literature

Not A Date pt.2

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Twilight.

The moment immediately between sunset and dusk; when the multicolored sky is still illuminated by the fading light of the departing sun, and the darkness of the evening is but a twinkle away. A moment captured in romance novels and poetic verses as the epitome of a fleeting, yet perfect, moment for love…

And yet there she was, the girl, standing next to him, the boy… the boy she loved; the boy who, sadly, didn’t even see her as a girl. The boy whose very presence both shook her to her core and shattered her heart to pieces, all at the same time.

“Haah.” Tenten dejectedly sighed as she stared out into the fading horizon.

It was the third and final day of their patrol. And she had been so excited at the prospects of being assigned a three day mission to man the look-out post at the farthest corner of the village boundaries…

It wasn’t because it was an easy job, or because it was important; it as because of who she would be partnered up with; who she would spend the next three days trapped in a confined wooden box, suspended hundreds of meters in the air. Both of them; together. Completely alone…

Though she wasn’t foolish enough to delude herself into believing something would actually come of them being assigned to stand in the wooden tower for three full days, Tenten had still seen it as a great opportunity to bond and, at the very least, get to know each other a bit better. Unfortunately, things hadn’t worked out quite as she had expected…

For two whole days, he had ignored her; shunned her even.

While she was used to him being a quite person who rarely ever spoke unless spoken to (and even then in one word replies or grunted responses), she also knew it was rare for him to ignore people completely. He was, after all, from a prestigious clan, and had been raised with proper manners. And yet, for the entire time they had been locked up in the small watchtower, he hadn’t uttered a single word to her, much less responded to any of her attempts to try to strike up a conversation.

It broke her heart.

Never in her life had Tenten felt more isolated and alone than she had in those painfully long two days. Every passing moment had been a dagger through her heart, as she laboriously attempted to keep herself from crying.

“ffff.” She sniffed back the tears that were still threatening to spill out.

She didn’t get it. Why was he treating her that way? Had she done something wrong?

“Tenten.” The rich baritone voice she had been missing suddenly startled her.

Discreetly whipping away a single stray tear from her cheek, Tenten turned to Neji and tried her best to force a smile. “Yes?” The kunoichi waited expectably for him to continue.

“…” From across the tower the Hyuga motionlessly stared at her; his well honed expressionless mask betraying nothing of what he was thinking. “Hn.” He turned away again. “Never mind.”

Her heart sank. She had expected more; wanted more… “Okay.” Tenten softly whispered back; trying her best not to reveal her disappointment.

“How long…” His voice called out again, but then abruptly stopped.

She said nothing; instead waited for him to continue. But he didn’t.

“You know…” The kunoichi began, after a moment; taking his previous initiative to mean he wasn’t entirely opposed to speaking with her.

Knowing this she wasn’t about to let the opportunity to break the barrier that had somehow formed between them, slip through her fingers; otherwise she was certain her last day would be the same as the first two, or worst, that he might never speak to her again; and neither option was a pleasant thought.

“I bet Lee and Gai-sensei would go insane with this kind of mission.” She tried to laugh; finding it difficult to, but trying nonetheless. “They would hate having to stay in one place for three days.” She continued; glancing over at Neji to see if he would say anything. But he didn’t. “Shikamaru would probably enjoy it though. This is the perfect mission for him. It’s easy and not too much happens. He could sit in one place and do very little. It would be his ideal mission.” She nervously rambled on. “Although…” Tenten paused, thinking about her last statement a little better. “He does tend to like naps and staring into the clouds a lot. It’s kind of difficult to be alert for this kind of job, when you’re napping.” She concluded.

“Hn.” Neji grunted.

Her heart soared at the sound of his familiar grunt. Though he was still non-responsive, Tenten was glad that at least he was acknowledging that he was listening to her pointless babbling.

“Yeah.” She continued on. “You can’t really nap at a job like this. Unless…” She smiled at a memory of when she was six and tried to sneak up on a certain sleeping shinobi, in an attempt to pull off his mask. He had immediately awoken the moment she walked into the room he was resting in, and though he pretended to be asleep after that, Tenten later discovered that he had been completely alert throughout her entire futile attempt at peeking under his mask. “Unless you’re Kakashi, that is.”

“Grrr.” A strange sound from across the tower caught the kunoichi’s attention.

“Did you hear something?” Tenten asked. It had only been a fleeting murmur. So soft and quick, she wasn’t even if she’d actually heard right. “Anyway,” The kunoichi shrugged; putting the sound out of her mind. “I don’t know how he does it, but he’s always completely aware of his surroundings, even when you think he’s distracted.” She smiled again at the idea that Kakashi would probably enjoy this kind of mission; maybe even take it as the perfect opportunity to read those nasty books of his. “Ehehe.” The kunoichi involuntarily giggled; and for the first time in three days, her heart felt lighter; though unbeknownst to her, across the tower, a burning inferno was beginning to blaze within the Hyuga. “Though I doubt he’d ever get assigned to something like this.” Tenten continued on with her musings. “Tsunade-same likes to work him to the bone. As it is he’s so very rarely in the village anyway; always being assigned far off, dangerous missions; one right after another. It would be nice if she gave him a little rest every once in a while, but… what are you gonna do?” She shrugged; finished with all she had to say, though it had mostly just been absent-minded rambling than anything of actual substance. She had wanted it to seem as if they were talking like two good friends again, but had somehow allowed herself to get lost in her train of thought without really realizing what she was saying, or the fact that Neji, again, didn’t seem to be listening to her. “Haah.” She, again, sighed somberly, before turning back to dolefully staring at the darkening sky.

