Rated; G
Summary; Team Gai and the summer in a childhood that never really existed. NejiTen, if you want.
Author's Note; Requested a looooong time ago. I found it this morning on my USB drive looking forlorn and half-finished, so I thought I'd fix it up and post it. I'm so good at finishing requests, apparently. Good timing, though--it's hotter than hell today.
There is something wrong with how hot it is, the way it drips and slides and pulls off her like a thick coating of caramel on ice cream. Tenten has stripped down to her sports bra, more than ready to glare at anyone who raises complaint, though the heat seems to have sucked dry that particular well of self-righteousness in all but a few (who know better, anyway). As it is, she barely has enough energy to walk, let alone express any kind of feminist rage—after all, why should Lee be allowed to run around in his horrid green swim trunks while Tenten roasts to death?
Not that any of them are running around. Not even Lee (or so she assumes; last she left him, the heat was at manageable levels).
She passes Team 7 on the bridge, where it is minutely cooler than the rest of the village. Naruto looks up at her in a pathetically dilapidated way. Sakura looks bored and is fanning herself in the shade of a post, the respite of which is quickly receding as the sun climbs higher. Even Uchiha Sasuke looks uncomfortable, though Tenten has noticed that he has at least removed his forehead protector and arm warmers, which is more than can be said of the other two. Naruto is still sporting his full-body orange regalia, and Sakura wouldn't forsake fashion for comfort if you threatened her life.
"Hey," Tenten offers as she passes, untying her own forehead protector and feeling a heated breeze lick at the moist skin below. Sakura manages a small smile while Naruto merely flops in recognition, nearly tipping himself into the stream below. Sasuke moves not at all, a choice Tenten considers to be more out of snobbery than any wish to avoid excess movement. Not that it matters; she wouldn't give him the time of day, either.
Tenten wonders about her own genius, and whether or not he's managed to beat the heat or has just given into suffering in that brooding, angry way that Neji has (like the sun itself is against him, and therefore revolves around him). Lee is probably killing himself in the inferno, and Tenten thinks for a moment that that's such an awful way to go—sweating like a pig. But it would probably be cooler in Heaven.
God, it would probably be cooler in Hell, at this rate.
When she makes it to the training grounds, to the circle that has been theirs ever since the soil was mixed with their blood and sweat and had sprouted tiny blue blossoms all those years ago (two), the clearing is oddly silent. It reminds her of the peace before a battle (not after, because there is never peace then, only dead-silence, the kind that makes your memories hurt) but without the tangy scent of adrenaline that always colors those brief periods. This is calm and smells of pine.
She finds Neji stretched out beneath a tree, his long body incandescent against the dark earth. He's wearing no shirt, and Tenten realizes that it's the first time she's seen Neji without the balloon-inspired jacket he always wears. Seeing his body makes him seem more mortal, but upon closer inspection, Tenten isn't sure she's entirely convinced. There is no sign there, no mark or whisper of puckered skin to suggest that Neji has ever worked a day in his life, to make her believe that he is not a god among men. Yet here he is, dark brows furrowed, normally pale cheeks flushed with the heat of a budding sunburn, proving that even he is susceptible to the wonton changes in weather.
"Where's Lee?" Tenten says, coming to a halt mere inches away from the lounging Hyuuga. A fine film of dust that her feet have inspired settles comfortably on the flesh of one of Neji's arms, and Tenten watches it darken with his fine sheen of sweat.
"Hose," Neji says with a partial sigh. He doesn't open his eyes and it sounds effortless.
"Hose?" Tenten echoes, about ready to tell Neji that he can shove his vagueness up his ass (because she is really in no mood to deal with it) when she hears a faint call in the distance of Tenten! Tentennnnn!
It's Lee, of course. She knows this without turning because Lee is the only one who ever feels it necessary to shout her name at unreasonably loud volumes over unreasonably long distances. The timbre of his voice also makes her spine vibrate, sometimes.
Neji is right of course, Tenten notices as she spots Lee running toward them carrying a long green hose that shifts dodgily in the sunlight. It is coming unrolled as he runs, and Tenten's pretty sure he's going to run out of slack by the time he gets here and fall flat on his face in front of them (wherein she will laugh and Neji will smirk superiorly). Tragedy is averted, however, and he slows to a walk and drops the dirty thing into a heap in the center of a clearing. Tenten eyes it nervously, and its copper head winks at her like a snake in the grass.
