A bet on Love

9 | "...do you hate me?..."

TenTen gazed up at the rather intimidating and large Hyūga mansion that went on for miles and miles to her left and right. Ok, that was an exaggeration but still, the house was huge, and huge was an understatement. 'The Hyūga's' she read out in her mind, shaking her head. Everyone knew about them, even if you weren't into the acting and movie industry, or martial art, sniping, and assassination. Everyone knew them, both the Branch Family and the Head Family.

The Head Family was supposedly the first and purest of the two families, who specialized in elegance, with a long line of generations of actors and dancers, artists, fashion designers, and models. Non-violent jobs that earned lots of money, basically. They were civilized, democratic people and with them, nothing ever resulted in violence. But they were also proud and unbearable people. They had fame and fans, money and lots of money, but if you were to ask them to list their friends, you'd be stuck there for another hundred years. That was how unapproachable they were.

And then you have the Branch Family. If you knew the Head Family, you were bound to know about the Branch Family. They were spies and assassins for their country undercover and to many people, martial artists. They were impure and always came second in any activity they were forced to participate in with the Head Family. They were violent, brutal people who resulted in violence at every gathering they ever had. They were not elegant or civilized or democratic people, they were aggressive and arrogant. But the thing was, they were actually approachable. Not all of them looked down on people and therefore were approachable.

However, it didn't change the fact that they were all stuck in the past, and the practice of marrying off their sons and daughters to make a name for themselves still remained. Therefore, Hinata Hyūga, heir to the Head Family's business was to be married to Naruto Uzumaki, heir to the Uzumaki/Namikaze business and Neji Hyūga was to be married to TenTen Mitarashi. 

So, with a deep breath, the brunette pushed the doorbell of the Hyūga mansion and waited patiently for someone to open the door. She brought out her kunai-decorated phone that sat in the purse that hung over her right shoulder and checked the time. "Is 11:30 in the afternoon or is it still morning?" She muttered to herself, narrowing her eyes at her phone screen. Eventually, the screen turned black and she jumped up in celebration, punching the air. "Yes! TenTen: 6, Phone screen: 0!"

The door swung open to reveal a bluenette, dressed in an ocean blue shirt with black ripped jeans. Blonde hair peaked out behind her and the brunette knew already it was Naruto. She stopped midway through her celebration to give the pair a nervous grin. "We're you having a staring contest with your phone?" Hinata asked slowly, her face twisting in confusion. Naruto's eyes beamed and he stepped out from behind Hinata to fully face the brunette.

"Really?! Who's winning?!" TenTen's eyes sparkled as she zoomed into the house, still jumping,

"Me! It's 6:0! Aren't I awesome?!"

"Right, of course. Aren't you here to see Neji?" Hinata rolled her eyes, grabbing her into the house fully by the collar and closing the door. TenTen sighed and dropped her phone into her purse then rested her hands behind her head in a carefree manner.

"I forgot about that," she muttered to herself, then closed her eyes, "C'mon Hina, lead the way."

::

Neji lay on the floor of the Branch Family's dojo, staring up at the blinding white lights that were dotted here and there on the ceiling. Over and over he scanned the lights, more specifically the one that flickered. He counted how many seconds the bulb was on and how long it went out. He counted how long he could keep his eyes open till they dried out and stung and he was forced to close them back. Warm substance streamed down the side of his face and he closed his eyes. '55 seconds', he thought, 'What about 60?' He opened his eyes once more, glaring at the flickering light.

Much to his absence, the door of the dojo swung open and someone came skipping in. The once suffocating atmosphere seemed to seep out as the door opened and a warm and lively one fill the air. He tilted his head slowly to the side, his long brown hair draping over his face like a curtain and his cheeks coming in contact with the cold floor. His vision was blurry and he could only make out distorted silhouettes of the moving figure who skipped to his side. He squinted his eyes to make out who it was and as they approached him further, he could make out their brown hair in twin buns, her white crop top, blue jeans, and white rather high boots. TenTen.

She lowered herself to look at him, tilting her head to the side and waving her hands in his face. She pursed her lips and poked his cheeks, repeatedly calling his name and asking if he was dead or alive. He slapped her hands away and sat up, his head still hung low and crossing his legs. Her face broke into a proud grin and she clapped her hands. "I'm so amazing! You're welcome. Too bad no one was here to capture this, Mitarashi TenTen raising the almighty Neji Hyūga back to life! Just what would you do without me?" She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"I would be successful and get somewhere in life." He spoke, standing up.

"Oh, you can talk, good for you." She watched him tie his hair, which was probably more smooth and free of tangles and knots compared to hers, into a high ponytail. "Hey, I have a question." He ignored her and picked up a rod but she carried on, "Can I have your hair routine?" He stopped midway through his breathing exercise and opened one eye, glaring at her from the side.

"What are you doing here?" She shrugged her shoulders,

"Oh trust me, I would rather stay at home binge-reading the latest Spy x Family chapters but, eh, y'know, grown-ups and their ways of making lives miserable. What about you? What are you doing here when you could be, I don't know, styling your hair?" His eyes twitched and an exhausted sigh left his lips. "Y'know, you're meant to be marrying me, not my weapons or your dojo. Every time I see you, you're either playing with one of my babies or in this dammed dojo. Have we even gone out? And we're getting married next month..." She kept rambling on about them not spending quality time together that then switched to why they should go to China for their honeymoon and why he should get her a pet panda till he cut her off.

"I'm sure you know this marriage is arranged by my uncle I never agree wholeheartedly to spend an entire 365 days with you. Don't get your hopes high, you'll only break your own heart." There was a moment of silence between the both of them and the only thing heard was Neji's slow breathing. TenTen looked down and her hand, drawing little pandas and love hearts on the floor, empty and useless thoughts running through her mind.

Without really thinking, she asked, "Do you hate me?" Her eyes were still glued to her moving hands and she blinked slowly. The question caught the still man off guard and he held his breath for a while before releasing a loud sigh. "I thought we'd be friends 'cuz we'd be forced to spend our every moment with each other and you'd warm up to me but I guess you're a tough opponent." She paused for a moment, "Well, I'll see myself out then."

She slowly got up and made her way toward the huge metal door of the dojo. Half way she stopped as if she had forgotten something. "Oh my gosh... your hair routine! Please I'm begging you!" She spun around and got on her knees, both hands plastered together.

Neji let out an irritated sigh and got up. "Give me your phone," he ordered, stretching his hands out.

"Are you ordering me?" She hugged her phone to herself, turning slightly in the opposite direction.

"Do you want it or not?" Her face broke into an excited grin and she mindlessly placed the gadget in his hands. He slipped out his phone from his uniform pocket and typed something into it before handing the phone back to the brunette. "You're welcome."

"Thank you so much! Hahaha! Hinata would never see my win coming!" She skipped out of the dojo, waving frantically at the Hyūga before disappearing behind the metal doors. Neji shook his head and then looked down at his phone. Panda. That was what he saved her number as.