Summary: Team Gai finally pulled itself together with a bit help from a stuffed panda. Includes: Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gai. Bonding. Oneshot, not a crack fic.
Birds, Pandas, and Turtles
A/N: It took me so long to finish that I didn't want to just delete it, so here it is, just for you. As usual, please help me make this story better. Please enjoy. K+ for slight language.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. Just the idea.
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"Um, Neji...?" I ask nervously.
He grunts at me. "What is it, Tenten." It didn't sound like a question. It sounded like a demand. Get it over with.
And he doesn't even stop to talk to me.
He just keeps hitting that log, over and over and over again with his hands. I fidget a little with my wooden chained scythe, running my hand over the blunt side.
Aren't you going to look at me? I'm talking to you...
"...never mind." I laugh fakely.
He still doesn't stop, but I can see his white eyes slide over to consider me. I don't want to look at him, so I look down at the pretend blade in my hands, my most favorite one. Lee and Sensei are gone again, as usual, so I can't pretend to look at their antics. They're always off training on their own, but isn't a sensei supposed to train all of his or her students? I feel...kinda neglected.
But that doesn't really matter right now.
"Tenten." I jolt and stab myself with a long splinter. I look at the stupid thing now stuck in my finger.
"What?" I laugh another fake laugh. He sighs. I don't hear the wood being hit anymore for some reason, it must be my ears, or--
No. That's not right.
He had stopped. For me? To talk to me? He's actually paying attention to me? I'm not just a distraction anymore?
He closes his eyes in exasperation, and then opens them again. And now I see those scary veins on his face going towards his eyes, his ghost eyes.
Byakugan.
"I can see with these eyes." Oh. Those eyes can do a lot of things... "You're bothered about something. Anyone can see that." Had I really been so careless? "I could tell you the differences between you today and you the other times we've met, but..." He offhandedly brushes some hair out of his eyes, those creepy veins sinking back into his skin. I shiver inside and wait for him to finish, but he doesn't say anything else.
"No, it's really nothing." That stupid fake laugh rings in my ears again, and I look back down at the blade resting in my hands and my life leaking out of one of my fingers.
Please keep asking what's wrong...
My hands grip the old, splintered handle tighter. I pretend to smile, but I want him to see through my act so badly.
And he's still looking at me with those eyes. I feel the quiet authority of them on me, and it's so quiet, I start to get nervous all over again. And then I start to sicken myself with how wimpy I'm being. But I want to know. Have to. What if he doesn't keep asking? What if he really doesn't care?
It's so quiet I feel like I need to say something. I start to spick at the sliver of wood digging into me.
"No." I snap my head up. "No, it's not 'nothing.'" D-did I just say that? No, no, it couldn't have been me--I'm not that confident, I'm not that bold in front of the number one Genin of the year, Neji the Genius...
"So you were lying?" he asks easily, tilting his head to the side and back a little. I hear his smirk in his voice, and I look up at him, square in the eyes, no flinching. He's looking at me a little weirdly, not really smirking. But I could have sworn he had been smirking a second ago...
"That's right!" I'm suddenly so full of energy.
"So what did you really want to say."
It all drains out of me just as suddenly as it came in. I look back down at my scythe and pick at the stupid splinter again. I can't seem to grab it. "Auh...um..." I feel his eyes staring at me and his impatience is thick in the air. I chance a glance up. He doesn't look too upset with me, so I try to sound confident. "Well, I heard it was your birthday today. July third. T-today." I'm stuttering? What an idiot.
Get a hold of yourself, Tenten!
I try a smile, and it comes out all wavery and weak and wrong. My free hand unconsciously tries to mess with my bangs out of nervousness. I try to stop it, but I'm sure he saw that...Stupid, stupid! I can barely stop myself from hitting my head.
And is it just me, or is the sun burning particularly hot today? My face feels like it's on fire for some reason. I don't know why; I heard yesterday that today was going to be just as warm as yesterday, maybe even a little cooler...
