Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


A/N: I'm sorry for the late Update. I ended on something that had me confused on what to do next. BTW, I'm still taking in options for One shots. Just Pm me and I'll get to you about it. I've got two stories from two different people already on my board.


Chapter 29: Finding the Pieces

No one knew what to say that whole day. All they could do was stare with evident fear at the smiling Hyuga that walked about the shop, checking on people's work while ignoring everyone that stared at him worriedly. Granted, had he been acting as himself , Neji would have not taken any of this impoliteness from anyone. He would have snapped long ago and fixed everyone with that infamous glare he held, and, once again, all eyes would divert away from him, but today was different. Today Neji was exceptionally happy and for reasons unknown to most students but known to the main three that he praised so much. So, he didn't need to say anything to anyone, he knew They would do so the moment he went back inside his office.

"What the hell was that?" someone asked from the back of the room, sparking an uproar of complaints and arguments.

In the front, however, Yuuya, Meme and Kanae just sat there, doing their work silently, ignoring the reactions of the other students. "Why are you idiots freaking out." Yuuya asked calmly.

"Yeah," Kanae began. "He's just happy."

Meme, who realized that everyone was listening to them, smiled softly at everyone. "He must have had a good date yesterday."

"A date?" Someone questioned. "Neji has dates? I thought he only had one night stands, not dates."

"Was that why he wasn't here yesterday?"

The class went into another uproar, and the three calm ones sighed again, feeling rather annoyed with the clueless members of their class. But then again, they couldn't blame them for their reactions. Neji was the type that clearly played favorites,an he made it evident who he liked the best, and, in this case, it would be the top three chair placements; Yuuya, Meme, and Kanae. His other favorite was this quiet student somewhere in the back, and his only reason for liking him was because he was quiet and did what he was told, unlike most everyone else in the class. Looking at him now, Kanae and the others realized why he was liked as well. While everyone else worked on screaming at each other about Neji's happiness, he was steadily working hard, smiling with contempt to himself.

"Why can't everyone be like him?" Kanae questioned, just as the class grew quiet, but not to her words, but to the new guests that entered shortly after Lee walked in, stopping the group just at the base of the stairs while he went to go get Neji from his office.

"Tenten?" Yuuya questioned, getting the girl in the front to turn around and face him with a smile. "What are you guys doing here?"

"To see Neji." Tenten answered, walking around the wall that separated the stairs and chairs. "Yesterday, Neji told me about this competition thing he wanted to do for you guys as a final grade, and..."

"A competition?" Kanae questioned. "You mean like... like a fashion show?"

"I guess." Tenten answered. "That might be the issue since he told me to bring my friends."

"Your friends?" Meme asked as her interest peeked and she walked over towards the group. "You mean like, Yamanaka-san?"

"I told you guys, Ino is just fine." Ino popped in, stepping above the stairs, past the already visible Hinata , the only one the class was truly used to. The moment she came up, the class erupted again. Cheering and whistling from the few men that were there could be heard from every corner of the room.

"How immature." Kanae complained.

"Indeed." came a deep voice that had everyone shutting up. "I thought I taught you all better than that."

"Neji." Several people called, Tenten's voice being the loudest.

She pranced over to him, smiling l the while before planting a kiss on his cheek then standing beside him as if that were the only spot she ever belonged. Hinata came up next before she stopped as well and observed the class with the other girls, Sakura, Temari, and Ino, trailing behind. "You're short some students." Hinata inquired.

"Hn." Neji grunted as he rested his chin on Tenten's head. "Even I have skippers, Hinata. Anyways, about that fashion show, that was originally supposed to be a surprise" he looked at Tenten who visibly shrunk under his glare. "It's true, I am having one, but since I figured none of you, besides maybe Yuuya and Kanae, could afford a model I asked Tenten and her friends to partake in the competition as the models along with some of my friends for those of you who are designing clothes for males."

"Do we get to pick our models?" someone in the back asked.

"No." Neji sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and stepped around Tenten. "I will be deciding who gets who for a model since I know the lot of you might fight over Yamanaka because of her title. The only ones that get to decide who they want for their models are the ones who designed male based clothing. Those of you who did so, which means I'm talking to Akio, Ichirou, Ryuu, and Ayaka, will be choosing out of Uchiha Sauske, Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. So when they get here, you will report to my office and tell me who chose who on a first come first serve bases. Understood."

"Hai." the four students replied before going back to work.

"As for the rest of you," Neji huffed, turning to face the group of could-be models and students. "I have to pick who goes with who still so...get to work. Tenten, I need you and your friends to follow me to my office while I sort this out."

Some minutes later

Yuuya was starting to think that Neji didn't trust him at all with Tenten. He could understand why though, after all, he and Tenten have dated before. They've even kissed, and even after they broke up, their still close friends. So it made since that Neji had no trust in him with his girlfriend. It made since that he always keeps a keen eye on him whenever Tenten's near him, and it sure as hell made since that he always stood next them whenever no one in the store needed his assistance, but what wasn't understandable was why he didn't give Tenten to him as his model. Neji knew as well as anyone else, that Tenten was his inspiration for a lot of his pieces. Ever since she complemented his dress then accepted his offer to a date, he's been drawing clothes with her in mind. Granted, he couldn't deny that he was the only one that did so. Neji was known to pick someone for his model when designing clothes. Before Tenten cam along, it was the twins, of that he was sure since Neji would always design clothes that looked alike in pattern but not style. After that he had a time where he was fixated on designing for Hinata and Hanabi, his cousins, and for a short, and he does mean short, amount of time, Neji designed for his uncle, hence the number of suites he randomly has out in his stores. However, the moment Tenten stepped into his life, he seemed to be bonded to her figure and it was obvious. Tenten 's bust, much like Hinata's and Temari's was noticeably bigger than most females, but, unlike Temari and Hinata, Tenten had a tiny waist. The figure was so different, so likable and great do design for that he kept designing specifically for her, uncaring for the fact that his designs were good for tons of women as well and his lines constantly boosted the more he designed for her. Yuuya, like Neji, was sure that his styling points increased greatly as well whenever he designed with her in mind, and that was why he wasn't all too happy about his situation.

