Tenten's Guide to Bodyguard-Dating
Part 4
Wednesday, June 29. 6:30AM
From: HN Secretary
To: Tenten
Re: 29 June itinerary
0900 - Meeting with Hinata Hyuga - 361
1000 - Meeting with Hiashi Hyuga - 360
1200 - Informal Lunch with marketing team - 200
1300 - Annual Fire Drill & Emergency Evacuation Procedure
1500 - Meeting with Naruto Uzumaki - 403
Wednesday, June 29. 7:00AM
From: Hyuga Industries Administration
To: Tenten
Re: Annual Fire Drill
This is a friendly reminder to all staff members or personnel that the Annual Fire Drill and Emergency Evacuation Procedures will be taking place at 1pm across the entire Headquarters.
Thank you.
Hyuga Industries, Level 1
June 29 | 0806 UTC
Tenten has done fire drills before. Most of them followed the same protocol - lead everyone to a designated safety area, ensure no one is left behind, secure the premises, perform first aid if necessary. Been there, done that. She could do it in her sleep.
But apparently Hyuga Industries was more hardcore than every other corporation on the ritzier end of Konoha, because they didn't do brief practice drills that only spanned across two to three levels. They did drills for all forty levels of staff, top to bottom.
She'd been locked in a meeting room listening to Shikamaru drone on about security precautions à la Neji Hyuga since six in the morning, nursing her third cup of coffee (black, because no one had replaced the sugar unit yet) and trying her best not to fall asleep from the power of sheer boredom. Shockingly, her team leader seemed to have an inexhaustible vocal stamina, despite the lazy front he put up on a regular basis.
No one prepared this much for a full-scale practice drill unless they had time to spare and money to burn on security, both of which were definitely in Hiashi Hyuga's possession.
Granted, he hadn't had much time until Neji stepped up to work with Hinata, thus allowing the Hyuga patriarch to somewhat loosen his tight hold over Hyuga Industries and pass on the reigns to his family. Somewhat. Rumour (Ino) had it, he was testing his heirs, silently pulling the strings from behind the scenes and ensuring they were up to the task.
Didn't mean he had to pull the rest of the building's staff into his plans, though. The ass.
"In summary," Shikamaru drawled, immediately waking up any staff members - read, Kiba - who were genuinely beginning to doze off. "Any present Hyuga family members will be evacuated to the ground floor with the rest of the building's staff. While Tenten accompanies Mr Hyuga from the stairwell to the evacuation point, the rest of us will secure the premises and ensure no other threats - tangible or not - are present for the duration of the drill."
"Any questions?" He finished up, eyes flashing at the Team like the last thing he wanted was more questions. No one spoke up. Choji's jaws munched on a new bag of chips. "Fantastic. We reconvene on level 36 at noon."
Wednesday, June 29. 12:00PM
From: UNKNOWN NUMBER
Gaara, here. Temari sent me your number. Want to grab dinner tonight? Cheers.
Add 'Gaara no Sabaku' to your contacts?
- YES
Gaara no Sabaku is added to your contacts.
Wednesday, June 29. 12:30PM
To: Gaara no Sabaku
Sure thing :)
Hyuga Industries, Level 20
June 29 | 1300 UTC
"A fine day for a fire drill," Neji remarked, emerging from Room 200 with a smirk on his face. She smiled back, ears trying their best to ignore the sirens blaring through the building.
"Indeed. Right this way, Mr Hyuga." Shikamaru passed by, Choji and Kiba trailing behind him with their mouths yammering and their eyes darting around. He sent her the briefest of nods and continued down the hallway with the rest of the Team. Tenten led Neji to the door of the stairwell, ushering him inside before closing the door behind them. He was pushed to her left while she walked along the exterior of the fire escape, scanning their surroundings and occasionally updating Shikamaru on their progress.
At level fifteen, Neji broke the relative silence. "How was your morning?"
Tenten tried not to let her steps falter. Truth be told, she had no idea how to deal with Neji anymore, particularly after a combination of his one-sided staring contest from last night and the dress fiasco. Pretending she was busy and working was the most effective way of tackling her silky-haired problem, and it had sufficed up until this very moment.
"Uh," her tongue fumbled, uncharacteristically informal. "It was efficient. After we dropped you off at work, Shikamaru held a meeting for two hours. On the fire drill," she answered the incredulous glint in his eyes, "I know. I went through three cups of coffee. How was your morning?"
Level 14. Kami, time went by slowly when she didn't want it to.
Neji replied vaguely. "Eventful. I may have secured a new business plan."
"Great!" Tenten chirped, genuinely proud. "I take it that that's the reason why you were in so many meetings this morning."
"Indeed."
Level 13.
