Sunday, June 2nd, 2013.

I just updated DoOver. Now I'm updating this.

Since I screwed up the schedule, I'm updating next week, too, which is the scheduled update.

I'm tired, so the Anime/Manga Recommendations andBook Recommendations are gonna be skipped. Sorry.

Fun Fact About Me: I hate social gatherings, for the most part. Like the one my mom arranged yesterday to celebrate my twin sis and I graduating middle school. Biggest pro: I got a lot of money.

Answer to last QotW: I haven't quite decided my favorite, but they'd be among these: Kamisama Hajimemashite (the anime's Kamisama Kiss, 13 eps), Kaichou wa Maid-sama, and maybe Pureblood Boyfriend. They're awesome.

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, okay? A lot of bands and songs will be mentioned in this chapter... I don't own them either.

All NejiTen. It's about time - they're the second major couple here, and not on purpose. I guess I'm just craving for NejiTen.

It's a flashback about Neji's birthday a week before the last chapter. The "present day" for him, is June 10th in this chapter. The last chapter took place on June 16th.


Chapter 12: The Beginnings of Love. For Him, At Least.


Neji POV, June 10th.

There's no training today… Lee's on a mission with Gai-sensei and Tenten said she had something to do, since today was our day off. I wonder what it is?

I blushed at the thought of my teammate. What's wrong with me? It's just a kiss. That's all.

Yesterday was my 15th birthday. It was a very memorable birthday – not quite like the others.

Since then, I've been feeling oddly, and realizing, that maybe, Tenten and I were closer than I thought.


FLASHBACK


"Thank you, Lee, really," I said, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice. It was just my birthday… no need to have an aneurysm for not being here for it.

"Bye, Lee!" Tenten called out to him, waving as he walked away.

Like I said, today was my birthday, and the team decided to surprise me by eating lunch –after training vigorously with each other, of course– at a local restaurant that I must say I greatly enjoy.

Afterward, Lee and Gai-sensei had given me my birthday present, crying to me that the two of them must go on a mission and wouldn't be back for about 2 days.

Since the two of them know I'm not a material-based person, and since I'm from a rich clan there'd be no point on simply giving me money, they, together, gave me a new, large set of kunai and shuriken. They were a quality brand that I used often, and the gift was well-timed because my current set was dulling and chipping.

"So," Tenten chirped, beside me. "To my place, then?"

I nodded, and she led the way that I knew very well.

On our birthdays, we often spent the day at someone's apartment –meaning Lee's or Tenten's, since I live at the Manor– and just hung out. Since Lee was gone, it was just the two of us this time.

My heart skipped a beat at the thought. But why? We're alone all the time. What makes this any different?

As we walked, I thought about the past few months, and the slight change of behavior I saw in my friend.

She was more open, I thought, and kinder to Lee, more defensive of him. Before, when I simply spoke the facts (or as Tenten said, "brought him down") and told him how much of a failure he is, Tenten, would merely sigh and tell Lee to give up. Now, she supported him and very openly.

I was a bit irked that he took his side, which makes no sense – there aren't any "sides" and why should I be bothered by such a thing?

Also, she made more of an effort to get closer to me. I may just be imagining it, though – she's always been like that. And we've always been friends, but around 12 years old, we drifted somewhat. But now, we're as close, if not closer, than we were before that drift.

I can't say I hate our closeness. In fact, I might enjoy it. It's… pleasant, in a way. To have someone to be close to like her, differently than Lee.

She also looked at me a bit differently, with more warmth and mirth than usual. I knew she had a crush on me when we were what, 11? 10? But I thought that had gone away.

Now, I don't know if what I'm seeing is a crush, or simple love for a friend.

I do care for her as a friend, though, don't think otherwise. I'm not heartless.

But something is wrong with my heart, though.

It beats quickly when she nears me, or when we're alone. It skips when I think of her sometimes. I blush (unnoticeably) during those times, too, though rarely.

