Tenten hadn't really thought abount what Irukan, a border town of the Fire Country, would look like, but she hadn't quite been expecting this bustling city of commerce. She supposed it did make sense, because it contained a port. All the ships that carried goods to the Fire Country docked here because, well, there was no other legal place to go.

People were everywhere. Tenten was used to living in a village with lots of people, but Konoha was a shinobi village. The majority of the residents were shinobi. The majority of the people here, however, were civilians.

Tenten was not unfamiliar with people that made a living through peaceful means. Her parents were part of the labour class of Konoha. They had no interest in any part of shinobi life and were forever baffled at Tenten's fixation with sharp objects. Her mother, in particular, incessantly bemoaned her 'gallivanting about with strange men like a heathen.' She was especially disappointed in Tenten's career choice. She'd always expected Tenten to grow up working in the shop and eventually marry some kind, unassuming gentleman with whom she would take over the shop her parents owned so they could retire.

But Tenten had wanted to go to The Academy because all her little playmate friends were going to The Academy and her parents had seen no harm in indulging her 'childish whim.' They figured they'd let her 'have some fun' while she was young, but she'd soon grow out of it, of course.

Well…she hadn't.

As she looked around and was reminded of the reason she was here in the first place, she almost wished she had grown out of it. If she had, she wouldn't be here sacrificing her body for the sake of information.

She found it ironic that if an ordinary citizen sacrificed their body for gain, they were considered whores and shamed, but if a kunoichi sacrificed her body for gain, she was considered honourable. It just illuminated one of the many differences between a civilian and shinobi life.

But she loved what she did and couldn't imagine settling down with some mediocre guy, living out a mediocre life that had no purpose. By doing what she did, she could really help people and make a change for the better, no matter how small it was.

And she got to play with weapons.

She supposed her fascination with weapons could be considered a little psychotic, but she couldn't help it and couldn't fathom why she enjoyed the sight of a pointy object cutting into another object. She couldn't fathom why she looked forward to fighting, just so she could use those weapons. She couldn't fathom why she was so innately enthralled by all the little things various weapons to do. Nothing got her more excited than seeing a wide variety of weapons that accomplished a wide variety of very cool things.

Ultimately, she didn't care why she loved it. She was just happy she got to fulfil her desires, strange though they were - another perk from being a shinobi.

Well, that and she got to be with Neji.

Just think; if she hadn't chosen this profession she never would have been placed on the same team as him. She never would have become so well-acquainted with him to the point of friendship. It was an honoured position to be in, indeed.

If she had never gotten to know him, she would just be one of the many un-noteworthy females he took no notice of but who really took notice of him. So many girls looked but dared not touch, or get within twenty feet of him.

On the subject of girls looking, Tenten couldn't help but notice the hot glances Neji was receiving from the opposite sex as they walked through the town. Granted, their small ensemble got a fair bit of attention on its own, especially in a civilian town such as this - Gai and Lee did not fade into the background at all. However, as people's attentions were drawn to the group, the females' eyes caught sight of Neji and stayed there.

She couldn't blame them. He was gorgeous. That didn't mean she couldn't send out hate vibes with her thoughts in their general direction.

She hated pretty girls like every other girl who wasn't pretty did. Even if they were really nice, like Sakura, sometimes she couldn't help but think 'damn you.' Now she really hated pretty girls because they made her feel even more nervous about doing this damn mission and the sheer number of pretty girls astounded her. It figured a rich womanizer was in a town filled with beautiful woman.

Gods, how was she going to compete?

"What is it that you're hiding, Tenten?" Neji's low voice in her ear made her jump and she twirled around to look at him, but he kept moving forward so she was forced to catch up.

"What are you talking about?" Tenten hissed back as she finally fell into step beside him.

"I'm sure you know," Neji replied evenly, his mouth tilting slightly to one side.

"I'm sure I don't," Tenten shot back, too confused to care that she was being short with him.

"Think back two days," Neji said before he dodged around a group of people. "I was telling you about the occurrences of Friday night."

Oh, she remembered Tenten's Night Out, alright, but why was he bringing it up now? Why was he bringing it up at all?

"I'm not following you," Tenten replied in a low voice before she glanced ahead at Gai and Lee to make sure they were a safe distance ahead of them and distracted by their own conversation. They were. Lee was jumping up and down excitedly while Gai pointed out various fairly insignificant sights.

"If you recall, I was reciting some of the things you had been saying to me as I brought you home from the alley," he continued.

Sudden realization hit Tenten like a bolt of electricity. She remembered the panic she had felt when Neji had said she had imparted some 'enlightening comments' to him because she'd thought she might have told him how she felt about him. She had then urgently demanded he tell her exactly what she had said.

Of course he would have picked up on that tone, on that urgency. She hadn't realized it then because, well, she was so relieved that she hadn't said anything worse, and he hadn't pursued the topic at the time.

How stupid of her to underestimate his powers of deduction. He would now press her for an answer until she gave him one - one he was satisfied with. There was so bullshitting Neji.

