Disclaimer: Naruto? Not mine.
--
Part Three: A Day With Him By MyFallenAngel--
Tenten tied her second bun quickly as she ran to their training grounds. She was late for the scheduled meeting with Neji, and it was not going to do her any good. Then again, Neji may have given her a little lighter consequence... hopefully.
"You're late again." was the first thing he said when they fixed gaze.
Tenten suppressed an apologetic smile on her lips. "Sorry, I got held up at home. I had to do..." She shrugged, "Stuffs."
Neji eyed her once more. "You look different." He observed.
"I do?" Tenten asked, feeling a little confused. "What is?"
He shook his head casually, ignoring the small blue ribbon trailing around her buns. "Let's go."
"Okay." She followed him as he walked faster and faster - his usual 'I'm cool, I'm calm, I'm Hyuuga Neji' style of walking. She was used to it, and now it was easy to catch up with him. "What do you want to buy, anyway? I thought they supply us shurikens, makabishis and kunais whenever you need it."
"I want another weapon." He said simply, plainly.
Tenten nodded. In her mind images of 'another weapon' bulged in. It may be needles, daggers, katanas, javelins, swords... their pommels and blades differed in every way. As a weapon specialist, she felt that each weapon had its own uniqueness. She grinned. Neji wouldn't like using needles...
Would he?
--
Tenten gazed around the store. Hundreds of weapons were being attached to the walls - it was almost covered, you could almost not see the wallpaper behind. She smiled at the shiny blades - she loved them so much, really.
"What do you need?" The shopkeeper lunged forward to the cashier. Then he fixed his gaze on Tenten and immediately noticed the girl. "Oh, Tenten-chan! How are you?"
Tenten grinned back. "I'm very fine, Kazu-san." She replied. "How are you? How's Yuka-san doing?" Yuka was Kazu's wife - she was often sick, so Tenten hardly ever sees her nowadays.
"She's doing quite fine." Kazu smiled, "In fact, she is getting healthy. It was all thanks to you, Tenten-chan! If you didn't help us way back, she will not have survived!"
Tenten smiled in return, "I've just done what I can at that time, Kazu-san." She winked, "After all, both of you are almost like my parents."
"Thank you!" Kazu said appreciatively. He turned to Neji, who was observing a series of katanas on the wall, "And who is this fine gentleman here? Could you, by any chance, Tenten-chan's boyfriend?"
"Kazu-san!" The weapon kunoichi protested, and before Neji could even blink she had turned the subject to business, "Neji is looking for a weapon, Kazu-san. Any recommendations?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Kazu said as he observed Neji. "Good, fine hands. If I may suggest, double-bladed kunais may be good. They are sharp, thin and strong, and their price are reachable for anyone." He handed a double-bladed kunai to Neji, and his Byakugan flared up that right second. Kazu gasped, and the Hyuuga boy examined the blade quickly.
He gave a nod as an approval and held the kunai to Tenten. "What do you say?" He asked after he noticed something about it.
She looked a little taken aback, but she complied with Neji's question at once. She examined and held the kunai quickly, swinging it, cutting air. "This is fine." She said at last after a few moments, "But its blade is not pure metal. You have been putting something in it again, have you, Kazu-san?"
Kazu grinned. "I know your abilities haven't fade out, Tenten-chan!" he declared, "Indeed, it is a weapon for practicing only. This is the real one." He handed a double-bladed kunai again, and this time Tenten smiled as she swung it happily.
"Good." She said approvingly. "I like it."
"I'll get this." Neji interrupted, and Kazu nodded as he moved closer to the cashier table. After the 'business' was finished, they went out of the store and walked to the Ichiraku ramen store.
"Hey, I thought we're NOT using any cheating methods here!" A loud Naruto shouted, angriness hinted in his voice.
"You did NOT point that out! But ha! You ruined it, now we'll never get to Hinata-chan!" This time it was Kiba who shouted, also with angriness in his voice.
Tenten arched her eyebrows, feeling a little interested at the mentioning of Hinata's name. She felt Neji getting a little tense and quickly stared at him, where he stared back at empty space. She took it as an approval and entered the ramen shop.
"What has something to do with Hinata?" Tenten asked, appearing between Kiba and Naruto, shocking them to death.
"Nothing." Kiba and Naruto chorused.
Tenten frowned. "You're going to tell me." She commanded.
"No." Kiba and Naruto said once more.
The weapon kunoichi shrugged and looked around for backup, when Neji appeared behind her too. "You better say." He said calmly, although his Byakugan was already flared up.
"No." Another rejection.
"Fine then." Tenten said and turned to Shino, who was sitting very quietly at his chair. "Mind to tell me what happened?" She asked with faked sweetness as her hand shoved out a dagger out of her waist bag.
The Aburame sat, completely silent. Kiba tugged his shirt childishly, and that's when Shino got really annoyed with him. He turned to Tenten. "They have a bet of asking Hinata-chan out for the dance." He said simply, and remained quiet again.
But Tenten had had not enough. She turned at Kiba and Naruto angrily. "You're making Hinata a bet?" She asked, demandingly. "I need an explanation. Fast." She pulled out her sharpest, newest, smallest fuuma shuriken and spread the blades out at them threateningly.
Naruto grinned. It wasn't so bad. He turned to Kiba, "Hey, Kiba! Maybe we should ask her who should go with Hinata!" Kiba frowned but nodded anyways as Neji stiffened up. He had softened up to Hinata, and somehow had grown a little protective of her - it was his job as the branch family too.
"... So what happened?" Tenten demanded impatiently.
