She moved the cloth off his forehead, her eyes flicking over the silent seal before down, again, to the water bowl. The cave was cool and damp, drier where he lay than where she knelt by his side. Her hand pushed the cloth down through the cold water, sending a shock up her arm and down her spine. Tenten didn't like extremes. Cold was one of them.
She didn't notice when he came to consciousness. Wringing the cloth, counting the seconds until the dripping slowed to nothing, she was setting it over his forehead to feed the heat burning there when she finally saw his eyes moving. Pale eyes, pupil-less, but dilating. Not normally – she wouldn't be able to tell if they were – though they must have been, given how he blinked more slowly than he probably realized, attempting to move.
He couldn't feel her hand as any new pressure on his chest as she did her best to calm him down.
"Don't."
Gai... Where are you and Lee?
"You overdid it." She left the event vague, unsure what he remembered, or if he remembered. "I understand Lee, maybe even Gai-sensei, though really, he needs to watch himself, but I'm disappointed in you, Neji-san." He tried to speak, but his voice didn't respond. Tenten pulled the second strip of fabric out of the bowl, trailing past his lips. She didn't know if he could swallow, but at least it would prevent his mouth from retaining the cotton-like dryness she remembered.
She kept speaking. "You should have known when you were feeling ill not to push yourself like this. You may be a genius, Neji-san, but you're not infallible." There was no response, but she didn't expect one. "Granted, I assumed you'd already dealt with this when you were younger." Tenten didn't mention her brief thought concerning inbred genetics. She had a feeling Neji wouldn't appreciate her commentary. "Though I guess even geniuses can't outwit disease."
Neji attempted to speak, but only created a series of incoherent mumbles. Tenten shook her head, standing up with slight difficulty and walking toward the front of the cave. Midday, and still no sign of the rest of the team. She hoped they'd get here soon. Neji unconscious was a wonderful patient. Turning around to see him weakly scrabbling to roll onto his side, Tenten decided conscious, he was a bit of a pain. "Nu-uh. You pushed it, brainiac, you get to recover like the rest of us." Resentment shot through his eyes, but his long-time teammate shrugged off the ill-will. "Show a little patience. After all, it's not like I'm the one who waited until I was eighteen to come down with the chicken pox."