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."
"But..."
"And don't start all your sentences with 'but'! It reeks of ill-breeding! So not attractive!"
Tenten bit her lip. "Okay."
"Now, I have planned out an itinerary for you that maps out what we will be focusing on this week. Hokage-sama already gave me an overview of your target and what he's like, so I know exactly what to work on."
Tenten gaped at her. "You planned an itinerary?"
Ino beamed. "Yep! I'll read it out for you!" She took a folded piece of paper out from her shirt - possibly her bra - and proceeded to read it out, "Monday: Appearance. Tuesday: Walk. Wednesday: Talk. Thursday: Presence. Friday: Touch."
Tenten gulped. Touch? Someone save me.
Ino smiled at her. "I put touch last even though it's my favourite because, considering your lack of experience, I thought we may need to work up to it."
"I am humbled by your generosity," Tenten mumbled incoherently. Ino didn't seem to hear or care at any rate, so she kept talking.
"Now under each of these headings I have planned a detailed timeline. Right now is your debriefing, obviously."
Tenten felt a bit light-headed. "Oh...really?"
"And it's not only your debriefing, but mine as well!"
"You don't say..."
Ino leaned forward on her knees eagerly. "So...tell me. Exactly how much experience do you have?"
Heat flooded Tenten's face as yesterday's mission debriefing played before her eyes. Oh, the humiliation. At least there wasn't a roomful of people around this time. At least Gai and Lee and Neji weren't there this time. Not that it mattered. She had already given them way too much information, much more than they need know. Gods, what Neji must think of her now...
"It will be alright."
Tenten bit her lip as she remembered Neji's soft-spoken words. She hadn't really expected comfort from anyone, least of all him. Neji didn't comfort people. He told things how they were. He did not say meaningless words just to make people feel better, but he had comforted her. Why? Why would he bother? And why did the thought that he would cause her body to heat up?
"Hello! Tenten! I need to know how much experience you've had! I need to know what I'm working with!" Ino pressed impatiently.
Might as well be honest. I don't have anything to lose. She'd lost it all yesterday.
"I don't have any experience. None whatsoever." She stated more calmly than she felt.
Ino gaped and remained silent for a few seconds. Tenten mentally congratulated herself. She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone make Ino speechless. It didn't last long, though.
"None whatsoever? As in you've never done anything?"
Tenten smiled sheepishly. "Uh...yeah. Pretty much."
Ino collapsed back in her chair and dramatically put a hand to her forehead. "My god! When Hokage-sama said a three, I thought you'd kissed a guy or two, made out once or twice with tongue, maybe even gotten to second base. And now you're telling me you've never even kissed one guy!"
Tenten bit back a smile. She was getting some perverse pleasure from making Ino so flustered. "Well, I've certainly never kissed a girl."
"No! Of course you haven't!" Ino bolted into an up-right position. "Wait, you...you're not a lesbian, are you?"
Tenten thought her eyes might fall out of her head. "Gods, no!"
Ino collapsed back into her chair again. "Oh, thank god! It wouldn't be unlikely, you know. It happens quite a bit with kunoichi because half of them don't know what it means to be a girl."
Tenten detected another insult in there, but decided she didn't care. Knowing Ino, she probably didn't mean to do it. She was just painfully honest. Still, Tenten thought she should at least try to defend herself.
"I wear make-up."
Ino leaned forward and peered into her face. "Yes, I suppose you do. Only the basics, though. A little foundation and lip gloss. If you tried a bit harder, you could be quite pretty. You have good features, you know."
Tenten blinked at her, at loss for words. She had been called many things in her life. Pretty wasn't one of them.
"Th-thank you."
Ino dismissed her thanks with a wave of her hand. "I'm just stating a fact. Now, I'm assuming you've had a boyfriend before..."
"No."
"Why did I expect anything more?" Ino moaned.
Tenten bristled in her seat. "I was too busy."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Too busy trying to be a man?"
"No, too busy trying to be a good kunoichi."
"Listen to me, Tenten. You don't have to act like a man to be a good kunoichi. We are kunoichi because we are women. I mean, look at the Hokage...or even Sakura, gods forbid! They are freaky powerful, yet they still take the time to make sure they are still women. They've taken time to have relationships, sort of. You can't go through your whole life alone! That's just sad!"
Tenten's gaze hardened. "I was prepared to sacrifice everything to attain my goal. I still am."
Ino rolled her eyes again. "You're such a martyr! Just because you're prepared to sacrifice everything, doesn't mean you have to."
Tenten was taken aback. She had never really thought of it that way. She had just always assumed that one had to sacrifice everything in order to achieve their goal. No room for compromise. Was it possible that she had been wrong all these years?
It seemed that before yesterday she had never really concerned herself with being attractive or having someone special in her life. She had resolved long ago that it wasn't for her and she had never really wanted it. But now...now it was like something had awakened in her. Suddenly she felt...hungry for it. Hungry to know what desire tasted like. Hungry to know what it felt like to have someone hold her. Hungry to know what it meant to be desired. The startling intensity of it frightened her.
"Oh...I..."
"Never mind all that. I'm not here to give you a lesson on philosophy. I'm here to teach you how to seduce a man."
Tenten didn't quite think it could really be classified as philosophy, but kept her mouth shut nonetheless.
"So you've never liked a guy?"
"I...well...I've been attracted to guys, but it hasn't really progressed further than that. I suppose I never let it."
She wondered if admiration counted, because she admired a lot of guys like...like Naruto, but she certainly couldn't imagine herself with Naruto. Ever. And she admired - um - Lee for his determination, but she could never ever imagine herself with him (shudder). She definitely admired Neji. He had overcome the limitations that his clan had placed upon him and had come to be respected and admired by all for his abilities and strength, but she couldn't imagine herself with him either...could she? Surely not. It was Neji. But he was really good looking at smart and had this air of confidence about him that...
Oh gods, what was she thinking?
"And you're how many years older than me? Two? Three?"
How old was Ino? Eighteen? "Um, one I think."
"Your nineteen and you've never had a crush or a boyfriend or a kiss? That is so sad!"
Now that she thought about it, it really was and she was being taught in the way of the world by someone who was younger than her. She decided not to mention that she was turning twenty later that year.
Ino shook her head. "Anyway, we shall work on that side of things later. Extensively. Now, we are going shopping."
And Tenten's life flashed before her eyes.
Three hours and ten shops later, Tenten was ready to collapse and admit defeat, which was something she had never been prone to doing before. This was worse than the grisliest mission she had ever embarked on. Who knew that the world of women could be so terrifying?
First they had gone for the lingerie. Ino said it was best to work from the skin out. Um...yeah.
As far as underwear went for Tenten, she had always been content with cotton briefs, breast bindings and sports bras. Comfortable stuff. As far as underwear went for Ino, it seemed the more revealing the better and definitely the more uncomfortable the better.
She was currently wearing a thong - a thong - that was riding up her ass-crack further and further with every step she took. It was all she could do not to waddle or stick her hands down her pants to remove the beastly lace before it ventured up her colon.
She was also wearing a lace bra that matched the thong. Firstly, she didn't quite get why they had to be matching. It wasn't like anyone would see them. At that point Ino had pointed out that if she did things well, someone would be seeing them, which had caused Tenten to embark on a whole new meaning of the word terror. Secondly, the entirety of the bra was lace. Not only could she see right through it (she could see her nipples! Her nipples!), it also supported about as well as a tissue would. Worse, maybe.
