Surprisingly, I dreamt of this happening in the fifth chapter so I decided to just follow it. Haha.
Kankuro: Gawd, I hate people like you.
Me: Don't you have dreams?
Kankuro: I'm supposed to.
Me: … Huh?
Kankuro: Gaara's still got insomnia, you know. And he wakes me up every three hours for a glass of warm milk. Do you think I'd have time for sissy dreams and all?
Me: Yeah. Let's make a bet. Tonight, you'll dream of Gaara asking for warm milk.
Kankuro: Deal! I'm betting 50 bucks I won't!
Me: 50 bucks that you will!
Gaara: I shall hold the money!
Both: No!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will, I guess.
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"It smells like… raspberries."
She gagged a little as she took another whiff of the 'antidote' he formulated for the poison and gave him a glare that pierced through him. He, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and said, "Quit complaining. I had to go to the store to buy a bottle of Ibuprofen and it bore a hole in my wallet."
Hearing this, she reacted quickly, "Ibuprofen? You said this was an antidote for the pen poison thing! You added Ibuprofen?!"
Simply, he nodded. Holding his cup up, he explained some more, "On its own, the antidote smells and tastes like dried potpourri, which isn't that satisfying, if you ask me. So I mixed yours with grape juice. I hope you like grape juice." And there, he smirked at his cup of antidote.
"So, why is yours in tequila?" Tenten asked, pointing at his cup.
But Neji just shrugged and mumbled, "I hate grape juice."
Still, Tenten was pretty skeptical. It's not right. It didn't feel right. She woke up an hour ago and she didn't find him home again. She locked the doors and made sure she wasn't locked out again. But he came back with a bag of medical pills and such. Then, he concocted the antidote in the kitchen.
Seriously, if a mafia guy made grape juice with 'magical, special poison antidote' in it, would you drink it, even if it does smell like raspberries?
"No." Tenten shoved the cup away from her as they both sat in the dinner table, "Who knows? You might be actually making the poison worst."
"I asked my apprentice about it. She sent me the recipe for the antidote and the correct one at that."
"Are you sure this is safe? I mean, I'm not even sure if this is grape juice or liquefied rat poison."
"Oh, so the bitch still needs proof, huh?" He grabbed her cup and downed the whole thing with a quick gulp. He cringed a little and coughed before he stuck his tongue out and said, "Maybe you'd want to take it with the tequila, instead. It tastes like detergent with the grape juice."
But she shook her head, poured more of the grape juice/antidote into her cup and said, "If this didn't kill you, then I'm taking this in, too."
But as she eyed the liquid, she dropped her head onto the table and sobbed, "Oh, gawd, how am I supposed to know if you're telling the truth, damn it? Besides, it smells funny. Shouldn't I have the right to decline this gunk?"
"C'mon, Tenten, you had me worrying all night." Neji said, shoving the cup back to her, "You went to the bathroom thrice in an hour this morning at 4. Then, you were having stomach cramps. And—…"
"Oi! That's not the effect of the poison!" She knew she had turned a little red from what she heard out of him. It was unbelievable that he thought it was the poison's effects.
But Neji just chuckled, "And you're pretty moody, too. I didn't know the poison had that kind of effect, too. Black Ivory must've upgraded it…"
Tenten found herself shrinking back in her seat and brushing her hand under her butt. It was a little uncomfortable and it got her a little self-conscious. "How'd you know I went to the bathroom this morning? And the stomach cramps? Have you been spying on me?"
"Gawd, no." Neji quickly answered, rolling his eyes again, "Your bathroom light seeps through the little bathroom window and it blinds me every time you open it, especially when the sun hasn't even risen. And you were ranting about stomach cramps when you went to let me in when I cam home." There, he smiled without a reason.
She somehow traced a little mischief in his smug grin and she asked him with a shrill and panicky voice, "It's a girl thing! Don't try to find out!"
Neji laughed as he took a gulp of the tequila/antidote he had. After a gag, he said, "Relax. I have two cousins who are girls. And I have to bear with the pain of living with them. They leave their marks everywhere."
"Damn it, I don't want to talk about that, you know! It's embarrassing!"
"Okay, okay. I'll keep my mouth shut for now." He zipped his mouth and tossed the imaginary key off his shoulder. So juvenile from what she saw.
