First Real Date
Author's Note: Hey look, Tamaki appears on a date with Kiba! I know Neji and Kankuro had a "date" a few chapters back but this is a fancy-dinner date, after Kankuro "meets" Hiashi. There's also a bonding scene with Neji and Hinata in this.
So, on the flower meanings: I found this picture that showed me what the flower looked like and the meanings but there were maybe ten flower types. I used them anyway. Then I found a website with all sorts of meanings for different flowers. The four I used from the image didn't match the website meaning but I'm leaving it so, yeah. From now own I'll be using the website for flower means.
In case you hadn't noticed: Yeah, this story is LONG. For a reminder, it started as a free-writing exercise for me to get away from planning and plotting my original fiction then morphed into what you've been reading. I'm not finished it and not even sure how many more chapters there are. I will be taking it to a point Neji's genin become chunin, maybe a chapter or two after.
Moving on.
Rated M for sexy scenes between two male characters, swearing, and some blood and guts.
I don't own the characters but I am taking liberties with them and their universe.
Neji sighed at the note on his pillow. He had gotten home, told Hiashi-sama he would be going out for dinner with Kankuro and Hiashi-sama had grinned. Hiashi-sama had said for him to have fun. Neji managed to keep his flush back but thanked Hiashi-sama regardless. Neji had felt wonderful until he got into his room and saw a note on his bed.
Neji did not want to open it. He knew it wasn't from Kankuro as they had been together most of the day. It would not be from Temari as they had spoken. No one else besides Shikamaru would leave Neji a note. Neji huffed and picked it up:
Neji,
Shoji?
Shikamaru
Three words and two did not even count as they were names. There was a lot of meaning in the word which did count. Shoji was the game they had started bonding over. It was the game no one else in their group of friends could play well enough to give Shikamaru a challenge and almost beat him more times than Shikamaru cared to count.
Shoji meant more than a simple game. They spoke over shoji about everything and anything. Gossip about their mutual friends, deep tactical conversations about Konoha's security, books they had read, movies they had seen, the weather, and everything in between. Neji let out a breath and ran his hand through his hair.
Shoji meant Shikamaru wanted to talk in a somewhat private place. Neji tossed the note into the top drawer of his dresser. He would answer it after spending the night with Kankuro. Neji stripped before getting into the shower. He washed quickly but paid careful attention to his hair and the spots which gathered the most sweat on his body.
Neji stepped out of the shower and towel dried his hair. He shaved the bit of stubble on his face and began grooming: putting moisturizer on his face, straightening out his eyebrows, and making sure he had no unwanted hair anywhere. Neji let his hair to air dry before walking to his closet. He hummed in thought.
Finally he pulled on a pair of pants that were tight in the right places but hung loose around his ankles and calves. The seams were flat and they had a crease (intentional) down the front to look crisp and tidy. Neji found a white silk button down shirt and tossed it onto his bed. His hair was too damp and would ruin the silk.
Neji did not bother with a belt but did put on his house slippers before tugging a black shirt over his head. It clung but had small sleeves and rode a bit high on his mid-section. Neji left his room and strode down the hallways towards Hinata-sama's room. He knocked gently and she allowed him entrance.
"Neji-niisan?" Hinata-sama questioned in wonder.
He closed the screen behind him and walked into the room. She sat at her desk, writing something in a journal she closed when he got close to her. Neji felt the heat come to his cheeks and cleared his throat.
"Ah, I have a, um, date tonight and," This was as far as he got.
Hinata-sama started giggling, flushing cutely and held her hands up to her lips. Neji huffed as she chuckled at him. Hinata-sama got a hold of giggles then looked him over. One eyebrow came up cynically and he crossed his arms loosely over his stomach.
"I'm not wearing this shirt," Neji said.
"Good because it doesn't work with those pants," Hinata-sama said.
Neji rolled his eyes. She smiled.
"The white silk one with the buttons," Neji said.
Hinata-sama's grin widened. She took his hand gently in one of hers and led him into the bathroom. Neji sat on the closed toilet lid and said nothing as she went digging in her vanity cupboard for whatever it was she was looking for. She came up with a can of mousse. Neji said nothing as she shook the can and put a dollop into one hand. Neji sat still as she worked it through his hair.
