How many birds were back there? Six? Seven? The Byakugan did not require open eyes for the enhanced sight and awareness once one reached the precise level of chakra control. There was an ebb and flow to the technique that required years of practice to master, a balance of inward and outward awareness. That was the trick to Kaiten. The outward push of chakra was only possible after learning to open the three-hundred sixty-one tenketsu simultaneously.
Tenten stood up and walked to the center of the dirt circle she had worn into the ground through months of practice. Trees surrounding the clearing showed scratches from high velocity pebbles kicked up from her techniques. Controlling her chakra had become her second nature; it was now as natural to her as breathing. Near forgotten were the memories of the bruises and bumps she had sustained over the months she had spent perfecting the technique, that was the one area she had respect for her teammate Rock Lee – persistence in the face of hardship.
"But some obstacles are impossible to overcome, isn't that right Neji?" She had seen him coming for some time, but only now had Neji arrived from his trip to the hospital.
"You were expecting Gai sensei I'm sure." Neji's red and white changshan shirt was as easy to distinguish as his long hair. To have such long hair as a weapon's master showed a certain degree of confidence in his skills, not that his confidence had helped him in his fight against the girl from Sunagakure. Lee's problems with the boy from Sunagakure had Tenten muse as to the results of what a fight between her and the third Nin from Sunagakure would have been like. She had never fought a puppet user before, but Hyuuga Clan volumes mentioned that the chakra strings they used could be severed by a skilled Juuken user and after losing the element of surprise their ability to fight from multiple angles is rendered useless by the Byakugan.
"The last thing Lee needs is Sensei grieving for him while he's still alive."
"That's rather cold of you…" Tenten did not have to look at him to know what he was thinking. The memory of her fight with her Cousin Hinata hung heavily in her memory, in no small part thanks to that blond boy's vow to defeat her. The feeling was neither fear nor anxiety, yet it troubled her nonetheless.
"Are you here to help me train or not?" Tenten felt the smooth ground under her feet. The rotation of Kaiten had more to do with the natural flow of chakra than with the movement of her body. Even still, her feet could hardly keep still thinking about the technique. Only Gai sensei and Neji knew she had developed the technique from a page in her father's old journal, but it was a move everyone mentioned in whispers whenever Hiashi would walk the streets of Konoha.
What must that time have been like? Her father, Hizashi, had not talked a great deal about the war against Kusagakure but she was amazed that her father had fought alongside her uncle in that war. A bead of sweat ran down the center of her forehead, a timely reminder of what she was, what it meant to be a Hyuuga, what it meant to be a caged bird… no, a slave.
Neji spun a sealed weapon scroll in his hand. His own father had died the night the nine-tails fox had attacked twelve years ago. It was a small connection, but it had started a quiet understanding that had made the Team Gai "experience" bearable.
The time spent honing Kaiten was tiring, but Tenten was glad for the remote location of their training ground, not having to worry about being spied on was one less thing. Neji did what he could with his weapons, but even without Kaiten she found it easy to block or dodge most of the attacks.
"Your footing is improving." Neji picked weapons from off the ground and returned them to the scroll, "You have to admit that Gai's training methods have improved your Juuken skills."
"Sensei's training is physically demanding." There was an analyzing look to his eyes that seemed to take in more than he let on. The man was egotistical, but that may just be an act to distract anyone from seeing just how much he noticed. "But I doubt he tailors our training like that."
"You shouldn't doubt others like that Tenten, it's a bad habit."
"It's not a matter of doubt, just a simple fact."
"Are you sure you aren't using the facts to fit your own opinion?" The muscles around Neji's temples tightened, he regretted saying that instantly and was preparing for a negative response.
"This isn't about Gai Sensei or training is it? What is bothering you, really?"
His breathing steadied, but his skin slightly moistened showing his nervousness. "Your fight with Hinata… you were wrong about her."
"In what way?"
"The way you analyzed her as before your fight; you saw how nervous she was, you even saw that her technique was not as good as yours, but you did not see her determination."
"A loser is a loser; I still don't see how I was wrong."
"Perhaps she is a loser, but she was not a quitter. It takes strength to stand up to what you're afraid of. I'm just saying even with your eyes you don't see everything."
Familiar chakra channels activated slowly on the sides of Tenten's face, with her Byakugan she could see Neji's chakra network and internal organs. "Your heart is beating at a slightly elevated 75 beats per minute, a pinched tenketsu in your right arm is throwing off your aim, your pupils just dilated from that meaning that was something you noticed as you helped me train, muscles on your back are bruised from your fight against Temari… what else do I need to know?"
Neji's eyes drifted to their upper-left corners as a Tenketsu in his brain lit up. He was thinking on the fly, unsure about his thoughts but trying to work out the logic of what he wanted to say.
"You're not thinking about your fights tomorrow. Not your fight with Naruto, not your eventual fight against Sasuke or Gaara in the finals. The only fight you have on your mind is the one you've been wanting ever since you had that seal place on your forehead. You're fighting the weight of your Clan's history… you can't honestly tell me that you're not afraid."
"Of course I'm afraid. I can be killed with a single seal." Letting her Byakugan fade she turned towards Konoha. "Fear is not the point, I am proud of Hinata for fighting me in spite of her fear. But courage alone is not enough in this world, to change the world you need strength as well."
"And what do you need to change yourself?"
It was a question that left a very heavy feeling in the air. Lee fought against destiny with every ounce of his strength, he had grown over the years but he still had lost to Gaara. What would she do if she lost to Hiashi, how cold would the answer of "destiny" leave her feeling after years of training?
"You're right Neji. I can't see everything."
"Maybe it was Lee's destiny to only make it this far, to lose against Gaara; but he met it on his terms. I think that's all any of us can do."
"Perhaps." Sitting down Tenten looked up at the birds in flight and held out a hand as she watched. Neji took a seat next to her and closed his eyes.
In and out. Change what is inside and you can change the world around you. Perhaps she wasn't so different from her teammates as she sometimes felt. Getting back up she offered Neji her hand.
"Come on, we've got a few hours of daylight left. Let's train some more and then go see Lee together."
That special smirk of his lifted the corner of his mouth. "You're on."