Hyuuga Neji

Author's notes: In case you haven't noticed: I'm pretty much in love with Team Guy and Hyuuga Neji. I mean these are people who have never met and aren't meant to be part of a "specialty team" (Ino-Shika-Cho for instance) and have learned to work together. They watch each other's backs, they work well off each other, and they seem to genuinely care about each other.

Anyway, yet another fan-fiction for the beloved Team Guy, this one focusing on the team's first: hug, kiss, kill, and "time." This time around we're focusing on Neji's firsts. This may kind of expand on my "Twenty Truths about Team Guy" fan-fiction and it will be referred to. Again, you don't have to read it to understand this.

Also: Long chapters are long. Each will have about 15,000 words to describe their four firsts. So you know. ;)

General Warnings: I'm making up some of the time lines. It's been a while since I've watched Naruto (when they were all genin) and I don't have the best of memories. There might be some OOC-ness. There will be on screen kissing and/or sex. Swearing will be included as well, hence the M warning.

Onwards!

Hug

Neji strode toward his team's regular training field as the sun continued to rise. Anyone who looked at him would not know anything was wrong with the Hyuuga prodigy but inside, Neji was overflowing with emotions.

Three days ago he had been released from the hospital. Over a month ago he had almost been killed by an S-Rank shinobi by the name of Kidomaru trying to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. Neji had almost died.

He had come so close in fact, it had taken eight medical shinobi and a forbidden technique to make sure he did not say "hello" to his father at the ripe age of thirteen. Even after said forbidden jutsu he had to stay in the hospital for a month and still had horrible scars which would likely never fade away.

One was high on his left chest, above his nipple and off an inch from his heart. It was the size of a person's palm and had odd off shoots coming from the main middle area which had become darker than the rest of his skin. The scar's match sat on his back in the same position and in the same sort of pattern.

The other was to the right of his belly button by a few inches and again, palm sized. This one looked like a spiral and did not have the odd off shoots. Again, it appeared darker than the rest of his skin and its match was on his back.

He had six more scars on his back, all two inches long and half an inch thick from Kidomaru's initial kunai. These ones might fade over time, if he happened to be lucky. Neji understood shinobi life dictated scars but it had been rare for Hyuuga to have them.

No one before Kidomaru had predicted the Byakugan's blind spot or used it to their advantage as Kidomaru had. Neji didn't mind killing the bastard to take that secret to the grave but almost dying still gave him nightmares.

Worse, he had an odd fear of spiders to contend with as well. Even little house spiders he would normally not pay attention to would make his throat close up and sweat pop up along his brow. He would freeze as if he was a small child, untrained in any method of defense and facing down a killer. For a trained shinobi to have such an inconsequential fear was pathetic. He could tell no one.

No, the worst part of the entire situation had to be the fact despite the fact he, Choji, and Kiba had almost died Naruto had ultimately failed in bringing Sasuke back, almost dying himself. Lee had left the hospital to take on an S-Rank shinobi and if he had not accidently drank sake in the middle of the mission well, he would be dead.

If Gaara hadn't shown up then Lee would not be complaining from his hospital room right now. If Temari had not stepped in then Shikamaru would have killed himself. If Kankuro had not stepped in then Kiba and Akamaru would be nothing but names on the Memorial Stone.

And for what?

Some bastard Uchiha who had decided to leave his village to get vengeance on his brother? Some idiot who wanted to become stronger so sided with a missing criminal to get that power instead of working with his team and his friends?

Neji had decided Uchiha Sasuke was an asshole. If he ever saw the damned idiot he would hurt him, perhaps even kill him. Hell, Neji would take permanently cutting off the tenketsu to Uchiha's eyes so the asshole could never use the Sharingan again.

Neji exhaled and made his rage go with his breath. He could hear Guy-sensei up ahead, telling Tenten to keep pushing herself and allowed a small smile to grace his lips. Tenten would be furious at him for leaving her alone to contend with Guy-sensei on her own.

Neji frowned.

Tenten had no idea how close she had come to becoming a one-man cell before she made chunin. No. She knew. Neji heard her crying over him when she thought he had been sleeping. Neji huffed and shook his head.

"Neji! My precious genius!"

Neji looked up at Guy-sensei who waved him over, teeth-pinging, bowl cut glimmering in the sun, and a thumb up. Neji smirked but wiped the expression off quickly before approaching his sensei and female teammate.

"Neji, thank everything you're back," Tenten said.

"Now we can train together!"

Guy-sensei didn't know the meaning of quiet. Neji found he did not mind, not in this moment. The hospital had been filled with the wrong sounds (ringing bells, coughing, moans of pain, crying...best not to think of it) and the Hyuuga Compound had an oppressive silence. The kind which made you think shutting a drawer in your room too loud would make the walls crumble around you.

Neji said nothing as they started with laps. They moved onto push-ups then chin-ups. Sit-ups came next and Neji found himself getting exhausted. He gritted his teeth and moved into squats with Guy-sensei and Tenten. At least Tenten looked as tired as he felt.

The day wore on with Guy-sensei's insane training regime. When lunch came they ate in a triangle of sorts. Guy-sensei asked about Neji's health and Neji replied with as little information as he could get away with as to not arouse suspicion. Lunch ended and he sparred with Tenten.

Half way through the training session she launched a weapon into his blind spot. He happened to be turning his head and the kunai sliced along his right arm; cutting through the fabric of his shirt and making that sleeve an inch shorter than the other. Tenten gaped and fist-pumped, happy she had finally landed a hit on Neji.

Externally Neji congratulated her. Internally he thought of spiders. Arrows made from chakra manipulated spit. Webbing which could only be broken by disrupting chakra. An arrow piercing through the left side of his chest...pain...spiders...webs...pain...

Neji took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Tenten celebrated. He ignored the trembling of his hands when he got back into his fighting stance. Neji willed his rapidly beating heart to slow down before it broke his sternum. Neji bit his tongue to keep from pursing his lips and hyperventilating.

"Hm," Guy-sensei said.

"I can't believe I hit you! I mean, it wasn't a real hit or anything but finally! Jeez, it's taken over a year to even get a scratch on you," Tenten went on.

Neji gritted his teeth. He felt the constriction of webbing around his body. The agony of kunai made from chakra hitting his back. The sheer terror of something getting through his blind spot...

"You happened to hit my blind spot," Neji said.

He wanted to take back the words when Tenten's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Why had he said something so stupid? Now she could play the same game Kidomaru had until...

"Your Byakugan has a blind spot?" Guy-sensei asked.

He had become oddly serious. Neji came out of his fighting stance to stand stiffly, hands clenched in fists at his sides. He nodded, once, but kept his head bowed. Eyes to the ground or not, with his dojutsu activated he could see Guy-sensei and Tenten coming towards him.

Strangely, both looked serious and, nervous? Why would they be nervous? He was the one who spilled a secret no one outside the Hyuuga clan should know.

"Where is it?" Tenten questioned.

"Why?" Neji returned.

She winced. He had asked a bit gruffly. Guy-sensei hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. Neji glared at their teacher but Guy-sensei did not back down. Neji wanted to kick the ground in frustration. Most people could not deal with his heated stare without Byakugan activated. Even with his Byakugan, Guy-sensei did not flinch away from Neji's glower.

"I assume Tenten is asking for the same reason I would: so we can protect it until you have gotten rid of it," Guy-sensei said.

Neji opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. His rage evaporated and he felt his shoulders sag and his fists unclench. Neji sighed but nodded. He met Tenten's eyes (she took half a step back, at least she was affected by his eyes still) and frowned.

"It is located at the back of my neck, above the first thoracic vertebra," Neji said.

Tenten bit her lip and moved to his back. Neji didn't shift, even when she lifted her hand. He could see her hand moving until it entered his blind spot. Now all he could see was her arm and part of her hand. Neji felt the lightest bit of pressure on his back, right a top his blind spot.

"Right here?" Tenten asked softly.

"Yes," Neji replied.

Her eyebrows narrowed and her lips turned downwards into a scowl. She nodded once.

"Then I'll make sure I protect it with my life until you don't need me to," Tenten said.

Neji smiled, softly and let out a little breath. He blinked away the threatening tears and swallowed down the emotions in his throat. A few awkward moments later and they were sparring again.

Guy-sensei called for a stop at sixteen hundred hours. Neji wanted to collapse onto the ground and stay there until his body stopped aching but he walked around with Tenten to help collect her various weapons. Guy-sensei made a contest out of it but Neji and Tenten let him win. Neji watched as Tenten re-sealed her weapons and Guy-sensei started going through the motions of a fight by himself.

Neji stood in the middle of the field, even when Tenten yelled out her good evening sentiments and walked off the field. Neji still did not move even when Guy-sensei continuing training all by his lonesome.

Neji took a deep breath and approached his sensei.

Normally he would head back to the compound, have a long warm bath, eat a filling dinner then read for a bit before going to sleep. Today, he had a personal mission to accomplish before going to the compound.

Neji did not want to end up at the mercy of his blind spot again. He did not want to be in a position where someone could defeat him. He did not want to fail.

