Here it is, a new Naruto twoshot. I hope you enjoy. Rate&Review as always.
Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto. If I did, Tenten would certainly be one of the characters I'd give more focus.
Chapter 1: Team Feud
Tenten gazed at the bent and broken kunai that littered the forest floor. Every single one of them had been hit. As far as she could see, there was nothing to improve upon.
Neji glared at her questioningly. "Well?" he snapped.
Tenten sighed.
"You hit every one of them with perfect accuracy," she replied solemnly. "As you have been for the last two weeks…"
"So what you're saying is…" Neji interrupted, his voice rising with anger. "Is that it's exactly the same as it has always been?"
"Yes," Tenten replied forcefully.
Neji yelled in frustration and lashed out at one of the trees. The Jyuuken chakra went right through it, snapping it clean in two.
Tenten sighed again, and forced herself to keep calm.
"Well," she said. "If that's all, I'm going to go and do some of my own training, if that's OK with you?"
"What?" Neji looked around. "Oh…yes. If you must."
Tenten gathered her supplies together, and then stalked off.
When she was out of Neji's sight and earshot, she leaned against a tree and gazed up at the sky.
"Why?" she muttered to herself. "Why must they do this do each other?"
Lee had always considered Neji his rival, but Neji had never really taken this seriously…not until Lee defeated him in a sparring match.
Ever since then, all hell had broken loose. Neji was so horrified that he could be beaten by a 'failure,' that he decided to make it his mission to train relentlessly day after day. Very often, he needed someone to train with, and unfortunately for her, that someone was always Tenten. Neji often started at six in the morning, not finishing until way past midnight. This was not good for Tenten, and her lack of sleep made her extremely irritable during the day.
What made things worse, was the fact that Lee had seen Neji's intense training as a challenge. And now he had taken up relentless training too, with Tenten again to aid him of course.
"But it is a perfect strategy," Lee had assured her, as he was relentlessly using extra weights to improve his muscle dexterity. "If Neji is vexed by my newly improved ability, he will need something to take his anger out on. This will be me! If I train up enough, Neji's pugnacious tendency will be satisfied!"
But somehow Tenten doubted it. Anyway, now was not the time to be focusing on what would or would not work. She had finally got some time to train alone, as supposed to just being Neji or Lee's 'aid.'
So, moving out onto an average sized training field, she prepared some paper targets, and stuck them onto three separate trees. Something easy to start with, she thought.
She pulled three senbon from her pouch and held them in her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she ran up to the three targets and threw the senbon.
The three of them flew well, but two of them flew between the gaps in the three trees, and the third only grazed the edge of one of the trunks, and ricocheted off.
Tenten blinked. She simply could not believe what had just happened. When it came to her training, perfectly accurate aim was one thing she specialised in. It was possibly the only thing she could say to be proud of – and she had completely missed the targets. This couldn't be happening.
"No," she thought desperately. "No, this isn't happening!" She couldn't have missed. She was simply thinking too much about Lee and Neji. Yeah. That must be it. Next time she just needed to focus more. Not to mention she was out of practice.
She unsheathed a kunai and balanced it in her hand. Maybe those senbon were sabotaged somehow, she thought, desperately trying to reassure herself. But this kunai was the perfect weight and had the correct aerodynamic structure. It would fly perfectly.
So, aiming at the centre target, Tenten threw the kunai.
It missed.
And it too sailed right through the trees, and this time yell was heard, one that Tenten was sure she recognised.
Sure enough, when she had followed the kunai's path through the trees, she found Naruto sitting there, a cup of instant ramen in his hand. But for once, his eyes were not on the ramen, but on a long cut across his arm. The kunai that gave him this cut, and also the one the Tenten had just thrown, was sticking into the ground.
When he saw Tenten, Naruto leapt to his feet, causing some of his ramen to decorate the ground.
"So!" he yelled angrily. "You're the one who threw this kunai at me? What do you think you were playing at?"
Normally, Tenten would have been apologetic, and, although amused, she would have helped Naruto reach medical aid, or simply healed it herself. Instead, surprising even to her, she felt anger boil up inside of her.
"You shouldn't have been in the way!" she snapped. "What sort of place is this to eat ramen anyhow?"
