Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Tenten would be the main character.
Drabble 1: The Youth of Hair: Pre-Naruto Series
Tenten's hair was drooping. Her neat buns were drooping. Needless to say, this did not make Tenten very happy. At all. And her beloved teammates weren't helping. At all.
They were currently sitting in a teashop, Tenten crammed besides Neji. The latter was staring at the wall, his Byakugan activated—no doubt, there were more interesting things to look at outside than the bland, old-lady covered inside of the teashop.
Lee, on the other hand, was practically bouncing in excitement next to his honorable sensei, the one and only, Maito Gai. "When do we get to go after Tora next, Gai-sensei?" The spandex-covered youth asked zealously. Tenten wanted to kick him. That damned cat had almost made her hair come loose. And landed a couple of scratches to boot, too.
Maito Gai, however, was beaming at Lee with a sort of fatherly pride. "We'll take a break here, first, Lee. Then we shall pursue Tora with all the fiery youth in our hearts!"
Tenten decided to stop listening. Conversations between Lee and Gai were always too happy. Now, Tenten was not an unhappy person. But there was only so much youth she could take. Groaning, she flopped down, preparing to nap until the next dreaded Tora-hunting excursion.
That was, until Lee suddenly kicked her under the seat.
"What the—!" Tenten's head jerked up, to find a Lee with two bright spots on his cheeks, staring at her.
"What the hell, Lee?" She screamed at him, nice nap totally forgotten. Gai-sensei shook his head disapprovingly. "Now, Tenten…" he said soothingly. "We must fill the air with youth!" Lee, uncharacteristically not agreeing with his sensei for once, kept staring at her with that befuddled expression.
"Lee?" Tenten asked uncertainly. Was there something on her face? Suddenly, he stood up.
And that was when he stepped out of the booth, strode up the aisle to where she sat, and started speaking. "I love you! Your hair burns of youth! Will you go out with me? I'll protect you forever!" Tenten stared at him, slack-jawed. Had his mouth not been opening and closing, she would've never believed these words were coming from him.
He looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. But wait, why were his eyes to the side? People were supposed to make proclamations while looking their target straight in the eye, right?
"Um…Lee…" Tenten started, noticing that half the shop was staring at them. How would she put him down? "I—"
"HELL NO!"
Tenten jerked, startled. That was when she noticed the pink-haired girl, who looked to be about eleven years old, in the booth behind them. The girl's face was as pink as her hair, and she was scooting away from Lee as far as she could. And that was when Tenten realized that Lee was staring at that pink-haired girl, looking crushed.
"Oh…" Tenten thought. She could not think of anything else. She ought to be relieved, right? Why had her mind suddenly blanked?
Behind her, Neji made a disparaging snort, no doubt scorning her failed rejection plan.
"YOU!" She cried, jabbing a finger at him. He smirked. And that was when Tenten, outraged, overbalanced, falling into his lap. And that was when Lee decided to steal Gai's sake and drink.
Needless to say, mayhem issued.
Dripping wet, exhausted, and totally sober, Team Gai had a lot to clean up. And there was still Tora to be found. As Tenten and Neji stared at the mess and Lee looked ashamed, trying to sneak away to do laps, they all heard a voice from one of old ladies filing out the shop—
"My, my, so much young love nowadays…"
Surprisingly, the only thing Tenten could think of was—Lee's not in love with her! Behind Tenten, she could swear she heard a disparaging snort.
It was very subtle LeeTen, if you couldn't figure out the pairing. Review!