She eyed him angrily and without much thought, she downed her grape juice/antidote and gagged some more once she had it down her throat. She finished three cups of water to wash the disgusting taste off. And with that, she asked, "What makes you think we still need to take the antidote?"
Neji took her cup and tapped it on the table absent-mindedly as he said, "Black Ivory's signature poison's don't have immediate effects. Sometimes, it has to be triggered by something first. My apprentice didn't tell me what could trigger the effects, so I made antidotes just to be on the safe side."
Hearing that, she simply nodded and turned to look at the time. Seeing that it was already 9:45, she sighed and told him, "The lingerie job can't work. This morning, I turned the TV on and saw a news broadcast on the bloodbath in that place. Three were found dead and Hinata was out of sight."
With that, Neji felt himself shiver a little. He knew his cousin could be such a traitor and all. One second, she's all cutesy and screaming cooties and in the next, she's slicing your head off with a pair of scissors. He's one of the few who manages to resist trusting her.
"So, I'm taking my chances with the pub bartender application," Tenten concluded, pointing at the list laid on the table, "Your old clothes are already dry so go wear them. Seeing you in my dad's corporate clothes makes me tingle." She rubbed her arm to cease a few goose bumps.
He nodded and sipped some more tequila until she snatched it from him and said something about dying early because of tequila. And there, she got up from her seat and poured all of the tequila down the sink drain.
"Hey," Neji muttered, looking at her from behind, "I suggest you take my advice: Go change pants. And I mean now."
Tenten turned to him and her eyes grew, dropping the empty bottle to crash onto the sink. All she saw on Neji's face was an embarrassed yet still smug smirk. She looked down at her pants and found a morning shocker. Humiliation gripped her by the neck.
"Shit!"
She grabbed the job list and swatted it over her butt to cover the huge mark she had as she ran to the bathroom.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
They parked in front of the pub and stared hard at the front of the place. Aside from the hobo parked up at front with a bag of rugby and a mug of cold coffee at hand, everything else was… flashy (?).
Even if the sun was burning and very much brightening up each corner of the city, the neon lights of the pub were blinking and flashing without hesitation and the talking billboard up on top (with the smiling and moving bottle of Duff) didn't stop screaming, "Hop in and grab a beer!" at least thirty times a minute.
"If they have money for talking billboards, they must pay well." Neji said as he eyed the annoying dancing bottle of beer on the billboard.
Tenten didn't bother to nod in agreement but she couldn't agree more. She unbuckled herself from her front seat and pushed her door open. Neji followed and they slowly entered the pub, hearing the loud blues playing through the wood.
The hobo smirked toothlessly at Tenten and got no reaction from her since she was too overwhelmed by the song that played in the pub, 'The Way You Look Tonight', since she very much liked it. Seeing the hobo's stare at Tenten, Neji eyed the man suspiciously and glared at him bloodily.
"I'll stay outside." Neji told her, still glaring at the hobo, "Come out and tell me all about it."
She simply nodded at him and walked deeper into the pub.
Looking around, Tenten saw that the pub seemed to be so full. Each table had at least two people occupying it. The music from the speakers and the belching the drunkards did through the karaoke machine collided and hurt her ears too much.
She walked to the bartender, ignoring the perverted stares of the other men present, and greeted her, "Uh, hey. I'm… I heard there's a job opening here." Tenten gulped a little as the bartender eyed her with her sharp cerulean peeps.
"Yeah," the woman bartender answered, turning to Tenten with the bottle of vodka she held, "I'm Ino Yamanaka. I run the place. Saw my ad, huh? I just want you to answer a form, try on the uniform to see if you look good in it, answer a few questions from me and I start paying you 9 dollars an hour. Deal?"
It sounded fair, indeed. Tenten nodded and looked on as Ino approached a rather lanky man nearby donning a stiff ponytail, whispered something to him and soon, he walked back into the kitchen.
Ino walked to Tenten from behind the counter, making her slim, black heels make noises as she did. Playing with the chilled bottle of vodka she had, she started bombarding Tenten with questions on her experience, reasons in taking the job, her sexuality and finally, she asked Tenten to fix her a Bloody Mary.
