Honestly, I am reconsidering making a lemon chapter right now. And I have a number of reasons.
Kankuro: -eyes almost pop out- What the hell are you saying, woman?!
Me: A reader said she's not exactly a lemon reader and as the author, it is kinda my concern. Plus, I'm not that much of a lemon writer.
Kankuro: Not much of a lemon writer?! You wrote 'To Die in a Traitor's Arms' and you can't write a decent lemon chapter? What are you?
Me: Well, I'm the writer so I can reconsider anything about the story any time as long as I authorize it! Besides, 'To Die in a Traitor's Arms' wasn't a lemon, idiot!
Kankuro: I am so going to hire a lawyer!
Me: -sigh-
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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"What kind of summer is this?"
Tenten sipped her melon shake and grumbled as she and Neji sat in the car, parked outside the store she tried to apply for. They said she was too inexperienced to take the job. After all, she only finished high school a month ago.
"When I could be lounging in the beach, soaking the sun," she muttered in frustration, "I'm here, drinking a cup of cheap shake that tastes like glue. And I have to find a job, earn money, save for college and pay some stupid mafia and deal with a bug-eyed Screw guy."
Neji eyed her in anger as he muttered back with his arms folded, "It's not my fault, ne. And I can't believe this town. How come majority of the stores and outlets won't hire students who are applying for summer jobs?"
"We don't live in a town. We're in a big city. Don't you notice the neon lights at night and the daily police chases?"
He just shrugged and yawned as he said, "Town, village, city, country, subdivision… Wherever we live, there'll always be neon lights and police chases. Don't you think?" He sunk back into his seat before yawning again.
Tenten rolled her eyes at him and soon, she realized that she had finished all of her melon shake when hollow sips came from her straw. With that, she threw the empty plastic cup out of the window effortlessly.
"Litter bug." Neji muttered at her.
Hearing Neji, she shrugged and answered simply, "Wu wei."
With that, Tenten buckled her seatbelt again and Neji did the same. "Where's the next open job application?" she asked him, not bothering to turn to him.
Neji ransacked his pocket for the seven-fold job list and traced the letters with his eyes. "Uh, okay, I got an open slot here for a pub bartender and it's not far from here. The address is 194 Gyo— Ah, shit!" A faint buzz disturbed him.
"What? What is it?"
Dropping the newspaper, Neji took his vibrating phone out and calmly told Tenten, "Nothing. My phone was just ringing."
Tenten rolled her eyes as she revved the engine up and murmured something about 'stupid cellphones'.
Neji rolled his eyes back at Tenten before proceeding to read the message. Soon, he thrust his phone back into his pocket and when Tenten asked what it was, he merely shrugged and answered, "Mafia stuff. You wouldn't want to know."
With that, she shrugged back at him and went on, "Alright, where's the next destination, Captain Screw? The pub bartender thing would be the last stop for today since it's almost seven blocks away. I'm heavy on the gas. Next application after that?"
Ignoring the 'Screw' thing, Neji looked back at the job listings and when he didn't say anything for the next twenty seconds, Tenten started snapping her fingers in front of his face, calling his name. Soon, his face turned red.
"W-What the heck is that blush for?!" Tenten screamed as she backed away a little.
A smirk formed on his pale and angled face, "Next stop is a lingerie shop." He chuckled, turning to her (and probably imagining her in lingerie).
Hearing that, Tenten's cheeks flushed and she snapped, "Cross that out, Captain Pervert. Next, please?"
"Oh, come on, Tenten." Neji said, trying to convince her to give the shop a chance, "Besides, you've got negotiation and business woman skills, right? I bet you can sell a bra in three seconds flat, eh?"
"Gawd, not interested."
"Hey, at least there's money, right? I mean, look! The management pays 10 dollars an hour!"
"Let's go."
And with that, she pressed on the gas while Neji directed her to the lingerie shop.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Neji couldn't help but choke on air as he boisterously laughed in the car as he looked at the shop's sign.
"Oh, gawd!" He shouted out, still laughing his head off, "I can't believe the lingerie shop's name is 'Peachy Poppy's'! Gwaha! That is so hilarious! Oh my gawd!" Of course, Tenten eyed him furiously as he almost cried from laughing.
