That throbbing beat takes your breath away

[heavenly_earth]

Characters: Neji, Tenten, and Hanabi
Location: Shopping District- Mall
Rating: G
Time: November 22nd, early evening
Description: Hanabi and Tenten need new clothes, Neji offers to take them shopping. It's as good a time as any for a discussion or two as well.

Comments

[usedforcepalm]

Hanabi arrived about a minute after Tenten. Part of her was relieved that Lain wasn't there. She wasn't very close with Neji and she barely knew Tenten, but at least they were familiar and not treating her with hostility. Although it had only really been Bold that was hostile, and Hanabi could understand why. The other girl's words had said a lot more than she probably meant them to. As his Weapon, Lain automatically had a bond with Neji. But it was more than that, considering she referred to him the same way Hanabi did. As a family member. Bold's jealous and rude behaviour was a little like a cornered animal baring its teeth because it was scared.

Hanabi hoped she'd be able to resolve things with Neji's Weapon. She wasn't about to avoid her only family member here and one of the only people she even knew at all in Death City. In fact, she was going to take Tenten's suggestion and join the expanded Team Gai that included the Kazekage, Hatake Kakashi and Lain, as long as she was welcome to train with them.

She looked up at her cousin and his teammate when she arrived.

"Thank you for taking us shopping, Neji-niisan."

[heavenly_earth]

Neji offered both of them a faint smile and a nod. "Of course. It's also an opportunity that will allow me to answer any additional questions you have." A bit of an understatement, really.

He gestures to the door for them to leave by and takes the lead once outside. It's getting colder, he notes, as the sky darkens toward evening and resolves to make sure they all have jackets by the time they're ready to leave.

"Lain would also like me to extend an invitation to you for dinner once we return. Normal is a very good cook, but I believe she'll understand if you choose not to stay."

[underspinning]

"I have a lot of questions." Tenten doesn't smile back at him. It's more of a serious observation, rather than a faint smile.

Tenten walks through the door listening to Neji's words. The cold isn't really deterring Tenten in the slightest. She still has her Konoha Flak Jacket and her sweats. The average Chuunin Uniform IS built for whatever weather comes their way.

The question does make Tenten wonder a bit. After all, she hardly gets along with Bold Lain and would prefer not to be in her presence, but Neji said that Normal Lain would be cooking. Maybe that means that she'll be in control. Tenten then realizes it'd be really beneficial to meet Lain face to face and give her positive encouragement to mend and douse an already burning bridge. Not to mention, she hasn't eaten anything all day.

"I'll go to dinner with you guys, but make sure Bold isn't hostile, okay?" Yeah, if she's going to have dinner with them she'd rather not deal with Bold screaming towards her. If she does try to strike her or anything, she's not guaranteeing that this will end remotely well.

[usedforcepalm]

Hanabi's clothing, on the other hand, was less suited to the weather. Her shirt was sleeveless and more suited to the temperate climates of Konoha. Her matching pants were durable but also not well suited to the cooler air. There were already goosebumps forming on her arms, although thankfully it wasn't cold enough to make her shiver just yet.

"That's nice of her," said Hanabi. "I'll come."

Food would be good, and they were all living in the Casualty Communal anyhow. If Bold started getting confrontational and behaved rudely, there was the option of bowing out early. She doubted Neji would hold it against her if she decided to leave a little earlier to go to her room and get some sleep. And if the evening went well, she could offer to help wash the dishes or at least clear the table.

She had a lot of questions, but she decided she'd let Tenten ask all of hers first. Some of their questions might be the same anyhow.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji nodded, understanding his teammate's apprehension was likely due to Lain. "I'll do my best to placate her should Bold begin to look aggressive." He hoped that their discussion had been enough to curb her temper toward them too. He didn't doubt that a simple snip from Tenten had the potential to set her off again, though he'd warned her of that eventuality too.

"I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear the two of you intend to visit with us." And Normal could get to know them on a different level and vice-versa if things went well enough.

