All of my stories got deleted. Oh my gawd. Not the ones I already posted, though. It's the files and documents saved in my computer's Microsoft Word program that are stories for fan fiction dot net… That's what got deleted. I am mourning. –sobs-
Kankuro: Well, it was pretty stupid to do such a thing.
Me: The computer was slowing down and I was kinda absent-minded, so I went and right-clicked everything and deleted it. Plus, I also cleaned out the Recycle Bin. I was so stupid.
Kankuro: Absent-minded indeed.
Me: Meh. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope it's going to be fine.
This chapter's suspense questions:
Why did Neji invite Tenten to the hotel party? What happens know that Lee's going with them? Will Lee and Neji get along? How much has Tenten earned out of the 10,000 dollars she needs? When will she start working for Ino? Is the hotel party related to the Aburames? Which side is Hanabi on, anyway? Who's Neji's oh-so-slick apprentice, anyway?
Find out soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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Half-past six in the morning…
"When I woke up, I smelled shit. Cat shit."
Neji couldn't get over the fact that he was awakened by the stench of poop seeping into his little tent out in Tenten's garden. He realized that it was too early for sunrise, but he was sure he was already wide-awake. Cat poop can do a lot to your senses.
Here he was in the 24-hours open convenience store near Tenten's mansion, sipping iced coffee at six in the morning as he looked back at the messy pieces of papers he had, smeared with charcoal, chalk and chocolate (He was responsible for the chocolate part), staple together faultily.
He eyed the store's entrance with keenness. But every now and then, he glanced back at the papers he had, flipping them over whenever he wanted. Soon, a distinct person in a jacket with the hood over his head and sunglasses came in. When he did, Neji raised his brows at the individual.
The person acknowledged him, raising his brows at him, too. The stranger went to the rack of after-coffee mints and bought herself a cup of hot, black coffee. Then, he approached Neji's table and took a seat across him.
"Got the plans settled, Rose Pierce?" Neji muttered to his acquaintance before taking another sip of his coffee.
The hooded spy nodded and took off the sunglasses she wore. Biting her pink lips, Rose Pierce sighed, "Of course I have the plans settled. Underestimating me, again, Eagle?" She smirked and pointed at the drawings Neji had, "Nice drawings, by the way." She commented.
Looking at the architectural sketches he had, Neji chuckled and said, "I had my apprentice do this. It's the exterior of the hotel on all perspectives, including the top view. I also have the blue prints of the interior, from the lower basement to the roof deck. I also have the sewer track."
Rose Pierce, when she heard this, giggled and said, "How impressive. When can I get an apprentice as good as yours?"
"My apprentice is the best in the mafia. No one beats my apprentice, alright."
With this, Rose Pierce frowned, took a sip of her coffee before asking Neji, "Are you bringing your little captive with you tonight? Your mafia will kill you if she gets harmed or whatever, right?"
Neji simply shrugged and said, "I'm sure I won't get her into anything, swear. Besides, this thing I'm doing is for that bitch."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Rose Pierce mumbled, tapping on the table, "Need to remind me over and over again, sometimes. Coz I'm just into this for the revenge, you know." She smiled and added, "And will I ever be part of the Caged Bird Mafia?"
Neji snorted and explained, "You become a part of it if you're a Hyuga. Unless you're married to any of the men in the mafia, you'll never be part of the mafia. You know that, Rose."
"Yeah, I know," she said, opposing a little, "But if I know your mafia's weaknesses, details and organization codes, you have no choice but to let me in, right?" She seemed so clever.
With that, Neji nodded and simply answered back, "Which is why I didn't let you inside the headquarters. I'm not an idiot. Besides, the only ones who know of this hotel thing are my apprentice and I. No one else. So, technically, you know nothing."
She pouted and murmured, "Well, then marry me."
Rolling his eyes, Neji grumbled in annoyance, "You are such a flirt, Rose. Really. I hate flirts, you know."
Hearing his statement, Rose Pierce shrunk back again and took another sip of her coffee. She swallowed lightly before continuing, "I have the codes and security bases in here." She gave her little Blackberry a tap as she went on, "I'm sure you'll need it."
"Not really." Neji replied, shaking his head, "I already have my procedures taken care of and carefully planned out. But just to be on the safe side, I'm going to need a copy. Mind sending it to my phone, Rose?" He took out his cellphone and gave her his phone number.
"I have the security unlocking codes. It'll come in handy if you want to turn alarms off." She explained, pressing buttons on her Blackberry, "And from what I heard, they set up maximum security in the master's bedroom. That'll be tricky."
Neji only nodded as she went on, "There are guards at the South East entrance and at the North West path. All guests are restricted there, but if you tranquilize them or at least make them immobile, you can slip through. Although, I don't think we'll be using those entrances."
She grabbed for one of Neji's sketches, specifically the one with the target room's front door on it. Quickly, Rose Pierce pointed at the front door's molding and bottom frame, explaining, "There are no alarm detections attached there, so plan a break in from there." Indeed, she knew too much.
