Author's Note: Okay…I am definitely NOT feeling good. Today started off quite good, I came back from school, I logged in, I checked out the status of my fics, and…I find my fic "Konoha: A New Generation" deleted. Gone. And I have absolutely NO clue how it got deleted. It couldn't have been banned, because somebody would have sent me an e-mail about it, but I received no e-mails for the past few days. Another possibility is that someone hacked my account…but that's highly unlikely because I never told ANYONE my password. …I would really like to know what's going on. Just in case, I changed my password, but…ARGH I'm so mad! But I didn't update for a while, so I thought I would just write a chapter and then think. On with the fic, I guess…
Anyways…I have just realized that nobody suggested a specific pairing. Like, one person wanted Neji+Tenten, one person wanted Shikamaru+Ino, another person wanted Shikamaru+Temari, another person wanted Sasuke+Sakura…ooh, what to do, what to do…So, I decided to just base this chapter on my most favorite team: Team Gai. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Naruto series.
Freesias (A Team Gai friendship one-shot, mostly in Tenten's POV.)
They first met at the academy, when they were 7 years old. Neji was a cold, distant little boy with no friends and who glared at everyone who tried to come near him. Lee was a determined, fiery little boy who had no friends because of his abnormally-thick eyebrows and his lack of ninjutsu and genjutsu skills. Tenten was an energetic, cheerful little girl who didn't have many friends whom were girls because of her daring, wild, and slightly tomboyish personality, and not many friends whom were boys because they thought she was just a girl with no last name. Basically, they were the three with no friends. Tenten spoke to Lee first. He was being bullied by some other kids and she had chased them off with her dangerous and sharp kunai. The two eventually became friends.
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It was their second year at the academy when Neji talked to Tenten for the first time. A massive group of girls were squealing and blushing beside Neji's desk, and the fan-girls were also preventing Tenten to get to her seat. At first, Tenten asked politely for them to get out of the way. No one paid attention to her. Tenten asked again, though this time more forcefully. The fan-girls continued to squeal, giggle, and blush at Neji. Finally, Tenten snapped. She threw some kunai at the group and a second later, the girls had their mouths open with shock and outrage as they realized that they were pinned to the wall. Tenten was about to sit down in her seat, when Neji had looked at her with a bit of curiosity and annoyance.
"…That wasn't necessary." he had said coolly, setting his pale-lavender eyes on Tenten's amber-colored eyes. She had replied in the same tone of voice as him.
"It's for me to decide what is necessary and what isn't. Those stupid girls were blocking my way. I asked politely. They wouldn't listen. So I decided it was necessary to remove those 'obstacles' from my path." Neji's eye had twitched slightly, and everyone who had heard their conversation were gaping at Tenten. Nobody had EVER talked to Hyuuga Neji that way before. And it was a very daring move, too. After all, he was a Hyuuga. The Hyuugas were known to be cruel and merciless when angered. From that day on, Neji and Tenten ignored each other…or at least TRIED to. When one commented on something, the other would snap back with a crude and witty remark. This was how their relationship went for a while. In the academy, they were almost like rivals, but not entirely. Outside of the academy, they pretended not to know each other at all. After class ended Tenten would run off to join Lee and some other boys in a game of tag and Neji would silently walk back to the Hyuuga mansion.
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Neji, Tenten, and Lee got together for the first time in their third year at the academy, when they were 9 years old. Tenten had lost her favorite hair tie in the forest and she and Lee were desperately trying to find it. Lee was helping because she was his only friend and he felt that it was times like these when a friend needed another friend's help. The ribbon was a special gift Tenten had received from her now-dead mother, and Tenten was almost at the verge of tears when there was no sign of the red silk ribbon anywhere. Lee, who also had no luck of finding it, patted her back awkwardly with a disappointed look on his face. Then, Neji had appeared out of the bushes with leaves and small twigs caught in his long hair. He was holding something. Without a word, he had promptly walked up to Tenten and placed something in her palm. She gasped as she realized that it was her hair tie. There had been a hint of a blush on his cheeks and he had muttered something that sounded like "I found it on a forest trail." Without thinking, Tenten had happily hugged Neji, causing Lee to gape at her and Neji to blush redder. Then, Tenten had realized just WHO she was hugging and had let go quickly with a flustered face. Being the slightly naïve and innocent girl she was, Tenten at that time could not understand why Neji was blushing and why Lee seemed so down.
