NejiTen month day 12

August 12/2021

Prompts: Circus / Meet cute

Alternate Universe

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Day 12. Circus

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He was jogging fast through the amount of people in the areas surrounding the huge tent that could be seen in the distance. His smartwatch vibrated and he turned his wrist at once to see what it was about, it was a message from his cousin, asking him where he was and if he was going to break his promise to her, or if he just didn't care about the family tradition anymore. He rolled his eyes, he didn't want to think that Hanabi was sometimes too attached to him and was trying to manipulate him knowing that he couldn't say no to her, because that was the truth.

The moment he pulled out his phone to answer her, a new message came in and he opened the app at once without stopping walking fast, it hadn't been his fault he was late, it had been a traffic thing that was worse than usual because of a construction site right on the road going to the circus.

Hanabi:
Are you almost here?
...
You're online!

Neji:
I'm here, 2 minutes

Hanabi:
Did you bring popcorn?

Neji:
Ok

He put the device back in his pocket, leaving the hurry since his cousin knew he had arrived and now that he also had to buy what he had been ordered. He approached the popcorn stand and when he was about to order two bags, he saw out of the corner of his eye someone who looked familiar, so he turned his head, noticing that it was indeed her. She on the other hand, feeling that she was being watched by a look that was somewhat familiar to her, looked for the source, smiling in his direction when she recognized him.

He forgot the popcorn as he advanced the steps that separated them, stopping in front of the brunette who hadn't erased her smile, in fact she enlarged it before greeting him.

"You again," were her words and now he smiled sideways. "I thought I wouldn't see you again this year, Neji."

"It's something like a family tradition, Tenten," they were silent for a moment, or without saying anything, because there were endless noises and voices around them, she chewing her usual gum before a performance, "it's a nice outfit this year."

"This year I'll be in a duet, depending on the night I even have a solo act."

"Your first year as a soloist," she nodded.

"Yes... and the first performance will be here."

"Today?"

"No, it's a new act that we haven't tried in other cities and the director wants to wait until Saturday's show, which is when most people are expected to attend..." she paused for a moment as if scared, "this way he can evaluate their reaction and if it will be repeated... or not..."

"You will do it well"

"I hope so, I have trained hard," again they were silent, he was thinking if that year he would finally be able to take the step that he hadn't dared the year before, nor the year before that.

"Tenten..."

"Neji..." they both said at the same time and she let out a soft chuckle, "you speak."

"No, go ahead," he yielded in an act of chivalry.

"I was wondering if..." she remained silent, the melody announcing that all the artists had to report immediately to their places had just sounded. "I must go now."

"I'll come to see you on Saturday," it was his farewell in a loud voice as she was starting to walk away and he thought he saw her blush before smiling again, walking with bouncing steps towards the tent.

He was about to head towards the place where his cousin was waiting for him as well when he remembered that he had to buy the popcorn or Hanabi would make him leave again. He took the couple of steps that separated him from the stall to order the two packages, and once seated in his place he let his mind wander back to that first time he had seen Tenten.

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Flashback

He had read his cousin's message several times, tempted to ignore it and tell her that his day at the office was too busy and that was why he couldn't leave earlier to accompany her to the circus as she was asking him to do. But the first thing was that he didn't like lying in general and least of all to his cousin, the second thing was that it felt even worse for him not to agree to her request when his uncle had recently passed away.

Because since Hanabi was five years old the tradition had been created, the Chinese circus was in town every year towards the end of July and Hiashi took his daughters year after year. It was one of the few times he could see the man actually share with them as he didn't even ask the nanny to accompany them.

He had to go live with Hiashi a his cousins because his father's dead when he was fifteen. They invited him, but he declined. He didn't like circuses, too much noise, too many people and too much... everything. Besides it was a tradition of theirs, he preferred to stay at home doing anything else.

Hinata was studying abroad that year and Hanabi even though she was already seventeen wanted to go to the circus. And obviously she looked to him who was her only close relative, he wanted to tell her no and that she should grow up, circuses were boring. But he understood how lost his cousin might feel, even that was why he had postponed moving out of the huge property to something on his own, he knew first-hand what the loneliness of losing a parent was like.

He went by in his car to pick her up and followed his cousin's directions to the place, the youngest knew the way by heart and although at times she seemed taciturn, she would suddenly get excited when talking about the new acts that might be there that year and she would relate to him the ones from previous years. She practically knew them all, some of them barely changed in order from year to year. What was the fun of it? Anyway, he hadn't been there to judge her, just to accompany her.

They entered the huge tent before many of the other attendees, taking their places, and he was thankful for a moment that it was slightly quieter inside than outside, though not by much. People came in a few at a time and he frowned, he felt like going to the bathroom.

"How long does the show last?"

"Two hours," he pursed his lips slightly, he couldn't hold it for two hours. "Why? Do you want to leave already?"