But there was no way in hell she was going to tell him. No way. He could pry all he wanted; she would not give in. Well, not unless he got too close to her again like he had with the porn thing. Then she'd probably forget about being stubborn, but as far as she knew, he didn't know of the physical power he had over her so she suspected he wouldn't do anything like that.

Now, she'd try a diversionary tactic first.

"Why are you bringing this up now? I thought we agreed not to speak of this again."

Neji smirked. "We agreed no such thing…"

"It was more like an unspoken agreement," Tenten mumbled.

"…Therefore I am held under no obligation to remain silent about it."

Damn, it didn't work. Round two.

"So you're saying you're going to go around telling people about it?" she asked testily.

"Tenten…" he began, his voice smooth as silk and turning over her insides, "You know very well that I am not the type of person who goes around 'telling people about it,' but I have no quandary with discussing the subject with you. So I will ask you again: what are you hiding?"

Failure once again. Round three.

"Well, I'm afraid I have a problem discussing it with you, so I am disinclined to answer that question," Tenten retorted.

"Ah, so you admit you have something to hide," he countered smoothly.

Damn it!

"I am not admitting to anything nor am I hiding from anything. I simply do not feel comfortable discussing the subject with you," she replied, struggling to keep her voice even.

"Because you have something to hide."

Gods above, the man just didn't give up!

"I told you I don't. Is my word not enough for you anymore?"

She could have sworn his smirk turned to that of a predator.

"No."

She could feel her heart pound against her ribcage. It almost hurt.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I-" She turned her head to glare at Neji to find he was no longer there.

"What the...?" she asked no one in particular as she swung her body around in all directions to search for him. Alas, he was nowhere to be seen.

Slightly put out and entirely pissed off, Tenten put her hands on her hips as she stood still to survey the crowds. "Of all of the-"

"Tenten…"

And suddenly he was behind her and whispering in her ear and standing way too close for her to be able to form coherent thoughts.

"What are you hiding?"

Tenten's brain turned to mush as she felt the whisperings of his body against hers. Her equilibrium seemed to tip and somehow she was leaning backwards, and then shifting sideways. The heat became almost unbearable, collecting particularly in her stomach and other places she didn't want to think about.

She couldn't remember exactly what they had been talking about and why she was hiding anything in the first place.

And then it hit her. A second bolt of lightning.

He must know…

The only reason he must be invading her space was because he remembered the last time they had been in a similar push-and-pull state. He must have remembered that she had only relinquished her hold on the book when he had gotten too close.

So he was doing it again.

And gods help her, it was working.
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He almost had her. He could tell. Hell, he could feel it.

Anticipation coiled in his belly as it did every time he knew he was close to getting something he wanted. But it was more this time - he couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.

Usually when he pursued a topic, he was relentless, tenacious and determined - he never let up. And so it was with Tenten, but there was something else in the mix. She was resisting him, or trying to at least, and he liked the challenge. He liked having to actively try to pull the truth from her.

It was mentally stimulating and - gods help him - physically stimulating as well.

It shouldn't have been, but he remembered the time he had tried to wrestle the book from her and it was only when he'd gotten close that he'd surprised her enough to get what he wanted.

There was no reason it shouldn't work again this time. And he was right, it was working.

They were standing perfectly still, his front almost touching her back, the crowd moving around them, and yet he felt as though they were in their own world, their own personal bubble of space, the air electrifying around them.

The tension in his stomach grew exponentially as he felt that they were close to something. He was going to win. He had to.

But then Tenten took him completely by surprise.

She turned around, still within the tight confines of their personal bubble, and she smiled slyly up at him.

"I'm not hiding anything," she said in a low voice with a sly smile, and Neji wondered why she was so nervous about this seduction thing because it sure as hell was working on him.

She started to walk away but his legs were stuck to the pavement beneath them, because it just occurred to him that he found Tenten attractive.

So what the hell did that mean?
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The day had arrived. Tenten's Big Day, as she had started to think of it. It was a big day indeed. Too big, actually. She just wanted to go home and…not have a big day. Not seduce anyone. It was simply terrifying.

Gai and Lee hadn't been making her feel any better with their exclamations and proclamations about her 'finally blossoming' and 'finally growing into her youthfulness.' She didn't want to blossom. She didn't want to freaking grow into her youthfulness. Firstly, she wanted them to shut the hell up then she wanted to go home and not blossom.

Thankfully Neji had sensed her discomfort and told Gai and Lee to get lost and never be found. At first Tenten had felt flustered because Neji had sensed what she had been feeling. But then she felt stupid and fantastical, because of course Neji had sensed what she had been feeling. It was Neji. He sensed everything, whether it was to do with her or not.

But yet, the Big Night of her Big Day had arrived and she was walking through the town to meet up with the rest of her team mates. And gods, was she uncomfortable.

She had been plucked, sprayed, smothered, slavered, waxed and washed until she swore she wasn't human anymore. And the amount of looks she was getting did nothing to assuage her of that thought. She must look mighty odd if people kept looking at her as though she were…well, just looking at her. It freaked her out.

"Hey, baby! Wanna come for a ride?" some idiot on a motorbike called out to her.

Tenten laughed and then sneered. She detested skeezes. "As if, buddy."