Obviously, Tenten ended up making a cup of thin root beer with too much sugar.
"Gawd, what am I going to do with a bitch who can't even fix me a decent martini? I guess you'll make a good mop girl or you can be in charge of the karaoke machine." Ino said, still flipping the bottle of vodka around, "But I already have sixteen mop girls. And ten karaoke people."
Hearing this, Tenten was sure she wouldn't even be able to get to the part where she tries the uniform on. Something that's worst than getting fired on your first day is getting fired before your first day.
Ino waved at Tenten with her two fingers mockingly and went back to whipping up the cocktail she started with earlier. Tenten decided to hang her head low and tell Neji all about it. But then, she heard a few whistles.
"Hey, beautiful!"
"Whoa! Nice ass there, little girl!"
"Come here and you can be my bitch!"
"Haha! Good one, Ed! Come 'ere, ya chick!"
Boisterous laughter followed and Tenten felt a vein pop again. It has always been something she hated. Men who disrespected her. Her temper suddenly runs out and her blood rises and boils. It's usually the reason why she gets fired, but this was another case.
She sharply turned to the right to find half-drunk and rather built men pointing at her and whistling some more. Tenten bit her lip and wanted to scream at them… so she did.
"Shut up, you fuckers!" she threatened with a fist and a glare that pierced through them, "Don't make me kick your shitty asses down your throats!"
They simply laughed louder with that.
And that was when she lunged at them, scratching like a cat and punching along with them a la Rocky. Her kicks swept through them, leaving bruises all over and making herself prone to their hits. Despite the pain she felt through her body, she kept aiming at them.
"Oh, shit." Neji muttered to himself when he heard the commotion from inside the pub. The first thing he though of was Tenten. She might get involved in it. The second thought that came was: Tenten must've started it.
Quickly, forgetting the hobo he was reprimanding without a word, he ran through the door and looked around for her. When he found her on the floor again, getting pounded up by five able-bodied and shameless men. Without much thought, Neji muttered a few swears, took out his gun and let out a shot, barely missing one of the men.
Everything and everyone froze, even Ino and Tenten. Neji eyed the thugs one by one and yelled, "Leave her alone, bullshits." Compared to Neji, the men were bigger and probably stronger. Hearing and seeing Neji through her beaten up state, Tenten gasped softly.
Soon, they were walking towards him to beat him up next. And when one grabbed for him, Neji proceeded to twist the man's wrist and sent him landing onto the floor with a swing, stuck in an arm lock. As the quickly defeated man screamed, another tried to whack Neji on the head.
Neji tried to dodge fully, but his shoulder got a part of the force, sending numbness through his arm. Seeing the other men, Neji kept his arm lock on the pinned man and ran his leg round to pull the other standing men down. As they fell with loud thuds, everyone else was just there to watch.
With a lot of effort and grunting, Neji tried his best in lifting the pinned man over him so he could make him land on one of the other guys. And when he had done so, he swears he heard the back of his head snap. Gawd, that wasn't good.
Two men were there, groaning with the pummels, and Neji had to deal with three more. He kept his stance and when he saw the other three men run to him to fight some more, a scream came by, "Oi! Stop that, you bastards, will ya?!"
Everyone turned to the woman in the frilly mini skirt and black tank top standing on the counter with a bottle of whisky in one hand.
"Ino…" her assistant tugged on her skirt, as if telling her not to attract any attention. But she nudged at him, ignoring his plea and screamed some more, "You five fuck shits get out of my pub now! Or so help me, I'm going to call the police and rip your throats out!"
It sure convinced them, but when one tried to get her, she threw the bottle of alcohol at him and hit him on the head. Blood and whisky both spilled and he was knocked out. Ino eyed the others and found them walking out in defeat.
Once that was over, Ino looked down at her finger and shrieked in horror. "Oh my gawd!" she exclaimed, next to tears, "I broke a nail, Shika!"
Her assistant, Shikamaru, rolled his eyes and watched her sob. He climbed onto the counter and carried her down, bridal style. When they were finally down, Shikamaru looked at her nail and told her comforting words, like "It's alright." or "I'll get you a new set of nail polish later, if you like."