"No, I'll be right back," although the answer to the question of wanting to leave was 'yes', at the moment the only thing left was to go find a bathroom before the show started instead of having to leave in the middle of the show.

"Bring some popcorn!" she shouted at him from her stall as he headed for the exit.

He looked around trying to locate where the restrooms were, because it wasn't bad enough being in a circus surrounded by too many people, he was also going to have to use a public restroom. He was doing it for his cousin he reminded himself while dodging people, fortunately there was no line and the condition of the toilet facilities was acceptable, he washed his hands very well so he could now go and get what he had been ordered.

He was standing in line at the food stand when something caught his attention, although at first he didn't understand what it was. He turned his head to make out the image and realized it was a young woman standing next to the tent, her attire was what had made him see, but not what she wore on top.

The woman's hair was combed with two buns, she wore a makeup that only highlighted the color of her eyes and a white T-shirt. So far it was normal, the strange thing was her pants, it was a pair of pants with what seemed to be thousands of bangs or feathers in yellow, orange and red that waved slightly in the wind and with the movements she made, because she didn't stay completely still.

"Are you all right?" he felt the need to ask and the brunette at once looked for the source of the voice, nodding.

"Yes, thank you," she was chewing a piece of gum and moved her mouth faster.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..." for a moment she seemed to hesitate, "it's just that... it's my first year in this circus, I worked very hard to get hired and I want everything to go well," it was going through his head that he had never wondered what kind of people worked in a circus

"First show?"

"Yes, I mean no..." a bubblegum bomb appeared on her lips. "I live in this city, my first show was a couple of days ago when we officially started the season. Today is my first weekend show."

"Is there anything different?"

"Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays include some additional acts, Tuesday through Thursday the show is a little shorter."

"What about Mondays?"

"Monday is our internal day. The director, and the owner review how we did during the week, give us feedback on what we are doing well and what we need to improve for the new week."

"Don't you have a day off?" He definitely had no idea how a circus worked and had never cared to learn about it.

"Sure, that's also why the acts can vary from one day to the next. Have you never been to this circus before?" he shook his head. "Really?"

"I've never liked it," he admitted and heard her laugh.

"You must care too much about her."

"I do," although not in the way the woman was suggesting.

"Well, when you see the lion dance show," she pointed to herself, "I'll be one of the heads."

"One of the heads?" he asked without understanding

"You'll see," at that moment a melody sounded above all the other noises in the place, "that's my call, I hope you and your girlfriend enjoy the show," was the farewell as the woman ran, making the trouser feathers move from side to side.

He bought the popcorn, including a bag for himself craving the buttery smell, and returned to Hanabi, who smiled upon receiving it. For a moment he thought about looking up on his phone what the woman had meant by lion dance and being the head, but the lights flickered, indicating that the show was about to start.

From his childhood he remembered circuses with clowns throwing pies at each other and making unfunny jokes, and animals forced to do tricks. But it wasn't one of those circuses, although he had heard his cousin tell him all about it, it had its fascinating twist when he saw it live. Understanding in passing what the woman had told him about having worked hard, and recognizing the pants he had seen her wearing under one of the dancing lions or whatever they were called.

He wouldn't say out loud that he had enjoyed the gymnastics show he had seen, because that's really what it was. These weren't proper performers, or well yes, but they were actually skilled gymnasts who had decided to show off their skills in a circus that was world renowned, not bad.

When Hanabi asked him if he would take her again next year, he mumbled a yes without great emotion, although he hadn't had a bad time, it wasn't as if he wanted to become a regular at the place because there were still the issue of excessive noise and people. Well, once a year wasn't so bad.

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For the next year the message didn't surprise him, in fact he was still living on the property and although Hinata had already returned, Hanabi wanted him to attend as well. So he made sure not to consume too many liquids that afternoon as he didn't want a repeat of having to use a public restroom.

They all walked in together and their cousins sat down, talking among themselves about how the decorations had changed and that surely the color chosen that year would have pleased their father. He was just silent, the memory of the woman from the previous year and whether she would still be working at the place came to his mind.

"Neji," Hanabi's voice had a pleading tone. "Can you bring us some popcorn?"

"Why didn't you buy them before you came in?"

"I forgot... will you be a nice cousin and go?"

He rolled his eyes before nodding, he had to stop giving in so easily to his younger cousin's requests. Again as he waited to order the food he could see the brunette from the previous time, dressed in a very similar way, though the pants were now white and gold.

"Hello," he greeted her, and she squinted at the sight of him, opening her eyes very wide when she recognized him

"You! hello again!" she spoke effusively, "I didn't think you were attending again," he shrugged, "good for her."

"She's my cousin," he felt the need to clarify, "my cousins, they asked me to bring them along."

"Cousins, huh?" she said with a smile, "well, they are still very lucky, my cousins don't even come to see me when the circus passes through their cities."

"That's too bad."

"It's their loss, did you recognize me at the show last year?"