Bloody beauty spa. It made skeezes proposition her.

But at that moment she rounded the corner and everything in the world was made right again because Neji was there.

Except he looked at her as though he didn't even know her.
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Neji knew he would be lying to himself if he said he was excited about this whole farce of a mission. But even on a good day he wouldn't come close to the levels of excitement that Gai and Lee seemed to frequent on a daily basis. And those were just normal days.

But today, Tenten was 'blossoming'. And he wanted to gag. Their juvenile shenanigans were pissing him off more than usual and he desperately needed Tenten to show up to save him from their insufferable company.

When it came to matters of inter-team communications, she had always been his saving grace. Actually, now that he thought about it, she was his saving grace when it came to any matter of social interactions. He didn't know why, but he always felt comfortable around her and her presence eased any potential agitations.

Especially agitations like Gai and Lee. Gods above, how had he put up with them for all those years? Another example of Tenten's saving grace, apparently.

"Hi, guys!"

Neji looked around for the source of the familiar voice and settled on a completely unfamiliar face, and his breath was quite literally stolen from him for a good three seconds until his body remembered how to inhale again.

He didn't know who this woman was, but everyone around him paled in comparison to her. He couldn't even remember that there were people around him, for he only saw her. He desperately wanted to know who she was, but he had the strangest feeling that he already knew. There was something awfully familiar about her manner.

"And you are?" he asked his is coldest voice possible, trying to disguise the rapid beating of his heart, but it probably came out breathless all the same.

Her smile faltered. "You can't be serious."

Then at that very moment Gai turned around and uttered the one word he wasn't expecting, the answer to the question he shouldn't have had to ask himself.

"Tenten!"

TENTEN!

The beautiful creature before him smiled sheepishly. "Hi, Gai."

"I see your youth has blossomed to unforeseen proportions!" he continued gallantly.

The woman before him rolled her eyes. Yes, it was definitely Tenten. No one rolled their eyes quite like Tenten did. She'd perfected the simple expression over the years.

No, but she's…she's…

She was beautiful. And though Tenten had certainly never been unattractive, she'd never quite looked like that. He never could have fathomed just what beauty truly resided in her form. Or perhaps he could have known, but he just hadn't been looking.

He couldn't remember ever seeing her hair down. It had been up even when she had been drunk. Who knew it could look so…so soft and silky, and he had the strongest urge to bury his hands in it and feel if it were as soft as it looked.

Her hair cascaded down her back and framed a face that was so familiar yet so different. He'd never thought she had bad features nor had he thought she had good ones. He'd never thought about it at all. But now that his eyes were opened to it, he took notice of her plush, red lips and her almond-shaped, coffee-colored eyes, and her button nose, and her smooth, creamy skin and her sculpted cheek bones.

And her body. Oh gods, her body. It was all lush curves and smooth, pale skin and holy hell, he just wanted to touch her. That dress did nothing to discourage him. It revealed not enough flesh but stuck to her like a second skin so he had the irresistible urge to peel the cloth pack and see what was under it, because the image promised so much.

And then it occurred to him that other men would be thinking the exact same thing. How could they not?

For the first time in what had to be minutes, he looked somewhere other than Tenten and noticed that she was indeed attracting far too much attention for his liking.

But that was the point, wasn't it? She wanted men to look…well, one particular man, anyway. And that man wasn't him.

Suddenly a hot flush spread through his entire body and the stark realization dawned on him almost immediately.

I'm jealous.

He was jealous of the man Tenten was going to seduce and he was jealous of every man she would seduce after and he was jealous of every touch they'd receive that he wouldn't.

It all made amazingly good sense and he was appalled that he'd been so blinded by his own limited way of thinking. This explained everything he'd been trying to figure out this past week. He just hadn't been able to see it because the notion of it seemed so preposterous at the time, but it had been happening nonetheless. But now…oh, everything was far too clear.

He had feelings for Tenten.

It explained the strange physical attractions and the strange emotional reactions and the way he couldn't seem to stay away from her lately and way he felt when he was near her and why he'd acted as he never had before.

"Neji, you ready to go?" she asked sweetly and he swore he could feel his stomach drop to his bowels.

This mission was going to be hell for him.
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Neji hadn't stopped staring at her from the moment she had first spoken. And quite frankly, it was unnerving her a bit. Wait, scratch that. A lot. It was unnerving her a lot.

She didn't know what he was seeing, but she was fairly certain it couldn't be anything that good if it meant he had to stare at her unwaveringly for five minutes straight.

Or on the other hand, he was staring at her for a good reason. The thought itself seemed impossible, but she foolishly clung to the hope regardless. One was generally a fool when one was in love, so she figured she was justified in her actions.

Well, no matter the reason he was staring at her, she had to get this damn mission over with and, more importantly, stop Gai and Lee from gushing on about how 'amazingly, youthfully beautiful' she looked.

She supposed she should take heart in the fact that Gai and Lee were obviously so impressed with her appearance, but she'd never put much stock in Gai or Lee's stylistic opinion, for good reason. Green spandex never was, not was and would never be in fashion. But telling Lee that would be like telling a sweet little kid that Santa Claus didn't exist. She didn't want to be the one to break his heart.

