Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. But you know, my birthday is coming, so if I could get a little something, that'd be nice…
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- . : . -Bad Hair Day- . : . -
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and little children frolicked underfoot. In short, just a typical summer day in the life of Tenten.
Or at least, that's how it started…
Tenten walked down the street, eating an ice cream come and feeling fine. Today she and her teammates had decided to take a break from training, and she intended to enjoy it. "Hmm, I wonder what Lee and Neji could be doing now?" she wondered aloud.
Knowing how anti-social Neji tended to be, she assumed that he was off by himself at who-knows-where, not interacting with others like NORMAL people do. After some thought, it occurred to her that no one she knew was really normal. As for Lee, he was most likely off frolicking with all his youthful vigor. Or maybe attempting to win Sakura's heart. He'd been trying that a lot lately, but was not successful. Obviously. "Ha, like that'll ever hap-"
SMACK. Tenten tripped over a random tree branch, falling face first on the ground. Now, Tenten is not usually a clumsy girl, mind you, but these things do happen to people from time to time when they don't pay attention. Why, I'll bet something similar has even happened to you! Come on, you know it's true…
As Tenten struggled to get to her feet, her vision was blocked by thick waves of black. Recovering from the discombobulation of her face plant, she realized it was her hair.
"Oh, it's just my hair, I thought maybe I--wait! This means my buns are undone! But NO ONE can ever see me with my hair down – EVER!" She clutched her hair to her head in two piles on the sides of her head, hoping that no one she knew was around.
Ever since she can remember, Tenten has had her hair pinned up in some manner, usually with her trademark buns. One day, many years ago she decided to let it down because it was very hot outside. Someone she'd been playing with had called her name and, turning her head sharply, a thick lock of hair flew and hit her in the eye. And it hurt.
It traumatized poor young Tenten, sending her into a state of shock for weeks. Why? Because she takes these things much too seriously. So she has made a solemn vow to never let anyone see her with her hair down, or she would have to pay the price…
What could this 'price' be? No one but Tenten knows.
"Oh-no-oh-no-I've-got-to-get-home-before-someone-sees-me-like-this-and—" Tenten gasped, out of breath from talking so fast. And without further ado, she jumped to her feet and started her long, treacherous journey home.
Now, when I say "treacherous" I mean "the possibility of Tenten being spotted by someone she knows, which would be totally humiliating". And by "long journey" I mean "the two or three blocks it takes for her to reach home".
So off she went, ducking into alley ways and taking shortcuts whenever possible – which wasn't very often. Sure enough, she ran into her first obstacle soon after departing. It was… oh no…
Rock Lee! Dun dun dun…!
Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, Tenten could tell Lee was about thirty yards and closing, frolicking to and fro and humming a "So Glad It's Such a Beautiful Day!" tune to himself. Then…he saw her.
"Hey! Hey, Tenten!" he called out to her and waved. "What a crazy coincidence, meeting here like this." She sighed and thought 'So soon! How am I gonna get myself out of this. Must…think…'
But all she succeeded in thinking of was that uber-annoying Noodle Dance song. And that definitely did not help. "Oh…heh, hey Lee," Tenten said, trying her best to keep a straight voice and smile. "So, what brings you here?"
Lee struck a pose, declaring, "Just enjoying this lovely day! And you? Wait a minute…something seems different about you." Tenten furiously insisted that there was nothing different, and he said, "I know! You're not wearing your glasses!"
The girl sweatdropped; under different circumstances, she probably would have laughed at Lee's stupidity. "Er, yeah. Sure. Anyways, where is Sakura? I thought you'd be with her. That's been, like, your hobby these days."
At the mention of Sakura, Lee visibly sagged. "After asking her out for the eleventy millionth time, she kinda lost her temper at me and… She said she hated me!" These last words were said with a great sob.
Tenten felt bad for her teammate and wished she could comfort him, but she was in a hurry. "Well, you know what they say! Um, 'hate is just a special kind of love we give to people we can't stand.'"
This seemed to make him feel a little better. "Really?" he said.
"Yup-now-I've-gotta-go-bye!" she said in one breath and sped off, leaving Lee feeling moderately better.
Speeding off, Tenten reached home safe and sound in a matter of moments, making everything right with the world once again.
Or, that might have happened if she hadn't bumped headfirst into Neji ten minutes after escaping Lee. "Tenten?" he said, slightly puzzled.
"Oh, um, hey Neji! What a cruel world…first Lee, and now this," she muttered the last sentence under her breath.
"What?" asked Neji, and she insisted it was nothing, though Neji knew otherwise. Slightly anxiously, Tenten asked, "Wh-What are you doing here?"
"Just taking a walk," he replied. "You seem pretty hurried. And your hair is-"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Tenten yelled a tad too forcefully.
"Okay, I was just saying…"
She decided to come up with a quick story so she could get away. "I'm kind of in a hurry. You see," she said, thinking as she went along, "my mother's sister's cousin's uncle's nephew – er, Benben – is ill. Very ill. He has, um, severe athlete's foot. Yeah. And if he doesn't get a certain kind of super-special medicine in two hours…his feet will turn a grotesque shade of lime green! So I've really gotta go. Bye-bye!" And with that she ran off yet again, leaving Neji even more confused.
"So he's he mother's cousin's aunt's niece? Maybe her father's grandpa's nephew's babysitter…and how does athlete's foot turn your feet green? So confusing…"
Tenten was now near panicking. She was almost in view of her house, and was murmuring, "I swear, if I run into ONE more person I'll just…"
Blissfully unaware of what was going on, Hinata was returning from buying her favorite food at the market – butternut squash! She happened to pass a messy-haired and harassed looking Tenten, and decided to say hello. After all, it's just nice manners to do so. "Hello Tenten," she greeted, walking up to her.
By now Tenten was ready to snap from nerves. "What, what, WHAT DO YOU WANT!" she yelled, anxious and distraught. "Why is everyone doing this to me? Can't you all see I'm anxious and distraught! Why can't you just let me go home…?"
Hinata had no idea of what Tenten was hollering about, but felt she should at least try to calm her down. Because it was the right thing to do! "Umm, are you all right? I just –"
Tenten cut her off, suddenly tired from shouting. "No. No, I'm not okay. I just need to go home…"
And lo and behold! Tenten's house was mere yards from where they stood!
With a heavy sigh, Tenten dragged herself to her doorstep and swung the door open. As soon as she walked in, she threw herself over the couch, exhausted. After lying down for twenty minutes, she dragged herself to the window and looked over the roofs of several buildings and out onto the street. Thirty yards from where Tenten's house stood was…
The very spot where she had fallen was within plain view of her window.
It just goes to show that, er… you – you should always wear hats whenever possible. And – uh – make sure that it matches your outfit, too. Yeah. 'Cause there's nothing worse then having your clothes clash. …Except for this, of course.
And remember: This situation could happen to you, so BE PREPARED!
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. : Fin : .
So, did you like it? I hope so. Please review…or else…