Author's Note: Oh, I know that Naruto/Sakura probably would never happen, but I happen to think that it fits in nicely with the story.
P.S.
I came home from school, really in a grumpy mood because I'd spent ten minutes fumbling with my locker until I had realized I had been working on opening the wrong locker. But reading those reviews made me feel really nice, and I'll try to keep them IC, as well as try to keep your advice in mind as I write the new chapter.
Key:
Thoughts/Stressed/Flashbacks
"Dialogue"
Chapter Two: Preparation
"Mrph." Tenten rolled on her back, attempting to put the light out of her eyes. "Can it wait?" The sun defiantly rose behind the thin cotton drapes. "Please?" Five minutes later, groggy and miserable, Tenten slapped water on her cheeks and eyes, somehow hoping to shock herself into life.
"Hm…" She pushed her face towel back on its rack, peering at the calendar on the wall with still glazed eyes. She peered intently at the page, trying to decipher the words scrawled under June 1st.
Tenten jerked into reality, eyes finally making sense of the tiny letters. "AH! I completely forgot! Today's the stupid, stupid reunion! …Shit. I don't have anything to wear!" Imagining what Gai-sensei would do to her if she didn't arrive in her best, Tenten rifled quickly through her dresser. As always, she saw only working clothing such as overalls, simple shirts, and tops that she had never really cared for. After throwing a pair of torn shorts over her shoulder, she tackled her nearly empty closet. The only clothes she put in here were the kind that she didn't want to put on by mistake ("nice" items) as she stumbled through the morning.
And its splendid contents:
From three years ago, a simple pair of capris that were made of silk and in mint condition—except for the giant stain on the left back pocket. She'd sat on who-knows-what the third time she'd worn them.
From only two months and ten days ago, a pale green sundress for Sakura and Naruto's wedding. Perfectly spun with light fabric and a thin under dress. If it weren't for the rip in the armpit and the fraying in the knees, it'd be lovely and perfect for this particular occasion. Perhaps playing softball after the reception hadn't been such a great idea.
A few years back, she'd purchased this purple turtleneck. Too hot for the summer. Way, way too hot.
A pile of old clothing from her younger days; Chinese-necked shirts and pants that were still in tip-top condition, from the time where she'd actually cared taken care of her appearance. But they didn't fit.
"I can't put any of this on!"
She had an idea, but refused to stare it in the eye. It was a gorgeously hideous thought; one that forced her insides to shrivel and writhe in apprehension. Almost hissing in horror, Tenten kicked a sock out of the way and made for her bathroom. She was going to have to do it.
Tenten prepared her hair in the buns she never tired of; it was a simple way to do her hair and keep it off her neck. "I'll shower and clean up before I go later," she murmured in explanation to her unmade bed. She shoved on the shorts she'd thrown beforehand and the amethyst turtleneck from her closet. The ninja could bear with being a little hot if she had to go shopping in a place where style definitely came before comfort and every false move would be recorded by video cameras. After all, that was what air conditioning was for!
She didn't have to care any other time but where large crowds of people were to gather. Which was why when she went grocery shopping, she went before anyone was awake and when the marketplace's shops just opened. And why she went the long way home, along a secluded path.
But, really, she loathed shopping. Even the dress for The Sixth's wedding had been a gift from her mother!
Still, if she had to do it.
Tenten rummaged through her drawers until finding a pouch with emergency money. Shoving the bills into her pocket, she stomped into a pair of sandals and ran out the door with every intention to buy an acceptable outfit.
… … … … … … … …
White eyes opened into the cool darkness of early morning. Neji's feet led him to the lamp, which was flicked on. It wasn't his room he saw once his eyes adjusted.
Gai-sensei had locked him in his house those seven days ago after dragging him back. He tensed at the thought of the method that had been used on him to force him to leave his silent, secluded mansion.
When he walked in, he nearly died. It must be admitted that the pictures of Gai as he grew from thick-browed child to adolescent to adult were quite…frightening. They followed him as he'd traveled through the rooms. This own thin eyebrows had risen at the sight. He'd walked until Gai-sensei had shoved him gleefully into a door.
The room he saw was far from bare. It was adorned, not with more images of a young Gai licking ice cream or a Gai flashing a thumbs up, but with pictures of…himself.
Neji hissed. These were all of him scowling, smirking, or having no expression at all. Either that or it was just a blur of his attempts to get out of the picture. Often, Tenten or Lee had a hold on him to keep him from running away completely.
But the real question we want to ask ourselves was why he was still here, in Gai-sensei's house.