And Gai was…he was Gai. He probably knew, had probably known his whole life, and didn't give a rip either way. God help her the day she ever became so self-assured.
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So Tenten looked at Neji who was still looking at her, smiled and said, "Neji, you ready to go?"

Tenten approached the doorway with growing apprehension. Sure, she had a legit invitation to the private party, but she still felt as though someone would point at her and scream "She's a fake! She's a fake!" any second.

She'd been surprised when Neji had handed over the invitation to the exclusive party on their way over. She'd been under the impression that she'd just be going to some bar that Tyran frequented or something of that nature. Not something as, well, upper-class as a private party. Apparently she'd missed some small print or something, but she'd re-read the scroll and alas, nothing, which made her wonder what Neji knew that she didn't.

Well, he'd known a lot, apparently. He'd told her that Matsuri had just finished building a new warehouse that had cost a shit load of money, so he was hosting a party in it to celebrate the final completion. This was incredibly convenient for her.

Matsuri's son would be there, of course, and it would be infinitely easier for her to catch a good look-see of the cargo, illegal or no. She was sorely tempted to forego the whole seduction and just ninja-sneak her way in there. It was what she had been trained to do, after all. But she knew Neji would see with his Byakugan and she couldn't disobey her superior's orders like that. It simply wasn't in her genetic make-up. Shame, that.

So seduction it was and may the gods help them all.

She'd have a more positive outlook on this whole shebang if she didn't feel so bloody exposed. She felt as though every facet of her being was open for inspection and every living soul within ten meters were itching to take a look, even though she knew that was ridiculous.

She supposed that, as far as being covered up goes, she had done pretty well for herself. She'd ditched the skank dress that Ino had made her buy and settled for a more subtle kind of skanky. The dress was still black and still far too short for her liking, but at least it covered her breasts properly. Actually, it covered the whole front of her body right up to her neckline. The only setback with this was that the entirety of her back was exposed. The soft black cotton scooped right down to the small of it instead, revealing every inch of skin along the way.

And it certainly didn't help that she wasn't wearing a bra. When she'd bought the dress, she had figured she'd just wear a skin-coloured lacy concoction with it, but the attendant at the day spa had adamantly refused to allow her to wear it. So braless she was. Thank the gods it was a balmy night, or she'd be having real issues. However, she still felt practically naked. She'd never gone braless before.

But there was nothing to be done about that now. She had to suck it up and hand her invitation over to the bouncer at the door.

"Invitation, please," he asked, all business-like. That is until he gave her a not-so-subtle once over.

Men. So typical. A little bared skin and they were all the same. It didn't matter what the skin was on.

Tenten could feel the urge to roll her eyes. The familiar itch was there, but she couldn't give into it. So she simply handed over the invitation and watched as the bouncer scanned his list for her name.

My name! Damn! What name is on that list? Why didn't I even look at the invitation?

She could feel the beginnings of panic start to rise in her chest. Sure, she had an invitation, but that could be forged for all she knew. She'd only been given it that afternoon. Neji hadn't said anything about a list. No one had said anything about a damn list.

But it seemed her fears were inconsequential because somehow her name was on the list. Her real name, strangely enough. She would have understood if it were a fake name. A stolen invitation was still an invitation, but her real name? That meant she was expected. And that didn't make sense.

The bouncer smiled at her in a way that didn't quite sit well with her. "I would have let you in even if your name wasn't on the list."

Yeah, like he was getting any favours for that.

"Lovely," she muttered before she walked through the door and entered her worst nightmare.

She'd developed a bit of a phobia of clubs after her last unfortunate experience in one (regardless of whether she remembered it or not). And this was a club in every meaning of the word. It had flashing lights that moved in time to the throbbing beat and writhing couples on the dance floor and, worse yet, a free flow of alcohol, according to the sign above the bar.

Note to self – stay away from the bar. She didn't need a reoccurrence of last week's unfortunate events and she really didn't need it on the night that it mattered.

Strangely enough, a part of her had the improbable urge to head straight to the bar so she could lose herself in the oblivion she didn't remember, just so she could escape from the unwanted reality before her. It made sense, but that didn't mean she'd do it.

She had to persevere. She was a Konoha kunoichi. She could do this.

And then she started to move forward and move past couples that were hooking up on couches and not all of them were male-female pairings and people were rubbing against each other as they moved to the pounding rhythm and it seemed as though every girl she laid eyes on was prettier than her and they were sipping out of champagne glasses with the in-bred sophistication she could never hope to achieve and never in her life had she felt like such an inexperienced, naïve innocent.

I can't do this.

No, Tenten! Think positive!

And now she was talking to herself. Perfect.

Okay, first things first. Find Tyran.

She'd seen a picture of him. She knew who to look for. And if he was as charming a womanizer as the scroll portrayed him, he should be surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of beautiful women.

