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[syao]

It’s almost Hearts Day, so what the heck, mindless NejiTen fluff.

Pairing: Neji x Tenten | Read Time: 6 mins

“If you’re on a first date, where would you bring her?”

Hyuuga Neji briefly looked up from the mission report he had been working on, wanting to confirm that the person asking the question was really Konoha’s weapon mistress and his teammate of ten years, Tenten.

Receiving a visual confirmation, he proceeded to return to his interrupted work. “Wherever she wants to go.”

A distinct groan came from her direction, followed by slow pencil scratches on the paper. He then sensed her pause, as if she was soundlessly going over what she had written. She must have been dissatisfied, based on the furious sound of her rubber eraser that followed.

“That’s what a longtime married husband will say.”

“But doesn’t dating lead to marriage anyway?” He had taken his parents’ counsel into his heart that he would only ask a woman out if he knew she was someone he could introduce to his clan the following day.

To which the kunoichi burst out laughing. “Oh, Neji,” she sighed while wiping an imaginary tear in her eye. “You really are the purest thing in the world.”

He let her teasing go. As he has always had. “That is my answer, though— my only one. And why are you asking something like this all of a sudden anyway?”

“It’s a task from Tsunade-sama,” explained Tenten, playing nimbly with the pencil. “We seriously need more shinobi missions so she thought we’ll advertise our services with a lighthearted article on our hottest bachelors who happen to also be working as a nin.”

“Hottest… bachelors…”

“Yep. Uchiha Sasuke’s in it of course, or the village riots. Then there’s Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee, Chouji…” she rattled off, eyes dancing in mirth. He couldn’t tell if she was truly into the idea because her personal goddess and idol decreed it, or if she was just entertained at the thought of her male colleagues being paraded before thirsty audiences.

“...and of course, there’s you,” she continued, winking at him. “I’m in charge of writing yours and Lee’s profiles, and thankfully his answers aren’t as boring as yours.”

His brows furrowed. “I’m not changing my answer, Tenten.”

She looked like she expected to hear that. With a resigned smile, Tenten picked up her pencil and poised it to write. “Well, can you tell me why you answered that, at least? Just so it won’t come across in the article as too cold and uninterested… even if that’s sort of what you’re going for here, I think.”

“It’s because I want us to go to a place that makes her happy,” he explained matter-of-factly. “Her being happy makes me happy, too.”

She tapped her chin. “Well, that kinda makes sense. Not all women like candlelit dinners… I mean, I don’t.”

“I know. A weapon museum or a visit to a renowned smither might be more up your speed.”

“I feel you’re making fun of my weapon geekery, but that... actually sounds like a really cool, fun date.” Realizing her laughably sincere undertone, she coughed self-consciously. “M-Moving on. So… Neji?”

He let out a deep sigh. “It’s not just one question?”

“It’s an article, Neji, not an Instagram caption. Anyway...” She picked up her clipboard and read the next question aloud. “How would you dress up to impress the girl you like?”

“I am thoroughly confused as to how this will sell our skills as a shinobi…”

“Tsunade-sama is selling you guys as a complete package. Saving the world while looking wicked good, and all that jazz. Now, your answer, please?”

He frowned thoughtfully. “I honestly do not know. I feel that I can offer more than my understanding of what fashion is on trend, and that what I do have will better stand the test of time—” his words trailed off when he saw the growing Cheshire cat-like smile on the kunoichi’s face. “I said something boring again, didn’t I?”

“Ah no, not at all. But I think you should seriously consider part-timing as a Q&A writer in the beauty pageant circuit.”

“That is my only—”

“Yes, yes. That is your only answer and you won’t change it, that’s why— see? I’m jotting everything down, Neji!” She flashed her scribbles to his face. He couldn’t help but notice numerous smileys on some of his responses, along with her annotations like ‘too pure!’ and ‘must protect’.

“Indulge me then,” he said as he nudged the notepad away from his face. “How would you like your date to dress up for you?”

“Hmm.” She shut her eyes momentarily, busily putting together an image of her mystery date that would spark joy in her. “I always see guys in traditional attire and dirty combat clothing, so maybe something immaculately crisp, and clean, and pressed, and tailored like a suit would be nice. Something black, maybe? I don’t know much about fashion either, but I’m pretty sure black will never go out of style. Plus they hide sweat marks.”

He tapped his finger on her transcript. “Maybe you can put that in instead. Would that be something your readers will be able to relate more with?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Nah. We have to accurately represent you, lest they’ll be disappointed that you’re actually a boring old man stuck in a beautiful eighteen-year-old man’s body.”

“Beautiful, huh?”

“That’s what everyone says,” she quickly clarified. “A-And well, they aren’t exactly wrong, you know.” She knew and had acknowledged since childhood that Neji was blessed with striking looks that men and women would both envy, so why was it so hard for her to compliment him as friends naturally would?

“Good enough.” He did look utterly satisfied by her response, in any case. She let out another cough to jolt her focus back into her interview.

Neji frowned. “You should really have that checked. You’ve been coughing quite a lot this morning.”

“I’M. FINE.”

“As you say.”

“Here’s the last question.” Tenten was relieved that her first-ever non-combat investigation/interrogation is finally coming to an end.

“Please.” He looked at her earnestly and with unadulterated attentiveness, even with the full knowledge that he was participating in something he would typically never give a modicum of his time any other day.

And there it was again— the feeling of embarrassed, even shy awkwardness welling within her once more.

It wasn’t him at fault, of course— Neji was just being the usual Neji. It was her and her ridiculous, assumptive, and overactive imagination that was making the exchange more awkwardly embarrassing than it should be.

She vigorously shook her head. “What is… your ideal girl like?”

He seemed to hesitate, which surprised her because he had always been comfortable enough with her to share his rarely-seen, most candid thoughts.

Despite herself, her body leaned in closer, breath bated in anticipation for an answer she never knew she was dying to know till that moment.

Then he finally spoke.

“You.”

Her forehead creased. “M-Me?” she asked, slowly pointing a finger at herself

He nodded.

“OH! Well, let’s see… the interview is about you, Neji, but as for me, my ideal woman is—” She paused. That doesn’t make sense, does it?

Neji looked unimpressed by her utter lack of wits.

Her heart was starting to race so fast that her mind barely registered the sound of her pad and pencil dropping to the floor. She smiled nervously, willing herself not to think of a prospect that might turn out to be nothing but a grossly embarrassing misunderstanding.

“I-I see. S-So you mean, s-someone *l-like* me, right?” she managed to ask amidst her rattled stammering. “Outdoorsy, geeky, failure of all things domestic…”

He rose from his seat and walked towards her station. “You misunderstand.”

Oh, shoot. Of course, I did. Her heart sank, willing the floor to swallow her whole right now.

Neji stopped in front of her, knelt down to collect her things, then gently returned them to her trembling hands.

“My ideal woman,” he spoke tenderly yet resolutely, “is you, Tenten. Not someone like you, but you specifically. And no one else comes close.”

Eh? 

Her mind, usually a dizzying uninterruptible hurricane of cracks and banter, froze. Then Neji’s words started to echo in her mind— over and over pounding it into her brain, which at that moment was still stuck in self-preserving, in-denial defense mode.

That was when she felt his palm rest on top of her head. He brushed her hair calmingly, almost apologetically. 

“I am not asking for a reply because this isn’t a confession,” he said gently. “You asked a question, and I simply answered it. Nothing has to change.”

“B-But Neji…”

He continued to speak. “What I feel for you is my business, not yours. Do not concern yourself over it.”

With that, he withdrew his hand and stepped back to retrieve his things. His face was mellower than usual: apparent even with the long, dark, soft curtain draping over his side profile.

“Thank you for your hard work. Take care on your way home, Tenten.” He gave her a small, courteous bow before walking past her.

Neji was long gone before the kunoichi could trust herself to speak again.

“How do you expect me to print this now, stupid Neji,” she groaned exasperatedly while looking at her teammate’s now-empty work desk.

.

.

.

In the end, Tenten did decide to run his profile. And despite not topping the list (it was the Uchiha, of course, or the village riots), the Hyuuga’s piece was truly a hit among the readers.

The man himself, though, was still questioning how exactly the piece demonstrates his competence, and more importantly, his dignity as a Jounin-ranked shinobi.

…………………………………………..

TOP 10 KONOHA’S HOTTEST SHINOBI YOU CAN HIRE RIGHT NOW

#2 Hyuuga Neji

Age: 18

Birthday: July 3

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Height: 172 cm

Weight: 54.2 kg

Where he will take his date: Wherever she decides to go. (Ex. Weapon museums, weaponsmiths, weapon shops, weapon exhibitions)

His fashion to impress girls: Dark clothes that hide sweat marks.

His ideal girl: You. Not someone like you, but you specifically. And no one else comes close. [sic]

…………………………………………..

As the article grew more viral, a huge influx of mission requests specifying the Hyuuga flooded the Hokage’s office. The Jounin became the poster boy of “youthful fire and burning passionate love”, as Maito Gai and Rock Lee so eloquently put it on the Bachelor Neji fan shirts they were selling to the masses.

However, the benevolent Tsunade-sama tabled all these for an internal priority mission.

Accompanying a certain kunoichi to the newest weapon museum in the nearby village— wearing a crisp, dark tailored suit, of course.

THE END

[syao]

Natsukashii

Pairing: Neji x Tenten Read Time: 23 mins. A/N: I turn a year older this week, so I thought I'd celebrate with my favorite Naruto couple set in a similar but much happier universe. I blame old age for my mushy escapism. :D

"Three… four…" Hyuuga Neji paused slightly when he heard a sound that seemed off from the expected flutter of wings. It was a sound of bouncy, light footsteps—a child's, he decided—approaching him at three o'clock position.

Soon enough, he heard a high-pitched "Uncle Nejiiiii!" shatter the forest's stillness, sending the frightened flock of birds away.

He let out a sigh before fixing the sternest expression he could muster. It was a role only he in the whole Hyuuga clan could play convincingly: that of an unimpressed, unflappable bad cop to the good cops that were the rest of his relatives.

"Himawari-sama, what did I tell you about heading to the forest on your own?" he rattled off before his ever-sunny niece could leap into his arms.

She freely did so anyway, and pounced on him like a kitten wrestling its favorite toy on the ground. He had no choice but to drop his walking cane just so he could cushion her tiny body with both hands.

(But for the record, the suspicious twitching on his mouth absolutely did NOT mean that he approved of this rambunctious, unladylike behavior.)

"Well, Himawari-sama?" he pressed, not willing to let her off easily.

"Um… to never, ever do it until I graduate from the Academy?" She looked up at him, eyes wide in innocence.

"That is correct." He coolly eyed her up and down— the miniature mishmash of genes of Konoha's most powerful and most elite. "And that is set to happen only five years from now. So, pray tell, why are you here in the forest on your own?" He could not sense the aura of either of the child's parents nearby.

"The twin bun lady!" cried his little niece breathlessly, cheeks flushed. "Uncle Neji, the twin bun lady in the picture came back!"

The picture Himawari was referring to was that of Team Gai during their genin days. Maito Gai beaming at the camera while proudly clasping both of his boys on each shoulder. Rock Lee reluctantly taking a break from his daily 25-kilometer warm-up run long enough to get a photo with his beloved team. Him looking at the photographer with an expression that says, "Get this over quickly. I have an unfettered sighting of your most critical chakra points, you know."

And the only rose among the thorns. But boy, was it a thorny rose. The bright and high-spirited Tenten, both hands pumped, as she gave a gaping, open-mouthed smile for the camera, uncaring of the photographer's pleading to 'act like a girl more'.

He recalled how Tenten's almond brown eyes flared up when she first heard the photographer's appeal for more feminine restraint.

"You're a guy! Why would you know more about how to act like a girl than I do?! Now watch me do a wrestler victory pose! Harrrr!"

And he, who till that moment had rarely taken an interest of other people outside his clan, couldn't help but silently follow the exchange. Until that moment, all the girls he knew bowed their heads and smiled and followed whatever the adults tell them to do.

But not this girl.

And as years passed, he would come to learn that she was actually different from most other people, too— men and women alike, as she would forcefully insist whenever less-discerning folks would try to look down on her elite shinobi skills.

It had been two decades since that picture was taken. And until now, it was the only photo decorating his spartan-like room. It was probably for that same reason that his little niece had taken a world of interest at the spunky girl who seemed to not be much older than her in that picture.

"She looks strong! Is she really strong, Uncle Neji?"

"No one in Konoha can beat her long-range precision," he would honestly answer. "And no one can surpass her knowledge of weaponry and tools."

"Is she brave, Uncle Neji?"

"Extraordinarily so."

"She has twin buns for her hair, too! So cute! Don't you think so, too, Uncle Neji?"

"I… y-yes."

"Then you should marry her— oh no, Uncle Neji! Why did you blow hot tea out of your nose? Grandpa, Grandpa! Look at the neat trick Uncle Neji showed me! Nose fountains!"

Himawari's palm waved up and down his face, sparing him from a further embarrassing walk down the memory lane. "So… let's go see her?"

"H-Huh?"

"The twin bun lady. Let's go see her!" She effortlessly untangled herself from his hold, handed him back his cane, and proceeded to pull his hand towards the direction of the forest edge.

Like a puppy sheepishly trailing its owner, he clumsily followed her lead. "Are you certain it is her? She hasn't been in town for many years."

The little girl let out a distinct sigh of impatience not many would try with the great Hyuuga prodigy. "I know what I saw, Uncle Neji! Mama and I were bringing Papa's lunch to the office when we saw her chatting with Papa and Uncle Shikamaru." Her free hand grabbed the protruding upper tuft of her hair into a makeshift pigtail. "Her brown hair's on braided twin buns. She was wearing tassel earrings and a long, pretty white dress…"

Against his better judgment, he found himself greedily taking in the descriptions as his mind weaved together an image of his niece's alleged twin buns lady.

"...and she was talking about the weapons on the table so happily!"

Bingo. It was her. He didn't know anyone else who had the capacity to talk about weaponry with the pride and affection a mother held for her firstborn.

"What was her name again?" Little wrinkles of concentration formed on the child's face. "Mama already said it when she greeted her. It's like a repeated syllable, um…"

"Tenten. Her name is Tenten," he finally answered, to the little girl's delight.

"Yes, yes, Tenten! That's twin bun lady!"

"I may have ruined things for us forever, but doing this… don't you think this is a bit too much, Neji? Don't you think this is a bit too cruel?"

The memory of her words halted him in his tracks, startling Himawari who until then found ease in making her grown uncle do as she pleased. She turned to him, puzzled. "What's wrong, Uncle Neji? Is your back bothering you again?"

"I… should probably greet her tomorrow instead," he finished lamely, avoiding her curious gaze. "I do need to rest as well."

Himawari looked slightly disappointed, but her concern for her favorite uncle won over. "Okay. I'll walk you home, Uncle Neji." She marched by his side, as if guarding his unreliable hips from giving out beneath him.

"Thank you, Himawari. We'll come see her tomorrow instead." Neji made a mental note to give Rock Lee a ring so he and his son could accompany them. He knew the father-and-son' tandem's outrageously high-level energy would make things less awkward for him and his former teammate.

"I'm sure Tenten must be in bed right now and resting, too."

"Yep, with him."

His neck whipped hard towards his niece. "HIM?! Him, who?!"

"Oh, you know. The short man with black hair that makes him look like whole garlic head? Wears red glasses? He was with her when she paid Papa a visit and they're going to stay together in her old apartment…" Himawari's voice trailed off when she saw her uncle frown worriedly, as if not liking what he just heard. "What's wrong, Uncle Neji?"

"It's nothing." But her uncle was wearing a rare troubled look on his handsome face. "If you will excuse me, Himawari-sama. I need to speak to your father."

Wow, I guess Uncle's injuries aren't bothering him as much as before, thought the little girl as she watched her uncle briskly make his way towards the village center.

Read the rest on ff.n

[syao]

His Bridal Candidate

Pairing: Neji x Tenten | Read Time: 12 minutes A/N: It’s July once again, so here’s my unsolicited contribution to the fandom.

A couple of high kicks. A five-second barrage of shuriken from the treetop. Hyuuga Neji efficiently evaded them all, even when Tenten’s exploding kunai swooshed cleanly around both of his feet, limiting the space where he could move.

But the Hyuuga’s footwork was nothing but impeccable; he skillfully navigated what little space her tools allowed him, successfully deploying his fearsome kaiten.

“WHOA! I didn’t know you can even make a kaiten as small as that!” Rock Lee’s dropped jaw mirrored her own amazement at the sight.

The resulting spinning barricade was smaller, narrower, and tighter, making it more dense and almost impenetrable. But at the same time, a movement like that would leave the spinner vulnerable to a particularly nasty case of head whiplash, dizziness, or nausea.

She knew Hyuuga Neji was aware of these risks, too. Yet he did it anyway— he trusted his prodigious abilities that much to keep these from happening. To be fair, she had an equal amount of confidence in his skills, too… if not more. He was, after all, the once-in-a-lifetime genius of the village’s most powerful clan.