"Security cameras are swarming everywhere," she said, holding a finger up, "Switch the lens enhancer and the two-headed blue wire with the connection wire then snip the main wire right after. The picture will freeze and any activity won't be captured."
The document transfer went on and when all was done, Rose Pierce went back to drinking the rest of her coffee. As the hollow sipping of air came out of Neji's straw, he shook the plastic cup before putting it down onto the table and concluding, "Wish me luck tonight."
Rose smirked sinisterly and replied, "You'll need it."
Neji stood from his seat and went towards the door to leave, but Rose Pierce added before he left, "By the way, how's everything with you and your little girl, Tenten? Any intimacy?" She snickered jokingly as she mentioned this.
Hearing this, he turned to her and said, "Nah. And I plan to keep it that way, Sakura."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
'Twenty,
Went out for coffee. I remember you saying that rats don't get cheesecake. Hope you and your boyfriend make out over breakfast.
XO Screw.
P.S.
Smells like shit here. Not me, I swear.'
It was the first thing Tenten saw when she went down from the second floor. On the glass door's surface, the message was written with a black marker. Clearly, Neji left it for her. But if Lee saw it, the results would be horrifying.
Immediately, Tenten grabbed a bucket of soapy water and a scrubber, then started brushing off the words. But when she was about to rub off the 'XO Screw', she knew she had blushed a little. XO, after all, meant 'Hug and Kiss' while XOXO meant 'Hugs and Kisses'.
When she was done, she returned the cleaning materials into the broom closet and turned the stove on. It wasn't like her to cook, actually, but it'd be so embarrassing in front of Lee if she promised breakfast and ends up not preparing any.
Grabbing a pan, she placed it over the fire and poured a little oil onto the hot surface. She proceeded to the fridge and took out three eggs, one for her and two for Lee. But before closing the door, she gave the egg tray another look. After shrugging, she took two more for Neji.
She cracked all five eggs and once the oil started popping about, she took the spatula and monitored the egg's bottoms every now and then. Soon, she transferred all of the fried eggs onto a glass plate.
Then, she grabbed a box of waffle mix from the kitchen cabinet and concocted the batter. And when she had done so, she poured the batter into the waffle maker, filling all four spaces. Finally, she pulled down the cover and left the kitchen, promising to come back in ten minutes, more or less.
Climbing the stairs, Tenten walked towards the guest room to check up on Lee. But just along the hallway, she could already hear the faint sound of the YMCA's theme song from his room.
Hesitantly, she knocked on his door and said, "Lee? You awake?"
Soon, she grabbed for the knob and turned it while she pushed against the door with her arm. And when she opened the door and saw what he was doing, she couldn't help but drop her jaw.
"Good morning, Tenten!" Lee greeted as he did a few jumping jacks, "I'm doing my morning exercise! Want to join me? I practice all of my basic physical skills: balance, power, cardiovascular capacity, flexibility, agility, coordination, speed, muscular endurance and—"
Tenten shook her head, blushing in embarrassment. She stood uneasily by the door, staring at Lee when she tried not to. Indeed, his exercise attire was very fit and it hugged him in the wrong places down below.
Before she knew it, Lee threw his hands onto the floor and lifted his legs above his head in a headstand. And he started walking around the room in that position. "See, Tenten?" he said as he groaned a little, "I can do this! You must learn it, too!"
"Oh, n-no need for that!" Tenten stammered, shaking her head, "I just wanted to tell you that breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes so come down by then, okay?" Seriously, Lee's ass was almost brushed against her face.
Lee nodded and answered, "Thank you very much, Tenten! I shall!" He hopped off the headstand and asked, "By the way, did you see Twinkle-Top?"
Tenten's eyes grew, "Twinkle-Top?" she exclaimed, "Who's Twinkle-Top?"
With that, Lee dropped onto the floor with a thud and started doing push-ups as he said, "Twinkle-Top is my cat. She's orange and white striped and her eyes are light green. If you ask me, she reminds me of Sakura-Chan. I forgot to tell you that I brought her along. I made her sleep outside."
"Outside?!" she yelled, surprised, "You made the cat sleep in the pocket garden?!"
With that, Lee nodded and said, "Indeed. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. Don't worry, Twinkle-Top won't get lost. She knows her way around the whole city, count on it!" And when he said this, he kept a confident grin on.
"I'm not thinking of your cat, damn it," Tenten thought as she rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her, "Screw wrote something about smelling shit outside. Either your kitten pooped on my flower garden or inside his tent."
And once she was downstairs, she unplugged the waffle maker and took out the crunchy, criss-crossed waffles and placed them on three separate plates, one for her, one for Neji and two for Lee (Lee always has two of each since he has a huge appetite).
With that, she transferred all of the silverware, plates and food onto the dining table and even placed the syrup and butter there. Before she could go back to the kitchen to make toast, she heard a scream.
"Stupid cat! Let go of my leg! Ow! That is too high! Let go!"
Obviously, it was Neji. So, she went to the glass door and gave him a grave look as she placed her hands on her hips. She saw him tiptoeing through her picket fence with a few pieces of paper at hand with a cat with its claws embedded onto his cargo pants.
