Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto
Special acknowledgement goes out to Midnight Memories whose stories (both from a one-shot and from her daily life… lol) helped inspire certain pieces of this fic. (I'm sure you'll recognize them this time Jue XP).
DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to tenjichan. You got the unasked question! Congrats!! And thank you so much for all the reviews. I hope you like this one.
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ANBU
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"aaahh" Tenten yawned as she extended her sore arms high above her head, walking slowly down the stairs.
It was unusual for the kunoichi to wake up so late in the morning; though most would hardly consider seven am late. It was even rarer for Gai to announce a 'day off' from training, but that's exactly what the spandex wearing jounin had commanded. Normally, Tenten and Neji would still get together to train, despite their sensei's instructions; but today, Neji had an important meeting to attend to.
"Give me that back you stupid mutt!" a deep, angry voice yelled out from the direction of the kitchen.
Arf. Arf.
"Let go of that, or I'll impale you!" Ryoku glared daggers at the tiny puppy currently fighting him for the files it held clutched in its mouth. Growing increasingly irritated, the large shinobi began reaching for his kunai.
"You're as bad as Neji!" Tenten swiftly grabbed hold of the small puppy before her father could carry out his threat. (1)
"ffh" Ryoku scoffed at the remark, inwardly annoyed at being compared to that guy.
Though Ryoku had slightly begun to warm up to the Hyuga prodigy, even admiring his hard work and determination, the fact that his precious daughter spent so much time with the boy seriously irritated the weapons master. It wasn't that he didn't trust the boy; he was, after all, from an honorable clan; Ryoku just didn't like the idea of the young Hyuga distracting his daughter from her personal mission to become as great a kunoichi as ever lived. He would never forgive the byakugan user if he kept his little girl from achieving her dream of being the best. (2)
"Good morning Tennie-chan." Xiu-Juan smiled warmly as her daughter handed her father the file the small puppy had been chewing on.
"I swear, one of these days, I'm going to play target practice with that mutt." Ryoku angrily growled under his breath, as he sat down at the table to read his file.
"Not at the breakfast table!" Xiu-Juan snatched the file from her husband's hand.
"Xiu! I have to finish my paperwork!" Ryoku replied sternly. "But that stupid mutt won't let me" he spat out as he once more turned a menacing glare upon the unsuspecting puppy.
Arf. Arf. The small dog cheerfully barked, replying to the gargantuan man's deadly glare without a care in the world.
"How can you be so mean?" Tenten accusingly asked, "She's just a baby." Pulling the tiny dog up to her face, "And you!" she added, "You should know better. Didn't you learn your lesson from when Neji tried to Kaiten you?"
Arf. Arf. The puppy gleefully wagged her tail in response.
If it were possible for a dog to smile, Tenten would have sworn this one held a permanent smirk upon her face. Tenten suspected that maybe the dog knew exactly what she was doing and actually enjoyed agitating both men.
"Well you know Tennie-chan," Xiu-Juan began, as she commenced serving their breakfast, "We Furi-iki women are just naturally attracted to the strong silent type." The petite woman contained the smile threatening to show, as she saw the reaction her comment received, from both her husband and daughter. "Seems like Bu-mu isn't any different." Xiu-Juan added. (3)
"You know, speaking of Neji." Tenten turned her attention towards her father, attempting to ignore the insinuating comment her mother had just made.
"We weren't." Ryoku replied as he picked up his fork to begin eating. "We were talking about the dog."
"Oh, right." Tenten replied with a half-smile, before quickly placing Bu-mu back down on the floor. "Well, anyway." She continued, as she made her way towards the sink to wash her hands. "His application for ANBU was finally accepted." She proudly stated.
"The dog?" Ryoku fringed misunderstanding.
"NO! Neji!" Tenten exclaimed as she took the seat next to her father.
"Hn." Ryoku shrugged as he took a bite of his breakfast.
"Oh, that's wonderful Tennie-chan." Xiu-Juan excitedly cheered. "Neji-kun is a fine shinobi, I'm sure he'd make an excellent addition to ANBU."
"Of course he will." Tenten agreed, "It's a wonder they didn't accept him sooner." Tenten poignantly stated.