As for Neji, he plainly looked at the girl that had a punched eye, bleeding lip and black-and-blue arms. Her breathing was hastened and she looked at Neji as if she had just seen a ghost. She looked away and tried to pull herself up, but failed with her now frail legs.
Seeing this, Neji rolled his eyes and walked to her. He crouched to her and asked, "Don't you think before acting?"
Still, she had her gaze away and even didn't dare ask for help in getting up. Without hesitation, Neji took out his white handkerchief then wrapped it around a glass cut down her right arm. She winced a little when he brought her up to help her walk out and into the car.
Shame filled her eyes and Neji had pity and slight irritation in his. Since he couldn't move her so much since she was too beaten up and covered in wounds and bruises, he made her hold onto his back and wrap her arms around his neck from behind. Then, he stood up, supporting her thighs with his circled arms and carrying her a la Piggyback.
When Neji kicked the door open to leave, a hand stopped him as it grew a grip on his arm. He turned and found Ino, smirking at him with her full and glossy lips. She held up a piece of paper that had 'Application Form' on the top. She folded it five times and stuffed it into his back pocket.
"When she gets better," Ino began, pointing at the now asleep Tenten on his back, "Make her fill that in. Then pass by and she'll fit the uniform. She can be a good bodyguard. I'll pay her 10 dollars an hour." And with that, Neji nodded and smiled.
But Ino then took out a pen and wrote seven numbers on Neji's wrist. As Neji arched his brow in question, Ino cheerily said, winking, "Call me."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"You are such a bitch, looking for trouble like that. Did you see how helpless you were?"
"Well… they were pissing me…"
"Look, if you want someone whacked or something, tell me. I'll have my apprentices come over ASAP and whack them with baseball bats with nails."
"That's not going to be necessary…"
"So stop getting yourself hurt," He said as he pulled another stray piece of glass from her shin, "I know you're moody today for womanly reasons, but you don't have to take it that far. Don't you have self-control?"
Tenten cringed when he applied more disinfectant on the slice as they sat on the couch. She clutched her stuffed teddy bear to ease the pain. She nipped her lip as Neji cleaned it. She said, "It's something that always happens to me. I start fights a lot… especially in situations similar to what happened earlier."
Hearing this, Neji made a small grin and chuckled softly. He took another look at the rather long slash down her wrist. It was the worst she got since it's still bleeding and Neji has been treating it for hours.
"You're pretty strange." Neji admittedly said, wrapping her slashed wrist with gauze, "If anyone looked at you, they'd think you're a pretty, harmless and maybe innocent wuss. But at one point, you can turn into a kick-ass bitch. Have you always been that way?"
"Since kindergarten. I always fought people… specifically guys who disrespected me or something. I'm not a feminist, but I can't stand the fact that they can actually get away with looking at us in inhumane and sickening ways… any time…"
"I see." It was all Neji could say, "So why haven't you beaten me up?"
Tenten's eyes grew and she suddenly snapped at him with an enraged expression, "Have you disrespected me in any way, perverted or not, in these past few days without my knowing?"
"No, it's not that." Neji defended, blushing a little, "I thought you suspect me of doing so when I'm actually not. So… there."
Hearing this, Tenten relaxed her features and shrugged, saying, "Well, you haven't peered up my skirt or something so I have no reason to punch you or anything, right?"
Neji simply looked away and didn't answer.
He stood up and gazed at her in all those bandages and bruises. Even with all that, she looked so adorable and maybe even charming. Neji shook his head slowly and told her, "By the way, can I make a suggestion?"
Her eyes looked up at him and waited for what he had to say. Then, Neji finally asked, "Do you think if you had another boarder here who actually paid rent, you'd get the needed amount quicker?"
Tenten arched her brows and muttered, "You want someone else to live in our house?"
She quickly made her eyes grow wide and she repeated with a slight correction, "Uh, you want someone else to live in my house?"
Neji plainly raised his brows in reply. It wasn't something she had thought of before, but it was also something that she had to reconsider. If the boarder ever by chance knows Eagle Eye as a mafia boss, both of them will be kicked to jail without much bail.
Still, that most probably won't happen if the boarder is a friend, right?
"Meh, I'll think about it, then." Tenten said, getting off the couch. She stretched a little and turned to the clock to get a peek at the time. It was only 1:09 p.m., surprisingly, and she can stand not having lunch, anyway. Turning to Neji, she told him shyly, "Wanna go to the mall?"