As soon as she had emerged from the privacy of her changing room wearing the abomination (Ino had insisted that she see everything), Ino had eyed her chest with envy. Tenten didn't quite see how there was much to envy. In her eyes, her chest was a major handicap. She had to bind it with twice as much bandage a normal kunoichi used just so she wouldn't knock herself out if she tried to jump into a tree. According to Ino, she was bordering on Double D and if any other girl saw how 'well-endowed' she was, they would be incredibly jealous. She had no idea why. Her breasts were a curse.
The bra she was wearing (if it could even be called that) did nothing to support them. Ino insisted that they didn't need to be supported because "Oh, they're just so perky and cute!" but Tenten still looked down at her chest every few seconds just to make sure they weren't drooping down to her waistline like some 60-year-old granny. How so very attractive.
Then there were the shoes. If the interrogation unit was looking for any more effective torture weapons, Tenten would offer them these six-inch stilettos. Those sharp heels could effectively slice someone's head off when used in the right context, but they defined the term 'a two-edged sword'. She could kill someone with them - if they didn't kill her first. With every step her mind screamed Pain! Pain! Pain! What was worse, Ino had demanded that she wear them every day so that by the end of the weak she could walk in them as comfortably as her could with her regular shoes. Not bloody likely. Ino said it would be a disgrace if any kunoichi (who are supposed to be poised and graceful) couldn't walk in heels. Tenten was going to reply that it was a disgrace that anyone could expect people to wear these things, but couldn't say a word because her heel had gotten caught in a grate.
Then the clothes had come. Oh, the clothes - or at least what Ino considered clothes. More like scraps of cloth that covered the bare necessities. Tenten had absolutely put her foot down (causing pain to shoot up her leg, honourable mention to the heels) when it came to the clothes. She wanted to look sexy, not slutty. Turns out her definition of sexy greatly differed from Ino's. She didn't care. She wouldn't wear anything higher than mid-thigh, she wouldn't wear anything that bared her midriff and she would only reveal a few inches of her abounding cleavage. Tenten thought that it was better to leave more to the imagination. Ino said that boys didn't have any imagination and wouldn't spare her a glance. Tenten was about to refute that that was a good thing, but in her case it really wasn't. So she had instead argued that it was how she acted that mattered most. Ino had argued that men first saw appearance and then character...and then went right back to the appearance. Tenten had succumbed by that point.
However, Ino had been gracious...somewhat. She made Tenten buy a little black dress. It was long sleeved, but the back dipped down to the top of her ass and the front plunged down into her cleavage, ending just above her belly button. It hugged her body's curves and finished mid-thigh. Ino said it was the perfect compromise. It hid her skin but left absolutely nothing to the imagination, though Tenten didn't know whether she should feel good or bad about that.
She had felt incredibly self-conscious in the dress. She had always known she didn't have a slender body. She had big breasts, wide hips, muscled thighs (thanks to her profession) and a narrow waist (also thanks to her profession). Ino called it an hour-glass figure. Tenten called it big.
Also, her skin was far too pale for her to feel comfortable about revealing anything other than her face and arms. Her legs were always covered therefore they didn't get any sunlight. Of course her breasts were always covered so they didn't get any sunlight either, yet those were the body parts she was revealing the most. Ino called her skin alabaster. Tenten called it pale.
Ino also made her buy some other clothes. These weren't sexy mini-dresses. These were tight-fitting ninja garb that Ino was making her wear the rest of the week so she could get used to wearing more revealing clothes. It covered her skin well enough but it stuck to her body like a second skin. She was going to have to avoid everyone she knew if she had to trapeze around in that for the entire week.
Then her hair and make-up had come. Ino had been astounded by her waist-length hair. Tenten had always known that her hair was most definitely her best feature and had never cut it because of that. It was thick, silky and had the just right amount of curl. However, it always got in her way so she tied it up all the time. Ino was also quite pleased with the state of her face. According to Ino, she was no stunning beauty (unlike herself, she added oh-so-modestly), but she had even features and perfect skin. But oh, she should use moisturizer so the sweat from all that manly exercise didn't block up her pores. Tenten had asked "Pores? What pores?" at which point Ino had muttered something about lesbianism.
Now they were walking back to Ino's house. Well, Ino was walking. Tenten figured she looked more like a constipated penguin. Hopefully her target thought constipated penguins were sexy because she didn't think she'd ever look like anything else with lace riding up her ass crack, boobs swinging around her stomach and heels that could make the toughest of men cry like babies. Unfortunately, she didn't quite think he would be into constipated penguins or any kind of constipated animal for that matter. Mores the pity.
"So, Tenten, do you feel sexy?"
That must have been a trick question. "I beg your pardon?"
Ino laughed as if she hadn't a care in the world, which she probably hadn't because she could walk in high heels and actually look good while doing it; a feat worth jonin status for sure.
"Well, I mean it is my firm belief that once you are wearing sexy clothes, you feel sexy," she explained.
It was Tenten's firm belief that Ino was dead wrong. "Do I look like I feel sexy?"
Ino gave her an appraising look. "Well...no. You look rather constipated, actually."
"That's because I probably am. The gods know this lace has gone up my ass far enough for it to be the case," Tenten replied testily.
Ino laughed but Tenten really didn't see the humour in the situation. She was walking down a well-populated street looking like she was about to take a dump any second and Ino was laughing. Oh yes, it was so funny. With her luck, it would make perfect sense if she saw someone she knew or, what was worse, bump into them and-
"Shit!"
Tenten had never been one to curse, at least not out loud. Her mother had always said that a lady did not curse, as it was vulgar and unseemly. Tenten had wanted to point out that pretty much everything in her profession was vulgar and unseemly, but didn't want to upset her poor mother who had actually wanted a daughter and not a she-man, so she had apologized and endeavoured to never let such language pass through her lips.
But there were exceptions. There were exceptions to everything, as she was quickly discovering. One of these exceptions was bumping into someone she knew while looking like a constipated penguin. Someone she knew very well, someone hard and tall and strong and decidedly male with long brown hair and translucent eyes that could see into her very soul.
Neji.
"Tenten?" he voiced with a hint of surprise as Tenten tried to steady herself.
Unfortunately, it turned out that trying to steady oneself while wearing six-inch stilettos was akin to trying to balance oneself on a tightrope while possessing about as much grace and poise as an elephant. Or a constipated penguin.
Her arms flailed wildly as she tried to right herself, but she was steadily falling backwards and she knew her ass was about to become quite intimate with the pavement.
She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the pain when everything suddenly went very still. And then everything suddenly got very warm.
Neji had grabbed her arms to stop her from falling backwards, so then she had proceeded to fall the other direction: onto him.
Her hands reflexively grabbed onto the fabric that covered his chest as his arms tightened on her in a bid to keep her from teetering yet again. Tenten shut her eyes to fully concentrate on regaining her balance, but all she managed to fully concentrate on was how close Neji's body was to hers and how his warmth seeped into her body and how firm his chest was beneath her fingers and-
"Tenten."