He puckered his face up mockingly and said in a falsetto tone as he imitated a lingerie shop vendor, "Hello! Welcome to Peachy Poppy's Lingerie Shop. Would you like to purchase our new transparent bra and panty set? Oh, we don't have dressing rooms, too. Haha! Gawd, I could work there!"
But Tenten managed to slap him lightly as she said, "Oh, cut it out, Neji, you're making me sick." When she got out of the car, she asked him, "Are you coming in to check the underwear out, then?"
Neji didn't hesitate in tagging along.
Tenten pushed against the store's door and she swears the bright light that illuminated the whole shop almost blinded her. Once Neji had caught sight of the racks of underwear and shelves of lingerie, he suddenly wiped off his perverted expression and grew rather red.
Strangely for Tenten, he had a 'gentlemanly' side that came out when he has seen to much underwear.
'Men…' she thought, rolling her eyes as she walked to the counter. At the counter was an indigo-locked girl that seemed to be younger than her by a year. She had a heavy bosom (and it showed) and what seemed to be a painted on blush.
"Welcome to Peachy Poppy's!" she greeted Tenten while Neji lagged behind from sudden trauma, "My name's Hinata. How may I help you?" Her voice seemed so angelic and her smile was so darling.
Then, they both heard a rack fall.
Tenten turned to find Neji staring at the counterperson. He was probably walking towards them and suddenly bumped on the rack. "H-Hinata?!" he exclaimed, pointing at the girl with an arched brow, "Black Ivory Hyuga?"
Hearing that, Tenten turned to Hinata and waited for any response. All Hinata did was smile back childishly and wave cutely at Eagle Eye. "Hi, Cousin!" she happily greeted, "I didn't expect to see you here! I heard you were out doing business, but I didn't know accompanying your girlfriend to buy her underwear was 'business' already!"
Neji rolled his eyes and asked, "Well, what the hell are you doing here?" He held his hand out at her and said, "Did you kill the real counterperson and raid the cash register again? Gawd, the police won't like this again."
Hinata looked away, keeping her grin on, as she giggled, "Oh, Cousin Eagle Eye, you're so funny! Ha! Ha!" But Tenten and Neji swear she kicked something from under the counter. Whatever it was, it's beyond them.
"Anyway," Tenten disturbed the 'reunion' by placing a copy of the job listing on the counter, "Sorry to interrupt the 'happy cousin reunion' and all, but I'm looking for a job. Do you work here, Hinata?" She knew Neji was glaring at her right now.
Hinata fervently nodded and pointed at her nametag with a wink, "I'm the counterperson, as you can see! The manager's not around right now, so what do you say I give you an application form and I'll give it to the boss when I can, hm?"
Tenten's eyes sparkled. Getting a job has never been this easy. "Are you serious?" Tenten squealed, clutching the list, "You can do that for me, Hinata? Can you?"
"Of course!" Hinata grinned back at her, "You guys wait here and I'll go get a copy of the form at the back." And there, she walked to the back for a form to fill up.
When she was gone, Neji grew a grip on Tenten's shoulder as he exclaimed, "Tenten, you can't be serious in trusting my cousin. Black Ivory's our master in disguise, deception, undercover spying and poison formulations. If you work here, she could just put powdered poison in your underwear."
"Oh, come on," Tenten snapped, brushing Neji's hand off, "She comes from your mafia organization. Why are you doubting her?"
"Because one thing I've learned from the mafia world is that no matter how close you are with a person, by blood or not, you can not trust him or her, lest you suffer the consequences."
"So you don't trust her, then?"
"Must I repeat what I just said?"
"Neji, stop overreacting! Give me one proof that I can't work here just because your cousin does, too."
Neji stopped for a moment before saying, finally, "She's part of a mafia. Why is she working?!"
"The hell do I know!" Tenten screamed at him, "All I need is the job so I can pay you fuckers up, okay? And maybe she's working so she can earn money, too. I dunno, how should I know, anyway? Just let me do this and when I die, you get to tell me 'I told you so!', okay?"
"I'm not willing to wait for that to happen, you shit!"
"Well, I—!"
Before Tenten could even continue her sentence, Hinata was back with a form and a fountain pen. At sight of her, Tenten tried to hide her anger towards Neji (and even kicked his shin with discretion). Once Hinata had pointed out where she had to sign and what she had to fill in, Tenten was already filling the form up.
