sorry for the long wait, minna-san! thanks again for the reviews!
chapter seven: What Lies Beneath
Harumiko Café
"Wo----ow, that is FANCY!" Naruto gasped in awe as he eagerly took in every last detail of the lavishly furnished café. Tenten winked at Neji, then sat down in a corner, motioning the duo to act likewise.
"What did I tell you? This place is great." She said gleefully.
"It is very welcoming…" Neji observed quietly. Naruto just muttered a "hn" and tensely perched himself on the seat farthest from the girl. The Hyuuga shot him a reprimanding look; Naruto barely acknowledged it and settled for playing with a loose thread on his shirt, his mouth thinned out so that it was nearly invisible.
"Naruto. Behave yourself." The harsh whisper shot from Neji's mouth before he could even think twice.
Naruto looked up and shot him dead in the eye with an ice-cold glare absolutely sodden with sheer hostility. Neji recoiled; never had he seen pure loathing in those radiant blue eyes before, but to think that he was now on the full receiving end of the steel-set glower that oozed such….such hatred…the Hyuuga felt a sickening sense of dread as Naruto slowly sliced through every bit of skin, tissue, and organ with his razor-sharp gaze, scorching Neji with the fire-forged ice of his glare until the Hyuuga could positively feel his flesh blister at the sight. Normally azure-teal eyes were now black with animosity, two limitless depths which seemed to sap Neji's soul straight out of his body.
The look died and Naruto turned away, still cruelly mutilating the napkin in front of him as he emblazoned twin holes of corrosion into the innocent table with his gaze.
"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Tenten's concerned voice cut through the loud silence. Naruto looked up and displayed his phoniest smile yet, a mixture saturated with hypocrisy and false assurance. Neji wasn't surprised to see the brunette's smile momentarily flicker.
"I'm…fine! Why do you ask? Do you think there's something wrong with me?" Naruto asked, his voice two notches too high. Neji winced delicately. The blatant implication was too blindingly obvious. He supposed Tenten grasped it, though whether she chose to show it was entirely closed to the outward environment.
"No…it's just that you're not looking quite—"
"Ah, here's the waiter! I'd like a glass of fresh coconut juice please!" Naruto loudly interrupted with a dose of feigned enthusiasm. The startled waiter hurriedly accredited the order and turned to Neji.
"And for you?"
"Iced tea please." The Hyuuga said calmly.
"I'd like a Coke, if you don't mind." Tenten added. The waiter nodded, set down menus, and waltzed off to get drinks. The minute he was gone, Neji turned to Naruto with a look of great reproof.
"Naruto—"
"My, they DO have a LOT of entries, don't they?"
"Naruto—"
"I think I'll have the gyouza, what do you think, Tenten?" Naruto chattered away, mouth going a mile a second.
"W-well, the gyouza is a little—" Tenten tried to interject, but Naruto gave her not a chance.
"Yes, I think I'll have the gyouza, or maybe the takoyaki, or hey, they have ramen here too, right? But I think since this is a rather special occasion, you know with you finally snagging such a WONDERFUL girl, and so very lovely too, I think I'll settle on the fried noodles, yes, that's what I'll do—"
"Naruto—" Neji attempted another futile effort at shutting up the blonde.
"Ah, here comes the waiter! WAITER-SAN! THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE! SUCH FINE SERVICE THIS PLACE HAS!" Naruto's voice abruptly skyrocketed several levels in volume. The startled waiter smiled benignly and set down the drinks. No sooner had Neji thanked him then Naruto took off to the races once more.
"I WOULD LIKE THE CHOW MENG, PLEASE! EXTRA SEAFOOD AND VEGETABLES ON TOP, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" The bewildered waiter hesitantly wrote down the order as if he weren't quite sure just how to deal with the perpetually-moving blonde with the manic eyes and the remarkably shrill voice.
"A-and you, sir?"
"HE'LL BE HAVING THE TAKOYAKI WITH FRIED CALAMARI!" Though this was indeed the order Neji had chosen, nevertheless he was quite taken aback when Naruto practically shoved his face in the waiter's own counterpart and wrote the order down himself.
"AND THE LOVELY YOUNG LADY OVER THERE WILL BE HAVING THE LOBSTER WITH EXTRA HOT SAUCE!"
"Naruto-kun, I really don't like hot sauce—"
No matter how Neji or Tenten tried to save what little sanity the blonde had retained, the poor Naruto was past salvation. So it was extremely shocking when all of a sudden the blonde abruptly shut up, muttered a jumbled something about going to the bathroom, and was off like a shot, his legs a blur as they swiftly transported his body away.
The orders arrived, but Naruto didn't show. After half an hour of waiting, Neji and Tenten gave up and started on their own portions with a resignated sigh. Tenten looked up, mahogany eyes clouded with concern and bewilderment
"Is he always like this?" She asked Neji, who shrugged in confusion.
"I have never seen him so high-strung. It doesn't look like anything's wrong with him, but perhaps it might be…personal problems, do you follow?" Tenten nodded.
"What's he normally like?" She leaned forward and cupped her chin with her hands. A brief smile graced Neji's elegant countenance as he envisioned the blonde.
"He is…headstrong, that I can guarantee. Naruto is definitely headstrong, and that more than anything else makes him stand out among a crowd. His determination does have a physical effect upon his being…he holds himself a certain way…and he's extremely confident in everything he does." Neji said softly, a wistful look in pearlescent eyes. Tenten nodded, soaking up the information.
