised, dropping the cards and gliding them swiftly across the cardboard box. And don't blink for a second, because the moment you do, I will already have the card under my sleeve, and replace it with another one. She kept going until the man looked confused. She had moved the cards so fast; he hadn't even seen her slip up as she did exactly as she had thought earlier. She paused after she felt satisfied.

"Don't worry," her words were comforting to the ears. "Take your time and take your pick. Make sure you think about your choice very...very carefully." She now held a cunning smile on her face.

Naruto was just as eager. He and the rest of the crowd watched in suspense as the man debated, thinking thoughtfully about which card he should claim first. He had lost track of the Queen and now he was in a bit of a pickle as he tried to second guess which one it was or is, and finally he decided to wing it, finding no other option than that.

"It is this one," he pointed to the card on the left corner.

"Mm," Tenten hissed out and made a disappointed expression for him. "No, sorry—it's not." She lifted the card for him to see the jack of clubs. "Better luck next time," she said sweetly and shrugged, the crowd erupted as they all voiced their disappointments as well.

"Yeah..." Naruto came to pat the man on the back, feigning empathy. "Like the lady said, better luck next time," he repeated. He then looked around for anymore contestants/victims.

But the man looked desperate and pride wounded. "Wait," he stopped him. It just couldn't end like this.

Naruto grinned, already anticipating this. "Yes?" He turned back to the man.

"I want a rematch."

Tenten and Naruto looked to each other than grinning from ear to ear.

"Are you sure?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. My pride has been hurt too much to have lost to a bunch of...street performers."

Naruto and Tenten frowned at this, finding the way he said this rude and disrespectful. They glared at each other thinking the exact same thing. Let's heist him of everything he gots!

They looked back at him. "Well...if you insist," Naruto said.

"Yeah, we have no other option but to oblige," Tenten grinned, conspiratorially.


Silently, Neji and Hinata walked through the corridors of the ship. "Do you have your papers and utensils?" he asked.

Hinata nodded, quieter than usual. "Y-yes," she mumbled.

Neji glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he heard her response. He sighed internally. She was still feeling retched for what had happened last night. He dropped his usual habit of listing off the things that she needs and has, and spoke to her regularly—as regular as a servant could.

"My lady," he commenced. "You know—if you don't feel like doing anything today...you don't have to." He glanced to the bright blue sea as he said this, aware of the consequences if she didn't do her usual routine. "You can always blame me, and tell your father that I forgot to remind you."

"I-I w-w-will do no such thing, Neji-nii-sama!" Hinata looked angry for once. "A-a-a-and for y-you to even assume I-I would d-do such a thing..." She couldn't finish her sentence the way she wanted to. She shook her head, feeling angry tears wanting to fall. "H-h-have you no faith in me? Do y-you really see me as such a despicable person?"

"My sincere apologies, my lady." Neji bowed, speaking monotone. "I was just thinking about your wellbeing. I shouldn't have stepped out of line."

Hinata wanted to tell him to stop it. To talk to her regularly, like a regular person should, but the words just wouldn't come out. She knew even if she uttered those words, Neji would ignore her and continue to speak to her as if he was a slave and she was his master. She could never step over those boundaries—that line—that wall he had made for himself, as he placed her at one side and he placed himself at the other side of the juncture. It baffled Hinata to the point of wanting to cry at how far apart he has placed himself from her.

"...No. I-I sh-should be the o-one ap-ologizing not you, Neji-nii-sama," she rebuked. "I just d-don't want to f-further anger father than I-I already have. And I don't want to get Neji-nii-sama involved more than I already have..."

"That's very kind of you, my lady," Neji said. "But if there is another problem, I do hope you can confide in me this time, and allow me to do my job. Please, just don't over-stress yourself today," he then added.

"Yes, and the same goes to you, Neji-nii-sama." She went into a room, where she knew her tutor would be, but not before turning back to him to say, "Neji-nii-sama...you haven't slept all night since the incident..."

