PARDON ME

To err is human.
It's forgiveness that's divine.

PROLOGUE

"I have a scar, you know."

She twirled her drink slowly, looking at him through the corner of her eye, curving her red lips in a seductive smile.

"A battle scar?" He looked amused.

"It runs," she began, ignoring his question, "from here—," she placed a fingertip at the top of her champagne colored dress, "—to here," and slowly brought it down to her stomach, laughing delightedly at his badly disguised interest, "do you want to see it?"

He nodded a little too quickly and she smirked.

Stupid. She wasn't taking her pants off for this jerk.

From across the ballroom, she could see Lee, dressed in an unconventional forest green suit, chatting with the Lady Soto, his eyebrows furrowing uncharacteristically. He tugged uncomfortably at his collar and loosened his tie before bidding her good-bye. He pushed his way past the other gala-goers and disappeared into the hall.

Sighing slightly, lamenting that Lee had once again forgotten about her, she refocused her attention on the man she was supposed to be questioning. She flashed him a quick smile as she sipped delicately from her wine glass.

"What was your name again?" he asked.

She swallowed and answered honestly, "Tenten."

"Pretty name."

"Prettier face."

if you prick me

i will bleed.

The hallway was quiet, dimly lit. His leather shoes made no sound against the burgundy carpet and for that, he was grateful – the last thing he needed was for some security guard to show up at the most inconvenient of times.

The Lady Soto had been reluctant to accept his proposal at first but because of his charisma and offbeat good looks – or so he was convinced – she had agreed to meet him in the third floor library for 'further interaction'. He couldn't be certain what that entailed but he had a pretty good idea.

The library was easy to find because of the brass lettering on the mahogany door and Lee was surprised to be greeted by a fire in hearth. The Lady Soto swiveled in her high-backed armchair to give him a bat of the eyelashes.

"You beat me," he stated simply, walking around to sit in the other armchair, as per her nonverbal request.

"I work quickly." She smirked, self-satisfied.

"I'm certain you do." Lee peered at the Lady Soto cautiously, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Your proposition," she began as she rearranged her fur wrap, revealing a well-endowed chest, a move that confirmed Lee's previous suspicions, "You want me to betray my own brother? I can't say that I am very enthusiastic about it, Lee-sama."

He swallowed, hard, upon hearing her use the formality – it was but a form of mockery. "Is there anything I can do, anything at all, that would make it sound more…appealing?" He tried to keep his voice in the same raw tone as hers but knew that he was failing.

The Lady Soto slowly rose out of her chair and settled herself on the arm of Lee's, her fingers dangling above his shoulder, dancing their way to his chest. (Lee's body was well built but it wasn't as if he had many chances to use it.) He smelt her heavy perfume, saw her rouged cheeks, and decided that what must be done, would be done.

if you strike me,

i will bruise.

Tenten had long given up on the shameless man and had wandered around the ballroom aimlessly, awaiting Lee's return from wherever he and that slut had sauntered off to. Dressed in a plain black dress and lacking ostentatious accessories, she had succeeded so far in making herself invisible; all the better to find another socialite to question.

Lee was taking an awfully long time, she decided after her third glass of wine. He wasn't a god in bed but it sure as hell shouldn't take him this long to finish the job (she spoke from personal experience). But she didn't worry about him because the more satisfied the Lady Soto was, the more willing she would be to cooperate – and also, Gai had trained him well.

He and Tenten were the finest assassins since the First Kages.

And so she waited, seated at an empty table, while a string quartet sawed out a classical tune – they all sounded the same to her – and the gala-goers chatted shallowly.

Sometime after her sixth glass of wine, which stood no chance against her extremely high alcohol tolerance, someone finally approached her, taking the empty seat to her left. She glanced at the newcomer sourly as she made her way through the seventh.

"Hello there."

She recognized him; the straight nose and the aristocratic cheekbones; the wide shoulders and the air of maddening superiority; the dark black hair and the eyes the color of ice and just as cold.

Hyuuga Neji.

His smile did not quite reach his eyes. "What's a pretty girl like you doing sitting here all alone?"

Tenten's heart pounded in her chest.

Shit. He knows.

"How about you and I go for a little ride, eh?"

if you poison me,

i will die.

The cell was grimy and small and patches of moss grew in between the stones. Tenten chose the driest corner to retire in and counted the seconds away. Her forehead stung from where Neji had hit her and she felt light-headed.

Within the hour, the door of the cell swung open with a thunderous clank and Lee was shoved in by the Lady Soto, who was followed by Neji and another guard. He fell to the ground, bearing more serious wounds – a long gash ran from his forearm to his wrist – and Tenten moved to help him, but was blocked by a somber-faced Neji.

"The hell," she hissed, preparing to punch him, "get the hell out of my way, Hyuuga." He caught her fist easily and twisted her arm behind her back, causing her to cry out in pain.

"As I'm sure you two are dying to know, I've considered your proposition and," the Lady Soto snapped at the guard, who grabbed Lee's collar, pulling him to his feet, "though I was persuaded spectacularly," here, she threw Lee a coy look, "I'm afraid I'll have to decline. But, on the brighter side, you gave me an idea and for that, I would like to thank you profusely."

Lee scowled. "What do you plan to do with us then?"

The Lady Soto smiled; her face eerily beautiful. "I'm afraid myplan has nothing to do with you." She withdrew a silver blade and placed it against his cheek. "I will be taking your little friend, however."

Lee's eyes widened as she kissed him once on each cheek, staining his face a garish red.

"We'll get a lot of bids on her, won't we?"

And she drove the knife into his chest.

if you wrong me,

i will seek revenge.

a/n: Hello theree~~ This prologue takes place towards the climax of the story, not the beginning, so don't worry if you were confused~~

Yes, this will be an assassin/spy/romance story, but it won't be cliche at all, I promise(:

Also, if you hadn't noticed, I purposely made Lee out-of-character because his usual personality just wouldn't fit the story. (Can you imagine Bushy-Brows trying to seduce?XD) I rarely, if ever, see Lee as a quote unquote 'normal' person and so I hope this portrayal of him is refreshing to you! In terms of attractiveness, let's just say he shaved the caterpillars, lost the bowlcut, and worked those abs^^

Please review if you would like me to continue(:

disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.