Another World | NejiTen

Chapter 15 | Masquerade Preparations

"Calm down Ino-pig, we have two hours before the ball!" Sakura exclaimed. "We don't need to be perfectly presentable right this second."

Ino rolled her eyes at the pinkette and turned back to a paper bag. "Ah, found it!" She declared, pulling out a delicate golden tiara. "Hinata, this is for you to wear."

Hinata thanked Ino and took the delicate golden crown, admiring the designs. The platinum blonde dug into the paper bag again, taking out two gold crowns adorned with rubies. One seemed like something a queen would wear, and the other seemed like something a king would wear.

"Tenten, these are for you and Neji," Ino informed the brunette, winking.

Tenten smiled and took the crowns, thanking her friend. Indeed, the crowns were beautiful. Since Neji was her "date" for the masquerade party, the two were planning on entering the room together. She would give him his crown when they met in the lobby.

The girls were all gathered in Ino's dorm, preparing for the masquerade party. Precisely two hours before it started. Half of them considered it unnecessary, Ino considered it necessary, and the rest of them just went along with it. 

Tenten wore the white, red, and gold medieval costume. The bodice and skirt consisted of white and red colors, but the hem was mostly embroidered with gold and embellished with gold fabric flowers for extra flair. Her pair of scarlet heels sat near a desk, untouched for the time being. Tenten didn't feel like wearing those things unless it was absolutely necessary. Her hair stayed up in the twin buns, much to Ino's dismay.

Sakura had just slipped on her long, pink and white costume along with her angel wings. The bodice was pure white, and most of the gown was that color until the middle section of the skirt, where the pink began gradually getting slightly darker as it neared the hem. Her pure white angel wings were a little less wider than her arm span. On her neck was a necklace with a single rose quartz pendant. Her pink hair stayed down.

Meanwhile, Hinata was slipping on her Belle costume, gasping at her reflection in the mirror. Carefully, she placed the tiara on her head. To everyone, she looked absolutely stunning. The yellow costume had fancy, swirled gold embellishments that complimented the gown well. Resting on her long, midnight blue hair was the golden tiara, which had similar swirled designs on it. Her feet delicately slipped into the heels, admiring her full party look before slipping back out of the heels.

Ino was already dressed up in her baby blue costume, the color of the elegant Cinderella gown matching her eyes perfectly. The baby blue had a tint of sparkle to it, glistening when the fabric hit the light. Her hair was tied up in her normal ponytail, but it held a sparkling blue ribbon.

"No tiara, Ino-pig?" Sakura teased, putting on a fake expression of shock.

"Nope, I personally think the ribbon looks much better," Ino replied earnestly, grinning.

Temari emerged from the bathroom with the green and gold costume on, hauling the gold fan with one hand. Her gown had a simple yet elegant look to it, and her hair was still in four ponytails. 

"Don't get on Temari's bad side," Ino warned everyone, who chuckled.

"Well, if anyone does, this fan will come in handy," Temari replied, smirking as she opened and closed the fan as if it weighed nothing.

"Isn't that thing heavy?" Sakura asked.

"Surprisingly lighter than most people would expect," Temari informed the pinkette, inspecting the other girls' costumes. "You all look great!"

The other girls thanked the blonde before they all sat down on the edge of a bed or on the couch, being careful not to rumple the costumes.

"We have half an hour left," Ino informed them, "But walking there and arriving on time will take, I'd say, fifteen minutes. Therefore, we have fifteen minutes to chat before it's go time."

"Alright," Tenten answered, before an evil idea came to mind. "How about we all bet something?"

"Ooh yes! We can all bet one event that will happen at the ball!" Sakura chimed in, grinning. "Whoever is correct doesn't get punishment. If you're wrong, the other four girls get to ask you one question, which you have to answer truthfully."

"Sounds perfect," Ino grinned, smirking evilly. "Who's first?"

"How about Tenten, since she thought of the idea? By the way, you can't have the same idea as someone else," Sakura declared.

"Alright forehead, sounds good. What's your bet Tenten?" The platinum asked.

Tenten grinned. "I bet Naruto and Hinata will kiss."

"You took the best bet!" Temari complained, while Hinata just sat there, her face tomato read.

"Hey, we have the power to try and prevent these bets from happening," Ino reminded them.

"Oh, but Hinata loves Naruto so much, they definitely will!" Tenten declared, smiling joyously.

Hinata was speechless, her face redder than the tomatoes Sasuke loved to eat.

"Hinata, how about you go next?" Tenten suggested, giving the midnight haired lady a genuine smile.

Hinata returned the smile. "I bet that you and my cousin will kiss."

This time, it was Tenten's turn to blush, though it was the slightest red. "That won't happen," She muttered.

Ino was practically cackling with glee. "What about you, forehead?"

"I bet that Temari and Shikamaru will show PDA," Sakura said, flashing a smirk towards Temari.

Temari rolled her eyes, but she knew that that the pinkette could possibly be right.

"Temari! Your turn," Ino declared.

"I bet that Ino will hook up with a guy at this party," Temari said confidently.

"I hook up with a guy at almost every party!" Ino muttered. "They never work out, though"

Sakura patted Ino's shoulder comfortingly. "You'll find someone someday."

Ino grinned at her friend. "I will, but I know you already have someone. His name is Sasuke Uchiha. My bet is that you two will kiss at the party."

"Well, if you lose that bet, you have no information to lose," Sakura replied, sighing.

"Um, guys, it's nearly time-" Hinata began softly, but Ino interrupted her sentence.

"Ah! We're gonna be late!" The platinum blonde cried out dramatically, glancing at the clock. "Oh Kami, it's 8:42 in the evening already! Girls, let's head out!"

The five girls grabbed their masks, which were laid out on a desk, and put them on. They then headed down the stairs with some other accessories they needed instead of taking the elevator, deciding that it was a faster route. Tenten parted from the group when she saw Neji, and Temari headed towards Shikamaru. 

Tenten handed Neji a crown and put on her own. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, putting his masquerade mask on his face. The two of them caught up to Ino, Hinata, and Sakura, as did Temari and Shikamaru. They all headed towards the college building, accompanied by a large amount of students dressed in costumes. When they reached the building, Tenten panicked for a moment, wondering if they needed their ID. However, they didn't, due to the fact the doors were wide open, Shizune standing beside them.

The group headed towards the gym, stepping inside and observing the decorations in awe.