Naruto stared at her. Tenten then came to her senses and almost broke down. She put a hand to her mouth.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Go and see Sakura. She'll fix you up."
She then turned quickly and went back to the training field, not waiting to see whether Naruto would follow her advice or not. She collapsed to her knees, and tried her hardest not to break down.
"Is this what's become of me?" she wondered. "Is my lack of sleep and stress over Neji and Lee turning me into an obnoxious brat? Who can't even aim properly?"
"Hey, Tenten, what's up?"
Tenten turned in the direction of the voice. Ino was walking towards her, looking puzzled.
"Oh, hi Ino," Tenten replied, returning to staring into space directly afterwards.
Ino, not to be turned away, sat down next to her.
"Come on," she insisted. "Tell me. You haven't been yourself recently. What's been going on?"
Tenten couldn't help but smile at Ino's sudden sister-like attitude. Normally being the helpful mentor was her speciality.
"Alright," Tenten agreed. "It's Neji and Lee. They've suddenly become extreme rivals who are now pushing themselves beyond their…and my…physical limits."
Ino thought for a moment.
"You mean like Naruto and Sasuke were?"
Tenten nodded. "Something like that. But unlike Sasuke, Neji can't just wander off to the Sound Village. That seems to be one of his biggest frustrations. And Lee's attitude isn't helping matters."
Ino nodded understandingly.
"But what was that about your physical limits?" she asked.
"Well," Tenten explained. "They seem to need me to assist them with their training methods. And this is both of them, so I'm now running both of the busiest schedules in the Leaf Village. And I also feel so…"
Tenten searched around for the right word.
"…second-rate! It's always them and their training, not mine, and it has always been. Especially in the chuunin exams…" Tenten cringed at the memory of her crushing defeat in the third exam preliminary rounds. That level of fighting skill was not one she wanted to go back to.
"And," she continued. "One of these days they're going to do themselves lasting harm." She rolled her eyes upward and sighed. "Its driving me round the bend. All the stress has had a bad effect on my training." She gestured toward the trees with the completely missed targets on them. "The kunai I threw hit Naruto," she continued. "And then I got really angry with him."
Ino paused for thought again.
"To be honest," she said. "Naruto deserved that. But Lee and Neji know not to push themselves to the extremes. Is it really that bad?"
Tenten chuckled darkly.
"Oh," she said. "You have no idea…"
"To prove myself to Gai-sensei and Neji," Lee declared. "I will scale the Hokage monument one-handed!"
"So," Tenten said, half-exasperated, half-amused. "You're now going with some of Kakashi-sensei's style?"
"Oh yes!" Lee cried, pumping the air with his fist. "Just watch me!"
Because it offered a break from training, Tenten agreed to. By the time she had got to the monument, Lee was already a quarter of the way up, sweating feverishly, one hand clinging to the rock.
"I can't help noticing," Tenten called up to him. "That this cliff-face is almost absolutely sheer. Couldn't you find something easier to scale?"
"No!" Lee replied stubbornly. "Once I get to the Hokage's faces, it will be much easier!"
He gave a grand leap, and scrabbled to cling onto a piece of jutting-out rock with his one hand. He winced slightly as it dug into his palm, but he felt his cause was just.
Tenten looked on anxiously. A large rock underneath the Fourth Hokage's chin looked like it could come loose if just enough pressure was put upon it…
"Look…Lee!" she called up to him, trying to reason with his absurd goal. "Why don't you just come down and use your First Gate body strength too…practice the Lotus or something?"
"The First Inner Gate isn't open," Lee replied simply. "I'm going to do it better than Kakashi!"
"WHAT?" Tenten screamed in disbelief at him. "How the…?"
She then noticed a rockslide was starting.
"And if Kakashi hadn't happened to be passing," Tenten concluded. "Who knows what would have happened?"
Ino winced.
"Well," she said. "OK, maybe it is challenging…" she bit her lip as she thought.
"Alright," she said finally, standing up. "I'll get Shikamaru and Chōji to keep a close watch on them both, and try to intervene if they do anything brash."
"Oh, no you don't have to…" Tenten protested.
"In the meantime," Ino cut across her firmly. "I suggest you go home and get some rest. Seriously. If your aim is so poor that you missed Naruto's head…"
Tenten smiled in spite of herself.