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Over time, the three kids formed a small friendship. It wasn't anything big or special, but it was there. Though Tenten and Lee had a stronger friendship than Neji, the three still stuck together for a while, not caring about each other's past and fears. When they were 10 years old, however, things got a little bit different. In around 2 years, the academy students were to become genin. Neji started to get somewhat distant and separated from the two for some unknown reason. He ignored Lee more than before and was careless when speaking to Tenten. It was as if he was always hesitating when speaking to his "friends". Lee and Tenten still stuck together but Tenten finally made some friends who were girls and began to spend less time with Lee. The group slowly but surely fell apart, and when Lee made a few a friends, Tenten made lots of friends, and Neji continued to be distant, the three kids' friendship shattered like broken glass.
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On the day when the academy students would become genin, which was also when Tenten, Neji, and Lee never thought to be friends again, fate just happened to decide that the three would be together once more – as teammates. Neji, Tenten, and Lee were shocked when the teacher called out team 13, which consisted of Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee. It turned out, however, that things weren't going to be much different. When their jounin instructor, Maito Gai, told them to introduce themselves, Neji mocked Lee's ultimate goal – to be a superb ninja even without ninjutsu or genjutsu. That was another scar for their already-wounded friendship.
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The team became very skilled as the days passed. They were probably the strongest team of their year. After all, the team had Neji, who was the Hyuuga genius and he was the number 1 rookie of the year, and the team also had Tenten, whose skills in weapons were rapidly increasing. Plus, she was the number 1 rookie kunoichi of the year. And there was Lee, who USED to be the drop-out, outcast, the weakling, and the idiot who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu no matter how hard he tried. But now, because Gai-sensei was privately training him in the arts of taijutsu, Lee was able to become very strong by working hard day and night. He even challenged Neji from time to time, and always lost, but got back on his feet right after. But there was one certain day, when the sun was shining brightly and the skies were clear – Lee came to the training grounds as a different person. He was not the outcast and the idiot anymore. He was not weak, he was not a crybaby, and he was not a drop-out. He was now Rock Lee, proud green beast of Konoha…with a shiny new bowl-cut and a "dazzling" green spandex suit. On that day, Neji's remaining small amount of respect for Lee vanished. And on that day, Tenten sighed heavily and clapped her hand to her forehead as Gai and Lee hugged each other dramatically with a sunset background behind them.
Things went peacefully for a while. Eventually, Neji and Tenten got used to Lee being in his "youthful" spandex suit. But Tenten was quite surprised when Neji asked her to train with him all of a sudden. Of course she agreed, since she felt a little sorry for him – After all, there was absolutely NO WAY he would train with Lee or Gai. So Tenten reckoned that he just needed SOMEONE to train with…so he turned to her. Their first spar was slow-going and kind of awkward, since they weren't used to each other's attacks. There were cases when Neji accidentally went too hard on Tenten or accidents such as Tenten throwing a kunai too dangerously and giving Neji a big scar. But eventually they adapted to each other's skills and began to spar more naturally. And as the days passed, Neji and Tenten developed some kind of respect for each other, as teammates, sparring partners, and over time, friends.
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Neji, Tenten, and Lee were shocked and confused when Gai announced that they won't be participating in the chuunin exam. Soon, Neji was angry because he thought he deserved to enter. Tenten was confused because she thought her team was good enough. Lee was shocked because he had been confident that Gai would let their team enter.
"Your teamwork isn't good enough to survive the chuunin exam," Gai had explained to them with a strict and serious tone of voice. "The chuunin exam focuses a lot on teamwork. With our stats, you three have no chance." Then, Neji had stormed out of the forest with a scowl on his face. Lee and Tenten stayed, however, with their heads down and disappointment on their faces.
