Twenty Truths about Team Guy
Author's notes: So I've seen a lot of these "twenty truths" fanfics around and decided to try my hand at it for the heck of it. I tried to give Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Guy the same amount of "truths." I think it worked? .'
1. Neji likes Tenten, Lee, and yes, even Guy, playing with his hair.
After the first chunin exams Neji tried to open up more with his team. This resulted in them playing the game "Twenty Questions" and Tenten asking him why he kept his hair so long. Neji answered with it being a clan thing which resulted in Lee asking if he could touch it. Neji, of course, flat out refused.
This resulted in Tenten, Lee, and yes, even Guy, running around chasing him through the training field until Tenten finally managed to lasso him. They petted his hair for hours and Neji had no complaints after the initial few minutes of the "torture."
Even later he would occasionally "forget" a hair tie so he could borrow one from Tenten who always tells him if he wants to borrow it she has to be the one putting up his hair.
She never misses his little smile as she runs her fingers through his hair.
2. Lee is the best at braiding hair.
It likely comes from his younger days when he used to wear his hair long and the fact he's always had superior muscle memory but Lee can make the neatest, tightest, and sleekest looking braids. Neji doesn't mind Lee practicing on him, especially during the hot days.
Lee always makes sure to take longer than normal because seeing Neji with his eyes half closed and a little grin on his face makes them all happier.
3. Tenten likes sewing.
Whenever their regular training clothes or shinobi outfits get ripped up from missions and training (more from training), she's the one that patches them. This skill is also transferred into taking care of her team when they get injured. Therefore whenever any of her "boys" gets a cut requiring stitches, she's the one who sews them up.
Lee, Neji, and Guy won't ever admit it but they always think it is a little frightening Tenten has so many hidden needles and thread on her.
4. Guy is the best at cooking.
Guy had to learn to take care of himself since his father died when Guy was still young. His first attempts at both delicious and nutritious food failed miserably and Guy resolved to become the best shinobi chef in Konoha. He began training: dicing, slicing, mixing, broiling, kneading, and everything else that went along with making the perfect feast.
He succeeded in his goal but not many people knew about it.
5. Sometimes Neji, Tenten, and yes, even Lee will deliberately fail in one of Guy's training methods.
Because this means Guy-sensei will treat them to dinner at his place to boost their moral and Guy's cooking is the best.
Guy knows they sometimes deliberately fail but says nothing because he knows good meals are meant to be shared and who better to share them with than your family?
6. Neji will sometimes stay after training when Tenten and Guy have gone home to help Lee with his goals.
Neji has never done three thousand one-handed handstand push-ups but knows his failure in something that's so simple to Lee makes Lee feel better. This especially true when Lee is feeling down about not having ninjutsu and genjutsu or when Sakura has rejected him again.
Neji never misses the small grin on Lee's face when Neji falls over somewhere around two thousand while Lee keeps going. It brings a smile to Neji's face which Lee rarely sees, so concentrated he is on his task.
7. Team Guy has never had a formal birthday party until after becoming Team Guy.
Sure, Kakashi took Guy out for his birthday but sometimes Kakashi was on missions. It was the life of a shinobi. Therefore when Guy became a sensei he vowed he would find out his student's birthdays and celebrate them. He became more determined in this when he found out none of his students had family or close friends.
Lee, Tenten, and Neji did not get assigned to him until after Tenten's March 9th birthday so Neji was the first one to get the treatment. On his birthday he arrived at the field completely unsuspecting. He was blasted in the face by a cannon filled with sparkles, confetti, and streamers while Guy and Lee shouted "Happy Birthday" to him and Tenten waved around two sparklers.
It was the first time Lee, Guy, and Tenten had ever seen Neji smile.
8. Lee, Neji, and Guy sometimes forgot Tenten was female.
They were dutifully reminded when she complained of cramps bothering her and Lee asking if she had to use the bathroom. She bashed Lee over the head with her Bo a few times then noticed Neji had Byakugan activated and a nosebleed.
She chased him around with more weapons than Neji remembered her having when he asked if the breast bindings hurt.
They never did quip about her being extra aggressive once a month but they did all fall over with nosebleeds when she had to dress fancy for a mission. Neji's entire face had turned red and Tenten didn't miss the dopey grin which stayed on his face after he came too.
It made her blush and smile for the rest of the mission.
9. Lee is not as oblivious as Neji and Tenten think he is.
After the fateful fancy dress mission when they were fifteen, Lee noticed Tenten and Neji standing a lot closer than normal and always smiling at each other. Sometimes they would meet eyes, Tenten's cheeks would turn pink, Neji's eyes would widen that little more, and they would turn away. Tenten had always done this when she thought Neji wasn't looking but now Neji had started.
It got to the point where Lee started getting annoyed at their embarrassed reactions around each other and decided to get them together.
This started out innocently enough. He would give them the wrong place to meet for training which forced the two to be alone. Sometimes when sparring with one or the other he would "accidently" kick one too hard into the other.
Unfortunately for Lee, the two were stupidly stubborn.