Tyran wasn't classically good looking. Not in the way Neji was, anyway. She figured his appealed laid more in his character and the way he held himself. His daddy's big bank account couldn't have hurt matters either. He was obviously experienced and knowing and she was going to have to seduce him. She hadn't even been able to seduce a homely nobody and she'd have to seduce him. He probably knew every facet of seduction, could probably recognize the stench a mile away, and she had to seduce him. He was probably so used to woman trying to get cosy with him for gain that he never succumbed to it and she had to…

No, she didn't have to seduce him. Gods, it was so obvious now that she was surprised she didn't see it earlier. It was akin to a simple military tactic. If Ino had explained the whole process to her in those terms, she would have grasped it a lot sooner.

She didn't have to seduce him. At least not actively so. If she was trying to attract the attention of a man who was used to having women trying to attract his attention, she'd have to do the opposite. Purposely seem uninterested. It was so bloody simple she felt retarded for not have realizing it sooner.

Fuelled with new confidence, Tenten wove her way around the undulating couples to locate her target.
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"Invitation, please."

Neji calmly handed over the important piece of paper before he pulled at the cuffs of his shirt sleeves. He wasn't used to dressing so modern. He and his clan adopted a more traditional style of dress and though many would not find it as comfortable as the modern-day apparel, it was what he was used to.

At present he felt so physically restricted. It was a wonder that Tenten even managed to walk properly with what she was wearing.

Unwarranted, a scintillating mental picture of Tenten entered his head and he could feel his senses beginning to cloud.

Don't think about it.

But that task was going to be quite hard to accomplish seeing as his sole reason for attending the party was to watch her.

She didn't know about this slight development, of course. It would only cause to either A) make her more nervous or B) piss her off. Judging from her recent behaviour, he was thinking B, but he didn't intend to be seen so it hardly signified either way.

The bouncer nodded him through and he entered a room unlike that of any he had seen before. The atmosphere was positively sensual. Everything in there appeared to every one of the five senses in some way.

There was the music, the alcohol, the lights, the aroma of decedent food, and the company that the majority of the attendees were indulging in. And instead of being disgusted by such a display of moral degradation, he was intrigued by it.

He supposed it was easy enough to judge this sort of unsavoury behaviour when one had never experienced it. But now that he was surrounded by it, he could see, no, feel the allure. Only someone of incredibly strong mental constitution could resist such an intoxicating assault on the senses.

And only one question remained. Was he strong enough to resist his one temptation?
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She found him. Tyran. He didn't look exactly as he did in the picture, but that was to be expected. Tenten took in every detail possible within a two second time frame with a calculated eye.

His medium-brown hair was slightly ruffled and he had a faint lipstick stain on one side of his neck, suggesting he'd participated in the kind of physical activity she wasn't familiar with. He had a glass of something-or-other in one hand and she could only hope it was some form of alcohol. The more he consumed the better for her. She was a testament to the dulling effect vast amounts of alcohol had on the senses.

And he looked directly at her. Right in her eyes.

Tenten's first impulse was to quickly lower her gaze, but some strange instinct she hadn't known existed pushed itself to the forefront of her mind and she rethought her first impulse.

Instead, she held his gaze. There was nothing in it but mild speculation. And then, as though she'd judged and found him wanting, she tipped one side of her lips into a placating kind of half-smile and looked away.

And least she hoped that was what he had seen in the gesture. She had no bloody idea. She knew what to do, but she didn't know how to do it. All she could do was fluke it and hope for the best.

Unsure of what she was supposed to do next, she wove through the crowd until she found an empty couch recently vacated by a passionate couple who were probably leaving to find a more private place to continue their physical acquaintance.

So she sat down, cautiously laid her clutch beside her and proceeded to look around awkwardly whilst pretending she had something to do when she really had nothing to do.

This is the pits.

"You all alone?" Tenten barely started at the male voice that came from her left.

Without looking up, Tenten sighed and replied, "Unfortunately."

"Want some company?" the voice offered.

"Yeah, sure," Tenten replied dismissively. She figured she could pretend she was interested in what this guy had to say until she figured out what to do next.

And then he sat down next to her and she looked at him and it was the one person she didn't expect to sit there.

Tyran.

"Hi, I'm Ty," he said with a blindingly white smile.

The man had a killer smile. No wonder he was such a successful womanizer.

"I know," she replied without thinking, while simultaneously trying not to be affected by the smile.

Surprise registered in Tyran's eyes. "You know who I am?"

Crap! Okay, be cool. Be cool!

She cleared her throat. "Of course I do. Your father is the one throwing this party."

In her mind that didn't explain a damn thing, but she hoped her confident tone (what she hoped was a confident tone) made it seem as though it was.

Thank the gods it worked.

"Oh, well, yeah. I suppose he is." And then he became strangely silent, like perhaps he was wondering why she had walked away from him earlier if she knew who he was? She'd never know.

Tenten gave him a little half-smile more out of lack of anything to say than anything ulterior motive and looked away, simply because she didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do next.

"So…why are you alone? You don't seem the type of girl that would lack for company." His clear meaning being male company, but she swallowed her distaste and prodded on.

"Sadly men seem to be intimidated by women in my profession." It was so true. Even male shinobi seemed reluctant to date kunoichi because they were scared that they could kick their ass.

