A/N; Sorry this took so long, I kind of got a bit carried away with this chapter. I was going to save the ending for later, but it just kind of fit, so I hope nobody thinks I'm rushing things along. Gaaah! I will second guess this chapter for the rest of eternity. A big thanks to everyone again for taking the time out to review!

Disclaimer: Nothing, it's what I own.

I can't believe I got suckered into doing another newlyweds mission with Neji.

Honestly! I told myself after the last fake-couple mission (which was a barely avoided disaster) that I wasn't going to do the newlywed/happy couple/married/together in any way thing with Neji anymore. I told myself that after I slipped up last time, after my feelings for him became too apparent, that I couldn't do anymore missions like that.

Is it normal for missions to hurt your heart? And not necessarily hurt in a bad way, either. The last newlywed couple mission we did was the highlight of my month, after the embarrassment of nearly revealing my feelings to him died down.

That mission was a lot like this one, actually. We had to pose as a recently married couple who would seem so absorbed in each other that no one would suspect anything negative about us as we investigated a stolen artifact.

I do not want to think about that mission anymore.

Why is it that recovering heirlooms and the like always seems to call for fake relationships being formed in order for the mission to be successful? It's torture, really. Either you have feelings for the person you get paired with, or at the point that your team starts receiving the missions, you're such good friends with the teammate you're coupled off with that thinking of them in that way is disgusting.

Although I still don't know if I'd prefer it if Lee was in Neji's place…

Ugh! The mere thought of being paired with Lee on a mission like this makes me cringe.

Either way, this sucks.

Why aren't there any all girl teams? It's always one girl and two boys grouped together. I suppose it's better two boys than two girls, as boys are less likely to fight over the third teammate if feelings arose.

Being at the hair salon always makes me reflect on whatever situation I've found myself in. First having someone else wash your hair is one of the nicest feelings in the world, if they're good at it. (And trust me, you do not want to know what it's like to have a bad hair wash) Second the snipsnipsnip of scissors is, for whatever reason, especially soothing on my psyche, no matter how troubled it is.

Right now I am very troubled, since I am currently in the unfortunate bind of loving Neji and having to "fake" that I have feelings for him. So all I really have to do is act how I want to, and not how I have been recently in order to spare myself the misery of rejection, in order to pull this mission off.

Love is so inconvenient! I was happy in my ignorance. Just last week I was a different person with different problems. Sure, I still had the same feelings, but I was totally and completely repressing them to the point of convincing myself they were less than they were.

It's one thing, I have discovered, to think you like a person and realize that you, in fact, love them.

If I'd been handed this mission last week, I would've jumped on it. A chance to see what it was like to have my "feelings" acknowledged—and reciprocated—by Neji? Divine! Perfect! Completely and utterly fantastic!

Now I am dreading this mission. What if I mess up? What if my choice to leave Team Gai prevents Lee and Neji from properly carrying out our roles? What if I do my part a little too well and Neji suspects? What if, in that case, Neji rejects me?

"Awful, awful, awful…"

"Excuse me, dear?"

Oh, I guess I said that out loud. Now my hairdresser is going to think I'm crazy, sitting in the chair and muttering to myself. My hairdresser and me, we don't usually converse. The polite "Hello, how have you been since the last time I saw you?" and "Thank you so much, you did a wonderful job! See you next time!" is basically all I say to her. Ever. And my thank you is probably a little empty since I get my hair cut the same every time I come in here: all the same length, and only a trim of an inch or two off the bottom.

When you wear your hair in buns everyday, styling your hair is the least of your worries.

Now, however, I have a part to play. A wealthy woman, especially one with a new husband to please, isn't going to settle for two buns on the top of her head every single day. Oh no, she is going to have a hair style that she can wear down, or up, or anywhere in-between.

So that's how I'm getting it cut today. My long, long length isn't being shortened entirely, but my hairdresser is insisting on layers. Who am I to argue? I don't know anything about hair styling. If I haven't mentioned it enough, I wear the same two buns everyday and only for practicality. The only time my hair is down is when I'm sleeping at home. I keep my hair up on missions in case something happens in the middle of the night and I need to spring into battle.

Lee must've been really distracted by the mission not to say anything about my hair, actually. Usually he flashes his teeth/thumbs up combo at me and/or starts delivering a speech about my youth and how I am a flower waiting to bloom, if only I would wear my hair down more often so others could see my true beauty!

And then he starts crying.