"Well…I don't know what's made him so unusually tense today…but perhaps you'll get a chance to meet his normal personality. Naruto always reverts back to normal before too long."
For some strange, inexplicable reason, Tenten's smile looked a little bit off.
"Yes, I shall be looking forward to that."
After School
"Wow, we have four classes together! Isn't that amazing, Neji-kun? You're taking the same classes as I am! Who would have thought…on such a big campus…" Tenten laughed as she walked alongside, matching Neji's long stride with her own light-footed walk.
"Oh! My aunt's holding a party tonight to celebrate her birthday, and I have to come…" She trailed off. After a moment's pause, Neji spoke up.
"You wish me to attend to relieve you of an otherwise mundanely dull evening?" He quipped with a rare smile. Tenten brightened considerably.
"Yeah! I mean…" She clapped a hand over her mouth.
"If anyone else asks, tell them you're extremely interested in social parties, okay?" She whispered with a conspirational laugh.
"Very well." Neji said.
Later
Naruto looked up, an utterly stunned look on his features.
"You, of all people, are going to a DINNER PARTY!" Neji winced delicately.
"Must you yell in such a hair-raising manner?" He asked disapprovingly. Naruto grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry. So why are you going to this one?" He inquired.
"Tenten asked me to go, since she's required to bring a guest." Neji said carefully, then hastily stuffed his fingers in his ears.
"YOU'RE GOING WITH HER!" The Hyuuga flinched. Even with plugged ears, Naruto's voice could still crack one's hearing.
"I see nothing wrong with Tenten." Neji said blandly. Something flashed in Naruto's eyes but was gone the next moment.
"I didn't say there was something wrong with her…per se…but you know…I mean…" He trailed off, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip. The Hyuuga sighed.
"Are you perhaps against me having another friend besides yourself?" He inquired. Naruto immediately shook his head, eyes frantic.
"Nononononononononono, it's nothing like that, I mean it's your life and you can do what you want with it…" He worked his jaw, searching for the correct words.
"I think it's just a matter of personal preference." He finally said with an air of great caution. Neji seemed to find the answer satisfactory.
"I won't blame you then. People vary in their tastes." He said finally, earning a sigh of relief from Naruto.
"Perhaps you would care to join me?" The Hyuuga asked lightly. The blonde in question casually tapped a nail on the side of his mouth, said piece of anatomy twisted thoughtfully to one side.
"Ummmm…actually I'm busy that day." He said carelessly. The look on Neji's face blatantly announced that he had no set intention of believing the blonde's rather ersatz remark.
"Since when has a complete and utter slacker like you been busy for more than six minutes at a shot?" To his great surprise, Naruto actually laughed at the barb.
"You really haven't been around me long enough, have you?" He quipped mischievously.
"Actually I do have something booked, so I really can't come. Besides, I don't think Tenten-san would want a secondarily-invited guest at her party, so I'll nix for now." He explained. After a moment's disappointment, Neji nodded.
"Well then, I just guess I'll have to amuse myself without your company." He sighed mockingly, then laughed as Naruto elbowed him in ribs.
"Don't tempt me. I'm in enough trouble as it is." He chastised.
"Promise me you'll come over once I've come home from the party." Neji said. One side of Naruto's mouth curved up delicately.
"Perhaps then you'd wish to discuss all the mundanely redundant events that happened at the gala, fall on your knees, and praise my utter wisdom for not wasting precious seconds of my life at such a dull event." He retorted playfully. Neji smiled.
"Or perhaps then I'd wish to discuss the extraordinarily lovely time I spent there and have you fall down on your knees and beg me to take you to the next social party I go to." He shot back. Naruto feigned shock.
"As if I'd lower myself down to that level. But sure, I'll come over." He relented, then rose to his feet.
"Damn, I'm late for detention…" He muttered, setting off at a brisk trot. Neji rolled his eyes.
"I thought you had three free ones. Remember our detention together? We cleaned the whole trophy room spotless, so the proctor let us off with three…oh don't tell me." Neji said in sudden realization.
"I did have three free ones, but I used them up, so this one I have attend." He said with a wink, earning the promised look of blatant disbelief.
"If I didn't know you any better, I'd imagine you actually like detention."
"Well I don't recall ever saying that I DIDN'T like it, did I?" Naruto countered. After a moment's thought to confirm the comment, Neji nodded thoughtfully.
"I find that rather hard to believe…but why do you like getting into trouble so much? It doesn't do wonders for your record."
"Unless it's the record of the most detentions ever performed in one set school year. This one makes it…oh…number 168?" Naruto said in mock thought.
"Seriously?" Neji's eyes were wide with feigned disgust.
"No, you fool. But I do have a lot…perhaps they'll present me with a special plaque. I can imagine it now..." He waved his hands in the air, presenting an invisible headline. "Monokuromu Sophomore Is More Beneficial to School Cleanliness than Janitors Combined…" He said dramatically, earning a laugh out of Neji. The Hyuuga reached out and rumpled up the white-gilded locks; Naruto whined and patiently showed Neji how to correctly mess up hair, again enticing a chuckle from the Hyuuga.
"You're hopeless, you know that?" He said.
"I know. And I'm proud of it." Naruto said with a smirk, then turned and waltzed towards the campus.
"Now if you don't mind, I really must get to a nice little tea party with the proctor." He crooned, and melted fluidly behind a building.
Neji watched him go with a mixture of excessive inward amusement and admiration. Naruto was really something else at times, and the blonde's sporadic unpredictable behavior never managed to create a dull moment.
(whistles) tis off to practice again...
