It was an ordinary day in Konohagakure. Hyuuga Neji was sipping hot tea on his porch, enjoying the peace of the afternoon, when a certain kunoichi tackled him unexpectedly from above.

"Hi, Neji!" Tenten greeted exuberantly. Hot tea had flown from the mug and spilled in scorching splatter art all over Neji's hair and clothes. Pinned to the ground, he glared, irritated, up at his female teammate.

"Good afternoon, Tenten. Now, if you wouldn't mind getting off of me, that tea was rather hot."

"Oh…" she said, brow furrowing. "I guess it wasn't such a good idea to check if your guard was up…"

"No, it's alright," Neji said, getting up. "Next time, just make sure there's nothing hot, breakable, or of consequence around." He stood and pulled of his soaked shirt. Tenten noticed with regret how his pale skin had flushed from the spill. She hoped she hadn't burned him. Neji touched his reddened skin, also hoping for minimal damage, and consequently directing Tenten's attention to his impressive musculature.

"Working out, much?" she teased, to lighten the mood. Neji's face didn't flush, as hoped for. Instead, he merely regarded her comment with a slight tilt of the head that was barely a nod, and his standard verbal response:

"Hn."

"Well, back to the point of my visitation-" Tenten began.

"You mean besides attempting to give me a concussion and second degree burns?" Neji interrupted.

"You're exaggerating!" she accused. "And yeah, the real point of my tackling you. See, Lee was going on about how he just found his baby album, and how it has all of these pictures of him from way back when being held by people he barely remembers and all, when Sakura and Ino walked up, and Ino suggested that we all bring in our baby pictures and guess who's who, you know? It should be pretty easy because we've all known each other since childhood, for the most part, but its been a while, and we figured it would be fun. I also want to know if Lee's eyebrows were always that bushy," she finished.

Neji gazed in awe. "That was singlehandedly the most run together speech I've ever heard." Tenten folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, are you in or no?" she asked. "Personally, I think it would be fun."

"I wouldn't trust anything planned by Ino." Neji responded after a moment. "Besides, I couldn't participate. I don't own any baby photos." Tenten's jaw grew slack at this.

"No baby photos? But Neji, baby pictures are an essential part of every person's childhood! They're fond memories of when you were young, and they also make really great blackmail!"

"Precisely why I do not own any," Neji responded, ending the matter.

"Well…you suck!" Tenten answered, defeated. "Would you at least like to come along, and do the guessing?" She asked. "Everyone's coming. Knowing Sakura and Ino, they will manage to drag in most of the guys. You might even be able to snag a few pictures, for future blackmail," she bribed.

"Well…alright. But just because I have nothing better to do." He answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to change into something dry."

"Oh…right!" Tenten said, with a pink tint in her face. "Make sure you put something on those burns, ok?"

Later on

"Awwww! You were so cute, Kiba!" Ino commented, peering at pictures of the chubby faced baby Kiba. Kiba shrugged and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Obviously he'd done something right. Meanwhile, Sakura was flipping through a massive dictionary she called her baby book to find exactly the right picture, and Hinata was complimenting Naruto's single baby picture, taken shortly after he was born. His head was covered in fuzzy blonde hair, and his face was flushed and tear streaked as he slept, like he'd cried before knocking out.

Hinata had several formal baby pictures of her own, of her dressed in fine kimonos and fancy clothing, surrounded by important, formal people in the Hyuuga family. Ino's were all of her picking dandelions as a little child, or modeling frilly baby clothing. The few that Shikamaru had scattered into the mess for viewing mostly featured him sleeping or pointing out cloud shapes to his father. One showed his mother holding him on her hip, While he clung to the shoulder of her dress and stared blankly at the camera, his lower lip pushed slightly out. Shino had contributed a few of himself playing with bugs on a stick, and Chouji had added some of his face smeared with mashed peas.

"Wow!" Tenten exclaimed. "Come over here, Neji!" He approached Tenten, who was leaning over some pictures with Rock Lee, a satisfied smirk on her face. "Would you look at that!" she exclaimed, pointing. Neji leaned over her shoulder to view a snapshot of baby Lee playing with building blocks, his eyebrows massive on his tiny forehead.

Neji nearly smirked himself, but he caught himself and gestured to the pictures beside it, of a big eyed little girl who stared curiously at the camera, her head cocked to the right. Another showed little Tenten reaching for the camera with a huge grin on her face, and another featured her sucking on the ringed end of a kunai, the blade covered by an adult hand.

"Oh, those are mine," she said, smiling slightly. "At least I didn't look weird or anything as a baby."

"Hey! Who are you calling weird!" Lee exclaimed, exasperated.

"Shut up, Lee," Neji said offhandedly, disregarding his teammate. "Tenten, I think you were cute as a child."

"Aw, thanks!" she replied.

Lee looked from one of his teammates to the other. "Neji, where are your baby pictures?" he asked.

"Neji didn't bring any," Tenten answered for him. "He claims not to have any, and refuses to participate in our humiliating activities," she said, grinning.

Lee gaped. "No baby pictures? Neji, you liar!"

"If what he says is true, there are no existing photographs of one Hyuuga Neji preceding his days at the academy," Tenten stated. "Quite frankly, I can't imagine Neji as a baby. It's as though he's never been one, you know?"

"Hn," Neji said. He moved away to sit under a nearby tree, blankly watching the delight on his friends' faces as they explored each other's baby albums. What had he been like as a child?

***Flashback

Big rods thicker than his legs are all around him, and soft cloth covers his pale skin, unmarred by scars or sun. Big strong legs circle the table. He tilts his head and leans forward, milky white eyes peering almost straight up. A warm, familiar smiling face looks back at him with his own blank eyes. "Who's playing under the table? Could it be? Is it Neji-chan? Can I come into your house, Neji-chan?" The smiling figure comes closer, ducking under the table. THWACK! Hizashi's forehead hits the edge of the table. "Ouch!" "Ah!" Neji cries, and reaches for the big forehead, to rub the bump away. "Thank you, Neji-chan." Hizashi smiles again. He rubs his forehead; he laughs. Neji's face breaks into a smile; his cheeks dimple. "Ah!" He reaches to be picked up. Hizashi lifts him, strong arms circle him. "Naptime, Neji-chan," he says.

End Flashback***

Tenten strode over. "Neji, are you alright?"

"Hn," he answered, and got up to follow her.

She looked concerned. "Are you upset because you don't have pictures and things from your childhood like the rest of us?"

He paused before answering. "Some things are better left in the past."