His eyes grew, not expecting that out of her, "What the hell for?" Neji asked her, walking towards the glass door leading to the pocket garden to spend his afternoon there since he's not even allowed past the living room without her around.
Tenten eyed him up and down and said it straight, "Look, you had nothing packed for this 'stay', right? And you have to wash those clothes you're wearing by the end of the day unless you wanna really reek. I don't want to see you in my bathrobe or my dad's clothes. Not again." She timidly smiled.
Hearing her words, Neji gave her a mildly annoyed look and grunted, "Gawd, is that the only problem we have in this household that has something to do with clothes? You, missy, had to change pants earlier, you know. I already washed the couch cushions thrice already while you were sleeping."
Once again, she turned red and went to check her ass. When she found no mess and a new set of pants on, she gasped loudly then shot Neji a disgusted look, "H-How… Oh my gawd… No way! You shit, how'd I get myself in these pants?"
As she looks down at the pair of pants she was wearing, she tried to remember what she had on a few hours ago. She remembers that she had denim slim jeans on. Now, she was wearing orange beach shorts. And she doesn't remember changing her pants after this morning.
Again, she shot him a shocked and wondering yet very much revolted expression as he shrugged and said, "How you got into those shorts doesn't matter. Your jeans were wet, so, technically, you had to change, right?"
"You didn't… did you?!"
"I what?"
"D-Did you…?"
"I can't understand incomplete sentence fragments which are somehow grammatically incorrect, Tenten…"
"Did you get me in these shorts? Did you? While I was sleeping after that rumble in the pub?"
"I told you: You were wet."
"Oh my gawd, you did?!"
A blush formed on his face, "Gawd damn it, Tenten, it's no big deal…"
"It damn fucking is!" She pointed at him with an accusing stare, "If you were the one who changed my pants while I was sleeping, I'm going to kill you!"
"Well, what if I told you that you did on your own like you were sleep walking, huh?"
"No, wait, rephrase and recap!" Tenten snapped back, realizing something, "When I asked you if you changed my pants for me, you simply said I was wet. And you even said that it wasn't a big deal. So… My fucking gawd, you DID change my pants for me! Shit!"
Neji simply rolled his eyes and grumbled at her, "Man, bitch, it's not like you're the first one who got her pants changed by…"
Both of them froze at the incomplete statement. He gagged a little and told her, "Erase that. Please. Forget I said that, damn it. You didn't hear me say that."
"You are a really, really sick man!" Tenten yelled at him as he looked away in embarrassment, "So you're saying that you have changed other girls' pants, too?! Oh my gawd, are you a pervert or something? This is totally shitty!"
How Neji wished he could just walk out of this conversation, "I've changed my cousin's diapers. That's all! And besides, I only changed your… pants." Saying the word 'pants' made him shiver, "Nothing else. I didn't see anything past the… uh… underwear." Neji coughed a little with that.
"Gawd forbid that." Tenten said, getting uncomfortable, "But you gotta swear that… you didn't look beyond my underwear, hm? You didn't change my underwear or anything stuck to it or—…"
"Damn it, bitch, don't you get it, already?! I didn't! And I didn't change your fucking pants coz I wanted to, you know!" Neji snapped at her, scratching his head, "I was concerned. I'm supposed to be looking out for you and all, remember? Can't I look out for you in small things, too?"
Tenten shivered and concluded the conversation, "You know what? I don't care anymore. We're going to the mall and I won't even think of this. But if anything funny happens to me, I'm calling the police and I won't care if you and your little group mates kill me. I'll pretend this never happened."
And there, Tenten waited for him to go out into the garden then locked the door. Then, she went up to her room and got dressed for the mall.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Oh, come on. Give me a break."
As Neji walked through the mall's fourth floor, past the stores and stands, he could see Tenten behind him, eyeing him suspiciously with her mouth curved downwards in a scowl. She had two pepper sprays at hand and she has the local police's number in speed dial in her phone.
He once again rolled his eyes at her and muttered, "Tenten, I said I'm not a pervert, a maniac or a rapist. So put the pepper spray back into your bag and maybe you can delete 911 in your phone…"
"I didn't put 911 in, anyway. Want me to?"