More than all of the above: he did not want to die.

"Guy-sensei?" Neji questioned.

"Ah, my precious genius! You are still here basking in youth with me," Guy-sensei said.

Perhaps he should have asked Hiashi-sama.

No.

Admitting to the clan head Neji had a weakness would be suicide. Besides, Hiashi-sama likely would not take the time to train with a Branch House member over his heiress Hanabi-sama. Guy-sensei was the only person Neji could ask.

"Neji?"

Apparently Neji stayed silent for too long.

"I want to become stronger because I failed and I do not like failing," Neji said.

There. The words were out. He hadn't implode either which had been a bonus.

Now Guy-sensei could help him train, so long as he didn't have to wear the horrible spandex. Neji would go to sleep at night and rest instead of dreaming he was caught in Kidomaru's webs. Neji would be able to squish a simple spider instead of having a panic attack about it and throw the nearest thing to him to hopefully eradicate the creature.

Neji looked up when Guy-sensei put a hand on Neji's right shoulder and smiled. Guy-sensei's teeth pinged and he gave Neji a thumb up.

"My precious genius! The passion of youth burns strong in you and you are becoming stronger every day," Guy-sensei said.

Neji stared at his beaming sensei with no expression. Guy-sensei was wrong. Neji wasn't become stronger every day. Based on today's performance he had become weaker since his fight with Kidomaru. Guy-sensei didn't understand.

Neji didn't want to be able to run a thousand laps around the field without collapsing. He didn't want to do hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, chin-ups, squats and whatever else exercise Guy-sensei threw at them in minutes like Lee could.

He wanted, no, he needed to become better. A better shinobi, a better sensory shinobi, Hell, a better Hyuuga. He didn't need physical strength. He didn't know what he needed but Guy-sensei's foolish generic speech would not help.

"No," Neji said while shaking his head. "You don't get it."

Guy took half a step back. Neji did not realize he had shouted and pushed Guy-sensei's hand off his shoulders. He did notice he had activated Byakugan and his entire body had gone tense. Neji tugged on the collar of his shirt and the zipper screeched as he forced it open.

Two of the three straps across the front of his shirt popped open as he tugged the left side of his shirt down to reveal the scar on his upper chest. Guy-sensei's eyebrows had gone up, his eyes went wide, and his mouth popped open but at the moment Neji did not care.

"I want, need, to become stronger! I'm not talking about physical strength! You know my style doesn't rely on that! I want, I need, how do I, I, I just can't die a failure!"

Neji's vision had gone blurry but he didn't pay much attention to it. He felt something trail down the right side of his cheek but disregarded the wetness as well. He stood in front of Guy-sensei, glaring up at him and panting, the left side of his shirt pulled down to expose half his chest and the scar.

Guy-sensei's eyes had become damp and Neji saw Guy-sensei's shoulders shaking. Neji gasped when a moment later he became encased in Guy-sensei's arms. Neji was so stunned the Byakugan de-activated and he stiffed, unsure of what to do.

The last person who had hugged him had been his father. People tried to hug him, especially his team when they first met him but he normally had enough time to side-step then glower at the person until they backed off. Some of his newly made friends (thanks to Naruto) had tried but he would move away and stare until they stepped back. No one in the Hyuuga clan attempted, ever.

For several seconds, Neji tried to get away but his body was too weak. Even at full strength, Neji would not have been able to break from Guy-sensei's embrace without seriously injuring the man. He knew this but still tried in vain to get away.

After a few more seconds of struggling, Neji began to realize something important, a few things actually.

The first concept was that Guy-sensei didn't want to let Neji go. Normally this would be a horrible thought but Neji knew Guy-sensei and knew how the man thought. Guy-sensei hugging something tightly meant he wanted to keep that something around for a while.

Neji felt wanted.

The second realization was the hug was not bad, to be perfectly honest. In fact, Neji found he liked it. Being held close to someone who cared about him meant someone had acknowledged him enough to help him.

Neji felt cared for.

The third insight was simple. Suddenly spiders were not so bad. Being trapped (in someone's arms at least) did not hurt. Kidomaru could not hurt him and even if the beast came back from the dead then Guy-sensei would be there to protect Neji if he needed it.

Neji felt safe.

Neji closed his eyes and buried his head into Guy-sensei's shoulder. His arms came up and wrapped around Guy-sensei's chest. Fingers dug into the vest Guy-sensei wore and Neji ignored the feel of the zipper of the vest pressing against him. Neji let the tears come but did not allow his breath to hitch.

Guy-sensei had started humming, some nameless tune, and kept Neji so close, Guy-sensei's fingers skated along Neji's sides. Neji clutched harder to Guy-sensei's vest and burrowed his face deeper into the crook of Guy-sensei's neck and shoulder. Guy-sensei did not seem to care Neji made Guy-sensei's vest all wet and would probably cover it in snot.

"You did not fail," Guy-sensei said. "You exceeded anyone's expectations by defeating an S-Rank criminal very few would have been able to beat and you needed no one's help to do it. Not only that but you did it after the man had figured out your blind spot. Never, ever think that you failed in that battle."

Guy-sensei had a good point. Still, Neji had almost died. Surely almost dying meant he had done something wrong.

"You fought to protect your comrades, to give them a chance to return a Konoha shinobi back to us, and to preserve their lives even if it cost your own. That is not the mark of someone who has failed. No, that is the mark of a great shinobi. No, a wonderful person."

Neji had never been called a wonderful person before. Intimidating, a jerk, bastard, slave to the Main House, but never a wonderful person. People had called him a great genin but a great shinobi? This implied he was much more than a genin in Guy-sensei's eyes.

"I will, no, I promise upon my very life I will help you become stronger in every sense of the word. No matter what life will bring to us I will make sure you reach your full potential and become the absolute best person you can be."

Person. Not just shinobi, no, a person. Not a tool to be used until it dulled and had to be replaced. No he would be a living, breathing, and complete person. Guy-sensei promised. On his life.

Neji nodded into Guy-sensei's shoulder but did not let him go. Guy-sensei chuckled softly, warmly, and kept holding him close. Neji, for once, did not mind the contact. In fact, Neji found he relished in the hug. It took him a few moments to remember when he had been younger he had loved being hugged.

"Thank you," Neji said.

He was not sure if Guy-sensei had heard him but smiled lightly when Guy-sensei nodded. Neji did not complain as the hug continued. His tears dried up but he still held on. It was warm in Guy-sensei's arms, comfortable, and safe.

Everything has to come to an end eventually and as such, Guy-sensei and Neji's hug finished. Neji pulled back reluctantly and Guy-sensei let him go. Neji did not go far so Guy-sensei took a moment to pull Neji's shirt back into place. Neji saw Guy-sensei catch a wince when Guy-sensei's eyes went to the scar but Neji said nothing.

Neji wiped his eyes with his hands and did not care how childish it had been for him to start crying. He didn't give a crap at how immature it might be to want a hug from his someone. Still...

"Can we not tell Lee and Tenten about this?" Neji questioned. "I mean, um, the us hugging thing."

Guy-sensei chuckled at him but nodded. Neji let out a breath of relief and stared up at his sensei. Guy-sensei had cried, Neji had not felt it, but the tear tracks were there. Guy-sensei had a huge grin on his face, showing his teeth, and for once Neji did not think the grin so annoying. Neji smiled.

He turned on his heel and strode away but stopped. Guy-sensei gave him the "Nice Guy" pose and Neji's lips lifted up into a real smile. He nodded to Guy-sensei and waved before walking towards the compound.

The smile would fade before Neji hit the outskirts of the training field but Guy would never forget it. In fact, Guy would make it his personal challenge to get Neji to smile more often. What Guy did not know was a week later Neji would stay until Tenten had left the field, simply standing in the middle of the training area with his white eyes tracking Guy's movements.

Eventually Guy would feel odd about being watched so intently and walk over to Neji. Guy would then grin since Neji would mutter a soft "finally" and wrap his arms around Guy to hug him. Guy would hug back as hard as he could and try not to cry with joy when Neji would sigh gently and return the bone-crushing embrace.

Kiss

"Why are we doing this again?" Neji asked.

He did not expect a logical answer, not within the company of Guy-sensei and Lee. Tenten sighed and shook her head.

"To strengthen the bonds of our team," Lee proclaimed.

"That is right, Lee! It is to help us burn brightly in our youth," Guy-sensei added loudly.

Neji sighed. He was all for strengthening the team bonds. Hell, he had voluntarily waited until after Lee and Tenten left the training field a few days ago so he and Guy-sensei could hug. Neji would never admit to wanting to be hugged by anyone, especially Guy-sensei, but the embrace felt good. It had since the first time a few days after he had left the hospital following the fight with Kidomaru.

Neji had no idea how playing such a childish game would help them become a better team, team bonding and hugging aside. Neji frowned and glanced to Tenten, the only other sane person in this unit.

She had a frown on her face, her shoulders had sagged forward, and her eyes were half closed. At least she was as annoyed and reluctant as he was. They had more in common than Neji had first thought.

