Lee's Question
It was a normal day for Guy's team. Neji and Lee sparred continuously and obsessively, as if sparring in itself was a contest. Tenten had Guy help her by enlisting his as a moving target. She, of course, used weapons that were only for target practice—the tips of the kunai and shuriken she was using it were all tipped with a sticky substance that would only stick to their target. She managed to hit Guy a few times, but only because she predicted where he would be, not from pure speed.
And when Guy told them that training was over, they were supposed to go their separate ways for their lunches—Tenten always ate her own bento in the forest somewhere, Neji would go back to the Hyuuga compound, and Lee would eat out, usually choosing curry.
When Tenten turned towards a tree and was ready to spring, Lee grabbed her quickly by the shoulder. She turned to face him with an exasperated look, but Lee merely apologized, "Gomen-nasai, Tenten-san…"
"Chan," Tenten commanded.
"Gomen-nasai, Tenten-chan, but… would you eat lunch with me? There's an important question that's been on my mind for a while… I brought my own as well," Lee said, holding up a green box bento. It was really huge—actually bigger than Tenten's.
"Sure, Lee-kun," Tenten said before turning to where Neji had been, but he had already left, along with their sensei. Tenten shrugged before walking with Lee to a small clearing. Tenten took out a large sheet and laid it out on the ground, leaning against a tree. She began to prepare their lunches, nonchalantly taking Lee's lunch and laying it out for him as well.
"Itadakimasu," she said before using her chopsticks to cut a piece of sushi in half, and then putting the now cut sushi into her small cup of soy sauce and popping it into her mouth, waiting to hear Lee's question. She was slightly afraid that he was asking her out, but she didn't dare show it to Lee.
"Well, it's just…" 'Here it comes…' "Why don't you ever wear your hair down?" Lee asked.
Tenten nearly choked on her piece of sushi. She coughed and sputtered, finally getting the obtrusive object down her throat. After gulping down a few mouthfuls of her bottled water, she turned to face him. "What…?" she asked in shock.
"I asked 'Why don't you ever wear your hair down?'" Lee repeated. Tenten laughed, and Lee glare at her. "I was asking a serious question!"
"Is that all?" Tenten asked through her laughs.
"Yes…" Lee admitted.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Remember the goal I had when I first joined this team? 'I want to be a strong female shinobi, just like the great Tsunade'? Well… it's something like that. I will only look feminine around the man that becomes my most important person. For, being female is the only thing that separates me from shinobi like you. Therefore, I shall only let down my guard around the man I marry. That's my nindo," Tenten explained. "It's not nearly as honorable as yours, or Naruto's, or even Guy-sensei's… But it's mine," Tenten finished with a shrug.
"No! It's a great nindo!" Lee interjected. He stared at her and added, "The one you're talking about is Neji, right?"
Tenten stared at him in shock before blushing madly. "Um, er, ano… how did you know…?" Tenten asked her longtime friend.
"I just do. It's obvious—to me," Lee said with a shrug.
"Tell him and I'll kill you," Tenten said with a glare.
"Don't worry. I'm glad you told me that, Tenten," Lee said gratefully before turning to his lunch.
A/N: Kind of silly, really, but I think it shows a bit more of Tenten's tomboyish character. It was also really, really short.