And more importantly, having been his constant sparring mate since their genin days, she herself had seen, measured, and validated his strength. Hyuuga Neji was not a shinobi to be trifled with.

Once, Lee had joked that she was like Neji’s very own protective manager, doting mother, tough trainer, and raving fangirl all rolled into one. To which Neji, in one of his rare efforts to participate in idle chatter, quietly replied:

“I don’t mind.”

Three simple words. But they made her heart swell up in happiness all the same. His statement was a tacit approval of her presence in his life. 

The guy, who she thought was only forced into the circumstances of becoming their teammate, had finally acknowledged her willingly.

Since then, she had worked harder at training and improving her abilities. She was determined not to be left behind by a man that she sensed would become one of the village’s strongest soldiers in history. It might be all a fool’s errand in the end, but...

… I won’t stop trying anyway. 

Her hands reached for rolls of strings from her kunai holster. She kept her eyes glued to the kaiten, trying to find its weakest spot, while silently gathering her chakra around her fingertips. The blue aura radiated as they made their way to the strings she held, infusing them with power.

As soon as she found what she was searching for, she acted immediately. Her feet left the relatively secured haven among the treetops so she could enter the close combat zone. 

Truthfully, she didn’t particularly relish the idea of giving up her favorite advantageous spot, but the smaller hit area that the unusually small kaiten afforded her meant a greater opportunity for her to hit Neji in all the wrong places.

“Lee, engage!” she commanded, sending her other teammate into motion. Rock Lee’s infamous speedy reflexes challenged the spinning wall of air and appendages, giving the kunoichi enough leeway to enact her plans.

Using her chakra strings, she looped Neji’s upper and lower joints so she could seize control of his rotating limbs. Had it not been a sparring session, the next logical move was to pull the strings back as tightly as she could to forcibly stop the man on his tracks. However, knowing that the abrupt movement would send his inertia and internal ear fluids into overdrive, she opted to run alongside him instead and gradually bring him to a stop.

Well, the plan sounded good theoretically. But after several spins, Tenten, who wasn’t accustomed to the continuously rotating movements, was starting to feel lightheaded. At her next turn, she staggered and lost her balance, tipping over to her side.

“Tenten!” Lee caught her in time, cushioning her from what would have been a smarting hard fall on the grassy ground.

“T-Thanks,” she managed to stammer, looking sideways gratefully at her ever-reliable bowl-haired teammate.

“No problem!” Lee replied with a grin, and then looked up. “Right, Neji?”

“N-Neji?” she echoed weakly, following the direction of his gaze. She was surprised to see the Hyuuga standing before her, one hand encircled firmly around her wrist.

He… tried to help me, too?

But before she could thank him properly, Neji abruptly released his hold on her. “You should run a wider circle around me next time,” he advised coolly. “But you were too conscious of hurting your opponent… that led to your fall.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled while massaging her wrist. The world still seemed to be spinning, but thankfully, not as much as it was minutes ago. “Are you okay, Neji? You did stop just as suddenly.”

The long-haired male let out what suspiciously sounded like a huff, as if castigating her for even daring to consider that such a trivial move could incapacitate someone like him.

“My bad.” She grinned back at him, relieved that they were all able to push their respective envelopes without hurting themselves in the process.

Lee clapped his hands together. “Right, right! It’s almost sundown anyway, so why don’t we troop over to a grilled barbecue restaurant and enjoy a platter of yummy skewers? Let’s build that protein for our muscles!”

“I’m not coming. I have to head home”

“EHHH?” Her pure-hearted, spandex-wearing teammate did little to conceal his disappointment. “But whyyyy?! Surely, a great man like you should be able to assert himself at this age when it comes to curfews—”

“I do NOT have a curfew.”

Tenten subtly wedged herself in between her teammates. “Now, now. We don’t want Neji to be late for his family dinner. But now that you mention it, it’s still kinda early, you know.” She glanced up at the overhead skies.

“It’s not with my family, so I still need to prepare.”

A social life outside of family dinners? Now that intrigued her. She racked her mind for ideas on who else might be Neji’s other friends that would spend time with a standoffish man like him.

Behind her, Lee clapped his hands together at an epiphany. “OH! Is this what Gai-sensei was talking about a couple of days ago? Is the marriage meeting happening this week?”

“Marriage… meeting?” Tenten felt as if a bomb just exploded beneath her. Neji? For some reason, the world started spinning madly around her again. When did this happen? Why did she miss it? And why did everyone in the team save for her knew about it?

“It was arranged by Hiashi-sama after I passed the Jounin exam,” explained Neji immediately — a curiously unusual thing, really, as he didn’t always feel the need to explain himself to anyone. But she barely heard him speak. She was still trying to regain her hold on the sudden influx of various strange, new emotions within her.

H-How odd. Her hand crept to her chest, which for some reason, felt like it has been stung.

“In any case, you both should head home, too.” Neji eyed his anxious-looking teammate for a moment, and then added, “Lee, walk Tenten back to her apartment.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Lee then turned to her, eyes worried. “Tenten, can you stand?”

Only then did she snap out of her trance. Forcing an affable grin, she exclaimed. “I’m fine, I’m fine!” Her words were for the benefit of not just Lee, but also Neji’s, whose eyes were trained closely on her face. She was hoping her cheerful words of dismissal would suffice, as she herself could not put into words how and why exactly she was feeling so miserable.

Lee bent down before her, his arms angled backward as if inviting her to climb aboard a most handsome ship. “If you want, I can offer you the strength of my back to lean on.”

“Uh, no thanks—”

“NO WAY.”

Tenten’s brown eyes darted to the other source of dissent. Neji wore a withering gaze as he firmly glared at Lee.

“Aw, come on, Neji! Stop being a selfish, greedy brat. You can’t expect me to offer my back only to you, right?”

“...I am neither selfish nor greedy, and Tenten is not doing it. End of conversation.”

A vein popped on Tenten’s head upon hearing the Hyuuga’s response. What she normally would have perceived as a friendly back-up against an over-enthusiastic wheedling had sounded positively jarring to her at that moment.

He doesn’t even tell me important things about himself. Why should he get to tell other people about myself?

On instinct, her arm suddenly shot up, hushing both men. “On second thought, I’ll take you up on your offer, Lee.”

Neji’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Then hop on!” After making sure she was holding on to him securely, Lee cheerfully turned to the still stupefied man and waved. “Have fun at your miai, Neji! We’ll see you tomorrow!”

As they bounced away from the training field, she noticed that the Hyuuga was still rooted to his spot, watching them walk off. It offered her an irrational measure of victory.

I hope olives get stuck in between your teeth tonight and you don’t notice it until you’re celebrating your grandson’s wedding day, stupid Neji.

.

.

.

As they passed by a concrete bridge (the first of the four they had to cross before the last forest clearing leading to the town appeared), Tenten felt her teammate’s shoulders shaking.

“L-Lee?” Worried that he must be exhausted from carrying her, she peered closer at him. But upon closer inspection, she saw that the reason for this was actually stifled laughter.

“My goodness, you and Neji…” Rock Lee shook his head, eyes still glittering in mirth. “Too cute.”

“H-Huh?”

He adjusted his hold on her, nudging her higher on his back. “Neji made you mad, huh?”

She pursed her lips. “N-No! I…” After a moment’s hesitation, she let out a small sigh of resignation. “W-Well, okay, a little bit. How did you know?”

“You already declined my offer of carrying you home on a piggyback, but when you heard Neji refuse, too, you suddenly had a change of heart,” came Lee’s almost sagacious response. “Like a teenager rebelling against her parent, you’re deliberately doing things that you know will rile him up.”

Guilt filled her almost immediately. “Oh, Lee! I’m sorry I had to drag you into this as well! I—”

“No sweat!” Lee’s airy response was instantaneous. “Like I said, I enjoy the front row seat as I watch you two act like this.”

“A-Act? Act like what?”

Instead of answering her question, he replied with his own. “So what did that guy unwittingly say or do to annoy you this much?”

She knew Lee couldn’t possibly see her expression from where he was, but she still turned away to embarrassedly hide her face. “T-The marriage meeting, I think…”

“Oh?” But he didn’t sound surprised at all. In fact, he even sounded like he expected her response.

The seclusion of the forest as dusk settled in made her feel bolder to express her thoughts to a decidedly empathetic listener like Lee. “I… I feel kind of stupid, being the last person to know about something as important as that.” She blew the stray, limp bangs off her forehead. “Call me cocky, but I thought I was one of the people he trusts—”

“You are,” he reassured her quickly. “He entrusted you with looking after his blind spot, did he not?”

“-- then why didn’t he tell me sooner about it?” she demanded, frustration seeping out of her broken voice. “I don’t understand why he can only trust me in combat. Is that the extent of our friendship? A useful battle ally and nothing more? I know we all have our secrets to keep, but why would he tell you and Gai-sensei but not me?!”

“Tenten, you’re pounding on the back of my lungs and it now hurts to even breathe.”

“Oh, damn it!” She forced her fists to relax. “Sorry, I sort of got carried away.”

“You’re upset, I can tell,” Lee spoke with gentleness, which was amazing given the torture his breathing organs had just gone through. “Sorry I ran my mouth off back there. I didn’t know Neji hasn’t mentioned anything about it to you yet. I-I’m sure he has a good reason for not doing so!”

“Right.” But the kunoichi looked wholly skeptical.

As Lee wondered how he could appease the miffed young woman, memories of his conversation with Neji about the miai replayed in his mind.

“They’ve set their eyes on her.”

Lee followed Neji’s gaze, and sure enough, saw the weapons mistress of Konoha. “Tenten?”

Neji’s face was darker and more somber than usual. “They’ve started to scrutinize her background. The elders aren’t very happy about what they’re seeing.”

“Why would they do that to her?”

He exhaled sharply. “They are considering her as a bridal candidate.”

“Oh.” Lee scratched his cheek. “Well, not that I can blame them. I mean, except for Hinata-chan and Hanabi-chan, she’s the only other girl you’ve opened up to.”

“I can’t let them drag her into our messy family politics.” Determination was apparent on the Hyuuga’s face. “They can play any game with me, but I can’t let them get to her.” His last phrase radiated with quietly firm conviction, as if it was an oath he made before the gods.

“You can’t mean to say you’re leaving us?!” The bowl-haired ninja looked horrified at the thought.

Neji shook his head. “They’ll grow more suspicious if I do something as drastic as that.”

“So then….?”

“I’ll distract them for now.”

And it seemed that distraction turned out to be the marriage meetings, mused Lee with a sigh. But the problem now was, Tenten wasn’t feeling very blissful in her ignorance. Especially when it seemed that after all these years, she was finally starting to become aware of her feelings that had been quietly there all this time.

“I know you’re mad at him right now, Tenten,” said Lee with a tender smile. “But don’t be mad at him for too long, please. For a genius, he can do even the silliest of things sometimes, but his heart is undeniably in the right place.”

“I guess…”

He paused, trying to get a sense of her mood. “You’re still peeved, though.”

“I… I don’t know,” she grumbled, looking both crossed and lost. “I’m still bothered by all of this. Even if Neji did have a good reason to go to a marriage meeting, I still wish he wouldn’t go.”

“Ah.” Her words seem to fall within the expectations of her teammate, given his knowing tone when he spoke. “So you’re feeling lonely, perhaps?”

“That can’t be right,” she answered slowly. “I’ve always known he will get married someday.”

“I’ll get married one day, too, you know.”

She had to smile at the perpetual optimism of her teammate. “If you can make Tsunade-sama’s apprentice look your way, that is.”

Lee smiled triumphantly at her. “And there we go. Why are you okay with me and Sakura-san, but not with Neji and his miai partner?”

“W-Well… Sakura is someone we’ve known since we’re kids,” she stammered.

“So you won’t be upset if Sakura-san ends up marrying Neji instead?”

Protest rose from every fiber of her being. And good ole Lee, her brother from another womb, can read the answer clearly on her countenance but allowed her to work out her answer by herself.

They finally crossed the familiar large gates of the Hidden Leaf village. A couple of guards gave them a friendly wave, and Lee replied, thanking them for a job well done at the outpost today. He then turned to her with a smile.

“Tell him how you feel, okay? Believe me, it matters to Neji… much more than you think it does.”

“... you think so?” she asked uncertainly.

He nodded vehemently. “I know so.” He didn’t add anymore that nearly everyone in the whole friggin’ village knew that, too. He’d cut her that much of slack, at least.

.

.

.

That evening, Hyuuga Neji was just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant where he agreed to meet his marriage prospect when a familiar figure crossed his path. 

To his dismay, she was still dressed in the same grubby outfit she wore during training— Neji distinctly recalled asking his other teammate to take her home. What was Tenten doing outside that snowy December with nary a coat on?

For her part, Tenten had to remind herself that the beautiful man before her was the very same man she had as a teammate for nearly a decade. 

Wearing a long black overcoat with a crisp, charcoal tieless suit underneath, Neji may have very well stepped off the pages of Yamanaka Ino’s favorite fashion magazines. His hair was combed back and tied down neatly behind his broad shoulders, exposing the elegant, strong lines of his jaw and neck. And with soft, little snowflakes giving his pristine ivory skin the subtlest of lingering kisses, she suddenly wondered if his marriage prospect wouldn’t mind meeting a man who would probably look more beautiful than she ever could be.

What am I saying? she shamefully admonished herself. The truth is, I’m jealous of the woman he will be meeting today. That the Neji I know… will dress up this way for her...

“Tenten, what are you doing here?” Neji was the first to break the silence.

Once more, the kunoichi wondered whether Rock Lee actually read their longtime teammate wrong. Maybe she should have just stayed home and washed her week-long plates in the sink. Maybe she should have just tried to revive her dying houseplant by singing it show tunes. Maybe…

“Tenten?”

Her fists unconsciously clenched and unclenched in tension, but she knew she had to say what was in her heart before her last shred of courage failed her.

“Please… don’t go.” Her almond brown eyes met his gaze beseechingly. “Don’t go to your miai, please.”

Something flickered in his beautiful pallid eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”

His cold words felt like icy water that was thrown on her face. 

He was right, of course. Even at the slightest possibility that Lee’s words held the truth, she should have known better than to confront him just minutes before his date.

Letting out a shaky laugh, she took a step back. “Y-Yes, I shouldn’t be keeping you. W-Well, good night, Neji.”

She spun around, but before she could take another step, she felt something tug her arm. She turned to see Neji clutching it, despair written clearly on his face.

“You shouldn’t have been here,” he repeated, his voice huskier this time. “You’re bad for my resolve, you know.”

“Neji…” She didn’t resist when he pulled her towards him. All she was aware of was the maddening pace of her heart and the heat emanating through their bodies even amidst the snowy evening chill.

“This wasn’t part of my calculation.” His face drew closer to hers as he spoke. “You mess up my best-laid plans, and they’re now probably locked on to you more than ever. But...” He laid his forehead on top of hers, his eyelids closed. “...I can’t say I dislike this.”

She did the same and closed her eyes, too, focusing only on his intoxicating nearness that she didn’t really know she craved for until this moment. “I have no idea who are those people you’re trying to keep away from me, but you shouldn’t worry about me at all. I can take care of my own person.”

“You’ll never not worry me, Tenten.”

Her mouth twitched. “Am I that troublesome?”

“Verily.” She then felt a momentary warm sensation brush against her eyelids, sending a delicious, tingling feeling all over her. “But I won’t have it any other way,” he finished softly, burying her in his chest.

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.

.

“A-choo!” Tenten unceremoniously blew on the tissue paper as Hyuuga Neji put down a tray holding a bowl of warm miso soup and medications on her bedside table. He took the afternoon off when he heard that the weapons mistress of Konoha didn’t come in for work due to colds.

“Did you have visitors over?” the male asked, taking a seat by her bed. “I saw tea leaves and fruits on the table.”

“Your relatives dropped by,” she said nonchalantly. “They said I should be more careful about my health, considering my top marriage candidate status.” She reached for her food tray and let out a delighted gasp. “Oh my goodness, real food! It’s been a week since I got one that didn’t come out of a can!”

He, in turn, let out a sigh. “Are you sure the clan is not causing you any trouble?”

“Not as much as I’m causing them,” she said in between slurps. “I mean, they even washed all my plates before they left.”

“Heh.” He should know better than to underestimate his teammate and partner of over a decade. She was truly the woman he had chosen and approved of.

“Neji, you’re looking at me with the sloppiest of grins. Your cool guy rep is crumbling right before my very eyes.”

“I was just thinking that, even when sick, a woman in bed can be quite tempting.”

“NEJI!”

“I jest. Probably.”

The End

[syao]

Hello! Lately i've feel the needs to read nejiten fics and i love your works! There's still more to read and i just want to say thank you for writing them. I can read them over and over again whenever nejiten mood return :P

Aww, thank you for reading my stuff! I enjoy writing them whenever time permits (almost never at this time-- dammit IRL work!) because NejiTen is one of my perpetual favorite ships. That Kishimoto never made them end-game pairing only fueled this fangirl’s heart. *tear*

[syao]

[Aoharu x Kikanjuu] Dear Goemon-san

Summary: [Midori x Tachibana]. The story of how a tech-challenged pediatrician inevitably fell in love with a young woman who earned his elusive interest, told through postcards and notes.

