GeeBee's Notes: Thought I might say a little something about the title of this project. I got it's name from a combination of the calendar spread, a typical spread used with tarots to divine things for the coming year, and a suite, a musical composition of different movements. The 22 one-shots Ness and I are writing are all based on the 22 cards of the Major Arcana. (My college fortune-telling skills are finally coming in handy!) A fitting theme, I think, considering Tenten's hobby.
This installment takes place during the time jump in the manga. Also, Ness and I apparently have a theme of bastardizing the Cloud-nin. ;)
Also I love Lee. I really do. I just can't help teasing him a bit.
Enjoy!
Sleight of Hand
"The Magician"
There were times when Hyuuga Neji did not like his job.
Most of these rare moments passed by without so much as an outward flicker. Neji was very good at controlling both facial expressions and emotions; if there was something he wanted to kept hidden, it stayed hidden. If he ever felt dissatisfication with himself or his mission, he responded with doing something- doing more -whether it be training or otherwise. There were times, however, when simple physical or mental activity was not enough to recover his equilbrium and he found himself disgruntled and frowning at anything within a two mile radius. (Tenten had once called it his "grumpy face" which, since it was her, he might have let it pass if Lee hadn't overheard and doubled over laughing. Needless to say, neither of them ever thought of using cutesy nicknames in his presence again.)
Today was definitely a "grumpy face" day.
Standing in the back of a dimly lit tent, arms crossed over his chest as he ran an irritated gaze over the crowd, Neji tried inwardly to focus himself. The mission was going well, there were no obvious hiccups in their plan, and Lee had stopped making goo-goo eyes at the acrobats long enough to make himself useful backstage. All things considered, the Hyuuga should have been pleased. They would be back in Konoha earlier than planned if things continued to go well.
Part of his agitation, though, stemmed from the feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worse.
Turning a pearly-eyed gaze to the stage, Neji allowed himself to glower at the man occupying it. Takouji (his "stage name" or so he said) was a magician by trade, but a spy in other circles. His troupe performed in villages all over the mainland and so he was a prime spot to observe and report things he learned. Konoha had recently purchased valuable information concerning an agreement between Cloud and Bird Country, the details of which the Godaime had sent Neji's team to collect. The only hitch was Takouji himself.
The insipid little man seemed to think quite a lot of himself and had told Tsunade-sama she could have the information in exchange for a shinobi guard (against "brigands" he said) to the edge of Fire Country.
Hence why Neji was currently listening to garish music from a loudspeaker and trying not to flinch everytime his sensitive eyes fell on Takouji's orange and yellow sequined costume.
From the beginning, Neji had not trusted Takouji. The man sold his knowledge to the highest bidder and had no loyalty to any one village. He would be as quick to sell Konoha secrets to the Cloud if the price was right. (The very reason why Tsunade-sama never let him do a performance within the village limits.) Still, despite how low Neji's opinion of their client was, it dropped considerably lower when Takouji included Tenten in the price to be paid.
After seeing her talent for weaponry, Takouji had insisted she take part in the nightly performances by juggling an array of sharp objects and "assisting" him with some of his bigger magic acts. Neji might have been alright with the juggling as Tenten seemed to find it amusing, but when Takouji blithely suggested Tenten wear a slinky gold dress and let him make her "disappear", Neji's grumpy face had taken up permanent residence .
Lee had wisely kept any sort of reaction to himself this time.
"Thank goodness this is our last night of this," a voice murmured good-naturedly beside him, "My feet are killing me."
He didn't have to angle his head down to know that Tenten was standing at his shoulder, shifting her weight on her two inch, glitteringly gold heels. She was dressed in her costume for the magic act, hair down and heated into curls, dress slinking over her hips and pooling at her feet. (Not that Neji noticed Tenten's hips. No.)
"You agreed to it," he reminded her, a bit petulantly, still looking for signs of trouble within the audience. So far he'd had to throw out a total of four men and one old woman for rude or indecent behavior. (The old woman had tried to knee him in the groin. Twice.)
He felt Tenten smile at his elbow. "Well, it was the only way to get what we wanted, right?"
To answer would have been to agree that what she was doing was somehow acceptable. Neji settled for a noncommittal grunt. Tenten patted his arm.
"Don't worry. It'll be done soon," she said, as she passed him on her way backstage, a bright flare against a dark backdrop. He watched her go until she disappeared from view and the drum rolls started, signaling the dramatic act of the evening. At that point, he started making his way closer to the stage as Takouji appeared, flourishing his cape. There was always a troublemaker or two when Tenten came on, someone a little too drunk who thought lewd catcalls were the way to a woman's heart. Neji took complete satisfaction in proving otherwise.
