Yeah! I am pretty proud of myself, because as soon as I published the last chapter (which it seemed like no one liked), I got right into doing this chapter. How long it'll take me, I don't really know because I type slowly when it's not from the top of my head... I think this is the third last chapter (two more to write!)… So, anyhow, read, review and enjoy!
THE DAY OF THE PARTY: EVENING
The hours seemed to slip away easily, with nothing of real significance happening. When the sun was no longer visible, Narikio Lee had left, and everyone went into the house, not wishing to be eaten alive by mosquitoes, and Shino didn't enjoy bug spray being used n his presence.
Sasuke gently and inexorably placed his hand on Sakura's cheek and drew her face closer to his. His lips slowly covered her own and the broke away after a moment. Her green eyes met his cobalt and she felt an intense desire for him- one she saw mirrored in the black depths of his eyes.
"Sasuke-kun…" she breathed and she found herself beneath his body, becoming permanently attached to one another, mainly by the lips, and didn't look very keen on letting go. Everyone else ignored them, and did other things for entertainment.
Akiko was getting bored. Shino and Lee were not very exciting people, she had concluded and she did not think it was worth the time and energy to flirt with them.
She stood up announced, "Let's play pool!" for Tenten's benefit, as she had been quietly conversing with Neji about something. Tenten turned around and her face was a cool mask of indifference.
Akiko gaped. "You have no idea how freakish that was. You went assassin face on me, like Shino the Smiling Assassin." Akiko smiled. She had a very wild imagination and had often thought that Shino smiled all the time behind his trench coat. He wasn't wearing it today, and he had not smiled in the course of five hours, but it didn't stop Akiko from still believing her theory.
"Hn." Tenten said tonelessly, even though her face had split into a grin. Akiko prepared her cue and the table while Tenten slid off Neji's lap and picked up a cue, spinning it like a quarterstaff. When Lee stood to join them, Tenten abruptly stopped the cue and pressed the point in his chest.
"No, Lee." Tenten said firmly. He glared.
"Oi!"
"This is a girl's challenge only. Sorry, Lee." Tenten turned and flicked the other end of the cue into his stomach. He cursed and she smiled in response.
"So, Akiko," Tenten began, "How does this work?"
"I have no idea." Akiko replied.
Their game ended up consisting of many flukes and bad shots. Tenten's reward for sinking a striped ball was, strangely, a hug and a high-five from Shikamaru. Needless to say, there were many laughs from the others and complaints from Lee.
"You're not doing it right!" He yelled. "I'll show you!" he made to take up a cue but Tenten, again, poked him.
"Hey, that's fun!" She laughed. "Anyway, I can do it myself." she successfully sank the maroon striped ball and Shikamaru hugged her.
Tenten wondered what to do next. She aimed for the green ball and found she couldn't concentrate with Lee glaring at her for poking him and not letting him help, Akiko making noises to distract her, Ino glaring at Shikamaru for hugging Tenten and Neji glaring at the Nara for hugging his girlfriend. In the next instant, Akiko won by default. Lee was howling with laughter and Tenten rounded on Neji with her cue.
"Neji!" she yelled. "You're such a pervert!"
"What?" Neji said, looking chastised. "All I did was…accidentally bump the cue."
"You bumped something else, and you know it," Tenten muttered, putting away the cue after rapping his knuckles sharply.
Sasuke and Sakura had not moved from where the position they were in 45 minutes ago. Akiko bounded over to them and tapped the bottle she was holding.
"Sasuke-kun! Sa-chan!" she yelled, to no avail. She turned away, sickened- but it was hardly so for the pair involved. Their lips were firmly interlocked, much like their tongues, fingers and bodies- as much as was possible, fully clothed. Akiko's shouting, and everyone else's voices fell upon deaf ears.
Tenten strode over and brusquely poked both of her friends.
They were not happy at the interruption.
"What is it?" Sasuke snapped, his voice harsh and his breathing ragged.
"Truth or dare, are you playing?" She gestured to the bottles Akiko, Shino, Ino and Naruto held. There was no affirmative answer, but as the pair did not continue with their make out session, Tenten pulled them up and over to the pool table.
The 11 of them assembled around the green table, Hinata looking a bit anxious, Neji looking cool and calm, but his eyes revealed a bit of puzzlement.
"We're not drunk enough to play yet," Lee complained. He had, over the years, mysteriously acquired some tolerance to alcoholic substances and could still call upon the power of the Drunken Fist upon will.
Tenten rolled her eyes, muttering something along the lines of, "Pathetic imbecile."
"Ten-san, you're a spoil sport!" Lee glared at her, and Tenten glared back. Neji stepped coolly between them, settling the matter.
"Hn." She huffed. After a few moments, though, she kissed him lightly.
"Get a room you two!" Akiko yelled.
"Well, I'm not the one who finds gay couples cute!" Tenten retorted.
"What has that got to do with anything?" Akiko demanded.
"You know, I don't really know!" Tenten said, her voice still a bit raised.
"So you wouldn't object to two guys making out in front of you…" Sakura asked, interested.
"I'd object to anyone making out in front of me!" Tenten and Akiko said at the same time.