"Will we enter the next chuunin exam, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked with a bit of hope in his voice. But his face fell at Gai's grim face.
"We will see, Lee. We will see. The most important thing right now is to brush up on our skills and work on our teamwork." Gai replied with a small smile at the end. He then dismissed them, with a quick shout over his shoulder. "If either of you see Neji, please inform him of our plans. He left before our youthful discussion."
Tenten walked out of the forest deep in thought. She reflected on what Gai had said to them. About their teamwork. About their skills. Did they really lack that much? She thought that they were strong. She thought they were a pretty good team. As Tenten walked slowly through the grassy forest path, her eyes widened as she realized what they have been missing all along. She remembered their days in the academy. Tenten would always be defending and encouraging Lee. Neji would smirk at her and say witty remarks while she would also smirk and say something insulting but clever back at him. Tenten also remembered the three, how they always stuck together, how they always trained shuriken-throwing together, how they would stop by for a bowl of ramen after training, and…they were FRIENDS. And that friendship had broken. Tenten dashed through the forest as fast as she could, and the trees and bushes passed by in green blurs. Now Tenten knew what they were missing. They were missing friendship. And she also knew that it was time to restore what they had lost.
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A year later, things had changed. Neji, Tenten, and Lee had restored SOME of their friendship, improved their teamwork by going on countless C-rank missions, and had trained themselves to the point of exhaustion. With a beaming face, Gai had approved of them entering the chuunin exam. A lot of things happened in the chuunin exam that really changed everything, especially the finals. Tenten had always wondered why Neji always talked about fate and destiny. Fortunately, a rookie genin named Uzumaki Naruto had managed to beat some "sense" into the Hyuuga. Tenten and everyone else had been shocked at Neji's defeat. Well, Tenten didn't really know who Naruto was, but the rest of the people seemed almost outraged at Naruto's victory. But she felt that it wasn't her business to know why, so she decided to pay a visit to Neji, since she figured he should be awake by now.
As Tenten walked through the hospital corridors to Neji's room, she nearly bumped into Hyuuga Hiashi, whom Tenten instantly recognized as Neji's uncle and Hyuuga Hinata's father.
"Are you Neji's teammate?" Hiashi asked in a slightly strict tone.
"Um…yes." Tenten replied, staring into Hiashi's eyes. His eyes were so similar to Neji's, which kind of fascinated her for some reason. Hiashi was a little bit surprised. A normal person wouldn't dare to meet a Hyuuga's eye, but Tenten had stared into Hiashi's eye as if it was a normal routine. Hiashi then walked past her without saying a word. Tenten glanced at him, and then headed towards Neji's room again. When she opened the door to Neji's room and entered, however, Tenten was VERY surprised and puzzled when she witnessed Neji smiling. Not the usual frown or smirk, but a calm, sincere smile. Also, there was something changed about him…as if he let go of all the troubles he had.
"Neji?" Tenten said softly, closing the door behind her gently. Neji turned towards Tenten. His smile was gone, but he still had that peaceful look on his face, which made Tenten blush a tiny bit. She had NEVER seen Neji like that before. And that moment, the scene with a slightly blushing Tenten and a smiling Neji, stayed in her heart forever.
It had been a dull, cloudy day outside when Tenten stumbled upon a conversation between Lee and Tsunade in the Konoha hospital. It was a day after Tsunade had came to Konoha and became the fifth hokage.
"You should quit being a ninja and find another path in life." was what Tenten heard when she peeked through the crack of the doorway. Pity and worry for Lee washed over her. Lee's dream and goal in life was to show everyone that you can still be a superior ninja without ninjutsu or genjutsu. Lee had no talent whatsoever in ninjutsu, and he couldn't do genjutsu for some reason, no matter how hard he tried. He had relied on taijutsu all his life. But now, after the devastating fight with Gaara, he had lost his one and only hope in life. He had nothing. Tenten quickly hid behind the wall when she heard Lee approaching the doorway. She couldn't bear to face Lee after hearing the shocking news. What was she supposed to say, anyways? Nothing. She couldn't say or do anything for the time being. After she heard Lee exit the hospital, Tenten sank to the floor slowly. She was so useless in situations like these.