He held onto one of the metal bars of the fence as he tried to shake the cat off of his limb. And when he saw Tenten laughing at him from behind the glass, he threw her an annoyed expression and an enraged glare. When he had managed to hop off of the fence and onto the grass, the cat finally let go of him.
Neji walked to the glass door and when he was finally in, Tenten mentioned, "Like Twinkle-Top? He's really adorable, ne?" And with that, she couldn't help but laugh again.
Annoyed, Neji rubbed his shin and mumbled, "Gawd, that cat. I'm assuming it's your boyfriend's."
Hearing this, Tenten shot him an angered glower before stating, "Where have you been, anyway? Went to Starbucks or something? I hope you still have appetite for breakfast." She folded her arms against her chest as he took a seat on the sofa.
"I went to the convenience store across." Neji honestly said, "Didn't you read my note on the door? It was pretty big."
"Of course I saw it! And I never thought that you'd take the rat-exterminator-cheesecake thing seriously!"
"Well, I did, anyway. And I think I've stuffed myself with enough caffeine to make myself full."
She bit her lip and said, "Oh, come on, Neji. I made breakfast for the three of us already. The waffles will go to waste."
Neji shrugged and suggested with sarcasm in his eyes, "I'm sure your little darling would love those waffles."
Tenten kicked his shin out of irritation and growled, "Damn it, you don't have to be so immature, Screw. Just take one waffle and I'll be happy, believe me." Hearing this, Neji rolled his eyes and walked to his side of the dining table.
He grabbed his waffle and ate it without much of a care. As long as it went past his mouth, through his teeth, down his esophagus and into his stomach, it didn't matter much. But after a while, he turned to Tenten and asked, "Do you have any more of these?"
"Why?"
"I kinda liked them."
"Gawd, and you refused them earlier. Sit and I'll make more."
With that, Neji pulled his chair and sat on the table, before a porcelain plate with a fried egg on it and an empty glass beside it. He heaved a sigh and unconsciously smiled. "Man, fine, so this is kinda like staying in my Mom's house. Only somehow better."
Hastily, Tenten rushed back with a pitcher of orange juice and poured some into his glass and into hers. After that, she took a seat across Neji and smiled back at him, saying, "Uh, Lee's doing his morning exercises so maybe he'll take a while."
Neji simply raised his brows in acknowledgement and leaned back onto his chair, relaxing a little with the papers still at hand.
Without much of an intention, Tenten questioned him, "D-Do you have anything to wear to the party tonight?"
After a few seconds of thinking, he chuckled and asked with a shy manner, "Would you mind if I used one of your Dad's suits?" Of course, she giggled before nodding and allowing him to.
"How about you?" Neji added, "Got a gown?"
"Two."
"Only?"
"I'm not one to own ten."
"My cousin has twenty."
"Who? Hinata?"
"Hanabi."
"Oh, the cute little girl, huh?"
"Not exactly cute. Demanding and pissing, maybe."
"You're such a mean cousin, you know that." Tenten said, joking a little.
He simply raised his brows again and suddenly, he said, "Back in the café with the churros and all yesterday, I never got to ask you the question I wanted to throw at you. Mind if I ask now?"
"Well, I don't know if I can answer it, but okay." Tenten prepared herself at what the question was going to be. Whatever it was, she was in the mood to answer anything for now. He only had to be grateful.
Neji looked at her a little timidly before blurting out, "How does it feel to be really in love and be happy with someone, huh?"
Somehow, it surprised Tenten that he was asking about love. She thought since he swore never to fall in love ever again, he wouldn't be asking of such things. But it turned out that she was wrong, somehow. Still, she grinned diffidently as she mumbled, "I don't know."
"Haven't you ever fallen?"
"Never, I guess."
"Rephrase, then: Have you ever fallen in love with someone who didn't seem to like you back?"
"I still don't know." she admitted, "My parents always told me that studies, duty and roles came first before everything. Love, to them, was superficial. I wasn't shocked to hear them say such things since their marriage was, in fact, arranged."
"Well, that smarts."
"I know," she said, sighing, "They always fight, my Mom and Dad. It still gets me thinking on how they made me if they never liked each other. When my grandparents, their parents, died, they signed for annulment ASAP. I was so small back then, I didn't know what was going on."
All Neji did was nod as she kept on sharing. She continued, "My father took me after they fought over my custody. I was three then. Whenever I asked my Dad about my Mom and where or who she is, he keeps on saying that I've got none. But when I got older, I just… found out."
"Anyway," she went on, "I thought my parents really, really, hated each other to the core. But, one night, I saw my Dad in his bedroom, sitting in the darkness. He was holding Mom's bathrobe near to his face and I swore I saw him crying. He really missed her, in truth."
"It turns out that through all those years together, he started to fall in love with her," Tenten remarked, smiling without much reason, "It was such a sad story. When my Dad died, my Mom was there in his funeral, crying her heart out." But her words were suddenly choked.
"Dad thought Mom didn't care and Mom thought Dad never loved her" She added, "when, honestly, they have always loved each other. And they never knew of how much they were always in love. And because of this, Dad told me that marriage isn't something worth doing."
