How in the world did the Teams get through the Chuunin Exams? Ok, we all know how Team 7, 8, and the Sand Team made it. But what's important is that we never got to see how Team Gai made it through. Well, here's a version on how they could have done it. There's some action and the usual introspective stuff. Neji and Rock Lee IC. Tenten is notorious for being one of the more 2 dimensional characters in the Narutoverse. I know she appears in quite a few fillers, but honestly I don't watch the fillers, so I don't have a clue on how they represent her. This is my idea of how she is, taking ideas and clues from the manga. This all takes place during the second exam, so if you're unfamiliar with the whole Chuunin Exams experience, you might be a little lost as to what's going on. Either way, I hope everyone enjoys and please take time to review. :)
"It's later and we're no further along than what we were before." Hyuuga Neji said. He stood with one arm on his waist, his white eyes shifting from one teammate to the other. It had been over an hour since they split up from the rookie genins, and Team Gai had regrouped at their original meeting place.
Tenten nodded, a serious expression on her face. Rock Lee, for the beating he had took, had made a quick recovery. Compared to his teammates he looked worse for the wear, but his spirits remained high.
"What were you thinking, Lee?" Neji suddenly demanded.
The thick browed boy looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean getting in between those Sound nins and the rookies. You shouldn't have interfered. This isn't just a training exercise anymore. This is the real thing. And we've got a mission." Neji held out his hand. In it was the Earth Scroll they had been given at the start of the second test. "I don't think I need to remind you what we're here for."
"What are you saying, Neji?" Lee raised his voice, angrily. "That if you came upon those Sound Nins attacking the defenseless Sakura chan you would not have rescued her?"
"Hmph." Neji shrugged. "As I said, this is the real thing. Either you've got what it takes to make it through, or you don't. Not all the teams are going to make it to the end." Neji's eyes glinted. "And better they be eliminated than us having to compete with them later."
"You," Lee stood with his fists clenched, shaking in rage. "At the least you could feel some kind of loyalty to them for being Konoha Shinobis! But to leave them by the wayside, to possibly be slaughtered---"
"Of course I would rather see them defeat the Sound nins." Neji snapped. "But if they can't defeat that pitiful rag tag team of ninjas…" he paused, his eyes boring into Lee. "Then maybe they don't deserve to be called Shinobis." A silence fell on the three of them as Neji's words and implications sank into Lee.
"What are you saying?" Lee asked slowly, through gritted teeth. "Are you saying that because I could not defeat those Sound Nins---"
"Ok, guys, that's enough!" Tenten weighed in as sternly as she could. "All this arguing is getting us nowhere, and quickly. Let's forget about what just happened and move on with our plan."
The two boys glared at each other for a moment, before relenting, and turning away.
"The plan is the same as before." Neji stated matter of factly. "We split up and scout for others. We'll regroup here in thirty minutes." He glanced at Lee. "This time, no playing heroes. We need to get the Heaven scroll and head to the tower as soon as possible. Got it?"
"Hai!" Tenten and Lee nodded, determination in both their voices.
"Tenten," Neji turned and tossed the scroll to the girl who caught it with one hand. "You hold onto this. Between us three, you are the long distance fighter. Just in case, I don't want us to risk getting too close to an enemy and losing our scroll with the slip of a wrist."
Tenten nodded, tucking the scroll away into her pouch. "I'll go then," she leapt away, into the trees.
Lee and Neji stared at each other. "You got something to say?" Neji demanded.
"Just this," Lee began. "Remember that Gai Sensei says that as Shinobis one of our daily missions is to protect the helpless."
"What's your point?"
"My point is that if there was someone you promised to protect for life," Lee turned. "You would understand my position better." He leapt away.
Neji gritted his teeth. He stared at the ground, fighting back the rising anger. He turned and jumped away into the opposite direction, Lee's last words ringing in his mind.
