Her {Naruto Modern AU}

Climbing to the Top

Look for a woman with a light brown bob. She should be accompanied by a very large man. Her name is Akane. My eyes roam around the room for a woman that meets the description. Dust flits in the light coming from hanging fixtures. As my eyes land on the bar, I see a woman fitting the file.

She donned a slinky beaded dress and pearl necklace. She could have stepped out of the Great Gatsby. My feet move towards her and my lips speak her name. "Akane-san," The woman turns around to face me. 

"Yes?" she brings a Cuban cigar up to her plum-colored lips. 

Ask her: "What's your favorite beer?" 

She should respond with, "I hate beer," I greet her with a nod. 

"You must be Kuro. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that he sent a girl," she smiles warmly and lays her hand on my shoulder. She looks over her shoulder, "Hatori, we're going," she says. 

She has me follow her down a long hall, thought an employee's only area, and into a concrete room filled with cheers and sweaty men. She quickly bypasses them and pulls me into a small room with a bed roll in it.

She lets go of my hand, which I didn't know she was holding, and huffed. "Well I'm Akane and blah blah blah! This is where you'll being staying along with one other person that you know. I'll handle setting up your matches starting tomorrow. Of course if you get hurt, we'll take care of it. Your roommate can show you the bathrooms and the canteen,"

Someone I know? Who could it be? The traditional wooden door slides open, revealing a face I had seen a few hours ago. "Neji?"

"Kuro?"

~~~

Turns out Kakashi sent Neji to not only assure a back up fighter but to keep an eye out for me. "I can't see why he felt the need to have you keep an eye out for me. I mean damn! I'm his right-hand woman,"

Without missing a beat Neji replies, "You also have to have Hinata remind you to eat and Kakashi to remind you to actually go to sleep so you don't stay up for 48 hours straight," I mock him jokingly quietly under my breath as pat down my blanket and sit on top of it.

We talk well into the night as well tour the place and get more settled in. When he tells me about the shower situation,well, it's less than optimal. In other words, there is no separate men's and women's showers since there's virtually no other women here.

When we actually get around to showering, there is maybe one other person showering. The shower consisted of several separate stalls partitioned by thick tile. I take a bag with a towel, clothes, and soap and hang it directly outside the stall. The gray-tiled shower was pretty small as I step inside still clothed. 

I shed my clothes and turn the water on which is freezing cold to begin with. I quickly scrub my body, hair and face before turning the water off and yanking my towel out of my bag right outside. I dry off in the stall shadowed by the plastic curtain. I quickly pull on an over sized shirt and cotton short and step out.

~~~

I throw my hair up in a towel until Neji begs me to go to sleep. When I finally get to sleep, it is not satisfying in the slightest. The odd feeling of sleeping in an unknown place mixed with the overthinking about what tomorrow hold did not make it any better. But, it's sleep nonetheless.

The next morning, Neji nudges me awake. When I open my eyes, I see him pulling a shirt over his head, looking down at me. "Let's go get breakfast before they run out," I change right there, not minding Neji's presence.

I've known him for so long and been through so much with him I think neither of us care. Just as I'm about to shrug on an old white t-shirt when Neji speaks up, "You got a Ja mask?" he refers to the large back tattoo.