Accidents Happen

50 Shinobi Prompt 47 — Soap Suds (Bubble)

“This is just fantastic!” Tenten grumbled sarcastically as she followed after her silent teammate. “Why am I always the one who ends up with clothes so drenched and dirty that I can’t walk properly?”

“Because you’re the clumsy one.” Neji said stoically.

Tenten snorted. “Jerk.”

“I’m letting you in the compound so you can fix up, aren’t I?”

“It’s your fault I need fixing up.” She grumbled.

Neji scoffed. “I didn’t push you in the mud hole. You fell all on your own.”

“Oh, whatever, Hyuuga.”

Rolling his eyes, Neji pointed her in the direction of the shower. “Hinata or Hanabi will bring you something you could probably wear when you’re done. I’ll be in the kitchen. You remember where that is don’t you?”

Tenten’s eye twitched, remembering the escapade in which she got lost in they Hyuuga compound. Neji and Hinata had laughed at her for weeks. “I’ll manage.”

Neji smirked.

Sometimes, Tenten really wanted to smack that boy.

—

A while later, Tenten managed to find her way into the kitchen, admittedly that was after stumbling into some old lady’s room. Red-faced, Tenten had apologized and tried to hightail it out of there as fast as she could.

Neji was sitting comfortably at a stool chewing on an apple. “Why are you red?”

“N-No reason.”

“Who’d you walk in on?”

“Nobody!” Tenten lied.

Neji smirked. “You really aren’t very good at lying, you realize.”

Tenten glared at him. “Oh, fine. I walked in on some old lady.” She could feel herself blushing more furiously, “I don’t know what she was doing, and let me tell you, I do not want to find out.” She leant against the counter. “Where are my clothes?”

“Getting washed.”

“Where?”

“Laundry room.”

“Which would be?”

“You wouldn’t be able to find it.”

“You could tell me anyway.” She protested.

“I could.”

“Well?” She demanded.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, what?”

“Where is it!?”

“In the east wing of the compound.”

Tenten groaned. “And where is that?”

“East.”

“Dammit, Neji!” She scolded in annoyance.

He snickered at her. Tossing his half eaten apple in the garbage, Neji stood up and headed out of the kitchen. “Come on. Just follow me.”

“You are an unbelievable jerk, Neji Hyuuga.” Tenten grumbled.

“It’s amazing how that doesn’t bother me.”

“Amazing isn’t the word I would use.” She muttered under her breath.

She followed after him through an amazing amount of long and confusing hallways and turns. How on earth did the Hyuuga ever make their way around the stupid compound? It was a wonder some of the kids didn’t get lost and die of starvation in one of the many rooms. She would have asked how that had never happened before, but all that she needed was a glance to recall why they never got lost — their stupid eyes.

Neji stopped abruptly before a door causing Tenten to smack right into him. “Jeez, give a warning, will ya?”

He didn’t reply just opened the door.

“Oh, damn.” Tenten breathed as she looked at the room. “Your laundry room is not supposed to look ritzy!”

Neji frowned. “It doesn’t.”

“Oh, trust me. It does.” The washing machines were shiny and seemed to call in tantalizing whispers for people to wash. The walls were a perfect pristine white. The clothes waiting to be washed were actually folded and, in Tenten’s eyes, appeared very clean. The ready clothes were folded and fluffy and looked so perfectly pretty lying on the polished oak tables. The windows had not one streak and the floor was spotless — not even a splash of water.

“It’s not.” Neji mumbled obviously confused.

“Stop by the orphanage sometime and you’ll see what I mean.” She headed forward then stopped abruptly. “Where exactly are my clothes?”

Neji headed in the opposite direction she had been walking towards, stopping in front of a machine. “Still washing.”

Tenten peered at the machine. “Oh, it’s just fine. Look, all the dirt is gone.”

“It’s still washing.” Neji repeated.

“Nah, it’s good.” Tenten pushed him aside and pulled it open before Neji could utter a word of protest. She shouldn’t have attempted it. As soon as she wrenched the door open a large stream of bubbles and cold water splashed over her.

Tenten sputtered. “Yeuck. I think I got soap in my mouth.” Tenten squeezed the water out of the shirt she was wearing. “Wow, that was cold. Guess, I should’ve listened to you.”

She shivered. “Do I have to put these clothes in the wash again? I mean, the ones that aren’t mine.” Tenten tried to stand up, but slid on the soap suds as she struggled up. She winced. “Oww.”

Noting Neji’s silence, she turned around. “Hey, what’s–” Tenten stared mouth agape at her teammate. Her usually composed teammate was drenched in cold water, hair stringy and clothes falling around him from the water’s weight. Soap suds dusted his chin, lips forehead, hair, and just about every other visible part of his body. He looked like a child who’d just realized that water created a big mess. His mouth was open just the slightest bit, his eyes blinking slowly, and his left eye twitching. Tenten couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Neji’s eyes narrowed at her.

She stifled her laughter as best as she could. “Look, Neji, I’m really, really sorry.”

“Tenten-”

“I didn’t mean to!” She protested. Tenten edged away more than just a little frightened, “Oh, come on! It was an accident! You know I’m an idiot sometimes!”

Neji sighed. “Alright. It’s fine.” He wiped some of the suds off of himself.

Tenten huffed. “Look, don’t do that. I really am sorry! What do you want me to do?”

“It’s fine. You didn’t mean to.”

“Stop pretending it’s fine when you want to kick my ass.” She scolded.

“Tenten-”

“I could clean-no, wait, I’m no good at that. I could-”

“Tenten, relax. I forgive you.”

She frowned thinking it over. “I suppose I could-”

“Tenten!”

“Or maybe, I’ll-”

“Tenten!”

Tenten continued rattling off possible things she could do to make up for drenching him, not even noticing that his eye twitch had started again. In severe annoyance, Neji ambled over to one of the unoccupied washers and filled a bucket with freezing cold soapy water. Tenten, still preoccupied with thinking up ways to make it up to him, didn’t even notice he’d moved. Neji walked over to her and dumped the contents of the bucket on her head.

“HOLY SHIT!” Tenten screamed. She hopped up and jumped up and down periodically on one foot as if it would take away the freezing pin needles crawling up and down her skin. “DAMMIT, NEJI!”

“Are you happy now? We’re even.”

“N-N-not e-ev-even! Th-That was f-f-f-f-freezing!” She shivered. “B-b-besides, what I d-d-did was on ac-ac-acci-accident.”

“So was what I did.”

“L-Liar.” She accused.

“The bucket slipped.”

“Bullshit.”

Neji smirked.

“Wh-What?” She stuttered.

“The soap suds piled around your head make it look like you have devil horns.” His smirk grew more pronounced, “Quite fitting wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, you’re just a h-horrible jerk.” She growled, somehow still feeling despite her irritation that this was one of the most warming bonding moments she’d ever had with Neji. “H-how you became my friend I’ll never know.”

“I know.”

She blinked. “Oh?”

“You’re like glue; you wouldn’t leave me alone and soon enough I got used to you.”

“You kept saying that I was w-weak! It was so unbelievably sexist. I had to p-p-pr-prove you wrong.”

“Then how come I still think you’re far too weak?”

“Oh, I abs-absolutely h-hate you.” She growled.

Neji rolled his eyes.