"It's lightweight, Neji-niisan," Hinata-sama said softly. "It won't get all sticky but it will make your hair extra shiny, keep any fuzziness down, and give it some volume and texture."
Neji had no idea what the difference would be but said nothing. She finished putting the mousse through his hair and began brushing it gently, apologizing if she thought she pulled to hard. Neji accepted her apologies with a smile, glad she had learned to stop stuttering, at least in his, Hanabi-sama, and Hiashi-sama's presence. When the Hyuuga elders or Naruto were involved it was an entirely different story.
"There, look," Hinata-sama said with a smile.
Neji got up and looked in her mirror. He gaped in wonder. His hair was normally thick, straight, and the envy of most women but now, now, it was stunning. The brown locks cascaded down his back in a soft-looking, shiny mass of soft waves.
"It looks so smooth," Neji said.
Hinata-sama giggled at him. She took his hand again and grabbed a light blue bag from her vanity before leading him out of her bathroom. Neji followed as she led him out into the hallway and into his room. He closed the door and she placed her little bag on the night side table.
"When is he meeting you?" Hinata-sama asked.
"Eighteen hundred hours," Neji replied.
Hinata-sama looked at his clock and he followed her eyes. He flushed when he realized it was barely seventeen hundred hours, 4:34PM to be exact. She raised an eyebrow at him in question and he shrugged, a little blush coming to his cheeks.
"Well, this is your first formal date," Hinata-sama said.
Neji groaned at her and rolled his eyes. She giggled, louder when he almost ran a hand through his hair but stopped at the last second. She picked the shirt he had selected off his bed and held it against his chest. Neji looked down at her as she considered.
"White will bring out your eyes which is normally what people want but with us," Hinata-sama said and stopped.
Neji hummed and nodded. She went to his closet and Neji followed, feeling a bit like a lost puppy. Hinata-sama hung up the white shirt and started going through his closet. She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "jeez so much black" before getting to his dress shirts. Hinata-sama frowned and kept going. She did not find anything she liked.
"Come on, emergency shopping," Hinata said.
Neji gaped at her but she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of his room. He only stopped her so he could pull on his sandals, change his pants (her insistence) and grab his wallet. They left the compound in a brisk walk, her dragging him by the hand to keep up and entered the shopping district at 5:02PM. Hinata bit her lip and pulled him into a men's clothing store quickly.
"And now you're happy I came to you early," Neji said.
She raised an eyebrow at him and frowned. Neji smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. She pulled him to the fancier shirts and started going through the ones nearest. Neji said nothing and glanced around the store.
The few other customers were pairs like he and Hinata-sama but husbands and wives obviously. All the wives were staring at him with parted lips and the husbands were glaring. Neji said nothing but did jolt when Hinata-sama held a shirt up to his chest.
The shirt was deep green and Neji raised an eyebrow at her. Hinata-sama huffed at him, knowing how he disliked the color green simply because it reminded him of Lee and Guy-sensei so she put the shirt back. Hinata-sama smiled and put a deep golden shirt against his chest.
The material was pure silk and Neji thought the color looked beautiful. She found the shirt in his size and dragged him to the fitting room. Neji quickly pulled it on, flicking through the little gold buttons easily and stepped back out. Hinata-sama smiled. He faced the mirror and grinned.
The gold color made his long hair stand out even more and somehow made his eyes seem more amber than white-gray. The amber tones in his eyes made them look warmer, less creepy. Even his skin had a glow to it and Neji thanked Hinata-sama before slipped into the dressing room to change into his shirt. Paying and getting back to the compound was easy especially since they teleported back into Neji's room.
Neji got changed and Hinata-sama giggled happily when he stepped out of his bathroom. She made him put on black socks and his leather dress shoes, also in black and he huffed. They went into the bathroom and she sat him on the closed toilet lid to fix his hair. He said nothing when she whipped out mascara, an eyeliner pencil, and a colored eyeliner pencil.
Neji kept his eyes on hers as she lightly lined his eyes, smudging the liner a bit on his upper eyelid then flicked out his eyelashes with mascara. She used the colored liner on his lips, smudging it into his mouth and he wanted to laugh. Finally she applied a clear gloss and got him to look in the mirror.
Neji blinked at his reflection, stunned at what a little bit of make-up had done to highlight his features. His eyes looked bigger, something he normally did not like but the amber from his shirt helped. It did not even look like he wore eyeliner but his eyes screamed seduction. His lips were fuller with a bigger pout and shiny, begging to be kissed.