"I wanna see you soon, Tachibana-san!" Fujimoto Takatora looked nothing like his fear-striking alias on the battlefield at the moment. Tears and snot mixed freely on his face as The Assault Destroyer clasped the small, calloused hands of Tachibana Hotaru. He was unmindful of the airport crowd that streamed past them, some doing double-takes at the scene he was making. "B-But I know I can't wish that. You'll only come home if Papa-san doesn't get better so… so…"

The petite sixteen-year-old offered him a warm smile in return. "No matter how long it takes, we will meet each other again… and duel!"

"You're overreacting, idiot." Tossing her dark hair in boredom, Ichi Akabane looked unimpressed as usual. "You can just message her online or something. In fact, you can even do it in half a day or so."

"B-But…"

Tachibana nodded gratefully as she pressed a few keys on her mobile phone. "Absolutely! Here, let's all exchange numbers and Twitter handles—"

"Nope," the raven-haired woman was quick to retreat from the group, her ponytail bobbing along. "Any act of friendship grosses me out."

"Sorry, Tachibana-san!" The towering white-haired doctor pressed his hands together in apology. "I have her info if you want. I'm just not sure if it's updated though because she always changes her account details whenever she learns that I peeked through the personnel records for them."

"A-Ah, no, it's okay!" She beamed as she watched the nurse's diminutive figure disappear into the crowd. "Tachibana is really glad that she came to see me off, though."

Her phone's Bluetooth notification beeped.

"That's mine." Hosokawa Haruka informed her somberly, glancing up from his own device. "And that's my Nii-san's," he added when another beep sounded. "And that's his vital statistics. And his likes and dislikes. And his candid photos from my private offline collection," he identified as a series of beeps rapidly sounded off. "Make sure to remember Nii-san with all that— he will be very happy if he knows you won't forget him."

A sweatdrop formed on her head. "Y-You know, Haruka-san, Tachibana wouldn't have forgotten Haruki-san even if you didn't go through the trouble of sending all these. He is, after all..." She beamed at him. "... an important comrade of mine."

To her puzzlement, the male's brows furrowed in a displeased fashion. "A comrade? Just a comrade? Are you sure you can't see him as anything else?"

"E-Eh?"

"Maybe I should send you some more provocative pictures of him to make sure…"

"Now, now, Haruka." A grinning figure emerged from the back to tap the man's shoulder. "Stop pimping your elder brother and leave him with some amount of dignity after this."

"Midori-san!" Hotaru raised a palm to greet him. "Thank you for seeing Tachibana off as well."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He grinned at her fondly as he handed her a gift-wrapped box. "Our farewell gift."

"T-Thank you." Her eyebrow cocked up suspiciously. "This wouldn't happen to be something that'll set off the TSA alarm when Tachibana gets to America, right?"

"You are wary of me. Good girl," he nodded approvingly at her. "But no, I'm afraid it's just a little token of gratitude from Hoshihiro— ah, you're unwrapping it already right in front of your gift-givers! Your eagerness warms my heart like so, young lady."

"If Tachibana will be caught by the airport cops, Tachibana wants to know as early as now how she can explain it to Mother— oh!" Her verdant eyes shook when she saw the familiar white naval hat that everyone in the Team Hoshihiro wore during TCG battles.

"We all think the world of you, Tachibana-san," explained Fujimoto as the girl ran her fingers appreciatively over the peaked cap fabric. "And we would have gladly stolen you away from your team if only you were less attached to them."

"But then again, that almost-naive loyalty of yours is what makes the person you are now," added Haruka quietly.

"And we'll always think of you as our honorary member, the best one we never had." With the trademark gentleness of his ward's most beloved pediatrician, Midori placed the cap carefully on her crown. "Safe travels, Tachibana-kun. We wish your father a speedy recovery."

She blinked, then grinned warmly at everyone. "Thank you, Hoshihiro!"

"Oh, by the way…" Midori stepped closer to her and crouched down till his lips aligned with her right ear. "Won't you be asking for my contact details, Tachibana-kun?"

"H-Huh?" Her hand shot up to cover her ear protectively.

"If you don't write to me, I'll get a bit lonely," he continued huskily, enjoying her reaction to his ministrations.

Her sigh of exasperation rang out clearly. "You don't even know how to text, Midori-san."

Touche. "Oh well, I'll have to settle for this then." And before she could react, he pulled the brim of her cap down until it covered the entire half of her face.

Then with the smooth soundless movement minimally expected of an airsoft elite, he bent down and planted a light kiss on the visor, just right above the small tip of her nose.

"W-What, what?" Hearing the collective gasps around her, Hotaru pulled up the cap from her eyes in panic, but only saw the doctor's grinning face. To her embarrassment, she felt heat rush to her cheeks. "W-What did you guys do now? Midori-san?"

Instead of responding, he gave her a slight nudge towards the gates. "You'll be late for your flight."

"F-Fujimoto-san!" Hotaru shifted her eyes towards her biggest ally among the group. The latter still seemed surprised, but he had recovered enough to nod at her reassuringly.

"Tricking Tachibana even till the very last moment. Really, you guys." She offered them a final wave before heading for the concourse.

"You're declaring a war against me and Nii-san, huh," muttered Haruka, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Midori let out a laugh. "What a hot-tempered otouto! This old man was merely giving his favorite protégé a proper send-off."

"You're the reason predators in the society continue to exist. Scum."'

"It's been awhile since I've last felt this truly despised outside the battlefield. Good times."

Meanwhile, Fujimoto sadly glanced back at the crowd where he was sure Ichi was, certainly watching like a silent hawk. You definitely saw it, too, didn't you, Ichi?

It was the briefest of moments, but he swore he saw it sometime before that farewell prank kiss.

Reluctance.

It was an alien notion to think of in terms of the Midori-san he knew who had painstakingly maintained the barrier between utility and attachment in all of his relationships for years. He was someone who could let go even of a soul he had once saved from darkness.

That you made him feel that way even for a moment… The kind-hearted doctor shook his head in awe. You're even more amazing than I thought, Tachibana-san.

"Look, Papa! The statue's so big!" A young girl in pigtails eagerly pointed to the postcard stuck on the corkboard. "Is it Kami-sama?"

"Young lady, that is the Statue of Liberty in America." Somewhere in the middle of looking at the travel postcards Midori Nagamasa had conveniently placed across his desk, the child barely noticed the vaccine injection that he had quietly made. He didn't even have to summon Fujimon to take on his usual role and distract his little patient.

"Why do you have Liberty-san's picture, Sensei?" asked the girl, eyes widening in curiosity.

He glanced up quickly at her to smile before resuming his scribbles on his doctor's pad. "My friend sent it to me. She lives there right now."

"Do you miss her?"

Before he could respond, the child's father guffawed. "Of course not, Baby! Sensei has many pretty nurses and mommy friends who come to his office! Ne, Sensei?" He winked at him conspiratorially, as if they were close buddies.

Garbage.

He paused from writing long enough to smile brightly at him. "Indeed. Let's especially not forget your lovely wife who visits me from time to time, begging me desperately for a Sildenafil prescription."

It was then that Ichi, with her too conveniently impeccable timing, entered the room with an airmail envelope.

"Sensei, a letter came in for you." She eyed the colorful postcards littering the board in quiet disdain before meeting his gaze.

"Thank you, Ichi. You can place it on my desk."

"Yes, Midori-sensei." She immediately did as told.

"Do I still have patients waiting outside?"

"None. Your next appointment is after lunch."

"Perfect." He smiled pleasantly at her. "I will be taking my lunch break."

Whether conversing with the nurses or taunting a target in a no-freeze arena, Ichi knew that the good doctor wore basically the same genial expression on his face. She wouldn't have felt offended at such fact if only her devoted attention to him did not reveal a grand exception to this rule— and that was his young penpal from America. The fondness he had solely for her was undeniable.

"Please excuse me." She bowed at him and his patients before heading to the door. She's been away for a year, but he hasn't lost his interest in her yet. With much more force than usual, she flipped the "The Doctor is In" sign on the door and reveled in its surprising loud thud.

What sorcery does she hold over him, really?

.

.

.

Dear Goemon-san…

Nearly all her letters started in a similar fashion, save for her very first mail. He could still vividly recall his pleasant surprise when Fujimon handed him the postcard of the NYC skyscape a month after Tachibana Hotaru had left the country.

Granted that it bore merely a generic stream of pleasantries, he was glad that she still chose to indulge an old fogey like him and wrote to him after all.

So as his way of expressing his gratitude, he wrote her back using the return address of her dormitory, along with a little care package.

Her reply came in sooner than expected, delivered to him by his trusty Fujimon. And this time, instead of a polite "Dear Midori-san", what he got was this:

Dear Goemon-san,

Thank you for your package. However, a female student has no use for a wall calendar of half-naked AV idols who can't hold guns properly to save their lives. Tachibana has promptly shredded it and tossed it in with this week's trash.

Hope you and Team Hoshihiro are well.

Signed,

Tachibana

He had spent that afternoon in a strangely good mood that even his patients had taken notice of it. That very evening, he wrote her back.

Dear Tachibana-kun,

I am relieved to hear that you still recall the proper gun grip. I also agree with your assessments and have forwarded your concern to the entertainment group handling these irresponsible campaign models. As a medical professional working in the pediatrics field, I agree that the children of Japan deserve better gun education than this.

Do you still get an opportunity to play survival games there? It pains me to imagine a bunch of unworthy creatures of mediocrity becoming on the receiving end of your glorious bloodlust.

My team is doing well. We have won a million yen for the nth time, so I have elected to fill my bed with bills that I can roll around on when I am feeling rather uninspired. It would have filled the hole in my heart if only I've been bestowed with one in the first place.

Hope you are adjusting well to your new life in the States.

Signed,

Your Fellow Advocate for the Proper Demonstration of Gun Holding Among Sexy Idols

P.S.

Why am I suddenly christened Goemon-san?

It didn't take a month to hear back from her again. Turning over the postcard showing the landmark 19th-century Brooklyn Bridge, he read her hastily scribbled note.

Dear Goemon-san,

Thank you for enlightening Tachibana as to why an invitation from an entertainment group to watch the next year's shoot of their "Guns x Babes 2018 Artbook Collection" came in the mail.

Tachibana must also confess to asking Matsuoka-san about your home address so Tachibana can provide that information instead for their "Guns x Boys 2017" calendar + artbook bundle offer.

Between spending time with Dad, a part-time job, and schooling, Tachibana is hardly able to find time to play survival games. Tachibana does watch war game clips online during the commute, and that helped tide things over for the time being. Nonetheless, thank you for asking.

Signed,

Tachibana

P.S. Tachibana talked to Fujimoto-san about it, and he agreed that it is best to minimize references to you as much as possible.

That gave him an idea as to why she did it, which was confirmed by Fujimon when he asked the next afternoon.

"She has to use an alias so the hospital staff won't gossip about a fully adult physician exchanging non-academic notes with a high school student overseas… or so Tachibana-san says."

A child twelve years his junior knew more than him regarding the conventional boundaries he was expected to set. But more importantly, he appreciated that she, with her naive blazing sense of justice, resorted to this silly act in kind consideration of his request that she write him, too.

That night, he wrote her back.

Dear Tachibana-kun,

I look forward to receiving that literature you so thoughtfully ordered for me. I can't wait to peruse through them and see how well they can challenge my current limits of taste and preferences. You alone can be so considerate to such extent of my circumstances— whether it be this or everything else.

Thank you. I am honored to accept the name of the gun you first bought (under my auspice, of course. I have excellent taste, don't you think?)

I have enclosed videotapes of my Matsune and his friends playing in the outdoor field. I can send you more if you want— I have an enviable network I can tap on anytime to do my bidding.

Signed,

A Future Fan of the Guns x Boys Franchise

A week after he received the artbook and wall calendar, he heard back from his benefactress.

At the back of a lit-up New York City nightscape postcard, she had written:

Dear Goemon-san,

Please don't send Tachibana any more photos or videos of everyone back home. It's difficult as it is. Tachibana will only miss everyone more.

Signed,

Tachibana

Despite himself, he felt anxious at the almost-curt length of the message. Excusing himself from the rest of his shift, he hurried to the postal office the same day to send a priority mail to her.

Dear Tachibana-kun,

When not on the battlefield, I endeavor to go against the little, excited voice in my head and refrain from causing anyone pain. If I caused you such with my previous mail, you have my utmost apology. I went too far with that one, I believe.

Write me back?

Signed,

Your Foolish Old Man Penpal from Japan

He quietly waited with bated breath for her response. It came in two weeks after, via a postcard showing a beautiful fountain and statue amidst the greenery. However, it was inside a bigger envelope, which had a slightly longer letter with it.

Dear Goemon-san,

This is the Angel of the Waters. It is situated in the Bethesda Terrace in the Central Park. A city guide said that an angel was said to have blessed the water and healed the sick, like it did for the cholera-stricken city many centuries ago.

Tachibana learned that Bethsheda's word origin can either mean a place of shame or a place of grace. It reminds Tachibana of you. You are both an angel of healing in the hospital and an angel of shaming in the battlefield. Tachibana accepts both faces because they both belong to a good friend. If you go over the line at either end, Tachibana will fight to bring you back.

What Tachibana is trying to say is… thank you, apology accepted, and Tachibana looks forward to receiving a new mail from Goemon-san.

Signed,

Tachibana

Only then could he let out a huge sigh of relief. For what, he did not endeavor to determine. All that mattered to him was that their flimsy connection— whatever it was— had not been severed.

He went on to pen his response, in what inevitably would be one of the many more letters they would exchange over the year and the months beyond.

.

.

.

Nagamasa Midori deftly opened the US-postmarked envelope with a paper knife. To his surprise, inch photo slipped down the table. It was a photo of Tachibana Hotaru together with a couple that he assumed to be her parents due to the unmistakable resemblance.

Ah, so this is how the young lady would look like had she been blessed with more calm and finesse. 

Despite the bony, devastated tautness the advanced stage of his disease brought to him, the Tachibana patriarch's inner peace blossomed through. He knew first-hand the therapeutic impact having one's family close among even the illest of his patients.

The mother, on the other hand, was a rock of stability and principled righteousness. He had no question anymore as to where Tachibana-kun derived her convictions from.

And speaking of Tachibana…

She had grown out her hair, huh? Wild tufts of light golden tresses escaped from her slipshod attempt at a low ponytail, but he found them all endearingly true to the young lady's quirky personality. The months had also lent a touch of curves on all the right places, and he mused that the next time she competed in the TGC, she wouldn't get away with her disguise as easily as she could before.

After spending a few more moments appreciating the photo, he reluctantly let go of it to read the accompanying note.

Dear Goemon-san,

Tachibana is not a fan of taking pictures, but since Mama and Papa insisted on one, things ended up with you holding one of the copies Tachibana made.

Papa is having trouble sleeping lately and he has lost a lot of weight. But Tachibana knows Papa is fighting to stay here with us. As a physician, if there's any other advice you can share to make sure Tachibana cares for Papa well, please let Tachibana know.

Signed,

Tachibana

P.S. Tachibana will get you a proper postcard the next time she goes sightseeing in the city. Tachibana really misses Japan.

The doctor picked up the photo once more, gazing thoughtfully at it. Then carefully he picked it up and tucked it in his wallet, along with a few choice possessions he had that held great value to him.

He then exited the clinic and headed for the nearby tourist shop.

.

.

.

Dear Tachibana-kun,

Your father has done very well. But things will only become more difficult from this point on. Just stay by his side. No matter how scary or bleak things can be, don't waver your eyes away from his…

Tachibana Hotaru sank on the grass-carpeted ground that enveloped the cemetery, sobbing and unable to continue reading the postcard anymore. Her mother had left right after handing her a priority mail from Japan.

Even without looking, she knew her mother's face bore the stony impassiveness concealing the grief in the widow's heart. The woman responded to the death of her childhood love with a steely determination to be their daughter's rock no matter what it takes.

It took a few minutes before the insistent sound of her ringing phone registered in her ears. Taking a few shaky breaths, she struggled to calm herself as she answered the call. "T-Tachibana here."

"Tachibana-kun?"

A wave of surprise shook her to the core. Rubbing her eyes quickly, she called out, "M-Midori-san?"

She heard him pause uncertainly, and then, "My postcard didn't make it in time, I suppose?"

"T-The postcard is beautiful," she replied, a tad too quickly. Then with a defeated sigh, she continued, "P-Papa would have loved it."

"I'm sorry, Tachibana-kun."

The uncharacteristic concern in his voice choked her up. "T-Thank you. He passed away three nights ago."

"I see. It must have been hard."

She shut her eyes tight, involuntarily recalling her father, who was in pain all day and night but was blessed to go when he was peacefully asleep. "Tachibana… Tachibana didn't waver from him… "

His silence told her to go on. So she did.