His cool voice cut through her wayward thoughts like a kunai cut through hot butter. Not that she'd ever tried that, but she figured it was a fitting metaphor seeing as she was feeling very hot at that point in time, and not just from embarrassment.
Tenten open her eyes and looked up to meet Neji's gaze and almost fell over again when she realized how close their faces were. She didn't remember having ever been so close to his height. He had always been quite a bit taller than her, his eyes always so much further away.
Right, the heels.
She was beginning to realize six inches could make quite a bit of difference. Now she could see that his eyes weren't pure white, but more like pearls with flecks of colour in them as they reflected their surroundings. She had never noticed how strong his jaw line was, shadowed by just a hint of stubble. She had certainly never realized how soft his lips looked, how sensuous and...and...
He was staring at her. More like glaring, really. It was a glare that said "Why are you still touching me?" That was actually a valid question - a very valid question.
"Ah..." She felt her cheeks flame. "Right! Sorry!" She cautiously stepped back from him, making sure she wouldn't fall yet again and embarrass herself further, if such a feat were even possible.
"The fault is mine. I'm afraid I was not paying attention to my surroundings," he stated brusquely.
Tenten laughed nervously, something she had never been prone to do. "Oh, no! I wasn't paying attention either, in case you hadn't noticed!"
Why was she so nervous and why did everything suddenly feel so awkward? She had known Neji for years. There was no reason they should feel awkward around each other. Sure, she had just been a few inches away from his face and thinking how perfectly-
Oh gods!
Had Neji been able to tell what she'd been thinking? He was the most observant person she knew and he could read people's expressions like no one else. He sure as hell knew her well enough to read her like a book.
Oh gods!
This was the pinnacle of embarrassment. This beat yesterday's debriefing with the Hokage. This beat stepping out of a change room in nothing but lace. This beat wearing six-inch stilettos. This beat walking around like she had a physical deficiency. This beat falling into Neji. This was torture.
How am I ever going to look at him again?
"How fares your training?" he asked. His was voice noticeably stilted. Tenten cringed inwardly.
"Oh, it's going great! Just great!" Tenten babbled overenthusiastically while she bent to wrench her shoes off her feet. There was no way she could walk away with any shred of dignity while wearing those things. "Speaking of training, we still have a lot to accomplish, so, uh...I guess I'll see you later! Bye, Neji!"
Completely ignoring Ino's protests, she calmly walked to the next corner and upon rounding it, ran like she was running from rabies, despite the fact that she was quite certain that her lacy thong was now permanently wedged up her small intestine.
Tuesday
Tenten was still burning with embarrassment when she met with Ino the next morning. She probably looked like crap as well, seeing as she had slept a total of three hours the night before. It seemed as though every time she'd closed her eyes she'd relived the humiliation that had befallen her the previous day. And this week only promised more.
It was a couple of minutes before nine when Tenten knocked on the door. Ino opened it with an exasperated expression on her flawless face.
"You're early!"
Tenten shrugged. "It's better than being late, isn't it?"
"No! No! You are so wrong!"
And yet another great start to what will be another great day.
"I'm wrong."
Ino ushered her in. "Yes! If you arrive early you seem too eager! That is so not attractive."
"Of course," Tenten mumbled.
As soon as they had sat down, Ino proceeded to read out that day's itinerary.
"Today we are going to learn the walk."
"I thought we did that yesterday."
Ino shook her head. "No, yesterday was just an introduction for what is going to come."
"Great," Tenten intoned with extremely low levels of enthusiasm.
Five minutes later, they were down the end of a remote alleyway and Tenten was wearing the heels she so affectionately named her 'hell-heels.'
"Now...walk."
It seemed simple enough. Walk. However, this was like trying to balance your entire body weight on two piss-thin sticks.
"You're thinking too much!" Ino yelled.
Tenten glared at her. By nature she was quite mild-mannered; slow to anger, quick to forgive. The hell-heels were rapidly changing that aspect of her character.
"If I don't think, I'll fall."
"No, you only think you'll fall and that's why you look like you need to pee."
"I'd like to try and see you do it," Tenten hissed between clenched teeth.
Ino shrugged. "Okay. Hand them over."
Tenten watched in disbelief as Ino strode down the length of the alleyway in graceful, fluid movements, looking like she hadn't a care in the world.
When she returned, she looked down at Tenten smugly. "See, it is possible."
"Doesn't that hurt?"
Ino shrugged. "It hurts eventually, but I just ignore it." She took the shoes off and handed them to a reluctant Tenten. "The trick is to not focus on the pain or how you're supposed to walk in them. Just empty your head. Then imagine you're running on water."
"With two kunai stuck in my feet."
Ino laughed. "Okay, let me put it this way. Even if had kunai in your feet, what if you were running from an enemy? It wouldn't stop you, would it? You would ignore the pain and keep your balance atop of the water anyway. You're thinking of this the wrong way. This isn't just some stupid torture I thought up to make you miserable. This is training. You want to be the best kunoichi? You need to perfect every skill, including walking in heels."
Tenten took a deep breath and tried again. Ino was right. This was training and she was learning a new technique. And no matter how hard the technique or how bad she was at it, she never gave up. She kept going until she had perfected it. This was no different.
Five laborious hours later, she was flying, albeit in extreme discomfort.
Ino greeted her with a huge smile. "Day two: complete."
Wednesday
Tenten's feet had approximately five sweltering blisters on them and her leg muscles were strained to the point of collapse, so she was quite looking forward to a day void of strenuous physical activity - otherwise known as walking in heels.
She was positively ecstatic that she had mastered the art of walking in heels, but that did not mean she wanted to walk in them at every possible opportunity. It still hurt. She figured that handling heels was much like handling a kunai. She clearly remembered that the kunai had felt heavy and awkward in her hands when she had first started using them and she acquired blisters from throwing them incorrectly, but eventually she became used to the weight and those blisters turned into calluses. Maybe her feet would soon get used to being in such an awkward position and maybe her blisters would turn into calluses, but for now she wanted to give her poor feet a rest.
Today was talk.
It seemed simple enough. Though she was not the most outgoing person, she knew how to carry on a decent conversation. Ino would just have to teach her how to flirt, but, really, how hard could that be?
"Okay, so think of me as a guy."
Tenten looked at Ino with raised brows. "Okay..."
"And you are going to carry on an intriguing conversation with me." Ino leaned forward in her chair, as if she was about to impart some priceless information. "Now, I am going to impart some priceless information..."
Oh.
"The trick when flirting is to be vague."
Tenten almost sighed in relief. She could do vague.
"But you have to be careful not to be too vague. Guys cannot do subtlety. They also cannot understand subtlety, so you could be hinting at a number of various sexual things and they would have absolutely no idea. That's why you have to artfully combine conversation with touch, but I will teach you that later. Right now, we are going to focus on conversation."
This time Tenten did sigh in relief. She was not looking forward to learning how to touch.
"Another trick is to ask them questions about themselves. Guys are purely egotistical beings; therefore, they love to talk about themselves to a great extent. And if you keep them talking about themselves they aren't going to inquire about you as much. That means you don't have to think up crap to tell them; you just have to nod and prod in the right places. Very easy, but don't avoid questions either because then they'll wonder why you did. Guys are also quite stubborn, so they won't let a topic drop."
Tenten blinked at her. This all sounded extremely complicated. It all came down to balance. Not too much of this, but not too little either.