When she was done, she shook hands with Hinata and said, "It was really nice working with you, Hinata. Perhaps if I get the job, I'll thank you with cookies over at my house, huh?"
And with that, Hinata cheerily answered, "Aw, it would be my pleasure! Eagle Eye, your girlfriend's so nice, you know! What's your name, sweetie?"
"I'm Tenten. But, I'm not exactly Eagle Eye's girlfriend…"
"Oh? Then, how are you related?"
Neji's face fumed up and he snapped in reply, "It's none of your business."
Tenten shot him a very irritated look as Hinata giggled with Neji's reaction. And as the two walked out of the shop, Hinata kept waving at them with her rosy cheeks. But when she was sure their car had gone, her eyebrows became knitted and she gave the squirming body under the counter another harsh kick.
"Damn you, bitch." She growled at the tied up personnel held captive under the counter, "You almost got their attention. It was just my luck that my cousin and his bitch was stupid and practically blind not to see you."
Hinata tore the apron off of her body and snapped, as if calling someone to her. Before she knew it, one of the manikins, who had its hair in a bun to keep its hair off of her tanned face, blinked her eyes open and actually moved. It stretched its cocky joints before it spoke, "Gawd, I thought they'd take forever."
She let her locks loose, letting them flow down. Her pearl eyes eyed Hinata angrily like always and she said, "So what's the next step in the plan, Black Ivory?" And with a quick rip, she tore the silk mask she had on, revealing her true face.
Hinata turned to her and answered, "Pretty simple, Blue Gun Shot. The next thing we just have to do is wait for the poison to do its stuff."
"Hm. Sounds good," Blue Gun Shot admitted, "But the poison was transmitted to the girl. Our target is Eagle Eye, right? How do we fix that?"
But Hinata just smirked and replied, "My stupid sister, we don't have to. See how Eagle Eye's so close to that girl and all? If he even gets to brush his arm against her, he'll get his fair share of the poison. Those two will be dead by dawn."
And with that, Hinata took her gun out and growled at the helpless counterperson, "I just don't want any witnesses."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Bang!
"Oh my gawd! W-Was that good?"
"Good? That was awesome!"
"Yeah?"
Tenten held her hand down as she stared back at the target she and Neji put up. At the near center of the cardboard was a bullet hole that Tenten made. She smiled in amusement as Neji complimented her accuracy.
"Are you sure you've never used a gun before?" Neji asked her in amazement, "You shoot like a pro! Although you don't know how to hold a gun properly, you have good aim. Don't you practice with a paintball gun or something?"
She chuckled as she gazed downwards with a shy smile and joked, "Do arcade shooting games count?"
The two laughed together at the simple joke. They were on the second floor of Tenten's home, out in the balcony patio by the swimming pool, whiffing the fresh night breeze every now and then. The giggling faded when Tenten questioned, "If I'm not holding the gun right, how come I can shoot right?"
Hearing that, Neji just shrugged and guessed, "Maybe it's beginner's luck or maybe you have a technique that enhances your accuracy even without the correct position."
"Yeah?" she said, turning to him, "Then can you show me how to hold it right and the right way to stand?"
With that, Neji nodded and neared her a little, standing behind her, a little too close. Tenten held her gun up again in the position she's been holding up. He corrected her hands by fixing her fingers as he stood behind her and to correct her angle.
Her thigh pressed against his as he nudged her leg forward so that she could attain the right position. She felt herself shrink back a little as he did without warning. "Place your foot a little more forward then you've got it right." He told her as he ran his hands through her arms as he took them away.
Tenten sensed herself gulp slightly as he passed her by. Something made her tingle with his touch.
"Now, shoot." He instructed her.
And there, Tenten pulled the trigger of her gun. With a loud sound, her bullet hit the target.
"I missed?"
Neji heard her and approached the cardboard to check it out. He found the hole almost twelve inches away from the center. "Missed?" he commented, "You practically shot past the thing. Are you sure you held your stance right?"
"Duh." Tenten snapped back, "Or maybe the position you taught me was wrong."
"Hey, that's the way I stand when I shoot, you know," Neji opposed, pointing at her as he walked back to her, "And check this out. I hold that stance while I shoot and look at this."