"Many skilled shinobi apply for ANBU membership," Ryoku commented, "but only the very best can be accepted. You know that." Ryoku added as he continued eating.
"Exactly!" Tenten replied, "And Neji IS the best. He's a genius." She reminded them, "Youngest member of the Hyuga clan to master both Jyuuken and Byakugan; he taught himself his clan's secret technique in one month; Rookie of the year, the year we graduated; Jounin by age 15…"
"There are many other shinobi equally as skilled, who do not make it into ANBU." Ryoku cut in, before the kunoichi could finish listing off all the Hyuga's qualities. "And as I have told you many times before, it is not always just about skill and talent; ANBU is a very selective organization." He reminded her. "His bloodline limit is indeed powerful, and would likely be of asset to him and the organization," Ryoku added, "however, as you are already well aware, as in any industry, moving up in the shinobi world also required knowing the right people." (i)
"The 'right people'…" Tenten smirked, "Like, say… perhaps… I don't know… a member of the ANBU board?" she paused a moment to let her implication sink in, "Maybe one who just so happens to be old friends with the current head of the organization?" she innocently smiled at her father.
"Hn." Ryoku matched the kunoichi's smirk with one of his own. "So that's what this is all about then." He asked, half relieved that the bun-haired kunoichi hadn't been building up the byakugan wielder for other reasons.
"Well…?" Tenten stared questioningly.
Xiu-Juan watched as father and daughter engaged in a brief staring competition, as she cleared the table of their used, dirty dishes.
"Fine." Ryoku relented. "I'll speak on his behalf."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tenten beamed happily, while bouncing over toward her father and giving him a big hug. "I love youOtousan!" She added, giving him a quick peek on the cheek, before running out the door to go tell Neji the good news. "We'll be back later." She waved, as she and Bu-mu stepped out the door. (4)
"That girl." Ryoku shook his head in amusement.
The girl had a talent for persuasion. No matter how resistant a person was to one of her plans, they would always find themselves going along with each and every one of her schemes. (ii)
"Oh look!" Xiu-Juan called out after Tenten left. She walked over to the counter where she had left the mail from the previous day.
"What is it?" Ryoku looked up from the file he had picked up again.
"It's a letter from the Hyuga clan." Xiu-Juan replied, holding an elegantly designed envelope in her right hand.
"So?" Ryoku asked, staring at his wife as she held the small parcel delicately in her hand.
"I wonder…" Xiu-Juan whispered, looking thoughtfully at the white envelope she held.
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To Be Continued...
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(1) Hehehe… you guys have to read Midnight Memories' "Souvenirs"story (chapter 6), to understand what THAT means. XD
(2) Before you all pounce on me… that's Ryoku's perspective… in reality we all know he's just making excuses, because of course Neji wouldn't distract Tenten from training (well, not much). He's really just being an overprotective father; scared that Neji will take her away from him, not her dream. XP
(3) Bu-mu… as in the dog… her name means "boom" as in kaboom! lol
(4) Again, Otousan means Father…. I was tempted to put in "I love you Daddy," but I thought it was too cheesy (although, I myself use it often when I want to get something out of my dad XP
LAST "GAME"
-Kudos to all those of you go got the 42 reference. For those of you who didn't… 42 is "the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything" (Hitchhiker's Guide). And of course the unasked question reference I used goes back to that as well.
-Extra brownie points to ILuvNeji77, who got it (even though I forgot to mention) the allusion to chapter 23, when Naruto seems to have gotten the NejiTen stuff, but then… didn't… lol
-Oh, as to which chapters the last one relates back to… that would be chapter 11 and 16; which in THIS chapter should be much more obvious... Chapter 27 was also hinted out with the whole silence reference... Of course, in this chapter, the three chapters that relate to it are 12, 17, and 21.
NEW GAME
I'm being nice with these first few games… obviously, chapters 12, 17, and 21 are connected to this one (all of them being Ryoku/Xiu-Juan stories); And, yes… if you spotted it in the end, this IS the 'second' part to chapter 28, but can you guess what (i) and (ii) come from?