Neji's reaction is typical for Neji in the sense that he has no reaction. Since the only occasion for him to be seeing my hair is to wake me up, it usually means we have to be somewhere and he is too busy lecturing me on my sluggishness and late tendencies to acknowledge the change.

Not that something as insignificant as my hair down is worthy of his acknowledgment anyways. I'd be getting ahead of myself if I thought Neji would actually mention it, or make any sort of reference to it at all.

Thankfully my hairdresser understands my desire to keep my hair long. I suppose some could say my hair is my security blanket, but what do I need security against? I'm a ninja, I can take care of myself easily.

To tell you the truth, I guess I just feel like it's my one last feminine feature. I've never been big on makeup or clothing or anything remotely girl-like. My hair is that one thing I've always taken pride in. it's always been longer than Sakura's and Ino's, and while it is always up in buns, I keep it in the best condition possible.

So I guess getting my hair cut is kind of like severing ties with my girly side, which would be really bad since as of whenever this mission is over I will have to start embracing my girly side and start attracting guys.

At least, that is what I hope will happen. The reality is that I will probably go out, look and feel like a fool, come home, regret my decision, and then get lectured by Sakura and Ino about what I did wrong and how I am going out there again and not doing whatever I did wrong that day. Which will be everything.

"There, all done!"

My hairdresser spun me around with a flourish and presented my new self to me.

Holy shit this is weird! I hate to go into big descriptions of myself, but I have, whaddaya call them…layers! Yes, I've heard of layers before…and some long bangs. Oh, my poor, long hair, I love you so much!

Stupid mission. I hate that this isn't the first time I've had to style my hair to pertain to the mission guidelines. Who knows that rich women don't lure men in with two buns on their head? While I suppose my track record isn't too great (aka nonexistent) that is not enough evidence against my hairstyle being capable of luring in men. I mean, it isn't as if I've ever put in any effort at all into my looks, and when I have it's been for missions. And I'm not exactly going to pick up a nice guy while I'm parading myself off as some rich, newly-hitched girl.

"This is…really, really awesome! And different! Thank you so much!"

My hairdresser simply nodded at me and took my thanks and payment, only smiling and offering me luck on this mission.

Speaking of the mission, Neji better like my hair or I'm going to fucking rip his spine out.

I'm assuming that we'll have some mode of transportation other than walking, because Neji didn't mention to dress normally and bring a change of clothes for when we get nearby Iwa.

I hope we get a ride to Iwa, because I am not wearing these shoes for walking long distances. Plus Neji was dressed for the occasion, so it's safe to assume that I'm right.

Packing for missions like this one is always tough, because I'm not allowed to bring my big scroll, even though I really, really want to.

Instead I am forced to pack all of my mini scrolls, or if those are too much, less. But I try to pack as much as possible. On missions like these, though, it doesn't usually work out. To play the part of being rich you need to have a bunch of crap that proves it.

Right now I've packed plenty of outfits, hairpins, makeup, shoes, jewelry, and my scrolls, as well as other necessities. Putting on the façade of being wealthy is hard work! I just barely had enough room for my scrolls, and I've been forced to release some and carry the weapons on my person.

I hope Neji doesn't notice the weapons on me, or he'll lecture me again on how someone might notice them and then wonder what a nice, rich newlywed girl is doing with a plethora of kunai up her dress.

The only positive result of that conversation was when Neji blushed after mentioning having the kunai up my dress. I certainly wouldn't mind having him up my dress, that's for sure!

Oh my God, I do not believe that I just said that. Sometimes I disgust myself. Other times I like to delude myself into thinking that thoughts like that are more lustful than loving, but I'm only good at repressing things in my head, not lying to myself about them.

I'm going to check my apartment one more time, just to make sure I have everything I could possibly need. My hair keeps swinging in my face, and I'm hoping I look different enough that people won't recognize me on my way to my place.

Opening the door to my apartment, I can't help but love it. It's pretty sparse, except for where I have some of my favorite weapons that I don't actually use in combat on the walls. Well, of course I use them in combat, but not those specific ones! Please, I'm no amateur who judges a weapon off of its looks.

Glancing around my apartment only serves to reassure me that I do, in fact, have everything that I might need on this trip, and then some. I'm sure Neji will still disapprove of something, or think up something insane that never would've crossed my mind to bring, but oh well, I can't win them all.

