Persepolis130
Notes: Jeez, you people thinking it was over! Really, how could it have ended there? Okay, so my not posting a new chapter for so long probably didn't help, but the new Naruto game for the Gamecube has been really distracting me... and for some reason, I really kick ass with Choji but can't play Sasuke to save my life. How wrong is that? Anyway, thanks for reviewing last chapter; reviews make me giggle in that special way. Last chapter was never a lemon (sorry!),but does it weird anyone else out that Hinata called Neji "niisan" in bed?
As for this chapter (an extra long one!), I apologize for Kiba's behavior and hope that it doesn't leave irreparable emotional damage to anyone but Neji. Also, more of this should maybe be edited (where does lime end and lemon start?), but I give up on trying to figure out exactly what I can and can't say, so I'll just leave it and hope that if someone has made it this far, they're not going to be offended.
CHAPTER 14
He dreamed of her.
That night and the night after, and the night after.
Neji wasn't sure when exactly the dreams spilled over from sleep to waking thought, but one day, some months later, he realized it had been happening for some time, so much so that she was nearly always on his mind.
She'd insisted they keep it up for Neji's sake, because she wouldn't be able to bear it if anyone ever hurt him because of her. He'd insisted that it wasn't her responsibility, that he could take care of himself, that she shouldn't do something she didn't really want to do.
Admittedly, he could have protested more firmly. But he thought she might like her new role as protector, and since no one would ever know his purity was being safeguarded by his little cousin, he figured it was alright. Besides, what man in his right mind would intentionally turn down the commitment-free sex?
They weren't together often, or at least not as often as he would have liked, so it seemed that his mind made up for his body's lack. He'd picture her as she'd been, the way her head tossed and hips rose, or how he'd like her to be, the things he could do next time to make her tremble. He had enough ideas built up that he was sure he wouldn't get tired of it any time soon. That one drawing he'd seen in the guidebook with the girl upside down, balancing on her palms, had recently taken on a renewed fascination for him, and he was glad he'd been such an excellent student.
But no matter what he came up with, real or imagined, dirty or sweet, the one scenario he always seemed to be revisiting was the time in the bathtub.
He'd been back from a mission one morning about a month ago with a sore ankle and an aching back and decided to take a few hours off before going to the training ground. After washing his hair, he'd trimmed off the dead ends and put an intensive conditioner in it, soaking in the bath with a twist of creamy hair piled atop his head; preserving family tradition wasn't easy.
He didn't recall exactly when or why she came in; it was as if his memory skipped over that part. It might have something to do with the shock of seeing her standing before him nude, her clothes pooled at her feet.
Being a traditional bath, the sides of the basin were high, and she had to brace herself as she slipped her feet in one at a time, sending gentle ripples through the steamy water. Sitting up, he took her hand to help her, and she giggled amiably, though he heard something more beneath the laughter. He watched with an admiration bordering on awe at her body above him as the water slowly enveloped her, inching up her pale legs past the soft swell of hips and the dark shadow between her thighs as she crouched, settling her knees at his waist.
"It's warm," she said softly, fingers splayed against his skin.
Neji smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear, his wet fingers smoothing it, and he leaned forward to kiss her. As their lips pressed together, she pulled her body tight to his, her breasts pressing against his chest.
He'd never imagined breasts like hers, firm but heavy and supple, distinctly out of proportion with her petite, delicate-looking body. Just thinking about them sent a little thrill through him, and touching them was sometimes almost enough to send him over the edge. That day, with the water amplifying the sensation of her body against him, soft and hard at the same time, Neji's breath caught, his face flushing.
As her lips parted and he pressed his tongue inside, she ran her hands across his back, cool in comparison with the warm bath water and her even warmer kiss, and Neji shivered beneath her touch. His own hands moving to the curve of her waist and then sweeping down to her nicely-rounded backside, he drew her into a position that made him tremble with barely restrained desire.
Her arms over his shoulders now and pressing in beside his neck, she raised herself, gasping for breath as she broke their kiss, her lips red and swollen. Eyes closed and head tilted back to bear her smooth white throat to him, the tips of her breasts trailed up, hard against the flushed skin of his chest, until they were close enough for Neji to taste. When he dipped his head toward one, flicking his tongue against it, he felt her shutter.