It was well enough that the Shopping District was the closest district to Casualty Communal, taking only several minutes to reach with the mall right ahead. He stops in front of it for a moment, turning toward them.

"If you're wondering why I partnered with her... I suppose the simplest reason would be because we're well-suited for each other in the sense that our souls complement one another.

Explaining resonance is difficult and I'm aware that it must not appear that way at the moment given Bold's temper and insecurities, but the truth is it makes it that much more of an imperative that she has someone that will be patient with her. She has difficulty enough with two dominant personalities to find one person that can resonate with both sides of her."

[underspinning]

Likely? Tenten's apprehension is because of Lain. "Good enough for me. I'm not going to take it from a little girl, especially when it involves you or the rest of the team." She hopes so too. Though Tenten wouldn't show it, she will dedicate everything she has to Lain. Just as much as she'd dedicate to Lee or Guy. She's a member of the Team and she accepted that. So being instigated by Lain is something that's far from pleasing. Tenten would be willing to cooperate, and chances are she'd be tough on Lain but she wouldn't be mean. If Bold did insult her, she definitely would taunt back.

"I'm glad she'll be able to see us then!" Tenten has nothing against Normal and she'd love to learn more about her, but that's her constantly inquisitive nature.

She stops and observes Neji's demeanor. She found it a compliment of sorts he was able to tell exactly what she was thinking. Tenten won't judge for now, because she hasn't experienced resonance for herself. Maybe after she's had some experience she'd be able to state it, or maybe if she sees both of Lain and Neji's souls, which would probably never happen. "I see. I'll buy that. Do you know why or how she has 3 personalities?" That's her primary issue regarding Lain. If she has evil sealed in her, there hasn't to be a reason, right? She'd never ask this to Lain personally, considering the chances of Bold's return. Tenten may be nosy but she's not stupid.

Tenten casts a glance at Hanabi and notices the goosebumps. It's not that hard to, with an eye like hers. Of course, being Neji's half-sister by genetic relations, and the main branch, who he's supposed to protect, and under Neji's protection here it does strike a chord with Tenten. There's also the fact that she joined Team Guy and she's just a kid. Though they both had a pretty rough day, Tenten decided that her day was nowhere compared to Hanabi's. After all, Tenten came from fighting in a war, being put into a different war with her teammates wouldn't be hard to adjust. Hanabi came from a time where her family was under attack, Hinata was nearly killed, and Konoha was just bombed. "Hold on, Neji." Tenten began to tug on her dark sleeve outside the flak jacket. She quickly pulled her arm inside the classic Chuunin Vest before working on getting the other arm inside her vest. Eventually, with both arms inside the vest, she moved the black, long-sleeved under shirt up to her neck before popping both arms out of the vest simultaneously. With both her arms now moveable, she pulled the shirt off and over her head before handing her clothing to Hanabi.

"Here, wear this so you don't get cold. I'll be fine." She nearly died before arriving here and engaged several hostile and dangerous ninja. She will be fine.

[usedforcepalm]

Hanabi listened to Neji's explanation of Lain and her personalities. It seemed strange, but after what Lain had told her about being captured by the Witches, if there was one person the girl would feel she could trust at that point, it would be Neji. Keeping what Roy Mustang told her about resonance in mind...well. She was just going to have to do her best to be nice to both Lain and Bold. It was much easier to be nice to Lain, who all in all seemed like a sweet girl and similar to Hinata. Bold would require more patience, but she'd given up on being rude and simply disconnected the conversation when Hanabi didn't show any anger.

When Tenten pulled off her shirt under the vest, Hanabi was about to tell her that she didn't have to do that. Tenten's reassurance that she would be fine was what stopped her. She had already made her decision and refusing the shirt would have been disrespectful at this point.

"Thank you very much," she said, pulling the shirt on over her arms. She resolved to pick out a couple of long sleeved pieces of clothing when they shopped if the air was going to be this cold in the evening. If there were any change rooms to try the clothes on, she could return the shirt to Tenten there.