"…then you definitely need to catch up on some sleep," Ino finished on a more serious note.
Tenten beamed and nodded.
"OK, will do. Thanks Ino, you're a really great friend."
Ino beamed too.
"Thanks!" she said. "I suppose I owe it to you anyway!"
As Ino walked away, Tenten smiled once again as she remembered the occasion Ino had referred to. At one point, she was completely smitten and infatuated with Shikamaru, but never thought that Shikamaru would take notice of her, due to his lazy attitude and her constant Sasuke flirting. This is when she and Tenten had first really gotten on – Tenten had given Ino the confidence she had needed to ask Shikamaru out, and now the two of them were the cutest couple in Konoha.
Well, Tenten thought, happy for the first time in weeks, Ino was now returning the favour.
The blood-stained floor was not a particularly appealing sight, but at least it distracted Tenten from the lifeless bodies of her two team-mates.
Gai was looking at her with a very sombre expression.
"I cannot believe you would let this happen, Tenten!" he snapped. "You were supposed to stop them from going overboard!"
Tenten didn't know what to say. She dropped to ground in front of her two fallen comrades, and she could almost hear them yelling at her for not helping them…
Then she woke up.
Gasping and sweating, she gazed around her room briefly; just double-checking there was no blood or bodies. When she discovered there wasn't, she collapsed backwards and closed her eyes.
This was getting too much for her to handle. Even though she had slept for a long time, it hadn't helped much, as she had been constantly plagued by nightmares such as that one.
Before she could have more time to ponder on this, the door burst open, and to her intense astonishment, into her room came none other than Rock Lee.
She stared at him for a few seconds before she realised there was a boy in her bedroom and pulling the covers right up to her chin, her face burning like some sort of Fire Style jutsu.
"Lee!" she rebuked him angrily. "Don't you know not to come into a girls' room?"
Lee recoiled.
"I am sorry Tenten!" he replied. "It is just I felt like seeing how you are keeping this morning."
He gave a slight bow of the head.
"Well…thanks Lee," Tenten replied, quite perplexed. It had been a while since either of her team-mates had showed any acknowledgement of her well-being.
"You do not have to help me train today," Lee informed her. "As I will be fighting Neji. Goodbye."
And with that, he sprinted out of the door.
"What? No! Lee, come back!" Tenten shouted after him. He didn't respond.
On an impulse, Tenten leapt out of bed. She knew she had to stop them at all costs. Those two never knew when to stop. If they fought for long enough, they could end up killing each other…and it would be her fault.
"So, Neji!" Lee shouted across the training field. "Are you prepared for this?"
"More prepared than you would think!" Neji growled.
A light breeze rippled the grass that gathered around their ankles, creating a perfectly dramatic atmosphere.
Even from this distance, their eyes were firmly locked onto each other, almost unblinkingly.
Neji placed his hands in an appropriate hand-sign.
"Byakugan!"
His kekkei genkai was activated, and although he was focused on Lee, his enhanced vision led him to discover that they were not alone.
Tenten had just arrived, panting, at the scene.
"We don't need an audience," Neji told her sharply. "Now leave."
"No." Tenten was obstinate. "I'm not letting you two kill each other." Although she hung back near the trees, her hawk-like surveillance of them was absolute.
Neji sighed. This was so exasperating!
"Fine!" he snapped. "But I highly doubt your intervention will make any difference."
If that scathing remark had any effect on Tenten, she didn't show it. Instead, she just stood there, with her arms folded, waiting.
Without further ado, Lee decided it was time to spring into action. He left his still position and sprinted directly towards Neji.
"Ah! Leaf Hurricane!" he cried, swinging his foot at his opponent. Neji already had his hands in the correct position to defend himself, and then, as Lee began to right himself, he brought his palm forward. Lee managed to dodge it, land on his feet and prepare for another attack.
Each blow Lee then sent Neji's way was easily blocked by Neji's Gentle Fist technique. This went on for a bit, before Neji managed to lock Lee's arms in his own, and, having secured his defences, he let loose a kick straight to Lee's chest.
Lee, recoiled, but then leapt up and retaliated by aiming a kick at Neji's head. Neji avoided it, but was unable to avoid Lee's second kick, which hit him squarely in the chest, and caused him to lose his footing, but then quickly right himself by rolling into a standing position again.
