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Tauren Paladin says: Konnichiwa people…
Thanks to Dearka'sGirl1 (who will soon be Byakugan Something), Blossoms of Spring, naash, nightmare car, Daughter of Water, Matt and T.K., Tanya-Lilac, Chixon, Twilight16, ardelinia, Natsuki, Nanadaime, Emily, '.Serene. Panda.', Sakran, Don don, dark672, Safron Angel, Retardaime, Rinoakes, hamgirl, aris2, SmkyRngr1986, Kikitare, KAZE, HyuugaTenTenChan06, Xx-S H I N O B I-xX, and my master (Ceasg-chan)
Sorry, I don't feel like writing my boring A/N today… (Cough cough…)
Note: You should activate your graphic-imagination for this chapter. When you activate this brain function, please be careful of not overloading your mind with tons of images and lose consciousness; when reading fics, please do so in a well lit room. (Cough cough…)
Disclaimer: Naruto is not owned by me. Sue me, don't. (Cough cough…)
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At the theme park
Chapter 7
Hyuuga Neji was just sitting there, doing nothing in particular.
Why? You may ask. Well, he had gotten up because of a Hyperactive Rock Lee who had to make so much noise before going out for a walk. What was his problem?
Neji had already tried to regain a bit of his sleep, but he just couldn't. His eyes wouldn't close. A bit of meditation wouldn't do him damage either, but something was disturbing his mind. A very problematic thought wouldn't give the prodigy a moment of peace. Why hadn't Tenten opened her present?
Neji was sure his present wasn't something unsuitable. Well, maybe it would be if it was for another girl, but she was Tenten, the mistress of weapons. How would she not like her present? Maybe in her mind, she was just hoping for a teddy bear; although she had gotten one from the shooting game. Neji was starting to fear, if Tenten didn't like the present, would it mean their friendship would vanish forever? "Nah…" Neji said in his mind. A simple birthday present would not sunder their relationship which had been weaved over many years. But then again, it was her only birthday present that year. He had crafted those unique weapons with all the dedication a man could ever muster, wasn't it good enough? Had she opened the present already and had disliked it?
The Hyuuga prodigy started to sweat like no tomorrow. His confidence was beginning to crumble down to pieces. Neji tried to get a hold of himself. What was happening with him? He unconsciously started meditating over that issue as the morning sun rose to the sky.
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As the sun rose over the mountains in a movie-like way, the green beast of Konoha stopped for a rest. He had been running for about three hours and thirty minutes. Lee wasn't tired yet, but the beautiful scene just captivated him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he sat on a wooden bench for the better contemplation of the scene.
Rock Lee wasn't a type of guy who would meditate for hours, like Neji, but rather a type of guy who would think of working hard to crush the rock rather than jump it. Still, his incredible determination had won him the title of the green beast of Konoha. He wondered why Sakura wouldn't like him as somebody she could love as a partner. Yes, he had fuzzy eyebrows and wore a green spandex suit, but he could love her more than anyone else. A pair of tears dropped from Lee's eyes as he thought he might just be helpless. Why was life so unfair with him? He was the only nin who couldn't use any type of ninjutsu or genjutsu, and had a below average level of taijutsu skills. He had gained a superb amount of taijutsu skills with hard training and sleepless nights, yet he wouldn't get the affect of someone whom he had fallen in love with. Only Gai would support him. He was the last pillar of a falling temple.
"Why are you crying?" A voice asked from behind him. The voice had a nice, but worried tone to its pronunciation.
Lee turned around just to find the girl he had been with the last day. He smiled and told her everything was fine since she was with him. Lee wiped his tears off and walked along the road, followed by the girl. He grabbed her hand and did the 'thumbs up' sign as he walked along the road enlightened by the sun and the reanimating presence of the girl. Another pillar had been added to the temple.