"It was frightening every time Tachibana thinks that Papa is surrounded by all these medicines and doctors but no one can do a thing for him… it was frightening to feel so helpless for the first time in life," Heartbroken sobs threatened to snatch her voice away but she soldiered on. "T-Tachibana... Tachibana did her best to not look away…"

"Good girl." His voice was silky smooth and soothing. Peculiarly, there was a complete absence of the usual mockery in his tone."You did well, Tachibana-kun." No words felt like a better balm to her broken soul than hearing his words of quiet support and pride.

She wiped her tear-streaked cheeks with the back of her palm. "Tachibana and Midori-san had the same idea in the end, huh?"

"Loss is a universal human experience," he replied solemnly. "But it makes me happy that you think that way, Tachibana-kun."

"Thank you for calling, Midori-san." Only then did she recall to check her screen. "Is this a long-distance phone call?"

"I had Matsune share your phone number," he explained swiftly. "Looking at your father in the photo you sent, I felt I had to get in touch with you sooner."

"M-Matsuoka-san gave it to you?" She was aware of how her teammates and friends at Toy Gun-Gun can become extremely protective of her.

"Yes, but his four-eyed buddy made sure to threaten the very fabric of my existence before giving in. Needless to say, I was thrilled beyond words."

"No doubt you were, Midori-san." She clasped the phone close to her ears, suddenly recalling how the doctor had spoken to her that day at the airport. "You should go. It must be late at night where you are right now. Plus, calls like this can get expensive."

"Don't look down on a grown-up's finances, young lady."

She managed a small chuckle at his playfully cocky reprimand. "Well, maybe a one-time overcharge on the phone bill should be fine, even for an adult who spends a fortune on his toy guns."

"Ah."

Her forehead creased at the odd sound she heard from the other end of the line. "Midori-san?"

"I was thinking… if you're still seeking revenge against me on your friends' behalf, the best way is to attack my wallet."

"H-Huh?"

He spoke hurriedly— which was quite unusual for the calm, easy going king of the survival game scene in Japan. "What I meant is… you can keep accepting these expensive international long distance calls from me so I will be left with little budget to live on."

She scratched her cheek. "Midori-san, as you once told Tachibana in your clinic, people must separate their lives on the battlefield and in real life. Tachibana does not wish anything else for Midori-san anymore except for him to be well always."

To her surprise, he let out a sigh of resignation. "You're one tough customer, you know that, Tachibana-kun?"

"I-I don't understand…" She must have been utterly confused that she inadvertently slipped out of referencing herself from an outsider's perspective.

"Well, I don't mind. The prize is worth the chase." His tone sounded final as he spoke, as if he himself had realized something and had come to peace with that epiphany. "Get some rest, Tachibana-kun. Your father will want you and your mother to be well, at any cost."

"Thank you, Midori-san."

"I'll call you again."

For some reason she couldn't fathom, his earnest-sounding promise made her heart skip a beat. "Suit yourself. But if you do, you should hook up with a phone subscription so you can get discounts."

He let out a hearty laugh. "This is the first time that I've spoken with a woman who ended the calls with budget tips instead of erotic plans for the evening."

"Well, Tachibana cannot be compared to women like them because you see all of us differently."

"Indeed," he agreed smilingly. "My lady is incomparable to anyone else."

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.

.

"It has been two years, huh, Midori-sensei?"

"Hmm?" Nagamasa Midori carefully dabbed the corners of his mouth with a lunch napkin and offered his attention to his trusted nurse and combat sniper, Akabane Ichi. Beside her, Takatora Fujimoto and Hosokawa Haruka paused from their respective meals and turned to her as well.

"Since that girl left."

He smiled pleasantly. "Ara, has it been that long?"

"You had to buy a bigger board to accommodate all those postcards," chimed in Haruka.

"You've racked up quite the bill monthly on Skype and online airsoft equipment deliveries," added Fujimon, bless his helpful little heart. He made a silent note to deal with his subordinate's talkativeness later on.

"Interesting," remarked his nurse. "You haven't participated in the TGC for the past two years."

He shrugged. "What can I say? After competing against Tachibana-kun, pretty much no other player can excite me enough to play."

Ichi sighed. "If she's your yardstick, then I'd say you'll have to hang up the laces of your training shoes. No one else will come close to beating her in your scale."

"I suppose." His phone rang, mercifully saving him from his team's pointed interrogation. One look at his phone screen and a genuinely fond smile broke on his face. "Excuse me." He hurriedly got up the table.

The trio watched their departing leader with looks of wonder and exasperation.

"It's her." Haruka bit on his muffin soundlessly, venting his ire on the pastry. "That disgusting expression on his face says it all."

"He's always had a soft spot for Tachibana-san," gushed Fujimoto, a happy nostalgic tone in his voice. "From the start, I've seen how hard he subconsciously tried to show her his gentle side. Usually, he wouldn't have been moved to do that for anyone. But she has always been different from the rest of us."

I know that. Ichi glumly chewed on her sandwich. The only person to draw out a tapestry of emotions that otherwise she wouldn't have known had existed in him— it couldn't be anyone but her. And despite herself, she couldn't deny her gratitude to Tachibana Hotaru for bringing out that beautiful side of the man she had loved one-sidedly for so long.

"Cheer up, Ichi!" The ash-haired doctor beamed at her sympathetically. "Yukimura-san says you have ample assets that men and women can easily fall in love with— AAARGH! GRAAAAAK! HARUKA-SAN HELPPPP!"

Haruka carefully slid away from the brutal slaughter happening beside him. He was too busy finding a suitable match for his brother in the dating app to bother himself with trivial matters such as the life and death situation of a co-worker.

.

.

.

"Tachibana is so sorry for disturbing you at work, Midori-san. Were you with a patient?" asked Tachibana Hotaru nervously as she leaned back against her bed's headboard. Behind her, the neon lights twinkled sharply against the velvety darkness of the midnight.

"Not at all. I was having a meal over a little inquisition." He leaned back against the endlessly white hallway outside the lunchroom.

"An inquisition, huh? About what?"

"About a topic I hold dear."

"Torture?"

He let out a loud entertained laughter. "Heavens, have I made quite an impression on you, huh?" Still chuckling, he asked, "So to whom do I owe this honor of being called on by my lady?" She found that he had long stopped calling her 'young lady', perhaps in recognition of the fact that time does move even for the likes of her.

"Tachibana… uhm, Tachibana has just been informed by the school that she's graduating with honors so… well, Tachibana wanted you to be among the first to know." She clasped the phone closer to her ear, wondering if she was acting too conceited, calling an accomplished physician like him in the middle of the day to brag about her school feats. She imagined the corners of his mouth twisting sadistically as he mouthed off a few choice shades on her. She only knew too well how capable he was of that.

But to her utter relief, he sounded nothing else but genuinely delighted. "Congratulations, sweetheart! That is excellent news!"

She silently castigated herself for getting beside herself upon hearing his word of endearment. "T-Thank you, Midori-san. After graduation, Tachibana plans to visit Japan for a month in order to prepare to go to a university there. Mama has reclaimed our old home from our relatives, so it should be okay."

"Ah, so you're coming home. Finally."

The words sounded so sweet coming from a man she least expected them to come from. "Y-Yes. We can finally test all that airsoft equipment you've been dumping at our house."

"As a matter of fact, they are yours, my lady."

Her hackles rose. "NO WAY! Tachibana refuses to accept them unless you let her win it by gun testing just like before!"

"Fine, fine." He sounded like a doting father indulging his favorite princess. At that thought, a feeling of disappointment surged through her. But just as quickly, she shook her head vehemently, as if clearing away these unreasonable feelings.

"B-Besides, d-does Midori-san…" She gulped inwardly, wondering if she had the guts to continue her question.

"Hmm?" He sounded lighthearted, and she could almost imagine him grinning innocently before him as his brain cooked up a dozen ways to skin her alive. "I've just been through an interrogation, so one more question from my lady will not bother me terribly."

Er, good? She bit her lower lip. "Does Midori-san… treat all his female friends this way?"

"Ahh," she heard him say, and she could practically see a light bulb popping over the man's head. "You sound interested, Tachibana-kun!" he drawled in a honeyed tone, making her blush from the roots of her hair to the tip of her toes.

"M-Midori-san!" Her face felt positively hot at that moment. "T-Tachibana just doesn't want you to be misunderstood by other girls. Y-You can be someone's friend without spending an inordinate amount of money!"

"So friends don't spend money on their friends?"

She clutched her phone tightly. "O-Of course!"

"So if I'm spending money on you, what does that make you then?"

She felt her heart pound. "Uhm… s-someone taking advantage of you?"

To her surprise, he let out a now familiar resigned sigh.

"I-Is Tachibana wrong?" she asked nervously.

"No, my lady. Like many others, you have won me over with your noble sense of justice. Or at least mellowed me to some point." He let out a low, husky chuckle. It sent excited shivers throughout her body, especially with the phone pressed so close to her ear. "I guess I'll just have to keep on trying until you finally understand."

"U-Understand what?"

"In any case, I will see you soon, my Tachibana-kun," he promised meaningfully.

.

.

.

Tachibana Hotaru did not expect him to keep his promise so soon.

Standing some distance away from the graduation venue was Midori Nagamasa himself, donning a dark coat over a pair of equally dark trousers and a maroon dress shirt. He was holding a bouquet of assorted carnations.

Beside her, she felt her mother stiffen. Tachibana Kane had not been introduced to this older, bespectacled man yet. Her motherly instinct told her though that this man's presence was not good news for her.

"Good evening, Tachibana-kun, Tachibana-san." The male bowed politely before them before offering the flowers to the younger woman. "Congratulations to the graduate."

Despite her bewilderment, she went ahead and took the flowers from his waiting hands. "T-Thank you, Midori-san. But why are you here?"

"I promised I'll meet you soon, did I not?" He flashed her a grin innocently.

"B-But…"

He bowed once more to the matriarch. "My name is Midori Nagamasa. Your daughter and I have played together in the TGC a few years ago."

The woman eyed him suspiciously— one of the rare times that a woman did not immediately become smitten with him. Truly, the Tachibana women are most formidable beings, he thought with a grin. According to Matsune and his buddies, Tachibana Kane's sadistic tendencies matched his point-for-point.

"So you live in Japan," the woman said slowly, gauging his worth all the while. "But you are here in New York because you are interested in my daughter, is that right?"

He pushed the bridge of his glasses back up his nose. "That is accurate, Tachibana-san."

The younger Tachibana exhaled sharply, not expecting his words.

Kane, on the other hand, scowled in utter displeasure. "And how old are you? Twenty-five? Twenty-seven?"

"I've turned thirty this month, Tachibana-san."

Both women's eyes widened at how deceitful a handsome man's appearance could be.

"My daughter has just turned eighteen," she hissed, recovering from shock. "Do you intend to take away her future because of your selfish desire—"

"M-Mama!" Hotaru stepped forward between the two. "M-Midori-san likes to kid around, d-don't you, Midori-san?" She grinned forcibly at him, begging for his cooperation.

He smiled brightly back at her. "I was Tachibana-kun's first kiss. It happened in a—"

"GRAH! She slapped her bouquet-holding hands over his mouth to stop him, but felt herself do a double take when she realized that after two long years, he was finally right in front of her— in the flesh. And she was touching his skin once more.

In response, the man clasped both her hands and planted a gentle kiss on her fingers. The momentary contact nearly set her whole body on fire.

M-Midori-san! To do this in front of my mother… From the corner of her eye, she stealthily glanced at her mother and braced herself for the latter's reaction.

Watching them warily. Kane stepped back with a shrug. "From the looks of it, 30-year-old-san, my daughter seems to be quite taken with you, too." She started to walk away, waving a hand. "I have reservations in the nearby restaurant at 8. I'll see you both there."

"Thank you, Mama!" It was the doctor who spoke with utmost cheerfulness.

"Midori-san!" She forcefully snatched back her hands away from his. "Seriously! There should be a limit to your pranks, you know!" she cried as she lowered her heels to the ground. Yet despite her high heels, the man was still impossibly taller than her. Even with the gap of two years, she had a long way to go before she could catch up with this nettlesome man. "Mama might misunderstand."

"So your mother is faster on the uptake than you?" he asked softly, caressing her cheek with his hand. It was not the first time he had done it, but it was the first time that this gesture had caused her heartbeat to race this abnormally fast.

"You… you can't expect Tachibana to believe that you… you…" She struggled to piece together her thoughts as his face slowly lowered towards hers.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he murmured, his breath fanning her face. She could see the tiniest teasing twitch on the corner of his mouth.

"... you like me?" she managed to ask before their lips could touch. She unwittingly shut her eyes tight, not daring to look at his expression should he announce that it was all a joke she gamely played along with.

Instead, she felt a momentary silky whisper in her ear.

The voice of the man who handpicked her H&K G3SAS High Cycle after becoming the first one to figure out who she was.

The man who mentored her unconventionally through a mix of harshness in the battlefield and gentleness in real life.

The man who praised her for giving her partner weapon a cool name.

The man who received her first kiss.

The man she drew strength from as she tried to come out to her friends one more time.

The man who Fujimon said collected all her postcards and lit up whenever they came in the mail.

His voice spoke to her softly. Sincerely.

"Like you? I am in love with you, Tachibana Hotaru."

Her eyelids fluttered open in surprise, but they closed just as quickly because he was done with speaking. His mouth finally, hungrily claimed hers in sweet longing and desire.

.

.

.

Matsuoka Masamune threw his phone down on the couch in disgust. "Ugh. The moment Midori-san first learns how to send a chat message, he sends THIS." He was referring to the photo of the doctor giddily embracing their blushing little Hotaru who was garbed in her graduation gown.

He turned to his bespectacled best friend peering down at his phone with an equally dark expression. "He sent you the same thing, didn't he, Yukki?"

"Yep." The erotic manga author inspected the chat window. "Us and all his four hundred contacts including the hospital staff, his patients, and everyone in the TGC."

Masamune crossed his arms over his chest. "You think he made a noob mistake? He had never learned to use apps till now."

"Nah. That guy's definitely rubbing it to our faces. That bastard."

THE END

[syao]

Everett’s Web Chapter 10

Lip biting. Sensual, come-hither looks. Showcases of skin in varying degrees of modesty. Shoseki noticed these all, but alas, they weren't for him. It was for the man seated beside him, patiently waiting on the street curb while reading on his tablet.

But to Hyuuga Neji, these women might as well have been trees in the backdrop. His eyes were focused on news articles which appeared to be in English, accompanied by fancy graphs and arrows and numbers.

The only time his gaze moved away from the screen was to check on his wristwatch, waiting for the arms on its analog face to strike 5. No such luck— it was still a full three hours before the end of her shift.

Shoseki was torn between grudging admiration and incredulity at his acquaintance's lack of affectation for anything else but the literature before him. One of his fangirls had earlier come up to him and tried to start a conversation— his polite yet cool disinterest awkwardly ended the conversation in two turns.

Curiously, the Shimanto native turned to the oblivious fellow. "Hey, are you aware that the woman you talked to earlier was the Mayor's only daughter?"

"I see."

"And she' seems to have the hots for you."

"I am honored." The exasperatingly good-looking man from Tokyo sounded anything but that.

"Do you see that tall lady by the light post?" continued Shoseki, pointing towards the statuesque raven-haired woman wearing clothes that seemed to have been made for petite women in mind.

"Mmm-hmm."

"She's been the council muse and tourism board beauty for the past few years, and word on the street is— YOU'RE NOT EVEN LOOKING!" Outraged, the male leaped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Neji. "Do you have anything against our town's lasses? What's wrong with you?! What makes those… those scattered dots so interesting anyway? Geez!"

Neji's forehead scrunched. "Ah, this? The P/E ratio and equities trends intrigue me because it proves that even unpredictable valuations can become reliable when viewed over a longer time horizon. It helps me refine my investing strategy."

"...That was a rhetorical question but what the heck." A facepalming Shoseki collapsed beside the male, who had returned to his stupid charts again. "What a waste of perfectly good genes. Why do the deities bestow these blessings to people who cannot appreciate their divine generosity anyway?"

A few minutes of glum silence ensued before Shoseki spoke up again. "Oh, Tenten's here."

"She is?" Immediately, Neji looked up with alert eyes and put his device away. "Where?"

The bespectacled boy gaped at him, mouth hung wide open for a second or two, before sighing and reaching over to knock on the Hyuuga's temple. "Right here."

"Huh?"

"Admit it, she's taken over your brain bits," posited Shoseki as he shrank back to his seat. "How else would you have been watching the clock the whole time and yet forget that it's only three in the afternoon?"

"OH." Neji cleared his throat self-consciously. "I… I thought she left work early. Well then." He brought out the tablet again and returned to the articles he was viewing.

Snickering, Shoseki pushed the bridges of his glasses back up his nose. "I take it back, Kami-sama. I may not be an ikemen like this guy, but at least I'm not slow on the uptake."

CONTINUE

[syao]

Garasu no Geta

Pairing: Neji x Tenten 

Summary: After poking fun at a magical storyteller, Tenten ends up in one of his stories as Cinderella. And the only way out? She must find the story's happy ending.