"Neji! I've locked you in this room so that the reunion will be the first time your teammates see you! They might accidentally glimpse you if you wander about Konoha!"
The Hyuuga glared.
"Well…ah…Neji." Gai-sensei's expression altered swiftly, from kind and cheerful man to solemn. "You have to promise me to stay. And I want you to meet your teammates with an open mind. They may not have changed very much to you at first, but you'll be surprised at how different they are in the little things. I know they want to see you, and you them. This is for your benefit. So promise."
He chose not to respond. He'd been planning to depart once left to his own devices. Neji had no reason to see Lee or Tenten. …Well, he was curious, granted, at how they looked, and their jobs, but they might be less accepting of him now that he was older. Besides, he didn't need anyone to be happy.
"Promise me."
Neji didn't want to. He wanted to leave.
"Neji, are you afraid that they won't like you? That they'll hate you and only talk to you because of their ties to you as teammates? That they'll be happy without you? I assure you that they are as lonely as you, in their own ways."
"I'm not worried. They weren't my friends. They were people I had to keep alive to become a Chuunin, and then a Jounin."
"…Do you remember the times you had together?"
Laughing, eating, defending each other, training…
"You don't have to need them to see them, you know. You can want to…"
"…I'll stay." He gritted his teeth. Anything to get these appalling thoughts out of his head. He had not willingly loosened up over the years, but he knew that he had—just a little. And, as an added bonus, he now had a sentimental side.
"Wonderful!" Suddenly Gai was all smiles and tears. "You've done the right thing! And I didn't even have to bring up—"
"I hate you."
"Ah, there's only a fine line between love and hate!"
Just like the one between my fist and your face, thought Neji.
… … … … … … … …
Rock Lee proudly pushed on his ANBU mask and gulped down the last of his first bottle of water. Seven more bottles were snuggled comfortably in his pack. He was on a mission; a difficult one. He could not afford to be dehydrated. He wanted no one to see his unique face and guess what he was up to. This was a secret mission. An impossible mission. In essence, it was Mission Impossible, and he was off to a most terrifying location. Although he did not know it, at the same time, Tenten was also approaching one of her own worst nightmares.
As his legs pumped him from rooftop to rooftop, people stopped to stare at the blur.
"Mama, it's a birdie!"
"Yes, of course, dear."
"Lee!" The Hokage's wife, clutching a purse and looking resplendent in a white sundress, waved frantically. Her bright locks were yanked into a bun, giving off a sophisticated appearance. Haruno Sakura couldn't have wrenched Lee's heart any more. She clutched her matching purse, looking as though she were off to go on a 'well-deserved' shopping spree. "Where are you off to?"
Tiles were ripped from their places as he forced himself to stop. "Ah…Sakura-san! How did you know it was me?"
"…Your mask is the only one that you've designed yourself." And Naruto had a hard time letting you do your own mask, I'll tell you that…He came home and ranted about it…but when we went out for dinner…
Lee stiffened a sigh. She had that look in her eyes; the besotted, dreamy look; she was thinking about her loving husband. He removed it and waited patiently for her attention to come back. "Ah, of course. Is it that noticeable?"
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and made sense of his question with a sheepish grin. "…It's noticeable, all right. So where are you off to?"
"It's hush-hush, Sakura-san."
She automatically assumed the "can-make-Lee-do-anything-I-ask" pose. Eyes widened, hands clasped, lower lip puckered out. "Lee-san…please…?"
Sakura knew that she shouldn't use the fact that he'd been in love her to her advantage, but it was so hard when little things like this came up. Besides, when Inner Sakura was all for it, it was difficult to resist the temptation.
"…I am…I am…"
Sakura waited patiently. She knew that he'd try to resist, but he could never do so for long.
"…I am unable to answer. I can't. My heart beats for itself now, Sakura-san, you should know that…" Though I've told her such before, I lie every single time I do.
She blinked. Sakura clamped her teeth over the suddenly unmoving lip, closed her eyes, and then breathed in. Expecting the worst—an outburst—Lee cringed.
"Of course, Lee-san. I understand perfectly. I can't beg you to tell me what I want…I'm sorry."
"Oh, Sakura-san! I am sorry! I still like you, as a…friend—"
What am I saying? Cried Lee inside. I love her, but I cannot say a word. I gave her up to Naruto!
"—But I no longer am in love with you," Lee finished. He offered a bright smile—or as bright as he could give with the circumstances—and received a warm, friendly-affectionate one in return. His heart melted into gooey little blobs.