I wish this mission wasn't happening. I wish I could've not seen Neji and Lee today, and just gone ahead with my plan of—

Wait. Neji lied to me! He said that we had to do this mission because I was the only available female with a fully ready squad, but I was just talking to Sakura and Ino yesterday! Unless they just failed to mention their trip…

Although, now that I think about it, I vaguely recall them mentioning an excursion out of town as a mini-vacation…

Sakura and Ino lied to me!! Ooh, they're going to rue the day they crossed me!

I can't help the loud sigh that bursts from my lips and attracts the attention of some of the other Konoha inhabitants as I head towards the gate. So if I hadn't been given this mission, I would only have been able to look forward to a boring day home alone, without even Sakura and Ino to provide me company. Great!

Shouldering my bag, I have to make a conscious effort to make my walking stance more feminine and all-around delicate. My typical quick, nonexistant steps aren't going to cut it. A wealthy girl isn't going to be thinking too much on where the steps she's taking are going, or whether or not people can hear them and then be alerted to her presence.

I have to keep my steps light, but in a different way. They have to be light in an adorable, cutesy, she's-just-so-delicate-all-the-time kind of way.

It was hard enough learning how to walk all the time without making a sound, but it's even harder having to go back and act as if you don't know how.

People underestimate how hard it is, having to fake being rich. It's not as difficult for Neji as it is for me, since Neji has grown up in an aristocratic type of society. While the Hyuugas do, obviously, have money, Neji doesn't have as much as a main branch member.

Not that he isn't loaded, because he totally is. It's a mix of his income as a Hyuuga family member, payment from missions, and his irrational saving tendencies. You would think having money would make him a spendthrift, but I nearly had to break his arm to convince him that he needed a new wardrobe after he started growing out of his old uniform!

The joys of shopping are lost on him, I swear.

It's not as if I'm a big spender either, especially since a lot of my money goes away for missions like these, so that I can not only look and play the part of a wealthy woman, but so I can afford the clothes that go along with these missions.

I mean, seriously, this kimono I have to wear right now? It cost two times what I pay for an expensive weapon—and some of my weapons were expensive. Plus this was my cheapest kimono since I got it for "travelling purposes", which basically means that I'm going to be sitting down in some sort of caravan or some rich person form of transportation for long distances, but still look good.

On the other hand, it is nice to get to wear fancy silks every once in awhile and just feel pretty. It is extremely difficult to find beauty in a person who is covered in sweat and blood for 80% of her year, let me tell you.

Well, it's hard unless you're Neji or Sasuke, but then they're good looking in every condition under the sun.

But my kimono now is nice, and all the cloth is good for concealing weapons both in the fabric and on my body.

If Neji knew I literally had weapons on me, he would probably lecture me about mission safety and then force me to hand them all over. One of these days I'm just going to tell him that if he wants the weapons gone so badly, he can take them off of me himself.

Ugh, who am I kidding? I'm blushing just thinking about saying that to him!

Shaking my head to collect my thoughts and dispel the ones I am currently mulling on, I spot Lee doing push ups in his typical green, although he's ditched the legwarmers and jumpsuit for a green and black ensemble that he probably thinks is characteristic of bodyguards. Neji is seated beside him, and from what I can tell at this distance he's meditating.

He's probably thinking about her.

No! I've already said, I don't care if he's with someone else (lie) as long as he's happy! I have to stop letting my emotions drive my actions. Neji would be disappointed in me if he knew how often lately I've been doing what I wanted and not what was best for everyone else.

Describing him like that, he kind of sounds like a snob. Except that he isn't. I'm just, once again, letting my bitterness towards his ditching me for some other girl overshadow all my other thoughts concerning him.

Stupid emotions. Who needs 'em? I certainly don't, that is for sure.

"Tenten, would you hurry up? We need to be in Iwa by nightfall to make our reservations at the hotel."

Oh. I guess I stopped walking at some point. Feeling stupid for standing in place for so long, I jogged as quickly as I could in my kimono to where Neji and Lee were.

"So, brave knight, where is your noble steed that will carry us to our next destination and, dare I hope for it, our imminent nuptials?"

Teasing Neji is one of my favorite parts of being such close friends with him. If anyone else made a joke like that to him, even Lee, he would just dismiss it. It makes me feel special that I'm the only one he lets that close to him—besides his girlfriend, that is. It would be safe to assume that he lets her say whatever she wants to him, right?

"Our nuptials aren't something to joke about, Tenten. But I must say it is with great joy that I announce Takahashi Ayame and Hojo husband and wife."