A/N: Supposedly for #NejiTenMonth, but got busy at work so I’m just publishing it now. It’s longer than my normal Tumblr stuff, but it’s completed at least. :p

"Unsealing Technique!" Tenten opened her scroll, and out poured forth a steady stream of water into the large cooking pot. "Exploding Dragon Strike!" The charcoals underneath the pot roared into life.

"YAH!" With one rapid series of chopping movements, the meat and vegetables came apart, ready to be added to make stew.

From, above her, she heard a familiar sigh— a sound she least expected to hear in this out worldly setting. She whirled around and found Hyuuga Neji peering through the cellar window where the dirty kitchen was.

N-No way! She repeatedly scrubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't tricking her. It was really her teammate of many years, the prodigious jounin of Konoha.

From where he stood, she knew he could see her from head to toe. And seeing he did, as he took in her rags and soot-covered appearance intently but quietly, until finally, he spoke.

"So this is where you've been since yesterday."

"NEJI!" She rushed towards him, still shaking her head in disbelief. "I-Is this for real?" She scampered to climb over one of the shelves so she could reach the high glass window he was kneeling next to.

"O-Oi, look at where you're stepping. You might fall and hurt yourself."

"Oh, Neji!" She finally reached the topmost panel. Tiptoeing, she reached out and spread her fingers atop the window, not noticing how the thin glass was the only thing separating their hands.

He looked away. "It seems I have made you wait too long. I—"

"... wow, you actually have way more curves in that dress you're wearing than I do!" she exclaimed, pressing her face even more against the window to inspect his hooded blue gown and the big red bow tied under his chin. "Gosh, this is so unfair— uh-oh..." She cowered nervously when she saw the dark aura emanating from him.

His clan's famed Byakugan veins popped all around Neji's face as he irately gripped the sparkling wand on his clenched fists. "Well now, I'm relieved to see you are safe and well enough to conduct couture assessments at this critical point of time, Tenten. I myself do not understand why I am wearing this-"

"CINDERELLA! WHERE'S OUR SUPPER?!" It was unmistakably Drizella's voice, the older of her two stepsisters in this world.

She met his inquisitive pale eyes and shrugged. "That's what they've been calling me all week long. I gathered intel and learned that I'm living with my stepmother and her daughters, and for some reason, I'm doing the chores for a bunch of fully-grown, healthy women."

"Then you better go." Neji got up and dusted his knees. "I'll meet you in the garden after your chores. Let's talk about the situation at hand."

"CINDERELLA! CAN'T YOU BE ANY SLOWER!" That was Anastasia, who was younger than her but seemed to possess no desire to acknowledge such trifling matter.

She made a face. "Why can't we talk right now instead? We need to brainstorm for a way to return to Konoha, stat!"

He eyed her disapprovingly. "You should prioritize your duties and responsibilities to your family above everything else."

"Um, they aren't really my family, you know."

"In this world, they are." He knocked on the glass that was directly above her forehead, making her touch her brows in reflex. "I'll see you later." He turned his back and strolled away.

"CINDERELLA! DID WE STUTTER?!"

"Alright, alright, geez!" She leaped down from the window and landed squarely on her feet with ease. When she looked up, her stepmother and stepsisters were gaping at her openly.

"G-Good lord, how did you jump down from such a high place without breaking any bones?" Anastasia looked at her as if she were an alien life-form.

"Even Lucifer gets nervous from that height!" added Drizella, referring to the nefarious feline that made the arms of its mistress its home.

Tenten scratched her cheek. "Well, to be fair, though, your cat also gets severely triggered from jumping off foot stools-"

"An impertinent child as always, aren't you, Cinderella?" Lady Tremaine's quietly sharp voice pierced the small cramped space. Both girls immediately hushed themselves in deference to the unparalleled queen bee.

The aged woman continued, "Given your monstrous jumping abilities, we, therefore, expect you to be the one to clean our chimneys from this day forward. Send word to the sweeper that we won't be needing his service anymore."

"Anou… aren't you going to ask why I have those abilities in the first place?" asked Tenten, somewhat dumbfounded. "I mean, that's a logical question and all."

The stepmother allowed a slow, mocking smile on her face. "I hold neither regard nor expectations for a spawn of my husband's deceased first wife." She gracefully pivoted back to the dining room. "Now, if you're done with your dawdling, I believe a dinner service is in order."

"You better make sure you feed us something edible this time, Cinderella." Drizella glared daggers at her. "Not even flies dared approach your last dish."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Their stepsister rolled her coffee brown eyes. "Those flies were terribly rude, I tell you. Rude!"

Continue reading at ff.n

[syao]

The Ballad of the Herring Omusubi

Read Time: 3 minutes | Prompt: Gifts

“Ah, so even once-in-a-lifetime geniuses can fail in at least one thing in their life.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Didn’t you see what Neji-sensei’s having for lunch? It’s a burnt mass of abomination begging to be called ‘food’!”

“You better not let him hear that, young man.”

All the heads of the gossiping Academy genin turned to see the flashy-looking Rock Lee in front of them, grinning wickedly. “L-Lee-sensei!” The bowl-haired male was one of the most laid-back shinobi in the village, but the children knew that he was a lifelong teammate of the subject of their conversation.

“Hahaha! Look how white your faces have gone!” Lee plopped down to join the circle underneath the biwa tree. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. But please remember that your sensei can get very, very protective about his lunches.”

“Protective? Don’t you mean ‘defensive’?” one child chimed in.

“I meant exactly what I said.”

“But he shouldn’t feel bad about not being good at cooking!” The female genin pressed her hands together, as if swooning. “Sensei’s good at everything else anyway!”

“Oh, Neji’s great at cooking. But he’d rather not.”

“Eh?!”

Lee reached overhead to pluck a leaf from one of the biwa ’s low-hanging branches and proceeded to cup his hands over it. He tested it with a puff of air and a high-pitched whistle resounded from the plucked leaf.

“WOAH!” The Academy pupils’ eyes widened in awe.

Lee closed his eyes and began to play a few, cheery notes.

Come all ye, Konoha’s shinobi-to-be Today I’ll tell the tale of Neji’s Herring Omusubi. It’s burnt and salty, and the fish tail sticks out. But it's a dish the man can’t do without.

The balladeer snuck a furtive glance at where Neji was and saw that the latter was still blissfully unaware of what was happening. So he continued to sing.

When we were nine, Neji was untouchable. His pedestal, thought we, was unreachable. But one day a girl visited him in his tower. Boldly climbing an invisible ladder. 

The girl who could see things we can’t, And who couldn’t what we can, Gifted him with a most dreadful herring riceball Saying, “Made too much for one, so here, take 'em all!”

Gasps filled the circle. 

“Did Neji-sensei accept her musubi?” asked one student.

“Not only did he accept it,” replied the bushy-browed ninja, pausing from the song but his words still following the rhythm. “He also ate it all!”

“WOAH!!!”

“Sensei is HARDCORE!”

The Herring Omusubi It is burnt and salty The fish tail even sticks out, But it’s a dish he can’t do without.

Lee played a few notes of interlude before proceeding to the next verse. Meanwhile, several curious onlookers began to join the circle, fascinated by the ballad.

Since then the girl has made his lunch bag. Those who dared try his food were sent to fits of gag. Though you wouldn’t have known from the quiet smile he makes At every bite of her riceballs and fishcakes.

II asked him once, "Why do you enjoy this so much, When other cooks can make a better bunch?" He then replies, “No other meals compare, To a dish she chose with me to share.”

Lee grinned at his growing audience of Academy pupils. “Sing with me!”

The Herring Omusubi It is burnt and salty The fish tail even sticks out, But it’s a dish he can’t do without.

After a few more notes with the musical leaf, the bard resumed his ballad.

At eighteen, Neji’s cook has grown quite charming. No wonder boys flocked around her a-swarming! And poor Neji, he couldn’t take it anymore. So one day, he fell on one knee to implore.

“Will you cook for me all my life? I promise to dine nowhere else.” “Sure! It’s not like anyone else would have my cooking,” she tells. “Then will you cook only for me?” he presses some more. “For Tenten, you alone I won't share with anyone in this world.”

The familiar notes of the chorus came up, so even without prodding, the crowd crooned.

The Herring Omusubi It is burnt and salty The fish tail even sticks out, But it’s a dish he can’t do without.

“Wow, what a lovely audience we have today!” Lee’s eyes glittered with proud tears at seeing the swaying and singing folks that gathered before him. “Thank you very much! I’m glad we all came here together to discover the beautiful story behind Neji-kun’s unusual lunches! Thank you, audience, thank you!!! This must be what Shakespeare feels when he captivates the world with his wonderful sto— ARGH!! ARGH!!! ARGH!!! AAAAAARGHHHHH!!! ”

The audience was immediately hushed as a series of impressive palm strikes cleanly hit all the limbs of Konoha’s green beast. At the end of the assault, Lee’s body flew to the skies and disappeared over the horizon with a gleam.

Hyuuga Neji dusted his hands together and glared at the crowd. The latter immediately dispersed like panicked rats, leaving the original Academy students gaping at their sensei.

“Once you’re done with that, hurry over to the training area,” the jounin calmly instructed.

Both of the boys nodded fearfully, but the only girl in the genin team raised her hand without a second thought. “Sensei?”

The man turned to her expectantly.

She grinned cheekily in turn. “All along I thought that the reason you don’t cook much at home is that you’re terrible at it. But you’re just in love with Mama’s cooking that much, huh?”

“Brat.” Their sensei walked away, but not without the trio spotting him suppress an amused grin.

THE END

[syao]

#SyaoPlays: Nightshade / Hyakka Hyakurou

According to Steam, I spent 38 of the last 72 hours playing Nightshade. The rational part of me says this is not a healthy, productive way for a functional adult to spend the weekend. Fortunately, I have no particular affinity to the notion of either “functional” or “adult”, so here I am, armed with post-gaming fangirling on the routes.

Game Overview

Nightshade puts the player in the sandals of Enju, the sheltered princess of an elite shinobi clan that actually consists of two... you know what? It’s all going to be in the prologue anyway (which you’ll play to death in your quest to date all men). Suffice to say, you’ll have five four fine-looking boys AND one particular very fine-looking man to choose from.

So there’s really no chance of you feigning a proper review for the game, no?

Pft. There are already tons of people covering this game and they have sufficient discipline to write reviews properly. Cut me some slack here. :))

And so, without further ado...

Syao’s Route Rankings

My personal ranking of the swoon-worthiness of the men, from best to meh-est. Spoilers abound, so I suggest reading this after playing all of the routes.

1. Hattori Hanzo

If ever this otome game becomes an anime like Amnesia or Hakuouki, I am hoping against hope that they pick this to be the canon storyline instead of the guy who gets the biggest billing in most of their promo pictures. (AhemGekkaAhem).

Hanzo’s route is the most well-written, well-executed romance in the game. There is character development for both male and female MCs (with the latter being the best version of herself in the title: independent, determined, and compassionate). 

The story actually followed their feelings changing from obligatory with a hint of interest (him) / awe (her), to mutual admiration as they grow to learn more about each other as mentor/student, to finally, romantic love. 

There’s an interesting backstory about Kagiri (Enju’s mom) and her childhood friendship with Hanzo, along with an eventual closure for both parties.

And the other characters shipping them is just too cuuuuteeee!!! Goemon remarking on Hanzo’s uncharacteristic trust in other people or Ieyasu sighing that Hanzo has grown more forward (hehe) had me fangirling like crazy. And why wouldn’t I be? I’ve seen how he was at the start of the game: stoic, singularly committed to his missions, and perpetually composed. The change happened right before my eyes, gradually and organically, so I felt as invested as these people who knew Hanzo are.

He was the second route I played, after meeting him in Chojiro’s route with him giving me Aoshi Shinomori vibes. (I remember thinking then, HELL YEAH THAT GUY’S A PLAYABLE ROUTE!!!). So by then, I already knew I had to play through the bad ending so I can unlock all his CGs. That was a really difficult moment for me, TBH.

On the succeeding playthroughs with other guys, I met him several more times. Every time I found myself wishing it had NTR options like Ozmafia (wherein I often end up jumping back to Kyrie Best Guy). 

Favorite moment: The cave hug? The rescue hug? Heck, even Hanzo comforting her after her first kill was soooooo sweet and tender!

2. Momochi Chojiro and Ishikawa Goemon (tied)

Yeah, yeah, I’m cheating. Sue me. But I just can’t rank one over the other because they offer apples-to-oranges experiences in the game.

Let’s start with Chojiro, who was my very first route.

Quiet, prodigious, cold logic types make for adorable routes in otome. It’s fun to have them malfunction and cluelessly ask themselves why the female MC affects them that way.

That said, I’d understand why not his route is not as popular as the other folks. His route is exposition-heavy. He stubbornly clung to his shinobi way, indirectly resulting to his disciples’ tragic deaths. 

But I thought it was all necessary for his character to truly grow. He was young and helpless when the war destroyed his clan, so he naively thought he could avoid this by prioritizing the clan this time he’s now older and stronger. Yet the same thing still happens in the end and only then did he realize that what truly matters in protecting his loved ones was not blind loyalty but the courage to do what is morally right.

Romance-wise, the first half consisted of Enju hero-worshipping with childhood flashbacks and Chojiro struggling with his clan loyalty and duties. The doki-doki moments pick up at the latter half when Chojiro finally acknowledges his feelings for Enju completely and we await the moment he’d finally confess his rediscovered feelings.

Favorite Moment: Chojiro grilling Enju of her feelings for him. He was so cute, slightly bullying her while initiating that rare proximity + skinship.

Goemon is flirty and jokey in other routes, so I was a bit disappointed when I finally played his route on my third go and saw that he was more, uh, demure.

As the comic relief of the game, he was also the most arguably “normie” in terms of romance. In East Asian culture, it is traditional for the guys to initiate the courtship and become the sexually experienced teacher introducing the innocent, virginal maiden to the world of romance. But more than that, he was a former shinobi so free of clan and political ties, he’s more straightforward with his feelings for Enju compared to everyone else.

The wrap-up of his story felt unsatisfying and the obstacle/villain in the relationship felt weak compared to the other route guys’. I mean he’s friggin Goemon who could outwit even the legendary Hanzo-sama! Why would a bunch of low-level shinobi be able to corner him in the story?

But in the end, this is outweighed by the amount of lighthearted fun and killer one-liners he peppers the story with.

Favorite Moment: Every single time he calls Enju ’Miss’. Too adorable.

3. Gekkamaru and Kuroyuki (almost tied)

Gekkamaru’s route is only slightly better than Kuroyuki’s, if only because at least Stockholm Syndrome was not involved. But I found both routes the least engaging, particularly since the feelings have already been established at the start and we’re just waiting for Enju to notice them. Also, Enju’s dishearteningly weak in their storylines, no thanks to the boys obsessed on shielding her from the cruelties of the shinobi life.

Kuroyuki’s lines (which Enju somehow find endearing) sends my skin crawling in terror. (”I will never leave you”, “I almost cried when I saw you happy with other people”, “I will take you away again”, etc.). The entire time I was going through the route for the obligatory CG unlocking, I was fighting the urge to bolt away.

tl;dr:

Nightshade is a pleasant surprise in the recent Steam sale, not only because of its beautiful art but also because of its interesting setting and the top-notch handling of characterization that goes beyond otome cliches (i.e. the megane, the tsundere, etc.).

This is definitely in my top 3 otome games, along with Ozmafia!! and Hakuouki,.

Rating: 4/5

[syao]

Neji in a suit. NEJI. IN A SUIT. Excuse me while I KYAAAAAA~!!!

Prompt: Alternate Universe Forensic Expert Neji x Detective Tenten

Artist: 雅利安 charslotte Inspiration: Fanfic by 眼镜章鱼 Reposted w/permission

[syao]

Neji Plays an Otome Game - Finale

Read Time: 7 mins | Random | Prompt: Competition

RECAP: With Rock Lee’s inspired intervention, Hyuuga Neji was moved by his flowing feelings of a man to play an otome game for his bedridden comrade, Tenten.

“What flowing feelings?” interjected Neji wanly. “And what is Gai doing here?”

Maito Gai emerged from out of nowhere, cracking up. “Ohohoho, count on Neji-kun to sense his beloved sensei’s chakra, even when he’s disguised as a narrator!”

Neji scowled. “I’d really prefer that you refrain from breaking the fourth wall.”

Gai pumped his fist. “You’re right. Why break just the fourth wall when I can do MUCH BETTER than that! The fifth, sixth, seventh, nay, EIGHTH wall awaits!”

Rock Lee’s eyes glistened with tears of pride. “Wohooo! Gai-sensei, so coooool!”

“Won’t you come in, Gai-sensei?” Tenten called from inside the room. “You’re all scaring the tenants.”

“Woooo!!!”

“And don’t break any of my walls on the way in, okay?”

“Woooo!!!”

“NEJI--”

“I’ve got this. Go back to bed.”

