Konichiwa, mina-sama! This is my first fanfic, so please be gentle (my ego bruises easily). Please be aware that I'm not out to impress, just to have fun. This particular fic is set about half a year before the beginning of the manga, when Team Gai has been formed and they're still working out the kinks in their teamwork...hope you like it!

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Of Migraines and Messages

Tenten had a headache.

This was not one of those headaches a person gets because they are sleep-deprived or hypoglycemic. No, Tenten had a headache solely due to the fact that Lee and Neji were part of her team, a fact that would not be so bad if they could just learn to get along. But with Lee being Neji's rival (at his own ridiculous insistence), and Neji being mentally warped as a result of some family dispute (the details of which were still not clear to her), there was little room for such things as "agreements" and "friendliness." Sure, they could work together well enough in the field, but just once in a while it would be nice to agree on things like training schedules without having to hear how their youth would wane because they would be starting at eight in the morning instead of dawn. What was worse, she could do nothing to abate the constant power struggle that resulted from Neji and Lee's close proximity. Neji's superiority complex certainly did not help the situation, as he was always willing to beat Lee into the ground, yet never offer the constructional criticism that Lee so desperately needed (Tenten secretly worried that, if Lee could not, at the very least, draw with a member of his own cell, her teammate would die on his first mission that did not involve recovering the daimyo's wife's cat).

That damn cat gave Tenten the first taste of what she would experience as a member of Gai-han. Finding the cat was no problem, what with Neji's use of the Byakugan, they located Tora as soon as they reached the outskirts of Konoha. With the clever use of some kunai and a little wire, Tenten was soon able to corral the cat while Lee dashed to the rescue, completing the mission in a record thirty minutes – not bad for three Genin fresh out of the Academy. The trouble came afterward, when they were walking back from Sandaime Hokage's office. Lee, in an exuberant display of youth, suggested that they get lunch as a reward for their accomplishment, while Neji moodily declared the suggestion stupid, insisting that their "so-called accomplishment" could be performed by five-year-olds and their time would be better spent training. Gai, in an attempt to keep energy levels high, suggested some quick yakitori and some individual training after that. It was during their brief repose that Tenten noticed the lack of camaraderie between her male counterparts; Lee, with his constant babble and Neji with his aloofness did not give Tenten a feeling of confidence in her team's abilities to work as a single, flawless unit.

The lack of confidence in her team was only further exacerbated as they matured (although whether or not there was much maturity in her teammates to begin with, Tenten was never sure). Lee became Gai's protege (a thought that still made Tenten shudder), Neji seemed to have developed some new skill he was unwilling to share, and Tenten...well, aside of her increasing repertoire of weapons-handling, Tenten felt she was not really going anywhere. What she would have preferred would have been to spar with all three of them, everyone pushing each other to their limits and surpassing them, slowly reaching new heights as the entire cell slowly achieved the efficacy of a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, the team took on a fractured attitude made worse when Neji and Lee would feel particularly antagonistic and decide to squabble the entire day. It took a lot of patience on her part to keep focused, and to keep them focused, and in a way, Tenten benefited from that. She learned to keep calm, take control, stay attuned to the situation, and oftentimes it was on her signal that they would move during a mission. Such attentiveness usually resulted in high success rates, as well as a low injury count (although none of them ever imagined that it was her attention to detail that kept them from getting hurt). It was the only time that Tenten truly felt like she was part of the team, like they depended on her and it was then that she felt her time and patience with such a snippy crew was worth it.

But there were more and more missions now when even the most hopeful efforts put forth by the Weapons Specialist were not enough to quell the constant badgering and snide remarks shot back and forth between her teammates. Unfortunately, Gai's well-meaning interjections only seemed to worsen the situation, given the dark looks Neji aimed at his sensei (Tenten truly believed that Neji had no respect for the man, Jounin or not). It was during these moments that Tenten felt cast aside, as well as irritated. When all she wanted was to be a powerful kunoichi of Konoha, she was subject to the idiotic bickering of two boys too selfish to want to spar as a team for the sake of said team's development, let alone her own. It was in those moments when Tenten's patience would ebb and her annoyance would grow, giving way to some killing intent and massive migraines that could only be assuaged by the use of a handful of exploding tags and lots of boulders (Tenten was not big on aspirin). The sad truth was that there were days when her patience ran so low, it was all she could do to keep from jabbing a shuriken in her leg, just so she could get ten minutes of peace and quiet while waiting for the medic-nin to patch her up (as Konoha Hospital did not allow visitors into the emergency room)...