He would like to say he could've stayed like that all day, his hands against the smooth contours of her back, mouth sucking startling red patches across the magnificently pale skin of her chest. But soon, body shaking, he could feel his control slipping, hips bucking up toward her as he felt himself teeter on the edge of ecstasy. He might've lost control then, on account of the water's unintended caresses, but Hinata knew-- she always knew-- and she soon pulled away, sliding back down his body, positioning herself against him.
As he looked at her face then through half-lidded eyes, he saw the most angelic expression cross her features. It was the sort of look that made him feel as if nothing existed beyond the two of them, that nothing else mattered but Hinata, her shining silver eyes and tight feminine heat. He might have laughed when she slid herself down onto him, out of sheer bliss or overexcited responsiveness, as her lips parted and she said--
"NEJI! Gai-sensei is trying to impart his vast wisdom upon you! Why are you refusing his efforts!"
Neji blinked at a highly perturbed Lee, swearing inwardly. Damn, he'd done it again! "I just didn't feel like answering," he said as a cover.
Gai shook his head, making some random pronouncement about the Spirit of Youth as Lee nodded vigorously. When he finished, he asked Neji, "So what is your opinion of the plan?"
Neji swallowed, frowning intensely at his sensei. He certainly couldn't admit that he hadn't been paying attention. Genius ninja didn't daydream about sex! How humiliating! "Does it really matter that much?" he asked, acting putout.
Lee's jaw dropped and Gai looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. Neji could sense the incoming drama and held up a hand, shaking his head. "I understand," he told them solemnly. Of course he didn't, but at least they stopped.
"Then what do you think, Neji?" Lee asked, a little too enthusiastic for Neji's taste, even where Lee was concerned. "We should do it, right?"
Neji felt the eyes of both his sensei and teammate regarding him expectantly, making his palms sweat. "Whatever you think would..." he began, but Lee looked far too excited, so Neji cleared his throat.
"I mean, whatever..." He sought desperately a response that would make it seem as if he'd been listening but avoid humiliation and/or emotional scarring. His best option seemed to be to draw attention away from himself, as one did in battle for a quick escape. "Whatever... Tenten thinks... is fine."
The girl blinked, forgotten until now, all three of her companions' eyes suddenly on her. "Please, Tenten!" Lee implored, eyebrows scrunched and lips pursed.
It made Neji nervous putting the decision in her hands, but the girl had always been sensible, often his only respite from a world of green spandex misery. He could trust Tenten not to mistreat or embarrass him... right?
The girl in question looked back and forth from Neji to Lee to Gai uneasily. Finally, she sighed and muttered, "Ah... alright..."
"YES!" shouted Lee, fists clenched and eyes full of fire, "This is fantastic! I'll never forget it!"
"It's sure to be a highlight of your youthful lives!" declared Gai with painfully bright smile.
Oh god, thought Neji, this can't be good...
XXXXX
Neji scowled at his chopsticks as Kiba's raucous laughter echoed through his ears, Lee's elbow jammed into his shoulder, Choji shoved yet another slice of barbeque pork into his overfilled mouth, and Shino sat in inexplicable and creepily quiet contemplation of his plate, all while three girls swapped fashion tips.
Needless to say, Neji was NOT amused.
Gai-sensei's "highlight-of-your-youthful-lives" plan turned out to be a "good-luck" banquet for all of their genin friends before the upcoming Chuunin exams. Neji, of course, had no friends, but Lee made up for it, apparently inviting anyone he could think of. There were currently twelve genin along with Neji, including a few he could swear he'd never seen before in his life. The only thing that made it bearable was the presence of his cousin, who sat nearby between her two teammates. She smiled and blushed whenever he caught her eye, which he made sure to do as frequently as possible.
However, despite the massive and boisterous turnout, one person was conspicuously absent.
"It's too bad Tenten couldn't make it..." Lee noted.
Neji frowned, wishing he'd thought of not showing up as well. But where was she? After all, she was the one who'd agreed to the idea, and now she'd skipped out on him. "Yes. Awful," he replied. And he meant it.