"Oh my God." They said in unison, and began laughing once more.
Neji sighed.
"Are we going to play, or not?" Sasuke asked, getting a bit impatient.
Akiko sultrily poured the drink into a shot glass and swallowed.
"Truth or dare?" Tenten asked.
"Truth." Akiko picked. It was rare for her to do so.
"How many guys did you get with over the course of two years in the Wave country?" Tenten asked.
"Does that include non-boyfriends?"
"Yeah. Everyone…"
"Um. I think… all of them?" Akiko scratched her head.
"All of them?" Ino snorted.
"Except for maybe a few, but most of them are really hot… and, unfortunately, extremely boring…"
She shrugged like it was no big deal, and that the others would have done exactly the same. Akiko threw the glass to Neji across the table.
"Truth or dare?" she whispered.
Neji did not drink the liquid from the bottle. "Dare." He did not shift under everyone's scrutiny, but remained eye contact with Tenten, like he knew what would come next.
"You… have to kiss a girl in this room, other than Tenten." She slyly pouted.
Neji glared. He looked despairingly at Tenten, who shrugged. Stuff like this, she knew, shouldn't be taken personally, but she knew Neji hated to be tricked and Akiko was no novice in the art of trickery and seduction.
Neji lightly brushed his lips against Akiko's and moved away. The kunoichi from the Wave country quickly drew him back, and twined her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth, with a desperate, fiery need.
Neji, outraged, pushed her away, repulsion and resentment blatant in his glare.
"Akiko," Tenten asked, barely masking her anger. "What is wrong with you? Is it because of Naruto? Are you that desperate for someone to make out with that you trick your best friend's boyfriend into kissing you?" she sneered, disgusted. "That's a lowly cowardice, sluttish tactic."
Everyone gathered at the other end of the room, on the other side of the table.
Akiko turned around and looked Tenten straight in the eyes. There was not a single glimmer or trace of remorse or guilt.
"Ten-san?" she simpered. "What were you saying? I didn't hear you."
Everyone waited with bated breath.
Tenten simply looked at her, her face expressionless and cold.
"You're a sluttish bitch not worth knowing. Get out."
"What?"
"Get out. I am going to hurt you as much as possible, but I don't plan on you ruining Naruto's house. Get out." Tenten repeated in a slow, deadly voice.
"I don't think so." Akiko snatched up a pool stick and swung it at Tenten. The kunoichi grabbed Akiko's upper wrist, struck the other hand, and then flicked the lower end of the stick onto the girl's stomach. She cursed and doubled over.
"You heard what I said. Now, we're going outside." Tenten caught the objects Neji threw at her and placed her hand on Akiko's shoulder. The two of them disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
Everyone in the room glanced at someone else and they, too, disappeared in a cloud of smoke, following them out to Team Gai's training ground.
Tenten slipped on her altered fingerless black gloves, watching Akiko with sharp eyes. She knew she had the advantage in this situation- Akiko had never been here before, and it was Tenten's domain. In the dim light, the many craters on the ground made by Neji's Kaiten were unseen and dangerous.
Akiko straightened and formed several seals then leapt into the air and dove onto Tenten, who nimbly jumped out of the way. The spot where she had stood moments ago became a crater, and the cracks reached her feet where she now stood.
Tenten climbed into the trees and crouched in the shadows, casting out her senses for the other kunoichi. She was near. Very near- Tenten could smell her fear and sudden doubt as her arrogance fled.
Shuriken flew from Tenten's hands and she heard the satisfying cry of pain and the other shadows of Akiko turned to smoke.
Tenten felt the tree shift and she leapt into another. Moments later, she saw that the other tree had turned into water. It washed over the ground with a splash that drenched her clothing.
She sensed the other woman behind her, and pushed herself off the tree with her feet. She flew almost horizontally for a few moments, her arms outstretched. She suddenly stopped and Akiko was beneath her knives- one in her right shoulder, the other in her left hip.
"You always were a sore loser, Tenten." Akiko sneered through her pain and ragged pants.
"You're weak and pathetic. Leave now, and know that you come back to Konoha under pain of death." Tenten cruelly twisted the knives as she yanked them out of both the tree and Akiko, and then punched her. Akiko fell to the ground, turning it to water as she plunged into it and then all returned to its normal state.
"Merperson freak." Ino said clearly. Tenten slid down the tree trunk and landed on the ground. She flicked her wrists and the knives became concealed once more. She shivered, her body going through an adrenaline rush. It made her feel light headed and she leaned back against the tree, patting it in thanks.
"I knew playing that game would turn out badly," Sasuke commented. Taking Sakura's hand, they both turned and disappeared, heading back to Naruto's lounge room. One by one, the others left until only Neji and Tenten remained.
"You didn't have to do that," he said, coming out of the shadows.
The weapon mistress had only just calmed her heartbeat. "What should I have done then?" she asked, "Why didn't you hit her like you did with Temari?"
"I knew Akiko- much more so than Temari."
"How did that make a difference?"
"I knew you loved her like a sister." Neji whispered, pulling her to him. Tenten placed her head on his chest and sighed. He was still shirtless because of the summer heat.