Tenten looked on. They seemed to be equally strong. With this revelation came a faint glimmer of hope. Maybe if they continued fighting like this, they would eventually both tire themselves out and consider it a draw? That would certainly take a weight off her chest.
But Neji had now decided to get things moving. Avoiding Lee's next Leaf Hurricane, he got into a professional stance, his arms spread wide.
"Oh no…" Tenten muttered. "Not that…!"
"Eight Trigrams! Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji snarled. With frightening speed, he advanced upon Lee and began striking him rapidly.
"Four palms…eight palms…sixteen palms…thirty-two palms…"
With one final swing of his hand, Neji's sixty-fourth blow sent Lee flying backwards, coughing up blood in the process.
As Neji stood there panting at Lee's half-conscious figure on the ground, Tenten, despite being worried for Lee, was glad that the worst was over…
Yeah right.
"Do not be so hasty to gloat!" Lee grunted, as he staggered to his feet. That was the problem with Lee. Too persistent for his own good.
"No Lee!" Tenten called to him. "Just accept Neji's won for the time being and…"
"That," Lee cut in. "I cannot do."
He then held out what he was clutching…a pair of leg weights.
Without waiting for a reaction from either Tenten or Neji, he flung them to the ground, leaving deep craters where they were dropped. Then he moved.
It was still an awe-inspiring sight. Lee became nothing but a blur as he circled Neji and began to lay strikes on him. Even with the Byakugan, Neji was not able to block all of them. Many strikes landed on his chest, face and arms, and he had to recoil to absorb the impact.
Growling, he looked up at the blur which had now stopped moving.
Lee smiled at him, and then, with a very quick move, he loosened the bandages around his arms.
"If you're going to try that with me…" Neji began, but didn't have time to finish his sentence, as Lee had skidded forward with a powerful upper kick, sending him shooting into the air.
The dancing leaf shadow served Lee well, as he shot up beside Neji, restrained his arms with his bandages and began to pile-drive him toward the ground.
"Primary Lotus!"
"I can't hit the ground like this!" Neji thought desperately, using his jyuuken chakra under the bandages.
"Eight Trigrams, Vacuum Palm!"
Therefore, when the impact arrived, it was partially cushioned. Though, I say partially.
Neji, spluttering on the ground, looked up at Lee.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" he declared, leaping to his feet to continue the fight.
As Tenten watched, she felt that she must intervene somehow, and soon, but was unsure how. As Neji had said, with these two accomplished fighters, how could she possibly stop them?
Lee, after having just battled off a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes, clenched his muscles.
"Second Gate, Gate of Healing…open!" he shouted, as his body was temporarily re-energised.
"NO LEE!" Tenten screamed. "You can't! Look what happened to you last time you did that!"
"I…know what I'm doing Tenten!" Lee grunted. "This time I don't need to open all five of my inner gates!"
"That's what you think!" Neji snarled, running towards him and preparing to strike.
"Third Gate, Gate of Life…OPEN!" Lee yelled, his body glowing green and his skin turning red. Neji had to use the Palm Rotation to avoid the intense blast of chakra radiating from his body.
Lee then attacked. With such powerful taijutsu, Neji had to use the Palm Rotation again twice. But the third time, Lee got to him.
An insanely powerful kick sent Neji sky-high, and as Lee leapt up to join him, determination in his eyes, Neji had no doubt what he was about to do.
"HIDDEN LOTUS!" Lee roared.
Tenten gasped in horror. That attack was easily powerful enough to kill Neji.
Neji obviously thought this too. He spread his arms.
"Protective Eight Trigrams!" he yelled. "One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms!"
"That could kill Lee, too!" Tenten realised. This had gone way beyond a regular sparring match. She had to intervene.
Pulling a scroll from her pocket, Tenten then leapt up to join the violently fighting pair, seconds from collision. She hoped that her weapon summoning would be able to break the two of them up. It wasn't an ideal plan, but she had to stop them.
Even if it killed her.
Cliffhanger!
Well, that's it. If you liked it, stay tuned for the next chapter. If you didn't like it, don't.
Just a message about my other fanfic, For Whom the Bell Tolls. Comparatively, I haven't updated it in a while. Don't worry – the next chapter is coming – I just don't know when.
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