He took his position and let out five shots. After that, he motioned for her to get a closer look at the target. To her surprise, there was only one hole on his target. All five bullets went through the middle.
"Impressive." she muttered as she rolled my eyes, "But really, showing off isn't something that's worth seeing. Get real."
Neji huffed as he reloaded his gun again, eyeing Tenten as she tried to aim correctly. "Can I ask you something, Neji?" she asked as she closed one eye to aim again, "Honestly, I thought you wouldn't agree to give me shooting lessons. Why did you agree?"
He merely shrugged and replied, "Well, it's a way of celebrating your new job."
Hearing this, she grinned and just chuckled as she prepared to fire again. After a loud bang, once again, she found her bullet to be far from the middle of the target. And if she was right, her eyesight was beginning to blur. Was she tired or something?
"Sh-Shit…" she wearily muttered, "I think I need to lie down…"
When she said this, Neji turned to her and watched her blink her eyes over and over again. Something about this seemed to be too familiar to him. Then, he got another text message. His eyes quickly read the message and when he had finished doing so, he dropped his gun and phone and ran to Tenten.
"Don't move!" he yelled at her, as she looked at him, perplexed, "Stay there! I said don't move!"
She didn't know why he wanted her to do so, but she did anyway. Next thing she knew, he had his face buried down her neck with his breath trickling down her skin. She felt him breathe in her aroma through his nose. Her spine tingled and she immediately shoved him away.
"Oh my gawd, what was that for, bullshit?!" she screamed at him, looking at him accusingly. But Neji wasn't showing any embarrassment in his features or any lust. He had worry and panic in his eyes, instead.
And soon, he instructed her, "Hold your breath now!" She failed to do so and before she knew it, Neji had ran past her and lunged at her with his arm clutching her by the stomach. Then, both of them fell into the pool behind them.
Beneath the surface, Tenten opened her eyes to see. The chlorine stung her eyes a little and she tried to swim her way to the top. When she couldn't, she felt someone grab her by the wrist and raise her above the surface.
With a burst of water, she gasped for air upon reaching the surface. "Hey!" she screamed at the drenched Hyuga beside her, "What was that for? First you go sniffing my neck then you try to drown me. What the fuck were you doing?!"
"Let me explain!" Neji said, trying to hold her up to keep her from falling into the water once again, "I got a message. Someone told me that Hinata's fountain pen had a special poison that was excreted through writing, obviously. When you filled up that application form, you got the poison in you. I knew that poison and only water could delay the effects."
Something told Tenten that she didn't want to believe him as he went on, "I needed to find out if it was true, so I had to get a whiff if your scent. If you had trace of the poison's smell, I'd have to get you into some water before the poison gets worst. Get me?"
"Gawd, I don't think I can believe you, damn it!" she yelled, shoving him, "How can you be sure? Who sent you the message that made you suddenly believe that crap? I thought you mafia people didn't trust anyone."
Neji stopped to stare back at her as they both gagged in chlorine and water. He lowered his gaze as he watched some of his strands float to the surface. Finally, he said, "Well, when the life of someone who matters is at stake, we have to take the risks of trusting others."
Hearing that, Tenten's eyes softened and after a few seconds, she pulled herself out of the water. She tried to get up in her soaked clothes and she went to Neji's phone. She picked it up and read the message he received. He was telling the truth.
When she turned to look at Neji, he was already out of the pool, squeezing some water out of his hair. She bit her lip and asked, "So… I'm part of the Kill-Eagle-Eye-Coz-Everyone's-After-Him Hunt, now?"
Neji nodded but said, "But don't worry, okay? I've got more skill than them so there's more of a chance of them dying than of me dying." And with that, he grabbed his guns and invited, "Let's come inside. I think it's getting late."
It was 7:29 p.m.
Tenten looked back at the message and repeated Neji's words in her head…
"When the life of someone who matters is at stake, we have to take the risks of trusting others…"
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Why, again, do Hinata and Hanabi want Neji dead? Will Tenten get involved with the predator-prey hunt? Is the poison still in effect? What about Tenten's job? What was the message that Neji got earlier in the car for?
Find out soon.
I know I took so long in posting this, so forgive me.
Kankuro: Oh, come on, that's it for now? Like always, Ruki, you suck.
Me: You're not exactly my idea of encouraging and supportive.
Kankuro: Well, too bad.