...and today was one of those days.

"We must spring forth with all of our youth, surpassing even the sky's limit, as we go forth into our endeavor!" were the deafening words of Gai.

A shooting pain in her eye had Tenten fingering the senbon hidden in her hair, wondering if its insertion in said eye would alleviate the discomfort. It certainly could not get any worse than having to listen to this nonsense.

"Gai-sensei, would it be better if we all wore green uniforms like yours?" Lee asked. "Our wind resistance would decrease and the full power of our youth would shine through our speed, thus completing our mission twice as fast!"

Of course, trust Lee to prove her wrong.

It was then that Neji raised his head and uttered a resounding, "No."

"Why not?" Lee asked. "Has your youth grown so lax, Neji, that even the wardrobe of Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast is unappealing to you?"

"No," Neji answered. "I simply refuse to put on clothes that look like I painted them on with a rollerbrush."

"Neji," Gai admonished, "it is always important to take into consideration everything that could improve your success on a mission. Such reluctance is not becoming to your youth!"

"YOOOSH!" was Lee's response.

"I fail to see how dressing like a greenbean will enhance my speed. If I want to run faster, I'll do so in my own clothes."

Tenten's patience was at it's end. Her blood boiling, she muttered various curses and one or two obscenities under her breath.

"Our youthful flower speaks! Tell us, Tenten, what is it that you were whispering just now, so that we may all gain from your knowledge?" Gai asked.

Without thinking whether or not this would be a good idea, Tenten simply answered, "I said, kill me now."

"Now, now, Tenten, you mustn't..." Lee began.

A vein in Tenten's forehead popped, and the tirade began. "No, seriously, KILL ME NOW! Because that's exactly what's going to happen if you two morons continue to carry on the way you have for the past six months. I am going to DIE! I have had it with being the only one in this team that doesn't seem to be getting anywhere, and it's because of YOU TWO! I can't train with you because it becomes a game of 'who's-got-the-last-word' between Lee and Neji and as a result, I am getting weaker!!!! If I die, it'll be because I spend my days practicing on tree trunks that don't attack me or because I am busy trying to ignore your incessant arguing, instead of getting some good shuriken practice! What I would give to hand you your asses just to get you to shut up and train with me for a while, but no! I have to silently deal with it because you're all too self-absorbed to realize that WE ARE A TEAM!!!"

Clearly, this was something Tenten had been wanting to get off her chest for a while.

"Gai-sensei, you've really got to train with all three of us more often. If we can't work well as a team – both on duty and off – then we're going to get picked off like carrion for the vultures on missions, and we'll have YOU to thank for it..."

Tenten drew a breath. This was starting to feel good.

"Lee, you're so concerned with Neji you haven't taken any time to reflect on your own skills. You're so busy chasing after him, you don't even realize that, with a little extra hair, you could double as a fangirl! Shut up for a minute and figure out all the different ways you can possibly excel as a ninja, because if your short-sightedness gets your in a bind and we have to rescue you during a mission, I will let Neji KILL YOU the next time you ask for it! What the hell kind of a baka asks someone to beat him senseless, anyway?!"

A strange – but wonderful – cathartic feeling was enveloping Tenten.

"And you," Tenten hissed at Neji. "You are the worst one of all. You look down your nose at the rest of the world and wonder why a genius like you got stuck with people like us. Well, here's the answer, 'genius': because you NEED us! That's right, Neji, you even need me! You've got your head shoved so far up your ass you don't notice how much we could improve – vastly – upon our skills if you would just spar with us. Instead, you act like a hormonal prick, insisting that we're hindering you and that you could do sooo much better on your own..."

Yes, this is exactly what was needed. A good, old-fashioned tongue lashing. Now, for the finish...

