A/N: Tadaima! I'm back! Finally... finally! The series of deadly graduation exam in April and May has ended and I graduated with pretty good mark. So happy...:D You see, I'm really really sorry for the lack update in June... I was obsessed with Kingdom Hearts II game and couldn't take my hand off the joystick and my eyes from seeing more Riku (he's cute... hehe).
And sooo... this chap got abandoned a bit—a lot, as you can see. Hope you're still with me, ppl... :searching any signs of people still reading this piece of crap: Anyway, I humbly thank all of you who reviewed... I'm soooo flattered! If I had dry stock of idea I definitely read again the reviews you gave me and magically it always gives me the urge to write more. Once again thank you!
By the way, the random notes scattered in this chap was made by my beta.
NARUTO'S FIRST DATE CHAPTER 18
"I congratulate all of you, my youthful students! For your youthful participation in this youthful event! CHEERS!" Gai declared, raising his glass of sake upwards with tears streaming down his face.
"Cheers!" Lee and Tenten replied with uncountable ounce of similar excitement, save it for Neji, who just raised his drink slightly with bored eyes.
Lee sipped his juice and grinned his pearly white grin. "But to think you would throw up a celebration just for us, Gai-sensei! It's so... unpredictable!"
It was indeed, fine, to start your day when your teammate casually told you that your sensei wanted to meet all of you and... voila! A celebration party was what welcomed all of you. So, here they were, in the Yakiniku restaurant that Chouji was always eager to come, ordering everything that suited their taste with Gai's courtesy.
"Yes, sensei!" Tenten placed her glass on the table, gazing hungrily at the yakiniku before them. "Isn't it just weird? I mean, participating in the play is just a usual thing, right?"
"No, my youthful students!" Gai placed each of his hands on each of their shoulders (Note: Tenten and Lee, Neji's not included). "Aside from what I mentioned above, I know that Lee has finally been able to hook up his dream girl!" Gai gave a similar pearly grin and made Lee's face explode in the color of healthy tomato.
"You did what?" this time Neji couldn't hide his curiosity. His infamous lavender eyes stared at his teammate.
"I kinda asked Sakura-san to enjoy the event with me, of course... after the play, and you know what she said Neji-kun? SHE SAID YES!" Lee threw himself and enveloped his rival in a huge hug.
"Hey! Let go of me!"
"Congrats, Lee! Why didn't you tell us?" Tenten felt happy for her teammate.
"Oh, my boy has grown up into a fine young man seeking for true love!" Gai sniffed and sobbed dramatically. "LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
They hugged with tears and waves splashed dramatically behind them aside from the beautiful sunset which always accompanied them in their overly-dramatics moments. (Note: LOL, waves in a restaurant…XD)
"Here we go again..." Neji placed a hand on his forehead. One year and a half and he still couldn't cope entirely with these dimwits. Tenten just cast a knowing look at her teammate with a small smile.
"You two must also catch your love! Tenten? Neji?" Gai spoke up after he released Lee and sat back into his seat, staring into the two pairs of different eyes.
"Well, I certainly haven't found anyone who catches my interest, sensei..." Tenten placed her fingers in her chin.
"..." Neji just stayed silent. Oh sure, I'm occurring the sweetest love in my life... he thought sarcastically, there was no way he would say something like that though.
All of a sudden Lee looked awkward as he twirled his hot ocha with a teaspoon. His mouth suddenly clasped shut as a light pink graced his cheeks.
"What's the matter, my dear Lee?" Gai asked, immediately noticing the spandex-clad boy's unusual silent participation.
"Ano..." Lee spoke softly. "... I don't know about Tenten but... I just recently notice that Neji-kun..."
Neji paled, his drink that was coming halfway to his lips became forgotten. What? Has Lee found out? But Neji knew better that a guy who bore the name Rock Lee was a dense guy and yet... he was the first who found out all by himself?