Also, I nearly had a heart-attack on the last mission we had, when she woke us up screaming and crying from a nightmare she had, where I had died. It did show the team that Tenten cares for us, quite strongly. It makes sense with how long we've known each other. Since we were maybe 5 or 6.

"Hey, Neji-kun!" Tenten's voice jarred me out of my muses.

"You coming in?" She asked.

"Oh." I said intelligently. Not. "Of course."

I walked in as she closed the door, and placed Lee and Gai-sensei's present for me on the table.

"Come on," she said, pulling my hand. "You need to take a shower and get dressed."

I was confused. "What for?"

She grinned and picked two things up from her bedside table (we were in her room by now). "We have tickets to a concert."

I walked closer and my eyes widened. "Not just any concert…"

"It's the summer Warp Tour!(1)"

I was excited – very. I took a ticket from Tenten's hands.

Falling in Reverse, Escape the Fate, Mayday Parade, Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, Sublime(2)… all my favorite bands… wait a minute. My Chemical Romance?

"MCR is in the Warp Tour this year?" I asked Tenten.

She nodded. "Yeah. They're debuting a new album or something(3). I'm excited!

She took the ticket from my hand and replaced it with a bundle of clothes.

"Here! Take this, and take a shower, would you? You stink!" She pushed me into her bathroom, closing the door behind me.

"And hurry up! I want to take one, too!"

I looked at the bundle, realizing they were my clothes.

That wasn't what was surprising – Lee and I are over here often, some of our clothes were bound to be here.

What was surprising was that it was a matching-ish (as much as a guy's could get) outfit. A nice one, actually. Casual.

"Where'd you get these?" I called over the water (I turned it on to let it heat up before I got in), referring to the clothes.

"Ko-san."

So this was planned. Well, I'm not going to get too into this. It's my birthday – time to relax and have fun for once. Enjoy the concert.

I stripped down and stepped into the shower.


"That food was great. What an awesome way to end such an epic concert!" Tenten cheered as we walked from the concert and into her apartment.

"It was, indeed." I stood up and collected mine and Tenten's food cartons that were used to hold the Chinese food that we ordered from our favorite restaurant and threw them away in the kitchen. Because of the occasion, we decided to reward ourselves and pig out.

I don't regret it.

After I sat back down, I looked at our autographed CDs, which we had put into two separate piles next to the couch, to differentiate whose was whose.

That's right – autographed. Turns out with our tickets –which were nicely placed, actually, with a good view of the stage and comfortably away from the mosh pits– came with backstage passes, and we got to meet the bands and have their new albums all signed and autographed by them, as well as posters and all that jazz. We got T-shirts for a cheap price, too.

And even better, my favorite song was played – "Reverse this Curse" by Escape the Fate.(4) Though at the time this song came out, Ronnie Radke was still the frontman. Now, Craig Mabbitt is while Ronnie's the frontman of Falling in Reverse. However, for this specific song, Craig let Ronnie to sing it, like the original.

It. Was. Amazing. Best day ever. Honest. And enjoy the "Happy Neji" while you can – this doesn't happen often.

Also, Tenten discovered her new favorite song; though her old one was played, too, "Young" by Hollywood Undead . The new song is "The Light Behind Your Eyes" by My Chemical Romance. It's a song on the brand-new album.

The only downside to the concert is that it's MCR's last tour – after Warp Tour, MCR's breaking up. That's it. After 12 years, MCR's breaking up.

That was kinda hard to take in, I'll admit. Tenten nearly shed tears – we are very proud Killjoys.(5)

Though the reality of the band breaking up hasn't quite hit us yet, I know it will soon enough.

But – that didn't stop me from asking the question that's been nagging my head for hours. "How did you get these tickets, Tenten?"

She turned to me, yawning. "Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, and Ko-san did most of the work. I just told them what concert. It's their present to you."