A new wave of employees entered through the level's fire escape door, gasping when they caught sight of their employer and allowing the both of them to pass through. All talk of business deals, admittedly two seconds of it, went out the window. They lapsed back into an awkward silence, climbing down staircases with the crowd of staff at their heels.
Level 10.
"So," he started quietly, at a volume loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough for the rest of the staff to dismiss as background noise, "How was your dinner last night?"
Tenten blinked. "Well, mostly I was working." A big, fat, white lie.
Neji hummed, his face a carefully-blank canvas. "I do appreciate your unparalleled professionalism, Tenten."
They approached the steps to Level 8 when she graciously accepted his compliment with a "Thank you, sir." Her boss nodded politely.
"However, I was surprised to see the illustrious Sergeant Sabaku in your company."
And there it was.
Tenten internally cringed and struggled to come up with an adequate answer. Of course he would know about Gaara dining with her, even if it was for a short amount of time - he was there when it happened.
She replied in the affirmative.
Neji's lips thinned marginally when she didn't elaborate beyond a confirmation. Tenten panicked, wondering if she should craft an excuse for not paying full attention to him while working. Surely that was the reason why he'd been upset at her. Hyuga Industries had hired her under the impression that she was a professional, someone hard-working who devoted herself to her trade. Tenten went with the truth.
"Apologies, Mr Hyuga. I had no intention of seeing the Sergeant yesterday. It was a chance occurrence."
She noticed his grey eyes look at her intently, a smile gracing his lips. "You are forgiven, but I am not upset." Tenten nodded in relief.
Level 5.
"Am I correct in assuming that you've worked together before?"
"We've never had the opportunity to cross paths while working, no," Tenten shook her head slowly, continuing when his gaze turned inquisitive, "We met when he was living in Konoha. I was four years old."
She heard the cogs turning in Neji's head, connecting the dots of her explanation together. "Childhood friends," he said flatly.
Level 4.
"I wouldn't say friends. Yesterday was the first time I'd seen him in twenty years."
Neji stole another glance at her when they rounded the staircase, amused. "You must have had a busy twenty years, then."
She grinned. "They're all on my resume."
"I've seen it. Impressive feats for someone so young."
Tenten had read his personal information when Sasuke gave her the manila folder of his life story. He was younger than her by months and knew it, but she held her tongue in favour of a gracious thank you. They were on good terms at the moment - better, even, compared to last night's deathly-quiet car ride - and she didn't want to jeopardise that. And besides, he seemed pleased at something, probably his approved venture. She'd be an idiot to spoil his mood.
Level 3.
"Have you ever heard of Minato Namikaze?" Neji spoke up again. Tenten blinked. She did recall a former Mayor surnamed Namikaze. Voice of a God, clear blue-sea eyes, responsible for the Legendary Crime Rate Plummet of '91, and known for famously proposing to his policewoman girlfriend Kushina Uzumaki on live television (he'd called her a Red Hot Habanero, to everyone else's confusion).
"A magnificent Mayor," she replied with a tone of fondness for Konoha's most entertaining and terrifyingly-efficient leader. She'd been upset when he passed away over a decade ago from mysterious causes, but not as much as Naruto had been.
"There will be a Memorial Dinner for him tonight," Neji said softly, "And I am aware that you have the night off." Tenten raised her eyebrows, then lowered them when she realised she wasn't at all surprised that her boss knew her daily timetable. An idiot though he was outside of Hyuga Industries' walls, Neji was known for being annoyingly meticulous and thorough with his work.
Still, where was he going with this.
Level 2.
"Will you accompany to the Dinner?"
She couldn't freeze in place because there were too many people behind them, but Tenten was pretty sure that her feet stopped responding to her brain for a millisecond. She soldiered on to Level 1. It wasn't a date. He was just asking her because he wanted her to work. That was probably it. Neji had plenty of other women to ask anyway - and they were all on the news so he could probably skim through all of his Ok Konoha appearances and choose the one who caught his eye the most.
"I'm afraid I have dinner with a friend tonight. Thank you for extending an invitation to me," Tenten tried keeping her expression neutral when she turned to look at Neji. His face was blank. "I appreciate it, sir."
They reached the lobby, at which she yanked open the door with a little more force than necessary and guided him through.
Breathe.
Wednesday, June 29. 5:30PM
From: Gaara no Sabaku
Great, how about accompanying me to a function I have tonight?
Wednesday, June 29. 5:32PM
To: Gaara no Sabaku
I have the night off. Whereabouts?
Wednesday, June 29. 5:34PM
From: Gaara no Sabaku
At The Senju Hotel. For the Minato Namikaze Memorial Dinner? It starts at eight.
Wednesday, June 29. 5:40PM
To: Gaara no Sabaku
Sounds great. Pick me up at Temari's at 7:30ish?