"Fine, let's get this over with," Neji muttered.

"But Neji! That is not the proper attitude to have when participating in a team building training session," Lee said dramatically.

Neji had become certain long ago Lee could no longer cut the dramatics when it came to most anything. Spending months training so closely with Guy-sensei could do that to a person. He was thankful now he and Tenten had formed a pact of sorts that if one started acting too much like Guy-sensei or Lee, the other would smack them upside the head a few times.

"Seriously though, can we just do this?" Tenten questioned.

Guy-sensei laughed boisterously but nodded.

"I shall commence our bonding exercise! Lee! Truth or dare?"

Guy-sensei gasped spectacularly when Lee picked dare then congratulated Lee on being so brave. Guy-sensei dared Lee to do one hundred hand stand push ups. Neji saw Tenten roll her eyes. He refrained from smirking as Lee took the challenge.

"What if he fails?" Tenten asked.

Lee gaped at her in disbelief. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Tenten! How could you think that I, Konoha's Great Green—" Lee started.

"I mean," Tenten broke in. "What happens if anyone doesn't complete the dare? Normally there's some kind of punishment involved."

Lee wrote this down in his beat up note-book. Neji shook his head but kept from rolling his eyes. Besides, eye rolling with the Hyuuga eyes normally did not have the same effect. At least most people could not tell when a Hyuuga rolled their eyes.

"One hundred laps around Konoha," Guy-sensei began.

That wasn't so bad. Normally the standard number was five hundred. Guy-sensei was having mercy on them.

"In a pink tutu." Guy-sensei finished.

Neji would not pick dare or if forced to chose dare then he would do whatever silly thing his teammates made him do. No way in hell would he wear a pink tutu to do one hundred laps around Konoha.

Lee and Tenten agreed. Neji nodded. Lee did his hundred hand stand push ups and Neji watched in awe. After sixty, Neji winced. Hell, Neji's body had begun to hurt at the rapid rate Lee did the damned hand-stand push ups. Then again, they had all started doing the hand stand push ups a few weeks ago and Lee had made it to one hundred before. Even so, it was something Neji didn't like doing. Besides, he could only get fifty.

"Finished!"

Lee flipped onto his feet and gave a "Nice Guy" pose. Guy-sensei clapped, Tenten grinned, and Neji inclined his head in agreement. Neji raised an eyebrow when Lee pointed to him (dramatically as typical) and shouted:

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Neji said.

Lee thought about it. Lee did at least take the time to sit back in their circle as he considered. Neji waited, knowing nothing Lee could ask him would be too embarrassing to answer.

"What is your guilty pleasure?" Lee asked.

Neji opened his mouth and felt his eyes widen. He felt the heat come to his cheeks and closed his mouth, crossed his arms over his chest then glared at Lee. Lee balked and scooted backwards on the grass.

"Same punishment goes for refusal to answer a question," Tenten decided to mention.
She had a grin on her face. Neji huffed. His guilty pleasure, so something he was embarrassed about doing but enjoyed to do regardless. No way was he going to mention hugging. He did have that other...thing.

"I ah, like to sing in the shower, er deliberately. I have a portable music box in there and everything," Neji said.

Silence for a few seconds. Tenten burst out laughing. Lee held both hands over his mouth to stop from laughing. Guy-sensei grinned. Neji was not blushing (despite the heat through his entire face, over his ears, and down his neck) but would not sit there getting laughed at.

"Tenten, truth or dare?" Neji questioned.

She had to take a few minutes to catch her breath. Neji scowled when she had to go so far as to wipe tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. Even so she coughed and chuckled every now and again.

"Truth," Tenten said.

Neji grinned. Tenten gulped.

"List the physical features you look for in a person starting from most important to least important," Neji said.

Tenten's eyes went wide and she went red. Lee flushed but had a smile on his face. Guy-sensei laughed.

"Um, well, ah, their butt," Tenten started.

Neji coughed to stop from laughing. Lee didn't bother and Guy-sensei covered his face to hide how much he laughed.

"Then eyes, hair, and um, chest," Tenten went on.

Neji snorted in trying to hold back a chuckle. Guy-sensei and Lee were still going. Tenten had gone entirely red now.

"Then arms, legs, and hands," Tenten finished.

Neji inclined his head and failed in wiping the smile off his face.

"Guy-sensei, truth or dare?" Tenten asked.

"Dare, of course," Guy-sensei said.

Tenten rolled her eyes. She hummed and considered. An evil grin came over her face and Neji wanted to laugh. He didn't because, well, there was still Hyuuga decorum to consider, middle of a training field no one came to or not.

Tenten went to the box Guy-sensei had brought with him and started cackling madly. She came up with a pink tutu, a pink feathered boa, and a pink (fake) flower crown.

"Put all these on and break dance for us for two minutes," Tenten said.

"Gladly," Guy-sensei shouted.

Neji watched in awe as Guy-sensei donned the tutu, the boa, and the flower crown then began dancing. Lee cheered Guy-sensei on as Tenten laughed. Neji tried desperately not to laugh but couldn't help it. At least he wasn't rolling on the ground like Tenten.

Guy-sensei's two minutes of dance time came to an end so he got rid of his pink gear and sat in their circle again. Neji jolted when Guy-sensei pointed to him.

"Neji, truth or dare?" Guy-sensei questioned.

"Truth," Neji replied.

Guy-sensei grinned. Neji had a feeling he would not enjoy where this would go.

"If you and one other person in the entire village were the last people alive in the world, who would you want that person to be and why?"

Neji did not have to think long on this question.

"Tenten," Neji said.

He noticed she went red in the face. Lee gaped. Guy-sensei grinned.

"As for why, well, she is always armed, does not annoy me, and can handle any situation thrown at her well," Neji said.

This made Tenten gape and go even redder. Neji did not think it possible for a person to be so red in the face. Guy-sensei kept smiling in a sort of knowing way. Lee fell onto his back, apparently stunned. Neji had no idea what was so wrong with his answer. Choosing Tenten made perfect sense.

"Hn. Lee, truth or dare?" Neji asked.

"Dare," Lee replied.

Neji smirked.

"Allow me to draw on your face in marker," Neji said.

Tenten fell over laughing. Guy-sensei gave him a thumb up and Lee, Lee nodded. Neji went rifling through Guy-sensei's box of fun and found a pack of markers. Neji sat in front of Lee who proudly sat perfectly still as Neji uncapped a black marker. He connected Lee's eyebrows first then drew a moustache complete with end curls on Lee's upper lip.

Tenten and Guy-sensei had come to stand behind him and Tenten kept snorting as she giggled. Guy-sensei had put a hand on Neji's shoulder as Neji drew yellow and orange stars on Lee's cheeks. He colored Lee's eyelids bright pink all the way up to his eyebrows. Neji sat back a bit to admire his handy-work then coughed to hide a chuckle.

"Done," Neji said.

"That's awesome," Tenten told him.

Guy-sensei nodded in agreement. Lee grinned and gave Neji a thumb up. Neji put the markers away and watched as Tenten gave Lee a mirror. Lee fell over laughing.

"Wonderful job, Neji," Lee said.

Neji gave a slight bow before returning to his spot. Lee kept smiling and Neji wanted so badly to take a picture.

"Tenten, truth or dare?" Lee asked.

"Truth," Tenten got out between giggles.

"What talent do you have that's embarrassing to share?" Lee questioned.

Tenten stopped laughing too quickly and hiccupped. She went red again and Neji wanted to thank Lee for asking Tenten an embarrassing question. He kept his mouth shut.

"Um, well, I'm stupidly good at sewing and really love doing it," Tenten said.

Neji blinked at her. He couldn't picture Tenten sewing for some reason despite her talent with sharp pointy objects. Lee nodded sagely and Guy-sensei hummed.

"That is not something to be embarrassed about," Guy-sensei said.

Tenten waved her hands around.

"But it's me. You know, the girl who doesn't wear make-up or go shopping, who hated flower arranging and gets more excited over a new weapon than anyone has any right to be? Sewing is a girly talent and I'm the complete opposite of girly," Tenten said.

Guy-sensei stared in awe.

"She does have a point," Neji said.

Guy-sensei hummed then nodded, allowing this it seemed. Tenten let out a breath of air then grinned.

"I guess I get you again Guy-sensei, truth or dare?"

"Dare,"

Neji smirked. Tenten got to style Guy-sensei's hair so she put it into bows, bright pink ones. Neji snickered at the effect but Guy-sensei seemed perfectly content to sit with his bows on.

"Hm, Neji, truth or dare? I should mention you can only say truth three times in a row before being forced to choose dare. If you do not pick dare after three truths then you must do the punishment," Guy-sensei said.

Well hell. Neji thought for a moment. He could save a lot of embarrassment by requesting truth three times then being forced to take a dare. Yeah, it was a good plan.

"Truth," Neji said.

"Next time it's dare," Tenten told him.

"Fine," Neji muttered.

"Neji, what are you most self-conscious about?" Guy-sensei asked.