Unlikely Kindred Spirit

“Ah, so you’re playing Dokidoki Tutorial’s handheld release,” said Gai, nodding to himself solemnly as he watched Neji navigate through the dialogues. “It’s been many years since I’ve seen these...”

“YOU’VE PLAYED THIS?!” Neji and Tenten exclaimed in unison.

Gai grinned. “Don’t sound too impressed, disciples of mine! Kakashi and I have fought in many, many battles in the game’s original arcade release to test each other’s true strengths. It was a fierce competition to see who gets the Good Ending for all the boys first.”

KAKASHI-SENSEI PLAYED THIS, TOO?! Both faces darkened as they imagined the Copy Ninja calmly and impassively answering all the dokidoki decision points without missing a beat.

“No wonder he grew up to be such a remorseless, feared shinobi,” muttered Neji.

Life’s Philosophy

"So really, you can consult me about the choices and I’ll be happy to enlighten you, Neji.” Gai offered him a fatherly smile, as if reassuring him that of his reliability.

“Very well.” Neji pressed the Start button on the handheld and started to go play back the opening scenes.

Tenten’s forehead creased. “Neji, haven’t you read through those screens before? You can just press Skip to quickly move past those parts, you know.”

“I prefer not to,” he answered curtly. “In real life, we can’t skip out the parts of life we find tedious or those we don’t like. It’s what makes us stronger and more resilient, fallible human beings as we are.”

“Well-said, Neji-kun!” Lee and Gai applauded him enthusiastically.

Tenten’s eyes narrowed. You just didn’t know about the Skip option, did you?

How Women Do It

Tenten forced herself to sit up on the bed. “Well at least use the Load function!” She grabbed the device and demonstrated how to bring up the full menu. “Save the decision parts so it’ll be easier to go back to them in the future!” 

Lee and Neji both gaped at Tenten as she repeatedly tapped on Next to get past filled pages with various dates, game times, and chapters. Finally, she found a blank slot at page 35 to save.

“How long have you been playing this, Tenten?” asked Neji.

“I probably started a week ago.”

Lee held out his fingers to count. “15 slots per page, then multiply it by 34...”

Neji had long computed the answer in his mind, based on the strange look he was suddenly giving at her.

Gai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s how women remember all of a man’s past mistakes in life. No wonder these can be easily brought up during arguments.”

“THAT’S SEXIST!!!”

It’s Perfectly Normal

Tenten puffed her cheeks in annoyance. “Look, it’s not just the choice screens you can save. It’s normal to save certain points of the game that you really enjoyed.”

Gai nodded along. “That’s true. There are certain conversations that are always fun to go back to, but they’re not selected to be part of the Clips Gallery.”

The kunoichi nodded gratefully to her sensei for his back-up. “Right! It’s perfectly normal! For example, I saved the moment from Hattori’s route when he finally understood that the female MC was more than just a childhood friend to him. You’ll see that on Page 16, Slot#3.”

Lee and Neji’s face darkened. That random yet accurate memory is definitely NOT normal!

Mission Completion Rate

Neji firmly pushed the coughing Tenten back to her bed. “Get some rest. You’re straining yourself out too much.” 

Lee nodded. “Yeah, Tenten! Leave this game to us.”

“B-But..”

The Hyuuga’s forehead creased. “Are you still holding a grudge against me for turning that guy into a Yandere? I told you, he had some issues right from the start. He had a double personality. He wasn’t a healthy choice for the MC at all. Also, I saw that the bad ending unlocked one picture for the CG gallery, improving your completion rate.”

Tenten sweatdropped. Count on Neji to find mission completion as the most attractive part of the game.

The Essence of Choices

Prince looks like he’s about to cry.

<< You hug him. >>

<< You stroke his head. >>

Neji glanced at Gai. “So what do you think? They’re basically the same thing.”

“HMP!” Their sensei wore a smug grin. “Listen, cherished student of mine. On the surface, skinship in otome games may all look the same. However,  the key to making the right choice in scenarios like this is to understand the context of your relationship. Try to recall your journey of love: did he previously share a rarely-spoken-of past memory of a precious loved one stroking his head as an expression of affection? Then that may be the right answer. Or maybe you two have known each other all your lives and have always treated him like a little brother. Stroking his head is what a big sister will do, so he’ll only feel disheartened if you choose to go with that option.” 

Gai capped it off by patting his student on the shoulder. “The bottom line is, an almost-correct answer means nothing to the game. It’s either you get the exact response and progress your relationship, or you don’t, and you get a smaller leeway for mistakes until the next bad ending cut-off.”

Neji hated to admit it, but he couldn’t help feeling impressed by the expert understanding the man had for the game. “You must have beat Kakashi during the challenge.”

The jounin raised a shaking fist in the air. “Almost! I was so close to beating him! But his choices were flawless and he beat all the endings before I did.” Gai looked torn between frustration and awe as he recalled that memory. “That Kakashi seems to have more experiences with different men than I do!”

Neji (and Tenten, who was trying to rest on her bed) both grimaced. THAT DIDN’T SOUND RIGHT!!!

Okay Kind of Guy

I am caught by surprise when I hear a soft voice speak from behind.

“Do not trust people so easily, Tenten.” He refuses to meet my gaze, but we are the only ones left in the empty classroom, so I’m sure he is talking to me. “What you see is not always what one is.”

“Finally, a sensible person in the game,” remarked Neji. “Who’s this silver-haired, blue-eyed fellow?”

“Oh, that’s Vincent. He’s the mysterious foreign exchange student from England,” explained Tenten. “Really smart but really quiet guy. He always watches the female MC from a distance and gives her advice. He’s cold to everyone else, though.”

“... sounds like an okay guy to me,” shrugged Neji.

"It sounds like someone I know, though,” murmured Lee, tapping on his chin.

What’s Wrong with Him?

“Does Vincent have a route?” Neji wanted to know.

Tenten thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think I saw a page for him in the CG Gallery. I just haven’t gotten around to playing Vincent’s route.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “So you’ve opted to play all the other men before him? What’s wrong with Vincent?”

Tenten sweatdropped. Neji... really does have a soft spot for Vincent, huh?

Down, Boy, Down!

Neji was still inconsolably miffed by what he perceived as a snub of his newfound bias, so Tenten felt compelled to say something.

“I wanted to play Vincent last because I heard his route has the most number of story spoilers.”

“...”

He’s still mad. Tenten sighed, and then added, “I also want to save the best route for last.”

“...really?” He opened one eye and looked at her skeptically.

But Lee and Gai were seeing something else. Neji’s like a puppy wagging his tail!

The Girl Who Feels Loved

“Well, we’ve made enough ruckus for one day.” Lee gave the bedridden patient a snappy farewell salute. “Feel better, Tenten!”

“We’ll check in from time to time to make sure you’ve taken your meds and are well-fed,” promised Gai as he left fruits and bottled water within her reach.

“I left three choice screens on Slots 11, 12, and 13 in case I made a mistake on Prince’ route,” said Neji. “It’s really difficult to seduce a sociopath bastard.”

She stifled a laugh. For all their quirks, her team really loves her, and she loves them back just as much.

"Thank you, everyone. I had a great time today.” She beamed fondly at them.

Otome guys may be cute and all, but nothing beats my 3D boys.

That Word Again 

“Didn't you have fun, Neji?” asked Lee as the trio walked home leisurely.

“Fun. Heh.” Neji rolled his eyes. “Playing to please fictional men so they’ll date the female MC is hardly fun. A relationship should be the product of two people working together to keep it stable and strong, not a one-sided effort to fit somebody’s preferences and expectations.”

Gai looked impressed. “For a tsundere, you seem to express the ways of love so clearly.”

Neji scowled. “There’s that word again! Why do you keep calling me that?!”

Lee and Gai both wore a stupid expression on their faces as if they were doing their damn best not to burst out laughing.

“F-Fine! Just call me whatever you want! It’s not like I particularly care.” He crossed his arms with a scowl.

Neji’s tsundere-ness is a dating sim dream! Gai imagined hordes of male players exploding into massive nosebleeds if they overhear this conversation. We must keep this dere side of him a secret... or he’ll pose a threat to the future of Konoha youth! 

The Last Word

“But all that aside, I really appreciate that you decided to meet Tenten’s interests halfway,” said Lee smilingly. “You’re typically not the kind of person who’d be pushed into doing something he didn’t like.”

Neji shrugged. “If I didn’t do that, Tenten would have insisted on playing all day. Otherwise, I just want to move on from this day and forget those sissy-looking, psychologically-problematic jerks.”

“Now. now, Neji. it”s not so bad,” chuckled Lee. “Besides, it’s not as if it’s the furthest you would go for her.”

The Hyuuga glared pointedly at him, but had no words to rebut until they parted ways.

“Was I too upfront with him, Gai-sensei?” asked Rock Lee when it was just the two of them walking back.

In response, Gai grinned. “A bit. I have a feeling that someone’s going to do a lot of thinking tonight about circumstances.”

Indeed, that night, Neji could hardly feel the beckoning of slumber. He was busy writing down in-depth character profiles for each otome male route, his famed observational skills polished by Gai’s game insights meticulously detailing the nuances of possible choice screens that would come up as the game progressed.

Neji sighed. Maybe Lee was right-- there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for the sake of Tenten’s smile. 

But it’s not like he could help it. Just like the female MC in the game, pleasing someone that matters to him did feel... a little nice.

THE END

[syao]

Hotarubi

Read Time: 5 Mins / Prompt: Alternate Universe 

Hyuuga Neji slowly opened his eyes and found himself welcomed by the sound of chirps and various wild critters. A steady stream of sunlight shone down on his face, even sending up a bit of dust on the grassy spot where he sat by his lonesome.

Hazily, he recalled last night’s dream of making his way through the dark, forbidding forest. For some reason, even his Byakugan couldn’t break through the velvety darkness. His only guide was a solitary soft glow of light radiating from beyond. Out of fatigue, he decided to retire for the evening under the large Japanese red-cedar tree.

His reverie was cut short when a couple of males wearing bright orange clothing and clutching long black metal barrels strode past him. Discreetly, his pale eyes roved around their bodies to find their forehead protector and ascertain which village they were from.

“Too bad we only managed to wound the boar.”

“All thanks to your terrible aim! Even a toddler can aim his rattle at it far better than you can!”

“Oh yeah, you think that kid’s gone home by now?”

“Probably. Who does she think she’s trying to scam? Lost in the woods, my ass!”

He patiently waited until the men had disappeared into the clearing. Then dusting his knees, Neji got up and scanned the forest. His Byakugan was still useless, but he had honed his other senses keenly enough to detect what he was looking for.

Another chakra signature. It was smaller and less apparent than the usual forces he found during his missions, so he was sure that it belonged to the little girl that the men were talking about.

He started to head for the area when he detected another presence. It was running furiously, aiming for the small chakra.

Damn it! Instinctively, he dashed towards the scene. Mentally computing the distance, he knew he could probably reach the little girl in time, but he’d rather not risk it.

 Instead, he took out a couple of kunai and hurled it towards the quickly approaching presence. He watched as his weapons accurately traveled the trajectory path he had worked out and cleanly hit the leaping form.

The wild boar’s momentum, coupled with the powerful attack, propelled the animal to slam heavily against the tree where the little girl sat, brown eyes paralyzed at his blood-smeared weapon that was still stuck in the carcass.

Ah. The poor thing must have been terrified beyond words. 

Not that he could blame the child. She was so small that the span of the boar’s corpse dwarfed her by more than a few inches. Had he not come, she would have been easily the one bleeding on the ground right now.

“It’s okay now.” He knelt down and carefully positioned himself between the boar and the brown-haired girl so the latter did not have to look at the frightening scene anymore. “You should go home.” He reached for his weapon.

To his utter surprise, her small hands suddenly snaked past his and pulled out the kunai. Her eyes grew big as she inspected the weapon up close— from its pointed leaf-shaped blade down to its small ring attached to the pommel.

“Whoa.” Her tiny, awestruck voice registered everything he needed to know. She was not scared at all— she was impressed! Despite himself, the corner of his mouth twitched at the small swell of pride he had for earning a little girl’s admiration.

Just like…  A perplexing thought filled him as he looked more closely at the child. The circumstances were too odd, but the semblance was also too uncanny to disregard.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Take down that boar with one kunai?” Her coffee brown eyes met his own pale ones. And despite her age, she held his gaze firmly, as if she was conversing with a playmate rather than a grown adult. More importantly, it was a set of eyes he had known all his life.

“Onii-chan?” He heard her prompt with curiosity.

I see now. So that’s what happened. With a rueful smile on his face, he spoke, “It’s because the kunai was made by a weapon goddess.”

“A weapon goddess?!” Her eyes grew wide in excitement. “Ne, ne, can I have this?” She embraced the kunai close to her heart, cheeks flushed with excitement.

Neji shook his head gently. “I’m sorry, but this is something very important to me and I can’t part with it.”

Her face turned crestfallen, but her young eyes reflected empathy beyond her years. “Okay.” She reached out and grabbed his right hand so she could deposit the weapon back to it.

She then felt his left hand fall on top of her head. A slight smile played on his lips as he patted her hair.

“Don’t look so down. If it’s you, I know you can craft a weapon like this someday.”

“But that weapon was made by a goddess!” she cried. “And I’m not… I’m not…”

“Who’s to say you can’t be a weapon goddess?” he challenged quietly. “Deities can be both born and made. And even if you were fated to be nothing but a mortal, won’t it be fun to try and defy the stars anyway?”

“Defy the stars, huh?” She seemed to earnestly consider his words, committing them to memory.

“When that day comes, I’ll find you again.” He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. “I want to see whatever you’d end up making.”

She let out a delighted peal of laughter. “You’d be an old man then, onii-chan! You’d be too frail to hold a kunai properly.”

“No,” he murmured, strands of hair blowing across his forehead where his cursed seal was once placed. When we meet again, I will know better. I will not be afraid to hold things that matter to me. I will live with fewer regrets.

“Onii-chan?” He heard her ask uncertainly. “Don’t sleep here. You’ll get cold. I’ll call Lee and our sensei, okay? I’ll ask if you can stay with us. Wait here.” In a second, light footsteps scampered away from him.

Ah, the time has come. The bright, sunny morning was giving way to dusk. Darkness was returning to him like an old friend, along with his memories.

Father… I finally understand the freedom you felt. Choosing to die in order to protect your comrades.

His world started to fade into black as Naruto, Hinata, Lee and the others’ voices grew farther and farther away.

But the last voice he heard seemed to reverberate loudly, as if it spoke from within him

“I’ll never forgive you, Neji!”

Ah. She was furious at him. Quite understandable, given how she labored to protect his blind spot all these years. This was not the way she expected him to end her duty.

How he wanted to apologize. He didn’t want to part ways with her this way. Not like this...

If only I can open my eyes one more time… I really want to see her face.

Then amidst the darkness, he suddenly saw it. A glow of light reminiscent of a firefly that seemed to beckon him. Instinctively, he chased after it, letting it lead him into an invisible maze that gradually gave way to a forest.

His father once said that fireflies give off light in order to find their partner. The one that casts the light is always the woman, and a man only needed to follow so he could return home to her embrace.

And that’s how he ended up meeting Tenten again, against all odds.

The gods of the many universes were smiling kindly at him, perhaps.

He clutched the kunai holster closer to his side.

Relieved of his final regret, Neji suddenly felt so light that he felt he was floating.

Perhaps he, too, was floating away like a firefly; not unlike the soldiers before him that ascended to the heavens to finally take their honored place in the zodiac night skies.

When little Tenten returned with her adoptive father, Maito Gai, and Rock Lee, the mysterious onii-chan was nowhere to be found.

“He must have gone back home,” said Gai reassuringly to his ward. “I’m sure his parents were waiting for him.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she nodded smilingly.

“OF COURSE GAI-SENSEI IS RIGHT!” Lee patted her shoulder warmly. “Let’s go home, too!”

“Alright!” She threw a final glance at the cedar tree, and then marched away happily. “Oh, by the way, I just decided on what I want to be when I grow up.”

“A spitting mirror image of Gai-sensei?” Lee crossed his arms, scowling. “Nuh-uh, got first dibs on that one!”

“NOPE!” Tenten’s eyes twinkled happily. “I’m gonna be… a weapon goddess!”

THE END

Note: Side story to Everett’s Web. 

[syao]

[Random] [Prompt] Alternate Universe

Read Time: 9 mins | Set in: post-Konoha Gakuen Den-verse

Twenty-year-old Tenten has always been an early sleeper and riser— borne of her lot as the sole proprietor of one of the oldest karate dojos in the prefecture. Her father (bless his soul) used to deem two-hour conditioning exercises as an acceptable morning ritual, after-school activity, and evening family bonding... even for school-aged children.

So hearing urgent knocks on her door at ten PM was equivalent to a midnight emergency of kaiju invasion proportions. Hence, she was a tiny bit disappointed when she peeked into the peephole and saw a decidedly normal, non-kaiju Rock Lee.

“Go away,” she grumbled, sliding the hole cover shut.

“Oh, did I disturb your sleep?”