"...What about it?" He actually sounds curious? That's...kinda different. He sounds kinda like he didn't think I would remember his birthday. I feel so stupid and awkward and even clumsier than usual.
Mind blank.
"Um, well," I stall until I can think of what I want to say. "I was kinda wondering if I could...get you something? Like, a, um, a present?" He looks like he's actually thinking about what I said. I'm hopeful.
"No."
I'm suddenly crushed by a huge weight, like the ones that Sensei always has on.
"There's nothing you could give me that I'd want." He turns his back on me, his symbol of the end of conversation.
That's it?
He's looking at that log again. His interest in me is dwindling away, waning, gone.
No. Way. I'm not going to just let it drop!
"...Well I'm going to get you something anyway!" I snap at his back. "I don't care if you don't want it! You can hate it if you want! But I'm going to get you something!" His body freezes up, his sign of surprise.
"...You're being unreasonable, Tenten. Don't waste your money and time."
I almost stamp my foot, but I stop myself just in time by digging my nails into my palm, my left digging nails into the wooden chained scythe. "I don't care!" My confidence drops rock bottom again. "I just...want to get you something." I start to poke at my splinter again. It's hard to see, but it almost looks like it's going under my skin even more.
He whips around to glare at me, those white eyes narrowing and impaling kunai onto me. I jerk away from his malice in shock. "There's nothing you can buy that I'd actually want," he repeats again with that quiet contempt, his voice rising a little with every word. "So stop wasting both of our time with your irresponsible mood swings!" My joints start to lock up, and I withdraw back into myself. I've never been at the brunt of his anger before. I've never even heard of him being this angry before.
But then again.
I don't know him at all.
"Don't waste my time," he says again, his voice quiet now. But it's a different quiet than usual. It's the quiet after a storm quiet, the delicate quiet.
And now I really know that quiet anger is so much scarier than loud shouting and screaming anger. I grip my scythe so hard I hear the weak thing crack.
I'm being so weak and I hate myself for it. But hating myself won't stop what I know's coming.
I can't seem to breathe right. My eyes burn, my face burns, my hands are wood, and I feel...so...heavy. Even more awkward than usual. And now everything's wavy and hazy now. But I can still see him in front of me, his general shape. And he's turning away from me again.
End of conversation.
I'm not worth his attention anymore.
I hear something long dropping to the ground--shhhk. Neji's walking away. He's leaving. Early. He never leaves early.
Grass, dirt, and leaves rustle together; it's a nice melody.
He's gone.
And then, suddenly, they're here.
"Hello there!" someone bellows at me in my ear.
"Where is Neji?" another one inquires, bending down to pick something up from the grass. Shhk "And here is your weapon, Tenten. It seems as though you dropped it! Perhaps you have been training too hard today?" I faintly see something being held in front of me. It clicks together. I guess I should take it. I lift my wooden hand and grab towards it.
"Your training went well with Neji? Like always? Did you bound forward with your Springtime of Youth and learn amazing things today?!" that voice bellows again, and then he strikes a dumb pose.
Sensei's so stupid. Why can't he help me too? How does he expect me to get better if he doesn't teach me?
He starts to laugh, his ridiculous laugh. "You two get along so well, just as how Lee and I are so highly compati--!"
I turn to leave. I don't want to hear Sensei's stupid speeches now.
That clicky whatever-it-is in my hand's too long, and most of it falls out. It drags on the ground, grabbing onto things as it goes. It's hard to hold on to things with wooden hands. Shhk, shhk...
"...Tenten?" Lee bends way over for some reason. I don't know why. There's nothing on my face, is there?
"Tenten, is there something troubling you?" Sensei's bellowing voice, on quiet mode, wants to know.
I wish they'd be quiet and go away.
"H-hello? Tenten? ...Are you well?"
Stop bothering me.
"Tenten, did Neji...did he do something unforgivable?"
"Ahaha! Of course! Lee, you're sharp today! It must have been love--!"