Wednesday, June 29. 5:41PM
From: Gaara no Sabaku
Will do.
Sickle Street, Konoha's CBD
June 29 | 1836 UTC
Temari greeted her at the door with her hair pulled up into a towel and one of her eyelids smudged with glittery eyeshadow. She welcomed her in with a brief hug. "Bit late," Temari laughed out, guiding Tenten into her living room. "We only have an hour to get you ready now."
"Sorry," Tenten said over her shoulder, depositing the one evening gown she possessed onto the black, leather couch. "I had a meeting to attend before Shikamaru gave me the night off."
The hairdryer was switched on in the bathroom, high-speed whirring sound blasting through the apartment as Tenten laid out the dress over the furniture. She could have worn Deidara's dress for the Memorial Dinner, but the designer had been adamant on adjusting it to her measurements before she could properly keep it in her possession, so she went to a small boutique after the meeting ended and bought the first dress that looked presentable enough while still fitting her comfortably. Read, comfortably enough for her to strap some weapons onto her thighs without it looking suspicious.
While she was by all technicalities off-duty, no well-trained bodyguard truly let their guard down, even if most of the Leaf's Police Department as well as Sasuke's entourage of KIA employees would be present.
Temari emerged from the bathroom with her other eye made-up and a brush running through her sandy-blonde hair. Her friend paused to survey the new garment. "It has nice patterns," she said simply, flipping her dried hair over her shoulder. Tenten agreed. It was a simple dress - strapless black bodice, white tea-length skirt with black and gold constellations embroidered into the fabric - but it rested below her clavicle nicely and allowed her to move with enough agility to fight should the need arise.
Distantly, Tenten wondered what life would be like if she didn't feel the constant need to prepare herself for a battle.
She fell into an amicable conversation with Temari as they both prepared for the Dinner, guffawing at the occasional joke and helping each other into their dresses.
"Ugh," Tenten cried out, her nose pointed towards her armpit, "Do you have any spare razors? I missed a spot in the shower."
"I might have some disposable ones in the bathroom. Hang on," Temari retrieved a disposable razor from the top shelf of her sink and threw it at Tenten, who caught it expertly. She trimmed down the accused hairs, slapping on some moisturising cream before any further damage could be done. "So, who's your date to this dinner anyway?"
All too soon, Tenten recalled Neji inviting her to be his plus-one for the Dinner, then quickly expelled all such thoughts from her mind. Furthermore, she'd been under the impression that Gaara had already notified his sister of the evening's plans, but apparently he hadn't - unless Temari was feigning ignorance. In which case, "Who's yours?"
"I don't have one," she admitted, "I'm on duty at the Dinner. Sasuke would slaughter me if I brought someone on a work night."
A fair point. She noticed Temari looking at her expectantly. Tenten tucked the last strand of her hair into a neat bun and flattened it with hairspray. The digital clock on Temari's wall beeped, 7:30. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.
Tenten silently lauded Gaara's impeccable timing as Temari ran to answer the door.
"Gaara," Tenten smiled when he stepped in, red hair in its usual disarray. "Right on time." Temari wordlessly closed the door behind her brother, dark irises taking in the scene unfolding before her with barely-concealed joy.
"Hey," he greeted her quietly. She saw his eyes land on her face before they took in her entire appearance. A slight blush formed at his cheeks. "You look nice."
He looked nice. All fitted tux and smouldering like no tomorrow. Temari walked into the room with an electric fan, turned it on and blew it at their cheeks.
"Cool down, you two. I don't want to see anything happening before the dinner. Or ever, for that matter." Tenten snatched it out of Temari's hands and glowered at the cackling female.
"Anyway," Tenten stammered, feeling the blood sting at her cheeks. She brushed down her skirt and fixed an embarrassed smile on Gaara, who smiled back. "Let's get going."
They filed into Gaara's car, after some last-minute checks in the mirror, after Temari ran upstairs in horror when she realised she hadn't locked her door yet, and revved on the engine. She sat in the front, careful not to mess up the bun. There was an artful pin laced in cobra venom running through it and she didn't want to smudge it over Gaara's car seat.
He pulled out of the driveway and locked in the address of the dinner. When they reached a traffic light, Tenten suddenly noticed him staring at her thigh. She snapped her fingers at him accusatorially.
"Smith & Wesson?"
She looked down, realising that the gun she'd attached to her thigh was currently falling to her ankle. Tenten chuckled.
"Accident," she unabashedly pulled the strap up to the middle of her thigh, aware of his eyes following her every move, before tightening it and yanking her skirt down again. "Thanks for pointing it out."
"No problem." Gaara's face was as red as his hair.
Temari rolled her eyes and extracted a different electric fan from her purse. Kami.
~Daily Horoscope!~
Better late than never.