"Bitch."
With that, Neji went back to walking and when he saw the store he was looking for, 'Bubble's Corp.', he smiled and told her, "Here's the store I'm looking for. A lot of my clothes were bought here." He found Tenten's jaw dropping and landing onto her heels.
"Gawd, for a mafia boss, I admit that your clothes are super expensive. But the label sounds like crap." She said, nudging him a little.
Neji eyed her with slight irritation and said, "They used to be called 'Pugz', but the company that bought Johnson's baby powder bought them, too. Still, 'Pugz' also sounds shitty, doesn't it?" Tenten giggled and entered the store with him.
But as Tenten turned around to see all the shelves and hangers of cargos and polo shirts, jeans and shirts along with cuffs and sneakers. Tenten admits it in her mind: Neji has fashion sense.
He immediately proceeded to a part of the store that was full of black leather jackets and camouflage pants. He picked out seven pairs of pants after checking their tags to see the sizes and chose seven different shirts along with that. And a new pair of sneakers that was snazzier than the pair he wore.
"Why only seven?" Tenten asked him, pointing at the stack of clothes he had laid onto the counter. Neji simply said, "There are seven days in a week, right?" Tenten rolled her eyes and went back to the same shelf and got five more pairs for him.
He arched a brow and asked, "Do you think I have enough money to pay for all that?"
"Yes, you do."
Okay, so he does.
Simply, he shrugged at her and grumbled, "Meh, whatever. How about you? Want anything around here?"
Tenten wanted to squeal at him about the shiny jewelries she saw and the awesome pink skirt she saw. Also, she wanted to tell him about the adorable wedge shoes she spotted and the jeans that were twice as better as the ones she has at home. But she said…
"Nah. I'm good."
With that, Neji raised his brows at her and paid. But little did he know that Tenten was already whimpering as she saw the clothes get checked and when the cash register made a satisfying sound, she wanted to add more things to the pile but didn't speak up.
"This was really useless, you know." Neji said as he carried his bags of clothes, "I'm betting we're immediately going home once we're out of the mall. Gawd, we wouldn't even grab a churro or something, huh? Man…"
Tenten took her pepper sprays out once again and said, "Well, we can go get a churro or two, if you like. But since I'm saving up for 10,000 dollars, it can't be done until you're willing to lose more bucks. Any objections?"
He snorted at her and said, "Is that all that's stopping us from getting a box of churros? Then, I'm paying for it. Really no problem there, right?" He swears he saw her eyes sparkle when she heard this. And all he did was smirk behind everything else.
Bzzzzz.
"Damn phone."
"What is it, Neji?"
"Got another message. Could be important. Give me a minute."
Neji stopped and put down his bags for a minute to see what the message was all about. And his eyes grew for a minute. When Tenten saw this, she sarcastically guessed, "What now? Would we have to cancel our 'date'?"
After shoving his phone back into his pocket, Neji muttered, "Nothing. My assistant just alerted me on new stocks of… tranquilizers."
Although she was skeptical, she believed him for a minute. And they kept on walking, side by side, on their way to the café that served churros and chocolate, Neji asked Tenten in a somewhat hushed tone, "Say, what do you think of a party?"
She turned to him with a raised brow and questioned, "In our house?"
Neji paused and waited for her to correct herself again. "In my house, I mean." She rephrased, turning pink after that.
Shaking his head, Neji explained, "No. I mean, what if I told you that I was invited to a formal party tomorrow night. A grand opening of a hotel, to be precise. Would you want to go? Just so we can check it out?" Clearly, he was hoping she'd agree to go.
She stopped to think for a minute. Why would he be inviting her to a grand opening party? It could be a trap or an ambush. His mafia could be waiting there, ready to shoot her down. Or maybe the whole thing was going to explode and he wants her guts to go kaboom with it…
But still, it made no sense. They needed her money. They wouldn't be such fools to try to kill her when they need her. Yet, it'd be a mistake to underestimate this kind of people. But Tenten held her breath and asked, "Tomorrow night? You want to go to a party with me tomorrow night?"
Neji nipped his lip uneasily and mumbled, "Well, yeah. But if you think I'm such a pervert or something, I'm sure you'd say no. So…?"