Neji nodded and mouthed, "I believe in that."
"I don't." Tenten opposed, looking at him with shining eyes, "I like the idea of marriage, commitment… It's all really nice to hear and the thought of having someone always there for you is so light in the heart. I just hope that I don't end up like my parents, that's all."
He chuckled and said, "I don't want to end up like my parents, either."
"Yeah? What's their story?"
"It's pretty simple. My Dad liked my Mom. My Mom liked my Dad. They ran the mafia together and did an awesome job. Then, the Aburames killed my Mom. End of story. My Dad's still living, though, but he's… really old."
Tenten snickered at the remark and cocked a brow as she asked him, "Have you seen how your Mom looked like?"
"All of us in my family almost looked alike. She was the only one who was different, since only true-blue Hyugas have Byakugan. Obviously, she wasn't a Hyuga before she got hitched to my Dad. My cousins and I got the Byakugan eyes, though. My mom had lavender eyes. Real beauties. Must be why I've got a tinge of lavender in my eyes."
With the statement, Tenten leaned towards Neji and stared hard at his eyes before concluding, "Oh my gawd, you do have lavender in your eyes."
Neji laughed a little before saying, "So, I guess we both have the same weird goal."
"What goal?"
"Not to end up like our parents."
"Definitely! I want to get married to someone I actually love!"
"And I'm not getting married at all." Neji said, smirking. Tenten gave him a look that said 'I doubt it'. But all he did was gaze back at her and add, "I mean, come on. Girls, marriage, babies… not really my thing."
Tenten chuckled at what Neji said and finally, she stood from her seat and excused herself, saying, "I think the waffles are ready. I'll go get them."
As Tenten neared the kitchen, Lee came running down the stairs in a polo shirt and slacks with a briefcase. He also had a camera wrung around his neck. "Lee! Come on, breakfast is served!" Tenten invited with a cheerful smile.
But, Lee shook his head and spoke in a rush, "I'm really sorry, Tenten, but my boss called me up and told me that there's a riot down Westside Street! He wants me to take a few pictures and to write a report on it immediately! I'm so sorry. I have to go! Bye!"
And with that, he ran through the door in a hurry, leaving Tenten with her mouth ajar.
Seeing this, Neji jokingly yelled back to Lee, "Oi! You forgot to kiss your wife goodbye!"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Half-past six in the evening…
"Where's your boyfriend? We'll be late, you know."
"Lee said he wouldn't be late. He never is!"
"Well, guess what? Now, he is!"
"Give him three more minutes. I'm sure he's just stuck in traffic or something…"
"Can't we just leave him?"
"No! He'll hate me!"
"Tenten, he's paying rent in your house! If he hates you, it'll be his loss!"
"Gawd, fine, fine! I'll send him a text message telling him that we'll go ahead of him."
In her carnation pink halter gown (with the slit cut too high at the right), Tenten glared back at Neji as he stood in his shirt-tie-and-slacks combo. But she admits that she took a look at Neji before anything else.
He had his long, ebony, silk hair tied in a loose ponytail with only a few strands touching his smooth face. The tie was accented since he wore only a white polo shirt and everything he had on was clearly her Dad's. Her Dad had style.
After shaking her head to snap some sense into her, she took out her phone and called Lee, telling him to follow them to the party when he can. It turned out that he was still in the riot down Westside Street.
"Even if we go ahead," Tenten told Neji once she was off the phone, "We'll still arrive late. The riot Lee told us of this morning is still there. The streets are probably filled with heavy traffic at this rate."
Hearing this, Neji grumbled, "Then, we can use your motorcycle. I know you have one in the garage."
"I haven't used that in years!"
"Pfft. So?"
And with that, he went out of the front door and proceeded to her garage. He lifted the garage door up and entered. Past Tenten's car and a small, five-wheeled bicycle, Neji saw a motorcycle, all dusty, like he said. He rubbed the metal and left some grime on his hand as he said, "Shall we?"
"You can't be serious." She said, slightly against this as she shook her head, "I hope you know how to drive this thing. I kinda forgot, I admit."
"This is a piece of cake." He bragged, holding his hand out as he asked for the keys from Tenten, "Trust me on this."
Still, Tenten was pretty hesitant. If Neji crashes somewhere, both of them could die or end up in the hospital. She'd rather drive and kill herself than have him lead her to her death. So, she shook her head and growled,
"No, I'm driving."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Shit! Shit! Turn left!"
"Shut up! I know when to turn left so shut the hell up!"
"Watch out!"
"My gawd!"
"Oh, yeah? You know when to turn, Tenten? You barely missed that car!"
"Well, if you weren't bothering me about turning left, I wouldn't be so stressed! So shut up!"
As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he huffed behind her, making his breath tickle her nape. She shivered a little with that but kept her eyes on the road. With a helmet on, she felt her head almost snap a little with the weight of the helmet. Neji told her to wear it so she'll be fine and secure.