…Someone you promised to protect…
Tenten jumped from tree to tree at a speed that most shinobis would have envied. She looked all around her, searching for any signs of enemy ninjas or the traps they may have laid. Even so, within her own head she was preoccupied. She cursed Lee and Neji for their bickering. It had taken time for the three of them to develop teamwork. The hold up was due, in large part, to the boys' rivalry that stemmed from their days at the Academy and had gotten worse once they became teammates. It took Gai's encouragement, and sometimes rough housing, to get them to start working for, rather than against, each other. And now, all their hard earned work on learning how to act as a team, was being thrown away by the stress of being in the Chuunin Exams.
Tenten landed on a branch, scanning the ground, her thoughts still spinning. In truth she secretly envied them. From the beginning it had always been Lee and Neji. The Hyuuga drove his rival, forcing him to work harder, and in his own way Lee did the same thing with Neji, though the latter would never admit it. It was this focus on each other that made Tenten feel the slightest bit excluded. She reacted the only way she knew how. She felt by discouraging Lee maybe she could quell the petty rivalry the two felt for each other.
"Lee, why do you even bother?" she asked one day, after Neji had knocked Lee to the ground for the umpteenth time. "You know you can never beat him... because he's a genius."
Lee had reacted angrily that day, and ran away, but the following morning he was back, and sparring with his teammate all over again.
"I don't understand why he does that to himself, Sensei." Tenten said as she and the teacher stood off to the side watching the two boys throwing punches and kicks at each other. "Lee will never win against him."
Beside her, she heard Gai chuckling. Tenten turned in surprise. "Sensei, I'm not joking!"
"And I'm serious when I tell you this, Tenten: nothing is impossible. I can personally attest to that."
Away from them, Lee and Neji jumped off, taking their fight into the trees.
"But sensei---"
"People told me it was impossible to become a shinobi and to give up my dream." Gai pointed a thumb at himself. "But I proved them wrong, and Lee will do the same one day."
Tenten was quiet for a moment before saying "I don't understand why you encourage the feud between those two. Neji could kill Lee if he wanted to!"
"I see. You really don't understand." Gai took his student by her shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing him. "Listen to me. Neji and Lee have a bond that even I can't touch. No one knows their weaknesses and shortcomings better than they know each others. Of course they would never admit it, but I guarantee if one is in trouble it will be the other who comes to the rescue. That's the way those two work."
"Then why do you side with Lee in his want to beat Neji?" Tenten demanded.
Gai roared with laughter. "You still have a lot to learn, Tenten." He removed his hands from her shoulders and leaned forward. "If Neji wins against Lee, he wins and the other loses. Simple as that. If Lee wins against Neji then it the long run they both may end up victorious."
"Both of them? How?"
Gai raised a finger. "If Lee wins then he can be acknowledged as no longer being a loser. And then maybe Neji will come to realize that his hard philosophy on fatalism is not as true as he thinks it is."
Tenten looked down. "Oh…"
"I won't get into the details with you about Neji. But for all of Lee's shortcomings, in truth it's actually Neji that needs the most help. And I'm here to guide them both along."
"I see." Tenten did not raise her eyes as she quietly asked "And where do I fit into all of this… sensei?"
Tenten could still remember the surprised look her teacher had on his face. And she thought to herself that for once Gai did not have an answer.
It was the kunai that brought her out of her reminiscing. She sensed its approach before she actually saw it. She stopped in her tracks and ducked her head just as it flew passed and embedded itself in the tree she had just jumped off of.
Tenten looked in front of her. Three familiar ninjas stood on the tree before her, one branch higher. A hunchback, a girl, and a boy with both his arms wrapped in a sling.
Those Sound Nin from earlier... Tenten realized.
"Oi, girl..." the boy with the immobile arms called.
Tenten reached into her pouch, feeling for shurikens.
"We've got a mission to complete." The hunchback said. "And to complete this mission it looks like we'll have to pass this stupid test. And you just might have something we need."
I also wanted to thank the readers who have reviewed my stories. Your reviews encourage me to write more (and hopefully) better. You guys are awesome!