"Hn." The thought of them doing something like this made me slightly angry, but that was mostly out of my resentment for Hinata and my partial resentment for Hanabi. (I have nothing against Ko – I just don't like how he adores Hinata-sama so much.) But, it quelled slightly when I realized what they did was amazing. Maybe including the fact that they care isn't so bad.

"What's your present for me?" I asked, yawning.

Hey – it was 10:30 in the evening, we just had a huge dinner, and were at a huge rock-… punk? No… scene-ish? I guess… concert a while ago. We're tired.

"This way." I followed her to her bedroom, turning off all the other lights along the way.

My face warmed. So what? I would have slept in there anyway, if not on the couch. What's wrong with me?

I closed and locked (when Tenten sleeps, she always locks it) the bedroom door after we both entered, and she looked for something in her drawer.

"Tenten, do I have any pajama pants here?"

"Yeah," Tenten answered, still searching. "Check the far right of my closet. That's where I keep all your guys' clothes."

"Alright." I answered, looking for them.

Five moments later I was changed and sitting on the bed, only in boxers, pajama pants, and bandages to cover my forehead.

I didn't feel like wearing a shirt – I was warm enough and it's nothing Tenten hasn't seen before. Maybe we are closer than we seem.

"Found it!" Tenten said, jumping and up turning toward me. But when she saw me, she jumped, and her face pinked.

I rose a brow. She kinda looks cute like that, her face pink and all.

I tried to stay calm, asking Tenten what was wrong. What's that voice in my head?!

"N-nothing." She took a breath. Aw, damn! It's gone!

Who are you?

"A-aren't you going to put on a shirt?"

"Do you have a problem if I don't?"

I'm you. Your Inner. I am all your inner thoughts and desires that you won't admit all rolled into one. That's the reason behind the name.

You're… me?

"N-no. Nevermind. But I found it."

Isn't that basically what I said? Now shut up – she's talking to you.

"What is it?"

Tenten sat next to me on the bed, placing a simple, long, thin, tan jewelry case between us.

I gave her a look. Really, Ten?

She rolled her eyes. "Just open it, would you?"

I opened it.

Inside were two silver-chained necklaces, each with a dog tag pendant.

"One for you, one for me." She said, smiling.

I picked on up.

On one side, was my name in kanji.(6) I could tell it was carved, rather than imprinted, though carved well.

On the other side was a carving of a dove in flight in the sky. This entire side of the pendant was a portrait.

Somehow, the dove and the sky itself was colored as well, and you could see the green of what was to be the grass at the bottom, and the blue of the sky for most of the area of the pendant. It represented freedom…

The dove was one of my favorite birds, representing freedom (as well as peace). The eagle was another of my favorite birds, as it also represented freedom, but as well as strength and majesty.

But doves related more to my "Caged Bird" feelings, and Tenten knew that.

She really wanted this to mean something to me… thank you Tenten.

I picked up the other necklace, which was obviously Tenten's.

On one side was her name in kanji as well, but on the other was a picture of a 2 (twin) dragons surrounding a panda. Above the panda was a dove.

That threw me off.

Why…

I took another look at my dog tag. There!

Behind the dove, though I didn't notice it before, was a panda on the ground.

I turned to my friend. "Thank you, Tenten. Honestly, this is…"

I trailed off, not sure how to express my gratitude. This is the best present we've ever gotten. The concert's a close second.

I was too grateful to question my "Inner's" presence.

She smiled, hugging me tightly. "Only the best for my best friend."

I hugged her back.

A couple moments later, Tenten was changed (into pajama shorts and a tank top) and the two of us were in bed, turning the bedside lamp off.

Before I was ready to sleep, I however, I voiced a question. "How'd you make it?"

I turned toward Tenten.

She answered, looking directly into my eyes. I almost found myself falling into her almond ones. What the hell is wrong with me?!

"Remember when you helped me get the blacksmith to allow me to be his part-time apprentice for my birthday?"

I nodded. I did that this year, in March. I'd never seen her so happy.