Now Neji saw why this game made their team bonds stronger. It was about trusting the other members not to say a word and allowing them to see you do embarrassing things. Huh. Guy-sensei was smarter than anyone gave him credit for. It did help Guy-sensei had said no secrets would leave the training field.

"My eyes," Neji said.

All three looked at him in confusion. Neji frowned and looked towards the grass in front of him, refusing to believe he was blushing.

"The color I mean. Even shinobi can hardly stand looking into my eyes for longer than a few moments, never mind a civilian. Sometimes it's great to be instantly intimidating but other times, well, it makes me feel like a horrible person. I don't think any of you have ever had a young child meet your eyes then start crying because you have "dead monster eyes." Anyway," Neji said.

He picked at the grass in front of him but didn't look to see what his teammates were doing. He jolted when he felt a hand on each of his shoulders and looked up. Guy-sensei had put a hand on his left shoulder, Tenten on the right, and Lee settled for touching Neji's right knee.

"I think you have pretty eyes," Tenten said.

"Like moons," Lee added.

"Or clouds," Guy-sensei said.

Neji blinked to stop tears and offered them a smile. They grinned in return. Neji wanted them to hug him but knew they wouldn't. Maybe after all this Guy-sensei could later.

"Tenten, truth or dare?" Neji asked.

"Dare," Tenten said.

Neji raised an eyebrow at her then smirked. He stood and went to the box. He found exactly what he was looking for but hid it behind his back when he turned. Tenten's eyes had gone wide and she was fiddling with a kunai, a nervous habit. Neji showed her the object in his hands and she gaped.

"No," Tenten moaned.

"Wear this dress for the rest of the game," Neji said.

It so happened the dress he had selected was pink, knee length, with no sleeves, a decent collar, and accented with white bows and lace. Tenten groaned but nodded. Now Neji knew why Guy-sensei had set up a tent.

Tenten got into the tent and muttered about putting on a "stupid dress" and "getting Neji back for this." Neji chuckled but said nothing. Finally Tenten came out. Neji decided to Hell with Hyuuga decorum and fell over laughing.

"I'll get you back, you wait," Tenten said.

She dared Lee to cluck like a chicken and do a chicken dance for five minutes. Lee dared Guy-sensei to sing for them. Neji found it odd Guy-sensei had a good voice but decided it better not to question it.

Guy-sensei chose Tenten and Neji gulped. He had to choose dare next and Tenten would be the one to dare him to do something. Damn it.

Tenten chose truth. Guy-sensei asked to list the top three things she feared. Tenten flushed but nodded.

"Um, failure is definitely number one," Tenten said.

Neji could relate to this fear. Lee and Guy-sensei nodded.

"Being alone," Tenten said.

Neji blinked. He could connect to this as well. Lee sniffled and Guy-sensei hummed in agreement. Tenten scratched the back of her neck and blushed. Neji tried not to think about how cute the dress made her look when she turned red like that.

"And um, losing you guys," Tenten said.

Lee and Guy-sensei shouted her name and hugged her. Neji smirked then yelped when Guy-sensei pulled him into the hug. Neji would never admit (unless someone asked during this game of course) he was happy to be pulled into the hug and took it with a little smirk.

They pulled back (too soon for Neji) and settled. Neji met Tenten's eyes and she grinned. Oh Hell.

Tenten pointed at him and Neji sighed before nodding. Tenten giggled manically and went to the box. She didn't bother to hide the items she brought out and Neji wanted to run or refuse. If he did refuse it was a hundred laps around Konoha in a pink tutu. Damn it.

"I dare you to put this on for the rest of the game then give Lee and Guy-sensei a kiss on the cheek," Tenten said.

Neji felt his entire face heat. He huffed but got to his feet. Tenten grinned as he took the items from her and went into the tent. Neji tossed the clothing onto the floor of the tent, took off his sandals then his clothes.

Pulling on the green spandex body suit was easy but getting it done up all the way to the back of his neck tested his flexibility. Neji tugged on the orange leg warmers and his sandals. He refrained from pouting (failing miserably though the others would not mention it) and stepped back out of the tent with his clothes in one hand.

Tenten laughed at him. Guy-sensei and Lee gave him a "Nice Guy" pose. Neji rolled his eyes and tossed his clothing onto his bag. Neji went to Guy-sensei first who bent with a smirk so Neji could kiss his cheek. Neji planted a quick peck onto Guy-sensei's right cheek then stared at Lee who had become serious.

Neji sighed and stood in front of Lee, bending forward to kiss Lee's cheek. He had almost got his target when Lee turned his head and Neji's lips ended up on Lee's. Neji was so stunned (as was Lee it seemed) he didn't move. Tenten gaped. Guy-sensei fell over.

Neji pulled away from Lee and shoved him hard in the chest, paying no attention to the heat on his cheeks or the fact Lee had started blushing as well. Neji pointed to Lee (Tenten would later think of how creepy it had been for Neji to copy Guy-sensei and Lee in the dramatics) and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Why the Hell did you move?" Neji asked.

He didn't care he was shouting or his voice had cracked. Lee gaped up at him, mimicking a fish out of water while Tenten stood by with her hands over her mouth and her cheeks red. Guy-sensei had managed to sit up but was pointing between Neji and Lee with a shocked look on his face.

"Your hair tickled my nose so I moved my face so I wouldn't sneeze and head butt you," Lee said.

He yelled it and pointed back at Neji. Neji blinked but didn't lower his arm. Instead he stomped a foot and kept pointing at Lee.

"I would've preferred the head butt to a damned kiss!"

"I didn't know you would have preferred a head butt!"

"I didn't want my first kiss to be you!"

Neji stopped shouting. He had said too much. Damn the green spandex. It had all ready started to affect his brain.

"So, who did you want your first kiss to be?" Tenten questioned.

Neji whirled on her and saw (happily) she had regretted speaking.

"You don't get to ask that," Neji said (screamed but he would never admit it).

Silence. Guy-sensei coughed. Neji groaned when Guy-sensei said a single word:

"Yet."

Kill

Neji did not sign up to be a shinobi, not in the traditional sense. People born outside of a predominate clan and without a kekkei genkai, that is the civilians, chose whether or not they took the entrance exam to the Academy or if they went to regular school.

Most people chose the Academy because the pay for a shinobi, especially jonin level was huge. There was also the fact most kids hated taking math, grammar studies, history lessons, sciences, boring physical education classes, and other odds and ends. One or two years of this in regular school drove seven year olds to try out to be a shinobi.

Shinobi didn't worry about advanced math or grammar studies. The history lessons were more exciting as were the sciences and physical education became emphasized. They didn't have to learn how to cook or sew (in the traditional sense) but they did learn how to survive in the wild with little.

Plus, hey, fighting for a living sounded like a lot of fun.

What these children did not take into account was the fact being a shinobi was not all fun and games. You would have to run for miles every day going on a mission. You would be guaranteed to see blood, guts, and gore. You would have to take a person's life. You would be giving up your life for the overall good of the village if told to do so.

You were a tool to be used until dulled and discarded. Your life only mattered as long as you were useful. Most people in the class you graduated with would either become names on the Memorial Stone or drop out within a year because the training with a jonin in charge was too tough.

What children did not realize was that to make it to jonin and the highest pay in the Village they had to sacrifice their body, their emotions, and their minds. The best jonin had odd quirks about them: Might Guy with his green spandex jumpsuit and talks of youth, Hatake Kakashi reading erotic novels in public, Morino Ibiki with his odd seriousness and fascination with blood, Mitarashi Anko, well there was too much weirdness about her, and even Shiranui Genma with his habit of chewing on sharp senbon.

Sarutobi Asuma smoked. Yuhi Kurenai seemed to be the most normal out of all the jonin but no one knew her well enough to find out her oddness. The fact she was female and a jonin was odd enough as most women did not make it to her level.

Regardless, every year there would be hundreds of children taking the entrance exam for the Academy, some for the second, third, or even fourth time. Others, like Hyuuga Neji, would take it for the first time but it would be expected, no, demanded he pass.

He had been able to activate his family's kekkei genkai and thus his fate had been sealed. He did not get to decide what he wanted to do in life. No, he would become a shinobi and serve the Main House.

He had been six when he took the exam. He walked into the classroom and recognized no other predominate family. Instantly he hated every child there because it had been their choice whether or not they wanted to become shinobi. He took a seat in the front corner of the room. The child he sat beside tried to introduce himself but Neji narrowed his white eyes and the child promptly fainted.

Neji passed as expected lest the Hyuuga Elders activate his curse seal as a punishment.

That fall he walked into Konoha's Shinobi Academy with fifty-nine other hopeful children and potential shinobi. After four years, half of the students dropped out for one reason or another, bringing their numbers down to thirty.

Neji graduated at twelve, the top of his class of thirty and was partnered with the dead last Rock Lee and Tenten. Their jonin in charge was Might Guy, Konoha's Green Beast.

Neji hated Lee for being so weak. He disliked Tenten at first until she yelled at him for being so mean to Lee. Since most girls giggled at him and did whatever he asked if he so choose, having this girl screaming and hitting him was odd. It didn't help her hair reminded him of a panda. He liked pandas.