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When Tenten heard that Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba had gone to retrieve Sasuke, she had dropped her bag of groceries in shock. And when she heard that Lee had chased after them right after his surgery, she ran to the Konoha gates. Her two teammates and friends had gone on such an impossible-sounding mission – and she had done nothing but shop for groceries. When she reached the gates, however, she was surprised to find Sakura kneeling on the ground sobbing. Then Tenten realized something. Sure, her teammates were gone, but Sakura had a worse problem. Sakura's own TEAMMATE had gone over to the evil side, and her other teammate might as well be killed by Orochimaru's minions. But then again, Neji and Lee could also be killed, too. However, Tenten couldn't imagine how it felt to have a friend and teammate turn evil and betray the village. So Tenten turned around and slowly walked to the training area where she, Neji, and Lee usually trained together. She grabbed a kunai from her pouch and threw it at the dummy Gai had specially designed for her. The kunai whistled through the air and hit the dummy with a THUD sound. She would become stronger too. After all, she couldn't be left behind forever.
When the news came that Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru returned, the first thing Tenten did was dash to the hospital. She ran into the building just in time to hear Shizune's voice ringing through the hall.
"Though his wounds were near-fatal, Hyuuga Neji…is stable! And the medic nins said that Rock Lee has regained consciousness!" Tenten couldn't help but collapse to the floor on her knees as tears of relief started to blur her vision. After hastily wiping away her tears before they could fall, Tenten got up decided to go to Lee's room first. The two hadn't talked to each other in a while, after all. She knocked gently on Lee's hospital room, and she heard a muffled reply from the other side of the door. Tenten entered the room, and found Lee staring out the window. There was a single flower on the table next to his bed. Tenten frowned when she saw the flower. She had been in such a hurry that she didn't even get to think about flowers. Lee turned to Tenten with a smile.
"Oh, hi Tenten. I guess you heard the news." he said, and though he was trying his best to look lighthearted, Tenten noticed pain his eyes, including guilt and regret. His smile drooped when Tenten didn't answer. "Tenten? Are you okay?" Tenten quickly raised her head.
"Oh, um…nothing. I'm just glad you and Neji are safe. I was REALLY worried, you know." she said, but she spoke a little bit too fast. The two friends and teammates looked down, doing nothing to break the uncomfortable silence between them. "…Why did you go after them, Lee? You know you could have died…And you went right after your surgery…" Tenten asked, her voice just barely above a whisper. Lee looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't know…But when Shikamaru asked Neji to come with them to the mission, I felt completely helpless. Neji was going on a seemingly-impossible mission and there I was, standing there like a useless idiot. I thought that as long as I could help, even just a little boost, I'd feel better. But now…I feel nothing but failure. I have done nothing except get my life saved by Gaara…And our mission was a failure. We failed to bring Sasuke back. I went and risked my life…for nothing." By now, Lee was shaking and his eyes were covered by his bangs. Tenten didn't say anything. She walked over to Lee and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Lee," she said softly, a small smile on her face. "You DID do something. You showed determination and courage, also loyalty, to everyone. You showed that you didn't want to get left behind so you prepared to fight to the death. That's what matters, Lee. And as your friend, I probably know better than anyone else about your determination. So cheer up, okay?" Lee's eyes watered and he started to sniff pitifully.
"Tenten…(sniff) you always know how to cheer me up…(sniff) Like you did when we were still at the academy…(sniff)" Lee said between loud sniffs. Tenten sighed and playfully smacked Lee across the head.
"And your mind is always in the gutter. I'm going to go check up on Neji, okay?" she said brightly, and walked out of the room. But before she did, she stopped at the doorway. "I'm going to do my best too, Lee. Next time…you, me, and Neji…will go on a mission together!" she said, and turned around to give Lee a small grin. Lee gave her his "nice-guy" pose.