"Yeah, well, his senior apprentice, Ryo-kun," the suffix irked me. I don't understand why, "was talented with the very intricate and delicate stuff like carving designs into metal and jewelry. I asked him to help me make your present. As you can see, it turned out great."

"What'd you do in return for him? This was obviously a huge favor." I replied.

She nodded. "At first, being the humble guy he is, refused and said stuff like, 'you're my friend, this is what friends do' and all that shiz. But, when I offered to help him on a date with his long-time-love-who-happens-to-be-his-childhood-fri end, he couldn't refuse."

Tenten giggled. How cute…

"For a 17-year-old, handsome, blacksmith, he is definitely nicer and softer than he may seem. And he reminds me of a school girl with a crush whenever we mention her," Tenten muttered.

"Handsome?" What the hell, Ten?

She raised a brow. "I said that out loud?"

I nodded, scowling.

"Oh. Well, it's true. I almost drooled when I saw him, and I don't do stuff like that. You know that well."

She laughed when my scowl deepened. "I don't understand what you're so mad about – we're just friends and I don't like him like that. Sheesh, Neji-kun."

I was surprised. "You don't like him?" I would've thought… she's been acting differently, and when she mentioned how handsome this Ryo is I thought she had a crush on him.

"No! I don't! At. All."

"Do you like anyone? Wanna go out with anyone?"

"Even if I did, I have you guys."

"…huh?" She sighed and scooted closer to me. What's the supposed to mean? Girls...

"I don't need silly crushes when I have you boys in my life. That's all I need right now."

"But as a teenage girl, don't you-"

"You're a teenage boy, Neji, and I don't see you trying to sneak a grope or two on the scarcely dressed teen girl that you're alone in an apartment with. In bed. In the dark. Don't start on me on acting like a normal teen."

My face reddened.

She giggled. "You're cute when you blush."

Of course, that made me redden more, and I scowled at being called "cute". She poked my cheek.

"Now sleep, Mr. Grouchy-Pants."

I rolled my eyes, closed them, and soon, I was asleep.


"AAHHH! Please! Please, no! STOP!" I was awoken by Tenten's screams.

"Wake up, Tenten, wake up!" I shook her, trying to wake her.

She clawed at me with her nails, and kicked, leaving me to have to straddle her waist and trap her legs lest she end up kicking me off the bed or beating me up in her sleep. And kick me in a place that is very important to men.

After more shaking and shouting, I finally woke her.

"D-did I have… th-that dream, ag-gain?" She asked, tears in her eyes.

"Yes…" I said quietly, wiping away her tears. It was the dream where I had died.

I looked toward the clock. It said 11:40.

She had the nightmare that fast… we'd barely been asleep for an hour!

"Describe it to me," I said. "The nightmare." Before, she'd usually refuse profusely, and I let it go. But this time, she started to.

Now that she wasn't violent anymore, I slid off of her and beside her, pressing her tight against me as she cried, describing her nightmare to me through her sobs and sniffles.

"… A-a-and th-then, the n-next thing I kn-know, you're on the ground, bleeding out! And for some reason, I wouldn't cry! I-I d-dunn-n-no if it's b-because I c-couldn't, or w-what! Aren't I t-t-terrible?" She finished, sobbing.

So what I was able to gather: I was protecting someone, or some people, jumped in the way, and was impaled in a couple places in my torso and through my back. They were large, and I bled out. Ouch.

"No, you're not," I whispered.

When she calmed completely. I looked to the clock again. 11:52.

When I turned back, I found Tenten looking at me.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Thanks." She said. "For… you know…"

It wasn't often that she cried, but when she did, she didn't like to speak of it much afterward. I think she thought it showed weakness, as a result of being around me so much, since I believe it does. I do believe it does… but sometimes, I think… I guess, it's okay to cry. Just sometimes.

I nodded. But for some reason, I could turn away from her large, brown eyes.

I kept "getting lost" in them.

She seemed to have the same problem with mine, because neither of us noticed we were drifting closer together until I felt her breathing on my lips.