"The hotel's at 32 Green Kelp Street." Neji told her, directing her through the traffic and skimming past the cars and trucks, "If you see a fancy, new hotel with flashy lights, limos outside and a huge statue of a bastard by a fountain, that's the place."
Tenten shot him a weird look when she heard the word 'bastard'.
They rode past the taxis and vans, Tenten's hem held by Neji from behind. Since this was so, her legs were peeking out in full view and sometimes, Neji fails to remind her to turn or dodge a pedestrian since he had his eyes on her legs.
But every now and then, he'd blink and bite his lip to stop staring at her.
His grip on her rolled up, trailing gown's hem tightened as he felt his adrenaline heighten. Honestly, Tenten was somehow a reckless driver with her motorcycle. He wishes he could just push her forward a little, grab the handles and do the driving with her on his lap…
Of course, she'd slap him before he could.
"Is that it, Screw?" Tenten asked as she turned her gaze on a mansion-like and very sophisticated hotel nearby. When she felt Neji nod behind her, she turned to the sidewalk and parked the motorcycle. She took her helmet off and shook her head to loosen her hair up. Neji stared back as she did.
After another snapping of some sense into his head, Neji instructed her, "Okay, since I'm wanted as you know very well, you are to address me as Masashi Kishimoto—"
"Gawd, what kind of name is that?"
"Well, fine, make up a name, then. I bet you can't come up with a better one, Twenty."
She rolled her eyes at him and growled, "How about Screw, huh? Mr. Screw. Not bad, don't you think?"
"Oh, come on! Can't you cooperate with this? I mean, I brought you to the party and the least you can do is help me not get caught or something. This is pissing enough on its own…"
"Honey?"
"…Say what?"
Tenten cocked a brow and said, "What if I called you with a pet name? A fake one, at that. I could call you Honey. I could call you Sweetie Poopsy Pie. Or I could call you Twinkle-Top, like the damn cat. What do you think?"
"We stick to one pet name only, then." He growled, eyeing her with a humiliated expression and an irritated glare, "Honey sounds painless."
"Honey it is."
And with that, they agreed on it and started to make their way to the hotel entrance. Neji took out the printed out invites (Credit to Neji's apprentice, once again) and gave it to the guard up at front. Once they were inside, Tenten couldn't help but gasp.
"This is a hotel?!" she squeaked, "My gawd, it looks like Buckingham Palace." Her gaze was thrown everywhere and she tried not to stare back at the diamond chandelier in the center of the ceiling (She eventually did and her eyes hurt for a minute).
The place was pretty crowded, so they locked arms and walked around as they turned everywhere. The buffet was at the left, piled with caviar, fondues and pastrami mini sandwiches (Oh La La) and the desert tray had nothing but assorted éclairs and pastries in it.
To the right, there was what seemed to be half of an orchestra, playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 at what seemed to be 5 notes per second. Either the musicians were in a hurry to get home or the conductor had diarrhea and he needs to go to the bathroom ASAP.
Of course, the center of the hall wasn't occupied since it was the dance floor. Clearly, no one was dancing. So everyone stuck around like sardines at the sides of the hall. Neji grabbed a glass of champagne and seeing this, Tenten tried to grab a glass from the passing waiter, but she dropped it.
Someone slipped on the spilt beverage and fell over, falling onto the broken glass. Paramedics were called.
Neji and Tenten exchanged glances, backed away slowly and eventually, they ran to the other side of the hall. In the end, Neji handed Tenten his champagne glass, instead.
"Who's hosting this party, anyway?" Tenten questioned as she drank some of the champagne. She finished it with one gulp and got another from a passing waiter. But Neji seemed to be so busy, turning to every direction as if in search of something.
Once Tenten had stepped on his foot to grab is attention, he explained, "The Uchiha Brothers are the ones hosting the party. Itachi owns the place but his little brother, Sasuke, will get it in the end because Itachi's moving out of the city within the month to open another hotel."
"So whose statue is outside?"
"Sasuke's."
Tenten saw Neji's brow cock a little at a certain direction and, all of a sudden, he let go of her and mumbled, "I'll be back. Contact my phone if you're lost or something." And with that, he squeezed through the other guests and left her alone.
She gaped back at Neji, who disappeared into the crowd of glamorous women and dressed-up men in tuxedos. "H-Honey!" she yelled, feeling quite dismayed and somehow lost without his arm around hers. She bit her lip and grumbled swears under her breath.
"Gawd, fine, be that way." She thought bitterly, "I'll call you when I want to go home, anyway. I'll enjoy the night by myself for now and I'll wait for Lee." And with that, she turned around with a swift gesture and with that, she bumped onto someone, spilling wine on the man's black coat.
Her eyes grew and she shrieked in an apologetic voice, "Oh my gawd! I am so sorry, sir! Oh my gawd! Really, I'm so sorry!"
The raven-haired gentleman smirked and answered without much distress, "Hey, it's nothing, really. Nothing wrong with a little spilt wine." With that, he took out a handkerchief from his coat's pocket and started wiping the almost invisible stain on his coat.
Tenten uneasily stood before him, somehow embarrassed and shy. He turned again to her and said, "There. Now, it's like nothing happened, right?"