Men.

"And what profession is that?" he asked.

Tenten half-smiled again, unsure of what her reaction should be. Or her answer, for that matter. She hadn't thought of a profession yet.

"Asking for my life story and you haven't even gotten my name yet?" she teased, thinking it her safest route, before looking away to cringe. This wasn't going so well.

He laughed. "Sorry, how rude of me. So what is it?"

"What is what?" Tenten asked distractedly as she looked back at him, too busy thinking of her next plan of attack. No, too busy thinking of a plan of attack. She needed a first one in order to have a next one.

"Your name."

She smiled. "Oh, of course. It's Tenten." She figured it'd be stupid to give out a name other than her real one seeing as her real one had already been used.

"That's a nice name" he replied.

"I always thought it was awfully bourgeois and everyone's always thought it was unusual, but it's nice that you think so," Tenten replied without thinking and almost winced as soon as the words left her mouth. What the hell was she talking about?

"Well, I think it's beautiful, just like you."

Tenten's first impulse was to blush and stammer while she tried to form a sentence of appropriate thanks, but once again that strange instinct pushed itself to the forefront of her mind and overruled her impulse.

"You're too kind," she replied in a way that indicated that she really didn't think so. And she didn't. He was obviously lying. She wasn't beautiful. God knows why he was playing her, but he was and she knew it somehow. Womanly instinct, perhaps. About time it showed up.

But Tyran just laughed like he was in the midst of some sort of game.

"I like you, Tenten," he stated.

Tenten looked in his eyes and was startled to realize that he was completely serious.

"Well, thanks. I could say I like you too, but I really don't know you enough to form an honest opinion." Damn, there she was, telling the truth again.

Lie, Tenten! Lie!

But then again, maybe she was lying. She hadn't known him for long, but she already didn't like him much.

"Dance with me."

Tenten laughed before she could stop herself.

"What?" Tyran queried.

Oops!

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on, tell me. I promise I won't be offended."

In that case…

"Well, it's just that I hardly think you can get to know someone properly by rubbing your body against them."

Tyran laughed again, harder this time.

She was doing it again. Friend's category.

Damn!

"What makes you think that's the kind of dancing I was speaking of?" he asked; his gaze boring into hers. He had the most startling set of blue eyes. They were kind of distracting her.

"Look around you. It's the only type of dancing I see. Unless, of course, you're planning to break into a waltz in the middle of that mess."

She figured it didn't quite matter what she said now because she had obviously failed with seduction. If she had truly seduced him, he'd be looking at her with eyes full of lust, he'd be begging to get her alone so they could be naughty and do the kind of stuff the people in novels did.

She looked at him. Yep, he was looking at her in a purely friendly manner and…

"Tenten."

And then his eyes changed, became positively smouldering with heat. She wasn't familiar with guys looking at her in desire but she figured that if someone did, they'd look a bit like he did at that moment.

He wanted her.

She didn't know how because she could have sworn she'd said exactly the wrong things, but he did. He wouldn't be looking at her like that if he didn't.

"Y-yes," she asked, unable to disguise the breathlessness in her voice.

"Waltz with me."

She was entranced now too. It was those eyes, the intensity there. No wonder so many women had fallen under his spell.

"I don't know how," she replied, all the while trying to regain control over her senses.

"Come with me. I'll teach you."

Tenten laughed lightly. "But where would we go? This place is packed. And the music…"

"I'll take you to one of the adjoining warehouses. A place no one will come. No one can come. It's locked and only I have the key."

Now this sounded promising.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Yes?" he asked hopefully.

Tenten smiled back. "Yes."

"Great!" he beamed. "I'll just get us some drinks and we'll head off!"

Alcohol? No good.

"Oh, I'm fine, really." She let her eyes drift over to the bar whilst trying to battle her own will. She would think she'd never want to touch the stuff again, but apparently she did. "I'd better…not…"

Her voice trailed off and time stood still as she laid eyes on the one person she really didn't expect to see there.

Neji.

What the hell was he doing there?

Suddenly, a wave of anger washed over her and she felt her temperature rise. He was obviously watching over her. What, did he think her incapable of doing the task without being monitored? Granted, she hadn't much thought she could do the task herself, but that didn't mean she needed to be babysat. It was degrading and humiliating and she was damn well going to tell him to shove off. She didn't care if he was a Hyuga or the man she was in love with. She had just freaking seduced a guy so she figured she was allowed at little womanly power!

She turned to Tyran with a smile that was probably a little bit frightening judging by the way he blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, Ty, but I'm being called and I should really get it. Business, you know."

"Uh, yeah. Sure-"

"Just wait right here and I'll be back in two seconds, okay?"

"Right. I'll be right here." He obviously knew the meaning of self-preservation.

Tenten wove through the crowd, trying to remain in control of her anger. She didn't know if Neji saw her coming or not. Seeing as he was obviously keeping an eye on her, she figured he did, but he was professional enough not to show his recognition.

He was sitting at the bar – the bar – and he had a drink that was half-empty, which meant he had drunk it. Neji drinking alcohol. She never would have thought! But then again, she never would have thought that she would drink alcohol or successfully seduce a man for that matter.