This led to Lee stopping in the middle of training one day, grabbing Neji's head in one hand, Tenten's in the other, and smashing their faces together so they were kissing. He also shouted: "Start dating all ready and enjoy your youth!"
They didn't part until they realized Lee was beaming at them.
Then they chased him through the field, screaming at him for being such an idiot though secretly they wanted to hug him.
Guy stood to a side and watched his team's antics with a broad grin on his face.
10. Guy is not always as happy as people think he is.
When he returns to his apartment after spending the day training with his family and sees how empty the place is, his smile fades and his eyes lose some of the light he's known for. His shoulders slump and his steps slow. He looks his age in these moments and the expression on his face is a solemn one and sad.
He regrets not finding a woman to marry and have a child with even though he technically has three children to call his.
He regrets not being strong enough to save his father.
Sometimes he even regrets being so "youthful" as it hinders him in making friends with "normal" people.
Usually around this time there is a knock on his door and he opens it to reveal his children standing outside his apartment: Lee beaming, Tenten grinning, and Neji with the tiny smile they so rarely see on his face.
Instantly he cheers up, hugs all three, and brings them into his apartment to play card games...like they do every night.
11. Neji likes hugs.
Guy is the only one (besides Tenten but she came much later) to know this.
Neji had been released from the hospital after almost being killed by Kidomaru and approached Guy after even Lee had gone home. Neji told Guy he wanted to become stronger because he had failed and he didn't like failing.
He had said this so seriously, Guy did not realize anything was wrong. Guy had put a hand on Neji's shoulder, beamed at him, and told Neji he was becoming stronger every day. This is when the conversation became weird for Guy.
Instead of accepting this and walking off as normal Neji's eyes dampened and he shook his head. He pulled down the left side of his shirt to show Guy the ugly spiral shaped scar and Neji demanded to know how to become stronger again so he didn't die a failure.
Guy saw a tear slip out of Neji's right eye and did what Guy had always done with Lee: he hugged Neji. At first, Neji stiffened and tried to pull away but after a moment he relented and sunk into Guy's arms, crying softly.
Guy explained Neji had not failed and promised Neji he would help Neji become stronger.
Guy never told Lee or Tenten about Neji's breakdown but sometimes after Tenten and Lee had gone home, Neji would wait in the middle of the field, staring at Guy with those wide white eyes and a little frown.
Guy would chuckle, wrap Neji in a bone-crushing hug and Neji would sigh gently, hugging back with as much strength.
12. Lee had a crush on Tenten.
He hadn't realized it right away, so enamoured he was with Sakura, but after a few years of constant rejection Lee began to look at Tenten in a new light.
Unlike with Sakura: he never admitted it because he was afraid of what it might do to their team dynamics and their friendship.
Then the fateful fancy dress mission had happened when they were fifteen and Lee realized Neji had a crush on Tenten as well. For several weeks, Lee went home at night and thought about what he should do.
He decided Neji deserved Tenten more, especially since she seemed to like Neji back. Lee made it his goal to get them together.
Sakura always wondered why Lee had stopped being as exuberant in his proclamations of love to her for eight months from a few months after he turned fifteen up to a few months before he turned sixteen.
No one ever asked. Lee never told.
13. Tenten is bisexual.
The entire reason she developed feelings for Neji in the academy was because she thought he was a girl when he walked into the first day of class. When he later nodded as the teacher called his name for attendance, Tenten thought "Neji" was a strange name for a girl.
Tenten became utterly confused when she started stalking him and saw Neji walk into the men's room. For a while she toyed with the idea of Neji being transgender, born in a female's body but knowing in his heart he was male.
Even after they became teammates she still harboured an idea Neji had been born female but identified as male. It explained why he spoke so softly but had a deep voice. Surely someone born female would have to talk low so he could get the proper baritone to his voice.
No one else mentioned it and Tenten was always too embarrassed to think of asking Lee or any of the other guys who went with Neji into the male hot springs. She assumed Neji had surgery to remove his breasts and kept a towel around his waist until he was able to hide under the water.
It's why the first time Tenten saw Neji naked she exclaimed: "Hey, it's real!"
14. Neji and Tenten had a pregnancy scare right before the Fourth Shinobi War.
Konoha had been destroyed, many of their friends had been hurt or almost killed, and the two ended up behind some trees, alone. Tenten discovered Neji liked being hugged. Neji realized Tenten liked it when he rubbed her back.
She like it so much she thrust into his hips which made him pull her in closer. They had kissed. Hands started wandering and clothing came off. Neji ended up on his back on the grass after Tenten got his underwear off and therefore he had the perfect angle to see Tenten's awed face when she grabbed his member and proclaimed its realness.
He had asked her to explain and she did. Neji laughed at her then he kissed her and they both forgot what had been so funny moments before.
As the sex had been spontaneous, neither had brought protection. Neither had cared.
Two months passed and Tenten realized she hadn't had gone through her monthly cycle which was normally like clockwork. She had been so busy helping with the repairs and missions because of the impending war she hadn't kept track.