Neji didn't like Guy-sensei either but respected the man because he pushed them hard. He didn't mind being forced to do the insane training regime simply because it would make him stronger. He wanted to be powerful, more powerful than the Main House.

If he could not control his fate in becoming a shinobi then he would at least control how good of a shinobi he was. This would be the single aspect he could control, in his mind.

Time went on as he trained with his new team. Four months after being assigned to Team Guy he went on his first C-Rank mission. It was supposed to have been easy: protect an old merchant on his way back home. It had not been easy.

On their way to the Hidden Stone Village where the merchant lived they were attacked by enemy shinobi. Neji had not become used to keeping his Byakugan activated for six or more hours a day thus did not have it activated in the moments before the assault and would later come to train his eyes to take constant strain from the Byakugan.

As it was, four enemies attacked. Neji, being the fastest besides Guy-sensei at the time, was told to grab their client and run for it. Neji did as instructed, activating his Byakugan as he pulled their client into a piggy-back position and took off.

He ignored the client screaming in his ear as Neji took to the trees. Neji disregarded the wet spot forming on his lower back from the client urinating in fear. Neji simply ran. He scowled when he spotted one of the enemy shinobi get away from Guy-sensei and give chase.

Tenten and Lee were having a tough time holding off their shinobi. Neji knew Guy-sensei would stay behind to make sure both were safe before bringing both to find Neji. There were no doubts in anyone's mind Neji was the most powerful of the three. It was the reason Neji had been told to retreat after all.

"Ohgodohgodohgod,"

The client's prayers were muttered into a jumble Neji did not bother to decipher. He had more important things to worry about, like the jonin level shinobi coming after him from forty meters away. The enemy was closing, fast, and Neji had a feeling he could not outrun the man. He would have to stand and fight, once he got the client to hide somewhere.

Neji spotted what he wanted. He leaped on top of the outcropping of rocks then stepped off behind them. The client kissed the ground when Neji dropped him. Neji inwardly snorted but squatted in front of the client. He had to force the man's head up.

The man's eyes went wide upon seeing Neji's Byakugan activated but for now, Neji paid no attention to the man's trembling form. Neji let out a breath.

"Stay here and do not make a noise. I will take care of the enemy coming after us then come back for you. When I return I will use the words Green Beast so you know it is me," Neji said.

"Green Beast," the client murmured.

Neji nodded and leaped over the rocks, standing in the middle of the small clearing as the enemy shinobi came closer. Neji could not see how the rest of his team faired but did not fear the fact they might be dead. Neji had confidence in Guy-sensei to protect Lee and Tenten as well as destroy the other three shinobi. The man might be too loud, wear a skin tight green body suit, and have awful hair but he was an excellent shinobi.

The enemy landed with a kunai in a position to throw but Neji did not give the man a chance to properly aim. Neji darted in, hands glowing blue with chakra and muttered his attack under his breath:

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms,"

Technically, no Branch House Hyuuga should know this technique. But Neji had watched Hiashi-sama training Hinata-sama and other Main House members. He had perfected the techniques with Lee, Tenten, and Guy-sensei and made them his own.

"Two strikes,"

Two tenketsu points closed on the enemy's chest: both upper chest under his shoulder blades which deadened the charka paths to the man's pectorals. The enemy winced.

"Four strikes,"

Biceps in both arms, two in each so all the paths in the upper arm were closed off.

"Eight strikes,"

Two to each forearm so the man could not manipulate charka or use any jutsu. Two hits to each upper leg which closed off the upper half of the enemy's thigh.

"Sixteen strikes,"

Two more hits to each upper thigh to close it off completely. Four to each lower leg which closed off all the chakra paths in the enemy's legs to he could not redirect his chakra to run off. Two extra hits to each leg to be doubly sure no chakra could leak through.

"Thirty-two strikes,"

A flurry of movement no normal eye would be able to follow. The enemy certainly felt each hit to his chest, stomach, hips, and arms. The technique wasn't over.

"Sixty-four strikes,"

The enemy coughed up blood but Neji did not notice. He saw inverted black and white now so thought the liquid coming out of the man's lips was spit. Neji sealed off the chakra paths in the man's entire body, correctly hitting each tenketsu with pin-point accuracy most of the Main House members could not do, except the older ones.

Neji smirked at the fact he was better than his cousins of the same age or six years older at techniques he should not know. He took pride in shutting off the enemy's entire chakra network in less than a minute. He stood perfectly still as the man fell to his back with a thud, arms spread in an awkward position and legs straight out.

Neji blinked and frowned. It made sense there was no chakra flowing through the enemy's body since he had finished blocking it all. For several seconds, Neji looked at the fallen enemy and could not determine why he felt so, odd.

When he realized the enemy had stopped breathing his eyes widened and his lips parted. Color came back to his vision and he could no longer see the client hiding behind the rock. Neji went to his knees.

The liquid he had thought was spit had been blood. It coated the enemy's lips, his chin, his chest, and Neji felt it on his face. Neji lifted a hand, noticed the trembling but ignored it, and wiped at some of the dampness on his cheek.

His fingers came away bloody.

Neji knew in theory he should be taking deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart from the adrenaline rush. Knowing and trying to control his high-pitched panicked breaths were two entirely different concepts. Neji stared at the blood on his hands, eyes wide, chest heaving, and heart trying to beat right out of his chest.

Everything else around him: the trees, the corpse, the rocks the client hid behind, and even the grass on his knees became mote. All Neji could focus on was the sight of his fingertips covered in the blood of the man he had killed.

He could no longer smell the freshness of the grass and trees, the earthy scent he loved. All he smelled was the blood on his fingers, on his face, and covering the man he had killed.

He did not feel the cool breeze or the tickle of grass on his bare left knee. All he could feel was the warm blood on his hands, cooling rapidly, from the man he had killed.

He could not hear the birds he liked to watch or the high pitched keening sound coming from his throat. All he heard was the ringing in his ears. He had killed a man.

Another shinobi, yes, and one who had meant to kill him as well as make him fail his first C-Rank mission but a person nonetheless. A person who had hopes, dreams, friends, family, loyalty to a village and who had been doing his job, his selected job as Neji had been doing his. He had taken the potential life of a person, a shinobi like him, in less than a minute.

Worse, he had been practicing this technique on Lee and Tenten. Sure he had not used chakra during training but if he had...

NO.

He would not think of that. He had not used charka and would never use his chakra in training, not the way he had today. Not against his teammates and sensei.

So focused Neji was on his emotions, he did not realize he had started crying. Not sobbing uncontrollably, but there were tears leaking out of his eyes, through the spatters of blood on his face, and falling off his chin to land in the grass at his knees. He had not noticed his shoulders, arms, and hands had started trembling or his skin had gone paler than normal. He had no recollection of the sweat gathered under his hitai-ate, under his arms, at the back of his neck or at his lower back.

Neji did not even perceive Guy-sensei approaching first then stopping with a gasp. He didn't detect Guy-sensei turn then tell Tenten and Lee (with two captured enemies) to step back five yards and stay there until Guy-sensei told them it was safe.

Neji did not hear Guy-sensei come into the clearing and did not sense Guy-sensei sit beside him. Neji jolted when Guy-sensei put a hand on Neji's left shoulder. Neji gaped and blinked, staring at Guy-sensei in shock. Guy-sensei offered him a small smile and Neji kept staring.

"The client?" Guy-sensei asked.

Client, what, yes. Neji was on a mission, his first C-Ranked mission with his team, and had been told to retreat with the client. Neji smelled the grass and dirt under his knees and felt the cool breeze of the air. He inhaled, deeply, and let it out slowly.

"He's behind the rocks over there. I told him to trust no one except me going over and saying Green Beast," Neji said.

Guy-sensei chuckled at him but nodded. Neji blinked a few more times and took another deep breath. The trembling in his body stopped and his heart began to slow down. Guy-sensei did not let go of Neji's shoulder but did use his free hand to grab a handkerchief out of his supply bag.

Neji stayed still as Guy-sensei wiped the blood off Neji's face, the hand resting on Neji's shoulder shifting to lightly hold Neji's chin. His other hand, the left, softly wiped off the blood spatters on Neji's face. This task done, Guy-sensei took Neji's right hand in his and wiped off Neji's fingers. Guy-sensei moved onto Neji's left hand.

Neji watched with his eyes in a relaxed position, lids raised slightly more than a normal person's, and his mouth set in a neutral frown. Guy-sensei finished wiping the blood off Neji's skin and tossed the handkerchief behind his back. Neji kept quiet as Guy-sensei unraveled the bandages around Neji's right arm and replaced them with a new set.

Just like that, the evidence Neji had killed a man had been cleared away. Neji blinked at his clean hands, staring at them a bit too intently likely. This was proven true when Guy-sensei placed a hand under Neji's chin and lifted Neji's head so their eyes could meet.

"You kept yourself and the client alive," Guy-sensei said.

