Weapon of Choice

Chapter the Fifth

Advice

Alright, alright, I admit it, I don't own naruto.

Now give me back my pants.

Neji sighed and leaned back on his haunches.

He still wasn't sure what happened. He had been taking a bath, and Tenten walked in naked. Everything after that was fuzzy. As far as he could recall, he had lost control of himself and kissed her. Then they had been interrupted by his uncle and younger cousin before Tenten ran away.

He sighed again and stood up.

He had blown it. He came on too strong, now Tenten was probably so disgusted that she would never want to see him again. He paused a few moments to curse fate and his damned hormones, if his relatives hadn't interrupted them who knew how far he would have gone.

His self-loathing was disturbed by a timid voice.

"Um...Neji?"

It was her! Tenten stood in the entrance of the bathhouse wearing a simple white yukata from the dressing area. Her face was red with embarrassment and her gaze was locked down on to the hardwood flooring.

"Yes?" he answered, trying to keep the melancholy out of his voice.

"I don't know how to get to my room."

He nodded and escorted her back through the winding corridors of the complex to their rooms. It was probably the second most uncomfortable silence of his life, the first being the half hour after Gai had explained to his team where babies came from. When they reached their destination Neji spoke,

"Tenten I-"

"Don't Neji," she interrupted "I'm not upset. It's just...so... sudden I -I just need some time to think. Okay?" And with that she disappeared into her room.

Well, he thought, at least it wasn't a no.

0-0

Tenten sagged against the closed door. What was wrong with her? She should be ecstatic. Neji, her crush since, like, forever had kissed her, hell, calling it just a kiss was like saying Sasuke was a little self absorbed; it was a completely inadequate description. By all rights, she should be doing cartwheels up and down the staid halls of Hyuuga manor, so why did she feel so confused, and she admitted reluctantly, a little scared?

She took a deep breath and tried to recall where the maids put her clothes. Apparently they had snuck in her room while she was out with Neji and had willfully, with malicious intent organized her belongings!

Stupid maids. She would have to remember to set some traps for them.

Eventually she located her clothes and got dressed. Once again clad in her familiar maroon pants and loose fitting white top she took a deep breath. She felt a little better.

What she needed was some advice. Some FEMALE advice. She immediately discounted most of the kunoichi in her group; they were about as clueless as she was. She pursed her lips together in thought and groaned. She supposed she should go see Anko-sempai.

0-0

Tenten had an odd relationship with Konoha's foremost fishnet enthusiast. When she had been fourteen and in the throws of puberty, Gai, in his infinite wisdom, had decided that she needed a tutor, someone to teach her what he referred to cryptically as "kunoichi stuff" knowledge that he, as an ignorant male (not unlike your humble author), was not privy to. Initially she had been really pumped; finally she would get some individual attention. Perhaps from her idol, the great Tsunade, or at least her student Shizune.

To be fair to Gai, he did get her the student of a sannin, just not the one she wanted. It was the crazy, scary lady from the Chunin Exams Anko Mitarashi.

She had the worst luck with sensei..

After she had gotten over her initial disappointment she realized Anko was a lot like Gai, flamboyantly unconventional and easily misunderstood. She learned a lot from Anko, although outside of ninja stuff what she learned was mostly by negative example, like 'never try to out drink someone with three times your own body mass' or 'there's a reason no one wears fishnet kimonos' or even 'there is such a thing as too much dango'

She arrived at Anko's apartment in the Jounin dorms in the early evening, Hopefully she was home. She knocked on the door and it was answered by a masked man.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

The gray haired Johnin paused thoughtfully before answering. "Um... Gai's kunoichi, um, Tonton?"

"Tenten." she replied through gritted teeth. Stupid hokage's pig...

"Hey, Kakashi, is that Gai?" Called a feminine voice from somewhere in the back ground.

Kakashi turned towards it and replied "No, it's-" Before he could finish he was abruptly shoved to the side by an impatient Mitarashi.

Tenten got an unobstructed view of what she was wearing, if that was the right word. The alleged garment, a few strategically placed scraps of some sort of gauzy black material, did nothing to conceal, but rather enhanced her nudity, somehow giving the impression of being more naked than if she hadn't been wearing anything at all.

"Hey, kid." she greeted shamelessly. "What's up? You finally decide to jump that Hyuuga boy?"

Tenten's eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open.

"What?! No! Phhtt, that's totally ridicul-..."

"So he jumped you then?"

"Yes! No! Dammit!" She slumped forward with her face in her hands. "How did you know?!?"

"What?! Really?" she exclained in shock. "I was just kidding." Quickly she turned back to Kakashi and swatted him hard on the shoulder, causing the one-eyed ninja to wince. "HA! I told you he wasn't gay!! Pay up!"(That's probably going to be the last gay joke, that horse has long since been beaten to death)

0-0

Fifteen minutes later she had explained to Anko, and unfortunately Kakashi, her situation.

"So let me see if I've got this straight," she mused, "He was giving you a naked massage and then 'suddenly' kissed you?" Anko's face took on a dubious expression. "And you're surprised?"

"Um..." It sounded kind of stupid when you said it out loud like that.. "...kind of." she answered tentatively, looking down at her fingers intertwined in her lap while she bit her lip.

Anko face palmed. With her head still in her hand, she spoke,

"Well, at least you didn't run away..."

"Um..."

Anko's eyes ran over at Tenten through her fingers. "You ran away!"

"Only a little," Anko appeared unconvinced. "I came right back!" she defended herself.

Anko lifted her head out of her hands. "Well, I guess that's something. What I think your problem is that you finally noticed that Neji's a guy."

"Huh?"

"Before, you saw him as safe because he didn't seem interested, now that you know he's a guy you're having doubts." Anko explained patiently.

"Well, what do I do?"

"Sneak into his room tonight and give yourself to him." interrupted Kakashi.

Tenten looked aghast.

Anko assumed a thoughtful expression. "That's not a bad idea..."

"What!?!?"

"Well think about it. You're both ninja, death is only a mission away, so carpe that diem girl!"

"But-"

"But me no buts Kohai, this is what you're gonna do, Kakashi, come here, see, first you-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!"

Oh thank god! thought Tenten, however her releif was short lived.

Gai took a declarative pose and started to, well, declare,

"AH, Kakashi, my eternal rival, tonight I shall prove that hard work can overcome genius, when, with the assistance of the lovley Anko, I will defeat you in the manly and amourous art of..." He finally noticed his colleague's frantic 'for the love of god, Stop!' gestures and his gaze fell upon his wide eyed student.

"...Basket weaveing." he finished, lamely.

Fourtunately, or rather unfortunately Tenten saw through his clever ruse.

"So you two....and...with her? FOR A CONTEST!!?"

The two men looked contrite.

"YEAH!" agreed Anko, with a huge grin and thumbs up.

Tenten held her head in her hands and silently left the apartment. And these are supossed to be my role models. she thought as she walked back to the Hyuuga compound there was a crack of thunder and the sky opened up in a deluge of rain.

"Wonderful." she mumbled.

not much to say this time. except to thank my beta temarixshikimaruluva,

remember,

reviews good, fire bad.