"Shut up!" I yell. "Stop bothering me!" I feel guilty for exploding at Lee (not so guilty at Sensei), but I walk away even faster, trying not to trip over the roots I can't see. Shhk, shk, shh-
And now whatever I'm lugging around's caught on something? What is this!?I brace my wooden legs and yank on it mercilessly, my numb muscles bawling out in pain like the weak things they are. The whatever-it-is suddenly rips itself free and I tumble backwards. My chest feels tight and breathing's even harder now. I get up. It's hard to see. But I'm not crying! Only weaklings cry, and I hate weak people.
...I'm weak. I hate myself.
"G...Gai-sensei, what do you think happened?" Of course I can hear that stupid stage whisper, do you think I'm deaf, Lee? But I can hear the worry cracking through his voice, and that makes me feel bad.
"...I'm not absolutely sure, Lee, but I'll be sure to find out! Even if I have to ask the opinion of my Eternal Rival, Kah-kah-shi!" Why does he always say Kakashi's name so weird?
"...You are going to go to such lengths? To even ask something of your Eternal Rival?"
"Of course I am, Lee! This is our Tenten we're talking about!" Am I really that important...?
"...You even promise with the nice-guy pose?" ...There's a difference in his poses?
"That's right, Lee! I promise with the nice-guy pose! I will definitely find out what is troubling our kawaii Tenten by tomorrow's dawn! And if I don't, I will do one thousand push-ups in a row!"
"...All right."
Somebody cares about my worthless emotional balance? Two people? I should be happy. But I'm too selfish to make myself happy because I'm still too hung up about Neji.
I really hate myself today . . .
---
I somehow manage to drag myself home, pick out that splinter, avoid answering any questions about my current state by smiling, evade drowning myself during my shower (but using up all of the hot water and earning dirty looks from my family), struggle through dinner, and make it to my room and closing the door without breaking down again.
For the first time in years, I fish Panpan from under my bed. I dust her off a little, smiling at the kawaii expression that Panpan has on her little black and white face. "Hi Panpan," I whisper to her before hugging her happily. My swollen eyelids start to burn with that heaviness again. "I'd really like to talk to you before going to sleep today. Is that okay?" Panpan looks at me with her serious black eyes, and I take that as a yes. "Well, I graduated from the Ninja Academy fine just a week ago, and then . . ."
------
I keep seeing her face for some reason, that broken look when I refused her offer to get a birthday present for me.
There really shouldn't be anything I should be worrying about. She's just a teammate. Not even a friend. Someone I barely know. There isn't anything she can buy for me anyway. I don't want her to waste her money on something I'm just going to throw away.
A birthday isn't important. It's just another day. This day isn't ever going to be happy for me anyway. Not without Father.
It doesn't matter anyway.
But that look on her face unnerves me and is giving me a headache, even though I already took medicine to get rid of that burning throb. It's right where that damn Curse Mark is...
And she was the only one that acknowledged today. Not that today was supposed to be special or anything...but she was the only one that said anything . . .
I won't be able to get to sleep easily tonight.
------
Tenten looked so sad today, and I do not have any idea why. It probably had something to do with Neji--wait, of course it had something to do with Neji! I should have been there with them instead of going off with creepy Gai-sensei again, though I really did learn a lot from him (even though he is strange) today, like what the "nice-guy pose" he always talks about is, and--
Agh! But that does not matter right now! I will stay and train with Tenten tomorrow for sure, just so I can make sure that...that Neji does not upset her any further!
I would punch into the air, but I think the strain of training for another hour after meeting sad Tenten in addition to the four before might have been too much for my body.
Of course, what made Tenten sad in the first place might have something to do with what Gai-sensei had started to say before Tenten had yelled out at us, something about love... Could it be she has a crush on Neji and was rejected? That thought hurts me in my heart, a sharp little pain. But Tenten's happiness should and shall come before my own! Even though...she is pretty...and I do like her a little bit... But if she likes Neji, then let her...like him... But if he hurts her anymore than he already has, I swear--!
