Accidental Love

Chapter 2

Tentens POV

Monday

As Tenten stood on the doorstep of Yamanaka Ino's apartment, a fear she had never experienced before gripped her like a cold vice. Or maybe it wasn't fear; maybe it was just dread. Intense dread. This week was not going to be a good one.

Might as well get it over with.

She didn't even want to begin to imagine what Ino might have in store for her. Ino generally got enthusiastic about these things. Very enthusiastic. All at her subject's expense. She remembered when Sakura went through her extreme training. Never had she seen the pink-haired kunoichi yell so much and that was saying something. Sure, Sakura had turned out great at the end, but Tenten was not Sakura.

She knocked once and went to knock again when the door flew open revealing Ino, flushed with excitement or exertion. Either one was bad for Tenten.

"There you are! My god, I've been waiting for ages!"

Tenten looked at the clock hanging in Ino's hallway and blinked. "Ino, its only 9:01."

Ino waved her hand in dismissal. "Exactly! I've been waiting for ages!"

Tenten didn't quite get how waiting for one minute sufficed as ages, but she figured it best not to ask.

"Tenten, there is one important rule you need to learn: a woman is never late," Ino scolded, wagging her manicured finger at her.

Blink.

"But...one minute doesn't really-"

"Ah!" Ino cut in shrilly. "Late is late! It doesn't matter by what time frame!"

Blink.

"But...what about that whole fashionably late thing? I thought-"

Ino cut in again with an over-emphasized sigh. "This is why you need tutoring, my dear Tenten. There is no such thing as fashionably late."

Ino put her arm around Tenten's shoulders and led her inside before all but pushing her down on a couch in the cramped living room.

"But...everyone does it. Or is supposed to. I thought-"

Ino sat down on a chair opposite Tenten and cut in yet again. "You thought wrong! Fashionably late is something only amateurs use." She leaned forward in her chair and grinned. "However, if you arrive fashionably late, you miss out. If you arrive early you get your first pick on the merchandise. The ladies that arrive fashionably late get the second rate. You see! It even rhymes!"

All Tenten could do was stare. Ino was probably the only female she knew who would refer to men as merchandise. She did have a point with the whole fashionably late thing though...maybe.

"But...what about having a grand entrance? You can't do that if you arrive right on time."

"Ah...maybe if you were someone like me you could get away with that but with you, Tenten, there's a chance that someone might come along earlier who is prettier and more charming than you so you will not be able to waver your target's attention. In your case, you need to get in early and get your man."

There was a subtle insult in there somewhere, but Tenten decided not to dwell on it. She had to learn as much about this seduction thing as possible so she wouldn't completely humiliate herself in front of her teammates.

"But what if someone who is prettier than me makes a grand entrance and then my guy is distracted anyway?"

Ino shrugged. "That's what my job is this week. I'm going to teach you how to get your guy's attention so that he won't be distracted by anyone. It's not just about the way you look; it's also about the way you hold yourself. It's about the way you speak and move and touch. Seduction is an art form, one I have perfected. You'll be ready."