(This is a birthday Fic I wrote for a friend of mine)
Neji Hyuuga, a natural child prodigy. One who strongly believes in the chains of fate, and the destiny of a single person.
TenTen, A girl with no real natural talent. One who has to work at becoming the best kunoichi. Her only skills being her deadly and nearly perfect aim.
It's quite possible these two could complete each other. But at the heart, both are failing to realize the other, until one certain mission, a fateful day, and a youthful bushy brow brought them together.
Pale lavender eyes scanned over the area vaguely, "Clear." He mumbled into the barely visible headset.
"You sure?" A feminine voice spoke back to him in a whisper.
Neji sighed, of course he was sure! He was the one with the 360 degree eyesight after all, well when he had the bloodline trait activated. "Byuakugan!" he mumbled again under his breath. Curse it all to have a female teammate.
"Negative." He sighed into his mouth piece. Neji could've sworn that he'd heard the female smirk. "He's heading in you direction, TenTen."
"Please use codenames, Youthful Hawk!" The booming voice rang into his ear.
Neji Hyuuga sighed again, before speaking in an annoyed tone. "Hai, Youthful Lotus"
'Youthful Hawk?' Oh how Neji hated when Gai chose the codenames. "Youthful princess," He spoke back into the mouthpiece.
"Hai?"
"Be careful, he's only a few meters from your position. Lee, can you hear me?"
Silence.
Neji tried to hold in the annoyed sigh wanting to escape his lips, "Youthful Star, Do you read?"
"Hai! I do!" The cheerful voice came.
"Go Twenty meters to your left. If needed, remain in hiding unless TenTe- Youthful Princess requires your help."
"Who died and made you leader, Youthful Hawk?" TenTen growled. "Youthful Star, stay where you are and keep lookout. I'll handle him myself."
"TenTen don't! You can't handle him yourself!" Neji panicked, he knew he should remain on lookout for any others but... ugh how he loathed stubborn women. "TenTe-" His voice was cut off by her own.
"I'm engaging in combat with the elder Uchiha. I'll shut communications now."
"Wait!"
To late... The static only filled his ear now.
"Dammit!" Neji took off. "Gai-Sensei. Lee! Cover me! I'm going to help!"
Neji ran as fast as his body allowed him, until he was only a few feet away of the struggling and bleeding kunoichi fighting an elder Uchiha. But he stared. He couldn't move. His body was frozen. The Elder Uchiha was about to deal the final blow.
"TenTen!!"
Earlier that Week
"Neji Are you okay?"
The Hyuuga looked up from his daze to find sharp pain in his arm. Upon one of the usual spars with the kunoichi, he'd suddenly gone into a daze. Which certainly earned him a nick in the arm. "I'm Fine." He mumbled caressing the area that had been wounded.
"Here." Her warm hands pushed his away pulling ointment from her pouch. Opening the top, she whipped the cream onto three fingers, and proceeded to brush them along the wound. "You dazed off back there. What happened? Girl you like ignoring you?" She teased.
'If you only knew.' He thought irritably.
She stopped, rubbing the remaining ointment on his shirt, "There you go you big baby." She teased again before picking up her fallen weapons skillfully.
"My Youthful friends!" Rock Lee ran up to his two teammates.
They tore their gazes from each other to look at Lee.
"Hi Lee!" TenTen spoke, Cheerful as ever.
Neji shoved his hands in his pockets with a simple, "Hn," Escaping his lips.
"Where's Gai-Sensei?" Lee asked looked around with a chipper expression.
"Hasn't Shown up ye-"
The tree near them suddenly was snapped in half by a foot cleaning going through it. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" The over happy voice boomed through the training area.
"WOO! AMAZING SENSEI!"
Neji wanted to die on the spot, 'Why couldn't we have gotten a normal sensei...?'
"SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"SENSEI!!!!"
"LEE!!!!!!"
"Tch." Neji was growing annoyed. TenTen sighed beside him.
"Neji! TenTen! Where's your Youth?!?!" Gai's asked them loudly.