“Do you honestly expect me to say, ‘Oh no, don’t worry about it! Come in and have tea and cookies with me?’ Because if you do, I’d have to break your heart. Like, literally. With an elbow strike.”

 “Ahahaha, Tenten, you’re such a joker!”

Grumpily, she finally managed to undo the fussy double locks and proceeded to throw the door open. “Okay, Lee, this better be good.”

“I brought Neji with me.” Lee then pointed to the long-haired male crumpled against the railing, face red. His head was bowed, causing his hair to partially cover his beautifully rare eyes. His usually crisp, starched long-sleeved dress shirt and necktie were disheveled, but she had no doubt that it was, indeed, Hyuuga Neji.

“K-Kaichou!” Tenten rushed outside worriedly and knelt before the male. “Kaichou, wake up! What happened to you?” She had to slap his cheek a couple of times before he responded with a breathing grunt.

She turned to Lee. “What happened to him?”

Lee shook his head. “I’m not sure. We attended one of his family business dinners earlier this evening. Then as usual, a bunch of women— daughters of his family friends, I guess— ganged up on him. And the next thing I know, Neji was dragging me back into the car looking like that and was asking me to take him away from the party because he isn’t safe.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Hired killers?” Their former school council president, along with his cousins Hinata and Hanabi, had always been targets of kidnappers and hired guns mainly due to the prominent family name they carried.

“I don’t think so. Uchiha Itachi’s agency is handling the security details of this evening’s affairs.”

“But he looks bad!” she cried, eyeing the state of her barely responsive friend.

 “Tenten, how rude!” Lee frowned disapprovingly.

 A vein popped on her head. “No, I mean, he looks really ill! Why did you bring him here instead of a hospital?!”

 The bowl-haired male shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I was about to, but while googling which hospital had the most impressive cuisine, I heard Neji calling your name so I figured he wanted to say hi to you or something.”

“GRAH! LEE!” Whatever sermon she had planned was cut short though when she heard groans from behind her, reminding her of a wounded lion from a savannah documentary she once saw on TV. Immediately, she whirled towards Neji and urgently grabbed his shoulders. “Kaichou! Kaichou, it’s me! Can you hear me?”

In response, he nodded and brusquely brushed her hands off him.

“Oh, wow! I think he’s back to his usual normal self!” remarked Lee.

“Kaichou!” She peered down towards his face, inspecting his unusually colored cheeks and quivering lips. “We’re taking you to the doctor! Just hang on, okay?”

“N-No.” For the first time since the whole conversation started, the Hyuuga had finally spoken. “I’m fine,” he continued weakly. “Just help me find a place to hide.”

Her brows furrowed in concern. “Hide from what? Should I phone Uchiha-san’s team?”

To which, the male shook his head vigorously, as if he had found a new source of strength upon processing the preposterous thought of an elite Hyuuga asking for protection from a “lesser” family like the Uchihas.

Lee peered at Neji, too. “Let’s stash him in your cupboard! No one will find him there! Heck, even you don’t know where it is!”

“Well now, I’m sorry if I’m no goddess of domestication.” Upon locating her body’s center of gravity, she proceeded to lift the limp body of the Hyuuga with her shoulders and neck and turned to her friend expectantly. “Let’s get Kaichou to the hospital, stat!”

“We can’t!” replied Lee. “Hospitals are very open spaces. He can’t hide there. Plus, there are lots of female nurses there!”

Wait, what? But deciding that her friend’s medical situation was more important than making sense of Lee’s logic, she asked, “So where do we take him?”

 “I have an idea!” Lee flung her apartment door open and pushed the both of them inside. She would have landed face-first if not for her lifelong training of recovering properly from a fall.

“WHAT THE HECK—” Tempers flared, Tenten was right about to lunge at Lee, but felt Neji’s body weighing her down like lead. Guiltily, she adjusted her stance to better support him, and then contented herself with glaring pointedly at the smiling bowl-haired male. “Rock Lee, what’s the big idea?! Now’s not the time for your stupid tricks! What if Neji’s dying at this very moment?!”

“Hide him in your apartment for now,” he instructed. “I’ll find a Hyuuga affiliated physician and bring him here to your place. That way, we won’t alert the media and give the Hyuuga Corporation any trouble.”

So Lee does think things through sometimes. She glanced quickly at the crimson-faced Hyuuga beside her. “Sounds good. But you better make it quick, Lee. I’ve never seen Kaichou like this before.”

“I will.”  And with that, Lee shut the door. She then heard the sound of hurried footsteps departing her apartment complex.

Tenten pursed her lips, and then darted her eyes back at the hyperventilating, flushed man beside her. After deliberating on what to do next, she got up carefully and began to make her way to her bedroom.

  “Come on, Hyuuga-sama! Just a taste!” A voluptuous pair of women crawled towards him, wearing the skimpiest fabric he had ever seen since the return of fundoshi. 

“Open your mouth for onee-sama...” They held out a bowl of chocolate brandy ice cream towards him, which seemed to have a particularly large yellow banana drizzled in white corn syrup…

“GRAH!!!” Hyuuga Neji shot up his bed like an arrow, panting heavily. Just a dream… thank god it was just a dream… He cupped his throbbing temple with one hand, eyes still shut tight. He could feel his whole body was slick with perspiration, causing his shirt to undesirably stick to his skin.

I need a shower. He decided to get up, but before he could swing his legs to the floor, he felt his feet make contact with something that felt more solid than air.

“OUCH!” The next thing he saw was a familiar brown-haired woman tumbling down the floor. She got up slowly, rubbing her smarting head. “What the heck was that… oh, KAICHOU! You’re alive!” Tenten’s eyes brightened when she saw him seated on the bed, which he now realized wasn’t his own.

“I… I apologize for kicking your head.” It was the first thing that came to his mind at the moment when he wasn’t sure what the circumstance was and why exactly it involved Tenten. One thing he was sure of was that ice cream and the scary onee-sama were no dreams at all. The party earlier...

Tenten’s cheerful voice interrupted his reverie. “Oh, it’s okay! I never had gotten hit by something like that before because I could always guard, but hey, it’s bound to happen eventually anyway,” she said, waving her hands reassuringly. “More importantly, are you okay?” she asked, touching his blanket-covered leg worriedly.

Her blanket, he realized, feeling the rush of blood within him again. Her bed.

 “I-It’s coming back, isn’t it?” asked the girl with the accursed keen observation skills. “Should I take you to the doctor?”

“No need.” He stiffly inched away from her, intent on not allowing any distance smaller than five feet between them. He may have slightly regained his wits, but judging from how his body was traitorously reacting to her presence right now, he knew he was still very much in the danger zone.

He saw her wince at his flinching reaction, but she nevertheless soldiered on with a sympathetic smile. “Does it hurt when I touch you?”

If only this terrible woman knew how she had easily set the whole entirety of him ablaze with those few, measly innocent words. “N-Now’s not a good time.”

Her forehead creased, but she nodded anyway. “If you say so. Should I get you a mug of hot chocolate?”

“NOT CHOCOLATE!”

She blinked. “Um, alright. Coffee then?”

“Ice cold, please.”

She gave him a hearty salute before disappearing in her pocket kitchen. “Hmmm… I swear I just saw that cupboard yesterday. I wonder where I was looking…” He could hear her muttering amidst sounds of pans and pots clanking.

Now’s my chance! He frantically grabbed his mobile phone, which thankfully was safely tucked in his trouser pockets. He quickly dialed Lee’s number. The latter answered on the fifth or sixth ring.

“Tenten, is it about Neji?!” Lee asked, huffing, even before he could even get a word in. “Don’t tell me… NOOOOOOO, he was such a good friend to us! He was like a brother to me—”

“I’M NOT YET DEAD, LEE!” he hissed, sneaking a glance at the kitchen. Still clear.

“Neji! You’re alive!” squealed the other party on the line.

“Yes, yes. But more importantly, why am I here?” he wanted to know. “I thought I told you to take me someplace safe without women!”

“But you were calling for Tenten so urgently in your sleep! It was really totes adorable by the way, and if anyone says otherwise, I’ll gladly show them the recording on my phone—”

“DELETE THAT!” He had to fight to keep his voice down, which was a feat given the panic he was feeling right now. “Delete that or I’ll buy that curry restaurant you frequent and then burn it down to the ground!”

“How majestically cruel! I expect nothing less from our cold-hearted Neji-kun!” He heard several clicks, and then Lee’s voice came on, reading aloud the message alert box. “Do you really want to delete this file? No, but my friend insists, so yes, I’m really deleting the file. There, file deleted!”

“Thanks.” He let out a deep breath to calm himself, and then spoke again. “You have no idea what kind of trouble you caused for her. Back at the party, I was tricked into consuming sweets potently laced with alcohol and hormonal stimulant—”

“Is it a viagra cake?”

He ignored the question. “So it’s a bad thing for me to be here with her right now, alone in her apartment. I’m leaving in a bit.”

“Don’t do that!” protested Lee. “What if, while walking, you chance upon an office lady? Or a university student? Or a salaryman! My conscience can’t take it if I read about you unleashing your libido on them in tomorrow’s headlines!”

“And you’d prefer me to unleash my libido on Tenten?!” he snapped. “Are you out of your mi—” His words halted when an ice-cold tumbler of coffee was placed on the console table beside him.

“That’s an interesting conversation you’re having, Kaichou.” Tenten sat back down on her stool, an amused smile on her face.

“...I’ll call you back.” Without even waiting for an answer, Neji pressed the End Call button and nervously faced the woman. He gulped inwardly before he spoke slowly. “Tenten, I… I can explain.”

“Basically, you’ve been fed an aphrodisiac by one of your business associates’ daughters so they can carry your child and force a marriage of convenience between your families. Is that right?”

He did a double take. “How did you…” He was pretty sure he didn’t cover all that with Lee during the conversation.

“ I’m a woman. I know how our minds work. Also, you might have accidentally hit on speaker during your very discreet and super secretive phone call.”

He nearly smacked his forehead with his palm. Of all the stupidity...

“You kinda wounded my ego a bit back there, though,” she continued in a light-hearted tone. “I know I’m not the most feminine gal out there but—”

“HUH?! I don’t understand.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Forgetting that I’m a woman, too. I mean, how else can you explain what Lee said about you looking for me right after you stated that you can’t hang around with a woman?”

 His mouth hung open at hearing her conjecture.

She got up from her stool and moved to the foot of her bed, where he still sat frozen. “But Kaichou, you’ve been so good to me. Back in high school, you kept the girls’ karate club open even when I was the lone member. Then after years of not meeting, you recognized me right off the bat when I barged into your corporate office to negotiate our land lease. And when your family bought off the land our dojo is leasing, you hired me as a security specialist in your company because you learned that I was an orphan with nowhere to go.”

Her brown eyes twinkled warmly. “So really, if an outlet for desire is what Kaichou needs to feel better then I will gladly do my best… if you will have me, that is.” With that, she unbuttoned her top and pulled it up her arms, revealing the modestly sloped valleys cushioned by her gray sports bra. She reached for the waistband of her pyjama bottoms next.

“You’re terrible at this.”

“K-Kaichou!” she gasped when he suddenly closed the distance between the two of them in a flash. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath fanning her face.

“You’ve got some nerve to act like it’s no big deal.” He grabbed her trembling hand and held it out in front of her face. “You’re clearly shaking like a leaf.”

She bit her lip in embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“I won’t, sorry!”

Sighing, he gently placed her hand back on her lap, but didn’t let go of it. “When I take you to my bed, Tenten, it’s on terms that we both consented to,” he continued earnestly, looking straight into her eyes. “Not because you owe me anything, or that I was under the influence of anything. Did I make myself clear on that?”

“Y-Yes, Kaichou.”

“Also, then and now, never once did I not look at you as a woman.”

Her eyebrow cocked instantly. “Even in my karategi?”

“That’s my favorite look of you.” Well, second-favorite now, he thought as he clandestinely regarded how breathtakingly sensual she looked with her bare shoulders and cotton bra.

Fighting off the surge of the white-hot heat radiating within him yet again, he contented himself with lifting her hand to his lips— just as the front door banged open.

 “Neji, fret not, ole buddy! We’re here to save you now--WHOA!” Rock Lee’s eyes widened at the sight of the couple. Behind him, the only medic readily available that he could trust— Haruno Sakura— whistled, sounding impressed.

“For what it’s worth. it’s not what you think,” said Neji, his face darkening in ire.

“Sure. sure. Oh, are we in the way?” asked Lee teasingly.

But before he could reply, Tenten had spoken up.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” she replied with a grin. Feeling his stunned gaze at her, she beamed back at him.

“Duly noted.” Lee closed the door behind him with a smile, leaving the two in their own little world for the evening.

 THE END

[syao]

#SyaoRereads: The Sparrow by Goldberry

It’s #NejiTenMonth this July, so in the spirit of celebration for my favorite Naruto OTP (next to the unfathomable ShinoHina, haha!), I’m re-reading and reviewing NejiTen stories that really, really left an impression on me.

Today, I’m starting with who I personally feel is the best NejiTen author in the fandom.  Goldberry crafts such excellent, in-character stories. (I reckon she understands Neji and Tenten far better than Kishimoto himself does!)

Among her library of great reads, I consider The Sparrow as my favorite. I don’t usually like angst, but I fell in love at first read with this fanfic.

For those who haven’t read it yet, spoilers abound. Also, please go and read the story right now. It’s goddamn beautiful.

Birds fly and die and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Except for Tenten, she tries.

This 10-minute read packs a lot of powerful symbolism and emotion, beginning from 7-year-old Tenten’s incredible compassion and selflessness shown in her treatment of the titular sparrow. The simple, age-appropriate explanation of young Tenten’s concern for the animal and its ties to Hyuuga Neji built the foundation of her protectiveness and affection for him later on in the story.

It was Neji who caught her, a flash of confusion crossing his face before his features resumed their normal flat expression. She knew he couldn't understand how she had failed to save herself, how she could have miscalculated so badly as to fall prey to such a simple mistake...

I loved this catch scene. It was described so vividly that I could visualize the whole scene as an anime filler sequence. 

One thing I always struggle with in writing NejiTen stories is how to show restraint in handling Neji, particularly his interactions with Tenten. Canonically, he doesn’t speak much or demonstrates emotions. He’s no Rock Lee who readily jumped into the arena during the Chuunin Exams arc out of worry for embattled Tenten. This makes it hard to move the plot along.

But in this story, Goldberry capitalizes on this. The story is mostly told from Tenten’s POV, and her seeing a change in expression in usually poker-faced Neji makes the scene more impactful. Yet the same POV shields us from what Neji was thinking at that time, tapping on good ole shoujo tropes of denial and downplaying of romantic tension.

"They're going to find out eventually, Tenten. It will only make it harder...in the end...if you keep protecting them."

She smiled a little, though the look was grim. "They have enough burdens to bear. This one is mine alone."

Maito Gai is frequently reduced in fanfics as a lovable buffoon, so I like stories that tackle his other persona-- the one that stopped Neji from the final move that would have seriously harmed Hinata in the Chuunin match and would have made his student regret it forever.

In here, Gai shares the burden of concealing Tenten’s “last, final sparrow”, adding to the element of dread that we’ve come to expect from Your Lie in April.

The four of them were only halfway there when it hit her, a pain so intense she saw white stars and dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe, literally gasping for air. Neji and Lee were beside her instantly and she could hear their voices but it was beyond her to answer when she wasn't sure she could take another breath. There were some long, horrible minutes while her teammates could only watch their capable, strong kunoichi writhe on the ground, tears on her face from the supreme effort it took to force her failing lungs to work.

This passage played out exactly as the anime would have in my mind. The contrast between the “capable, strong kunoichi” and the writhing woman on the ground was such a painful contrast, and at the same time, it established how well-regarded and respected Tenten is in her team. THIS is the dynamic that differentiates their team from the rest of Konoha 11, where women are regarded as either damsels-in-distress or annoying nags.

Neji and Tenten’s conversation prior to the climax is the part that most moved me in this story, ESPECIALLY this segment:

"I heard you say, 'I'm dying'." His white eyes flashed at her and she could see the hopeless rage in his face. "Why didn't you tell me, Tenten? About the birds, about your sickness... I would have.. I could..."

"You could what, Neji?" she asked, tiredly. "Fight death?"

She had meant it to be rhetorical, but Neji's gaze met hers firmly. "I would try."

HE WOULD FIGHT DEATH FOR HER SAKE OMFGBBQ!!!!12340J!!!

/clears throat Sorry about that. So where was I? Ah yes, the moment that the Neji wall breaks. His “hopeless rage”, the lines he couldn’t finish, and the “I would try” line. It was perfectly Neji through and through. And once again, I have to laud the writer for the impressive restraint. No overt “I love yous” were exchanged here, but, dammit, if a guy is ready to fight death for you, you better believe it’s one true love, hun.

The operation scene puts you amidst the scary, tense-filled moments. There’s little dialogue, yet it feels like you’re hearing and feeling all the character’s sentiments, thanks to the well-written exposition.

