It was a strange day indeed when Lee thought it would be a good idea for some team bonding. He and Tenten happily discussed what the three of them could do together. Tenten, wanting to do something with the least possible chances of going horribly wrong, decided that they should go to her apartment with a couple movies. It seemed foolproof. Lee, being Lee, shouted jubilantly at the idea. Neji, not being Lee, simply shrugged with a bored expression that would have made Shikamaru proud. So it was settled.
The very next day, the three of them met (well, Lee and Tenten met, Neji was dragged by the former) at Tenten's modest apartment. For reasons yet to be disclosed, the three of them ended up watching Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, and Aladdin. The first two movies were fairly uneventful. All three did not mind the cartoon caricatures of fairy tales, though Neji's white eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when the characters on screen burst into song.
Watching a Disney movie with three sixteen year old shinobi can be an interesting experience. Especially when said shinobi are one youthful, hot-blooded Taijutsu-specialist, one Hyuuga genius, and one kunoichi with a certain fondness for pointy objects. Beauty and the Beast was especially interesting with Neji's snide comments. Lee and Tenten nearly doubled over laughing when the beast snarled, "I request that you accompany me to dinner." Though, it was more Neji's comment of, "That's not a request; that's a demand. Way to go Disney," that truly entertained them. Then again, Lee's murmur of, "Dancing silverware?...I have never been so very confused," during "Be Our Guest" also gained a couple laughs. Tenten herself found the bickering of the cartoon clock and candelabra so familiar that she came to calling Lee and Neji, Lumière and Cogsworth, respectively. Once the first movie had ended, even the Hyuuga genius himself was ready for the next.
Tenten popped in The Hunchback of Notre Dame explaining that it had been one of her absolute favorite movies as a child. Surprisingly, both Lee and his brunette companion took to the movie as well. Lee smiled that wide, bright grin of his during "Out There" explaining that he longed to have a voice to rival Quasimodo's. Tenten merely shook her head and ruffled his hair fondly. Lee cried those "manly tears" of his during "Heaven's Light" (Tenten suspected that he related more to Quasimodo than he let on). Conversely, Neji seemed ecstatic during "Hellfire" claiming that Frolo was a brilliantly composed villain. The kunoichi of the team simply placed a hand on his shoulder, muttering, "You would know." All three were silent during "God Help the Outcasts," each meandering within their own thoughts. At the very end, Lee again cried while Neji explained to him that Quasimodo simply couldn't have ended up with Esmeralda without completely destroying any chance of anyone taking the film seriously. Obviously, that was no comfort.
Once Lee had calmed down somewhat, Tenten put in the next movie: The Lion King. As she made her way back to the couch she told Neji, "If you liked Frolo, you're gonna love Scar." Needless to say, the brunette was a bit excited at the notion. As they watched the first half-hour or so, it seemed to be just like the other two movies. Lee, of course, overreacted during the "Elephant Graveyard" scene. Neji got a surprising kick out of Zazu. But both Tenten and Lee noticed a particularly strange reaction during the scene in which Simba and Mufasa had a heart-to-heart following the graveyard escapade. Neji watched the scene intently with a blank stare, transfixed. Lee wrapped an arm around the brunette's shoulder, though he did not seem to notice. Then, came Scar's big scene in which he reveals his entire plan to the hyenas. Tenten figured that Neji would have a similar reaction to the one he had during "Hellfire." However, she stood corrected as Neji grew pale, and she could have sworn that he was shaking, but she attributed both to a trick of the eye (they were in the dark after all). Then came the stampede scene, and all hell broke loose (at least in Neji-language). Neji's eyes grew wide. He pulled his legs to his chest, murmuring something unintelligible. Lee and Tenten shared frightened looks. They had never seen their companion like this. Neji's breath grew shallow as Simba was forced into exile, and not even the antics of Timon and Pumba could cheer him up. By the end of the movie, Neji was visibly shaking. He looked as though he was going to be sick.
As the credits began to roll, Tenten immediately turned the movie off, turning towards Neji with a worried expression. She watched as Lee rubbed the brunette's back soothingly, mouthing, "What happened?" Tenten merely shrugged, responding with a soundless, "I don't know." Neji stood with such suddenness that it startled both of his teammates. With an extremely forced smile, he murmured, "I'll be right back." He did not meet either of their eyes. The only sound was the slamming of Tenten's bathroom door.
The hazel-eyed kunoichi sighed, slumping onto the couch next to her bright-eyed teammate. "Lee, that was a kids movie. What could have possibly bothered him so much?" Lee did not respond, staring intently at the movie cover, as if it held all the answers. A full fifteen minutes passed without even a peep from Neji. Lee, worried for his rival and dearest friend, approached the bathroom with caution. He felt disgusted with himself as the he heard the distinct sound of retching from the other side of the door. How could he have missed something that could affect his best friend so vividly?