"Okay."
Ino smiled. "Now, we shall converse. Imagine you're in a bar and you've just met this guy. I'll start with the first question," Ino cleared her throat and adopted a lazy kind of expression on her face. Tenten was impressed.
"So, Reia was it?" she asked in a husky drawl.
"My name's Tenten," Tenten stated brusquely.
Ino groaned in frustration. "Don't use your real name! I thought that much would be obvious!"
Tenten cringed. It was an undercover mission. It should have been obvious. "Sorry."
"We'll start again." Ino cleared her throat. "So, Reia, was it?"
Unsure of what to say, Tenten nodded. She assumed this must have been an acceptable reaction because Ino continued.
"What is it that you do, Reia?"
"I'm a professional ninja."
"Oh my God! You can't be serious!" Ino shrieked.
"What?" Tenten asked, oblivious to her fault.
"You just told him the truth again! This is supposed to be undercover!"
Ah. Right.
But she had never done an undercover mission before so she didn't really have any idea of what not to do. She had belonged to Team Gai for seven years and not once during those seven years had they been given an undercover mission. Giving Tem Gai an undercover mission spelled disaster and utter failure.
Firstly, there was Gai and Lee to contend with. Even if they changed their clothes and hair, they were still far too loud, far too boisterous, and far too obnoxious. They reeked of suspicion because no normal human being would act like they did. Though Gai might be able to contain his over-the-top personality for a while, she doubted Lee could, even if he tried. They could not be subtle even if they trained relentlessly for it, no matter how determined they might be.
While Neji was the most subtle person she knew, there would be no way to hide his profession either. It wasn't just the eyes, which were impossible to ignore, it was his manner. Because of the clan he belonged to, he was exceedingly well-bred. This fact came across in every aspect of his being, from the way he talked to the way he held himself to the very presence around him and she doubted he could physically do otherwise. It was just too well-ingrained in his being. Also, he was far too...well, handsome to effectively blend into the background. If it weren't for his cold demeanour, he would have girls trailing him everywhere. As it was, they simply admired from afar.
So she had never partaken in such missions because she was on their team and they were a unit who worked well together, which was why they were rarely separated. It was why she had never really worried about having to do a mission like this. But here she was...
"Sorry."
"Okay, Undercover Mission 101 - lie through your teeth all the time. Undercover means you are an entirely different person. You may be shy by nature, but when you are undercover you are an outgoing and fun-loving person who has no problems with kissing a guy she's just met, okay? Everything about you is different. You must remember that."
"Okay."
"So if a guy asked you what you do for a living, you say something vague like 'Oh, this and that.' You don't give any real answer and then you immediately follow up by asking him what he does so he doesn't get a chance to ask for specifics, and then you keep asking him question about what he does so he totally forgets about you."
"Okay."
Ino sighed. "We'll try it again."
"Okay."
"So, Reia, what is it that you do?"
"Oh, this and that," Tenten replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And yourself?"
Ino smiled. "That was much better, Tenten. The wave of the hand was a good effect. Just remember to smile because guys like happy girls."
"Okay."
"Oh, I work in construction. It's good for the body, you know?" Ino replied in a deep, husky voice.
Tenten smiled as naturally as she could. "Well, I'm sure it is, but I can think of quite a few other jobs that would be better for your body."
Ino groaned, "No, no, no!"
"What did I do this time?" Tenten asked dejectedly.
"Never undermine a man's ego. Never. A man's pride is what is most precious to him and if you bolster that pride, you will catch his interest immediately. Womanizing men, like the one you're trying to catch, don't like girls who have a mind of their own. You have to pretend that you're weak and helpless because men like that love the chance to show off and save the damsel in distress, if you know what I mean. They love helpless women because they can be the big, strong man who protects them. So act like you don't have half a brain and can't kick their ass in two seconds flat, okay?"
Tenten felt something akin to anger build up inside her body. This was precisely why she had avoided men. They were so damn egotistical and she wasn't about to change her beliefs for them. But this was only pretend.
Just pretend. Just pretend.
"Okay."
"So when you they say something like that, it is a perfect opportunity for you to start to flirting. He says something like 'I work in construction. It's good for the body.' You rake your eyes over his physic and reply, 'Yes, I can certainly see that. I was wondering how much you had to work out to get such big muscles.' By saying something like that, you have complimented his manhood and started the flirting. It doesn't matter if he's as fat as an ox. Just lie through your teeth. Men won't notice. They'll just be too happy that a pretty lady is paying them attention."
"Okay."
"Let's try this again." Ino adopted her lazy expression once again. "So, how come a pretty little thing like you hasn't got a man to claim you?"
Tenten felt her normally dormant temper starting to rise to the surface. She laughed tersely and reminded herself that it was just pretend. "Well, maybe I've just been waiting for someone like you to come along."
"No!"
Tenten looked at Ino in confusion. What the hell had she done wrong this time?
"Gods, have you never flirted before?"
"No."
Ino sighed dramatically and flopped back in her chair. "No, of course you haven't! Why did I expect anything more?"
Tenten felt angry and embarrassed at the same time. Angry that Ino was so obviously insulting her and embarrassed that she didn't even know how to flirt. This was why she had avoided these kinds of missions. This was why she was more terrified now than she had ever been before.
She hated failing, to put it plainly. She hated the feeling that she wasn't good enough. Therefore, she had always done everything to the best of her ability, and if her ability wasn't enough then she'd practice and practice until it was. She was generally quite a well-rounded ninja. She was smart, though not overtly so, and capable in all physical areas. She might not have perfect chakra control, but she could control it well enough to expertly execute her jutsu. She may not have the most stamina, but she could still fight or run for as long as she needed. And she had better aim than even Neji. That was why she had perfected the art form of being a weapons mistress. One must cultivate the one's ability in the area one was most well-suited.
When it came to matters of, well, mostly anything other than things pertaining to her profession, she wasn't all that skilled. She could cook well enough, converse well enough, and make friends but that was it. When someone had even hinted at anything more, she had avoided it entirely. She supposed that was why she had never had a boyfriend. It wasn't that she didn't want it, but more that she was afraid that if someone really got to know her she wouldn't be good enough.
And now she had no choice but to hope that she would be good enough. And now it looked as if she wouldn't be.
And she wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl into bed and forget about everything to do with this mission. But she couldn't. She had to suck it up and keep going.
I can do this. I can.
It was just every other ninja art form she had perfected. She just had to practice and practice it until she got it right. She only had a week to get it right this time - well, four days to be precise - but that just meant she had to work harder.
"Okay, let's keep going over this until you get it right," Ino sighed.
"What did I say wrong?" Tenten asked eagerly. In order to improve, she had to detect her mistake to make sure she didn't repeat it.
"It wasn't what you said, really. It was a bit too desperado, a bit too fake, but the crux of the matter was the execution."
Too desperado? What the hell did that mean?
"You said it as though you had just swallowed some of Naruto's week-old ramen!"
Tenten blinked at her.
"It's bad! You looked as though you'd rather stick a kunai up my ass than kiss me!"
Tenten blinked again. "But I don't want to kiss you." That was just...just not going to happen.
Ino groaned loudly. "I mean the guy I was pretending to be!"
"Well in that case, I would rather stick a kunai up his ass. And other choice places."