"I will tell you what my mission is…"
Sakura grinned. I knew a heartfelt apology was all he needed. Of course, she'd been feeling guilty about the manipulating, and her apology was sincere. But she also had figured that Lee would tell her after hearing it. Aw, come on. People in her position would have done the same thing!
"I'm…" He hesitated. "Sorry! I simply can't say the dreaded words!"
"…Can I come along, at least?"
"Sorry…ah, but I want my team to be the first to see."
"Your team! Neji is coming back to Konoha from his running? And Tenten is actually coming out in public for the first time since my wedding? Wow!" Her exclamation was loud and clear. Lee hushed Sakura by clapping a hand abruptly over her lips.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-san! Sh! It's not supposed to be common knowledge!"
The kunoichi wrenched free and slapped her palms together eagerly. "Oh, this is wonderful! I've got to tell Ino when I get to her house! She's been kind of down ever since Sasuke…ah…well. I'll see you tomorrow, then, and we can plan out something wonderful!"
I can't stop her from saying anything to Ino…Then her later words registered. "What?"
"Oh! It's a secret mission, just like yours! I've got to get a new outfit for it…Ino does too…hm…" The pink-haired woman checked that her dress was not flapping improperly in the wind and set off to a rooftop to get to Ino's house as quickly as possible.
Ninjas. They just can't travel like normal people, can they?
… … … … … … … …
First off, Konoha Shopping Center's air conditioning was "under repair." Stickiness coated her body like a layer of butter on bread; thick and oily. Her legs were bare but still sweaty, as inside the building was a thousand, four hundred, and seventy five times hotter inside than out.
Secondly, the clothing was overpriced. Way, way overpriced. Despite the heat, whenever she looked at a tag, she shivered to her sandal-clad toes.
Thirdly, and lastly…she couldn't find anything to wear.
"Ah, Sakura, I know. This would be absolutely perfect for it! What do you think?"
"It's made for a thinner person, Ino."
"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT, FOREHEAD—"
"NO! I'm saying you're too curvy for it! The dress is for the less shapely!"
Tenten peeked over a rack of clothing. It was Haruno Sakura, hair bunned and attired something she admired profusely but would never be able to wear. Yamanaka Ino stood beside her, long blond tresses loose and straight, down to her waist. Her bang had been clipped down firmly by a few silver pins, and her outfit was amazing. Bangles wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, heels lifted her stylishly, and her skirt and blouse were classy, yet chic.
Jealousy tipped itself into her mouth. Then Sensibility knocked Jealousy over, punched the emotion in the stomach, and tossed a few dozen kunai at her feet until Jealousy ran off.
They've obviously got fashion sense.
…Dammit, Tenten, why didn't you stay as you were when you were young! You used to be stylish, too. Then you got a job.
"Um…Sakura? Ino?"
Both women halted in their bickering and turned. Ino had been brandishing a hanger with a dress on it violently and now it swayed on its own. It wiggled comically as the females were still and silent.
"Ah! Tenten! You actually came out of your shell! Phew, it's hot! Even I'm hot! How can you wear a turtleneck!"
"Oh, Tenten, you look…How are you?"
"Horrible," she replied. "I have to find something to wear for a…" It's okay, tell them, or they can't help you. "…reunion."
"We know about that," they said in unison.
Scowling, Ino added, "Lee told her."
"That explains it…Well, I want some…er, well…"
"Advice?" prompted Sakura.
"Yeah." The brunette shuddered slightly. It was the same feeling as when she looked at a price tag; that she had done something really stupid by coming here.
Ino suddenly dropped the hanger and screeched, "Wonderful! I've been wanting to do this for years!"
"Hinata would've loved this," murmured Sakura. She was silenced by sharp glances; one from Tenten, who warned her to shush or Ino would kill her, and Ino, who looked as though she wanted to skin her alive, rip out her insides, and juggle her trachea.
"Ah. I said, I should've shoved this. Into the. Uh. Rack?"
They paused.
Ino went on, dragging Tenten away, picking up clothes as she stormed. Sakura followed, making as frantic of a search.
After several hours of screaming, pouncing, and laughing, they had selected outfits that would be suitable. She was then tossed unceremoniously into a dressing room as Sakura and Ino fussed about makeup options outside her thin door.
Tenten put to use the common sense she had to be able to fit herself into the many holes in a particular shirt. And she used the experience she had from her younger years to be able to fasten buttons deftly.
A glare at the mirror caused an unexpected reaction of hatred. At herself. Tenten emerged stiffly, lips tight.