“Does it bother you?” Neji’s deep, serious voice surprised her again.

“Huh?” She turned to face him. “Does what bother me?” Tenten asked; hopefully that his question meant he did actually want to talk to her.

“…” But her hopes began dwindling again as he continued to remain silent. This time, however, he didn’t turn away from her like he previous had. But rather, remained with his gaze firmly fixed on her for the next few minutes; until he spoke again. “Does it bother you that he is away a lot?” Neji finally asked after a few minutes of still silence.

“Um… not really.” Tenten shrugged. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she was grateful that at least he was speaking to her again. “It’s a shinobi’s job to go off on missions.” She added; hoping to keep the conversation flowing. “It’s what we do.” She smiled uneasily.

“And it doesn’t bother you to see him so infrequently?” He further asked.

“No.” Tenten shook her head. “Why would it?” She wondered aloud.

She noted that Neji’s grave voice had sounded deeper and throatier than usual as he spoke; something that only occurred when he was angry.

“Hn.” Neji grunted; indicating he would not be giving any more replies.

“Well…” Tenten began as she timidly stared at her shoes; still not ready to let the conversation die out so quickly. “I guess it can be a little frustrating at times, to not be able to see your friend very often; especially when you know he’s out there putting his life in danger, but it’s not as if I’m at home waiting for him to return like the helpless house wi-” Suddenly the wheels began turning in the kunoichi’s head and his questions were beginning to make sense to her. “Wait.” Tenten turned back up to face the Hyuga. “Don’t tell me you actually believed that crap he said the other day.” She stared incredulously at the white-eyed prodigy.

“…” He didn’t respond to her inquiry. But he didn’t deny it either.

“We are so not a couple!” Tenten adamantly explained; not sure why she had to explain it to the man, but feeling like she should nonetheless.

“Hn.” Neji grunted in disbelief.

“We’re no where near a couple! We don’t even do couple-y things.” She insisted; knowing all to well how to decipher his grunts.

“You date.” He countered.

“That was not a date!” Tenten obstinately maintained.

“Hn.” He grunted again.

“It wasn’t!” She swore. “It was just two people, out for dinner, enjoying each other’s company.”

“That is the definition of a date.” Neji somberly pointed out.

“…” Tenten had to admit, hearing it aloud, even she agreed that that did sound a lot like a date. “Yeah but…”

“And it wasn’t the first time.” Neji confidently observed.

“No…” She hesitantly acknowledged. “We… we actually go out to eat once a month… and sometimes he comes over for dinner after a mission,” She replied. “But…but it’s not like that. We’re not… not a couple.” She repeated.

It was true, she and Kakashi did a lot of things that might seem unusually close for two people who were supposed to be just friends. But that was just it, they weren’t ‘just friends’, they were family… They spent time together like family; they cared for one another like family. They checked on each other after missions and spent time together catching up and making sure that the other was healthy and taken care of. It was the way it had been since they were younger; since as far back as Tenten could remember. It was what they did; it was what family did. It was normal.

“Hn.” Neji turned away. Clearly he didn’t believe her. He really did think they were a couple. “Perhaps you should reconsider.” His somber voice came after a while.

“Reconsider?” She whispered questioningly; unsure of what he meant by that.

“You don’t suit him.” He stoically added.

“What?” Tenten disbelievingly whispered back.

She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. What did he mean by that? Just because Kakashi was an important, well-respected shinobi in the village, Neji thought she wasn’t suited for him? She wasn’t good enough? Did he really think that little of her?

“How… how can you say that?” She agonizingly questioned; her heart feeling as if it were bring ripped from her chest. “Am I really…  I thought we were…” She painfully swallowed as she tired to form a complete sentence; a complete thought. “If nothing else,” She quiveringly began; trying her best not to cry in front of him. “If anything else… I thought we were friends.” She whispered in a barely audible voice; not trusting her voice with anything louder. “I may not be the prettiest…” She inhaled deeply; suppressing her agony and her rage at that moment. “I may not be that important. But that doesn’t mean I can just be disregarded like a nobody.” Her voice began breaking, but at that point her emotions were too intense for her to stop. “Is it that difficult to believe someone would actually find me attractive? That someone important would actually like me? I may not have much to offer, but is it so impossible to think that someone might actually see something in me. I’m not good enough? Just because you don’t think of me as a girl doesn’t mean someone else can’t. That someone might actually like me for who I am; for how I am. Or am I that completely hopeless in your eyes?” Tears beginning to blur her vision; but she didn’t care anymore. Her heart had been crushed, and she could no longer stop it from screaming out into tears. “What gives you the right to decide who can or cannot love me? What gives you the right to decide who I can care for? What gives you the right… and what does it even matter to you anywa--”

Suddenly she was stopped.