"That's not the point!" Ino shrieked, "It doesn't matter if your subject treats you like a walking stick with boobs and an ass, because that is most likely what is going to happen and it is a good thing! Do you know why?" She paused, obviously waiting for Tenten to make an input.
"Err...not really."
"It's because if he is only after a quick screw, it makes your job a thousand times easier, which in your position is a very good thing! If a man thinks with his balls before his brain, you won't get caught or discovered. He'll be too horny to think properly."
"Uh..."
Ino stood up and started to dramatically pace around the room. She was obviously in the throes of a theatrical epiphany...or something.
"What you don't realize, Tenten, is that we have a lot of power over men! They want to make us think we are worthless and stupid and good for nothing but sex because they know that if we say the right things, show just enough skin, touch the right spot, and blind them with a smile, they will lose all control and the power to do what we want will be in our hands! That's why men are so damn egotistical and freaking pigs! Because they're afraid! Afraid of us! Now if that's not power, I don't know what it is!"
"PMS?" Tenten guessed.
Ino gaped at her. "Weren't you listening to a word I was saying?"
No, she wasn't but she didn't think it would be wise to point that out. "Of course! Very...um...informative stuff."
Ino calmly sat down on her chair. "It's more than informative," she said in a condescending tone that was a few octaves quieter than her previously shrill one. "It is life-changing."
Tenten smiled accommodatingly. "Sure."
"Anyway, what were we doing?" Ino asked dismissively.
"I think we were flirting." That sounded wrong on so many levels.
"Oh, right. Okay. So you have to act interested. Not disgusted. Okay?"
Tenten nodded. She could do this.
"So, why doesn't a girl like you have a man to claim you?"
Tenten smiled and shrugged. "I guess no man has been up to the task," she replied simply.
Ino burst out laughing and clapped her hands together. "Excellent! That was excellent! You presented a challenge and egotistical guys can't resist a challenge!"
Tenten smiled back, not planning on telling Ino that she had been actually been telling the truth. Of the very few suitors she'd had, all of them had been shut down before they could even get out the words "I like you" or "I'm interested in you." All she'd had to say was "You're such a great friend." Those guys hadn't exactly been the cream of the crop, but they had been nice enough guys. She'd just been afraid. And uninterested.
"I'm so glad you've finally gotten hang of this because I'm a getting pretty bored. Let's move on to innuendo!"
Tenten almost groaned. No, wait. She did groan, causing Ino to flash angry eyes at her.
"We'll do the same as before. I'll be the guy." She flopped back on her chair and adopted that lazy expression. "So, how does a guy like me go about getting to know a girl like you?"
Tenten just smiled for a few seconds as she struggled to discover the hidden meaning in those words. As far as she could tell, he was only asking to get to know her better. What was sexual about that?
She shrugged. "Through conversation, I guess." She didn't really have a clue what she was supposed to be insinuating, but she said it coyly, hoping that Ino would assume it was sexual from her tone. She didn't even know if that could be sexual.
Ino leaned forward in her chair, looking eager. "And what kind of conversation would that be?"
Tenten shrugged and waved her hand dismissively like she had seen Ino do on many occasions. "Oh, there are many kinds," she replied lightly.
Ino raised an eyebrow. "Really? I would be very interested in learning about these different kinds."
Tenten laughed airily. "Well, I'm sure we will have lots of time."
"Oh, to be sure."
"Well, we're in a conversation right now, so that's a start." This was a lot easier than she thought. Maybe this wouldn't be so horrible after all.
"What?" Ino asked, still using her guy voice.
Tenten shrugged. "Well, we're talking so I think that counts as a conversation."
Ino groaned and put her face in her hands. "Tenten, what are we talking about?"
Tenten cocked her head in confusion. "Getting to know someone better through conversation."
Ino looked up at her, exasperation written all over her face. "No, we weren't. When I asked what I could do to get to know you better, I meant know you sexually."
Tenten gaped at her. "We were talking about sex?"
"Yes."
"That whole time?"
"Yes, that whole time."
"So...so when I said different kinds of conversations..."
"I took your meaning as different ways we could have sex."
"What?" Tenten practically deflated in her chair. That whole time they had been talking about sex and she hadn't a clue. Just how inexperienced was she? The full weight of it was finally settling on her shoulders.
"Do you even know what innuendo is?" Ino asked.
Tenten bit her lip. "Um...I thought it was conversations about sex."
"Wrong! Innuendo is when it seems you are talking about perfectly normal things when there is actually an underlying meaning - the underlying meaning being sex and all things to do with it."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh. Have you ever heard of the expression 'Do you want me to butter your muffin?'?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's another way of asking 'Do you want to have sex with me?' In its most explicit terms, it's asking 'Do you want my sperm all over and in your vagina?'"
Tenten's eyes felt as though they might fall out of her head. "I thought it just meant what it sounds like! I was always so confused when other shinobi would say that too each other and there were no muffins around."
Ino smirked. "Oh, I'm sure there were plenty of muffins around."
Tenten unsuccessfully fought her blush.
Ino laughed. "This is so pathetic it's funny."
"Glad to be of some entertainment," Tenten muttered.
"I've never had a protégé as utterly inexperienced as you. I just don't know how to get you ready for this short of sticking you in a room with a horny man and telling him to have his way with you in every position available."
"Ino!" Tenten gasped in indignation. She couldn't possibly be considering such a drastic course of action! Tenten was desperate, yes, but she wasn't ready to be violated on every level possible! Hell, she didn't even know how many levels there were to be violated on!
"I've got it!" Ino yelled as she leaped out of her seat. "I'm a genius!"
Without another word, she ran to some other room of the house. Tenten heard various objects being thrown about. She tentatively got out of her chair and walked to the doorway. Ino currently had her head stuck in a drawer, clearly looking for something as she threw out every other object in that drawer other than the one she was looking for, not caring that she was making a lot of noise and an even bigger mess.
"What are you looking for?"
Ino retracted herself from the drawer, little green book in hand. And she was smiling. Mischievously. Tenten feared this did not bode well for her.
"I was thinking how I could possibly get you some experience without getting throwing you in a room with a horny male and locking you in there for the rest of the week as he took you in every possible way when I figured that you could just read about a woman getting taken by a horny man in every way possible instead!"
Tenten's mouth opened and closed a few times before she could actually form the words: "I didn't understand a word of that."
Ino grinned. "Smutty romance novels, my dear Tenten."
Tenten held her hands up by her shoulders in a confused gesture.
"To be more precise, Icha Icha Paradise."
Tenten paused as she struggled to connect the name with her brain. It seemed familiar, like she had heard it many times before. She just couldn't place it.
And then she heard Gai's voice in her head.
"That Kakashi thinks he's so cool reading that Icha book right out in the open where everyone can see it!"
Well, Kakashi was cool, but that wasn't important. The book Kakashi continually carried around was important, and she now she remembered that old ladies and young mamas glared at him wherever he went and the men eyed him with subtle admiration for his balls because Icha Icha Paradise was...
"Porn?"
Ino beamed at her self-assured cleverness. "Yes, exactly."
"What? No."
Ino grinned evilly as she walked towards Tenten. "Yes."
Tenten backed up into the living room, hands up and head shaking in utter refusal. "There is no way I'm going to read porn!"
Ino continued to advance towards her. "And why not?"