She still had enough wits about her to know not to approach him directly, so she simply brushed past him as though she were accidentally bumping him. He turned around and their eyes met.

"So sorry," she chimed politely while at the same time indicating with her eyes for him to follow her.

Neji nodded once and returned to his drink.

After years of doing missions together, she and Neji had mastered the art of nonverbal communication. He wouldn't come straight away, but he'd follow her eventually when it was no longer suspicious to do so.

She rounded a corner into what appeared to be a deserted hallway and waited.
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Neji supposed that, as far as a seduction went, there was decidedly less physical contact between Tyran and Tenten as there usually was. Actually, there was none at all, a fact for which he was eternally grateful, because if there had been, he didn't know if he would have been strong enough to resist the urge to march over there, mission be damned, and tear her away from him.

He still wasn't exactly in the best of spirits, though. It was the way Tyran was looking at her, like he wanted to devour her. And more importantly, it was the way Tenten was looking back at him, like she wanted to be devoured.

He supposed ordinary women would find Tyran attractive. He had that manner and that smile and those eyes. He could see the effect those qualities wrought even from this distance. But he never would have thought Tenten would succumb to such qualities. Perhaps she was so eager to experience that which she had read that she didn't care who she experienced with.

Usually he would not have thought such of Tenten, but if anything, this last week proved how little he really did know about her. Who knew she'd like to read porn or drink alcohol or had a temper under her calm composition? He sure hadn't known about all that so perhaps Tyran was the type of guy she was attracted to.

He had needed a drink after such serious thought on such an unexpected subject. He'd never thought he'd indulge in such a craving, but hell. He had fallen for Tenten therefore nothing would ever be the same in his world again, so he figured his actions were justified.

And then she had seen him.

He'd been right. It was definitely B. And she was coming towards him.

Fortunately she remembered procedure and did not let on that she was seeking him out, but he knew. He and Tenten had always been apt at communicating nonverbally.

He turned back to regard his drink once again and took a lengthy swallow before picking it up and walking towards the hallway Tenten had disappeared into. It was fortunate she had chosen that one, whether she was conscious of the decision or not, because it was where the restrooms were located so any curious onlooker would think he was only going to relieve himself.

He was, but not in the way they would think.
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As soon as Neji rounded the corner she blasted him.

"What are you doing here?" Luckily enough good sense remained so that she didn't scream but merely whispered harshly.

Neji smirked. "I'm having a drink," he replied as he held up his glass.

"Oh, please! You're watching me!"

The smirk did not disappear. "If you already knew then why did you ask to meet me here?"

Tenten ground her teeth together. "You know."

"Ah, so I'm correct in thinking that you wanted to escape the insufferable presence of your quest?" he sneered, completely out of character and nothing like she had ever seen before.

All she could do was gape. "What is wrong with you?"

And then he was serious. Dead serious. His pale eyes bore into hers with intensity triple that of Tyran's.

"No, Tenten. I believe that question is meant for you. Why are you risking your cover by meeting me here? You have him where you want him. Now is not the time to make fake phone calls and toilet runs."

Tenten's anger rose again. "Me risking the mission? I'm not the one who crashed the party! You have no right to be here!"

Then Neji grabbed her wrist with his free hand and push her against the wall, his other hands resting beside her head, his glass casting warped reflections of light against her face. He lowered his face until it was level with hers and looked unflinchingly into her eyes.

"I have every right to be here. I have my invitation, my name on the list, and the orders from above. Don't misalign my honour for the sake of your pride."

Tenten was caught enraptured in the strength of his gaze and all she could do was inhale, exhale. She didn't much care why he was there anymore; she just cared that he was, because how the hell was she supposed to seduce another man when she could only think about the one in front of her?

But what could she do but deal with it?

"I…" She swallowed once, twice. "I should be getting back."

He held her there for another agonizing second before he released her and stalked back into the crowd.

As Tenten took in deep breaths, she became aware of a girl standing at the entrance of the toilets.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Tenten offered her a tentative smile. "Yeah. Ex-boyfriend."

That seemed to be an adequate explanation. More so, in fact.

"So he's single?"

Nice to know you were so concerned.

It figured.

"No, he's not anymore, sorry."

But there was no way in hell she was going to let some whatever lay her hands on her man. He may not actually be her man and probably didn't want to be, but she didn't give a damn.
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When Tenten had pictured 'illegal warehouse,' this wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind. She was thinking multiple guards, high-tech security systems and an air of mystery that promised a multitude of hidden secrets.

There were guards and there were security systems, but all the guards she and Tyran walked past smiled and waved and the security systems were decidedly basic. No mystery at all.

So perhaps this wasn't the right warehouse?

"How many more warehouses does your father have?" Tenten asked conversationally.

Tyran shrugged. "Only one more, but this is the one that holds all the goods that are shipped in. The other one holds goods that are carted in over land. Obviously there are many more shipped goods as that is our main and original business, so we needed to build another warehouse for them. And that's what we're opening tonight."

"It seems like a pretty big deal."