"... have a relationship with Kiba-kun?" Lee finished with a demanding stare to the Hyuuga. (Note: sweatdrops)
Neji sweatdropped and nearly dropped his glass. ... I should've known better... the Hyuuga mentally noted.
Gai's jaw dropped with a loud clank.
Tenten blinked.
"What makes you think that, Lee?" she asked.
"Neji-kun... got close with Kiba-kun all of sudden when we were training at the mountain... so... hehehe, kinda bizarre isn't it? My opinion that is," Lee became more awkward when he fully noticed that there was a huge possibility that he was wrong.
Neji sighed and took a sip of the forgotten drink. "Well... it is true that—"
"... IS IT TRUE, NEJI?" Gai jumped to the prodigy's seat and shook the broad shoulders violently. "It's truly okay if it's indeed, true! I'm happy as long as you're happy, Neji my boy!" Gai gave what he thought was an encouragement, trying to wrap the poor unsuspecting boy into a tight hug but Neji's arms prevented him.
"It's NOT and in any possible way NOT true, Gai-sensei..." Neji hissed out.
"Oh? but you said—"
"I haven't finished yet! I mean it's true we're getting closer but it's not in that way! We're just friends!" Neji spoke up the truth and he sure hoped that soon Gai would let him roam free again.
But was he wrong...
"FRIENDS! MY ANTI-SOCIAL HYUUGA NEJI IS MAKING FRIENDS! I'm so happy my dear boy! COME HERE AND GIVE YOUR SENSEI A LOVING HUG!" Gai sniffed and once again tried to pull the younger boy into his arm in a powerful 'bear hug'. This time it was a plausible success.
"Lemme go!"
Their table was already received weird stares from people around and that was all it took for Neji to note a silent pray for the ground to suddenly open up and swallow him alive. Gai was making a fool out of himself and Neji! Not to mention that Lee was trying to involve himself in the hug too. Tenten herself was busy apologizing to a woman who had her baby crying thanks to Gai's shocking outbursts.
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I think I'm gonna die... Neji walked limply along the streets. The 'loving hug' has resulted in him turning blue due to lack of oxygen for three minutes. And that was not just it... the manager of the store came to their table since the 'mayhem' they created was just too much. Boy, was that embarrassing!
Neji was busy musing to himself why fate seemed happy to make him miserable like this. The next thought that crossed his mind was how this day couldn't get any worse. Invited into a party he didn't fancy much, being mistaken as Kiba's boyfriend and further more received a lifetime embarrassing experience with a manager.
A fool who crashed into him was just another thing he needed.
CRASH!
Neji fell with loud 'THUD' onto his back and that person came stumbling on top of him, giving Neji an aching stomach. Imagine it, you ate until you were full and this moron ran into you and landed on your stomach?
"Hey! Watch where you're going, asshole!" the Hyuuga prodigy gritted his teeth in agony.
"Fuck it! There's that weird kunai that flew out of no—Hyuuga?" coal black eyes stared down to meet the pale lavender. (Note: gasp they curses!)
"Uchiha?" Neji pricked when he heard his name being uttered by that familiar voice.
Both parties immediately sparked blue high-voltage electricity to each other's eyes. Lips pressed in a thin line of annoyance before Neji spoke up, after he suppressed his shock and pain.
"Get off me, bastard," Neji said calmly yet icily.
"Che... with pleasure," The Uchiha gave Neji a set of glare and immediately went back up to his feet, brushing dust off his clothes. Neji followed suit and copied the Uchiha's move.
"Ow, damn!" Sasuke flinched and Neji immediately knew why. His pupil-less eyes spotted a nasty wound on the avenger's knee. Crimson red blood gave contrast to the white skin of the Uchiha.
"That's what happens when you don't look where you're running..." Neji said in his aristocratic way, placing his hands inside his pocket.
"Dammit, Hyuuga! The street isn't yours!" Sasuke snapped.