She told Neji the first moment she got him alone. He fainted. Tenten brought him around with water she kept in her scrolls. He immediately used Byakugan to see if she was pregnant.
Tenten didn't need to ask for any confirmation. The disappointed look on his face told her everything.
15. Neji had a feeling he would not return to Konoha.
As he left the gates he paused and looked back at them. A black bird flew overhead, alone, and Neji paused to watch it, knowing it headed in the direction of the memorial stone. Kiba had punched him in the shoulder in a friendly way and told him to keep moving as they had a war to win.
Neji had smirked but deep down he knew he would never see Konoha's gates again.
He did not tell anyone because he did not want to frighten them.
16. Tenten, Lee, and Guy had seen Neji run to protect Hinata.
Tenten had been in the middle of throwing a weapon when she caught the motion out of the corner of her eye. She knew no matter what she did she was too far to stop him or help him. She tightened the grip on her weapons and turned away from the painful sight.
Tenten swallowed down her tears and closed her eyes.
Lee had looked up and saw the split second before the spears pierced Neji's flesh. The moment seemed to go on forever and Lee could see every bit of dust in the air, feel every muscle in his body tensing to jump, every hair being blown back by the wind, hear every scream as others died around him, and smell all the blood around him on the field. He knew even with the slow to time he would never make it.
Lee swallowed down his tears and closed his eyes.
Guy had been what felt like miles away but it had been a few dozen feet. He saw the spears come out of the sky and began dodging them. Two caught his attention, heading straight for Naruto. Guy saw Hinata rush forward and knew in his heart she would not die today.
Neji, his quiet genius, deep down the sensitive one, the one who loved being hugged and enjoyed having his hair played with, leaped in right behind Hinata and Guy knew he was too far to stop it.
Guy swallowed down his tears and closed his eyes.
17. Neji knew his team was too far away to help him.
But he had to protect Hinata-sama anyway. He knew they saw him make his move and he smiled when all three swallowed hard and closed their eyes. Then there was pain.
It was similar to the pain of Kidomaru's arrows bursting into him but there were many instead of one at a time. Neji glanced down at his chest and had his confirmation about not seeing the gates of Konoha again.
His only regret was not getting Tenten pregnant before the war.
18. Tenten forced herself to shut down after Naruto said Neji was dead.
She did not shut down physically. She did however cut off her emotions, balled all her sorrow and heart-ache into a ball and shoved it down as hard as she possibly could. She could not follow him in death. She had to take care of Lee and Guy because they would not know what to do. Neji would have wanted her to.
19. Lee never learned how to control his emotions.
Anger, sorrow, pain, happiness, depression, joy, excitement, and even pride: he showed them all and more on the field and off. It was why he was the one to break down, take Neji's cool body in his arms, and cry.
Tenten did not chastise him like she normally did and Lee knew she suffered. Guy did not cry as Lee did but Lee knew Guy's heart was breaking. No one else would though because they did not know Guy and Tenten the way Lee did.
20. The card games never stopped.
Even with Neji gone, Lee, Tenten, and Guy met every night to play a game of cards. None of them said a word when whoever was dealing dealt a fourth hand. They happily poured a fourth cup of tea, set a fourth plate out for the treats in the middle of the table, and made sure to have a fourth chair at the table.
The other residents in Guy's wing at the recovery center thought it was strange but no one questioned it. They took it as another quirk of Team Guy. The shinobi who were in the center with Guy knew why there was always a fourth place at the table. They would smile sadly and turn away.
For years the card games went on. Naruto and Hinata got married as did Sasuke and Sakura, Sai and Ino, Shikamaru and Temari, and Choji and Karui. Children were born and even Lee had a son with a woman he never revealed the name of. Still the card games went on.
Metal joined in when he was old enough to understand the rules and after a week of him seeing the (now) fifth place be set up, he asked who the empty place was for.
Even after almost a decade, Tenten began to cry. Guy hugged her close, crying quietly. Lee swallowed down his tears and explained to his son they had lost their genius teammate Hyuuga Neji but he was never truly gone as they always made sure he had a place at their table.
The next night at dinner, Metal set a third place at the table normally reserved for him and his father. Lee did not have to ask why but he did ruffle his son's hair and smile at him.
Time continued to pass and Guy went on to meet Neji. Lee, Tenten, and Metal played cards and dealt five hands. Lee and Metal went on a mission together but only Metal came back. He played cards with Tenten and they dealt out five hands.
Eventually it came to the point where five hands were dealt out but there was only one person left to look at the cards. Metal would smile but leave the hands where he had dealt them, pour five cups of tea and quietly sip his.
No one asked about the ritual. They did not have to as their parents, their friends, or someone they knew in some way knew all about Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Might Guy and how the four became the family they had needed.
All anyone would do when they heard about Metal's habit is smile and remember to bring flowers to four graves placed side by side in the cemetery. They would light incense and pray to one day have a bond as strong as Team Guy's had been.
I DID NOT MEAN FOR THIS TO COME OUT SO SAD! I'M SORRY! *cries*
Reviews welcome.