Neji had given him some random girl he had never met before, a friend of he twins who was actually a model, hardly known but a model nonetheless, and her figure was no where near Tenten's. She was flat damn near everywhere, but that was what most models looked like, the only thing she had for herself was her wider hips that gave her a possibility to wear a lot of the clothes he made a little better than Tenten would have, like the ones that were meant to be fitted around the waist. On Tenten it would have been a little lose because of the manikins he had but on her, they would be tight and sexy, just as he intended, so that was good. However, what he didn't appreciate all to well was that he gave Tenten to Kanae and she made sure to poke fun at him for it too.

Yuuya sighed then glared at Neji from across the room. By then, everyone had been assigned. Meme had Hinata, some other kid had Uchiha and the one next to him, luckily, got Ino. Minori and Akari both weren't in the drawing. They, as Neji's models, would be accompanying him in the crowd while the judges...well, judged. Some other people got random people the twins knew, one guy got Uzumaki and was struggling with his inability to stand still whenever a needle came anywhere near him. Ayaka had been placed with Kiba and he would constantly try and seduce her – and it was working – and Akio, the quiet guy that never had a bad day come to him, from the back of the class, had Aburame, another quiet guy that Yuuya felt had some kind of secret weapon upon him, one that he couldn't pinpoint.

"Get to work, Yuuya." Neji ordered as he passed by. Heading directly to Tenten and Kanae's positions, making him glare at the c of his head before he actually did as he was told.

"So how are things looking?" Neji asked, placing a delicate hand on Tenten' waist before he pulled her in for a quick kiss on the cheek, making her giggle like a high school girl. Kanae gagged at them but smiled back up at Neji nonetheless before answering. "Just fine, thank you."

"That means leave." Tenten translated, making Kanae laugh.

Neji seemed like he was about to say something but Kanae, being a fast talker, cut him off. "Don't you think it's unfair for you to give me Tenten, or anyone her for that matter? You wouldn't vote against her no matter what she has on."

"That's why I am not judging." he started as he walked around them. "I thought ahead and got some fashion judges from fashion competitions. They will be the judges for this competition so everyone's grades will be based off of their notes and scores."

"That's no where near fair." someone complained from the back of the class. "Judges from competitions judge on a harsh scale. There's no way any of us beginners will get good enough marks."

"See that's where you're wrong, kid who always complains" Neji joked, swinging around to face the owner of the voice. "The judges have already been informed of your standings as beginners in the fashion industry and that you are still in school."

"So it will have the feel of a real fashion show, "Meme started. "but be nothing compared to an actual one since it's filled with amateurs from the models to the students."

"Seems like it." Hinata cooed as she stood, looking at her watch. "Neji I have to go. My breaks almost over."

"Same here." Everyone else but the beginner models chipped in.

"Alright, just let them get your measurements first if they hadn't already did so, then you can leave." Neji sighed as he ran a steady hand through his locks of chocolate colored hair. Tenten, being the only one who saw this, stepped away from Kanae the moment she got all of he measurements out of the way and placed a concerned hand over Neji's cheek.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing really." Neji cooed, cupping her face in his giant hands to squeeze her cheeks in. "I just have a lot of things to do and a can't shake the feeling that something I don't want happening will happen anyways and cause even more problems."

"So you're stressing about the future?" Tenten asked as she led him out of the shop, holding his hand.

"Sounds kind of stupid doesn't it?"

"Especially since you're already rich and famous as is."

"Hey you never know. Something might happen with the banks. I could get an identity thief."

"No you couldn't. You're too well known."

"Whatever." Neji laughed as he leaned in and kissed her, pulling her away from a speeding wight van that came a little too close to the sidewalk. "I'll see you later then." He started as he watched the van turn harshly around a corner.

"Yeah."

"Then bye my love." he cooed again while leaning in for another kiss

Tenten laughed then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back gently at first before he grabbed at her waist and pulled her in closer to make the kiss deeper, stronger even. It was almost desperate, their kiss. It was the kind of kiss that seemed to be apologizing for something before hand, kind of like the one Tenten shared with..with Yuuya.

Blinking, she pushed herself away from him slightly then stared him in the eyes, not liking the feeling she got from him when he looked away. She had already felt something similar to this, something just as harsh as this even, and only in the span of about a year. It was an ugly feeling, one that never really went away, and whenever signs of it needing to come back out, unfortunately, came back, it never hesitated to show itself, and she doesn't like that. She didn't like it then when Yuuya dumped her, so she was more than sure that she wouldn't like it if something between her and Neji happened as well.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He sighed, running his hand through his hair yet again. "I'm just a worry wart."

"Okay then ." Tenten said. "Bye."

"Get back safely." Neji cooed just as she climbed into the drivers seat of her beat up car. "Please...just get back safely, okay."

"Okay." Tenten smiled in attempts to reassure him. "I will. I'll even call you hen I get inside the building, ne?"

Neji nodded then stood straight and started back for the store. He stopped once more and looked back out at Tenten as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the road, then sighed and ran an uneasy hand through his hair.

Something wasn't right.


I am SOOOOOO SORRRRRRRYYYYYYY for the late update.