Now I would have punched the air again, but again...my body does not wish to cooperate with me tonight. It is a good thing Mother had convinced me to get ready for bed a few minutes earlier than usual; I am already in bed.
But tomorrow...
No matter what, Tenten! I promise to stick with you from now on to protect you from that Neji! Even if you do not want me with you, I swear it so!
------
Even though I had pretended to be light-hearted for Lee, I can already see my precious team falling apart in my mind's eye. And it's only been a week? I sigh, closing my eyes to be able to concentrate better on this problem. "It's even more difficult to be a sensei than I thought...
"If all of my calculations and assumptions are correct as well as the addition of more information from today's incident...One dislikes Two but likes Three, Three dislikes One but likes Two, Two dislikes...hm, it seems as if he dislikes One but is fairly neutral towards Three. However..." I continue walking throughout the streets of Konoha. Of course multi-tasking is nothing for the great Gai! I simply have to pretend that I am not paying attention and not on guard duty and simply wandering around.
I seem to be drawing attention to myself though. Is talking to oneself that strange of a detail? There seems to be a great flaw in my originally thought flawless plan... Perhaps I ought to duck inside a nearby restaurant to confirm that it is an enemy-free territory.
...And who should I meet besides that Kakashi!? "And what are you doing here, Kahkahshii!?" I holler at him, pointing furiously.
It's dead quiet. People are looking at me, some in mid-chew. Some have ducked under the curtain to peer at me. But it does not matter to me, not in the least! Konoha's villagers always do the stare; it is nothing new for me to be afraid of!
"...Hmm?" He finally turns his head to look at what everyone else is looking at, clutching one of those disgraceful Icha Icha books in his hands. Those are an excellent example of things I would never allow my kawaii students to see!
"...Oh." And he turns back to his book!?
"And what are you doing here!?" I trumpet again, pretending he didn't just ignore me. The stares.
". . .Hm? Oh, what are you doing here, Gai?" he asks in that irritatingly mild tone of voice, as if he just saw me.
"ARAAAAAAH!" I clutch my head and am lost in a vortex of spinning colors. I clench my fists and mime punching him. "That slightly modern and 'cool' attitude pisses me off, Kah-kah-shii!"
And he takes no notice of me. I feel like someone just hit my head with a giant bell. I sigh heavily. "I lose this one..." I mutter to myself before trudging my way over to where Kakashi is.
So after ordering something (and getting another one of those looks from the cook), then getting it (and getting another one of those looks from the cook again), then eating it, and then paying for it (and getting another one of those looks from the cook again), I lean backwards. Kakashi's still there, flipping through that book. No, wait...it's a different one now! I pride myself on my superb observation skills.
"Now then, Gai, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Kakashi mutters from behind his mask, through his book, and then across the great chasm of the table. I can barely hear him now. I quickly look around for other people listening, feigning to stretch, and then readjusting my vest, and then "accidentally" dropping something underneath the table, then sneezing twice. Then I--
"--Oh, then this must be extremely important, hm, Gai?" I can hear his sarcasm simply dripping from his words. I flash him one of the looks. I lean forward a little across the table, still not satisfied with the lack of security here, though I really do need to get back out on the streets to protect all of the villagers from all of those hidden enemy ninjas.
"Well then, Kakashi, remember how I have taken on a Genin team just one week ago?" I see his hair shift slightly from what I see above that detestable book. That means he's listening to what I'm saying. I take that as my cue to continue. I sigh again, a nice, dramatic one. "Well, in only one tiny week," I pinch my index finger and thumb together and squint to show how little it was, "I can see my team starting to fall apart." Tears start to well up in my eyes. "One dislikes Two but likes Three, Three dislikes One but likes Two, Two--"
"Gai," he interrupts. I narrow my eyes at him, irritated that he dared to cut me off.
"What?" I demand. He sighs (what does he have to sigh about?) and lowers that horrible book so that I can see his more-tired-than-usual eye. That shocks me. How many missions had he been accepting lately? I decide to voice my thoughts. "How--"
"Gai," he barges in again, "I have another mission in four minutes. Get to the point."
