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It was rare when Tenten wore shorts, but damn, if it wasn't a sight when she did.

Neji glanced away as soon as he saw her come ambling down the busy street of Konoha. A shopping bag was thrown over her shoulder. Neji suspected she was doing her bi-weekly grocery shopping.

It was Team Guy's first day off in nearly three months, a welcome break from endless fighting and missions. Tsunade had promised them at least a week's vacation, but Neji didn't know how much to trust that.

But back to the matter at hand—Tenten's legs.

Neji looked away for the second time, silently chastising himself. It was not that he had never seen a pair of legs from the opposite sex before, or even that he hadn't seen his female teammate's legs—it was simply that she hardly ever chose to expose them.

Now that Neji considered it, it was perfectly natural that Tenten had chosen to wear shorts today. It was the middle of summer, and the humidity that hovered over their village was oppressive. He himself was out of his normal attire, selecting a lighter clan-approved robe and lightweight pants in exchange.

But Tenten. . . Well, Tenten looked nothing like herself.

Neji tried to keep his eyes from lingering as he studied the skin around the hem of her shorts, falling to trace the tautness of her calves, all the way down to her strong ankles. Neji swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

Stop it, he reprimanded himself. She's your friend.

Scolded for the moment, Neji turned back to his business—examining a new shipment of delicate china. Hinata-sama's birthday was quickly approaching, and she would appreciate such a gift.

"Hey, Neji!" Tenten greeted, coming to stand next to him.

Neji had trouble keeping his heart calm—she was standing awfully close. He could easily brush his fingers against her skin by accident. . .

Neji crossed his arms, furious with himself. He knew better. Sure, he may have been a male, but Hyugas prided themselves on rising above. Though he may have the same, ahem, parts as his counterparts, Neji had been raised a gentleman. Anything akin to lust deserved to be beaten into submission until it was no longer an issue.

Think of it as a training exercise, Neji told himself.

As Tenten yammered on about the china and which pieces Neji was contemplating for Hinata, Neji worked overdrive to keep his brain on the conversation topic, and not how nice and smooth Tenten's legs would feel underneath his fingertips.

Finally, finally, she pulled away, stating that she needed to get her groceries home and put away. Neji breathed a sigh of relief.

She waved over her shoulder at him, but then their easy parting was tainted by a splitting wolf-whistle. Tenten and Neji glanced to the sound of the noise. Neji gritted his teeth. Of course it had to be Inuzuka.

Riding Akamaru, Kiba came close to Tenten, grinning like the devil he was. Neji stood where he was and eavesdropped.

"Wow, Tenten-chan, I almost didn't recognize you! Who knew you had such good-looking legs!"

Neji's blood bubbled a little, and it had nothing to do with the heat.

Tenten laughed lightly, though her expression remained politely guarded. She and Kiba were acquaintances at most.

"It's really hot out," she stated.

"Yeah," Kiba said, ruffling his hair. "I think we're going to experience a heat wave. Akamaru here is practically dying." To prove this point, Akamaru breathed heavily as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Tenten patted his head sweetly.

"Poor thing. You should get him home so he can rest," Tenten advised.

Kiba nodded, leering at her. "Say, Tenten, if you ever feel like going out—"

"Inuzuka-san," Neji greeted, hating himself even as he interrupted Dog-boy.

Kiba's grin faltered. "Oh, h—hey, Neji-san."

Neji said nothing, inwardly searching for something relevant. However, Kiba took Neji's silence as a "get lost", and with a hurried goodbye, he took off on Akamaru.

Tenten raised her eyebrows at Neji when Kiba disappeared around the corner. "Wow. I guess the heat's getting to everybody, hm?"

Neji looked down to gauge her meaning, but Tenten was smirking smugly up at him. Neji crossed his arms, frowning. "I have no idea what you mean by that."

"Sure you don't. See you," Tenten said, setting back off towards her apartment.

Neji noted that she took nearly twice as long to reach the end of the street than she normally would have. He liked to think it was for his benefit.

What'd you think?