Neji stared, unblinking. Guy-sensei did not flinch. Neji bit his tongue to feel the little jab of pain so he knew this wasn't a dream. Someone wasn't backing off after meeting his eyes so closely.

"We will successfully complete the mission because of you," Guy-sensei said.

"But, I, he's dead. I killed him," Neji said.

Guy-sensei nodded.

"And I killed one trying to jam a kunai into Lee's throat. I kicked the enemy through a tree," Guy-sensei said.

Neji blinked. Guy-sensei gave him a small smile.

"Of the other two: Tenten knocked one out with her Bo while I broke the other's back with another kick. They are tied up and ready to be brought back to Konoha for questioning under Morino Ibiki who will make them bleed and smile as he does it," Guy-sensei said.

Neji opened his mouth but closed it without saying a word. He kept his eyes on Guy-sensei's but said nothing. Finally Guy-sensei took both of Neji's shoulders in his hands and held tight. Neji nodded to him and Guy-sensei pulled him in a brief embrace before helping Neji to his feet. Neji huffed and brushed off his shirt and legs.

"Go get the client and make sure he is safe before bringing him around the rocks. I will clean up," Guy-sensei said.

Neji inclined his head in agreement before jumping onto the rocks and letting himself down beside the trembling client.

"Green Beast," Neji said.

The client let out a strangled sob and hugged Neji around the waist, head in Neji's chest and tears rolling down his face. Neji said nothing but allowed the hug to happen. Finally the client calmed down enough so Neji could lead the man around the rocks.

Guy-sensei stood in the middle of the clearing with Tenten, Lee, and two bound shinobi. The corpse, blood, Neji's blood spattered bandages, and Guy-sensei's blood soaked handkerchief were gone. It was as if Neji had not killed. Neji decided not to ask Guy-sensei about this.

They made sure everyone was okay and secure before walking towards the path they had been forced to abandon. The client hugged Neji again when they dropped the man off at his home. Neji huffed but did not raise his arms to return the hug. The client didn't mind and gave Neji a small wooden carving of a bird. Neji bowed and thanked the client before walking off with his team, back home.

They arrived in Konoha a few days later and Neji sat with Lee and Tenten in the training field to learn about writing up a more complex mission report. He would have finished his before the other two but he got to the part about the enemy shinobi attacking him with a kunai raised and stopped.

For the next two hours he simply stared at his paper. Guy-sensei dismissed Tenten and Lee at the regular time then sat beside Neji as the duo took off. Neji jolted when Guy-sensei put a hand on Neji's shoulder.

Guy-sensei gave him a smile and Neji inclined his head. Neji wrote he killed the enemy (he did not specify how) and finished his report with Guy-sensei sitting beside him, one hand on Neji's shoulder.

When Neji finished, they left the field together. Neji allowed Guy-sensei to ruffle his hair then strode off towards the compound. Neji stopped once, to look back and smiled when he saw Guy-sensei looking right back at him, standing in a "Nice Guy" pose. Neji gave Guy-sensei a short wave and turned away.

Guy-sensei would always be there for him and Neji did not know how to deal with it yet. In time he would learn how to handle it and would come to welcome the thought of his team being with him no matter what. But, on the evening after completing the mission report with his first kill, he walked back to the compound with slightly lighter steps.

He said nothing to anyone who asked (not many did) and went into his room to use his personal bath. Before he stripped he paused at his night stand. Neji touched the little wooden carving of the bird and smiled softly. He had completed his first C-Rank mission and it had been a success.

Time

Konoha had been completely obliterated and Hinata-sama injured to protect Naruto. Many people lost their lives, everyone lost their homes, and all they had was the mountain overlooking a giant crater in the earth with five carvings of the five Hokage.

Neji closed his eyes and leaned against the tree he stood in front of. He had been on an away mission with Tenten, Lee, and Guy-sensei thus had not been able to help in the fight with Pain. They had been informed by Gamabunta and had returned to see the destruction.

People had died but been returned to life thanks to Naruto. Even so, there was nothing left of Konoha. Every memory had been buried and obliterated. Every memento destroyed. Every scrap of paper about the history of the village or photos of family had been erased or laid under piles of dirt and rubble.

Neji had been helping dig up what was left around the Hyuuga Compound, using the Byakugan to aid in the process when he spotted the box he kept on his night side table. The contents of the box had been scattered in the dirt and most of them were ruined now.

The little wooden bird he kept from their first successful C-Rank mission, a photograph of his father, his father's old hitai-ate, a feather Tenten had given him, his mother's bracelet, little notes about important times in his life: all of it covered in dirt and ruined.

Neji had run off, not caring people called after him. It had been strange not to be able to take to the rooftops to move quicker but even so he had made it to the outskirts of the destruction. The training fields and forests had survived the devastation and Neji found it ironic.

He had taken to the trees when they were close enough but no one had pursued him for at least two miles now. Besides, the only people who could catch him at top speed were Lee, Guy-sensei, and Tenten.

Neji had stopped in a clearing near his team's regular training fields and here he still stood, eyes closed, Byakugan de-activated, and leaning against a massive tree which surrounded the village. He was trying not to cry and somewhat failing. His hands were clenched in fists and trembled at his sides.

So much damage and for what?

So one man could "reform" the Shinobi World? So Uchiha could avenge the death of the clan? So one person could hold all the power?

Pathetic.

It had been a waste. People had died for nothing. The entire village had been annihilated for nothing. Memories, buildings, bonds: all gone, buried under tons of dirt or outright gone. Forever. Nothing could bring it all back.

Sure they could rebuild but it would never be the same. It would be years before the village resembled its past glory. Years before grass and flowers would re-grow in the parks and fields. Even after years some memories would not be able to come back.

Photos which had been destroyed were lost for good. Scrolls, books, files upon files about friendly and missing shinobi were gone. They had to start from scratch as if the Village Hidden in the Leaves had never existed.

Neji let out a long breath and shook his head. The sound of a weapon hitting bark near his ear made him open his eyes and lift his head. Neji wished he could smile but his heart hurt too much.

Tenten stood at the edge of the clearing, hands in fists on her hips, and a little frown on her face. Her entire outfit: loose red pants and white shirt with red lining, was covered in dirt. She had a few streaks of dirt across her face and there were leaves stuck in her hair.

She had thrown the kunai by Neji's right ear, deliberately missing of course, and gotten the attention she wanted. Trust Tenten to thrust a sharp object at him to make him pay attention to her. He should expect this as it was one of the reasons he loved her.

"Neji,"

"Tenten,"

He said nothing more as she let out a little breath and strode forward. She came to stand six inches from him and stared up into his eyes. Neji instantly lowered his lids a little bit so his eyes were not as intimidating looking. She said nothing about this instinct of his. Tenten tilted her head to a side and put her fists back on her hips.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Reflecting,"

Neji blinked when she nodded once. She blew bangs out of her eyes and lowered her hands. Neji did not move when she reached out and took his hands in hers. She squeezed gently and he returned the motion, keeping her gaze as he did.

He had said one word and she understood his pain. They did not have to speak much, if at all. Their body language allowed the other to know what was wrong. This was another reason he loved her.

"It's okay," Tenten said.

He nodded. She smiled softly then got up on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly, closed mouth, on the lips. Neji let his eyes fall shut. He allowed his hands to let go of hers so his arms could wrap around her petite waist and draw her close to him.

She said nothing when he hugged her close to his body, hands clenching at the fabric of her shirt to keep her in place. Her hands had come up to surround his body as well and her fingers tangled in his hair and shirt. Neji hummed into the kiss then opened his mouth.

Tenten did not protest when he prodded against her closed mouth for entrance. She opened to him, nibbling on his lower lip and Neji clutched her a bit harder. The battle for dominance did not last long and Neji took over the kiss, rolling his tongue in her mouth and making her push hard against him.

He moved his hands up and down her back and she gasped before thrusting against him. Neji half opened his eyes to look at her with this development. Her eyes were closed, cheeks flushed, and lips parted as she shoved into his hips again. Neji barely held back his grunt when she pressed against him again.

Neji let his hands wander across her back and to her hips. She kept driving against him as he moved his hands up her sides and towards her breasts. Tenten gasped when he ran his hands along the side swell of her breasts but her pushing against him meant she would not complain about his hands.

The thought was sealed when she moved her hands: one grabbing his right shoulder and the other cupping his left butt cheek. Neji almost started chuckling but she kissed him hard. Neji shut his eyes again and groaned into the kiss.

He thrust his hips into her when she started rubbing her hands against his flesh. The shoulder massage felt nice but the hand on his ass, damn it, the motion made him warm enough to want to pull off his clothes. Their hips kept meeting again and again.

Neji pushed his hands under her shirt and she moaned low in her throat as his right hand cupped her breast over her bra and his left went to her back to try and get the bra off. He had an issue with it and she giggled at him when he had to stop massaging her breast so both hands could work her bra off.

Finally he got the clasps apart and smirked in victory. Tenten kept giggling but stopped with a sharp inhale when Neji's hands went back to her front under her bra and began stroking her breasts.