Tenten back up further until she hit the back of a chair. "Someone could see me with it! Find it in my house! Then they'll know that I was reading porn!"
Ino's smile grew. "No, they wouldn't. I had the cover changed for that sole purpose." She thrust the book in Tenten's face saying, "See, it's green on both sides - plain green. If anyone sees it, they'll just think you're reading a book on weapons or something."
Tenten pushed the book away. "I don't think I could...I just..."
"Couldn't?" Ino supplied.
"Yes, exactly. I'd feel too dirty."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Just tear off those virginal robes already! If you can't read porn, how the hell do you think you're going to handle shamelessly seducing a guy?"
"I..."
"Exactly! It is imperative to this mission that you read this book!" Ino lectured as she waved the book in front of Tenten's face.
Tenten stubbornly shook her head.
Ino sighed in exasperation. "If you don't read this, I'll be locking you in a room with a horny man for the rest of the week."
"You wouldn't," Tenten gasped.
"I would. Hokage-sama said by any means possible and I do not do things half-assed, as you should well know by now. Decide."
"I can't...I mean..."
Ino grinned knowingly. Tenten didn't like the look in her eyes.
"I know what your problem is," Ino stated.
"What?"
"You're not afraid to read it because you think it's bad. You're afraid to read it because you think you'll like it."
Tenten shook her head in denial. "I wouldn't...I couldn't..."
Ino laughed. "Sure, sure! You were made with raging hormones just like the rest of us. They've been dormant for too long and you know that if you discover the wonderful world of sex like the rest of us, they'll explode beyond your control!"
"You're so crass," Tenten muttered but she knew it was true. It was so true. It wasn't just that she thought she might like it; she was pretty much convinced that she would. This whole situation had awakened a curiosity in her that she hadn't thought she possessed. For now this curiosity only pertained to knowing, but if she read Icha Icha Paradise, would that curiosity extend to experiencing? That's what scared her; that basic animalistic part of her of which she was so unaware.
"Crass but true. So, what are you going choose? Are you going read or do?"
Tenten scowled and snatched the book out of Ino's hands, "Read."
She was enthralled. Utterly, completely, totally, wholly, entirely, fully, absolutely and whatever other adverb she could think of to add to that list.
She had known for a long time what sex was and how it was performed, but she had kind of thought of it in a more systematic light. As far as she knew, the man jumped on the woman, stuck it in, moved a bit for some unknown reason, released and hopped off.
She had no idea it could be so hot, sensual, erotic, sizzling, romantic, sweet, possessive, passionate and whatever other adjective she could think of to add to that list. Not only did it seem to be doing things to the characters in the book, it was doing things to her; things she had never even were possible for her to feel, and she was only reading about it at that. How much more intense would these alien, all-consuming feelings be if she actually experienced them?
But she couldn't experience them. There was no way. These characters did things she thought a body wasn't even capable of doing! And who knew that there were so many uses for the tongue? And other seemingly insignificant body parts, for that matter! It was fascinating and aggravatingly addictive. She was about halfway through the book, but she was already feeling the despair of it ending.
She supposed she could ask Ino for some more, but that would just prove to Ino that she had been one hundred percent right and she didn't want to give Ino that satisfaction. She didn't want to suffer through the 'I told you so' and smug smiles. She sure as hell couldn't buy them, either. How utterly embarrassing would that be! She wasn't like Ino or Kakashi, who had absolutely no shame. She actually cared what people thought of her. She didn't want all her comrades, who respected her, knowing that she liked to read porn.
And then she felt the pang of shame. She liked to read porn. She had never thought she would find herself in this position - ever. She was Tenten and this was porn - people having hot, sweaty, passionate sex - and she liked reading about it and she liked how it made her feel. Part of her felt as though it was wrong of her to feel this way after a whole life of not feeling this way, but another part of her understood that yes, she was indeed made with hormones and it was perfectly normal to feel so turned on.
But was it really normal to feel quite so turned on? She couldn't imagine anyone else ever feeling so...so hot. And...and tingly. Maybe what Ino had said was just coming to pass. Perhaps her hormones were just exploding and raging out of control because they had been dormant for so long. Perhaps after they had run themselves out, they would go back to normal. Hopefully only after the mission was finished because if she felt like this while she was seducing a guy, she would have no problems whatsoever with kissing him or taking some clothes off. Hell, if she continued to be in this state, she would encourage it.
And thinking of seducing, she was learning quite a few nifty tricks from this book. She could scarcely believe how much people actually used innuendo! Now all these past conversations that had taken place around her were actually starting to make sense!
It wasn't so surprising that she hadn't known any innuendo before this. She had hardly been in an environment in which it was used. The only times she had ever heard it were during jonin gatherings. She had never actually been in a conversation in which it was used (thank the gods, otherwise she would have completely humiliated herself with her ignorance) because the only people she knew well enough with whom to use innuendo were Team Gai.
Gai probably knew what innuendo was, but, knowing him, he probably wouldn't use it anyway. He'd shamelessly just out-right say what he meant. She felt better in knowing that Lee probably had even less of an idea about it than she did. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if Lee didn't even know what sex was. Even though he was no longer twelve, he remained in his world of black and white and honour and pride and blithe ignorance.
Neji...well, there was no way he wouldn't know what it was because he was too observant to have not picked up the hidden meanings under people's words, but he would never use it. Never. Just the thought of it made her smile. Imagine...Neji using innuendo. It was laughable, really, because Neji was just so proper. She could count the number of times she had seen him smile on one hand. She could count the number of times he had laughed on one finger and that laugh had lasted a whole of two seconds. If he couldn't laugh there was no way he could use innuendo, let alone get turned on. She didn't even think Neji possessed hormones. Hell, she didn't any of the Hyugas possessed hormones. They probably only had sex to beget heirs and keep the bloodline flowing strong. Their clan pride took precedence over all else and Tenten had no doubt that sex came under 'all else.'
She knew Neji had personality. It was just hard to spot under his stoic disposition. She knew that he'd get moody if something didn't go the way he wanted. She knew his eyes would flash in anger at any who dared insult his pride or the pride of his clan. He also had quite a dry wit if he ever bothered to use it. Usually, he just observed and preferred not to be in the centre of anything. Even when he fought, it was to protect his village and therefore his clan. He wanted people to know he was strong only because he wanted them to know what the Hyugas were capable of. Not just Neji, the Hyugas.
Never had she felt so lucky that she was not part of a clan. Just look what had happened with Neji's father...
Tenten shook all morbid thoughts out of her head. She didn't need to worry about internal clan affairs; she needed to worry about seducing a man and she was far too turned on to really care about anything else.
But as she continued reading, every time the hero spoke she imagined it was Neji speaking instead. Apparently her former musings weren't as harmless as she had first thought. Though it was funny imagining Neji being charming and seductive. What was worse, she could actually imagine him doing such things if he let go of himself for once. Not that he ever would, but it was disconcerting nonetheless.
So she imagined her familiar, stoic Neji reciting the carefully placed innuendo. The mental image was just so funny that she burst out laughing. Only Neji would be able to narrate such sexual sayings with a straight face and poised composition!
"What are you laughing at?"
Tenten froze and swore. It was becoming a bad habit, that swearing. Still, she quite thought the situation called for it.