I also discovered that my arms were wound tightly against her, pushing her as close to me as possible. Her arms were around my neck, and our legs were tangled together, comfortable.

She blushed when she discovered our position, but made no move to change it.

"Do you…" she whispered, her eyes closing. "Do you want to...", I continued in my head.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

I closed my eyes and erased the gap between our lips.

The feeling was amazing. My head felt tingly, as if fireworks were going off in the background. And her lips were warm and soft.

I'm not sure how to explain how it felt to kiss her more than already I did – it was kind of indescribable and even if I knew words to describe it better, my brain's kind of mush right now. Sorry. Please come by later.

And don't get me started on how good her hands felt in my hair, as I held her head closer to mine, my hand in her long, soft, hair.

When we pulled away, we were panting.

I gazed into her eyes more, and found something very warm in them, but it wasn't a normal kind of warmth… Does she like me?

My heart, which stopped, then thundered during our kiss, skipped a beat. Could I have feelings for her?

She smiled. My heart sped up again, and my face warmed.

She kissed my cheek. "Goodnight Neji-kun, and happy birthday."

With that, she adjusted herself so she'd be more comfortable, and promptly fell asleep.

….What just happened?

We'll go over this later. Now sleep.

I looked toward the clock again. 11:59.

I shifted so I'd be more comfortable, hesitating to place Tenten's head under my chin, though the problem was solved when she did it herself and made herself comfortable against my bare chest in her sleep.

As the clock shifted from 11:59 to 12:00, I thought, This was the best birthday I had ever had, smiling for once as I fell asleep, against the rhythm of the breathing of my best-friend-who-may-just-be-more-than-that.

It was the best sleep I'd had as long as I could remember.


END OF FLASHBACK


Dude, admit it. We're growing something for her.

Maybe you're right…

Le gasp! You're admitting it?!

Isn't that what you want?

I sighed. Besides, let's face it – I already care about her a lot as a friend, we've always been close, we're teenagers now, I'll admit she's quite pretty, and we kissed last night. It should be no surprise that I'm starting to like her.

You already started.

Oh. Right. I already started some time back but am realizing now. There.

So what are you going to do about it?

Nothing.

WHAT?!

I'm not going to ruin our friendship for something like a tiny crush, which is all this is right now.

B-but-… it could grow into more! And it's NOT tiny now, Mr. Denial-Isn't-Just-a-River-In-Egypt!

We'll have this conversation again when that happens. Now bye.

Ugh… fine.

I stood up and got my laptop from its desk at the corner of the room, placing it on my lap and turning it on.

Well… I guess I could catch up on some anime. Tenten told me to read then watch something called… "Angel Beats"?(7) I should also catch up with One Piece and Bleach…


(1): The Warp Tour is an actual rock/scene/punk/whatever tour that has multiple bands of those genre in it. I've never been to one, but my friends have. I've actually never been to a concert before, so the description of the concert is probably inaccurate.
(2): Most of these are my favorite bands... I haven't listened to Sublime before, though.
(3): It was MCR's final one, "Conventional Weapons".
(4): That's a legit song, I swear. Pretty appropriate for Neji, huh? It's a pretty cool song. And that stuff about the frontmen are true.
(5): Killjoys are MCR fans. They're also called members of the "MCRmy" and stuff like that. I'm a proud one, too.
(6): The most common of the 3 Japanese writing style. Another is "hiragana", which is considered the easiest.
(7): Angel Beats is amazing, and WILL make you cry. It's not ONLY sad, and the ending isn't a bad sad one, sorry to spoil it for you. Well, it is in a way, but also isn't. Just read it first, then watch it. The manga is what happens before the anime.

Yeah... NejiTen.

Question of the Week: Anything planned for the summer?

YOU CAN STILL VOTE FOR PRESENTS TO SASUKE FROM SAKURA AND KAKASHI!

Read, review, and Recycle! The 3 R's!

Love,

Cherry.