"Yes. Will you be the head again?"

"Yes," she pouted, "I tried out and trained hard to be the tail this time, but I'm one of the lightest so it's easier for them to let me be the top."

"Maybe for the next year."

"Oh no, by next year I hope to have another act," she crossed her fingers as if to reinforce her point, "something in which I would preferably show my face."

"Why did you agree to be part of the lion then?"

"It's the act all of us rookies start with, our circus isn't about recognition, it's about skill," there was conviction in her voice, "once you prove you have the necessary skill, you can start to get some recognition, not before."

"Sounds fair."

"It is," only then did he notice she was chewing gum as she made a huge bomb, right when she exploded it the melody was heard, "time for me to go."

"Wait!" she had already taken several steps away and he had to raise his voice, "I'm Neji."

"Tenten," she answered him with a smile before continuing on her way.

He didn't know why he had that impulse to want to know her name, maybe there was something interesting about her. Tenten, he repeated the name. As he waited for the bags of popcorn to be delivered, he tried to be rational, the woman was a circus performer which meant that as soon as the circus left town, so would she. She was only in the city for about a month and wouldn't be back until the following year, so he discarded any further ideas he might have had.

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The new year, of which apparently it was already a tradition he was part of, had as a difference that Hinata had a boyfriend and the man joined the plan. His name was Kiba and at times it exasperated him because he was too scandalous, but his cousin looked happy and that was the important thing.

The routine again was the same, except this time when leaving for the popcorn, the Inuzuka accompanied him. The line at the food stand was long and he searched with his eyes for the pants full of feathers and an eye-catching color, instead he found Tenten in a bright red leotard with black lines.

"So, you made it."

"You!" she seemed to be thinking for a moment

"Neji."

"That was it, Neji!" she smiled apologetically for forgetting. "And yes, this year I'm part of the gymnastics group," her face was much more makeup than it had been in previous years.

"Congratulations, some recognition will come with that," he supposed.

"Not really, we are 5 gymnasts, dressed, makeup and hairstyle exactly the same while doing the same moves..."

"Isn't that better than the lion?"

"That's right, plus it's less hot for me now that I don't have to wear those pants or the giant head," he nodded, not knowing what else to say. "Your cousins again?"

"That's right, they like to attend," he wasn't sure what to add, in his mind was going through the idea of asking her out but that year he had an additional reason to doubt. "Tenten..."

"There you are!" Kiba arrived at his side, interrupting what he was about to say. "I think the show is almost starting and I need help with this," he had the four packs of popcorn in his hands, a curse furrowed his mind, not only because of the man's appearance but also because the melody he already recognized started playing

"Duty calls, see you later... Neji," he just nodded his head without uttering a word

"Did I interrupt something?" he shook his head. "Do you like the circus girl?" he continued silently. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes," that was the reason for his hesitation. "Shall we go?" he took two of the popcorn bags and went to his cousins.

Nyoko was a colleague from the office, they had started dating three months ago and things were going... well, just going. He wouldn't exactly say he was the happiest man or that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her, he enjoyed her company and they could talk about various topics. And again, Tenten would be leaving town when the circus did, so it still didn't make sense to invite her.

Flashback end

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That Saturday he dressed up a little more than usual without knowing exactly why, or he did know, it was the first time he would go to the circus without his cousins and he was only doing it because he was going to see Tenten in her solo act.

In the car he thought back to the previous year, things with Nyoko ended before they were eight months old, the relationship simply stopped working for both of them and they preferred to go separate ways. So at least that reason for not being able to ask Tenten out was gone.

It felt weird to arrive at the place where the huge circus tent was and go straight to the popcorn place even though he had no intention of buying. He knew that she used to stand near that place and went straight to look for it.

"You really came," Tenten was already there, dressed in an elaborate turquoise leotard and makeup in matching colors.

"I said I would."

"Thank you," they were both silent.

It was both a comfortable and uncomfortable silence, comfortable because it was as if they didn't need words all the time to understand each other, just to let her know that he was there to support her. And uncomfortable because his inner voice told him to ask her out at once. When the circus was gone, he would think of something, and not be again regretting not taking that step.

"Tenten..."

"Neji..." a nervous laugh came out of Tenten's lips, chewing her gum to calm down a little, "go ahead."

"I'd like to know if..." they both looked up, the melody was starting to play and he could swear that they had just started talking

"I think it's starting to be inopportune," she said, rolling her eyes. "I have to go..."

"Success in your presentation."

"Thank you, Neji," he nodded and watched her walk away a couple of steps, stopping suddenly. "Screw it!" the curse took him by surprise, especially because she turned in his direction. "Do you want to go to eat something after the show?" he was stunned for a second, "or tomorrow if you think it's too late..."

"I'll wait for you," was all he said, smiling together.

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See you tomorrow on day 13!

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All corrections and comments are always well received, they help me improve a lot.

Hope you like it.

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Att: Sally K