Tenten was not one to back off from a challenge. Neji had given her a sort of challenge considering the furthest they had gotten before this had been clothed humping and over the clothes touching. Neji almost fell over when her hands dove under his robes, under his boxers, and cupped his ass. He managed not to fall but did let out a strangled gasp.

Tenten smirked at him and he chuckled before capturing her lips in his. She pushed him harder against the tree but he allowed it. Neji did get a knee between her legs and spread her legs. She groaned and clenched her hands firmly on his ass when he rubbed his knee against her groin. Her knee ended up against his groin without causing him pain and she returned the favor.

Neji gasped, not caring he had jolted and squeezed her breasts in his hands. Tenten snorted at him but kissed his neck, nibbling at his throat before pushing herself up so she could bite his earlobe. Neji ran his thumbs over her nipples which made her shiver against him. She gave him a solid bite when he began rubbing his knee against her again.

"Ow," Neji muttered.

"Sorry, sorry, you okay?"

"Hn,"

He smiled when she kissed the spot of pain she had left under his ear. He trembled when she pushed her body against him, rubbing her knee into his groin in a welcome way and squeezing his ass between her hands.

Neji lost himself in the feel of her flesh under his hands and wanted to feel more. He pulled his hands out from under her shirt and bra, much to her complaint. She stopped complaining when he made short work of the clasps on her shirt and tossed tugged the now offending material off her shoulders. He tossed her shirt away then ran his hands up and down her sides while she shuddered in his arms, panting and licking her lips.

Her hands left his ass and undid the button over his right shoulder. Neji helped her in her mission to get rid of his shirt and smiled when she threw it over her shoulder. Neji pursed his lips before hooking his fingers through the straps of her bra. She smiled and gave him a single nod.

Neji gulped as he lowered the straps and the bra fell into his hands. He let it drop, unconcerned of where it fell as he took in her nude chest for the first time. Her breasts were not overly large, a proper handful, with rosy colored and pert nipples. She held onto his hips while Neji studied her.

His eyes went to her face to see she had gone red. Upon further investigation, her blush extended past her cheeks, over her neck, and to the tops of her lovely bosom. Neji bent slightly and took her right nipple into his mouth. She gasped and squeezed his hips in her hands with more force than she likely intended.

Neji did not mind. He was too busy tasting her flesh, rolling his tongue over her nipple and enjoying the way it wrinkled under his ministrations. He nuzzled against her breast and she rewarded him by twining a hand in his hair and massaging his scalp.

Neji groaned and lowered his hands to her hips, pushing her pants down. She helped by undoing the ties which held her pants up. It took some careful navigating to get her pants off without separating Neji's mouth from her nipple but they managed.

Neji felt them falling but caught himself before his larger, heavier body crushed her. She giggled at the fall and Neji hummed at her, shifting so he could relieve her of her sandals. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed his dark gray outer robe being tossed aside. Her hands had moved to the tie on the front of his pants but Neji did not mind.

He removed his sandals as well and went back to her breasts, one hand cupping her breast, thumb flitting over her nipple while he went back to sucking on her other nipple, his right hand shoving under her panties at her hip.

He shifted when she began tugging down the waist of his pants and again they had to pause so his pants could join the mess of their clothes. Tenten pulled his hips back into hers by his boxer shorts and Neji chuckled. Apparently the vibrations of his mouth against her chest felt good because Neji was flipped onto his back in the grass before he realized.

He blinked when she pulled out of his grip, grabbed his boxers in both hands, and yanked his boxers off in one fluid motion. They landed somewhere but he was not concerned about where at the moment. He had other worries.

He was naked in front of Tenten.

Completely naked for that matter with nothing but his hitai-ate to cover him. He loved her and yes, had always wanted to be with her in every sense of the word but he had not expected it to happen like this. Neji didn't move or try to cover up as Tenten's eyes raked over his body from chest to waist. She paused at waist.

Her lips parted and her eyes went wide. Her cheeks went pinker, the blush deepening all the way down to her breasts again and she kept staring. Neji felt heat come to his cheeks. He knew Tenten hadn't been with another male but she had seen the male anatomy. Neji didn't know if he was larger or smaller than the ones Tenten had seen and wanted to ask.

He opened his mouth but all that came out was a strangled yelp as she grabbed his penis in her right hand. He gasped when she gripped it wonderfully and instinctually thrust his hips up towards her...

"Hey, it's real!"

Tenten had a grin on her face after this proclamation. Neji stared at her for several seconds, processing the statement. Nothing he came up with made sense and it was especially difficult to think as all of the blood in his body had been redirected to his dick which Tenten was simply holding.

"What?" Neji asked.

Tenten flushed all the way to her nipples. She didn't let go of him and sat back so she could straddle his legs. Neji raised himself up and rested on his elbows to stay upright as Tenten kept blushing and holding him with one hand. Her other hand had gone to her mouth as if she was as shocked about saying the words...or didn't want to tell him what she meant.

"Tenten, what do you mean it's real?"

Tenten lowered her hand from her mouth and placed it softly on his navel, palm and fingers resting on his flesh from the line of his pubic hairs to his belly button. He shivered a bit but did not drop his gaze from hers. Finally she groaned and started talking:

"You know I've had this crush on you since the Academy, right? Well, for the entire time I kind of thought you were a girl, you know? Like, you had been born in a female body but identified as male, okay? I kind of assumed when we did this for the first time I'd be greeted with a vagina instead of a penis and it's kind of um, surprising? Yeah, surprising. I'm not bad surprised since I like guys and girls, but um, yeah."

Out of everything Neji had been expecting her to say, this was not something in his mind. He stared at her, trying not to laugh as she went on to explain wanting to be sensitive to his issues thus not asking the other guys about Neji's parts when he went bathing with them.

"Tenten," Neji said.

She stopped talking mid-sentence and bit her lip. It was difficult to keep from grinning.

"So you were under the assumption I am transgender?"

He was losing the battle at keeping his smile back but he managed until she nodded. Neji decided to Hell with it and started laughing. She whined and swatted his chest. Neji smirked at her then sat up the rest of the way to kiss her.

She moaned into his mouth and he pushed her onto his back. The angle was a bit awkward and she tugged a bit hard on his dick but he merely winced and went on with it. His hands went to her hips and pulled down her panties. Again they had to do an awkward short of shuffle to get them off and Neji noticed her panties were white cotton kind of briefs, practical and matching her white cotton bra.

Neji smirked at her sensible choice in undergarments before tossing her panties somewhere over his shoulder. She kept flushing as he kissed her mouth again, moving his lips against hers and arranging his body so he could lie atop her in full. She had no complaints about his decision, simply spreading her legs so he could rest hip to hip, groin to groin against her.

Neji's hands went to her breasts and he felt her giggle against him. Neji hummed before leaving her mouth and kissing down her jaw line to the side of her throat. Her hands tangled in the back of his hair and Neji felt her untie his hitai-ate and toss it aside. For a moment he stiffened but she gently tilted his head up and kissed his forehead.

Neji relaxed before going back to kissing a trail down her throat, over her collarbones, and between her breasts. He alternated between his kisses, some being feather-light chaste pecks while others moistened her skin as he licked her flesh. Some came out as little bites but every press of his lips against her made Tenten let out a little breath or run her fingers over his scalp in an amazing way.

Neji kept his head between her breasts for a few moments, enjoying the sensation of resting his head on her chest, licking and nibbling at the flesh close to him. She had begun to buck her hips against his and he shoved back against her, matching the pace she set.

Neji reluctantly left the comfortable place he had found and moved down her chest to her stomach, leaving a trail of wetness and little bites as he went. He stopped because Tenten tightened her grip in his hair and forced him still. The pain in his scalp made him wince but he didn't chide her. He shifted his eyes and face to stare at her.

Gods, she was beautiful.

Her skin was naturally darker than his and colored red across her cheeks and nose. Her normally neat hair had started to come undone and pieces hung in tendrils around her face. Her chest kept heaving with her breaths and her brown eyes had gone wide in curiosity, glazed over from pleasure.

"Where are you going?"

Her voice was soft, breathless, and Neji took a moment to enjoy her tones before answering.

"Down,"

Tenten went redder but let go of his scalp. Neji hummed in thanks before continuing on his journey. He got distracted by her belly button and dipped his tongue into it. This made her shout and push her hips up into him solidly. He also felt her tighten her grip in his hair but not enough that he could not keep moving if he wanted.

Neji was content to kiss her belly button as if it was her lips. He felt her legs wrap around his chest and back, the heels of her feet pressing firmly into his lower back as she groaned and rotated her hips up. Neji placed his hands on either side of her hips and stilled her with a smile. He left a final kiss on her belly button before continuing down.

Neji watched her, rolling his eyes up so he could, as he kissed over her mound. Neji lifted his head before getting to her most intimate area and their eyes met. Tenten still flushed deep pink and her eyes were wide in awe. Her damp lips were parted so she could breathe heavily like she needed. Her hands kept clenching and unclenching in his hair and he noticed she still wore her gloves.