She simply nodded and blushed as the man eyed her with much interest. "Your name, ma'am?" he politely said, slightly tilting his head to give off a nice but hot guy effect. Tenten only sheepishly smiled and answered after a few seconds and after looking around agitatedly.
"Honored to meet you." The man said, holding his hand out to her, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, co-owner of this hotel…
Mind if I dance with you?"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
After he squeezed through every person present, Neji finally reached the kitchen's swinging door. Upon seeing the swinging doors to be a few steps away, Neji took the tie he had on and started to fold it in a number of ways, straining as he bumped into everyone.
After three failed attempts, Neji ended up with a bow tie, dully improvised through folding. He tucked his polo shirt's collar in and with his tiepin, he secured the bow tie just below his neck. And with a quick movement, Neji unrolled his sleeves and neatened his attire.
In two minutes, Neji ended up looking like any other waiter.
With that, he pushed through the large, loose doors and entered the hotel's kitchen. The steam and warmth of the flames around the kitchen burst in his face and as he passed though the kitchen crew, panicking and rushing, he looked around in search of someone.
By the pastry chefs, he finally found the chef who had her pink strands on a beat bun. He tapped her shoulder and almost surprised her, nearly making her drop the tray of pastries she held.
"Oh, you're here." She mumbled, handing the tray to another chef, "Come with me."
Rose Pierce took the uniform off, untying it from behind as they ran through the kitchen, on their way to the side kitchen exit where no one can notice them. She dropped the whole chef uniform, including the hat, and led Neji out of the hot kitchen into the deserted lobby west of the hotel.
"The target room is on the 59th floor." She told him as she stripped the white chef top she had on to expose a portion of her black dress, "The room number's 5901. You'll have to go alone, though. I have to stay here and monitor the two brothers. Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Neji replied as she handed him his molar transmitter. Once he had that on his tooth, Neji asked, "How am I going to get up there?"
Rose straightened out her pencil skirt and explained, "You can only use the elevator unless you want to be suspected of suspicions. The one you'll have to take is at the other side of this lobby. Once you're there outside the elevator, unscrew the metal base of the buttons and switch light green to black."
Neji simply nodded as he tugged on his locks to tighten his ponytail. He fastened the thin pouch he had onto his belt and took of his bow tie with a quick rip. He stretched a little and added, "When do I contact you again?"
"Once you've reached the 58th floor, get off the lift. Then, wait for further instructions, okay?" she clarified, fixing her molar transmitter.
"Aside from helping me out on this, can you do me another favor, Rose?"
Rose's emerald eyes sparkled a little as she whispered, "What is it?"
Before walking off, he said, "Look after Tenten."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"One more martini, please… Like the one I had… pretty please?"
Tenten was red all over and she, obviously, had too much alcohol for the night. She sat beside Sasuke Uchiha, giggling to herself as she held up a goblet of red wine. Sasuke smirked at her in amusement as he corrected her, "You were drinking cognac, dear."
"Cognac?" She exclaimed in her drunken voice, "Do you put cognac in martinis, Screw? Really? How adorable. Haha!"
She wrapped her arms around herself as she chuckled and mumbled to herself, "Gin tasted pretty better but macadamia nuts make it smell like glue on rye. Why is it so, Screw?" Tenten hiccupped a little, realizing how drunk she already was.
Sasuke arched his brow at her, wondering why she's been calling him 'Screw'. He took her half-empty glass of cognac and said, "Don't you think you've had enough 'martinis', Tenten?" But she grabbed the cup back and downed it.
Something about this turned Sasuke on. Something made him smirk sinisterly.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
The metal base of the elevator's button base was screwed off and once Neji had done that, he switched the correct wires. Rose said that, by doing so, the security cameras would be disabled for exactly ten minutes. So, he had ten minutes to reach the 58th floor.
Immediately, after screwing back the metal base, Neji quickly summoned for an elevator shaft. After what seemed to be forever, the lift finally arrived, opening its doors for him.
8 minutes… Damn.
He got into the elevator shaft and pressed the button with 58 written on it. As the elevator rose through the floors, Neji was impatiently tapping his foot.
For him, everything was too slow. Through all those floors, the time seemed to be so quick.
7 ½ minutes…
Unfortunately, on the 50th floor, everything stopped.
He fell onto the elevator's floor, losing his balance when the elevator suddenly halted. He heard a distinct beeping sound inside the metal walls. After a turn, Neji found the red emergency light flashing. From what he saw, the security must've noticed the ten-minute disable and is taking immediate action…
Screw Uchiha for being rich enough to hire such high security.
Panicking a little, Neji looked around to find any way to get out before his now seven-minute slip through runs out or before the guards find him. After a failed attempt on pulling the doors apart, he jumped inside the shaft, pushing the screen on the top of the shaft.
Once he managed to push the screen cover off after what seemed to be his fifteenth shove, he reached for the opening and soon, he managed to pull himself out of the elevator and into the dark and narrow elevator path.