A shiver slid down my spine as he punctuated his words by sliding a ring on my finger. I might've taken it a little more seriously if he hadn't sounded so sarcastic while announcing it, the bastard. Risking a glance at his face, I was slightly let down to see that he wasn't even looking at me, but rummaging around for something in his pocket.

He was slipping on his ring when I noticed that Lee was still doing push ups.

"Lee, really, it's time to go. You can finish your exercises when we get to Iwa. Speaking of which, if I'm Ayame and Neji's Hojo—which is such a lame name, by the way—then who are you?"

Lee pushed off the ground and landed nimbly on his feet, clapping his hands together to rid them of dust.

"We have decided that I will simply go by Lee, and no other name! Not many people should be asking after a bodyguard anyways, yeah?"

"It was decided for us that we should use different names for this mission, on the off chance that our previous names are recognized by someone and thus ruins the mission. Besides, Tenten, you'll only need this name for a couple weeks at most. Then you can revert back to your ordinary self."

Neji raised an eyebrow in my general direction, but I decided to take the high road and simply scoff at his words.

"Whatever, Neji! I just want it on the record that I would never marry anyone with the name Hojo. I mean, you can hardly get a name more boring than Hojo, especially compared to some of the people I've run into on missions!"

Since I know Neji is looking at me, I've decided the only safe route is to fiddle with the locks of hair that have blown in my face.

"Tenten! Might I take this glorious moment to expound upon the beauty that is yourself?! With your hair down and that kimono, you are the perfect example of youthful splendor!"

I am very bad at hiding my blushes. It probably stems from the fact that I rarely, if ever, blush, and as such have no type of defense against the rising heat in my cheeks.

"Give it a rest, Lee. You say that nearly every time we go undercover on missions! It's just the fact that I'm trying a bunch of different things at once, that's what it always is. I mean, really, it's just a haircut and some makeup, plus some fancy clothes. Nothing too major!"

Okay, that was a pretty obvious lie, but whatever.

"Could we get going, please? We're nearly running late as it is!"

Ah, Neji, you are so impatient sometimes.

"Sure, we can get going whenever you want to leave. I'm actually surprised you didn't want to stop and say goodbye to anyone before we left. It's not too late, you know, if you did. Want to say goodbye to someone, that is."

So I'm kind of rambling. I don't want to just blurt out that I know he has a girlfriend, especially in front of Lee who will probably explode from happiness once he hears.

Neji is giving me a strange look, as if he can't figure out what is going on in my head.

I certainly don't blame him; I rarely know what's going on in my head.

"I have already said my farewells to those I wanted to say goodbye to, just as always. Do you really think that I'd leave something of that nature until the last minute?"

He still has that weirded out look on his face! Geez, the question wasn't that weird—well, okay, yes it totally was. Of course Neji would say goodbye to everyone, I was just hoping for a chance to see where the bitch—that, is, his girlfriend—lives.

"Well, you know how it is! It can never hurt to check, really. Right?"

I would attempt a laugh, but I'm afraid it would come out too nervous or forced, and Neji would leap on that in a second. Instead I'll have to settle for his strange looks, as well as Lee darting glances between Neji and me. Oh well, it's better than the alternative, otherwise known as Neji discovering my feelings and totally rejecting me and leaving me heartbroken and dying on the inside as my inner organs begin to shut down, starting with my shattered heart.

I've recently discovered that my imagination tends to run a little towards the overdramatic side. This, I have also discovered, is not beneficial to me in the long term. It is also detrimental to my sensibilities, because I start convincing myself that the worst will happen and then start avoiding instances where I could run into a situation like it.

Which is another way to phrase why I am quitting Team Gai. Because, you know, eventually the worst is going to happen and I'm going to fuck up royally and hurt somebody who doesn't deserve to be hurt because of my negligence.

But I digress. I need to stop spacing out like this, or I'm really going to find myself in a bad situation.

"Tenten, are you ready to go?"

Neji was holding his hand out to me to help me in the coach that the Hokage must've ordered for us to use. When did that arrive, anyways?

I looked at it for a long moment. Did I really want to do this? Going on this mission would be jeopardizing a lot of the defenses I've put up around myself. But what choice do I have, really?

So I take his hand and sit beside him in the coach. A married couple will be all over each other, of course…Wait. That doesn't mean—it couldn't, could it?

