A commotion. It was too early for all this commotion. All Tenten did was make her way to the school gates before being stopped by…what was her name again? Geez, she couldn't remember her name! It was too early to be thinking about names and dealing with loud voices.

"You skank!" The girl before her shrieked. "You made out with him in front of everyone at the party the other night!"

Tenten blinked. She didn't think the girl would have the balls to confront her in public. Damn, she really should try to remember this girl's name. She was a blonde underclassman that her friend had introduced her to and said they were dating…which by his standards meant that he just wanted someone to play with and she got too attached. Now, all this noise in the morning was attracting too much attention. The brunette let out a sigh as the girl began to sling verbal insults at her; how she knew they were dating and tried to take him from her because she was jealous, blah, blah…Tenten has heard this song and dance before. Damn, what was her name…Tenten should at least give her the decency of that before she crushed her hopes and dreams.

"You've been mistaken, babes." The brunette upperclassmen stated finally, deciding to give up on trying to recall the poor girl's name.

The girl looked at Tenten expectantly. Eyes were watching them at the gates and in the school courtyard.

"He decided to share some woes with me about how boring you've been." Tenten projected her voice. "You've been quite selfish according to my friend. All the nagging and complaining. It's no wonder he grew tired of you."

Tears began to glaze over the underclassmen's eyes. She gave a small whimper as she looked at Tenten.

"Sure, we got a little caught up in the moment," Tenten shrugged. "But he was bound to leave you anyway."

The girl let out a whale of anger at her statement. How dare she make out with her boyfriend and suggest that she was going to be dumped anyway. There was no way she was going to believe that! Especially since Tenten was known around the school for being a homewrecker and a flat out delinquent. The fact that she was still allowed to be in the academy was beyond her. Tenten pondered at the thought. It was true, she was surprised as well that she was still allowed to attend Konoha Academy.

"What is with all this noise?"

The girls looked over to the voice. He was tall, had black hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. His ears were pierced and he held a cigarette between his fingers as he approached them.

"Shikamaru," Tenten hummed. "Your most recent toy has grown quite the pair of balls to confront me before the first period of the day. I haven't even reached my locker yet."

Shikamaru let out a groan and slung his arm around Tenten's shoulders. He locked eyes with the underclassmen.

"Causing a commotion is such a drag. We are so finished." He said. "Actually, we were never together like that to begin with."

A gasp escaped the girl's lips as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. Without a second thought, Shikamaru turned Tenten to the academy doors and led her into the hallways. Eyes were still on them as they had left the girl in the middle of the courtyard in her feelings. Once they reached Tenten's locker, she pulled out her red lipstick and began to touch up her makeup.

"You know, I can't keep bailing you out of your shitty relationship situations, Shikamaru." She said looking at the mirror inside of her locker.

"Yeah, I know." He replied with a yawn. "Once you graduate I'm on my own."

Tenten hummed and twisted her lipstick tube closed. Capping it, she sprayed herself with her favorite tropical body spray and looked over at her friend. Shikamaru was leaning against the lockers, watching as other students walked by whispering to each other; occasionally glancing their way. There could be many topics of conversation going on. Shikamaru knew Tenten would wear very…interesting outfits to school. Her sense of high fashion was very apparent, and her peers didn't seem to have the guts to express themselves the way she did through her wardrobe. Today, she was sporting a fitted white crop with a chopped off red hoodie. Her midsection was exposed, her dangling silver bellybutton ring had mini bells attached to it and lightly jingled when she walked. She had on red cargo pants that matched the cropped hoodie with various buckles and belts layered on top of each other. She wore platform sneakers in red as well. Her hair was twisted in her two signature buns on either side of her head, a hairstyle that she has sported since as long as Shikamaru could remember.

"Why didn't you have Ino help you with this situation? I'm sure she would've been more abrasive and gone up to her for you during the party." Tenten continued as she adjusted her bangs with a brush.

"Nah, Ino would've made it too hot." Shikamaru groaned. "She tends to blow things up too quickly, you know that."

"It's not much better than you and I having a fake-out-make-out in front of the girl…what was her name again?"