"We made a bet, you see." Kiba started, "If I asked Hinata-chan out and she accepted, Naruto'll buy me ten bowls of ramen of my choice... vice versa." He shrugged, not liking the idea to explain it to Tenten.
"Ten bowls?" The weapon kunoichi's eyes widened. "You can eat that much?"
"... Tenten, that's beside the point." Neji reminded behind her, and she slapped her forehead lightly. "Oh, right. So what happened after that? Which of you win?"
"None of us." Naruto interrupted, "Kiba used a cheating method on me! He asked Shino to fly bees at me, and the bees get me held up! He stopped me before I even asked Hinata!"
"But you met Hinata before we had the agreement time started." Kiba protested, "You were cheating too!" He turned to Tenten, "So, Tenten, who do you say?"
Tenten whirled around and turned her back at them, thinking. Hinata would like it if Naruto asked her, and Tenten liked to see her happy. Hinata was often too shy, and this was a great opportunity to draw her closer to her crush. But if Kiba likes Hinata too, then that makes it complicated. She eyed the Inu shinobi closely and suddenly jabbed her index finger at his chest. "Do you like her, Kiba?"
"Like her?" Kiba repeated, "Like her like what?"
"You know what she means." Shino said suddenly and turned to Tenten, "If it helps, no, he doesn't. He just wants the ramen."
"That settles it." Tenten grinned in satisfaction. "Well then, Naruto. Ask her, and if you hurt her, you know what will happen to you, right?" She swung her fuuma shuriken cleverly around Naruto and grinned evilly at him. The kyuubi boy shrugged but he smiled gratefully, "Thank you! Ten bowls for me, Kiba!"
"No." Neji interrupted this time, "Hinata-sama's not for bets."
"He's right." Tenten jumped in, "Come on, Naruto. You got a date, what other?"
"Okay." The blonde agreed easily. Tenten raised her eyebrows, she didn't think that she could persuade him that easily. Naruto was known for his stubbornness and stupidity, after all. Tenten grinned as she noticed a slight blush on the boy's face.
Hinata really could hope.
That was another one down, apart from Sakura.
After Neji and Tenten had their lunch in Ichiraku, they walked to a park, and sat on a bench near where some children were playing.
"Here." Neji suddenly handed her the pack where the double-bladed kunai laid. Tenten looked a little confused. "What?" She asked, staring at the pack.
"This is yours." He said simply, and she gazed at him questionably. "But you bought it for yourself, Neji, and..."
"This is yours." Neji repeated plainly, and Tenten gave in. She took the pack off Neji's hand and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you."
He kept silent, as the usual Neji will be.
Tenten gulped, "Neji..." She started. It had been the third time she tried to bring up the subject, and this time, she really should bring it up. Really. If not, she will not do it forever - she can practically feel it within her lungs.
He looked up at her. "Yes?"
Neji was being more than talkative for his usual measurements today, Tenten thought. She took a deep breath, "Do you know about the jounin dance next week? The one mentioned by The Fifth?"
"She hosts it." He said simply. "Lee has asked you, hasn't he?"
Tenten recalled the moment some days ago. Lee had asked her, but it was only for a joke. "He's only kidding." She shrugged, "What I want to know is..." She stopped herself, "Are you going?"
Neji remained thoughtful. After a moment, he said, "No."
"Why?" Tenten couldn't stop her voice from sounding pathetic and a little hopeless.
"I want to train." was his reply.
Tenten let out a sigh. "You could train later..." She suggested helplessly. Hearing him rejecting the invitation from The Fifth had already killed her hopes. She eyed him anxiously. "Please?"
"No." He frowned. "You could go with Lee, Tenten."
So he knows I'm looking for somebody to go with! she thought, although desperately. "Please?" She added again with puppy-eyes this time. She knew that Neji was somehow weak to her pleading puppy-eyes look, and she will use the advantages when she has to.
Neji refused, "No way."
"I'll get Lee out of the training grounds for an hour?" She offered quietly.
"Still no." He smirked. "You could do better."
Tenten remained thoughtful. "Well... I'll get Lee and Gai-sensei away for two hours?" She offered again.
Neji smirked. "No."
She began to think clearly this time. What will Neji really like? Anything she could help him with? An idea popped in her mind, and she smiled at him. "How about... I'll get Lee and Gai-sensei away for a whole day, so that you could train freely in the training grounds?"
He looked thoughtful. "Better." He said. "But, no."
Tenten furrowed her eyebrows. What does he want? And then she caught the glimpse in his eyes and noticed that he was practically teasing her with her eyes. "Neji!" She protested, and he let out a laugh. Tenten glared at him, "I can't think of anything else." She said at last, "Except... I'll buy you some meditation books!" This was her last weapon, and if he still refuses, then she was dead.
"No." Neji said, breaking her hopes into pieces.
Tenten frowned.
He smirked and pulled her closer. "How about..." He whispered closely to her ears, "You keep Lee and Gai-sensei away, buy me some meditation books, and train with me in the grounds after the dance? It's not fun training alone."
"Fun?" Tenten asked. "You know fun?"
He smirked with a look that means, "Of course I do, because I am Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Neji knows everything."
She smiled gratefully. His offer was even better than all of her offers! "Of course I will!"
"Say..." He stated and she looked at him expectantly. "I'm still not your partner."
She smiled a cheeky smile. She was not going to let him be free with that! "Surely you didn't think that I care about that?" She asked wickedly and leaned closer to him, "What are you hoping for, Hyuuga Neji?"
He smirked. "Just you see."
--
Not a long one either… but yeah, please forgive me.
Reviews!