"Thank you, Hinata-sama," Neji said.
She made him tuck in his shirt and helped him arrange it properly, leaving the top two buttons undone. Neji chuckled at her and she swatted him. They both looked at the clock and saw it to be ten minutes before eighteen hundred hours.
"Next time, tell me the day before if he's taking you on a fancy date so we're not so rushed," Hinata-sama said.
"I promise," Neji said.
She smiled and they strode out of his room together. Hanabi-sama spotted them and stared, eyes wide and lips dropped open. She smirked a moment later.
"Hot date tonight, Neji-niisan?" Hanabi-sama asked.
"Yes," Neji said.
Hanabi-sama whistled in approval after circling him and Neji smirked at her. She followed him and Hinata-sama to the front of the compound and Neji saw Hiashi-sama lounging on one of the benches in the front entrance. Hiashi-sama glanced up and went to look back to the front door but his head whipped back around to stare at Neji with wide eyes and raised brows.
Hanabi-sama chuckled at her father and Hinata-sama giggled. Hiashi-sama gave a little smile to both girls before walking up to Neji and placed both hands gently on Neji's shoulders. Neji smiled softly and Hiashi-sama nodded to him.
"So, nephew, are you going to leave us guessing who this mystery person is?" Hiashi-sama said.
There was an amused glint in his eyes as Hanabi-sama and Hinata-sama gaped in wonder. Neji knew Hiashi-sama knew who would be coming to pick him up. Hanabi-sama and Hinata-sama had not asked. Now they stood near him once Hiashi-sama had slyly slipped back.
"Well I know it's not baka-Nara," Hanabi-sama said.
"Hanabi," Hiashi-sama warned.
Neji kept his laugh back as Hanabi-sama spun on her father and stuck her tongue out at him. Hiashi-sama raised an eyebrow.
"What? It's true. Baka-Nara is a complete baka because of what he did to Neji-niisan," Hanabi-sama said.
Hiashi-sama gave a soft snort. He was about to speak but they all stilled when voices floated towards them from the main doors. Neji took a little breath and let it out slowly. The front of the compound was broken into two sections.
The main outside doors opened into a sort of anti-chambers where guests could leave belongings and put on house slippers before walking through the doors of the front entrance where Neji stood with his uncle and cousins. Guests were greeted by two Hyuuga; normally chunin, examined with Byakugan, stated their business and changed their shoes if staying long, and were brought into the front entrance of the estate. One Hyuuga would guide them to where they needed to be as the compound tended to be a maze.
The door opened but none of the guards came with Kankuro as he entered. Hiashi-sama pulled back his daughters and Neji stepped forward. Kankuro had donned black trousers, similar in style to Neji's but not as tight. His shirt was white to emphasize Kankuro's dark skin and Neji was glad he had allowed Hinata-sama to help him.
Kankuro had again forgone the war paint and even went so far as to try and style his hair. It had not worked well but Kankuro's hair did not look horrible. He did stop part way towards Neji to gape at him in wonder. Neji smiled lightly as Kankuro visibly shook his head to clear it before smiling and stepped forward.
Neji noticed the flowers then and flushed. There were purple flowers with delicate little petals, white ones with an odd shape to them, red ones that looked almost like stars, and pink sprigs of something. Neji took the flowers and the smell which came from them was delicate but pleasing.
He heard Hanabi-sama giggling somewhere behind him but kept from turning to glare at her. He did see Kankuro gulp and knew Hiashi-sama had stepped forward. Neji was proven right when Hiashi-sama stepped right up beside Neji on the right. Hanabi-sama took Neji's left with Hinata-sama standing beside her sister.
"Kankuro," Hiashi-sama said.
Hanabi-sama's eyes went wide but she kept her mouth from dropping. Hinata-sama pursed her lips to stop from laughing. Neji held his flowers and wondered what exactly they meant. There was only one predominate flower shop in Konoha, the Yamanaka Flower Shop which meant Ino knew exactly what the flowers Kankuro had bought for Neji meant. Neji kept his blush down.
"Hiashi-sama, pleasure to meet you," Kankuro said with a slight bow.