"It died along with that style of a haircut," Neji mumbled his gaze turning to the side. TenTen, Being the only one that heard him, had to try and hold back a giggling fit.
"What's the training for Today Sensei?!"
"Well Lee! I thought we could start out with a simple 500 laps around the training area!"
TenTen And Neji Froze. How could one person put the words Simple and 500 Laps in one sentence?
So. A grueling 500 laps later...
TenTen was completely exhausted, she fall backwards onto the plush luxurious grass. Neji was bent at the knee's panting, the kind of training like that was insane. Lee however had a different approach to the situation. He was jumping around, begging the sensei for another 200 laps.
The team voted. And Neji and TenTen's vote completely wiped out Lee's only one.
"Sensei..." TenTen put on her most innocent looking face, "Couldn't we just call it a day?"
Gai of course would normally say no, but it was virtually impossible to ignore TenTen's face when she was trying to look the part. "TenTen! I admire your Youth! And for that! Anyone who wishes to skip today's training is allowed to leave! Although-"
Before he could get out another word, Neji and TenTen were already gone. Leaving just Gai and Lee by themselves.
"Hn," Neji turned his head to the side as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "See you tomorrow for training then?"
'I've got to tell him... Maybe It's not just a crush...' TenTen thought to herself, obviously not hearing the Hyuuga speaking.
He sighed, "TenTen."
"Huh? Oh!" She snapped out of her trance to look at the Hyuuga. "What was that?"
"Are you okay?" He raised an eyebrow.
'Oh no... oh no... What if he's reading me.. Like he did Hinata that one time... What do I do?!'
Lie your pants off.
"I'm Fine!"
"Hn." He adverted his gaze, 'I Highly doubt that.' He thought bitterly. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow for training then?" He repeated.
She nodded her head nervously, "Yeah. Yeah!"
In The Shadows...
"You see that?"
"Yes!"
"They've lost the beauty of Youth!"
Indeed. The two hiding in the bushes nearby were none other then Maito Gai. And Rock Lee.
"Lee! I want you to do everything in your power to bring the Youth back into those two. Got it?!"
"Yes Sensei!"
"Make me proud!"
"I WILL SENSEI!"
The Next Day
"No training today!" Rock Lee said happily as the door to the Hyuuga clan's door opened to reveal Neji.
Neji held an interested expression on his face, "Your happy about that because...?"
"Uhh.. Because it gives Youth time to blossom!"
"Right.. Then why am I out here in the first place?"
"Because we're going to get TenTen! Then out to ramen!"
The Interested expression turned to all out confusion, "Huh?"
"Let's go!"
With that the Youthful Lee grabbed ahold of Neji and dragged him all the way to TenTen's house.
For a reason beyond Neji's understanding a few seconds ago he was in his own home, and now he was raising his hand up to knock on TenTen's door? Oh Boy...
TenTen's POV
Ugh, someone was knocking on her door this early in the morning? TenTen dragged herself out of bed, her hair down to her shoulders instead of in the usual bun. She wore a tightish shirt, and short shorts. Hell it was the middle of summer wasn't it?! A Girl was allowed to wear anything that didn't have long sleeves for PJ's. But oh she wouldn't have worn anything like that if she knew who was at the door.
Oh Booooy she wouldn't.
"I'm COMING," She growled making her way to the door. Whoever said she was a morning person?
"What?" She growled irritably as she opened the door. To none other then her crush.
Neji Hyuuga.
Profanities went through her head at that moment, over, and over.
He seemed to stand there for a few moments, collecting in his mind who that person could be. And he went against it really being TenTen.
"Uhh... Is TenTen Home?"
"Hi Neji..." She spoke nervously.
The all seeing Hyuuga prodigy, didn't see that coming.
They stood there, in awkward silence before Neji spoke up.
"Well.. Uhh I came by with Lee to ask if you wanted to come to ramen tonight. Since we've got no training today."
"Lee?" She raised an eyebrow. Meaning to the fact the youthful bushy brow was nowhere to be found.
'Dammit! Lee I'll kill you!' Neji growled looking around. "Well.. Uhh.."
