The year of their first Chuunin exam, Gai had refused to let his Genin participate.
Lee had protested at first, but eventually came to accept the decision upon Gai's promise of "Next Year."
Tenten didn't say a word, instead letting the seventeen trees decimated by kunai, shurikan, and other various pieces of weaponry speak for her.
Neji, on the other hand, was not so discreet in voicing his displeasure. Even now, four years down the road, Gai still remembered Neji's cold accusation of purposely holding them back in order to pacify some "asinine, competitive fetish" between him and his eternal rival, Kakashi.
Gai did not bother to correct him; he knew it would do little good.
After all, Neji's eyes were perfect. Nothing could be hidden from their depths.
At least, that's what Gai had always heard of the prestigious Hyuga clan… but as useful as they were rumored to be, Gai found that Neji's eyes seemed to miss quite a few things… the unshed tears in Tenten's eyes whenever death was mentioned, the quiver of Lee's hand as his kunai neared the throat of enemy nin on their last mission, and even the real motive for Gai's refusal to allow them to enter the Chuunin Exams.
But Gai could not tell any of this to Neji.
Oh no, most certainly not. For you see, while it is true that Neji's eyes most certainly were not flawless, they were all he had—the only kind of reward he had received for the sacrifice of his father and the thirteen years spent in virtual hell.
So Gai kept quiet, and when the next Chuunin exam rolled around, he set his Genin loose, rubbing it in Kakashi's face all along the way.
AN: I don't know what this is… probably just a way to let you guys know that I'm alive and trying to work on my other stories; it's just difficult because I've forgotten where I intended to take them. I'll probably delete it by tomorrow. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays in the meantime.