Neji kept his laugh back when Hiashi-sama raised an eyebrow and a small smile came to his lips. Kankuro rose from his bow and met Hiashi-sama's eyes. Hiashi-sama had wiped the smile from his face and stared up (Neji chuckled about this inwardly) at Kankuro with the impenetrable white gaze all Hyuuga were known for. Hiashi-sama could make his frigid, even more so than Neji. Kankuro gulped.
"May I have the express pleasure of taking your nephew, Hyuuga Neji, out this evening?" Kankuro asked.
Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama were stunned and showed it in the widening of their eyes. Hiashi-sama's eyebrow rose marginally but the warmth came back in his eyes, amusement. Neji want to hug Kankuro. Obviously the man had taken the time to study up on Hyuuga tradition.
"You may," Hiashi-sama said.
Again, Kankuro bowed then produced a small bottle of golden honey from his pocket. Hiashi-sama's eyebrows went higher and a little smile came to his face. Neji almost fell over from shock. Hanabi-sama and Hinata-sama gaped.
"Please accept this as a token of my appreciation," Kankuro said.
Hiashi-sama accepted the honey with a nod. Neji jolted when Hiashi-sama gently urged him forward. Kankuro bowed to Neji and Neji flushed before bowing back. Kankuro took Neji's left hand in his before thanking Hiashi-sama again and wishing him a pleasant evening. Neji followed stupidly behind Kankuro out the front door, ignoring the two smiling chunin in the entrance. Neji finally got his brain back when they were blocks from the compound.
"When did you read up on my clan's dating traditions?" Neji questioned.
Kankuro chuckled then grinned.
"Took you a bit to get over that and about six months ago when I was in Konoha," Kankuro said.
Neji stared at him in wonder. He started chuckling and Kankuro winked at him.
"I know honey is rare to get here in Konoha so I bought a few little jars of it when I had a mission in the Land of Lightning a few months ago. I figured it would be the perfect gift for the Hyuuga clan head when asking to take his nephew out on a date," Kankuro said.
Neji grinned. He held Kankuro's hand a bit tighter as they continued their walk. Kankuro could not get the smile off his face. Neji's might be permanently glued there which might freak a few people out.
"And I figured he'd be impressed if I approached with a bow and asked nicely if I could take you out," Kankuro said.
"Impressed is right," Neji said. "If it was not against proper Hyuuga decorum, Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama would have fainted on the spot."
Kankuro laughed and Neji snuggled into his side. Kankuro wrapped his right arm around Neji's waist and Neji placed his left hand (free from Kankuro's right now) at Kankuro's lower back softly. Kankuro kept smiling as he led Neji through the village. They came to an upscale restaurant and Neji raised an eyebrow.
Kankuro led him in, shifting slightly so he could open the door for Neji and guide him in with a hand to the lower back. Neji smirked as he entered and waited in the white, gold, and black interior. The waitress was petite, pretty and Kankuro gave her his name as he had apparently reserved a table. Neji was impressed with the dark wood flooring, golden walls, black ceiling with golden chandeliers, and the round tables with white silk cloth covers. A gold square of fabric sat over the white on a diagonal with another black square over it, making it three layed but staying with the color scheme.
Kankuro pulled out Neji's chair once they got to the table and Neji sat comfortably. Kankuro did not push in the chair but Neji would not hold it against him. Neji did flush when he had to place his flowers on the table as Kankuro sat. He ordered Champaign and Neji grinned as the hostess said she would inform their waitress. She placed their menus on the table in front of each of them before walking off.
"You are not pulling any punches, are you?" Neji asked.
Kankuro winked at him before opening the menu easily and reading it. Neji noticed there were no prices but it did not matter. He knew this place, Kozue, as he was part of a high-profile clan. Kozue's lunches started at 1200 ryo for a single person, the dinner starting at 3000 ryo for two. This included an appetizer, the main course, and dessert only, nothing fancy like Champaign. Kozue was Konoha's second most expensive restaurant, Takazawa the most expensive.
"Says the man who gussied up," Kankuro replied.
He was still grinning. Neji chuckled.
"You told me to," Neji reminded him.
Their waitress came them and offered Kankuro a choice of Champaign. Kankuro selected one of the more expensive brands on the menu and Neji raised an eyebrow (as did the waitress) when Kankuro said to bring a bottle, not just two glasses. She left with a nod.