Neji raised a brow when Sasuke pulled an effort to stroll away in his cool demeanor, only to stumble forward with a curse. The wound, Neji noted, started to bleed more due Sasuke's pushed effort to walk.
"You'll get infection by the time you get home... of course, if you manage it," Neji said from his current place, still didn't make any movement.
"What's that? Didn't know you care, Hyuuga..." Sasuke turned and smirked through his pain.
"I don't, but since you said that I'm the one who caused this..." Neji reached out and pulled the Uchiha's arm and with one fluid move the older boy took up the surprised Uchiha in his back, shrugging a bit to adjust Sasuke into a more comfortable position.
"I'll take the responsibility."
"What the—put me down, bastard!" Sasuke raised his hand to slap whichever part of the body of a certain Hyuuga he could reach.
"Shut up, jerk. You're now under my custody so don't even think of it!" Neji shushed the younger boy up with a glare. Without further chit-chat, the Hyuuga made a prestigious leap, disappearing in a blur of black along with an Uchiha on his back.
"Damn you, Hyuuga!"
A figure emerged from behind a tree close to where Neji and Sasuke had their recent conversation. Emerald green eyes grew wider as a pair of hands formed fists on each side of the thighs.
"Aaargh! Here I am thinking that my trap would work!" Haruno Sakura hissed and punched her palm. Her ultra-perfect plan was ruined! It was well coordinated and (once again) perfect save for Neji's uninvited participation in her plan.
Daaaaammnnn, just see, Neji-san! You won't get Sasuke-kun! SHANAROOO! Sakura made a mental note as she recalled back her supposed-to-be perfect plan.
A.) One of the bunshins Sakura created chased Sasuke into that spot where Sakura had put a trap. This scene went according to plan.
B.) The trap was activated as soon as Sasuke stepped on it, then a kunai would slash by and make a cut on Sasuke's leg. This scene also went according to plan perfectly.
C.) Sakura would quickly come and with her charms and concern Sasuke couldn't resist, she would treat Sasuke's injured leg and starting from then, a perfect romance story would bloom between those two.
D.) Then maybe Tsunade would change her role into Odette and she could act with Sasuke.
Certainly, the third part of plan didn't work out due the presence of a Hyuuga Neji.
No time to think! the pink-haired kunoichi snapped herself into reality and quickly leapt to follow Neji and Sasuke.
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Uzumaki Naruto sat on the park bench, swaying his feet, his azure eyes catching every detail of the movements it made. The blonde felt no mood in coming to rehearsal today, his mind was still clouded with his recent problem regarding Iruka, Sakura, and Neji. Cross-dressing and an obligation to kiss Sasuke was just the other things he needed.
"Hhhh..." he let out a heavy sigh which was quickly depleted by the cold wind.
Little did he notice that another blonde stood before him.
"Oi, I've been calling you for sometime now... Naruto."
"Ino?" Naruto raised his head and made eye contact with those baby blue eyes.
"Ah, finally..." she placed her hands on her hips. "Ne, have you seen Sasuke-kun around?"
As expected from Ino... the blonde mentally thought. He only gave a mere shrug as his reply. "How should I know where that bastard is? I'm not his mother..."
"Don't be so arrogant, Naruto!" Ino sat beside him with 'don't-say-bad-things-about-Sasuke-kun-or-you'll-never-see-tomorrow' expression written all over her face, yet Naruto didn't give a damn about it. He was very confident that he was far stronger than her.
"Hokage-sama told me to find you two. She has something to speak about..."
"I don't find any profit for me in the old hag's plan, she probably wants to scold us again for looking more like a boxing rival than lovers," Naruto commented with a wave of hand.
"Come on! At least help me find Sasuke-kun will ya?" The pony-tailed girl encircled her arms in Naruto's, giving a light pull to haul the blonde boy up into standing position.