Neji didn't say anything. He just stood there, drained of any emotion, looking as stiff and still as a manikin.

Even so, Hinata continued. "I-I know f-f-father can be strict...m-more so with you than with me...b-bu-but believe me...f-father m-means well. He just wants the best for all of us."

Neji's eyes flicked to her. Did she seriously say that to him? He and she both knew that her father despised Neji, for reasons that were far beyond Neji. He just had a personal vendetta against Neji, for the motive that he had no clue as to way the man hated him. But he guessed it was because he looked so much like his mother. That old man was always commenting about how alike Neji looked like his mother when they were all alone, while Neji was serving him wine. He kept telling him he had her hands, and Neji hated hearing that the most, because he did not have womanly hands—he just didn't!

"...I'll keep that in mind then, my lady," he tried not to sound so bitter when saying this to her.

Hinata smiled, timidly, at him. "Th-thank you, Neji-nii-sama." She took a step in the room, and then whirled around to face him again. "You shouldn't wait here for me. Please, do yourself a favor and get some rest while I'm taking my lessons," she said kindly.

"...Is that an order? Because if it is, I will do it. But if it's not, then please allow me to wait here for you until you're finished, my lady."

Hinata's smile faltered. "N-no it's not... I do not wish to make you do something you don't want to... Y-y-you're free to do as you please," she answered, sadly, going into the room.

Neji watched her go in. He breathed out after she was out of sight in the ship. "You're much too kind...Hinata..."

He stood there by the door, for about, he'd have to say, maybe twenty minutes or so, when he heard a loud uproar up ahead, and down the hall. He glanced to it, wondering what on earth was going on.

He saw a small child and his grandfather pass by, as the child pulled his grandpa along. "Come on, grandpa! Come on! You have to see these street performers! They are amazing! You should see how much loot they have already taken from this one man—and the man still won't move from his stop! He's persistent to win all of his money back! So hurry up, grandpa!" The child pushed harder for the older man to walk faster.

"Alright, alright, Inari… Let me walk at my own pace. We'll get there when we get there."

"But it might be over by the time that we get there!" Inari's high-pitched voice, increased.

Neji stepped off the wall at the young boy's words. Someone is playing a con on the ship? His lips couldn't help but twitch down. There is only one person that I know so far that would pull a stunt like this… That caveman woman. I will have her incarcerated! With a long stride, he made his way to the area where he heard the mob, cheering with glee and some disappointments.


A warm breeze passed between Tenten and the man as they both stared each other down. The man looked exhausted, like he had gone through a seriously tough mental battle with Tenten, and he looked just about ready to collapse as he thought about which card is the queen. He glanced back down and looked at the middle card. It's that one! It has to be that one! I'm for sure this time! Even his internal voice sounded desperate now.

Naruto came then, and placed his hands around his shoulders to massage them. "Don't worry," his voice was smooth, with absolute bliss and tease. "You don't have to stress too much. Just pick the first card you think is the red queen... After all, we are only street performers, remember?" his velvety voice passed through the man's ear, sounding daunting all of a sudden.

The man's head immediately snapped up at him, but Naruto had replaced that sneer he once had with a cheerful grin. "It's your turn," he gestured to the cards.

Without haste, the man nodded at him, unsure if what he had heard from Naruto was intimidation, or not. His gaze came back to Tenten.

"Take your pick," she passed her hand over the cards just as shrewd as Naruto.

Hesitating, the man put his hand above the one in the middle, and then paused, shifting it to the one on the right. He paused again, and then went back to the middle. A streak of sweat coming down his brow, as he thought, which one could it be...?

And finally, he gave in. "That one," he said, doubting himself.

"Are you sure?" Naruto was behind him, whispering to him, provoking him.

"Yes, I'm sure! Now move away!" The man pushed him away, already at his limit. He glared at Tenten. "It's that one I say! That one! That one! That one!" He pointed repeatedly to the middle one.

