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Tenten held the prince's white silk undergarments in her hands as she paced the entrance of the bath house, ignoring the inquisitive stare of the guard that stood in front of it. She was dead! It would only take a few minutes before the irritable crown Prince noticed the absence of his under garments...and a towel! How stupid could she get? She forgot to set his towel too!

"Oh what do I do? What do I do?! I can not afford to be fired! Aahh!" Tenten mumbled as she paced to and fro.

"Tenten." The silky voice of the crown Prince reached the maid's ears and she froze in place. He had discovered the absence of his much needed towel and undergarments, and worse, he had also discovered Tenten's presence. What consequences would he deliver to her? What would she do? She needed the money for Anko's antidote! "Come hither."

"Eh?" The surprised gasp slipped out of Tenten's mouth without much hesitation. What was on the Prince's mind?

"I would have you know that I do not like to repeat myself." Neji's stern voice reached her ears and she swallowed. While Tenten worked everyday with half clad men, namely Gai and Lee, she had never seen a fully unclad one before. She knew that as a maid she was bound to do this kind of work but had figured that other maids would do that, not her.

The girl bowed her head as she entered the bathhouse, making sure that her focus remained on the ground and not on anything in front of her. She closed her eyes when she was inside and bowed apologetically. "I apologize for my inconsistency your Highness, I have no excuse for my sin!"

A sigh was heard from Neji. "I had thought that a meagre task such as this would be apprehensible for your brain, it seems to me that I overestimated your cognitive abilities." Tenten bit down the nasty comeback that was fighting at the back of her throat to lash out at the haughty crown Prince and remained in her apologetic position instead.

Silence ensued for some minutes with Neji contemplating something and with Tenten planning ways to acquire an odourless and tasteless poison that would slowly kill the Prince but it came to an end when Neji spoke up. "Tenten." He called.

"Yes your Highness?"

Neji seemed to consider dismissing whatever he was thinking but decided to let it out anyway. "Could you assist me in scrubbing my back?" He asked in a strange small voice that Tenten would have found uncharacteristic if she was not so jolted by the order given to her.

Tenten's gulp was loud enough to be heard by the guard that stood outside the bath house. She would be scrubbing the Prince's back! Ino would want to be in her shoes, she knew it. "Yes." Tenten said dropping the honorifics and proceeded to strip down to her undergarments. After placing her kimono where she was sure it wouldn't get wet, she stepped into the water and waded to where Neji sat. Thankful for the loincloth around his groin, she picked the wash cloth and scented soap.

Tenten was about to tell Neji to turn around so that she could reach his back when she discovered that his long hair was unwashed so she asked if she could wash it. Neji gave her the permission needed and so she started. Tenten waded behind the Prince and scooped some water from the spring in the bath house to wet his hair with. Once it was wet, she lathered it up with soap and proceeded to wash the chocolate tresses.

Neji's hair was soft and silky which made her want to run her hands idly through it but she controlled herself. Remembering how she used to massage Anko's head when she washed her hair, Tenten began to apply pressure at certain spots on Neji's scalp causing the man to release a guttural moan. A smile made its way onto her face at the realization that he enjoyed her ministrations and so she continued.

After washing his hair Tenten proceeded to scrub Neji's back, making sure to loosen up the knots in his shoulders and mid back which the Prince highly appreciated. "You are surprisingly good at this." Neji commented.

"Of course. I have a guardian who is sick, it was my job to bath her." Tenten explained briefly but Neji got the memo. She ended up bathing Neji, giving him the privacy to wash his manly parts. Once done, she dried him off and put on his undergarments. While she was doing that, Tenten observed something about him but she decided to pay it no mind.

While the other maids put his favorite white yukata on for Neji, Tenten went to her chambers to dry off and change into the casual clothes that was provided for her as per Neji's orders. She wore the white Chinese top with winetrimmings and the wine loose trousers with admiration of how well the clothes fit and how much Neji got her style of clothing.

While it was considered immoral for a woman to wear a man's clothing, Tenten worked better in trousers and cared nothing about what society thought. Neji put her into consideration which she appreciated greatly. He was nicer than he let on, Tenten mused.

Tenten made sure to put her chestnut brown hair in her signature two buns and ran to Neji's quarters to warm his shoes. Once again, she observed something but she dismissed her thoughts.

The duo made their way outside the palace through a passage behind Neji's quarters. It was a way to evade the guards and a perfect escape route that none other than Neji and now Tenten knew. It was fascinating to Tenten that the Prince would want to escape from his Royal duties but she kept her thoughts to herself.

They took a bushy path across a familiar meadow and into the forest, which was when Tenten realized where they were going; the forest glades. Neji sat at the same spot in which she found him the other day and watched as the birds weaved their nests into a tree's branches. The comfortable silence between them was broken occasionally by the chirps of the birds but neither of them minded.

"You seem to have an affection for birds." Tenten observed. Neji turned to look at her for a brief moment before facing the birds again.

"I do." He spoke. "They symbolize freedom."

"And you wish to be a bird? You shall be free then, if you were." Tenten commented absent mindedly but she had no idea that her words hit home in Neji. The young man was silent for a moment, just watching the birds until he decided to speak.

"A bird that is caged is not free, now is it?" He asked rhetorically which made Tenten cast him a look.

"Oh Prince, why art thou so melancholic?" She mocked. Neji gave a snort but did not speak any further and neither did Tenten. The maid had a feeling that this would be one of the rare times that Neji refrained from using hurtful words and she decided to savour the moment.

The brunette could not help but wonder if there was a reason the Prince kept his guard and other people at bay but most of the things her mind could conceive was that he was arrogant and haughty. Now Tenten knew not to go around judging a book by its cover, which is why she determined to get closer to the Prince and make him loosen up.

Neji on the other hand pondered on what Tenten said earlier. He wished not to be a bird for he was one after all. What he did wish for, however, was to be free but the freedom he wished for was far fetched.

At that exact moment, a bird opened its wings and flapped away.

"We shall return to the palace now." Neji announced and made to arise from his seat.

"Hai." Tenten said and stood up on her feet. As Neji rose to his feet, his legs gave way beneath him and he collapsed back to the ground. "Please be careful, your Highness!" Tenten screamed as she lurched forward to catch Neji's falling figure.

Embarrassed by the recent occurrence, Neji muttered a curse about his legs and shimmied out of his maid's grasp. She was surprisingly strong but he wasn't dwelling on the fact right now. He awkwardly cleared faux bile from his throat and began a steady walk down the forest and away from Tenten.

"A thank you would be highly appreciated!" Tenten yelled after him but he ignored it. The chestnut haired girl watched Neji's retreating figure and couldn't help the smile that crawled unto her face; that was adorable. A few steps further and Tenten slapped herself harshly on the face. Neji? Adorable? They do not fit in a sentence, absolutely not.

"It seems to me like I would need another maid for this one is inconsistent." Neji's voice reached her ears and she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I am coming!" Tenten yelled and followed after him. He is definitely not adorable.