Tyran laughed. "Oh, it is. The more goods we receive, the more we can put out to the population and the better for them. As it is, we only have enough supplies to give to 40 percent of the population surrounding this town. We want to go rural, where it is basically impossible for people to get their hands on the things they need. It's a hard deal because we want to make the prices as cheap as possible, but we still need to make some sort of profit, otherwise how else would we continue doing it?"

Now this was strange. He sounded positively humanitarian. The bastard was probably lying. She didn't want to think of him as a decent person if she was about to dupe him.

"And the perks of extra money have nothing to do with it?" she asked slyly.

Tyran laughed again. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I appreciate it. And what about you, Tenten? Do you enjoy the perks of extra money?"

Uneasy now, Tenten stumbled with her answer. "Well…um…I…"

But she was saved from having to answer fully because Tyran put a hand over her mouth and a finger to his lifts, issuing silence.

Her first instinct was to knock his hand away and flip him over her head, then perhaps use the dagger concealed under her short dress to make sure he never touched her again. But she couldn't do that, of course. She was a perfect civilian now…who happened to carry a knife in the strap of her thong. No big.

He pulled her up against him and she felt the hard muscles of his abdomen and chest tense.

"Someone's following us," he whispered in her ear, strangely failing to illicit any sexual response from her. When Neji had done it she had been ready to practically jump on him. Strange, that.

…Or maybe not.

Tenten reached out with her senses and sure enough, someone was following them. And she knew who it was straight away.

Neji, of course.

It made sense. He was keeping an eye on her. And while she was still trying to digest the comment he'd made about 'orders from above' and what that really meant, she supposed there was no way he was going to leave her completely alone with this guy.

And this time, instead of PMS-ing about it, she was grateful for his presence, because otherwise she and Tyran would have been truly alone. She had absolutely no idea what he expected of her and she had no idea how to give it. She didn't want to give anything.

But she figured he'd already lead her to the right warehouse so she could probably just knock him out soon.

"I know the feeling when someone is following me. It's impossible to ignore. I get followed all the time."

Despite her best intentions, Tenten rolled her eyes.

I bet you do.

Bloody womanizer.

But if she didn't do anything he'd get guards to go investigate and then Neji would have to either knock them out or leave her alone, neither of which were acceptable options for her at that moment.

She needed to distract him somehow.

But how? How…

And then, without really thinking about anything she was doing, she kissed him. She took his face between her hands and kissed him.

It was a weird feeling, lips on lips. She'd always wondered what it'd feel like. Well, not always, maybe, but at least for the past week or so.

It didn't feel bad, or pleasant. It was just…lips on lips. How disappointing. She'd been expecting so much more after reading that saucy romance novel. According to that thing, kisses were exciting and thrilling and made people want to have sex.

She didn't want to have sex with Tyran. All she wanted to do was push him off her so she could breathe again.

And surely she wasn't supposed to be thinking this much during a kiss. A kiss should rob her of all thoughts completely. Neji could do that just by looking at her, and he hadn't even kissed her yet!

Oh, now that was a thought.

Suddenly she did get a little hot and the lips started to feel good - damn good -because she was starting to think of them as Neji's, so when the lips pulled against hers, she pulled back and just as she was starting to enjoy it, Tyran pulled back for air and the affect was ruined completely.

All in all, it was a pretty shit first kiss, besides that last bit.

But Tyran seemed to have liked it, or at least she thought he might have, because he was staring at her with that intensity again and he was sort of breathing really heavily and he looked as though he wanted to eat her and that made her sort of want to punch him in the face because she really didn't want to be eaten. Unless it was Neji.

Oh, now there was another thought.

"Come with me." His voice was low and husky and it reminded her of Neji's when he'd first woken up, except his had been better, of course.

Damn, she really needed to stop thinking about Neji! Just the fact that she knew he was only a couple of meters away was already making her jumpy, and not in the nervous way.

Tyran pressed his hand against a sensor pad, which determined his identity, and the heavy metal door slid open. He pulled her into a room that looked as big as the entire village of Konoha. Of course it wasn't, but it sure did look it. She couldn't tell where it ended.

This was obviously the warehouse she was looking for. Great. But how the hell was she supposed to look through all that crap?

And, more importantly, how was she supposed to get rid of Tyran, especially since he'd just pushed her up against a stack of crates and was mauling her neck with his tongue, lips and teeth. Then there were his hands trying to get access to places that were totally off-limits and it was sort of really pissing her off.

Well, she supposed she was in so she didn't really need him anymore.

"Goodnight, Tyran," she whispered.

He looked up at her, his eyes hot, hungry and utterly confused. "What?"

And then she hit the pressure point on his neck and he flopped to the floor like a pathetic rag doll that had been kicked to the curb.

Now, it was time for the lengthy search.

Hehehe I left you guys on a cliff hanger ;P Just a heads up though, I plan in making the next chapter a little smutty but the next chapter is crucial so I recommend reading it all even if it is a little lemony ;) Ill work on the next piece ASAP! I promise it'll be out by tomorrow tops. I have so much free time tomorrow. Till then!
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