"Doesn't matter now." Shikamaru mused and kicked himself off of the lockers. "And I enjoy our fake-out-make-outs."

Tenten rolled her eyes and closed the door to her locker. "Just stop with the bullshit when I graduate please. I can't clean up your mess while I'm at university."

"You'll be making a mess of your own." He shot back in jest as he followed her down the hallway.

"Exactly." She offered a cheeky grin.

They stopped before a door in the Health and Science corridor. The bell was about to ring any second now. Shikamaru glanced past Tenten's figure to see who was already in the early morning class. A boy with long hair sat in a corner seat at the back of the room. His hair was long and he was well dressed. Shikamaru recognized him immediately.

"How's having class with Hyuga Neji?"

Tenten shrugged. She didn't interact with him; he just loomed in the back of the room and didn't speak to anyone really. She sat in front of him and would look her way when she entered the room and when she sat down, he would say nothing. Sometimes she'd catch an eyeroll or hear a huff. But that didn't bother her at all.

"Based on his boring posh style, he's definitely got a stick up his ass." Tenten sighed. "I've had no reason to talk to his rich boy ass. Nor do I think I want to."

Shikamaru hummed and nodded at her response. This guy was in mode of his Advanced Placement classes and didn't interact much with crowds. Not that he blamed him; if he didn't have any reason to interact, why should he? He knew a bunch about the Hyuga family having his own family have business ties with them. He's never really brought himself to speak to this Hyuga at functions.

"You have class with this chick next period right?" Tenten asked suddenly as she waved at some students passing by who passed a greeting to her.

Shikamaru sighed. Indeed, he did. "A total drag. She's going to be trying to speak to me in class."

Tenten chuckled and reached for his face. Cupping his cheeks, she planted a forceful kiss on his mouth, leaving a very bright red lipstick stain. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Tormenting the girl won't do you any good, Tenten."

"But it sure is entertaining, babes." She grinned. "See you later?"

"Do you have practice today?" he asked. "I can wait for you."

"Yes, but don't let me stop you from chasing tail after school, babes." she winked at him. "Love you."

Shikamaru smirked at her response before watching her enter the classroom and take her seat in front of the Hyuga boy. He hummed in curiosity as he noticed that when his friend entered the room, the Hyuga did look up at her. His face was stoic, however he saw his eyes travel up and down her body, Tenten didn't even bother to offer a greeting of any kind. She just sat down and kept her back towards him.

Color of the day is red, Neji thought to himself as he watched her enter the room. This girl has been sitting in front of him all semester, and her outfits had become more and more ridiculous as the weather began to warm up slightly. Even when it was snowing out, her whale-tail would be hoisted above her hips and sometimes even decorated with bedazzled charms. She would sport waist beads, layers of belts and chains. Even if the heat wasn't on, her mid-drift was showing on multiple occasions that presented her belly button ring. Her simplest of outfits consisted of an oversized hoodie and shorts that were so short, you could barely see them under the hoodie. That girl had double pierced her nose and had those audacious cheek piercings that he sure hurt when she got them, he could only imagine any other places where she might have piercings. And everytime she would walk into the room, there were eyes on her. Most of the other guys in this senior health class had attempted to get her attention at various points of the semester. She'd brush them off, or even flirt back depending on her mood. Neji noticed that she always had some kind of scent on her. He inhaled, his chest expanding. Color of the day is red…and she smells of coconuts. They never interacted before. He would see her around the school grounds, usually in some kind of argument, or petty fist-fight with whoever stepped up to her. Rumor has it, she was a ball at parties and loved to be a homewrecker. She'd go after any guy…or girl of someone she didn't like just to stir up some trouble. What a nuisance, she has no class…he huffed. She would also always arrive to class with someone…that kid looked familiar to him. Neji was sure he was in some of his advanced placement classes, however he kept to himself.