"Okay!" he replied, and Tenten stepped out of the room, a new glow of determination in her heart.
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The sun shone brightly in the sky. Birds chirped as they flew past trees, and a cool breeze blew through the air. In the usual training area of team Gai, different sounds were heard. "THUNK"s were heard through the forest clearing as many kinds of sharp metal objects hit the center of a practice dummy. "THUD"s were heard as countless kicks and punches hit the hard wood of a log. Soft mutters were heard as a green-clad figure attempted to count how many kicks and punches hit.
"…491…492…493…494…495…496…497…498…499…" Lee muttered as a few beads of sweat ran down his cheek. Meanwhile, in an area next to him, Tenten threw countless numbers of all kinds of weapons at numerous practice dummies. Shuriken, kunai, senbon, hand-axes, sickles, maces, knives, daggers, small swords, darts, and many other kinds flew through the air, and always landed dead-center on the dummies. Tenten sighed and wiped her brow quickly. She had been practicing for an hour or so, and the afternoon sun was getting pretty hot.
"Lee! Are you done yet?" Tenten called to the sweat-dripping green figure nearby.
"Almost…DONE!" Lee replied, and dropped to the ground with a sigh. Suddenly, something flew towards the spandex-wearing chuunin and Lee caught it by instinct. He smiled as he looked at the water bottle in his hands and waved his thanks to Tenten, who just grinned. She tossed one to Neji, who caught it calmly and began to drink. Tenten began to drink her own water bottle. Suddenly, their jounin teacher Gai walked into the area.
"Hello, my beloved former-students! I suppose you're doing well?" he boomed, laughing heartily. Lee got up and saluted him with admiration shining in his eyes.
"YES, GAI-SENSEI. WE'RE DOING WELL!" he shouted, and Gai beamed.
"KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, MY FORMER-STUDENTS! THE YOUTH OF OUR TEAM SHALL NOT BURN!" he said, also shouting.
"YES, GAI-SENSEI! WE WILL DO OUR BEST!" Lee replied, just as loud. Tenten clasped a gloved-hand to her forehead and sighed, while Neji shook his head.
"No matter how many years pass by, they'll always be the same…" Tenten muttered. She and Neji looked up when Gai cleared his throat.
"Listen up, my youthful former-students. I know that we haven't been together lately, with Neji's jounin duties as well as mine, and Tenten and Lee's frequent missions out of town. BUT! We will make up for all the lost bonding time and go to…the hot springs! I'm paying for it!" he said with a nice-guy pose at the end. He had expected his students to jump in joy, smile, or even cry with happiness, but instead…Tenten sighed.
"I don't think I want to go…Plus, I was going to help my dad forge some weapons." She muttered, turning away quickly. Neji kept his cool exterior except for a slight twitch in his eyebrow.
"I'll pass." He stated promptly and also turned away.
"I WANT TO GO! Come on, Neji! Tenten! It'll be fun! It won't be the same without you two!" Lee practically screamed, and began to beg Neji and Tenten on his knees. Neji and Tenten looked at each other, and Lee raised his head in delight when he thought they were going to agree. But his face fell and he started to bawl again when one answer was given.
"No." the two saner ninjas of team Gai said clearly, and began to walk out of the area. But they stopped in their tracks when Lee threw himself at their ankles and held on to their legs as if his life depended on it.
"PLEASE! NEJI! TENTEN!" Lee pleaded, trying to do a "puppy-dog" face but failing. Neji and Tenten both sighed heavily.
"He's not going to leave us alone until we say yes." Tenten muttered, massaging her temples in annoyance.
"I guess so…" Neji muttered back, crossing his arms.
"I guess we could go…like, what can happen in the hot springs?" Tenten said brightly, and Neji sighed.
"Alright," He replied with a heavy heart. "But I just KNOW I'm going to regret this…" Tenten nodded in agreement. She turned to Lee.
"Okay Lee, we'll go." She said, and Lee looked as if heaven came to earth.
"YES! GAI-SENSEI, WE'RE COMING!" Lee yelled and struck a pose. Gai also struck a pose.