Tenten giggled shyly when he mentioned it but eventually, her expression looked a little worried and doubtful. Neji didn't need to wait for her answer. "I understand." Neji muttered, trying to smile, "You still can't trust me as much, huh?"
"Sorry about that." Tenten said, rubbing her nape uneasily, "I just can't trust you fully, that's all."
"I know," Neji said, chuckling a little as they looked for a booth in the café, "It's a little hard to believe that a mafia guy can actually not be out to kill you, hm? But that's when I come in: My job is to actually make sure nothing happens to you."
Hearing this, Tenten wanted to reconsider.
They took a seat in a booth isolated (coincidentally) from the others and it even had a window that overlooked the whole city. With all the smog and pollution, it wasn't much to see. Still, Neji can't help but gaze out through the glass and somehow smile when he caught sight of his mafia's mansion in the horizon.
After Tenten ordered for two orders of churros con chocolate, she placed her gaze on the daydreaming Neji. From what she saw, the pale teenager that sat across her, he didn't look terrifying without a gun cocked in his hand or a dagger fastened on his heel (Although, there might be one).
Like everyone else, he's just… human. He has problems (including her), he has duties and he has feelings. But it surprised her how a rather smooth and hot (she didn't know what adjective to use) guy like him was… single.
"Are you in a relationship, Screw?"
When Tenten asked him this (and the 'Screw' nickname), he turned his eyes at her but kept his chin on his hand as his face was still positioned before the window. Technically speaking, he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes.
"No." It was his simple reply before going back to staring at the city.
"Why not?"
"It's not a priority, I guess."
"It very much is. And you're an… uh, okay guy." Neji snorted at this but she continued, "And very supportive, too… even to your own 'captive'."
She felt her eyes soften as she looked back at him. He heaved a sigh and explained to her, "I had a girl. Just months ago. I forgot her name. I forced myself to forget her name, that is. But the bitch's memory is always coming back to me every now and then."
"What happened to you two?"
Tenten heard Neji swallow hard before muttering, "You're the only one outside the Caged Bird Mafia who'll finally find out, so shut up about this. Swear a code of silence. Or I'll slit your throat despite the consequences."
With that, Tenten clutched her neck and gulped a little before nodding in agreement. And when Neji was ready, he shared, "My ex was killed."
Her eyes widened as he threw his gaze down onto the placemat as he crumpled its bottom right corner with his thumb and forefinger. He bit his lower lip and half-whispered, "She was just an ordinary girl, living a normal life. I met her in a club and I thought she was meant for me…"
He stopped a little before going on as Tenten looked at him compassionately, "We were so happy together. We were both 19 and I still am. We were so ready to get hitched, to start a family, a new race of mafias. But she didn't know that I was a mafia boss. She found out, then…"
Once again, he nipped his lip and went on, "She didn't care. She told me that she loved me and that's all that mattered. But one night, I was driving her home and the Aburames were suddenly tailing me…" Tenten didn't see any shift in his face. He was neither saddened nor angered.
"They shot her." Neji simply said, still looking away, "I didn't realize until she just… fell onto my lap and stopped breathing. Her blood was on my hands when she fell and I couldn't bear to look at her lifeless body. The Aburames stopped the chase and actually halted their fire."
Tenten's expression was soft and comforting as Neji's voice seemed to be so choked as he went on, "I wanted them to shoot me instead. They could've spared her. They were after me. I swore that I'd never fall in love again. Whenever I do, I just put innocent lives in danger."
He turned his eyes back at her. Not a tear welled in his eyes. "Sometimes," he finished, "I wish I didn't have to look after you. You may not be my girlfriend, but it'll hurt me so much if you just died all of a sudden one day. I don't know why it would. It just… would."
She smiled at him thinly and she put her gaze on his immobile hand on the table, trembling a little as he reminisced the memory. Images of bright crimson, pink, emerald and crystallite tears flashed before his mind and he clenched his fist. When Tenten saw this, she tried to reach for his fist…
…Maybe if she just held it softly, the pain would be ceased, even for just a second…
"Two orders of churros con chocolate."