"It's troublesome!" Naruto whined, starting to sound like a certain shadow-user. "Will you please leave me alone? I've got problems myself if you don't mind!" he was now officially annoyed, the spiky-haired boy shrugged off his arm from Ino's custody.
"Oh, you're such a man!" Ino 'humph'-ed and once again grabbed Naruto's arm, this time with a tighter grip.
"Ino," Naruto threatened yet it didn't seem to affect the young Yamanaka, due years of experience with Sasuke's cold attitude in which Ino had became immune to. With power Naruto didn't expect to exist in that slim body, she started dragging a protesting Naruto out of the park and melted into the Konoha society.
"Now let's split up and don't even think of running away!"
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oo0 Uchiha House: Sasuke's Room 0oo
"OW! Can't you be more gentle, Hyuuga?" (Note: XD evil thoughts)
"Shut up, twerp! And don't even try to kick me, asshole!" Neji held Sasuke's leg secure and brushed the wet cotton over the wound to clean the blood.
Sasuke's brows twitched in pain as he gritted his teeth. From the first time he didn't fancy the idea of Neji 'helping' him to treat his injured knee, he could do it by himself for God's sake! Sasuke regretted why he had given up by Neji's word that this was also part of taking responsibility.
Sasuke eyed the older boy as Neji tried to apply the medicine gently (as the urge to give the Uchiha pain suddenly grew). The Uchiha's dark midnight eyes followed Neji hawk-alike as the prodigy turned his attention to the medicine kit, progressing to find a bandage.
He looked (read: glared) into the depth of those pupil-less eyes. Scary, as many people said, but oddly, Sasuke found it mesmerizing. His gaze softened and he eyed the other boy further, swallowing every details of his face.
The Hyuuga was indeed a fine beauty, like the Adonis.
"Is it why Naruto fell for this guy?" Sasuke unconsciously let out a whisper.
"What?" Neji tilted his head upward, afraid that Uchiha suddenly got insane or something, for crying out loud. Fortunately for the avenger, Neji didn't get any of what he had said earlier.
"Nothing," Sasuke said curtly and looked away. Neji eyed Sasuke curiously yet he decided to give no attention to it, putting it aside with a light shrug.
"There..." Neji said, more to himself as he stared at his masterpiece with the faintest trace of satisfactory smile. Sasuke, too, cast his gaze to his knee and made sure it was still there in one piece.
"Staring won't heal it, Uchiha," Neji spoke up while his hands skillfully placed every medical item he had used back to their proper place. Sasuke's midnight eyes shifted as the Hyuuga prodigy concluded that he had no further intention of staying and drew up to his full height, opting for the window as his exit.
Pale hands reached for the window and gracefully slid it open. The owner of the hands was halfway from jumping out from his room only to be stopped by Sasuke's urgent voice.
"Oi, Neji..."
The preference of 'Neji' over the usual 'Hyuuga' or 'bastard' caught Neji's interest. He halted his body and slowly turned his head, focusing his eyes to those of Sasuke's. The other's expression was stoic as usual yet not with its usual threatening aura.
"That's 'Neji-senpai' for you," Neji said coolly.
Sasuke snorted as a replacement of 'Like I care'. His mouth remained zipped until a minute or so ticked by and when the Hyuuga's still form was still on his windowsill, Sasuke decided to continue.
"... are you... Inuzuka's boyfriend?"
The question caught Neji off guard and if he didn't regain back his cool composure back quickly like he always did, he would've fallen out from the window. The Hyuuga boy settled down by leaping his brows into his hairline. Great, being mistook as Kiba's boyfriend twice in a day! This could turn out into a routine...
"What?"
"Don't play deaf, Hyuuga. You know exactly what I mean..." Sasuke folded his arms on his chest.
"That's perfectly silly, Uchiha. Where the hell did that come from?" Neji sighed inwardly and cast his pitied stare at the Uchiha's lack of information.