"What's that for?" Tenten states, trying not to sound too disdainful. She occasionally likes to give Lee's ego a boost, mostly because Neji's is so large and Lee often loses ego wars between them. Now, however…it's much too hot to be nice for nice's sake.
"I thought it would be a good way to cool off!" Lee says, voice a decibel too loud. Tenten winces.
"Lee, how old do you think we are?" She says with the proper amount of condescension, glancing at Neji, who still hasn't opened his eyes. Fair is fair, after all, but she's still a thirteen year old girl and Neji is still the strongest in their small family.
The Hyuuga doesn't seem to notice her attempt at bonding, though, and waves a graceful hand at a fly instead. To her left, Lee drips sweat onto the dry ground.
"Gai-sensei would celebrate our using this hose for an explosion of youth, Tenten!" Lee shouts, looking offended as he waves the thing about. A few drops of crystal clear liquid find their way onto Tenten's cheeks.
Despite their warmth, it is oddly refreshing.
She sighs.
"Fine," she agrees finally, "Neji, come on."
Neji predictably doesn't move. Oddly, Lee doesn't seem perturbed by this, but instead shoves the hose into Tenten's hands and takes off at a run in the other direction. She watches him confusedly for a few short moments until he is nothing but the glossy glint of sun off of sweat-slicked muscles, a beacon. God, Tenten thinks, /i how does he do that? /i
The hose in her hands is suddenly alive. It blows air and hot water onto the dusty ground, the trunk of the tree, Tenten's feet….and Neji.
Tenten has never seen someone move so fast. Neji's up and away from the spray (which has quickly turned cold) in mere seconds. He reminds her of an agitated cat that has been dumped in a bath full of water—it's the funniest thing she's ever seen.
"Sorry, Neji!" she cackles as the Hyuuga brushes water and mud from his pale skin. He looks deeply disturbed and highly irritated. It just makes her laugh all the harder.
"Oops, oops!" Tenten crickets as she turns the hose on him again, "It's really got a mind of its own, doesn't it?"
It doesn't take Neji long to grab the hose from her—in fact, she's slightly surprised that she was able to get the boy wet at all. He's looking murderous as water splashes at his feet, and Tenten giggles nervously.
"It's a garden hose, Tenten," Neji states as if Tenten is the stupidest person in the world. She feels rage build inside her for just a moment before she's suddenly got freezing water running over her face and head, spraying over her body. "But I see what you mean."
She runs, shrieking, blinded by water, straight into Lee.
"Is everything oka—?" he's gross and sweaty and stinky and Neji is right behind her, something Lee seems to notice just then, but not quickly enough for them to escape another dose of water.
"Run—Lee, go!"
"Neji! This youthful explosion is highly unlike you, but I am impressed!" Lee shouts as he dashes away. Neji, though, apparently knows how to work a hose. Lee is soaked within minutes.
The dust beneath them has turned to mud; Lee's back is splattered with it, and Tenten can feel it sticking to her legs as she attempts to avoid the stream of water Neji is so adept at directing their way. She tries to keep her eyes off of him, worried about catching a stoic, mirthless expression.
There's hardly anything mirthless about this, though. Lee's laughing and screaming louder than she is, and the water is refreshing despite the mess they're making.
When she slips and falls on her ass, the smirk Tenten catches on Neji's face is softer than she's ever seen it. Lee trips on her outstretched leg and flattens her with his hard, heavy body—the boy has never had any coordination outside taijutsu, it seems. Through trying to catch their breaths, they're both laughing.
Between the mud and sky, Tenten sees Neji's legs approach. The angle doesn't allow her to see much more than speckled skin, but she can imagine the expression on his face.
"Ooh, Lee, get off," she whines. Neji lets the stream of water dribble on her head for a moment before stepping back, already having claimed victory.
"Maybe now we can get some work done," he says stiffly. Lee rolls off of her, and Tenten sits up, grinning as she watches Neji wash the mud from his legs.
"It's too hot," she complains.
Neji gives her a withering look and brushes a wet strand of dark hair from his forehead. He drops the hose at her feet and turns his nose up at the two of them.
"You should know by now how to cool off, then," he states primly.
Tenten grins and picks up the hose.
"I sure do," she says.
Fin.