"Hey, I mean, she's probably out... you know!" hollered Kiba with a smirk as he shoved a large chunk of chicken into his mouth with his fingers. "I heard she's like that!"
"Shut up, Kiba!" cried a duo of feminine voices. Neji turned to see the pink-haired girl and the purple-clad blonde throwing Kiba murderous glares.
"Like what?" asked Lee, turning his attention away from his crush for the first time this evening. "What's she like?"
Swallowing a half-chewed bite, Kiba laughed rowdily as Akamaru snuck up on the table to share his meal. "Like... this!" And he slid two greasy, sauce-covered fingers into his mouth, sucking them in and out with loud, wet noised as he tilted his head back and moaned.
Squeals of disgust came from the girls' end of the table as Lee's face turned a startling crimson and Neji's jaw dropped in horror.
"Never. Do that. Again." Shino said.
"Hey, I didn't make it up!" Kiba protested, looking unreasonably proud of himself. "It's true! I was just demonstrating!"
"Kiba-kun..." Hinata started, looking like she wanted to hide under the table. "Maybe you should..."
"Yeah, I heard it, too," said Choji nonchalantly, cheek full of meat. "I thought she seemed like a nice girl, but it turns out she's a-- ow! Ino!"
"She is NOT!" shouted his teammate, whacking his shoulder. "What's wrong with you!"
"I heard she was," said a brown-haired boy Neji didn't recognize. "And I don't even know who she is."
"But that can't be!" shouted Lee, looking confused. "Our Tenten is a sweet and chaste girl with high ideals and moral standards!"
"Yeah, that's what you think! Looks like you don't know your teammate very well!" Kiba grinned, licking his fingers.
Neji felt his anger rising, cheeks reddening and hand shifting to squeeze tightly around his teacup. How dare Kiba talk like that! Neji didn't know what this was about or whether there was any truth to it or not, but he sure as hell wasn't going to listen to his own teammate be insulted by some filthy dog boy!
"Niisan," he heard his cousin say, voice anxious. "Kiba-kun doesn't mean--"
"Hey, I'm just telling the truth, Hinata!" Kiba interrupted, not catching the hint. "She's a total whore! She does anything you want her to, anywhere you want! I heard she even likes it up the--"
And suddenly Kiba was flying over backwards, clutching his face, blood pouring from his nose. "FUCK!" he screeched.
Neji's right hand was still raised, wet with the tea he'd spilled as he'd thrown his cup, sending the thick porcelain vessel crashing into Kiba's nose.
"Man, what the FUCK did you do THAT for!" Kiba demanded, snarling as he pulled himself up, Akamaru yipping. Neji wasn't fooled though; there were tears in the younger boy's eyes.
Fists clenched, Neji stood, looking down his nose at Kiba from across the table. "You don't know anything about her, so shut your damn mouth. Lee and I have known Tenten for years, and she's NOT that kind of girl. Why don't you pretend to be a decent ninja and investigate something before blurting out such disgusting nonsense and embarrassing everyone, yourself included!"
"But... everybody's talking about it," a small voice said. Neji turned to see Hinata standing beside her teammate, pretty pale eyes downcast.
Neji had a bad feeling about what she said, that sensation of Fate again, and he prayed he was right, that Kiba was an idiot and Tenten was innocent. He didn't know why so many people would say things like that about her, but if they were right, he would NOT be pleased with the humiliation he'd suffer because of it.
Shaking his head to will the uncomfortable thoughts away, he turned once more to Kiba, whose nose was now swelling and quite obviously broken. "Stop spreading lies about my teammate," Neji told him, throwing as threatening a look as he could muster. "And keep your clothes on around my cousin. Or I swear I'll kill you."
"Neji-niisan..."
"Tenten's probably training instead of wasting time here," he declared. Everyone at the table was silent and regarding him with varying levels of caution, incredulity, and fear. "Which is where I should be. Good luck with the exam. Don't shame our village with an overly quick death."
And with that he left, ignoring Hinata's voice calling after him, determined to track down Tenten and find out just what the hell was going on here.