"Neji, we won't have to…physically show signs of our love, will we?"

Oh God, my voice just cracked. And I sound really anxious. This sucks, and he's laughing at me!

"Well, Tenten, I know we've only had to fake our relationships before, but this mission is much more serious than the previous missions we've been on. There may indeed be situations that call for us to put on a show to fool the others into believing our devotion to each other. Did this really only occur to you just now?"

He says that as if it should've been the first thing to cross my mind when he mentioned the mission!

"Yes, it only occurred to me right now! It's not exactly my life's dream to kiss you, Neji. (lie) Besides, I don't…"

This has got to be the most embarrassing situation I've ever been in. Ever. Thank God Lee is still packing his bags, or I'd die of mortification.

"You don't what?"

I am physically incapable, at this moment, of looking at Neji. I don't think I can even glance at him, I am so embarrassed. And he has the—the nerve to sound amused! He finds my humiliation completely hilarious!

"I don't think I could properly, you know…pull it off. Faking being in love with you and, uh… KissingyouImeanbecauseI'veneverdoneitbefore."

The blush, oh God I can feel it heating up my face and turning it a bright red. I cannot, under ANY circumstance, look at him. This is so awful on every level!!

"That is not a real problem, Tenten, as it is easily remedied."

He doesn't mean—he can't mean that? Can he?

"But I don't—Are you saying—I want my first kiss to mean something! I don't want it to be thrown away for the sake of a mission! That's so…insensitive!"

My anger is giving me the confidence I need to look at him fully, and he is just shaking his head!

"I know you think that the idea that a first kiss is something precious is, you know, frivolous. But I don't think it's frivolous, Neji! When I get kissed for the first time I want it to—mmmmphh!"

His lips are warm and soft. I never would've guessed that about him.

The kiss is kind of awkward, because I don't know what I'm doing, but Neji seems to be doing an okay of leading me. It's so simple, kissing. It's like a soft massage of your lips on someone else's…but nice. Very, very nice.

My body is warming up as the kiss, no matter how chaste, continues to sends sparks down to my curling toes.

Not wanting to look like I am actually enjoying it, I pull away quickly, taking a deep breath as I do so.

Neji kissed me. Neji kissed me. Neji kissed me!

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Now you initiate it."

Er, what? Did he just suggest that I kiss him? He can't seriously expect me to—

"Tenten, really. People will wonder if I'm the only one who is initiating things between us, especially since we're supposed to be deeply in love. Just don't think about it, alright?"

I think I'm going to have a heart attack. What if someone sees us? I mean, there are covers on the windows and the door is closed, but someone might see us! Like his girlfriend! Or his family! Or anyone!

"Tenten, just do it!"

"Alright, fine!"

So I did it. I took a deep breath, leaned forward, and placed my lips on Neji's.

It was clumsy. I accidentally bumped his nose, then pulled back to recover, but he caught me off guard and followed me back, placing his lips back over mine.

I couldn't help smiling into the kiss, because, really, if you had told me yesterday that the next morning I would be going on a mission and practicing kissing with Neji, I wouldn't have believed you. A part of me would've hoped, but it would ultimately end up being a lie.

As I grew more accustomed to kissing Neji—ha! As if I could ever get used to it—I started realizing a couple things. For one, we weren't touching anywhere besides our lips. I was still sitting a little away from him, with my leg pulled up on the seat. He was still ensconced in the corner, with his arm up on the windowsill.

For another, the kiss was going on kind of long and I really needed air again.

I pulled back once more, completely out of breath. And it wasn't even a real kiss! That is how sad I am!

I couldn't help but laugh a little breathlessly. Imagine, me kissing Neji!

"I guess you're right, Neji. It isn't really something to write home about!"

That is a lie if I've ever heard one. I am bursting with the desire to write Sakura and Ino to tell them what's happened!

"Really? Because we're going to have to make it much more convincing than that. We can continue once we're in Iwa and we have more…privacy."

He shot a narrowed glance over my shoulder and I realized the creaking noise was Lee opening the door to the coach.

"I am all packed and ready to go! Let us be off on this splendid day for our long-awaited mission! Tenten, are you feeling alright? You look a little flushed."

I couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped my lips and then evolved into a full on giggling fit. A little flushed? My God, I felt like I was dying, but in a good way! I don't even want to imagine what I'll feel like when we—well, "get more convincing."

All I have to do is remember that this isn't real, which should be easy.

Right?