White Flower
Konoha
In the Village of Konoha, Tenten and Lee were training by themselves. Tenten was chunin while Lee was Jonin. Neji had become Anbu and was always away on important missions.
"You think Neji will be back soon?" The seventeen-year-old chunin asked. With a flick of her wrist, she hit her kunai blade directly above Lee's head. Lee sighed. He yanked the blade out of the tree trunk, twirling the blade expertly between his fingers.
"Stop worrying about him Tenten. Neji will be fine. He said it would be a short mission." Suddenly, Gai-sensei appeared out of nowhere.
"Where's Neji?" he demanded. His usually friendly and casual face was dark and serious.
"Greetings sensei! Neji has not yet returned from his mission," Lee reported smartly. Tenten frowned and studied her former sensei's face.
"Is something wrong? Did something happen?" she asked. Gai tossed them a scroll. Tenten read it quickly; her eyes skimming over the words and letting the message sink in. All the color drained from her face. "Oh no."
3 days later…
Seventeen-year-old Hyuga Neji walked through the west gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His bird shaped mask hid a smile. It's good to be back, he thought. He headed towards the green clearing where his team used to and still trained.
"Neji!" Tenten looked up from her book. Her brown hazel eyes shone but Neji noticed that something was wrong.
"My old time rival, it warms our hearts to see you well," Lee greeted. Neji gave a short nod.
"How are things here?" he asked. There was a moment of somewhat awkward silence. He looked from both Lee to Tenten.
"W…w-we were going to ask you," Tenten stammered slightly. Neji frowned slightly. Behind his mask, there was a confused look in his eyes. Lee shuffled his feet nervously which was quite rare for the Jonin. "You mean, you don't know?" Tenten whispered. Lee opened his mouth, and then closed it.
"What's going on?" Neji demanded his voice cold and impatient. Tenten flinched, feeling his harsh stare on both of them. Lee brought up his courage and cleared his throat.
"Neji, there was a letter from the Hiru Clan," he said. When Neji didn't say anything, Lee continued. "They bring news about the 'White Flower.'" Neji's heart skipped a beat.
"What…?" Neji started, but Tenten quickly finished what they had to say.
"Neji, Nadeshiko's in trouble. She's been kidnapped."
