A request by a list that was thrown at me (with lots of love) I see a few that I can pull off no problem (don't ask; prior experience is everything with modern AUs) the others are gonna require some thinking.

This one is rather short and I was on my way to a job party when I decided it was done. I might re-write it though.

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My cousin's hot friend.

(Neji's POV)

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I've been living in between my parent's house and my uncle's house for a good few years. Being business people, my father is out of country a lot. With that, my mother likes to visit more of her side of the family whenever this occurs. That just leaves me to do whatever I want. For a fourteen year old, you couldn't have it any better. I actually prefer being alone. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and I have two close friends but I just love solitude even more. Unfortunately, my dear uncle feels as though it is unwise to keep me locked up in my house for long periods of time (it's not like I'm going to burn it down...we have maids to cook for a reason). So, upon that thought, I have been deemed with the most terrible luck of having to travel to the Hyuga Estate, which is on the other side of town, and put up with the constant noise and be forced to socialize with each of these old men and annoying teenagers who look exactly like me (more or less...). Worst of all, I actually have to give a fuck. You'd probably think it's not that bad, oh, but it is. Everything is such a bother. I'm forced to listen to stories that I have heard many times, useless gossip about whose getting married and whose having another brat. It has no meaning to me. These estate Hyugas are nothing but a bundle of bees, having nothing better to do but circulate small talk and gossip around while their head member (my uncle) sits in content, being the big shot business man he is.

Anyway, enough of my ranting; its a bit unsettling for me to get so worked up over such affairs that I clearly had no say in. I was sitting in my room (yes, I have one at the damn estate) when my aunt came in through the door. She told me to come to the tea room where my uncle was waiting. I had struggled for a moment to find motivation to move, but it led to me finally giving an aggravated sigh and finding my way to the said room. Of course, my uncle was sitting at the head of the tea table with his news paper and reading glasses. He looked up as I walked in, telling me to sit.

"Your cousin is bringing over a guest." He began.

Oh, great. Another person I'd be force to be in the presence of.

"She's your age. An exchange student from HongKong."

My age? "She"? I held back a snort.

"Since Hinata isn't very fluent in Cantonese yet, like you are, you will help her communicate with this girl. According to the school, though, she has a great understanding of Japanese. Don't screw up."

My eyebrow twitched. I'm a walking translator for my terribly timid younger cousin and some girl from HongKong. Great. I sighed and settled my self at the table more comfortably. Admittedly, my Cantonese is rather rusty...in the reading and writing segments. My conversation, however, is flawless. There is a reason why I am called a genius in this family. Hopefully she won't be like the rest of my cousins friends. Loud, that high pitched octave that makes my ears ring whenever they speak. She must dress similar to us in some ways, they have casual over there, right? I hope she doesn't fawn over me like most girls do. I know I'm attractive, but damn. They flock like pigeons do for bread.

After a while, my younger cousin materialized from behind the door with this girl behind her. I didn't even look at her. Not yet, not until I hear her voice.

"Father...this is my friend." My cousin stammered as she walked into the room.

Hiashi stood and glanced down at me, as if to tell me to get up and greet this girl. I just looked at him back.

"Hello," he nodded at her. "I am Hinata's father. You may address me as such or Mr. Hyuga." My uncle pointed to me."This is Hinata's cousin...my nephew, Neji. He will be accompanying you during your stay. He speaks Cantonese fluently, so if you have any questions you can refer to him."

There was a few seconds of silence. I still didn't move. Hinata apologized to her friend, saying that I wasn't a very social person. Now, I wouldn't say that. I can be social, on my own will.

"Hello." Came the soft greeting.

My eyes shot over. And then, I stood. I don't think I've seen anyone like her before. She had chocolate brown hair twisted into two buns. Her eyes were a golden brown; warm, and welcoming. Her skin was naturally tan. I've seen the artificial stuff, and it doesn't look nearly as good as this. Her eyelashes were long, but I don't think she's wearing any make up...like at all. Her capris were navy blue and her Chinese style top was pink. She may be ordinary to a regular person, but I am no regular person. She smiled at me. A soft smile, unsure of what to say.

"So...what's your name?" I asked in Cantonese.

"Tenten." She replied.

"Is there a last name to that?" I asked.

She blinked and blushed a bit. Huh, she's nervous. She has every right to be. This family is batshit crazy and she just walked right into the den.

"Hua." She replied sheepishly.

Wait, that's a mandarin last name. How strange.

"Now that you have familiarized your self," Hiashi pushes me forward. "You will be shown to your room."

The Chinese girl nodded and followed Hinata out of the room. I followed, willingly this time. How strange, I thought. She has this attractive sense to her although her looks are pretty natural. Maybe I like natural. That could explain it. Walking down the hall, she just looked around. She stayed silent. Her voice wasn't high pitched, she wasn't loud... she doesn't even seemed dazed by my good looks either. Wait, they must have better looking guys in HongKong. But I bet I'm the best she's gonna find here.

"So," I said in Canto.

She turned to me.

"That last name of yours is a bit odd for you."

Tenten shrugged.

"I was born in HongKong, but I have family in main land China. I speak some Mandarin too." She explained.