The foreign voice of the waiter disturbed the moment as their orders of churros came. As the plates were placed before them, Tenten drew her hand away and shrunk back into her seat a little. Neji grinned back at her and picked up one of his churros and mumbled jokingly, "To churros…"
Tenten did the same and added, "To love…"
"To life…"
Finally, Tenten added, "To us."
And with that, they dipped their fried pastry into the chocolate and ate away. Tenten couldn't help but watch him eat his churros, watching his every movement, every chew, every gulp and every drip of chocolate. Something about this guy somehow interested him. Maybe… it'd be okay to get to know him a little, even if he'll be living in 20 days time…
"That sounds nice." She suddenly said, chewing on a churro.
Neji gave her a confused look as he mumbled while chewing, "What sounds nice?"
Tenten dipped her churro again and whispered shyly, "The party… Hotel opening party, I mean…"
Hearing this, he put his churro down and chuckled, "Are you actually reconsidering going to that crumby party with a pervert? Unless you're actually a push-over, a whore or is already willing to trust me, I'm shocked."
"I'm bringing a friend with me so I feel safe."
"A friend? Who?"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Are you serious? So, let me get this straight: I get to go to a classy 5-star hotel's grand opening party with you and your boyfriend—…"
"Acquaintance, bastard— Ouch! Shit! Why'd you kick me for, Tenten?"
"—And I can stay in your house as long as I want to as long as I can pay 300 dollars weekly?"
"You heard me, Lee. Screw and I have already agreed on it."
Lee stood before Neji and Tenten in front of his apartment. With sparkling and eager eyes, Lee jumped into the air and yelled, "Oh, wow, you're a great friend, Tenten! Oh, and you're boyfriend's okay, I guess…"
"Acquaintance…" Neji snapped, biting his lip as he glared at Tenten's ecstatic friend. Lee ignored that and gave Tenten a hug.
Lee almost cried, "Thank you so much!" he exclaimed, smiling at Tenten, "Now, I can finally get out of this filthy apartment and curse my landlady without getting kicked out and regretting it!"
Immediately, Lee went back in, screamed, "Lazy, smelly, old hag!" and ran back out with three suitcases, as if he had known this was going to happen all along. "Let's go!" he said, running into Tenten's car.
Neji growled at Tenten, "I didn't have this at mind."
Tenten smirked at him with her arms folded, "You said a boarder will help me earn money faster, right?" She eyed Neji with a sinister smile before pinching his side and joking, "Oh, come on, I'll ask him to respect your privacy. He's sleeping in the guest room and you're still outside."
And there, she walked into the car and sat on the driver's seat while Neji tailed behind.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Thank you so much for letting me do this, Tenten." Lee said, hopping onto the guest bed in his green pajamas, "I appreciate it so much!"
Tenten just nodded and answered, "I'm just happy to help a friend. I'm making breakfast at eight so wake up early."
Lee just nodded and fell back onto the comfy mattress, pulling onto the duvet. Immediately, he was snoring. He must've been worn out completely. With that, Tenten turned his light off and went off.
"Breakfast?" Neji snorted as he stood outside in boxers and a plain white shirt, "You didn't make breakfast when I was new here."
Tenten eyed him sharply and snapped, "Lee's a guest here. You're a pest. An exterminator doesn't feed a rat cheesecake."
Neji hit his fist onto his chest and grumbled an audible "Ouch".
With that, Tenten led Neji out into the garden and locked the door without a 'Good Night', like always. Tired, she climbed up the stairs in her flowing nightgown and rushed to the bathroom for one last change. When she entered the bathroom, she found a little box and a big one beside it with a note.
'Twenty,
You were out of these. I knew. Don't ask. I bought some of these coz I knew you'd leave a mess without nothing on. I'm a mafia boss so I know how to do a lot of things without you knowing. And don't worry. I respect your privacy and I only know about this kind of thing from my cousins. I swear. Night.
Oh, and I hope you like the one in the bigger box. It's a gift. No refunds or returns. No occasion. It's a gift... just because. :)
Screw.'
She turned to see the the little box's label…
Tampons.
And what was inside the bigger box? The skirt she was eyeing enviosuly in the store 'Pugz' earlier.
"Gawd, that bastard. Never fails to amaze and disgust me all at the same time."
Still, he's a pretty sweet bastard.
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Kankuro: I lost 50 bucks.