5 minutes…
"Shit." Neji muttered as he gazed upwards at the long way up. Without much thought, he grabbed the rope that controls the elevator's flow and started climbing in the effort to reach the 58th floor. If his ten-minute disable wears off while he's climbing, there are the advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage is when the disable wears off, the elevator will zoom till the 58th floor. He can jump back into the shaft and end up in the 58th floor in the end. Still, if that does happen, the police might be just waiting for him on that floor. Despite this, he had to take advantage of the facts.
He felt his grip loosening as his palms suffered from rope burn. He grunted as he tried to make his way up to speed his 'mission' up.
Less than 4 minutes…
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O
The guard with the blue tie and the wireless earpiece jolted in surprise when a message came through. After a quick review of what he was told, he sent the same message to the other guards and he made his way to Mr. Uchiha right away.
Itachi was mingling with a group of women nearby when Kisame walked up to him and whispered the message to his ear. Upon hearing this, Itachi told Kisame in a murmur, "Send the chief guards. They can handle it."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Two minutes…
Neji held on to the rope, feeling himself slip a little every now and then. Before him was the firmly closed elevator doors that led to the 58th floor corridor. He needed to open those doors and get in, but he heard the cocking of guns and the buzzing of radios.
Like he predicted, they're waiting for him. And from the beeping he heard, they're fixing the disabling process. Which means, instead of two minutes, Neji has two seconds…
Chink.
Wrrr…
"Aw, fuck!" Neji exclaimed as the rope he held on to brought him higher, bringing him above the 58th floor, past the 59th and bumping onto the 60th. He rubbed his head as he hit the ceiling and as the rope went through the wheelie, he changed ropes and now, he was hurriedly being pulled down.
And as the elevator stopped on the 58th floor, he grabbed for the shaft and sat there on top of the elevator. He heard the doors open and there were footsteps inside the metal box. Neji would be lucky if the guards didn't inspect the ceiling and find the screen cover off. He was lucky.
After a brisk examination, the guards found nothing suspicious. Eventually, they exited the elevator and closed the doors. When Neji was sure that they were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief. But as the elevator started to lower to the ground floor, Neji acted quickly.
He slid into the elevator through the small opening and pressed '58' again, making the elevator pause then lift itself upwards again. After a cheerful chime, the doors opened for him. First, he looked around carefully then stepped out.
With that, Neji touched his molar transmitter with his tongue and whispered, "Hey, Rose, I'm on the 58th floor. What now?"
Rose heard Neji call to her and said as she walked around in the party hall, "Oh my gawd, you're fine? Thank goodness. I heard the chief guards were sent to the 58th to monitor the disturbance. I thought you were going to get caught for sure!"
"Well, I'm here." Neji smugly replied, "So, what do I do next?"
"Really simple, actually." Rose answered as she chewed on an oatmeal cookie, slightly disturbing the transition, "See that door in front of the elevator? That's a fire exit. Go up two flights of stairs and you end up in the 59th floor. Once you're there, talk to me."
"What is this, a video game with Level One and Two or something?" He thought as he went through the fire exit, "I think Final Fantasy was more thrilling than this, you know."
Once he was in the 59th floor's corridor, Rose spoke up again, "Now, do you see a security camera to your right idiotically facing the other way?"
When Neji acknowledged this, Rose went on, "The corridor's pretty narrow, right? And since this is so, I'm sure you can plant your left foot on the wall on the left and the same with your right. Do that behind the camera, reach for it and remember what I told you about camera disabling this morning."
Hearing this, Neji planted his feet onto the walls of either side of the hallway. He pulled himself high enough to reach the back of the camera. When he had taken off the metal cover, he drew out his mini screwdriver and a small pair of scissors.
"Switch the lens enhancer and the two-headed blue wire with the connection wire then snip the main wire right after." Neji repeated to himself as he did so discreetly. And he knew that he was done when a faint beep came out of the camera. But then, Neji fell onto the carpet when his foot slipped a little.
After groaning in pain and rubbing his backside, he moaned, "Okay, Rose, I've got the camera disabled. Now what?"
But there was no reply.
Neji's eyes widened as he called to her once again, "Rose? Hey! Rose! Answer back, damn you!" He stuck his finger into his mouth so he could check if the molar transmitter was still there…
It was gone.
"Shit." Neji mumbled as he stood up and realized that the transmitter must've fallen off or maybe he swallowed it accidentally. Either way, he was now alone in this. Rose can't hear anything but the disgusting sounds in his stomach, but he can still hear Rose's end.
Once he was back on track, Neji stretched his back a little to ease some of the aching and walking down the hall, he looked at the many hotel doors that exposed their own numbers in gold against oak wood. Damn Uchiha, so damn rich.
"5903, 5902… There. 5901." He whispered to himself as he searched for the target room. Finally, he was before it. He remembers how Rose told him of how the door's bottom frame or molding didn't have any attached alarms, so he snapped off his tool pouch and started looking for the right tools.
Searching through the pouch, he found what looked like a pizza cutter (he snickered) and what seemed to be an over-sized flat-headed screwdriver. Resisting to chuckle at the somehow uncommon tools Rose Pierce equipped him with, he started tearing at the lower frame of the door.
