Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just the plotline. :D
Author's Notes: This was going to be my July entry for the Tenten LJ community but me, being lazy and typically me, didn't finish this until just recently. D: So definitely didn't make it in time for the deadline, but I liked the idea of the fic enough to finish it. I tried not to make Tenten all lame and stuff, but it might have come out that way because I'm lame and thus I produce lame things.
A Perfect Sky
On the day she let them go, the sky was a rich blue without a cloud in sight.
It was never easy getting left behind for the first time.
It was even harder getting left behind for the second.
The mission was to be at least a month long and Tenten wasn't sure she could last that long without them. It was a feeble thing to admit, but it was the honest truth. She didn't want them to leave without her. She wanted them with her, where she could keep an eye on them. She wanted to be with them, so she could protect them from things they wouldn't see.
But she had no choice than to let them go.
It was her duty as a kunoichi to let them go; to let them do what they did best:
Protect.
And that's exactly what she did.
The day after they left, the sky was a cold gray and flat slate clouds hovered.
She was skilled and experienced, and she knew them and knew of their skills, but that never stopped her from worrying. She knew she should have more faith in them, but accidents do happen. And she didn't want anything to happen to them.
She didn't want it to end up like the first time.
That time, Neji came back fatally injured and on the brink of death. Then Lee left just after his recovery, sending her into a state of fear she had never experienced before. What if he ended up like Neji? What if he didn't come back?
It was like a sudden reality that she had been ignoring suddenly came up and bit her awake. Of course ninja put themselves at risk; that was the life of a shinobi, after all. But it had never truly occurred to her that the very same rule spoke for all ninja. Including the ones she knew and loved.
It never really occurred to her that Neji, Lee, and Gai-sensei could really not be there anymore.
She always saw it as other people giving up their lives and other people being those misfortunate ones who hesitated and got killed. The truth was, she ignored the fact that even she, herself, could someday be that one-in-a-thousand misfortunate beings.
She decided she'd wait for them. They would come back. They always did.
She'd wait forever for them if she had to.
On some days, the sky was a soft blue with wispy white clouds floating lazily with the breeze.
And sure, she was bitter. What? Was she not talented enough to join them on the field?
"Tenten, my flower, it's not that you're not par with Neji and Lee. They only needed two for this mission. They chose boys over girls because of the circumstances of the mission."
Gai-sensei always knew what to say to calm her down when she felt upset. It was for the mission. Because they mission required them. She decided that would be her mantra and she would keep her selfish feelings at bay for them.
Time played mind games with her, and somehow dragged out the days in a meticulously slow way. She often found that she had spare time where she could find absolutely nothing to do. Small missions, daily tasks, self-training; they had all become tedious tasks and didn't eat up as much time as they should have.
And more than often, she felt alone. Without Lee's exuberant voice and Neji's calming presence, everywhere she went seemed to feel empty and just a little too quiet. There was a sudden lack of color to everything that made her feel slightly hollow on the inside. As a normally optimistic person, the feeling was intrusive and almost frustrating.
She gave credit to Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara.
It wasn't easy being alone.
After a while, Tenten stopped looking at the sky. They began to all look the same to her.
Gai-sensei found her sitting on the ground of the forest on a particularly nice day; weapons littered across the dirt, entrenched deeply in the surrounding trees, and plunged in every target hanging. Sweating or crying, she was too indifferent about everything in general to tell or care.
"Have you finished for the day?"
She replied in a raspy voice, hoarse from exhaustion.
"Wonderful! Let us have lunch together then! We haven't had lunch together in a while! As the big father of Team Gai"—here he shot her a large grin and a thumbs-up, in its full blinding and wonderful glory—"it is my duty to treat my only daughter to a large meal!"
Tenten didn't know what she would do without Gai-sensei. If he, too, had left with Neji and Lee, she would have probably gone out of her mind.
And with that, their lunch became a daily event that she would look forward to every day. She would talk and he would listen. Then he would talk and she would listen. And together they waited for their other halves to return.
The day after the first lunch with her sensei, she noticed the glowing goldenrod sunrise.
Then there were more faces. Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and even the infamously lazy Shikamaru paid her visits or hung out with her. On some days, the better days, she would take the initiative and hang out with them.
Things got easier from that point on.
Lunches with Gai-sensei came and went faster. Tasks were easier with Sakura and Ino bickering over what air freshener would suit her apartment, and what flowers looked better on her window sill. Small missions were livelier with Akamaru's barks and Kiba's shouting. Her training sessions were more productive when Naruto crashed them, with a sulking Shikamaru in tow. And occasionally, Hinata would bring her dinner and share the evening with her.
She still missed them.
But the alone feeling had faded.
On some days it rained and on some days the sky was lit by the bright sun, clouds scattered everywhere.
When the long-awaited day came, Tenten sat on the hill they promised to meet her at with Gai-sensei sleeping on a tree branch a couple of feet behind her. He had actually been awake at one point, but the longer they waited, the surroundings grew more peaceful and soft, and eventually the Jounin had dozed off.
The cool, clean grass tickled her legs and she closed her eyes briefly as a gentle breeze swept through.
When she opened her eyes, she took in the view in front of her. The warm golden sun had started to set, the bottom just gone under the edge of the horizon, the glow reflecting off the wide canvas of the sky. Rich reds, vibrant oranges, sharp pinks, and deep purples painted the sky vibrantly, softer grays of the clouds contrasting gently with the luminous hues.
And in the center of it all, in the far distance, she could make out the faint silhouettes of two figures; one limping forward and the other supporting patiently. As the came closer, to the point where she could distinctly make out their forms, she let out a soft sigh, lips curling into a gentle smile.
The sky never looked so perfect.
end.