"Naruto told me!" Sasuke countered as he stood up abruptly, ignoring the pang of pain in his knee, his voice was filled with disappointment. "You know what? At first I was happy now that you promised you would stay away from Naruto—"
When did I promise to do something like that again? Neji pondered for a moment, but didn't let it out or it would spell more trouble. It seemed that Neji's memory about the promise was a blur even though the fight scene with Sasuke was extremely vivid.
"—but that decision only made him sad... he always seemed troubled and gloomy," Sasuke lowered his voice in the most part of his sentence in purpose, yet the Hyuuga's strained ears recorded it into his brain perfectly.
"Hold on, Uchiha... when did you hear this from him?"
"Hmmm... nearly three weeks ago?" Sasuke recalled, tapping his chin to help summoned the information back to his brain.
Now Neji really felt like falling out from the window, yet his cool attitude prevented him from doing so. The prodigy still couldn't come out with appropriate words rather than those mocking words about Sasuke's unexpected stupid-ness so he preferred being a good listener.
"So... I hate to say this, but don't turn your back on him ever again..." The Uchiha still locked the information about Naruto's true feelings since it only gave the Hyuuga more luxury than he already offered.
Or so he thought.
"... Why are you doing this?" Neji asked. Not demanding, not threatening. Just a simple question waited to be answered if the target felt like it.
"I don't know, I just want Naruto to be happy..." Sasuke shrugged with a slightest hint of sad smile. His voice was amazingly still. "Besides, one of my goals is to resurrect my clan... this way, maybe I'll finally be able to learn to love a girl..."
"... Uchiha..." was let out rather than those mocking words already queuing in the Hyuuga's brain. He didn't expect that Sasuke would say something really un-Sasuke like that.
"Actually, Uchiha..."
"THERE YOU ARE, BASTARD!"
Both prodigies were shut down from words when they notice the third figure outside the window, perched in a branch of a tree outside Sasuke's window. For the ninth time since Neji came into his life this day, Sasuke received a glare, only this time from a set of azure blue eyes.
"Naruto," both Neji and Sasuke said in unison
"Ino is looking for us! That Tsunade-baachan has something to do with us, but I bet it concerns 'bout us being—oh, Neji!" Naruto jumped in into Sasuke's room, he exhibited a foxy grin for the Hyuuga currently standing beside him.
"... Naruto.. look, we're... kinda busy right now, can you come back later?" Sasuke massaged his forehead, happy that Naruto came but annoyed at the inappropriate time.
"Busy?" Naruto parroted as he exchanged gaze between Sasuke and Neji, his golden brows formed into a furrow.
"On second thought... I think we must find other time more suitable than this. It's almost time for the rehearsal and the fourth party is coming..." Neji broke the tension between the two rivals with his head turned in the direction of the gate.
"SASUKE-KUUUN!" Ino cheered happily as she jumped onto the branch Naruto has been on. Neji's pupil-less eyes followed each of her move.
"You see Sasuke-kun! Tsunade-sama—"
"I know!" Sasuke cut off the blonde girl. Now he felt like tearing off his hair from his scalp, he could already felt his brows twitching in annoyance and veins popping in random areas of his head. The next thing he needed was another loud blonde who couldn't even tolerate with his freedom.
"Tell her I'll be right there!" Sasuke motioned Ino to go away with a 'shoo-shoo' wave.
"Let Naruto do it! I can always accompany you, Sasuke-kun!" with an amazing speed Superman would envy, Ino latched herself onto the raven-haired boy, squashing her crush with her weight.
"Oi! Get off me!"
Naruto giggled and Neji smirked at the scene that suddenly turned comical before them. Sasuke pushed Ino away several times but the blonde girl remained stubborn and kept clinging onto him like no tomorrow.
"I see you have no use of us in here, Uchiha? Might as well take a leave then," the Hyuuga then proceeded to once again jump out from the window, this time with Naruto in tow.
"See you, bastard!" Naruto cheerfully waved before leaping after his boyfriend.