I suppose that means no more codenames. "Well then," I say, "Rock Lee doesn't like Neji Hyuuga but likes Tenten, Tenten likes Neji but doesn't really like Lee, and Neji just seems to not like anyone at all. At least that's what I've gathered so far. Also," I continue, "something happened today between Neji and Tenten. And though I didn't see it personally myself since I was training Lee for a one-on--" Kakashi looks at me with disapproval.
"Already favoring students in only a week, Gai?" He glances at the clock on the wall and he gets up, pocketing his book easily. "Nice talking to you. Bye." He raises a hand in farewell and disappears, no doubt to that mission he was assigned.
I nod belatedly to show that I had heard and then start staring at the table.
"What are you doing, Gai?!" I roar before leaping up and speeding outside. Gotta look for those enemy ninja!
But now I know what I've been doing wrong and what I should have been doing. Thanks to my favoring Lee, my team has already started to crack and relations strained in result of my irresponsibility.
I'm sorry, Tenten. And even though I don't know what happened between you and Neji and probably never will, it will not ever happen again. You can count on it.
---
It's about two hours before dawn, and I'm already up and pumping. I've got to exercise on my own before I can meet with my students since I don't have much time afterwards what with the honorable duty of guarding Konoha's villagers and seeking out and squashing enemies that was assigned by the Third and so forth. Besides, it helps me wake up so that I'm completely energized by the time I meet them. I can almost laugh at my own brilliance.
But enough of that... Hm, hm, what to do today with my kawaii students...? I had had a whole week's worth of lessons all lined up for Lee, but I have to put those aside for later and think of something that they can all do.
Oh! Ha ha, I've got a great idea now! Since I had failed to find out what had been troubling Tenten, I have to do one thousand push-ups today! And since I already have to do excess training today...
"We can do body training today!" I proclaim out loud, extremely pleased with myself.
------
I feel as though I owe Tenten something. But I shouldn't. It was really her own fault that she took it so badly.
I suppose I'll bring her something anyway. I wonder what she likes...Lady Hinata seems to like umeboshi well enough. Perhaps Tenten would as well...
------
I leap out of bed, completely reenergized. Well, maybe not completely, since some of my muscles still burn a little, but I feel much better compared to yesterday night. And I can move freely today! I strap on the light weights I had secretly gotten. The man selling them said just wearing these everyday could make you stronger, if only by a little bit. And I do feel stronger! Just lugging around a few more weights is more difficult by far, and so it must be working, right?
And then, all of a sudden, I remember my promise last night. I feel a little sad that I can not train with Gai-sensei any more, but I quickly remind myself that this is for the well-being of Tenten!
I'll go to her house early and make sure that Neji does not get anywhere near her!
...Hm, I should bring her something. Maybe some food? There are still some dango from last night, maybe she'd like some...?
------
"Ah, good morning, Panpan," I say to her, making sure she's sitting up okay by herself. The sun's not even up yet, but I have to get up now if I can make it to training on time. And even though I really don't want to see Neji or Lee or Sensei today, I'm going to because if I don't, I'll never be as good a kunoichi as amazing Tsunade. Training is everything.
But since I told Panpan everything last night, I feel so much more relieved. And I'd really love to bring Panpan to training today, but I know Neji and Lee and Sensei would make a big deal out of it, so I won't.
"Hope today's going to be better than yesterday, huh?" I stretch a fake smile across my face at Panpan.
---
"Don't overexert yourself today, Tenten, alright?" Mom nags. Dad grunts from behind his newspaper in agreement. "And don't forget your scythe!"
"Kay, thanks Mom," I say, reaching out to grab the old thing, still chewing breakfast.
"And get up earlier tomorrow so you don't have to stuff your face and run to practice!" she scolds some more with a smile on her face.