Ino hastily tucked a the rest of the outfits under Tenten's arm and shoved her back in, eyes crinkling as she realized what a mistake it had been to put Tenten in orange.
Under the excuse that they were going to find more clothes, the best friends tramped out. Sakura couldn't help but giggle senselessly at her friend, who then joined her once they were out of Tenten's hearing range.
"Crap, crap, crap…" She hoisted her orange shirt off, kicked off her tangerine pants, and scowled heavily, twisting the fabric between embarrassed fingers. "This was such a mistake. I should've just stayed home!"
The weapons specialist finally threw on the first things she saw, stomped out, and went looking for her personal fashion designers.
Sakura and Ino were stunned. What had happened to the orange-clad girl who'd looked incredibly amusing?
Tenten wore a short-sleeved navy V-necked top with an off-white cream skirt billowing at her knees. Conservative, but indeed working on the kunoichi.
Once the shopping bag was in Tenten's hands, she declared, "Now, let's get out of here before I melt!"
Enough time spent in hell, right?
"Oh, no you don't," screeched Ino. "Shoes!"
… … … … … … … …
Author's Note: Tenten gets a lot of parts here, doesn't she? We'll have a lot more of the boys once we get things rolling.
There's a reason why Hinata doesn't show up in this chapter, or the last. Don't worry, she'll make an entrance in person a few chapters from now. (Because the next ones are the actually reunion.)
Review Answers:
Magicians of the Yami: Thanks! I hope this chapter is as good!
Farli: You left a lovely review for me, long and nice. That's the way I like 'em. So, I'll give you a long answer.
Yes, Neji wouldn't leave Konoha unless he had a very good reason. These being: Becoming more powerful (getting experience outside of Konoha) and getting away from Gai-sensei. I think the Hyuuga Main House wouldn't be able to stop a genius like him, especially if he got older and stronger as he aged, right? There's more hinting in this chapter about the past. Once I get the reunion of Team Gai going, I'll be able to give everyone flashbacks that will answer the questions of what happened. I'll try not to push too much on Neji as a humor bucket, but there's a lot going on with him that I need to address, mostly in humor.
I think Gai is cool—I'm letting him be flashy, though. In Chapter Two he has a serious moment, but then lapses back into shiny-ness. I'm sorry. It's just that writing Gai like that is just too much fun. Next off, of course, I'll include the Rookie Nine!
I'm sorry about the parts you disliked. I didn't like how some of that turned out, but it was more of other things I was focusing on. Form now on, I'll try not to do the whole "abrupt" lines and etc., but if I do, please do not be angry! Thanks for such a great review—constructive but kind!
koge-pan1: I will continue! Glad you love it! I hope idea that my muses stuck to me turns out okay.
Mister Pineapple: Thank you so much. It means a lot to me that you liked it. Gai's team could very well drift apart; what with Neji not exactly being the nicest guy in the world (even after his fight with Naruto, I doubt that he would be all friendly), Tenten being your obscure anime character (damn it, Kishimoto Masashi, you made her so obscure), and Lee being, well…Lee! They could honestly, after becoming Jounin or Chuunin, not talk to each other at all and not stay in touch. Once again, your words made me so happy—I try to be as plausible and original as possible!
Silver Sniper: One word. Cute. And it still made me feel great.
bubblekid: I'll be updating as much as I can with school and extracurriculars, and all. avoids stalker and starts typing as fast as she can
J.P. Yabao: I do try to keep everyone as IC as possible; thank you! Glad that people pick up on that.
AnimeFreakPerson: Feel it in your bones! Ahaha, you made me laugh. And made me very glad that I actually got around to writing this. I will update soon, no worries! Can't get lazy, you know?
WickedFantasies: I'm bringing more! Yup yup…I have to start writing the outline for this fic or I'll never get anything done! D
White Witch: Glad ya think so! Funfunfun to write, since I've never really written any Naruto fics that weren't angsty.
Sweet Anime Fan: Sweet and funny! Yay, I'm actually writing it so that it fits to the genre I'm going for. Thank you very much!
plumwarrior37: People keep telling me to update soon—now I'm really going to have to get down to business! x I'm attempting to keep them as IC as possible while trying to give off subtle changes in their ways. All that subtle change stuff will probably come later, though, because now is still rather like introductions. Or at least I want to do that.
trickmaster: Thanks. Yes, this is going to be a non-action type thing, really, and I want it to be just a good read for when a little happy humor is needed. Thanks again!
