Persepolis130
Notes: Omigod, I love you reviewers! And I'm so glad to give you some nejitenten since, I agree, it's in short supply. I think "Random person" posed a really good question though: "does he actually feel love for her rather than just lust?" Also, Hinata's a couple chapters off, but I guarantee she's coming eventually (pun vaguely intended).
CHAPTER 8
The next day after training, angry that he'd wasted time, Neji went to make his report.
"Tell my uncle I'm finished with this absurd training of his!" he demanded the woman, door still rattling on its hinges.
Unfazed, she turned her charcoal accented eyes back down toward her paperwork. Her hair draped loosely across her right shoulder, she wore an emerald gown that shimmered like ripples in ocean water as she moved. "Get bent."
Neji gaped. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"Not only are you rude, but you're early. It's quarter past two," she glared. "If you weren't already done with the training, you would be now."
"I don't care about your stupid rules! The only thing I care about is getting my life back, and you're holding me up!"
A highly annoyed look graced her otherwise enchanting features as she rose to face him. "Deal with it."
"What, you're going to send me away!" he shouted.
She snorted and somehow managed to make it sound dignified. "You're a bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?"
"But"
"I know you've done as I asked. I've already told Hiashi. Now go."
"Oh..." he felt somehow disappointed. "So... we're done?"
"Yes. GO."
He was filled with the same odd sort of disbelief as when, during his first Chuunin exam, the seemingly defeated Naruto shot up from the ground to knock him unconscious. So it was over then...
Struck by a sudden impulse, he asked, "What's your name?"
She laughed as she closed the distance between them with graceful steps. "Your training is over, and I owe you nothing more. From this point, you're just another man, another customer. And to put it bluntly, you can't afford me."
"I hate you," he announced.
"You always were a sweet one," she told him, soft fingers against his cheek. "And besides, what would your little girlfriend think if you could call prostitutes by name?"
"Don't talk about her. She doesn't have anything to do with this," he scowled. "And she's not my girlfriend."
"Ah," the woman acknowledged with a patronizing smile. "Then who is she?"
Neji searched for the answer, but all he could think of was the way the woman's eyes shone now as they had when she'd touched him softly, whispering praise against his naked skin. "She's..." He could hardly believe he'd never see those eyes again. "...not you."
"And thank the heavens for that," the woman whispered as she kissed his cheek. "Goodbye."
Neji left then, but he couldn't resist a backward glance. And she appeared to him in that instant as she had when he'd first seen her: an undeniably elegant, beautiful woman whose years had finally caught up with her. She looked tired and alone as she watched him go, someone too often desired, too rarely loved.
Or maybe that was just how he wanted her to look.
Neji felt a strange pang in his chest as he closed the door behind him, knowing that a stage in his life was now over, and no matter how much he'd resented it, he'd never be the same again.
In a perfect world, or at least one ruled by a benevolent fortune, the story of Neji's afternoon would have ended there, on a humbling, bittersweet note. But, as he well knew, the world was far from perfect, and fate was far from kind.
Of course it was because he'd broken the rule and come early. He should've listened, but such a regulation seemed so arbitrary to him. Seeing the tall, dark-haired man at the end of the hall though, an icy chill ran up his spine, and he realized how wrong he'd been. And did Hyuuga Neji ever hate being wrong.
Stopping dead in his tracks as their eyes met, Neji felt as if he'd been caught in the hold of a deadly new jutsu. Hearing a girl somewhere down the hall moan, a man's harsh shout following shortly after, Neji braced himself. The man in the hallway sent him a sheepish half-smile and a slightly awkward wave.
"Hello, Neji..."
Neji blanched. Oh, this was SO not happening. His tongue felt thick in his mouth as he managed to respond, "...hello... Gai-sensei..."
And then he made a run for it.
XXXXX
"I'm sorry you had a bad afternoon, Neji," Tenten told him.
"Hmph," Neji grunted. If only she knew.
"Do you feel better now?"
"Yes," he told her, pulling on his shirt. He wasn't sure if it was true. "Now get dressed."
"How much did this place cost?" she asked, making no motion to obey as she snuggled back into the bed.
"Too much to pay for another hour. And I have to be somewhere." He scowled at a missing button. Were all adults perverts?
"Neji..." Tenten started, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes as she sat up. "I'm not complaining or anything, but... sometimes it seems like all we ever do is have sex," she said, frowning.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded. Hopefully, if Neji couldn't afford the woman, Gai-sensei couldn't either. "I took you out. And we train together every day. Now if you don't get your things on"
"That's not what I mean! I know we've only been together for a little while, but normal couples do things where they don't have to end up naked!" she exclaimed, sliding off the bed and starting toward him. "I just feel like"
"What the hell else is there?" he scowled, doing his best to push thoughts of his perverted sensei aside. "It's what you wanted, isn't it?" Dwelling on that sort of thing couldn't be good.
Tenten looked distressed. "Well..."
"Whatever. I have to go," he pronounced, making for the door.
But as he turned the lock, he felt a warm touch on his shoulder, and he sighed, letting his hand be lowered.
"I hope you feel better," Tenten said quietly. "And I just want to spend time with you. Without it being all about sex. That's all."
She wrapped her arms around him, twisting to pull him into an embrace. Neji knew he shouldn't, but he let it happen, drawing her naked body into his arms. Loving the warmth of her touch, he breathed in her scent, his senses full of her. There was nothing that smelled better than a woman after sex. Except maybe one just before, at the very instant you knew you could have her.
He sighed, giving in. "I'll take you out tonight. Be ready at eight," he instructed, kissing her lips softly. "Look stunning."
Tenten giggled and dashed for her clothes. Neji sighed, trying to calculate the price for a full night. With her father back in town, this was going to get expensive.