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Tenten just opened her eyes. Her dream had not been a nice one. It had been a nightmare of her past, of when she was rejected by the other academy students because she was an orphan. It pained her to think it was the truth. All the academy students had parents, who would play with them. All she had was a harsh past. Her perfect aim was the results of many years of channeling her rage and sorrow to her weapons. That's why she had become so good; she didn't have parents to spend her time with.
Droppings some tears, she glanced at the big, white box she had received from one of her only friends, the only person who had remembered her birthday.
Remembering she now had friends to rely on, she reached for the present and carefully started to take its tape off.
When she had finished, another layer of paper interfered between her present and her. She once again undid the wrapping of the box.
What she saw could not be believed. A large weapon covered by a pearl-colored sheath paired with a smaller one. She had just gotten a daisho as her birthday present.
Amazed, she analyzed the blades blissfully. She first saw the smaller of the two, judging by its size, she guessed it was a wakizashi, a weapon which was usually used for dual sword combat or for defense, like a kodachi. The longer blade was obviously a katana. A deadly sword which was flexible at the same time it was sharp. Tenten was shocked; daisho would not be very cheap, even for a wealthy family like the Hyuuga. Had he bought them? It wouldn't be probable, as Neji had the ability to be very adamant in his spending decisions. She started to wonder how he had got her present as she unsheathed the katana and found herself stupefied.
A silver-colored blade stood in front of her, its curvature perfect, its sharpness far surpassing those of the regular swords. It was not the one with most decorations, but it was gorgeous enough to make everyone think it was actually a ceremonial item.
As Tenten unsheathed the blade further, she noticed the smith who had forged the katana knew what he was doing. The body of an elegant dragon could be seen running across the edge, it was on par with another dragon in the opposite side of the katana, who seemed to be its twin. The brunette smiled, for she had discovered the maker of the weapon she was holding.
Tenten cleaned the mess up, and went out of the room so she could take a shower to start the day. When she opened the door, she could see a sweating Neji meditating on the couch. She smiled and proceeded to enter the bathroom.
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Even though meditation consists on being calm, Neji was not calm in any way. His mind had started to be unstable. How could a girl do such a thing to him? The prodigy sighed.
After some minutes of rethinking what could have happened with the kunoichi, he decided it was best to see if Tenten had opened the present or not.
He stood up and quietly examined her room with his bloodline limit. He could see the gift had been unwrapped; but could not sense Tenten's presence in the room. His attention quickly shifted to the noise that came out of the bathroom. Neji guessed it was Tenten. So he eased his mind of the thought that was concerning him a few minutes ago.
He smiled and walked towards the kitchen in hope of finding some food to eat for breakfast. He would be needing the energy, for the area assigned to them that day would be none other than the… RIDES AREA! (Dun…dun…duuuun….)
He knew his companion wouldn't spare a moment between rides; and he would gladly be in all of them if it was a requisite to be with her.
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The energic Rock Lee had started his duty already, well, more or less.
His girl had been urging him to go into the few rides that were open by that time with her. Of course he was glad, but his responsibility as a security guard would be a hindrance to him that day. He thought he might watch any pranks on the ride.
"Let's go to this one!" The innocent girl said with the sweetest of voices.
Lee, before agreeing, saw the ride she was referring to was a gigantic manor which looked really familiar to him in a strange way. It was an old Japanese style manor, it had lush, false garden surrounding it. It also had its own training grounds.
Lee rushed to the ticket stall with his girl, not seeing the huge name on the top of it.
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The Hyuuga prodigy reached for the pepper in the kitchen as he ruffled the eggs with his other hand. Then, he placed his chopped ingredients into the frying pan and started pouring a little bit of oil to the mix. He has happy that day, very happy indeed. In fact, a wide smile was crossing his face in a not so hidden way.
He reached for a platter of bacon on his side and added the slices of pork to the omelet he was cooking. Just then, the sound of an opening door was heard. Neji didn't turn around like the last time, and didn't activate his Byakugan unlike the last time in fear he might get another nosebleed.