He was almost...frantic, and the very idea of that made her start. Neji was never anything but cool, collected, icily arrogant in the face of danger. Even angry, he always remained in control. To hear him now, it was almost as if...as if he were afraid.

Afraid of losing her.

Afraid of losing a teammate, her mind corrected, but even she didn't quite believe that.

Neji’s crumbling facade. Tenten’s blossoming epiphany on how important she might just be to him. 

"She owes you a great deal. Without your eyesight, we might never have-"

"She owes me nothing, Hokage-sama," Neji said quietly, still watching her. "It was I who was repaying a debt."

What a great anti-climactic moment this is, Neji finally being given the opportunity to express how he feels for Tenten-- including acknowledging her kindness and sacrifices for him. As a reader, I felt Tenten was vindicated for having to go through all of this. Plus, what a very Neji thing for Neji to say, no?

So in conclusion...

Imagery and symbolism-wise, The Sparrow knocks it out of the park. The “less is more” approach to dialogues also helped make it feel more IC and believable, especially Neji. The transitions were also great and didn’t feel abrupt at all.

All in all, it’s a story worth reading and re-reading if you ever need a NejiTen fix.

Next week: I’m reviewing Neji Gaiden by Levi Ackerman. Multi-chapter. Dammit, bid me good luck with this one.

[syao]

Ridiculous Things

Pairing: Neji x Tenten | Read Time: 11 mins

“Good work today.”

Tenten glanced down from the treetop where she sat as she watched over their target’s residence that rainy evening.

Twenty feet below her stood her teammate, Hyuuga Neji, who was clad in a dark gray raincoat to ward off the expected overnight chill during his shift. For the next few days, they would be taking turns keeping an eye on a B-class criminal who was assigned to them for capture by the Tsunade-sama.

Rock Lee and their temporary team member for this mission, Uzumaki Naruto, had already taken their respective shifts during the day. She took the early evening to midnight hours, while Neji was slated for the graveyard hours.

(She initially got the overnight shift when they drew lots to decide their assigned hours, but the Hyuuga clandestinely switched hers with his upon learning what she picked.)

“Aren’t you a little too early?” It was only nine in the evening— three whole hours before she could take off.

He made his way up to the branch. “I had nothing to do back home anyway.” His hand slipped into his bag to pull out a teal-colored tumbler. “Here.”

“What’s this?” She took the container from him and twisted the lid open. The sweet, vegetal aroma of matcha tea filled her nostrils, warming her up with a cozy sensation of calmness.

“When Hinata-sama learned about the team’s new assignment, she took it upon herself to make extra tea for the team members who’d be around during my shift.”

She grinned as the image of the elite clan’s heiress making tea flashed in her mind. “That’s so sweet of your cousin! And it’s still hot, too!” Her eyebrow raised. “Don’t tell me you came here early just for this?”

“Anything unusual going on?” he asked instead, his Byakugan-endowed eyes scanning the place.

… yup, he didn’t tell me. She stifled a giggle. “None so far. There were a few people who had gone in and out earlier today, according to Naruto.”

 “People?”

“Servants of that family manor. Possibly to procure food—KYAAAH!!!” A flash of lightning and a sudden clap of thunder caused her to clamp both hands on her ears. The canteen slipped off her grip, but before the scorching liquid could touch her lap, a pale hand shot up and knocked the bottle away. It plummeted harmlessly to the ground instead.

“N-Neji!” Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw the red patch on the back of his hand. “I-I…”

“It’s fine.” He held out his hand to let the raindrops soothe the pain of the burn. “Tell me about the people who’ve visited the manor.”

When he received no reply, he glanced back at her in puzzlement. Tenten’s attention was on her messenger bag that she was rummaging through.

“Tenten—”

“Found it!” She let out a cry of delight as she fished out her one and only piece of clean towel. Carefully, she held it out underneath the rain to let it soak. “Let me hold your hand for a second.” Without waiting for a response, she gripped his hand and proceeded to wrap it with the damp cloth.

Neji watched her do her ministrations intently. “This isn’t necessary.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Knowing Neji, his whole body would be burning in fever and he would still dismiss medicine as unnecessary.

 “There you go!” With one last quick tug, she finished tying the knot and proudly inspected her work. “It isn’t very pretty, but at least this should hold up for a bit.”

He nodded. “It will.”

“Hold up a bit?”

“Not win any beauty contest prizes from medics.”

Her mouth hung open at hearing his last line. Did he just… make a joke? THE Hyuuga Neji who shames Konoha’s finest stand-up comedians with his inability to laugh at even their most killer quips? A sweat broke off her eyebrow. Should I laugh? But what if it wasn’t a joke? The knots ARE pretty unsightly… She grabbed both sides of her head, a dark expression on her face.  

“Stop it.” He lightly tapped the top of her head with his bandaged hand.

“H-Huh?” One eye peeked out towards him warily.

“Whatever you’re thinking right now.” He shifted embarrassedly away from her. “Focus on the job.”

Oh. He WAS making a joke. Shoot. With the timing to laugh shamefully missed, she heeded his advice and proceeded to scan her surroundings with her alert brown eyes.

“The season of rain has come upon us,” he remarked out of the blue, though he refused to turn her way.

Is it just me, or is Neji being awfully chatty tonight? She unconsciously sniffed the air to see if there was any trace of alcohol in him and found nothing but the lingering scent of matcha. He did smell really good, though, and especially inviting in the chilly nocturnal weather.

“Go home.”

Realizing that she had nearly crawled towards his lap in an attempt to sniff him, she sprang back to her original seat, face burning. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Her head bowed repeatedly in panic before him. Oh my god, he’s going to sue me for sexual harassment!

“It’s only going to rain harder, so go back.”

Her head shot up from its bowing position. “Eh? I still have a few hours left on my shift!”

“I’m going to be here anyway.”

A vein popped on her face. “Neji, listen.” She tucked her legs underneath her in a lotus sitting position and glared at him scoldingly. “You already swapped shifts with me. You also headed here earlier than you should. And now, you want me to leave my post earlier. I sure hope this doesn’t mean you think I’m less competent than the rest of the team.” Her eyes bored through his challengingly. 

Then and now, she had made it her mantra to prove to the world that gender was immaterial in the battlefield. She had no qualms doing the same, even if it was against her prodigious teammate who happened to smell really, really nice this evening.

To her surprise, he shook his head in almost conciliatory manner. “That was not my intention. It’s just that…”

“What?”

His pale orbs finally met hers. “Earlier, the lightning startled you.”

Her forehead creased.

“Everyone, regardless if it’s a man or a woman, has something one fears,” he continued quietly. “I thought you’ll feel better at home, where the environment is familiar and comforting.”

She felt herself shrinking back in shame at getting testy with him so quickly. And, well, that he figured her out again, as always.  “W-Well... storms don’t scare me. I-I just… need to make sure I know that the thunder’s coming… so I can, um, brace myself.”

“Alright.”

Safe! She brushed her damp bangs off her forehead and vigilantly kept a discreet watch on the skies, resolving not to let him catch her cowering from the elements again. She was a fully-grown adult chuunin, for Pete's sake! She had long outgrown those scary chilly nights from years ago, when she had no one to envelop her in a warm, comforting embrace and tell her that those scary monsters waiting for her outside her bedroom windows were merely tree branches facing the wrath of a powerful storm...

“Tenten.”

She whirled around in surprise, then realized that she had once again displayed her utter lack of attention on the job. “I’m focusing, I’m focusing—”

Neji shook off his raincoat and handed it to her. “Wear this.”

Her eyes fell on the dark gray fabric briefly, then returned to his face. “I’m fine.”

“You were shivering.”

Those blasted gifted Byakugan eyes! “I’m fine,” she repeated, more firmly this time.

“Yes, yes.”

She nearly burst out laughing at his unexpected response. “That… that’s a terrible impression, Neji!” She recognized nearly the same words she used on him when she was tying his hand with a cloth, except that the elegant Hyuuga could not bring himself to say ‘yeah’.

Snickering, she finally conceded and took his coat from his hand. She now understood why he was being so nice to her— it was actually Hyuuga Neji’s own clumsy way of returning the favor earlier!

But instead of slinging her arms into it, she opted to move closer to her teammate and wrap the coat over both of their shoulders. “To be fair,” she said with a grin. “It’s yours, after all.”

He tried to protest and so, instinctively, she held up a finger to motion him to shush. But because of their proximity, her fingertip ended up nearly touching his lips. The surprising softness sent a jolt of electricity through her, making her heart race.

“S-Sorry!” She quickly withdrew her hand and laughed nervously. Tenten, stupid! “W-We’re only sharing this till the end of my shift, don’t worry!”

“Very well,” she heard him say. Heard, because for some reason, she suddenly couldn’t muster the guts to meet his gaze.

After what seemed like an eternity of deafening silence, she snuck a look at her teammate to see what he was doing.

Neji had resumed a careful watch over the manor. He was scanning the parameters carefully, methodically even, the way they had been exactly trained back in the Academy.

See, Tenten? You’re the only one who’s making things uncomfortable for the both of you! she scolded herself. Shame on you, really. Neji’s being awfully nice to you because he noticed you’re acting like a spooked kid, and you’re returning the favor by suddenly assuming he’s attracted to you. 

She followed suit, fully determined to ignore the cozy warmth his shoulder lent to her bare skin. I mean, let’s be realistic here. With his brains, looks, and family name, he can get any girl he wants! Right? She gulped back the bitterness that sprung from within her at the thought.

Right, Neji? She involuntarily glanced up at him and was stunned to see that he was looking her way as well. As if he intuitively knew that she was silently speaking to him.

His gaze was so quiet and gentle and so concerned for her. She vaguely heard him asking if she was okay, and she opened her mouth to respond, But somewhere along the way, her brain malfunctioned and she had leaned in to cover his lips with hers instead.

  It was the second day of their stakeout.

It was also just her second hour in, but Tenten was ready to bolt away at the next possible chance. 

Earlier, she had begged and bribed Uzumaki Naruto with the ramen coupon she bought with her meager chuunin’s weekly allowance so he would swap shifts with her. How was she to know that the ramen dork was granted an eat-all-you-can month by the Hokage for his recent successful mission in Suna?

She glanced at her watch. It was right about this time last night when Neji arrived with his heavenly jug of matcha. Her heart would race wildly whenever she recalled the scene on the treetop (which was, well, every five minutes or so).

What was I thinking?! Wait, was I even thinking then? 

“GRAAAAH!” She knocked the side of her head repeatedly with her fist. “Stupid. Hormonal. Violated his lips.” In a flash, she recalled how soft they felt against hers, and how his scent melded with matcha tea. “No, no, no!” She vehemently shook her head, hoping this was enough to clear her mind of impure thoughts about her poor teammate.

She had already thought about this long and hard last night, after her senses returned and she pulled away from him and mumbled an unintelligible apology and dashed back to her home.

For all her protestations, one thing was undeniable. She was attracted to her teammate of ten years. She didn’t know since when, but somehow she ended up acting on those feelings unexpectedly that night.

But it wasn’t just her feelings that mattered in this situation. What about Neji? 

She tried to imagine what must be running through his mind at the moment— to be kissed by a girl he had known all his life but only really sees as a friend. She knew that the gentlemanly person he was, he must be working out strategies on how he can best smooth things over between them without overtly confronting the issue so he could offer her a graceful way out.

I’m so sorry, Neji, she thought unhappily. After this, I promise I won’t dare approach you beyond ten feet unless we have a chaperone or something. In fact, I’ll— From the corner of her eyes, she saw the gates open. 

It was the same wagon being used by the servants to bring in food, but somehow, she had a feeling that something was amiss. One hooded servant helped himself up the wagon, but the rest leaped on it as if it was nothing. And they were seated away from the said servant, as if they were maintaining a respectful distance…

Something clicked in her mind. Grabbing her radio, she alerted the team. “I’ll be in pursuit. Target heading 60 degrees southwest. Back me up, NOW!”

To her surprise, Neji leaped out from a tree located not too far away from her. “Let’s go!”

 Although taken by surprise, she knew now was not the time to ask. Nodding, she joined him in dashing after their perp.

  “HURRAY! Justice has prevailed once again!” Rock Lee happily raised his fist in a victorious pose.

Naruto happily joined him. “HURRAY! An eat-all-you-can voucher at Ichiraku once again!”

Maito Gai proudly patted the shoulders of Neji and Tenten. “Great job, you two! The traps Neji set and Tenten’s beautiful takedown enabled us to arrest the criminal without needlessly injuring civilians.”

The kunoichi recalled how she jumped and attacked the still-disguised target with the unbridled ferociousness of a baby panda. “Uh, thanks, Gai-sensei.”

“Now let’s go tell the Hokage-sama about our successful mission!”

Neji raised a hand. “You can go ahead. Tenten will be with you in a moment.”

“Why?!” she and Gai chorused, though hers was more decidedly out of despair than curiosity.

 “She needs to fix her hair up a bit.” He pointed to the mop of auburn hair that had come loose from her odango ribbon after her tangle with their perp. “As her teacher, it is your duty to not allow your student to be exposed to the public looking disheveled— especially not a young woman of marriageable age.”

Tenten’s eyes nearly bulged when she saw Gai nod solemnly in agreement to Neji’s blatantly manipulative words. “Sensei!”

 “Forgive your foolish sensei, Tenten.” Gai planted both hands firmly on her shoulders. “Fortunately, Neji was able to stop me from bringing shame and sadness to your maidenly heart!”

“M-Maidenly heart?!”

“Well then, we shall take our leave.” Gai gave them a cheery wave and turned to go. “See you later!”

“Gai-sensei!” Tenten was about to follow suit when she felt a pair of arms lift her from underneath. “Neji!” She then felt them leap up from the ground and land on a nearby treetop.

He finally deposited her back to her feet. “I was afraid you were going to run away before we can properly talk.”

As always, Hyuuga Neji could read her like an open book. Sighing in resignation, she sat down. “Alright, let’s talk. But don’t bring up what happened last night.”

 “That’s what I specifically want to discuss.”

 She grimaced. Oh well, let’s get this over with. “Fine. Let’s start with my apology. I— thank you!” she blinked when he slid off his own hair tie and handed it to her. “I-I mean, sorry! I’m sorry I can’t accept this!”

 “Do you have any spare hair ribbons?”

“I-It’s fine!” she insisted frantically. “Besides, whenever you start lending me things, my daydream machine starts running wild and I start assuming ridiculous things--oops!”

 “Ridiculous things? Like?”

 Her face flamed at his question. “L-Like.. Like… ARGH!” She buried her face in her hands helplessly. Kami-sama, please make this tree come to life and make it swallow me alive right now, pleaseeeeee!

 “I, too, come up with ridiculous notions from time to time,” said Neji reassuringly, but his kind tone did little to appease the colors rioting on her face at the moment.

 “For instance, there was a time I wondered if maybe Gai-sensei and Lee’s spandex suits were really that comfy—”

Her shoulders stiffened.

“Or that one time when I wondered why nearly all the girls including yourself found Uchiha Sasuke cute. His looks aren’t that special to me and Hinata-sama.”

He still hasn’t moved on from that?! That was, like, way back during our genin years!

“But the most persistent ridiculous thought I had is this.” She felt his fingers carefully sliding off the hands covering her distressed face until finally, she had no choice but to look at him. “What would it be like for a caged bird to fly?” He clasped her limp hands in his and held them tightly. “After my father died, I felt that the clan seal will bound me forever into the cage of the Hyuuga’s fate. It’s ridiculous for a caged bird like me to ever dream of the skies. So I forbade myself to think of such impractical things.”

“N-Neji…”

“And then I met you— you who’s so free-spirited and courageous and strong. When I’m with you, I felt it was the closest to freedom I could get, ” he continued quietly. “And this caged bird started thinking of ridiculous things again, like personal dreams and wants and wishes.”

A crooked smile crossed his face. “I know that at best, I could only make one or two of them come true, but if there is one ridiculous thing that fate will guarantee it will grant, I want it to be the one in which I can be where you are.” He gingerly wiped her knuckles with his thumb. “Of all those ridiculous things, that would truly make me the happiest.”

 Tenten self-consciously cleared her throat. “S-So… is it safe to say that you, um, like me?”

 He nodded.

 “A-And that you didn’t mind that I stole a kiss from you last night?”

 “I don’t mind it the slightest. Feel free to take it again anytime.”

She let out a deep relieved sigh. “And I was so worried back there that I was the only one who feels—”

He didn’t give her the chance to finish her words, as she was soon enveloped in the warm embrace of the smiling Hyuuga.

 THE END

[syao]

NejiTen month is here! It’s been an eternity since I’ve tinkered with anything other than apps automation and spreadsheet trackers at work, but this lovely artwork is hyping up my fangirl heart, Maito Gai-style! <3

★ 一锅玄哥 | 七夕快乐（你妹啊虐单身狗！） ☆ ⊳ neji and tenten (naruto) ✔ republished w/permission

[syao]

I am honored to have one of my NejiTen fics, Of Hot Springs and Fated Meetings,  translated in Chinese. Thank you for your hard work, yrm!