"Yeah but I didn't expect you to do make your hair look so damn pretty, I didn't actually think it could get any better looking. And you definitely did something to highlight your eyes and lips. I'm not complaining, mind you, you look amazing, better than any dream," Kankuro said.
It was as if he hadn't ordered a bottle of expensive Champaign. Neji mentally slapped himself when he realized Kankuro was royalty in Suna, the Kazekage's brother who likely got paid twice the amount of a normal shinobi when he went on missions because Gaara likely felt bad for needing to send him out in the first place.
Plus, Kankuro had a full time job as Gaara's body guard and Leader of the Counter-Terrorism Council which meant Kankuro got a hefty weekly paycheck. Kozue's was nothing. For some reason this made Neji somewhat giddy. Kankuro could fairly go against the Hyuuga clan in terms of wealth and importance. Neji hide his smile behind his menu.
"Thank you for the compliment. You clean up exceptionally well," Neji said.
Kankuro grinned. The waitress came back with a bottle of Champaign in an ice bucket and filled both their glasses. Kankuro ordered two sashimi platters and a maki roll platter, telling the waitress to replace the spicy salmon rolls with mango. She nodded and went off again.
"Ordering for me, hm?" Neji asked.
"Just the appetizer," Kankuro said with a smile.
Neji chuckled and looked over his menu. His heart pounded in his chest, quicker than normal, and he felt sweat gathering at his lower back. His mouth was dry and all he wanted to do was giggle uncontrollably. He should not be this damned excited but this was his first real date.
"Also, thank you for the flowers," Neji said.
Kankuro beamed.
"No problem," Kankuro said.
Their appetizers came quickly. Neji waited while Kankuro ordered hamburger steak with daikon oroshi and mizutaki. Neji ordered the mizutaki as well as yakisoba. He knew all ready the food portions would be small which for shinobi coming here meant leaving still hungry if they ordered one main dish.
The sashimi was amazing as were the maki rolls. They talked lightly about the day and Neji had no issues on focusing on his students and Kankuro's amazement at Kuma's fighting style. When their meals came they moved onto the hilarity of Kankuro and yoga.
"But you are a shinobi and supposed to be balanced," Neji told him with a laugh.
"I know I know! But I'm also a puppet master, you know, the guy who hides in the trees, normally not in some weird position to attack his enemies?" Kankuro returned.
Neji chuckled and sipped his Champaign. Water had been brought out as well and Neji stuck with a sip of Champaign to a sip of water. He would not get drunk tonight even though the Champaign was delicious.
"My taijustu skills are normal, you know, not crazy kick-only like Kuma. She's going to be a freaking beast when you're done with her," Kankuro said.
Neji smiled.
"I mean that, they all will. Akino's strength with Lee and Guy's fighting style? I can't even imagine. And Tora as a med-nin? Damn. No one will be able to beat them," Kankuro said.
Neji nodded and raised his Champaign glass in a toast. Kankuro chuckled and toasted him, both of them sipping lightly. Neji noted Kankuro was doing the one sip of Champaign to one sip of water as well.
"At the expense of sounding arrogant, I doubt anyone could have been able to do the same with them," Neji said.
Kankuro smirked but nodded.
"No, it's not arrogant," Kankuro said.
Neji raised an eyebrow and took a bite of his food. Kankuro chuckled.
"Okay, maybe a little arrogant,"
Neji smirked.
"But you did tell me Kuma was considered dead last. No other jonin-in-charge would have worked as hard with her or discovered what she can do with her kicks. They would have focused completely on Tora and Akino and probably wouldn't have discovered their talents either," Kankuro said.
Neji smiled and thanked the puppet master. Kankuro raised another toast and they sipped. Kankuro asked about some of the stories Kuma mentioned and Neji flushed but did go into the least sexual ones. Kankuro chuckled so Neji asked about any funny stories with his siblings. Kankuro was full of them and Neji almost choked on a piece of pork when Kankuro talked about pranking Gaara with ice cream.
"And we dumped the whole heaping spoonful in his mouth," Kankuro said. "I don't think I've ever heard him curse so loudly in my life."
Neji got a hold of the stray pork and started laughing. He could not imagine the Kazekage would be happy about that kind of interruption to a nap.
"What about the sand shield?" Neji asked.
Kankuro laughed.