Tenten's lips slithered up, sneakily giving him a grin. "Aw, and you were so close too. But sadly, no, it isn't." She lifted it for him to see.

Unable to take it, the man fell on his knees. "How can this be? I was sure of it this time... It had to be that one."

Inside, Tenten agreed. And it would have been, if the real card had been there. The man reached into his pocket, pulling out his last cent. The pedestrians in the background voiced their troubles as some of them tried to tell him not to be so foolish, but the man just wasn't listening. He had his mind-set on winning—no matter what. "Here," he uttered, looking at the coin. "My last coin... take it—"

"That won't be necessary," a voice broke out through the throng. Naruto already had his hand out to take the money, when he heard that very obnoxious and very familiar voice.

Tenten's head snapped up at the male voice. No, she thought, expressing her dread. What is he doing here?! They both glared up at the male Hyuuga.

"You... What do you want?" she snapped.

"Yeah!" Naruto was instigating in the background.

Ignoring the men, Neji came close to the table, until he was in her face. Tenten cringed, moving her head away. "I know what you're doing," he hissed back. "And I warned you woman..."

Tenten's hard stare never wavered, nor did Neji's. "I don't know what you're talking about," she sent back, twice as rudely. "I'm just playing a game with my...friends."

Neji scoffed. "Don't play coy, woman. Scamming someone of everything they have is not a game played by friends."

"What are you talking about? Me and my brother bet all the time. It's what we do." Tenten directed her attention to her brother.

"Yeah, and I lose every time," Naruto fortified, unaware of how ridiculous he sounded.

Neji refrained from smacking himself. Why did the blond have to be so foolish? And the worse thing about it was that Neji was almost certain the boy wasn't doing it on purpose. It was just coming out naturally...and that's what he dreaded the most.

Tenten snickered victoriously, making her point. "See?" she said, complacent.

"No I do not see," Neji was frustrated. "All I see is a bunch of commoners using their street filled ways to con innocent pedestrians!" Neji grabbed her arm to pull out the queen of hearts, and gestured to everyone behind him, feeling this was unjust in every possible way.

The crowd gasped. "What?"

"What did he say?"

"Con?"

"Scam?"

"Is this what this is?"

"And to think we were going to play next!"

"I'm so glad I hadn't."

"How could I be so foolish for wanting to play...?"

Many people said at once.

Naruto made an annoyed sound from under his breath and turned to the mob of people, giving them his brightest smile he could muster. "No, no. He has it all wrong. We are just common street performers. Nothing more, nothing less..." But the crowd was already dispersing, moving away from him, whispering under their breaths as they glanced back at them, untrustingly.

He growled and glared back at Neji. "See now? Look what you just did! You made them runaway!"

"And good riddance too. That's what you both get for your criminal acts."

"You just took a good worth of food from our bellies, you stingy rich bastard!" Tenten blew, jerking his hold off. She couldn't take this guy's attitude any further.

"Stingy? Ape woman! It seems like you were doing just fine yesterday last night when you were stealing all that food, and stealing from this man's pocket!" Neji gestured to the man on the floor.

The man glanced up, his eyes filled with anger. "You scammed me?"

Tenten glared down at him. "No, you gambled your money away like a fool."

The man stood up. "Stop lying! You stole my money! I want it all back!"

"We didn't steal what you've given away." Naruto stood to face him. "We never forced you to do what you did. You willingly gave it all to us, so I believe we won the money fair and square. Now I say you back off, bub, before I break your face," Naruto promised low and threatening. His eyes burning with a seriousness, meaning what he said.

Overwhelmed, the man to took a step back, spooked. "I will not stand for this treatment! I will have you two jailed for what you've done to me!"

"Wow. What a line," Naruto said, "like we haven't heard that one plenty of times." He waved him off not caring.

"You'll see! You have no idea who you've just gotten yourself involved with!"

"Sure, sure! Just keep screaming from the other side of the ship, bub!" Naruto called out, enjoying this.