Since the beginning of the semester, Neji had only one interaction with her. It was nonverbal, however it was when their health teacher had passed around copies of a survey for them to take. She had twisted herself in her seat and looked at him with a slight frown. Neji didn't bother thanking her for passing the paper and just plucked it from her fingers. He remembered that she had paused at him, probably deciding if she should say something at his rude gesture, however she brushed it off and turned her back to him; staying like that for the rest of the semester. Not that he wanted her to talk to him. He found it interesting that she of all people-loud, trouble-making, eccentric, socialite-would ignore him at all. Neji was used to people coming up to him to try and get to know him. He knew this was only because he was from the Hyuga family, one of the richest families in Konoha City. Any interactions towards him were seen as just a ploy to use him for his connections or his money. Who wouldn't want a rich friend? Neji was smart enough to see through the facade, and he kept everyone at arm's length.

Brrrinnngg

The bell rang and soon more students began to shuffle into the class. Their senior health teacher was a former olympian who was injured during a competition. He coached various sports teams and helped out with fundraising for the school. The teacher was a bushy browed, bowl cut monster of a man with insane muscle tone and can-do over the top attitude. The students were usually hesitant to ask any questions, for it would trigger a prolonged monologue with dramatic side commentary. At least it gave the class some entertainment. The students who were on the sports teams he coached were deemed to be very highly valued in his classes, for he valued hard work and good grades over anything. Maito Gai was in charge of the seniors and the freshmen…those poor freshmen. The seniors in the class all recalled when they first interacted with him. Over the years, they just got used to his antics.

"Okay, my amazing senior class," Gai greeted his students with gusto. "It is time for your mid semester projects!"

The class let out an audible groan. Usually when Gai had projects for them, it forced them to have some kind of partner or group. They had to do it for their freshmen year health projects and they were all hoping to avoid a project all together now that they were seniors. Most upperclassmen had some big exams or had to write a paper on certain topics or over all a summative assessment that weighed heavily on their report card.

"Before we dive head first into this amazing one-of-a-kind project," the bushy-browed teacher pulled out a stack of papers. "You must first take this survey."

The class hummed curiously. Usually, Gai's surveys were more about their personal health habits and he used them to offer advice on positive changes they could make depending on what unit they were studying at the time. Having a survey for a project was very peculiar. The former Olympian explained that this was a survey he had received form Professor Kurenai, who taught advanced placement psychology at Konoha Academy. This survey was to be answered with the utmost honesty in order to find a good match for this project. Before he could explain what the project was, he needed to see who would be matched together.

"There are twenty six of you seniors in this class," he hummed as he looked around. "Each person will have one partner. Remember to be completely honest when answering these questions. I will never judge you based on your answers. Furthermore, I will not be telling how I will be determining the pairings…or what exactly I am looking for to keep is fair."

Tenten let out an aggravated groan. She could be paired with any of these damn losers in this class. Glancing around, she pursed her lips together and glared at the smart board behind her teacher. This fucking sucks, she thought. Not that she wanted a partner to begin with, she would much rather work on projects on her own. There was no one else in this class she wanted to even sit next to, now she had to interact with someone who she probably wouldn't even get along with. Plus, I'd end up doing all of the work anyway. The bunhead reluctantly took a survey from the person sitting in front of her. She twisted her body around, scanning the first question, to hand back the paper to the Hyuga sitting behind her. Once she felt his grip on the paper, she let go and adjusted herself at her desk.

Question one: How independent would you consider yourself when it comes to routines and assignments?

Tenten hummed and circled "very independent". She was able to keep a schedule and was able to follow a to-do list if she really had to. Prioritizing her work was easy for her and everything else came afterwards.

Question two: How would you describe your outlook on life?

The options for this question were very interesting. Tenten was almost certain that Professor Kurenai was going to use this information to psycho-analyze them during their next class. There was no way this collaboration was just for fun. Tenten circled the word "realistic". She was a bit hesitant to circle the word "pessimistic" due to the fact that "realistic" could fall under being a pessimist depending on who was asked. She didn't have her head in the clouds enough to be an "optimist", that would be too delusional to always be looking on the bright side.

Question three: Which adjective(s) best describes your social-personality?