"ALRIGHT, MY YOUTHFUL FORMER-STUDENTS! GO HOME AND PACK, AND MEET AT THE KONOHA HOT SPRINGS IN AN HOUR!" he declared, and he and Lee ran out of the forest laughing joyfully.
'…we're seriously going to regret this.' Neji and Tenten thought at the same time and headed in opposite directions to their homes.
Tenten arrived at the hot springs with a small sports bag slung onto her shoulder. The bag just had some extra weapons, a shampoo bottle, body soap, extra hair ties, and other things that aren't really worth mentioning…including undergarments. AHEM. Yeah. Neji was already there with a leather sack on his back (that rhymes). Finally, Gai and Lee appeared, both carrying massive suitcases.
"Hey, what's with the suitcases? We're only staying for one night!" Tenten asked, sweat-dropping at the large bags.
"Ah, we always need to be prepared! Plus, we have a few surprises!" Gai said, grinning mischievously. Lee's eyes watered.
"Oh Gai-sensei, you're so cool!" he praised, and the two spandex-wearing ninjas hugged once more. Neji was getting slightly impatient.
"Can we go in now?" he snapped, and Gai nodded. The team went inside and was greeted by a plump woman in her fifties. She showed them to their rooms and indicated where the game arcade, table-tennis area, the spa, and the hot springs were. Neji, Tenten, and Lee were sharing a room but each person was separated by a long, draping curtain. Tenten was in the middle while Neji was on her right and Lee on her left. Gai had a room to himself next door.
"My former-students, we shall go to the hot springs now!" Gai declared, and Lee skipped along happily while Tenten and Neji practically dragged their feet to the changing room. Lee, Neji, and Gai entered the door to the hot springs while Tenten froze and looked up at the sign above the wooden bamboo door. It said 'All Genders'. She felt a bit fidgety. She would probably die and go to hell if she saw Gai or Lee's bare chest but if she saw Neji's…her innocent mind would be scarred repeatedly with nasty thoughts. And plus, she was a girl. No girl would feel comfortable with three half-naked men. Lee turned around when he saw that Tenten wasn't coming.
"Come on Tenten!" he called, and Tenten nodded quickly. She went into the girls' changing room and later came out with a white towel firmly draped around her body. Her hair was up in a single bun with a few strands hanging out.
'Here I go…' she thought and suppressed a blush as she slowly stepped out into the hot springs.
Meanwhile, Gai, Neji, and Lee were relaxing in the warm waters of the springs. Neji had his hair untied and his long brown locks of hair floated in the water around him. He was currently meditating and found that the soothing waters helped him concentrate better. Lee was quiet and relaxed for once and sighed blissfully as he sank neck-deep into the steaming water.
"Ah…it's a good thing we came here, huh?" Gai said, leaning his head against one of the moist boulders that lined the springs. Suddenly, they heard light footsteps coming towards the springs.
"Tenten, is that you? Come quickly!" Lee called, and Tenten stepped out of the rising mist that surrounded the waters. According to Neji and Lee, a "goddess" entered the water. Perfect curves, slightly rosy cheeks, smooth, flawless skin, long slender legs, and gentle chestnut-brown tresses that framed her pretty face. Lee gaped wordlessly and Neji just stared. Tenten shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, and tightened the towel around her. Meanwhile, Gai witnessed this with a sly smile.
"OH NO, I'm getting dizzy…I'm going to go to the bathroom, alright?" Gai said suddenly, and hurried out of the springs with a small snicker when he was out of the three teenagers' sight. In the springs, Tenten sighed softly. The water was good and all, but it was hard to relax when two teenage boys were staring at you wordlessly. After a while, Tenten started to twitch a little bit.
"Would you two stop staring at me like fish? It's getting on my nerves!" Tenten said through gritted teeth. Neji and Lee snapped out of their daze, causing Lee to nearly loose his footing on the rocky bottom of the springs and Neji to flinch a little.