"..and since you two idiots are too busy bitching at each other to notice that our teamwork sucks, I am going to request to be put into another team. I REFUSE to stay in a cell where the lack of teamwork is going to get me killed. Imagine what'll be said in my eulogy: 'she died because her teammates couldn't decide what to wear on a mission!' Well, you can all paint yourselves orange and strap on goggles for all I care, but you will NOT get me killed today!" With that, Tenten stalked off, leaving all three male members of Gai-han speechless for the first time ever.

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It had been two days since she had seen her teammates (although they should have returned from their mission by now), and Tenten felt a little more at ease for the first time in months. While she was upset at herself for having emoted so violently – ninja are NOT supposed to show emotion, after all – she could not find it in her heart to take back what she said. She refused to follow two men into battle whom she could not trust to stop arguing long enough to watch her back –

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

With tears streaming down both their faces, Gai and Lee (who was a little worse for wear, Tenten noticed – and wondered why) rushed Tenten, spouting apologies and insisting that she set up the training schedule for the team, on any day and at any time that she so desired. Lee could not stop lamenting her absence during this last mission (is that when he had gotten those strange-looking bruises?), and made her swear to accompany them on all Team Gai missions from now on. Tenten secretly giggled to herself. While both of their personalities would not change, it was nice to see that most of her team was willing to act like one now. Besides, despite how exhausting so much 'exuberant youth' Gai and Lee put forth, Tenten did appreciate the happy outlook on life both seemed to have adopted. It was certainly a refreshing outlook compared to Neji's constant brooding.

Where was Neji, anyway?

After reassuring Tenten that supreme effort would be put forth by Team Gai's male members to keep the squabbling in check, Gai and Lee decided to take a hundred laps around Konoha, in celebration of their newly-acquired team spirit. Tenten smiled as she watched them leave. At least they would not complete said laps on their hands this time. She turned back inside and shut the door to her apartment.

An almost inaudible knock sounded at her door immediately after she shut it. Wondering if Lee had come back to apologize some more (the boy was known to overdo it), Tenten opened the door, expecting to tell the green-clad boy to prepare, for she would make sure to give him a run for his money come Friday afternoon...

...and was met with the stoic face of the white-eyed boy instead.

"Neji...hi," Tenten stammered. "Would you like to come in?"

Neji slowly (and almost timidly) stepped into her apartment.

They stood there for a few seconds, neither really knowing what to say. Neji broke the ice by asking, "did you talk to the Hokage about another team?"

"No," Tenten replied. "I had hoped we could work out some of our difficulties before I decided to give up on our team completely."

"Good," Neji responded.

Was that a look of relief on his face? Tenten wondered. Nah, couldn't be...

"Gai said that you were going to decide on a regular training schedule. Did you come up with anything?" Neji asked.

"Umm...yeah. I told Lee and Gai that we'd be training every Friday after the morning mission was over until sundown," Tenten informed him.

"Hn."

"See you Friday, then?" Tenten asked.

"Hai," Neji answered simply, and turned to go.

Tenten noticed a large welt on Neji's unwrapped leg. "Hey, how did you get that?" Tenten asked. She had never known Neji to take a hit on a mission, let alone an injury.

Neji paused, his wrapped leg already outside the doorway. "This?" he asked, looking down at his leg. "I got this...because it turned out you were right. Lee got his because you were right, as well."

Before Tenten could inquire as to what on Earth he could be talking about, Neji had already closed the door behind him. Some time later, like a flash of light, Tenten recalled what she had said during that now-famous tongue lashing she had given Neji that she had been so right about. Although their teamwork did not reach perfection until many years after that conversation, it did get better after that day.

And, much to her elation, Tenten never again suffered from another migraine.

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Author's Note: Well, what do you think? A couple of things to keep in mind: 1) Lee has yet to sport the green spandex (but this is where he begins to flirt with the idea). He's still dressed in that white shirt and getting the crap beaten out of him by Neji; 2) Neji is a little out of character, as I figured that he wouldn't say as much, according to canon, but hey, even the prodigy has his days ;-)