"It tried to attack his face because it figured something was trying to strangle him or something. He had to bat his own sand away. Temari and I nearly died laughing then he started chasing us down. You never realize how fast he moves till you're running from him," Kankuro mused.
Neji hiccupped he was laughing so hard and Kankuro grinned.
"Payback was a bitch though. He sent me to the Hidden in Frost Village for a month-long mission and Temari to Hidden Waterfalls. She hates the sound of waterfalls, don't ask me why, but yeah it was pure torture," Kankuro said.
Neji snickered.
"And you continue to play pranks on him?" Neji questioned.
"Of course," Kankuro said matter-of-factly.
Neji chortled.
"He does the same with us now though. It's why Temari had green-tinged hair for a week and why I had bright pink war paint for a time," Kankuro said.
Neji almost shot Champaign out his nose picturing that but managed not to make a fool out of himself.
"We team up against each other all the time," Kankuro said. "Gaara and I take the whole "protective brother" thing to the extreme when Temari brings over a guy she might be seeing just to piss her off. Temari and I usually switch out Gaara's pens with those exploding ones or put whoopee cushions on his chairs, stuff like that. Gaara and Temari hide my tools or dye my puppet's hair bright colors. It's fun."
Neji chuckled and nodded. The Hyuuga were not much for pranks but Neji, Hanabi-sama, and Hinata-sama still found ways to make fun of each other in a friendly fashion which included no one's death. The meal wound down and they ordered ice cream for dessert. Neji spotted a man with his dark hair in a spiky, high pony tail and had to take a deep breath. It was a Nara, but not Shikamaru. Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, had taken his wife Yoshino out for dinner.
Kankuro saw the change in Neji's overall demeanour instantly and looked around. He spotted Shikaku and frowned. Neji swirled the Champaign in his glass and tried to think of something to say as Kankuro turned back around to face him.
"I'm glad you and Temari got to talk," Kankuro said.
Neji smiled softly. It had been an unconventional method but it had worked.
"I am as well," Neji said. "Thank you for keeping my genin back after the fight."
Kankuro grinned and nodded. Neji put his glass down and tried not to fiddle with the napkin. If he did not want to be a hypocrite he should tell Kankuro about the note Shikamaru had left him. How the note had ended up in Neji's room was not a mystery. Shikamaru had an uncanny talent of sneaking into the Hyuuga compound in broad daylight.
"He left me a note today," Neji said.
Kankuro frowned but motioned for Neji to continue. Neji noticed Kankuro's shoulders had gone tense and his eyes had a bit of an angry light in them. Neji let out a breath.
"He wants to talk over a game of shoji," Neji said.
Kankuro nodded. Neji refrained from making any nervous motion. They both stared at the waitress when she came with their ice cream. Something must have shown on their faces as her smile faltered and her hands shook in nervousness. She bowed quickly and took off.
"And?" Kankuro said.
Neji shrugged.
"I do not know if I want to go or not," Neji said.
Kankuro let out a breath and finished the rest of his Champaign (half a glass) in one swallow. Neji gulped as Kankuro poured himself another glass. He offered the bottle to Neji who shook his head.
"You should so the bastard can apologize in person like Temari told him to," Kankuro said.
Kankuro did not drink any water to counter-act the glass of Champaign. Neji felt like an ass. He did nod.
"It means nothing," Neji said.
It meant much but Neji did not want to tell Kankuro such. Besides, Kankuro could likely figure it out alone. He knew Shikamaru and Neji well enough. Kankuro let out a breath and smiled.
"I know but I'll still be annoyed at him," Kankuro said.
"Like I won't," Neji said with a smirk.
Kankuro laughed and the tense mood left. They ate their ice cream in a comfortable silence. When it came time to pay, Kankuro would not let Neji see the bill or the amount of ryo Kankuro put into the neat little black book. He was given the rest of the bottle of Champaign (half the bottle was gone), and took this neatly before placing a hand on Neji's back and leading Neji out of the restaurant. Neji held his flowers in one hand with a smile as they exited.
He had not realized how much time had passed during dinner. The sun had begun to set while they ate and it was almost full dark as they strode down the streets of Konoha. Neji could tell it was nearing twenty-two hundred hours.
"So, late movie or do you want me to bring you home?" Kankuro asked.