Without her even realizing it, her tearful rant had been complete cut off by a pair of warm lips enveloping her own. Her mind didn’t register it for a moment that Neji was actually kissing her. His lips were so soft against hers, and yet his kiss was fierce and passionate. It was as if the rage in his voice, that she had heard earlier, was pushing its way through his mouth to his lips and pressing hungrily against hers. Intense and smoldering; like lava erupting from a volcano, threatening to burn her if she let the heat escape. And it was so hot. Tenten felt as though she was melting into her body as he kissed her deeper; tickling his fingers along the back of her neck, as he pulled her greedily into his ravenous kiss. And she kissed him back. Kissed him back with the same vigor and heat that he kissed her with. Abandoning herself into the kiss; into the sensation of being burned alive, and suffocated by the warmth of his lips. She moaned as he glided the fingers of his other hand under the back of her shirt and along the small of her back; fireworks erupting in her body as his hands continued caressing her. The soft touch of his lips lighting up the piece of her heart that had been dimmed when she had first started believing that he hated her.

She was on fire!

But she was so confused.

Hadn’t he been ignoring her because he was mad? Hadn’t he just told her that she wasn’t good enough for someone as important as Kakashi? Essentially telling her she couldn’t possibly be good enough for someone like him? And yet, there he was, kissing her fervently, and with complete abandon, as if … as if …

The warm fog in her head couldn’t let her think. What did it mean?

“You… you misunderstood.” Neji gently whispered after it became necessary that they pull apart from their passionate kiss. “He, is not good enough for you.”

“Haah.” She gasped at his words.

So that was why…

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

“Honey! I’m home!” The familiar teasing voice of one, Hatake Kakashi, came ringing through the small apartment as the door in the front hall opened and closed.

Confident and comfortable in the familiar surroundings, Kakashi walked from the front door directly into the kitchen where Tenten was busy finishing up their usual post-mission dinner. It had been like this for the past 18 years; after every one of his missions, he would come to her house and eat dinner with her. And once she became a kunoichi and began taking her own missions, he would also come over for dinner to keep up with the tradition (though she suspected it was also to make sure she had not been injured in her last mission).

“What’s for dinner?” Kakashi cheerfully asked, as he poked his head over the stove, while the kunoichi began serving the white rice into little bowls.

“Hey!” She slapped the man’s hand away before he could open the closest pot. “You go wait in the living room too!” She ordered.

“Too?” Kakashi cocked his head to the side questioningly.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Now go!” She shooed him away.

“So mean!” Kakashi mock-pouted, as he allowed himself to be pushed. “You were so much cuter when you used to smile at everything I did, and called me ‘Nii-san’” He said the last word in a child-like squeak. “‘Nii-san’” He repeated, as he got shoved out of the kitchen. “So much cuter!”

“What that --” Kakashi stopped in his tracks upon exciting the narrow hall, into the open space that encompassed both the dinning room and living room.

Standing at the far end of the room, where the carpet marked the area that became the living room, Kakashi was surprised to see none other than Hyuga Neji, the white-eyed prodigy, calmly staring at him from across the room. Kakashi was about to ask what the guy was doing there, when he realized the raging fury he had previously witnessed in the younger man’s eyes was no longer present. Though a hint of distrust still lingered in the gleam of his gaze, Kakashi could tell Neji no longer saw him as a threat.

“Did something happen in that tower?” Kakashi whisperingly asked the kunoichi as she walked passed him carrying the first of many dishes.

“I told you already,” She whispered back. “I’m never telling you anything ever again.”(1)

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THE END
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Part 1: [link]

(1) In case anyone misses it, this was in the first chapter…My sleep deprived mind thought it’s be artistic to end this like that ;P hehehe… we’ll see what it thinks when it’s not 3am… XD

Disclaimer: Naruto and all Naruto related stuff is (c) Masashi Kishimoto. All OCs and original storyline/plot/imagination (c) of ME!!!!!
A/N: part 2 of 2. I’ve been mulling over this chapter for days. I seriously plotted out at least four different versions of this story but none of them were working for me, until (thanks to the help of :iconfmorgana: ) I came up with this one. I really like it, so I hope you all like it too.
The kiss KILLED me, but it turned out okay I think (COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK). And forgive the lightness of the Kakashi-ness in the fic… maybe someday in the future I’ll do a story where Kakashi pulls Neji (playing the big brother), but for now, this is where this mini-arc ends. Hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks again to fmorgana for all the help ;)
© 2009 - 2024 SerenEvy
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ishxallxgood's avatar
No seriously, down a rabbit hole.  A rabbit hole filled with very old fics that I will revive because that's what I do.  Rabbit holes.

How are you btw?  Still writing fics I see... :D