The bunhead looked over the choices given. She could say she was outgoing. But there were times where she was fully comfortable with being by herself and just holding space for her thoughts. She could also say she was ambitious; she had big plans for herself in university and intended to keep herself on the right track. Tenten had already networked herself with some companies using her parent's influence in the industry to get a step ahead. There was a space for them to add their own adjective, to where she wrote the word "observant". She was able to find little details and pick up on the small things when it comes to other people. This is probably why she is very detail oriented with herself and how she presents herself.

Question four: Do you make decisions based on logic or your values?

Tenten hummed. It depended on the decision being made. She was very logical as a person, however, she did have a very strong moral compass as well. She circled "values" since she technically did make decisions based on what she felt was right and aligned with what she believed in.

Question five: What is your relationship with your family like?

The bunhead circled "close". Her parents and her brother were a very tight knit family and did everything for each other. She was very secure in knowing her family had her back with whatever decisions or shenanigans she got in. Her parents surely had a lot of patience and understanding when it came to her. She knew she wasn't the easiest person to be around, but they tried their best to support her, even when they didn't agree, they would tell her why instead of just hitting her with a tight "no because I say so" situation. That's also probably why they were so successful in their own careers.

Question six: Do you prioritize being sensitive over being completely honest?

Sucking her teeth, Tenten twirled her pen in between her fingers. These questions were starting to make her brain tingle; she loved that. Tenten was a pretty straight up person, but she knew when to say things and how to say them while getting her point across. Circling both, because she had empathy and wasn't a fucking socio-path, she looked at the next question.

Question seven: Do you favor efficiency in decisions, even if it means disregarding some emotional aspects?

Oh, this was a great question. If the term "push it down" didn't mean anything to her she wouldn't be as productive as she was today. Crying over things was not ehr style and showed weakness in her eyes. Sometimes, you have to push down your feelings in order to see results. She circled "yes".

Question eight: Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?

Dumb question. Her pen automatically circled "alone".

Question nine: What is your biggest fear?

The bunhead's eyebrows furrowed. This was one of those questions you would see in those trashy teen magazines for a fake personality test or for a slumber party activity. But there were no given answers, just a line for her to fill in a sentence. Scribbling down her answer, she leaned back in her seat as she looked at the last question.

Question ten: What is your purpose in life?

Another question that made her brain tingle. She wished she would've been able to get into Professor Kurenai's class if it hadn't filled up so quickly at the beginning of the semester. This question was so subjective that it could be justified by any means. Tenten sighed as she scribbled down her answer and flipped her paper over. Her eyes looked about the room; her classmates were still pondering their questions. After about fifteen minutes, Gai allowed for the students who finished their surveys to hand them in and leave early. Tenten walked over and dropped her survey into the tray, receiving a bright smile from her teacher before walking out into the hallway. She stopped by her locker to grab some books for her next class.

"Man, I'm sure that class is doing a bunch of cool deep dives into their minds and stuff…" she groaned. "I wish I was in that class! They must be having fun…"

"You want to be in a class that is purely subjective and full of theories by Victorian coke-addicts?"

Tenten jumped at the voice. The voice was deep yet bright and was dripping with doubt. She peered through the mirror she kept in her locker. The Hyuga who sat behind her had his back to her, his head in his own locker. Turning herself to him, she leaned against the metal lockers. His hair was long and looked silky. It reached his mid-back and was tied in a low ponytail. Was he really talking to her?

"Yes," Tenten shot back. "That survey was convincing enough for me to want to be in that subjective class full of theories by Victorian coke-addicts."

Neji turned to face her fully. His face remained stoic as he, too, leaned against his locker. His eyes looked onto hers and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't take a street mongrel like you to be interested in such things…let alone how you ended up in so many advanced placement classes. Screwed the department heads?"

Her eyebrow twitched. She was used to being called anything related to a street-rat, but to insinuate that she lacked any form of intelligence was incredibly rude and off putting. Lifting her chin, she glared at the Hyuga.

"I earned my spot in these classes just as you have." Tenten hissed. "Your assumptions lack any knowledge of my academics. Refrain from insulting me further."