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Tenten walked as quickly as she could, reaching the door successfully. She locked the door just in case Neji didn't hear her silent footsteps. As she started to dry her hair, Tenten looked around for her bag, which was nearly empty. Her last clothes were the ones she didn't use for missions: The navy shirt and baggy pants (The clothing she was wearing when she saw Neji vs. Naruto in the chuunin exams.) Tenten smiled as an IBOL idea crossed her mind.
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On the other side, Neji had just finished cooking the breakfast for his teammate. He walked towards the window and opened it. A gush of air flew in as a beautiful landscape was revealed. Neji reclined his forearms on the low thingy that verandas have to prevent you from falling (sorry, I don't know how that thing is called.) His eyes could see the entire park starting to liven up. Then, he felt someone behind him.
"Let's eat breakfast, Tenten." He said as he turned his gaze upon her, with a bright face.
He noticed his teammate was not on her usual attire. She was wearing the clothing she wore when they went out on a social mission, her forehead free of the protector. She also wore a long strap of cloth which was tightly gripped around her waist like a belt. His gift was being held by it. Also, she had a pair of simple silver earrings which were shaped like shuriken, which made her look stunning. They were paired with a silver necklace which gave the impression of being made with hundreds of tiny kunai facing down. She also wore a Jounin glove on each hand. A pair of scroll-holsters could be seen on each of her wrists. The most radical change however, was her hairstyle. She had a high ponytail tied up with the ribbons he had given her. Some strands of hair were between her cheeks and ears. In all, she was like Tenten herself, a weapon mistress who would have hundreds of weapons hidden under her garments. The only change was that she looked like a goddess.
"WHY DOESN'T SHE USE HER HAIR IN ANOTHER STYLE MORE OFTEN!" Neji asked in his mind.
"What's wrong, Neji?" she asked confused, tilting her head to a side and placing her finger on her lips.
Neji was about to lose his serious guy reputation by squeezing Tenten's cheeks and screaming "CUTE!" but he didn't do it because his self-control was better than anyone else's.
"It's just that you look pretty in those clothes and hairstyle. Let's go eat breakfast, I'm starving!" He said as he walked towards the table.
"Um… thanks?" Tenten said as she followed him to the table.
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Lee and the girl had just come out from the ride. They were freaked out. They never imagined the attraction would be a test for experienced nin. Luckily for Lee, the girl knew some basic taijutsu as well, so he didn't have to spend the entire ride protecting her. Of course she didn't have a level as high as Lee's taijutsu, but she knew how to defend herself.
Lee hadn't really paid attention to the enemy's white eyes nor their unique fighting styles.
"Let's go eat something!" Lee said as he dragged his girl to a nearby ramen stall.
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After having finished their breakfast, Neji entered the bathroom for a quick shower
While Tenten washed the dishes. She smiled. Neji had been smiling when she saw her in the unusual clothes. Was that a sign of his icy-cold heart melting? She wouldn't know for sure, but she wanted one of her only friends to be happy, just as he had enlightened her lonely life.
After a while, Neji had finished bathing. He went to his room and dressed in his usual outfit.
"Tenten, are you done yet?" he asked.
"Not quite…" She replied silently.
"Is something wrong?" Neji asked noticing her low tone of voice. He didn't expect her to change her mood so suddenly. Was it something he had done?
"No… It's just that I would like to see you in other clothes at least one day." She responded. She had just improvised that question to make up for her sad tone of voice.
"Alright… If you dressed different today, then I guess I can do the same." He said as he headed to his room.
Tenten smiled and looked at the open door. Then she realized Neji had forgotten to close the door before changing. The kunoichi blushed as she saw her teammate take his shirt off, revealing his well-toned body; and fainted when he turned around to see her.
"Tenten! Are you okay!" she heard him say before collapsing.
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Tauren Paladin says: Heh… I think it's enough for now. Now you can turn your graphic imagination feature off. If you don't want to, don't review. This story will continue shortly. (Cough cough…)
Sayonara… (Cough cough…)