"TENTEN! YOUR BEAUTY RADIATES LIKE THE MOON TONIGHT!" Lee yelled, making Tenten sweat-drop.
"Uh…okay…" she said uncertainly. Neji stayed silent. The three continued to relax in the warm waters. Tenten looked up and watched as the steam rose from the water and up into the air. She recalled the three of them; Lee, Neji, and Tenten; together in the academy. When Lee would be bullied by some kids, Tenten would chase them off furiously, and then Neji would arrive to see a triumphant Tenten as she helped Lee stand up. Then she would start plotting clever and devious schemes to get back at the bullies, and Neji would tag along to make sure she and Lee didn't get into serious trouble. It was always like that…and then it all had to change. But now, Tenten felt that some of their friendship had returned. When they were still genin, Lee would challenge Neji to a light spar in the morning, and Tenten would watch to make sure they didn't go too far and tended to any large wounds while Lee and Neji would bandage up their little wounds. Then Tenten would start throwing weapons at a dummy and Lee would kick a log. Neji would meditate or practice his byakugan. Then, after they ate lunch, Neji would ask Tenten to train with him and Lee would train with Gai. If they still had time afterwards, the three would go to a restaurant or something and eat there together. It was almost like a daily ritual. Nowadays, with Neji as a jounin, Lee a chuunin, and Tenten preparing to enter the jounin exams, it wasn't quite the same. But it was similar. Neji would still train with Tenten, and Lee would still train with Gai. At least they still regarded each other as teammates.
Tenten was brought back to reality when Lee started to sing a ridiculous-sounding song, which happened to be "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars". Tenten winced at his highly off-tune voice and Neji's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Lee, why do you have to start acting so ridiculous when we finally have peace?" Neji muttered, and the vein on his temples started to twitch when Lee casually slung an arm around his shoulder.
"C'mon, cheer up, Neji! You need to…lighten up once in a while!" Lee said loudly, swaying a bit. Tenten was REALLY confused. What was wrong with Lee all of a sudden? She noticed his red face and the steam rising from the water around him.
"Oh great, all this steam and warmness must be getting to his head!" Tenten groaned, and went over to Lee. "Lee, snap out of it!" But Lee didn't reply. He looked dazed, and eye started to get all swirly.
"Uhh? Uhh…uhh? What's wrong with me…I feel…quite…dizzy…" Lee said, and he pitched forward. Tenten, who made a move to stop him, gasped as Lee slipped on the bottom of the springs and as his face came closer…and closer…and closer…Suddenly, Tenten found Lee's lips on hers. Everything was silent. Then, a few things happened at once. Tenten's face turned bright red out of embarrassment and fury, while Neji's face turned an angry shade of red because, for some reason, a huge amount of jealousy started to bubble up inside of him. And he didn't know why. Tenten finally regained her senses and clenched her fists in anger.
"Lee! You…you STOLE MY FIRST KISS, DAMMIT!" Tenten hollered, and soon Lee was punched by a red-faced, furious Tenten. He went crashing to the other side of the springs and was completely knocked unconscious. Tenten huffed, her face still red. Neji had an urge to just strangle Lee on the spot, but he was still trying to find out WHY he felt such emotions. Neji looked at Tenten when he noticed that she was shaking and her bangs were covering her eyes.
"Tenten?" Neji asked cautiously, and took a step towards her. But he found himself falling as he tripped…over Lee's limp legs. Tenten looked up just in time to see Neji's lips coming closer to hers…and soon, they were kissing. Both were frozen in shock. Neji's face was red and he was blushing VERY heavily (which was very out-of-character for him) and Tenten's face was even redder…though she couldn't help but enjoy the kiss a little. They broke apart slowly, and amber-colored eyes met pale-lavender ones.
"GAHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I'M LEAVING!" Tenten half-screamed, half-wailed, and ran out of the hot springs with a flaming face. As for Neji, he just stood there, mouth gaping open like a fish. And Lee, well, let's just say that he had a particularly large bump on his head after Tenten's "devastating" punch.