Neji sucked his teeth. "They say those with loud mouths and lack of control are low on the intelligence end."

What a fucking asshole. She bared her teeth, "And they say those with calm and quiet demeanor are usually shy and kind. You are neither."

Neji's eyebrow twitched. He was used to girls fawning over him, however this was no average girl. In fact, he wasn't sure what to expect when interacting with Konoha Academy's top delinquent. It was true, she was in some of his other advanced placement classes. Not many, but that could be because she usually spent her time in the courtyard with her friends or at the field for track practice. She was on the boy's varsity track team, as he was on the boy's varsity track team. He has heard of her and seen her antics first hand. Just as the commotion this morning with that girl.

"Those misconceptions are for the simple-minded," he replied. "Such as yourself."

Tenten took a deep breath. "You know, I think I see why you have no friends, or no one approaches you unless they want to suck your dick for something. You're an absolute prick who's dressed as a wanna-be posh CEO. Took dressing for the job you want too seriously?"

Neji's knuckles tightened around his bicep. He was in quite expensive clothes; luxury slacks that were perfectly tailored to him. His loafers were made of real leather, polished and hand crafted. His top was an oversized t-shirt that was three-quarter sleeved and frenched tucked into his pants. Wanna-be posh? His eyebrows laid low on his face.

"Maybe you can learn something from how I dress. You seem to be lacking any kind of fabric and like to parade yourself with your thong on full display." He mocked. "Everyday, we can all see the color of your underwear. Do not speak of fashion when you have such a trashy sense of it. Or perhaps being street trash is the job you wish to have?"

Tenten's cheeks puffed up. She felt her face get hot. Oh, this mother fucker has no idea, does he?! Kicking off her locker, she stomped over to him and grabbed him by the collar. Neji's eyes went wide. No one dared to step to him in such a way. He presented himself so well as someone to not be messed with; his intimidation aura was very heavy to others. But not to her, it seemed. She was so close to his face that all he saw was her hazel eyes and the smell of coconuts filled his nose.

"Don't you fucking dare think you have the right to tell me what I can and can't wear. You wouldn't know fashion if it hit you in the nuts, Hyuga." she growled. "That's fighting words for someone whose daughter is from the Hua fashion company!"

Neji's lips fell slightly ajar at this. He knew of the Hua fashion company through business meetings with his uncle. They had stocks in the company since it had gained popularity overseas and has a large domestic following. The company specialized in nostalgic and international fashion; and this was the heiress to the company…sizing him up at school. All this time one of his family's most difficult clients was right in front of his face. His uncle would struggle to get in touch with the Hua company; always plotting ways to get them to work with them, and get on their good side. Just by a small miracle, the company agreed to begin negotiations for a partnership. However, there was no predicting how well it would work out. Here is the key to securing my spot next to my uncle, and she's a fucking menace to society… Steading himself, he gently yet firmly grabbed her wrists and removed her hands from his collar. He couldn't believe that she was the next in line for the Hua fashion company. He didn't know much about the company to be honest, but he needed to prepare himself to handle all of his uncle's responsibilities when he graduated…but not if he had to work with this girl.

"Hua fashion company, huh? And yet you chose to dress as if you have no fashion sense." he mocked. "May we never have to work together in the future."

Tenten gave an angry grunt, yanked her hands from his and made strides back to her locker across the hall. Slamming it shut, she flipped him off.

"May we never have to work together at all, you fucking asshole!"

Neji watched as she stormed down the hallway towards the school cafe. Releasing a beath he didn't know he was holding, his hand traced his collar. Never in his life had he had someone step up to him in such a way. He was always someone nobody messed with. And yet, she nearly beat his face in a moment and he did nothing to stop it. How would he have stopped it? It wasn't like he could've put his hands on her. He was sure he could beat her in a fight…at the risk of his reputation. Word would spread quickly and he would be doomed if word got back to his uncle. He shouldn't have opened his mouth in the first place, but he couldn't help himself after hearing that absurd proclamation from her. Wiping his hands on his slacks, he adjusted his books and closed his own locker.