"Neji," Lee called softly. "Is everything all right, my friend? Can I come in?"
"No, that's all right, Lee," came Neji's hoarse reply. "I'll be fine. Just start the next movie without me." Lee's large brows furrowed.
"Neji, you know that Tenten and I cannot just ignore it when you are in pain," he whispered sadly.
"Please," Neji admonished. "Go ahead. I'll meet you there in a bit." Lee sighed, knowing that Neji was far more stubborn than even he.
"All right. We will be waiting." With that, Lee returned into the T.V. room, telling Tenten to go ahead and start the next movie.
Amazingly enough, the two of them managed to make it through all of Aladdin without Neji. Neither of them let slip more than a forced chuckle, even during Robin Williams' funniest gags. As the credits rolled, Lee could barely even remember starting the next movie. It was such a blur of worry for his teammate. He looked to Tenten, who busied herself with putting all of the movies away for safekeeping. "I suppose the three of us will just have to watch Aladdin together another time," she whispered. Lee nodded knowingly.
"You were not paying attention either, am I right?" She nodded, a strange sort of melancholy smile on her face. "I think it would be best if the three of us stayed over together tonight. Is that all right?"
"Of course, Lee," she smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If it's not okay with Neji's family…well…we'll just deal with them tomorrow. Here, I'll go get my room set up; you go get Neji." With that, the two headed in opposite directions. As Lee approached the bathroom door for a second time, he called his teammates name once again.
"Neji, are you still all right?" There was no response, and that unnerved Lee greatly. He opened the door, realizing that Neji had been too frazzled to remember to lock it.
"Neji?" he addressed as the door slowly creaked open. Lee's round black eyes widened as he saw his dear friend lying unconscious on the floor. "Neji? Neji! Speak to me!" He rushed to the brunette's side, but was much relieved when he saw that the Hyuuga was only sleeping. His eyes softened as he noticed fresh tears streaming down his companion's face and caked vomit around his mouth. The poor thing was as pale as a ghost. "Oh, Neji," Lee whispered softly. "Why are you hurting so much?" As expected, there was no response from the unconscious brunette. Lee went to the sink and wet one of Tenten's hand-towels. With gentleness to rival that of any mother's, Lee cleaned off Neji's face with the warm towel. "You cried yourself to sleep, did you not?" Lee inquired as he wiped the tears from the brunette's eyes. Neji merely murmured incoherently in response.
When the bright-eyed boy was finally satisfied with the cleanliness of Neji's face, he placed the towel back in its place near the sink, and lifted his sleeping companion with ease. "Come on, Sleepy-head, Tenten is waiting." Though before he could even take a step, Lee was almost floored by the way Neji seemed to melt into the former's warmth. "Neji?" he uttered.
"Chichiue…" came Neji's ever-so-soft response. Lee's eyes widened once again; it all made sense.
"Neji…do not tell me you…oh how could I have missed it?!" He held the brunette just a bit closer as he carried him into Tenten's bedroom. Tenten looked up from her work of making the bed.
"Lee? How is Nej-" she gasped as she stared at the limp form in Lee's arms. "Lee…what happened?" Lee smiled sadly.
"Do not worry, Tenten; he is only sleeping." The hazel-eyed kunoichi sighed in relief. "Is he all right?" she asked breathlessly. Lee sighed.
"I think that he cried himself to sleep." Tenten blinked.
"What? Why?" she cried shrilly.
"Tenten…think for a second. He was disturbed by The Lion King." Tenten cocked an eyebrow, unsure of where her friend was going with this.
"And?"
"Tenten, think about the plot. Simba's uncle kills his father." The other's eyes widened.
"Oh my god," she whispered, as she slumped onto the bed. "Oh my god! How could we have shown him that? How could we be so stupid? Lee, what were we thinking?" Burying her face in her hands, Tenten barely noticed as Lee gingerly laid his teammate on the bed.
Placing a hand on her shoulder he whispered, "It is all right, Tenten. We were not thinking. What is done is done, and there is nothing we can do about it. For now, let us all get some rest." Tenten beamed softly.
"You know, Lee, you may be crazy, but that doesn't mean that you don't know what you're talking about."
Grinning Lee murmured, "So I've been told." With that, the two laid down on either side of Neji, both hoping that they could at least offer some comfort to Neji in the morning.
*Well, there you have it. It's funny, this wasn't meant to be more than a couple paragraphs, but I suppose that you never know with these things. This was a rather strange plot bunny that came about while I was alternately watching The Lion King and reading "Funny Facts and Not So Silly Stories," which is a Team Gai fanfic. Well, I hope you enjoyed. I always wondered what would happen if Neji saw this particular Disney movie or read Hamlet. After all, he is the anime version of both lead characters. Anyway, sorry if there are any major mistakes (it was written between two and four in the morning). Well good night, all!