Neji licked his lips and she smiled at him. He chuckled before shifting so he could look at her in full. Neji heard Tenten make a sound of embarrassment as he studied her lower lips. She was damp and her folds were engorged, as ready for this as he was. Her dark curls looked soft to the touch so Neji touched.

Tenten jolted and her heels dug into his back. Neji chuckled before taking a breath and leaning forward. Tenten choked and Neji glanced up. She pressed his head down and he smirked before pressing his lips against her lower ones.

Tenten pulled his hair when he delved his tongue into her and he bit back a pleased chuckle at her reaction. Neji kept his eyes on her as he lavished her folds with his tongue, stopping to suck on the little nub of flesh. Tenten kept tugging on his hair but he didn't mind. Besides, it had become sort of hot and sent little jolts of delight down his spine which made his cock twitch impatiently.

Neji moved away from her clit to taste her again but angled his face so he could rub his nose against the nub of flesh. Tenten kept bucking her hips into him so he held her hard in his hands, trying to keep her still so he didn't accidently hurt her.

Fuck she tasted like heaven. Neji closed his eyes to concentrate on sucking and licking at her, not caring she had started making loud, sexy sounds every time he flicked his tongue over her folds. He disregarded the way she alternated between pulling his hair and pushing his head down. He felt her heels digging into his spine but didn't mind.

"N-n-ne-Neji!"

Her hips bucked upwards hard and he tasted more on his tongue. He held her upper thighs in his hands as she had started to close her legs on his head and licked her softly as she rode the waves of her orgasm. When she lay still and panting, he lifted his head and looked at her.

She had draped her right arm over her eyes but kept her left hand knotted in his hair close to the scalp and massaging gently, almost absently, as she panted harshly. Her legs had gone limp and Neji felt the place where her heels had dug in. Hm, that might leave a bruise. He grinned at the thought.

"I can't believe you did that," Tenten said between gasps.

"Why?" Neji questioned.

She lowered her arm and placed her hand under his chin to lift his head up. Their eyes met and Neji raised an eyebrow as she studied his face. He licked his lips, slowly, and she grinned.

"Normally guys don't want to bother with that, so I've heard from reliable sources," Tenten said.

Neji snorted.

"Since when am I like other guys?" Neji asked.

Tenten giggled. She ran a thumb over his nose and he blinked. Oh. He had a wet spot there. Neji smirked and she flushed. She tugged on his hair and he hummed.

"Up," Tenten said.

Neji chuckled but obliged. He lay flush against her again and met her lips. She didn't mind kissing him after he had tasted her. This was good to know.

Tenten broke the kiss and wrapped her legs around his waist, shifting against his groin in a way which made him close his eyes and groan.

"In," Tenten said.

In, what did, oh. IN. As in "get IN me now." Neji gulped.

"Neji," Tenten whispered.

The breath of air against his ear made him shiver pleasantly and he met her eyes. She had her head tilted slightly to a side in question and confusion. Neji felt the heat come to his cheeks and resisted the urge to hide his face in her breasts.

"I, um, I have never been, well, in," Neji said.

Tenten's eyebrows went up but she smiled. She put a hand at the back of his head and lowered his mouth to hers. Neji relaxed into the kiss and hardly noticed Tenten's hand running down his side. He did notice when she wrapped her hand around his cock. He jolted and gasped.

"It's okay. No one's been in me before but I want you there," Tenten said.

Neji nodded and let her guide him towards her opening. She moved her hand and he pushed forward experimentally. Ah, oh gods the heat! He slammed his eyes shut and groaned. Shit. Neji stopped moving when he felt her nails digging into his scalp.

He opened his eyes and saw her wincing and not in a good way. Neji gulped. He was part way in maybe a third or less and he hurt her. Damn it. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

Neji moved to pull back but her legs wrapped tightly around him and kept him in place. Neji blinked. She let out a breath and opened her eyes.

"It's okay," Tenten said.

"But I'm hurting you," Neji told her.

"It's a good kind of pain," Tenten said.

Neji frowned. She pushed her heels into his body again in hopes to get him to keep moving. Neji kissed her deeply and began playing with her breasts. She thrust upwards and he sunk in a little more. Neji kept his eyes open (what a task) and focused on her closed eyes as he kept moving forward bit by bit.

She kept encouraging him in the forward motion and kept running a hand through his hair. Finally he was in to the hilt. Neji pulled back from the kiss gently so she could breathe. He did keep rubbing her nipples in his fingers.

One of her hands migrated to grab his ass. The other stayed in his hair. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Are you all right?" Neji questioned.

"That last like, inch or two really hurt but it's okay. You broke my hymen," Tenten said.

He broke her, oh. Neji could not help the heat in his cheeks and she giggled at him. He yelped when she smacked his ass. Neji might tell her later how good the smack had felt.

"Move," Tenten said.

Neji nodded and shifted his hips. He gasped and she let out a shout. Holy fuck.

Neji wrapped his arms around her and started to thrust, fast, hard, not caring how loud she had become as it sounded so delectable. He didn't notice he had started making groaning noises and growling softly with each breath he took until Tenten kissed his mouth and he moaned into her throat.

She encased him in heat, tight, clutching warmth and he could not think. All he could do was move forward and back, driving her into the grass and shoving in as deep as he could.

She kept one hand on his ass, nails raking over his flesh and the other in his hair, pulling firmly on the long stands as she cursed, called out his name, and wordlessly yelped with every heave of his hips.

Neji almost choked on his spit when he gasped. He saw white and let out a shout no one was accustomed to hearing from him. Neji shuddered as he came, lowering his body onto hers and rapidly ramming into her a few more times until she cried out his name and began trembling along with him.

Neji felt his body fall and tilted enough so he did not fully crush Tenten. They ended up lying side by side as she had come with him, refusing to let go of his hair or ass. They lay side by side now in the grass and Neji didn't mind. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing.

This was a lost cause.

Neji gave up and half opened his eyes to look at her. Tenten was staring at him, lips moist and parted, hot breath tickling against his face, and eyes still slightly glazed from passion. She shifted so the tips of their noses touched and Neji smiled.

"Wow," Tenten got out.

Neji chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. She grinned at him and he returned the gesture. It took them several moments to stop trembling and catch their errant breaths. When they did, neither moved but simply kept staring into the other's eyes.

"I think I scratched up your butt," Tenten said.

Neji snickered and kissed her nose again.

"It's fine," Neji said.

His left ass cheek did hurt from her nails. He wouldn't be able to sit properly for a little while. Damn. It had been worth it though.

"No it's not. I like your butt," Tenten said with a pout.

Neji laughed at her.

"I remember you saying you always look at a person's butt first," Neji said.

Tenten gaped then swatted him. He kept laughing as she pushed him onto the grass and smiled when she straddled him. He gasped and let out a groan as he entered her, guided again by her hand. She let out a little moan as she settled on him.

Her hands ended up on his pectorals, the fingertips of her right touching the edges of the scar which had hardly faded over the past four years. Neji opened eyes he didn't remember closing and met hers. She tugged off her hitai-ate and tossed it aside with her left hand.

Neji watched as she shifted (shit that felt good) on his lap so she could sit up straight. The right bun came down first and Neji watched the thick, wavy brown hair fall down her back, around her arms, and down until it tickled against her hips. Neji stared as her left bun came down. He smiled before reaching up and running his fingers through her hair.

"You like?" Tenten asked.

"Pretty," Neji mumbled.

Tenten grinned at him and lowered her head so he could better run his hands through her soft brown hair. She chuckled and leaned forward (fuck that felt amazing) to kiss him. Neji shifted his hips upwards and she purred into his mouth before beginning to move.

Fuck!

"I've never heard you swear before," Tenten commented.

Huh. He had said that out loud. He hadn't meant to, not really but didn't care. Neji pulled her back in for a kiss and let her move against him. He started gasping as she danced atop him. He didn't mind as he was cocooned in her long hair, her hot breath rushing over his cheek, and her hands running up and down his chest.

She began pinching his nipples and Neji groaned, arching upwards into her. She bit his earlobe and he held her hips in his hands, not controlling the motions but simply holding for something to clutch.

They did not last long.

Neji let out a curse as he released and Tenten gasped, digging her nails into his chest this time as she finished rolling her hips to complete them. She fell atop him, head tilted so her breath went directly into his right ear and her breasts squashed against his chest. Her hands trembled against his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her in place on his lap.

"Wow," Neji said.

Tenten snickered. He shifted until their lips could meet and she kissed back, playfully nibbling on his lower lip. He hummed at her then rolled so he was on top again. Tenten gasped but he didn't move his hips. He was spent for the next few minutes at least.

Even so, kissing felt great. Tenten running her hands through his hair all the way to the ends of it so she could rub his butt felt wonderful. Gods her breasts felt perfect in his hands.

They may have lost the mementos they had kept but it did not mean they had to stop making memories. Neji smiled at his thoughts as Tenten squirmed against him and playfully pinched his nipples. Oh yes, he would enjoy making new memories with Tenten.

*cough cough* ...Reviews welcome. ;)

Who's next in this Team Guy Firsts series? You'll see next week-ish assuming I remember to post it in a week.