Neji looked up at him with a little smile. Kankuro returned the gesture and Neji shifted until he was close to Kankuro side. Immediately Kankuro's arm wrapped around Neji's waist, pulling him closer still and Neji smiled.
"Movie," Neji said.
Kankuro chuckled as he guided Neji along. Neji did not even care he was being bestowed all the things a female would want on a date. This was wonderful. The cinema was busy when they got there and Neji flushed when he spotted Kiba in the crowd with an attractive dark haired woman. Kiba spotted them as well and waved.
"Want to?" Kankuro said.
"He's spotted us I don't think we have a choice," Neji said.
Kankuro snickered but guided Neji along to stand in front of Kiba and his date. Kiba sniffed the air and his eyes went wide.
"Kankuro?" Kiba asked in awe.
"Yep, what's up, dog-breath?" Kankuro returned.
This made Kiba's date giggle and Kiba grinned. He looked to Neji and Neji smiled softly.
"Damn you look different without all the make-up, puppet-lover," Kiba said.
Kankuro snorted and tightened his grip on Neji's waist. Kiba got the message but chuckled.
"Anyway, this is Tamaki, Tamaki, my friends Kankuro and Neji," Kiba introduced.
Tamaki's eyes went wide when she got around to giving Neji a good look. Neji said nothing as her brown eyes focused first on his white ones before noticing he had the curse-seal on his forehead. Her cheeks went pink and she gave them both a slight bow.
"It's nice to meet you," Tamaki said.
She was biting her lip and looking at Neji. Kiba must have caught the change in her scent and followed her eyes to look at Neji as well. Kiba let out a little breath before holding Tamaki a bit closer.
"Yeah, Neji's a Hyuuga but he won't bite," Kiba said.
"Besides, Kiba does enough biting for everyone in the village, right dog-breath?" Kankuro asked.
Neji coughed as Kiba smirked. Kankuro had no idea how right he was. The comment did make Tamaki chuckle so there was that.
"At least I don't play with dolls, puppet-lover," Kiba said.
Kankuro laughed and the line moved. Neji looked to the movie posters with a critical eye. He heard Kiba and Tamaki get tickets to the obvious romance movie. Kankuro looked down at Neji but he shrugged.
"You pick," Neji said.
Kankuro grinned and picked a movie called "The Puppet Master." Neji chuckled at him and Kankuro winked. The movie poster featured an all black background with white letters and nothing more. Neji glanced back at the poster as they walked past the ticket booth.
Kankuro bought a bucket of popcorn and an immense soda to share and they stepped into the theater. The place was packed but Neji (with his Byakugan) found them two seats in a decent enough place. Neji leaned into Kankuro after Kankuro placed the soda between them. Kankuro kept the popcorn in his lap and Neji placed the flowers in his lap.
"So, what kind of movie is this?" Neji whispered.
Kankuro looked down at him and smirked.
"You'll see," Kankuro said.
Neji huffed but the lights went out. Neji blinked, resisting the urge to activate Byakugan and watched as the film began. A man was talking to his puppets and Neji raised his eyebrows in amusement. He even found it amusing when the puppets began to move on their own then realized the man was not a shinobi and was not using chakra strings. That was creepy.
The man was attacked and killed but his puppets ran. The movie cut to sometime later and Neji munched on the popcorn. People were looking for some other man and found out he had committed suicide. Neji sighed then started when the three people had visions of the future. The movie started to go insane when the puppets began attacking and the man Neji had thought killed himself came back to life. The gore and blood was oddly a bit sickening and Neji heard some of the civilians around him gasping at the jumpy parts. Someone remarked the scene with the leeches was gross but Neji ate his popcorn, almost enthralled.
The brutality ended and Neji found the ending oddly satisfying until the man's wife showed she had learned how to bring puppets to life without chakra. Neji frowned as the credits began to roll and the theater lit up. He looked at Kankuro who had a little frown on his face.
"That was stupid," Kankuro said.
Neji chuckled.
"You picked it," Neji told him.
Kankuro rolled his eyes as people filtered out around them. Some, like them, were being smart and waiting until the theater cleared out.
"I know, I was hoping to kind of freak you out and have you clinging to me," Kankuro said.
Neji snorted at him. He wouldn't admit to Kankuro he might not look at Kankuro's puppets the same way again, especially not in the dark. The Sasori puppet would be horrifyingly creepy at night.