Ah, a smooth sound. Very calm, how nice. Hinata started to tell her about the places in the city she was going to take her to. They were typical shopping centers, cinemas...even expensive restaurants. I watched as the girl blinked and nodded every now and then. She didn't seem all that interested in the main stream stuff.

"Better idea," I turned to my younger cousin.

She looked at me curiously.

"How about you take her to the different parks where the festivals are being held. Each one is pretty different and the food is cheap, but good. The amusement park is open and has fireworks every night. Also, isn't that Bon fire that Kiba is throwing soon?"

Hinata thought for a moment.

"Hinata," I pressed. "Anyone can go to the city and wasting money. I'm sure she'll love if you save that for a few days before she leaves back to HongKong."

My cousin nodded. I'm always right, so there was no way she could refuse that.

"So...then what are we doing?" Tenten asked.

Before Hinata could respond, I turned to her.

"Something more fun then site seeing."

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There were festivals in the parks for weeks. Since we're rich, most girls in our family have more than one kimono. Hinata had set some aside for her friend. At the same time, Tenten had brought gifts from HongKong. She had apologized me since she had no clue I would be with them for the duration of her stay. I mean, I wasn't expecting anything, so I don't see why she's apologizing. She had given Hinata a "QiPao" or something like that. It was a traditional dress in light blue with silver flowers on it. For the rest of the day, we wandered around the estate. When I asked her about her home, she said she lived in an apartment with her parents and older brother. It was a bit small, but it was comfortable.

With the activities we conducted over the last few days, I can honestly say I had the great pleasure of being this girl's escort. It seemed as though after a few days she got comfortable with her surroundings; she began to speak more. She even talked back to me once when I snapped at Hinata. I wasn't expecting it (like at all), but it happen and left me standing there baffled and wondering why I found that attractive. She looked damn great in a regular party dress, I saw when we all went out to meet the rest of Hinata's friends. Her legs were long, tan, and had some muscle tone. When I asked, she said she was on her martial arts team at her school. But she was also pretty handy with a sword and bow. I could help but imagine her all sweaty and out of breath. It's crazy, when I think about it. I've avoided female contact for as long as I could remember (outside the family, remember I love my mother) but before I knew it, I'm walking after this Chinese girl that I'll probably never see again. She enjoyed eating the food at the festivals. Everything she tried she loved, which was good. Food seemed to be a big thing for her. Especially when we got back home she would peek her head into the kitchen and see what the cooks were making.

Thinking back, I never actually considered her to be a basic girl that one would assume. She wore no make up, and she always kept her hair in those two buns during they day, and neat braids at night. She was never in a night gown, always shorts and a over sized shirt. When she ate it wasn't like a bird; she filled herself up and wasn't afraid to ask for more. When it came down to martial arts, I would sometimes watch her in the back yard doing some drills Granted i wasn't the only one. A lot of the others would whisper to each other about her. They would speak about her form, her mannerisms. They would discuss her speech and her way of dressing; how she carried herself, how odd her persona was. It was indeed odd, but not in a bad way. It was new for these old men to actually be around someone as uplifting as she. Hell, Tenten would even play with my younger cousins if they were outside. It was interesting to watch.

But to save time, I'm going to skip over to last big hang out we all had.

When we all gathered at the beach for the Bon Fire party, Hinata had told me earlier that a friend of Tenten's will be there as well. He too was being hosted by one of their friends. When I asked who, her cheeks turned red and that was all I needed to know.

"Tenten! I have been waiting to see you!" A teen with a weird hair cut and bushy eyebrows ran up to us.

The closer he came the more I thought of him to be a Bruce Lee look a like.

"Lee!" She beamed and they embraced.

And his name is Lee? Well, shit.

"Neji, Hinata," Tenten turned to us. "This is my dear friend Rock Lee. He too is in the martial arts club."

I nodded at him before leading them back to where everyone else was. It was a nice time, I had to admit. Kiba knows how to through great parties. He brought s'more materials and other food we could cook on sticks (pretty much fish and hot dogs). We sat out and watched as the stars came out. The music played from Ino's car and Shikamaru was already napping. I glanced over at Tenten, who was too busy braiding her hair.

"Have you done anything like this before?" I asked in Canto.

"No," she replied. " but I wish I could've done something like this sooner."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"You leave soon." I said suddenly.

"Yeah, in like three days."

Tenten turned to me and smiled.

"I've had a lot of fun thanks to you and your family. I hope we could remain friends even though I'm leaving." She said in Japanese.

I looked at her then nodded.

"Of course," I replied. "That's not going to change."

I blinked. Nope, I told myself. There was no point in making a move. As much as I wanted to, I have to remember, I'm probably never going to see her again. And it wasn't like I could go with her. I'm not in love, don't get it twisted. I guess you can say that I found someone I wouldn't mind spending time with, even if I wanted to be away from everyone else. Sure I find her attractive as hell, but I still know nothing of her.

So when it came time for her to leave, I gave her my email. Weird, I know. But numbers can change or be lost, and my emails go straight to my phone. I stayed behind as my uncle and cousin drove her back to the air port. Later that night, I got an email from her, wishing I could've come with her back home.

One day.

Just not now.