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The couple walked in a same pace, one with hands deep inside his pocket and the other with hands crossed behind his head.
"Ano sa, Neji..." Naruto, for the third time after they left the Uchiha House, asked with pouting lips. "What were you talking about with Sasuke?"
And Neji, for the third time after they left the Uchiha House, answered it with a mysterious small smile. A simple expression yet it dumped more curiosity on Naruto's part since Neji never had a nice relationship with Sasuke and now he was smiling about a topic with Uchiha Sasuke involved in it.
"Nothing important, really..."
"Really?" Naruto repeated, tugging on Neji's sleeve with the best puppy eyes he could summon.
Neji nodded again, this time he brought his hand to caress the whiskered cheek. "You're cute."
Hyuuga Neji had made a decision: Let Sasuke roam clueless for a while, and if the Sharingan user had already closed the gap in his heart, putting his feelings for Naruto behind and he was truly ready to hear it, Neji would tell him... someday...
No need to tell Naruto this, though.
A smile once again formed on the cold lips of the Hyuuga. And it made Naruto's blush from Neji's recent remark swept out and replaced yet again with a curious look.
"You're smiling again! What the hell is this all about?" the Jinchuuriki demanded.
Neji sighed before he grabbed Naruto's waist, closing the distance between them and completely muffled the rest of Naruto's sentence, once again the pinkish blush erupted on those whiskered cheeks. (Note: Kyaaa! >w this is why I love editing this fanfic X3)
"Nothing important..." Neji quickly pulled away and repeated his sentence, the smile got wider.
Naruto was still lost at words and blushing furiously when Neji quickened his pace, exposing his back to the blonde. Damn hell, they were in public! The blonde shyly touched the place where Neji's lips touched his, feeling the slight warmth the older boy left behind.
He was snapped back to reality when Neji's voice called upon him, loudly.
"Oi, Naruto!" the blonde noticed the figure belonging to Neji stood before the door to the gym that was currently occupied for the rehearsal.
"C-coming!" Naruto shifted before jogged his way to the Hyuuga.
Neji tapped his foot lightly while waiting for the blonde to catch up. Yet when Naruto was a meter from him, Neji tensed up when he felt another presence came out from the door behind him.
"Neji-san?" the latter reacted by turned his head sharply at the mention of his name. His combat reflexes relaxed fully when he recognized the figure of Sakura standing behind him, retreating her hand from touching his shoulder.
"Yes? Are we late?" he asked as Naruto stopped beside him, smiling a greeting for the kunoichi.
"No... in fact, you're early... only Tenten-san, Hinata-san, Lee-san and Shino are here now..."
"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when he noticed aura of uneasiness slightly radiating from the pink-haired girl.
"Neji-san," she suddenly said sternly, earning a raised brow from the Hyuuga. "I-I know eavesdropping isn't good... but I accidentally heard this... about you..."
Naruto formed another frown.
Neji didn't like the sound of it. He didn't like it one bit. Did Sakura spot him kissing Naruto back there? Or with that brilliant brain of hers she put two and two together and revealed her teammate's relationship? Or did she notice the lack of usual attention she received from Naruto and was curious about the cause?
"Neji-san..." she raised her head and met her emerald green orbs with his.
"Are you really Kiba's boyfriend?"
Neji mentally fell over anime-style. Not again!
Naruto exhibited facial expression identical to Gai when the unique teacher heard this earlier.
This was going to be a looong and (hopefully) interesting day...
-TBC-
A/N: Wheeee... pretty long chappie indeed! Eight and a half page in total whereas I usually write seven pages. And it's still a pure crap... few months of absence and I felt I forgot how to write...:sighs:
Thank you to my beta, ShadowDorumon and all the reviewers, you guys deserved tons of NejiNaru fluff scenes XD! I'll try and update this ASAP, please bear with me and yet another thanks for you guys :hug each one of the reviewers:
Feed the writer with reviews, onegaishimasu! XP