"Puppets clearly can't come to life like that and even if they do, why would they go on a murderous rampage?" Kankuro asked.
Neji laughed at him as Kankuro scowled. Neji nibbled on the popcorn still in their bucket. They did not have much left and he really had to pee. Their soda was almost completely gone.
"And how in the Hell did they even move like that? There were no joints in their arms and legs that allowed them that kind of movement. A simple slit in the arm doesn't mean it freaking bends," Kankuro went on.
"Dude, how would you know?" someone questioned from behind.
Kankuro frowned and turned. The civilian did not recognize him (no one would without the war paint) and gave Kankuro a smirk. Kankuro grinned and raised a free hand as if to shake.
"Hi, the name's Kankuro of the Sand, nice to meet you," Kankuro said.
The civilian blinked but his friend, another guy, gulped. They all turned when someone screamed only to see it was happening on the screen as a puppet ripped apart a girl. Kankuro threw a handful of popcorn at the screen. Neji laughed at him.
"Who the Hell's Kankuro of the Sand?" the guy asked his friend.
"The Kazekage's brother who happens to be able to summon puppets."
Neji pursed his lips to keep from laughing. Kankuro smirked. The first man stood and took off running while his friend chased him. Kankuro laughed and stood. Neji picked up his flowers as Kankuro held onto their popcorn. They took a pit-stop in the men's room before walking back outside into the cool night air.
"Seriously though, that was horrible," Kankuro said.
"Aw, poor puppet master," Neji cooed at him.
Kankuro huffed then balked.
"I can't even call myself that now! I should go find the person who titled the movie and kick their ass," Kankuro said.
Neji laughed as Kankuro shook his head in disgust. He still carried the bag of half finished Champaign on one arm and the bucket of popcorn in the same hand. The other was wrapped around Neji's waist which gave Neji ample opportunity to snack on popcorn as they walked back to the Hyuuga compound. Neji noticed it was almost twenty-four hundred hours then scowled.
"What?" Kankuro asked with his eyes wide.
"Oh nothing," Neji said. "I have to meet my students in about five hours."
Kankuro flushed. Neji kissed his cheek in forgiveness as they walked. Kankuro grinned again and they walked in silence. Neji sighed as they got to the Hyuuga Compound. He did not want the night to end but had a feeling there would be more dates like this one in his future. Neji flushed as Kankuro brought him right up to the main doors which were opened by two different chunin.
Even so, these two were trying not to smirk as Kankuro led Neji inside. They calmly turned to look to the front but Neji and Kankuro knew the two could see them. Neji inhaled deeply as Kankuro leaned in and kissed him on the lips passionately. Neji dropped his flowers to wrap his arms around Kankuro's neck and felt Kankuro smile. Kankuro pulled back before Neji was entirely ready to pull back and Neji frowned.
"Good night," Kankuro said.
"Good night," Neji said softly.
Kankuro picked up his flowers and Neji took them back with a little flush. Neji stepped into the main entrance as Kankuro turned and strode out the front doors. Neji burst out into a grin as he walked down the hallways, wanting to skip back to his room but knew it would look silly. He did chuckle lightly to himself after he entered his room.
There was a vase on his desk with water and a note. Neji blinked but closed his screen before turning on the overhead light. Someone had left his blinds open so he could see by the moonlight and Neji appreciated it. He finally unwrapped his flowers and put them in the vase before opening the note. He flushed after reading it and looked at the flowers that suddenly meant so much more:
Neji-niisan,
Hanabi-neechan and I thought we should give you a little lesson about the Language of Flowers. We had to study this in the Academy as we are female and used our old books to make sure of the meanings.
We also know the Yamanaka Flower Shop is the only shop in Konoha and Ino herself knows the Language of Flowers like a second tongue. I know for certain she is the one who arranged that bouquet as it has her "signature" all over it.
Here is what Hanabi-neechan and I found out about your flowers:
Anemone, the purple flower in your bouquet means "Anticipation."
Amaryllis, the star-shaped red one means "Splendid Beauty."
Heather, the pink fluffy stocks means "Admiration."
Finally, sweet pea, the white flower, means "Delicate Pleasure."
Interesting message, don't you agree Neji-niisan?
Hinata
Review and next chapter coming now. :)