In minutes, a spotlight turned on and Tenten stepped out, smiling as Takouji spoke to the avid audience and shut the kunoichi inside a glass cage. The cage was then lifted off the ground about a foot by heavy robes to prove there was no hidden hatch in the stage floor. After that, Takouji threw his cape over the cage and proceeded to do a number of hand movements that made him look ridiculous.
It was a trick Neji had seen him perform all week. Takouji would say the magic words, the cape would come off, and Tenten would be gone, replaced by a somewhat lethargic lioness. Another phrase, cape went back on, and Tenten was back, still smiling and letting Takouji led her from the cage as he bowed to thunderous applause.
He expected nothing different this time and so did not actually watch the performance, instead keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the tent. Because of this, he didn't notice Takouji leading the lioness from her cage until the audience started clapping, marveling at the magician's ability to transform a girl in a gold dress into the golden cat on stage.
It took Neji exactly three seconds to realize what was happening.
"Byakugan!" he said, and turned to send a palm of chakra through the chest of a ninja sneaking up on him from behind. He got to sense four others in the crowd before everything turned to chaos. Men started shouting, women were screaming, a lion roared, and Neji saw a kunai fly threw the air towards his heart. With no room for the Kaiten and unable to dodge for fear it would hit a bystander behind him, Neji raised his arm and took the blade just below the elbow, pulling it free a moment latter and feeling blood stain his sleeve. Instead of following the kunai's path, however, he turned and ran for the stage. The Byakugan showed him a hive of people behind it, including one boy in a green jumpsuit doing some wild acrobatics of his own.
Seeing that Lee was doing fine, Neji reached out and grabbed Takouji by the throat as the magician attempted to lose himself in the crowd.
"Where is she?" he asked, feeling a primitive desire to crush the man's windpipe. "What did you trade her for?"
"Th..they said they wouldn't hurt her!" Takouji squeaked. "They just wanted to t..talk to her! The C..Cloud..."
Neji had heard enough. "Where?"
"O..Out back, behind the wagons!"
By the time he got there, the wagons looked like pincushions and Tenten had cleared some space between her and her attackers with an unfurled scroll she must have had hidden somewhere. (Neji would later wonder exactly where.) Her dress had been ripped in several places and she was limping on her right foot, both of her high heels missing completely. There was a cut down her cheek, too, a line of red that did nothing for his temper.
The first Cloud ninja that got in his way received Jyuuken straight to the heart.
"Neji!" Tenten called when she saw him. She was whirling a fuuma shurikan in front of her like a bladed shield. "I think they'd like a demonstration of the Byakugan. They seem very interested in it." Her voice was hard and her eyes were cold as she ripped her shurikan down her enemy's shoulder. Of all people, she understood best his feelings about the Cloud.
Locking eyes with the shinobi in front of him, Neji smirked icily. "As you wish."
Several minutes later, in the middle of two large craters with scrolls fluttering to the ground around them, Neji caught Tenten's arm as she limped over to him.
"How did you figure it out?" she asked, looking out over the twitching victims of Neji's wrath.
"Takouji cut the act before the end. He brought the lion out instead of you."
She nodded. "They were waiting for me when I came out back stage. I didn't have a chance to give a warning." She seemed apologetic and Neji frowned a little. "They wanted to interrogate me about Konoha and our blood limits." Her eyes flickered up to his. "Including yours."
He didn't say anything. It didn't really come as a surprise.
"What do you think he got in exchange for me?" she mused after a moment. He glanced at her and she grinned, still slightly exhilarated from the fight. "More sequins?"
A smile twitched across his lips before his expression smoothed once again. "I hope not." Out of the corner of his eye, Neji saw Lee exit the tent and start towards them, practically bounding with energy.
"Did you get the scroll?" he asked, when his teammate had slid to a stop before them. Lee threw him a gleaming smile and lifted a slightly ragged roll of parchment in his bandaged hand.
"Takouji-san seemed very happy to give the information to me. He left rather quickly, too. I've never seen such a youthful display of stamina!"
Tenten coughed lightly and Neji refrained from rolling his eyes. Instead, he said, "Tsunade-sama will want the details of that treaty."
Walking back to the tent together, Neji steadied Tenten with an arm around her shoulders while she admonished him about taking a hit from a kunai and not saying anything about it. Lee started babbling about acrobats and how some of their moves could be used in taijutsu and wouldn't Gai-sensei be thrilled to hear it? Neji kept silent and simply listened to them both, feeling his earlier irritation slip away as Tenten rolled his sleeve back to check his wound, her fingers quick and gentle against his skin.
There were times when Hyuuga Neji did not like his job.
"Let's go home, Neji," Tenten said, her hand resting on his wrist. Behind her, Lee flashed him a thumbs up.
And then there were times he didn't want to be anywhere else.
The End.