This is inspired by Naruto Shippuden episodes 15-17 because I just love the Team Gai vs. Kisame battle scenes. There will probably be several more fics about this in the near future :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto.
Tenten knows that next to the other members of Team 10, she is weak. And she is constantly reminded of this fact. Lee spends all his day in training with Gai-sensei, working to become a great Shinobi with only his Taijutsu. Neji is busy training his Byakugan and trying to break out of the rigid rules forced on him by the Hyuugas. Every time they go on missions, Tenten feels like the one who can't keep up, the only one who needs to rest occasionally.
Sure, she fights with the guys and trains her best, every chance she gets. But despite it all, she just can't keep up. She knows that her weapon skills are invaluable in giving Lee and Neji time to get close to an enemy. They are both close-range fighters and her weapons are needed to distract enemies long enough for them to get into their fighting space. But after that, they usually succeed at incapacitating the enemy quickly.
When Team Gai is sent to help Team Kakashi save the Kazekage, Tenten is the only one who can barely handle the multi-day trip without rest. When she asks for a break, Lee tells her that she needs to train more and Gai and Neji seem not to hear her request.
And when the fake Kisame attacks them, Tenten barely has the strength to help in the fight. Then Neji, Lee, and Tenten are trapped in the water prisons. Tenten knows that she will not be able to hold out long, her strength is already almost gone from the long journey and the battle. She does her best, but in the end, it just isn't good enough. No longer able to hold her breath, her body instinctively inhales, trying to get the oxygen it so desperately craves. Her vision is swimming in and out and she can feel her consciousness slipping away.
But then suddenly the water is gone and she can breathe again and there is a strong pair of arms holding her up. She coughs and coughs, trying to expel the water from her lungs as the person, she finally identifies the voice as Neji's, rubs her back and murmurs comforting nonsense in her ear. She has to admit, it's rather nice to be held and taken care of. This is something she's almost never experienced before. And then she can breathe normally without coughing and her vision stops blurring and she watches as Gai finally defeats the enemy.
They continue on their way, but Neji is never far from her side and she catches him watching her many times. When they are forced to stop, so Gai can rest, Lee takes care of Gai while Neji turns his attention to Tenten. She is still soaked, as the rest of them are, and shivering from the cold wind and the shock. He builds a fire to warm them up and when Tenten continues to shiver, he pulls her into his arms. At first she jumps in shock and tries to pull away, but even she cannot deny that she is terrified by how close she was to dying back there and right now she just wants to know that she is safe.
When she looks in Neji's eyes, she sees guilt and pain there. He is upset and mad at himself that he didn't notice how tired she was before, that he pushed her far more than she should have been pushed. Finally, she drifts off to sleep in his arms, knowing that she has now found someone on the team who cares for her.
When she wakes up, she is leaning against a tree and Neji is still up, keeping a constant watch. Gai and Lee are discussing the pace to set in order to make up for lost time and Tenten sees the look that Neji sends her. But now that she's had some time to rest, she's ready for another long run. And now she knows that Neji will be watching out for her. Tenten makes a mental note to watch out for him too. After all, with the endless balls of energy named Gai and Lee for teammates, she and Neji will have to take care of each other.