The man ran off.

The moment he did, Naruto lost that cheeky smile and rapidly came back to his sister. "Alright Tenten, now let's get the hell outta here! That idiot's getting the cops involved, and I'm not ready to go to jail any time soon!" He looked pathetic as he began to put away and collect everything in his hands.

"Me neither!" With a quickness, she helped him.

"Aye Tenten."

"Yeah?"

"That damned girly-boy is still here. What should we do?"

"I don't know. Ignore him."

"Okay. But what if he follows us?"

"Aw, stop worrying, he won't do anything! Let's just hurry up!" Tenten hissed back.

"Okay, okay! But how does he even know you anyway? He's been acting really familiar with you since he saw you. And he said something about stolen goods? How does he know about that?"

"Uh...damn. Do you remember the cheese and ham and bread from last night?"

"Yeah? It was good."

"Right?" Tenten grinned. "I could still taste it right now." She lost the smile. "Well...I didn't get it unseen. That white eyed freak saw me."

"What?! How could you get caught?"

"I don't know! You should have seen him! He was like a statue, so stiff! Not even the guards had seen him standing in the corner! It was terrifying!"

"Oh that sounds awful!"

"It was!" Tenten shook her head, feeling his pity.

Meanwhile, Neji stood there with his brow twitching, listening as these two pretended he wasn't there eavesdropping on their conversation, as they talk smack about him.

Naruto was the first to speed away, not giving him a single glance, and then Tenten began to do the same, following after him, when immediately something grabbed her by the collar, choking her. She gagged as she was swung back, looking at her brother as he turned a corner; never looking back at her. She reached a hand out at him, trying to say his name, and then glanced back to see Neji holding her hostage; his pearl eyes staring down at her, angrily. She looked like a small animal caught in a hunters trap.

Is he trying to kill me! "Where do you think you're going, woman? Do you think you can just leave when you stole all that money, thief!" He looked like he was about to pop with irritation.

Tenten struggled to get free. "Let me go!"

"No. Not until you payback everyone you had stolen from."

Tenten scoffs. "Well that's not going to happen, since I don't even have the money! So HAH! And you can't bring me in without any proof, so there's that too!" Tenten knew she had him, she knew she had a point, and there was nothing Neji could do. He had no proof. But Neji looked empowered now, which frightened Tenten.

"You think you've won?" he began. "I have other ways of making you work for your money."

"What?" Tenten looked at him, surprised and petrified. "I'm not working! Put me down! Put me down, now!" Tenten swung her body in the air.

Neji held her close. "That's not going to happen. Now come along." He dragged her with him.

"No!" Tenten tried to pull away. "No! Naruto! Help! Help! Someone help me! I'm being kidnapped by a man with girly feature!"

How could this be happening to Tenten? All she kept thinking about was whore houses and how much she didn't want to work in one…


A/N: For the replies for the guest, I'm going to reply in order form who posted first, kay?:)

Guest 1: Well, I see your point; however, you have to understand that I'm basing this off Titanic, and the way Rose described these people and the way some of the rich people portrayed themselves, they did come off as—well, for a better words—like assholes. Now, I'm not saying they all are bad, because of course they aren't. Like I've pointed out, Tsunade and her family are a caring wealthy family, so I'm not technically labeling ever rich person, and if you read carefully, the only ones that are saying this are only Tenten, who's constantly throwing her values at her siblings, and Ino, who's just that friend that enjoys to gossip and is trying to protect Sakura by telling her not to trust these people. Haven't you ever had that friend that comes up to you when you're new to a circle of people that tells you who to speak openly with and who not to?:) Well, I've had a couple.;) But anyway, thank you for your review, and hopefully you stay on board with us!:D

Guest 2: I know! I literally can't wait for all that to come about! And the great thing about it is that it's so close to my birthday! So yay for that too!XD LOL thank you for your review and that reminder.x3

Guest 3: LOL I updated! And I'm glad you do.