By doing so, not only will he reduce the risk of tripping a door alarm, he'll also be able to return that back on its original state, making it appear like no robbery or break in was done. He had Rose Pierce to thank for everything.
After chipping some wood off and managing to chunk the bottom molding off, Neji slipped inside through the hole he made through the molding and even returned the molding so anyone passing by won't raise any suspicions.
Inside Sasuke Uchiha's suite, Neji stood in awe. What was supposed to be a suite looked more like a house already. The floor was marble and at the point of the bedroom and living room, only then will the vermilion carpet be spread out. The huge windows that acted as one of the walls had a view of the whole city.
If Neji could, he'd buy the suite. No… wait… He can.
When he had stopped gaping back at the whole thing in amazement, Neji went to work immediately. He knew that since he had no key card to turn the lights on or to turn the alarms off, he'd have to careful. If he trips an alarm, he's dead.
He had no interest anything in the suite but the contents of the safe, which was difficult. The safe was in the master's bedroom and, according to Rose, maximum security is applied there. As he recalled this, Neji shrugged. What could it be? Red lasers that you shouldn't touch? Please.
Is this a movie or something?
But when Neji reached the master's bedroom, his jaw almost dropped. Yes, there were laser lines… but it looked like it was a web of laser lines. To make things worst, Neji could sense a trace of burned substance, which means the laser lines also inflicts third-degree burns, probably.
He heaved a sigh and with that, he redid his ponytail one more time, making it tighter.
And before he began slipping through the lines, he mumbled, "I shouldn't have worn boxers today."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Tenten had her hand clutching Sasuke's sleeve as she danced along with him. Her feet felt so airy and numb as she swayed around in Sasuke's arms. The chandelier and other lights swirled around in her eyes as she faintly danced around senselessly.
He, on the other hand, kept his grip on her waist as they swerved around to Fur Elise. His smirk never wore off and right now, it was sinister as ever. What he was planning was beyond anyone. Tenten, in fact, was too tipsy to even notice.
"How are you doing?" Sasuke asked her in a refined manner, "You seem rather… uneasy." Indeed, his eyes inspected her up and down.
She lazily hung her arms around him as she grumbled, "Ugh… I am. Do you think I need to sit down or something? I feel like I'm going to hurl…"
"Oh, you don't need to sit down, dear" He told her, holding her tighter and nearer to him, "I think you need to… lie down."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Ow."
Neji jolted a little when he felt a slight burning sensation near his nape, tingling him everywhere. When he grabbed his slick locks of hair to inspect it, he found it about two inches shorter and very ruggedly cut. On the floor, some strands of his hair lay there.
"Gawd, that's going to take a while to grow back." He said, flipping his hair again to get past the lines again. Luckily, a touch of the laser lines wouldn't trip an alarm. Still, third-degree burns are still good reasons to avoid the laser lines.
Now halfway through the web, he took another deep breath before locking his eyes on Uchiha's walk-in closet, where Sasuke keeps his safe. And after focusing again, Neji gracefully bent lower to cross under a laser. Once bent, he curved his abdomen a little to miss a certain laser just below him.
Cringing a little, he went past it and into another portion of the tangled up and overlapping lasers. Right now, his arms were shaking and his legs felt stiff. If his muscles give up now, he'll fall on the lines below him a burn to a crisp.
All this for Tenten? Damn. What did this have to do with Tenten, exactly?
Fzzt.
"Agh!"
Another laser line was touched, but this time, his sleeve was torn and his arm was sliced and burned. Looking down at the red and now stinging burn, he bit his lip and thought, "Alright, just a few more slips and I'll be done. Gawd… I can do this…"
Slowly letting his foot through a few lasers, he shook a little as he couldn't hold on any longer. Somehow, he was getting weaker and almost losing his balance and concentration. Right now, all of the lines seem to gather before his eyes and blind him. His sweat dripped down his face.
And when he felt like he was going to give up and just breathe out, letting himself go, the laser lines disappeared…
…and there were footsteps by the front door.
"Shit!" Neji thought in a panic after he let his arms loose and after falling onto the carpet, tired and sweaty. As the intruder walked deeper into the suite, he acted fast and ran for the closet, stepped inside and shut himself inside.
Since the closet was the kinds that had what seemed to be blinds on the surface, he could see what was happening outside of the closet without getting caught. All he had to do was shut up for a while and wait until he or she is gone.
But when Neji saw who it was, he froze.
"Tenten? Fuck no."
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I made this chapter super long. Haha. I was in the mood to write, anyway.
Suspense Questions!
Why did Neji break into Sasuke's suite? What is in the safe that Neji wants? And what does it have to do with Tenten? AND WHY IS TENTEN IN SASUKE'S SUITE, DAMN IT?! How come Sakura's (aka Rose Pierce) is flirting with Neji? Will Itachi or Sasuke catch Neji? How come Rose Pierce (aka Sakura) is helping Neji out of revenge? What did it mean? And when will Lee arrive?
Find out soon. –dan dan daaaaan-