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Tenten opened her eyes. The night sky was dark and many stars shimmered like jewels. She smiled as she spotted Lee, whom was currently snoring away on the soft grass near her. She sat up and picked up her ANBU mask, which had been resting on the small patch of clovers beside her. She looked around and saw a distant figure standing beside an oak tree a couple of meters away. Tenten stood up and walked over to the figure. The person was a tall man the same age as her.
"Neji," she said softly. The man, who was Neji, lifted his ANBU mask up, revealing his handsome face and his pale-lavender eyes.
"Tenten," he said, acknowledging her with a nod. "What are you doing up so late?"
"That's what I should be asking you, Hyuuga Neji." Tenten said playfully and Neji just smirked. Tenten leaned against the slightly rough bark of the oak tree. Fireflies and other glowing insects flew and chirped around them. "I had a dream," Tenten said suddenly, and Neji glanced at her for a moment before turning away again.
"What dream?" he asked. Tenten smiled at the memory.
"It was a dream about us…About how you, Lee, and I met." She replied, fingering slightly with the clasp of her ANBU mask.
"Oh…" Neji said.
"I also dreamed about what happened 3 years ago…remember? The hot spring incident?" Tenten added. Neji had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared out into the open.
"Yeah…I remember…" he replied with a slight hint of emotion in his voice.
"You and Lee stole my first kiss." Tenten said with a little pout at the end. Neji scoffed.
"That wasn't my fault. I told you countless times ever since then." He said dryly, and it was now Tenten's turn to scoff.
"Hmph. And remember when I wouldn't talk to you or Lee after that for a week? Our teamwork was so screwed." She stated, also dryly. The two stayed silent for a while, with only the sounds of crickets and grasshoppers chirping and clicking around them. "Our team went through a lot…If you look back, I'm surprised we're still friends." Tenten said after a while, and Neji nodded. Suddenly, Tenten bent down and plucked something off the ground. "Look Neji, it's a freesia! They're rare to see in this area." Neji looked at the flower and a tiny smile formed on his lips.
"The flower of friendship and trust…It describes our team well." He said with a bit of softness in his voice. Lee suddenly popped out of nowhere, slightly startling Neji and Tenten.
"Hello, my fellow teammates! What a fine night!" Lee greeted, shifting a jounin vest a little bit. He spotted the freesia in Tenten's hand and gasped. "A freesia! What a youthful flower to describe our youthful friendship!" Tenten rolled her eyes and Neji rubbed his temples. No matter how many years passed since they were genin, some people would never change. Suddenly, the three ninjas heard voices calling them.
"I guess we'd better go!" Lee exclaimed, and pranced off.
"Yeah. We have a mission to finish." Tenten said, and set her mask onto her face. Neji also placed his mask on. Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Team 13. They charged out onto the battlefield with merciless determination in their hearts. S words clashed and blood was spilt, but throughout the battle, none of the three ninjas lost faith. Perhaps it was because their trust and friendship for one another supported their strength greatly. The freesia lay on the grass through the fight, not even getting damaged or ripped into shreds. That was the symbol of team 13's friendship – as long as they were together, they would be strong.
So…how was it? I wasn't completely sure about this one – I deleted a few paragraphs, proof-read it twice, and made some changes, but I still wasn't satisfied. It didn't quite come out the way I expected it to. I just recently joined a Team Gai fanlisting, and I was inspired to write one about them. I also joined a Neji+Tenten fanlisting a few weeks ago. In the fanlistings, my name is harukakanatanejiten. I WAS going to put my name as "harukakanata", but two other people already had that name, so I had to choose something else. PLEASE REVIEW! Oh, and I received a couple of reviews and LOTS of e-mails on what "Coming Soon" fics I should do. It has been decided: I'm doing the fic "Chained Destiny". And for those who asked, I'll EVENTUALLY do all of the fics I mentioned. But for now, I'm going to start one fic, see how it goes, and consider doing another one. Expect to see the first chapter of Chained Destiny by next week; I have a violin concert coming up (yes, I play the violin. I must admit though; I'm not one for classical music.), so I'm really busy these days.