"Kay Mom," I say around the food in my mouth, wrapping the wooden chain of the scythe around my arm so that it stays there. I yank open the front door with a bit of difficulty, and then crashes in--
"...Lee?" I look at him weirdly. Why was he leaning against the door? Is he like a stalker...? I hope not--he's going to be on my team for forever... "What're you doing here?"
"Ahaha, good morning, Tenten!" He leaps up, rubbing at the back of his head and grinning.
"Um, good...morning, Lee." I edge past him cautiously, a little freaked out. "Let's, um, go to where Sensei's waiting, okay?"
"Yes! Sure!" He laughs nervously again. "And, ah, I brought some dango! W-would you like some, Tenten?" he asks, brandishing a basket in front of me. I blink and dodge backwards so it doesn't hit me.
"You have dango?" I love dango! But...what was he doing with dango? He always finishes his breakfast before training, unlike me today.
"Yes! I have sesame and some red bean ones too, and, well, would you like some?" he says again, looking really embarrassed. I don't want him to feel bad, so I nod and smile a little. "Um, sure, Lee, thanks..." I pick out a sesame one and nibble on it cautiously. It tastes fine, so I figure it's okay. We're almost at the place where we meet now, and I'm still eating a tiny bit of the first dango I picked out. I don't really want to eat all of them at once--that would be rude to Neji and Lee and Sensei.
And then I see Sensei and Neji waiting for us at the bridge. "Good morning!" Sensei yells, waving furiously. I wave back and smile. I eat the last bite of the dango, and then I see Neji has something too. I wonder what it is...?
"Good morning, Sensei, Neji," I say once I get close enough to them after carefully swallowing the food in my mouth so I didn't choke.
"Shall we go then, my kawaii team?" exclaims Sensei. Sometimes I wonder where he gets his enthusiasm...
Nobody really says anything, so we set off. I'm last, as usual, because I like to be able to look at everyone. Lee, of course, is walking right after Sensei, so Neji's walking in front of me. "Today," Sensei announces, "is going to be focusing on body training! I'll do it with you as well," he explains. He keeps rambling on, so I start to space out a little.
"Tenten." I jolt out of my reverie. It's Neji. He'd dropped back a little so he could talk to me?
I blink. "Um, yes?"
He closes his eyes, but manages to keep walking on track without tripping over anything like I would have. "... I was being unreasonable yesterday. It's your choice of what you want to do."
I blink again. Sensei and Lee and off on their own again, eating dango. But wait a second...what's he talking about...?
Oh. That's right. Yesterday...
I reach up and play with my bangs. "Um, well, it was stupid of me to try and force you to let me get you something you probably wouldn't like anyway, so I'm sorr--"
And suddenly I see a jar of something in front of me. I blink again. It smells faintly salty. "Here," he says, standing in front of me. I stop too. And now I see what it is--umeboshi.
I really, really hate umeboshi. I hate its acid and way too salty taste. The nice taste in my mouth from the sesame dango sours at the memory of that one time I ate umeboshi. But I don't want to just reject it, because that would be really mean. And he looks embarrassed enough already. And it's not like Neji does this every day, so I should appreciate it while I can.
After all, it's the thought that counts, r-right? Even if you hate it, y-you should take it anyway...
"Oh, um, ha ha, " I stall, and laugh nervously. "Th-thank you." I bow after taking the jar, the glass clinking dangerously with the wooden scythe in my hand. I hear something like a sigh, something quiet. I snap my head up. Was that Neji...? No, couldn't have been him, geniuses don't get nervous. And besides, he's already walking away.
I run to catch up to him and look at him sideways through my bangs. His normally pale skin looks a little more flushed than usual. Is he embarrassed...? I quickly look back at the ground and feel a calm happiness wash over me. I'm surrounded by such wonderful people, and I've never noticed that until now. Mom, Dad, Neji, Lee, and even crazy Sensei--I love them all so much.
I tilt my head back with a smile, seeing beautiful golden light in between the birds, branches, and leaves.
"C'mon, Neji! Let's catch up to Sensei and Lee!"
------------
End