"I see... well since Lee hasn't shown up..." Her voice sounded disappointed.
"It'll just be two tonight then."
She smiled happily, "Great pick me up at seven!" And she shut her door.
Neji's POV
"Dammit Lee.. What did you get me into?!" He growled as the Youthful bushy brow smiled cheerfully.
"You and TenTen had lost your Youthfulness! So I figured to bring it back I had to bring you two together!"
Neji's brow twitched, "It doesn't work that way you idiot."
"Just try it Neji! You never know! YOU might really like TenTen-chan!"
So here he was, infront of her door. Waiting for her to come out.
"But mom!" He heard her voice inside the house say.
"No buts! I think he'll like it better that way!"
"But mom!"
He knocked.
"See! He's at the door. Go Get him!"
The door opened to reveal TenTen standing infront of him. Nothing looked really different, till he saw her hair.
It was down.
But instead of the messy down he had seen that morning, it was curled and braided in different ways making her radiate beauty around everywhere.
"Hi Neji..." She spoke weakly.
"Hi..."
She stepped out of the house, nearly falling over but catching her balance each time. As they walked together though, the conversation started.
"I'm really glad you asked me to go tonight Neji!"
Oh How dense men were. When they didn't know the right thing to say.
"Hn. Well actually it was going to be all three of us. But Lee had other plans."
"Oh so you didn't really want to come with me alone in the first place?" She stopped walking, crossed her arms, and looked at him.
"Well.. I wouldn't normally ask my teammate to a dinn-"
"Ugh Neji you are so DENSE! You sure as hell know how to lead a girl on huh?!"
So that was the end. Of the Date that never began. But that was the slap in the face, that Neji needed.
Days Later
Team Gai Stood infront of the Hokage-sama. Awaiting the details of the mission.
Neji tried to catch the gaze of his female teammate, but she avoided looking at him altogether.
'Dammit.. What have I done?'
"You understand? Your to find these two Akatsuki members. Do NOT go into combat with these two. You all got that? Just get their location. Send one of you back and I'll send in the reinforcements."
Present
"TenTen!"
Neji Hyuuga landed infront of the blow, emitting chakra from every point in his body. At that exact moment he spun around. Using the Rotation completely. Which knocked the Elder Uchiha back a bit.
Neji knelt down to the Kunoichi. "TenTen..."
"I'm fine.." She sat up leaning against a tree, "I'm fine I'm fine." She repeated. "Just.. Stupid."
"I was stupid to let you go back home that night."
Her eyes widened. Watching the Hyuuga as he turned around to face Itachi.
"Byakugan!"
The older Uchiha turned his gaze to the side for a moment. The Large shark-like man landed beside him.
"Did you get what we required Kisame?" Itachi questioned casually.
"Yeah," Kisame grunted. "Let's go."
Neji glared at the two, but remained standing up straight until they both took off.
He spun around back to TenTen and leaned down to her.
She held her side, "I'll be fine. Nothing Sakura-chan or the Hokage can't heal."
He cupped her face in his hands, causing shock to fill her eyes, and brought her lips crashing upon her own.
In the Shadows...
"I'm proud of you Lee!" Gai raised his hand in a thumbs up. "Great job! YOU BROUGHT THE YOUTH BACK TO BOTH OF THEM!"
"YaHOOOO! I hope I made you proud Sensei!"
"You did! Lee!"
Waterfall like tears streamed out of Rock Lee's eyes, "Sensei!!!!"
In the same motion, tears streamed from the eyes of Gai. "Lee! I am proud of you!"
"Thank you Sensei!"
"But Lee!" Gai jumped back, sticking his hip out to the left, his right leg bent at the knee a bit. He raised his left hand to the air, bending it at the wrist, and raised his right over his eye in a sort of a mask. "YOU MUST STRIVE TO BRING MORE YOUTH TO THIS WORLD!"
"YES SENSEI!" Lee said standing infront of him now, raising his hand up into a salute.
A/N: I know Neji might've been a little OOC. But eh, I made up for it with youth. This was my first actual Naruto Oneshot, that I did a year or two ago.