Damn! Damn! Damn!
She had known it was a bad idea to read outside, but it had just been such a lovely day and it wasn't like anyone could see what she was reading. She was also in a pretty reclusive spot that not many people frequented. Actually, no one came there besides Neji, as it just happened to be the same spot in which he frequently meditated.
It was a beautiful position. She could see why he liked it so much. It was far enough away from the village ruckus to be peaceful and quiet. She could hear the wildlife go about in the pleasant, natural way they did. It was situated on an impressionable incline so one could look over the bustling village below and it was right under the most beautiful sakura tree in the village. It was perfect for every season. In summer it was covered with foliage so one would be shaded from the scorching sun. In autumn the leaves were the colours of a sunset as they cascaded onto the green grass beneath it. In winter it was bare, leaving the ground beneath it open for the much-needed sunlight in the chill of the season. In spring the pink flowers bloomed in abundance, creating a picturesque setting.
Tenten had never really spent all that much time there, but she had seen it when she had been sent to fetch Neji on numerous occasions over the years. It never changed. That was nice, too. It was comforting to find a place that didn't change when everything else around them did.
So when she had made the decision to read outside, she had immediately zoned in on this particular spot, conveniently forgetting that it was Neji's meditational area.
The little green book snapped shut with a muted bang as Tenten turned to smile at the intruder. "Hi, Neji!" she called cheerfully, perhaps a bit too cheerfully because Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Tenten could understand why he would think such frivolous behaviour suspicious. She had always been a sensible girl, not one prone to rash or overt emotion. She had always remained cool and calm and collected. She certainly never greeted Neji with a squeak of astonished surprise and horror. Usually her senses were alert enough to know he was coming, but she was currently too distract but, uh, other things to be alert. However, she didn't want Neji to know that.
He sat down next to her about two feet away and Tenten absentmindedly wondered why she noted the difference. It had never really mattered how far away he sat before.
"What are you reading?"
Tenten casually turned the book over in her hand. She had to remain perfectly casual otherwise Neji would know she was trying to hide something. He was far too observant to fall for some rushed lie.
"Oh, it's not important," she dismissed with a wave of her hand, and immediately knew she had done exactly the wrong thing.
She never waved her had dismissively. Hell, she never even spoke dismissively. She never tried to be vague unless she was hiding something. If she had no reason to be vague, she wouldn't be vague and Neji knew it as well as she did.
"Give me the book, Tenten," he ordered softly.
That was the scary thing about Neji. He didn't need to lose his temper in order to be scary. Just a soft-spoken word and a hard, unnerving stare was enough to make most bend to his will and obey. When he turned it on her, which he rarely did (he rarely had to), she always obeyed. Why not? She trusted him, she admired him and she respected him...and he could kick her ass. Besides, it just wasn't in her nature to be overtly stubborn and kick up a fuss over nothing.
But this was an exception. She was quickly discovering that there were a lot of those happening lately.
He could not find out that she was reading porn. It didn't matter if it was research for a mission! She did not want him to associate porn with her like everyone associated it with Kakashi. She didn't want him to look at her and think 'porn.' It was just too degrading and far too humiliating. She did not need this after nearly knocking him over in six inch heels the other day.
She slowly moved the book out of his reach and placed it by her side so he could neither see nor reach it.
"It's really not that important, Neji," she said in what she thought was a placating tone. Hopefully Neji would just forget about it and ease up.
He didn't.
"If it is not important you would not be hiding it from me," he stated calmly, but she could detect the steel running through his tone. She had heard him use it many times on enemies. It was unnerving to have it turn on her. This was a man who was used to getting what he wanted.
"Important or not, I don't want you to see it," Tenten stated firmly and turned her head in the other direction.
It occurred to her that this was probably the first proper disagreement she and Neji had ever had. Sure, they'd had a few mild differences of opinion when it came to battles plans and issues pertaining to missions, but those were a mere discussion and they had always found a way to work around their differences. Or Neji had used his superior logic to change her opinion. This time she was downright refusing him something that he wanted and he was not happy about it. If there was one thing she knew about Neji, it was that he prided himself on knowing about everything. He didn't know why she was hiding this book from him so therefore he would find out at any cost.
And he could be very tenacious; he would never let up.
So be it. Neither would she. Not today, anyway.
Neji had never underestimated her skill, but he had underestimated her force of will. Usually she was accommodating because she saw no reason not to be. Now she had a reason and by whatever gods existed, he was not going to find out she was reading porn.
"Why not?" Neji demanded and Tenten heard frustration betray his calm tenor.
Tenten still looked away, not wanting to have to gaze into those intimidating eyes of his. Besides, if he saw her face he would be able to read her expressions. She didn't want to give him that advantage.
"I just don't. That's reason enough, I think."
She could feel Neji tense up beside her and she thought she must be very stupid indeed. This man could be dangerous.
"Tenten."
Chills ran down Tenten's spine as his deep voice did a justice to her name no one else could.
And she had thought the man couldn't be seductive. Then again, knowing Neji, he probably didn't even realize what he was doing. Or maybe she was just still on a hormonal high from all that delicious word porn.
"Give me the book. I will not ask again."
"Good, because I will not give it to you."
Then Neji's hand gripped her jaw and he turned her face towards his and her breath was quite literally stolen from her body. He was so handsome. Sure, she had always known he had struck gold in the gene pool, but now she was aware of his handsomeness. Now it affected her.
Oh crap, it affected her!
I better still be on that hormonal high or Team Gai relations are going to be a bit awkward from now on!
Because if his good looks continued to affect her like they were right now, there was no way she would be able to act like normal around him again.
"Tenten. Give. Me. The. Book."
And Tenten almost gave in because his eyes, those amazing eyes, arrested her own and her logic seemed to melt as she was all too aware of the distance between their faces and the fingers on her jaw that were cool and firm and she wanted to feel more, which freaked her out because this was Neji and Neji was off-limits in so many ways and she shouldn't feel this way about him because it was Neji and...
And the bastard was trying to distract her so he could take the book!
She had just reached behind her to close her fingers around that gods-forsaken book when her hand connected with another hand. Neji's hand.
As soon as the contact had been made, Neji's eyes widened in surprise and he reflexively retracted his arm.
Tenten scowled at him before she turned away, putting her back to him, and tucked the book against her chest to hold it in place with her arms.
"All this effort for one book?" Neji mused and Tenten detected a hint of amusement in his voice, "It must contain some secret."
Oh, you have no idea!
At least she hoped he didn't.
"Why can't you just go away and forget about this?" she asked hopelessly.
"Why can you not just relent?" he countered smoothly and it was then she realised she really hated when he answered a question with a question.
"I just can't."
"And neither can I. It seems we are in a bit of an impasse."
Tenten squeezed her eyes shut in painful anticipation, preparing herself for his next attack, but she was wholly surprised at and unprepared for what happened next.
She froze as she felt his arms snake around her sides like iron vices. His hands pushed under her arms and grabbed the book. Only then did she snap to attention.
Of course. He was doing this because he knew it would surprise her and therefore disarm her. Neji never made unnecessary physical contact and she wasn't the most touchy-feely person either. Therefore, they had never come into contact often. Because of that she had never known his arms could feel so nice around her body. She had never known he was so warm. She had never known what his breath in her hair could feel like. She had never known how nice and masculine he smelled. She had never known that his chest could feel so amazingly firm as it pressed against her back. She had never known how smooth and slender his hands could feel.