"She lost that privilege the moment that she kissed you." came her muffled voice.
"Well, aren't we possessive?" Neji smirked. She looked up at him, a gleam in her eyes.
"And you'd be better off not forgetting that, Hyuuga. This matter isn't resolved yet-"
Neji saw fit to still her mouth with his own. Tenten felt his tongue slip between her lips and slowly caress her own and she felt his hands slide under her light singlet, running them up her stomach. Tenten sighed again, and ran her hands over his broad chest and progressed through his raven locks. She felt his hand graze the soft skin beneath her bra and she pulled back.
"Mm, Neji, we'd better get back- they might notice that we're gone." She murmured, hating herself for it.
"Really?" Neji slowly lowered his head and kissed her again.
"Neji, I mean it." Tenten looked into his eyes. He sighed, resigned to his fate, and let Tenten lead him back to Naruto's living room. Upon their arrival, Tenten set to work on calming Hinata's nerves- who was convinced it was all her fault because she had invited Akiko to stay. Neji sat by Lee, who had began drinking, to make sure that someone could restrain him in case he accidentally let slip the power of the Drunken Fist.
"Hina-chan! It's not your fault! Akiko was the one who decided to take things a step further, and I was the one who decided to punish her for it. If there's anyone at all to blame, it's me. Honestly. I'm sorry, Hinata. But look- everyone's had a great time, and it's been the best party I've been to in ages."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Go on, Naruto has been worried because you're upset!" Hinata hugged her friend and looked over at Naruto, then Tenten. She nodded in encouragement and the Hyuuga went to join her boyfriend.
Tenten felt Neji's intense gaze upon her, filled with much desire. She felt her cheeks glow as she felt her swollen lips, feeling Neji's own upon them as if they'd been permanently imprinted upon them. The kunoichi suddenly wished that the party would be over and that she could just curl up beside Neji in her bed and sleep, with all thoughts of Akiko far, far away.
Unfortunately for her, that would not happen, due to the events that took place within the next hour.
"You know, I'm very friendly when I get drunk," Lee announced. Tenten sighed. Had that been said when he were sober, the comment would have been rewarded with a punch. She glanced at the pool table. Two and a half out of four bottles were empty. She sighed once more.
"This won't end well." Tenten said, coming up to stand behind Neji. Shikamaru and Ino had started on the remaining bottles, and Lee reached out to help them in their task, but he found, belatedly, that he had been restrained by his team mates.
"You guys suck. You never let me have any fun. You never let me get drunk since that day… and you," Lee paused to look up at the Hyuuga. "You are a cold self centred ass hole. I think Tenten had the biggest crush on you since the day she stopped liking me and you didn't respond to anything at all from seventeen to the camp four years later…stupid…" Lee trailed off and took a deep breath. "And you…" he looked at Tenten with a pained expression. "I know I can't say anything mean to you or you'll kill me tomorrow after Neji does, but have I ever told you… Haha! Look! The bottle's half… Neji would, typically, say full, and Tenten would say empty. Wait it's the other way around isn't it? You are opposites. Opposites attract. That's why you are lucky, Tenten. Neji… will never cheat on you with Sasuke and have a gay affair because they're so much the same… Tenten… Kill me, plea-" Lee slumped on the table. Tenten wiped her hands on her miniskirt and nodded, smiling.
Neji pulled Lee into a standing position and placed his arm around his back.
"I'll take him home." He said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
The party was now drawing to a close and everyone was leaving.
"Thanks for everything, guys. It was an excellent party- and sorry about Akiko. Anyway, I'd better get going- Goodnight, Naruto-kun, and Hinata-chan." Tenten said with a bow. She turned and disappeared into the darkness of the night. She loved to walk the streets of Konoha in the summer. The fact that the streets were devoid of life and light, except for the full moon, did not perturb her – it helped her to think and increased the chance of her mind wandering.
"Akiko," she murmured, her fingers subconsciously reaching for the gloves in her bag pocket. Something told her that the other kunoichi was close. Very close. Tenten shifted smoothly into a defensive crouch, her bag falling soundlessly to the floor, her senses cast out and strained for any sign of movement.
The weapons mistress breathed deeply, as she had been taught by Neji and let everything around her thrum through her system. She searched for chakra- known or otherwise- and looked up and down the street for any sign of life. She shut her eyes and listened intently for anything other than the sounds of a completely mediocre summer's night.
Tenten looked up and scanned the rooftops, straining her ears even further. There was nothing to see or hear. The kunoichi gazed up at the moon, its light partly obscured by a lone cloud. Tenten sighed. She knew that was Akiko. Getting her to come down would be no problem, but getting her to hurry up would be impossible.
If anyone has objections as to what I have decided to write, express your opinions. I don't really like this chapter all that much myself, and if anyone wants something taken out and/or added in, don't hesitate to say something! I'm still not sure as to whether or not Naruto should have been kissed in the place of Neji, but then Tenten bashing her up then wouldn't have really made sense- Hinata had more of a right to do that, and I think she would have done more than fine on her own, but I am lazy, and can't really be bothered to research some of Hinata's techniques and fighting styles… and sorry about the short length.
Until next time…