Even though Tenten wasn't a large person, her shirt was huge on Hanabi's petite ten year old form. The shirt went down to the middle of Hanabi's thighs and the sleeves dangled over Hanabi's hands. Still, it solved the problem of feeling cold quite nicely.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji smiled at the gesture, relieved in part because he didn't have anything to offer his younger cousin, and nodded. "It should be warmer inside anyway." he amended, leading the way inside.

"As for Lain, I don't know why she has three personalities, but what I do know about her world would be difficult to explain and even harder to believe. For the moment, let's find you both some clothing."

There were shops everywhere, a good number of them named in the same regulation as anywhere else in the city- correlated in some fashion with death in a pattern he still didn't understand the appeal of. He could only haphazardly guess it was the idea of the being Shibusen called Shinigami-sama and he occasionally wondered about the true nature of the city.

"Feel free to look at whatever appeals to you. I'm far from an expert in this field, but I'm confident I can afford everything the two of you could need."

In the meantime, he'd search for a gift for Lain- something to communicate his appreciation for being willing to let them go out after such an upheaval and serve as a reminder that he didn't forget about her in the time he was gone.

[underspinning]

"Neji, I've been kidnapped from home and been enlisted to fight in a war by some box. Lee and the Kazekage are involved in a relationship, and Guy-sensei is not in spandex. I think I'll be able to believe almost anything you guys tell me." She did have a point. There's been so much craziness in the last couple of days, that really anything isn't far from being automatically disbelieved. I mean, if her little coping side-thought that this is a dream is to be believed, then anything she learns about Lain could just be disregarded anyways, right?

Regardless, Tenten does take in the note of all of the names of the shop and how they all seem to have a theme related to death, "These people are really big on dying here. That's reassuring" She quips and looks around, still noting the names of everything.

"All right. I won't take or need too much, Neji." In reality, Tenten began to look through the windows with her observant eyes and began to look for anything that she'd normally wear at home. Nothing too tight or revealing, but something to fit into her theme of Chinese clothing. Unfortunately, there isn't anything that seems to catch Tenten's eye so far. Tenten knew there wouldn't be that many clothes that I would normally wear in a place of Nevada, but she'll continue to look anyways.

[usedforcepalm]

"Neither will I," said Hanabi. She made a mental list of things she thought she would need. A few pairs of underwear, definitely. A coat or thick sweater, for sure. At least one other shirt and another pair of pants so that she'd have things to wear when she was washing her clothing. Those were the things she needed. She wouldn't pick out anything else unless Neji insisted.

Most things didn't really catch Hanabi's attention either, but she paused by the window of one store and took a second look at a store with a black and purple hooded sweatshirt on display. It looked warm, and aside from a front pocket, she could see there were a couple of more discreet smaller pockets.

"Can we go in here, please?"

[heavenly_earth]

Neji smiled humorlessly and shrugged, moving to peer through a few windows. "In that case, Lain is a type of God in her world," he remarked casually, idly catching sight of a few glimmering accessories in the next shop over. It looked crowded with women crooning over gems with apparent envy.

The Jounin turned from his brief appraisal of the jewelry store and redirected his attention to the window pane that had caught his young cousin's attention. He nodded, gesturing for them to move inside ahead of him.

"Of course. Something like that would likely be suitable for this winter."

[underspinning]

"Her world has some serious problems with their choices in deities." She's nearly been drowned by what best may be described as blue sushi brought to life. That doesn't even phase her. The women crooning over the jewelry garners more interest from Tenten who just gives them a brief eye roll. Gems won't ever get you anywhere so why even wear them in the first place.

Tenten follows Hanabi into the store, using her sharp eye to scan the store for anything remotely oriental. Tenten's patience with the availability of the outfits was wearing rather thin. Everywhere her eye glazed it was more modern day, tight and restricting trash.

"There's something I can use. I wonder if it even comes in my size..." She could tell none of the jackets on that rack would fit her by her amazing analytical prowess. When she does get closer to the coats for Hanabi, Tenten will just be scanning for other coats. For the first time in her life, fashion was a chore.