Hands that were prying her fingers away from the book in her grasp. Her mind knew what he was trying to do and her mind knew that she should react, damn it, but her body refused to obey her mind's demands as shock waves travelled up and down her spine and throughout every part of her body - shock waves of awareness and desire.
Her grip relaxed completely as the full realization of her feelings hit her in the biggest shock wave of all.
I like Neji.
It fit. Oh gods, it fit and it made so much sense. She had always admired him. She had always looked up to him. She had always wanted him to admire her. She had always liked his character, the few times it broke past his constant façade of propriety.
But the attraction had never really been there. He was incredibly good looking and he was in good shape and he took good care of his appearance, but it just hadn't been there.
But now? Oh, was it ever there!
I...I like Neji.
I like Neji.
I like Neji.
Her first crush. It had finally happened, and it just had to happen with the one guy who would never return her feelings. Just perfect.
And now he had her book; her porn book. Well, it was Ino's book, really, but it was still porn and she had still been reading it (and enjoying it) and now Neji had it and he was about to open it up and read it.
Crap!
Thinking of nothing but her impending humiliation, Tenten literally leaped at Neji in a wild attempt to snatch the book away. He dodged, but she tried again and in her blind quest to recover her lost property, she placed a hand on his chest and pushed him. He fell back onto one hand, but still held the book away from her reach, so she tried again.
At this point she had nothing in mind but getting that damn book back. She wasn't even aware of what she was doing (or touching) until she found herself straddling Neji as he propped his torso up with his hands, knees in the air, and staring at her with the most peculiar expression.
Suddenly, she was aware of absolutely everything. She was sitting on Neji's lap with her thighs clamped around his waist, and he was breathing heavily (from exertion) and she was breathing heavily (not quite from exertion) and he was still staring at her with that strange expression.
Then she was suddenly picturing a scene from that damn book in which the hero and heroine were in a similar situation, sans the clothes plus a lot more touching and kissing. And damn it all, now she was picturing that scene with her and Neji, sans the clothes and...yeah...
Her face flaming red, Tenten literally rolled off Neji and sat unceremoniously on the grass as she tried to control those raging hormones Ino had warned her about.
Neji didn't look at all affected by their previous position as he raised the book before his pearlescent eyes and started to read. Tenten knew she should do something about it. Her big, bad, embarrassing secret was about to be discovered by the last person she wanted to know about it, but she just couldn't seem to move.
So she all she could do was watch as Neji's eyebrows rose in surprise. She continued to watch as they rose higher...and higher. He looked at her with a mixture of shock and amusement and trace of disappointment, which she hated the most.
"No wonder you didn't want me to see this," he stated.
He couldn't have said anything worse. Well, perhaps it would have been worse if he had said something like "You have a filthy habit. I am utterly disgusted" but Neji would never say that, even if he was thinking it. He was too polite, even in a situation like this. That it kind of sucked because then she wouldn't know if that was what he was thinking.
"I..." But that was all she could manage. She knew she should probably come to her own defence, say it was research. And it was. But she had liked it and somehow she knew that he knew that too.
"I am assuming Ino gave you this for research for you mission."
Tenten nodded, embarrassment still clogging her throat. Or maybe it was just phlegm. Didn't matter.
Neji shut the book and gave it back to her. She carefully plucked it from his hands and put it on the grass beside her.
She didn't know what she was more shaken up about: the fact that Neji had caught her reading porn or the fact that she had developed a crush him.
Both were as bad as the other.
Nejis POV
"How fares your training?" Neji asked, but truthfully he didn't much care about the status of her training. He was only asking such a standard question to distract himself from the vaguely disturbing thought that Tenten was reading porn and the very disturbing fact that he had an erection.
When he had inquired as to Tenten's choice of literature, he had never expected it to be something so extreme. When it had become obvious that she was hiding it from him, he had thought that perhaps she was reading some fanciful fiction and didn't want him to know of her perceived emotional weakness.
What Tenten didn't know was that he would think no less of her for reading fanciful fiction. He understood the need escape from reality every now and then well; the need to clear one's mind in another unrealistic dimension. That was why he meditated. If Tenten found such release from reading novels, so be it.
But when she had utterly refused to acquiesce to his demand, she had sparked a side of his temper that he rarely had to control. He rarely had to control it because people rarely refused him. He did not like not getting what he wanted and he did not like not being able to solve a puzzle.
When he had looked into Tenten's eyes he had successfully distracted her and had reached around her body to grasp the book. That plan had been set back when she had obviously not been quite as distracted as he thought she had been.
At that point she had curled into a ball, the book in the middle, her back to him. He hadn't actually planned to put his arms around her like he had, but he had known it would take her by surprise because he never made physical contact unless he had to. It had worked. She had been surprised.
But then, so had he. He had never expected her to feel so soft and nice against his body, and the feeling had been wholly unfamiliar and unsettling. He'd thought it'd be best to retreat immediately and meditate upon this feeling later so he could sort it out through his mind and figure out what it meant. Unfamiliar feelings could not be trusted.
However, he had retrieved the book; a small victory. However, Tenten had all but attacked him to get it back, resulting in her straddling his waist in the most unseemly fashion, thereby resulting in his alarming physical predicament.
She had rolled off him, obviously affronted by their compromising position and had left him with the book. He had opened the book to peruse its contents and had found himself in the middle of what seemed to be a passionate love scene; an explicit, well-described love scene.
The few paragraphs he had read had certainly not helped his physical dilemma and had, in fact, made it a lot worse (and painful) as his traitorous mind pictured himself as the hero and Tenten as the heroine.
This 'physical predicament' was not resolving itself even as Tenten prattled on about her lessons with Ino. She never usually talked so much and so fast so he assumed she was still shaken up by the previous events of him discovering her...habits.
She would not be so embarrassed had she not liked it. That was probably what surprised him the most. Tenten reading porn could easily be explained by her researching for her mission, but the look on her face combined with the blush on her cheeks indicated that she had enjoyed researching for this particular mission.
Of all the things he had known Tenten to be, none of them were sexual. She had never had a boyfriend, never even had a crush as far as he had surmised. He had figured that she was much like himself in that aspect. Such frivolous attentions always took second place to their main goal in life, to be the best shinobi possible, and therefore those attentions had fallen to the sidelines, forgotten.
He knew he had hormones. He was a male. It was a lot harder for a male to ignore a body's cravings, but he had always prided himself on his self-control, so it had never been too hard to suppress wanton desires. Though he had found himself attracted to certain women, he had never indicated as much and Tenten had never been one of those women. She was...Tenten.
However, he was currently suffering through a rather painful arousal because of her.
He figured it was because of their previous position. She had been straddling him. She had been sitting on his groin. He had felt...he didn't even want to speculate on what he had felt of hers. It was simply his male body reacting to her female body. Nothing more. It was just hormones that had flared up at the intimate contact. Because his hormones had flared up from that intimate contact, his mind had produced images that he would usually not entertain.
That must be the reason for it, because there was no other plausible way he could react the way he had to Tenten.
This took me all of last night and half of today to finish so show me some love. I did work a little on my other story so check that out too! Till next time guys! Byeee