Fly
"What is this place?" questioned the young pearly-eyes teen. Neji Hyuga was not in a pleasant mood. He had returned home from a mission late yesterday, and fully intended to take this day for rest and recuperation. Unfortunately for him, his team had other plans.
A fierce pounding at the door, followed by a very obnoxious, but familiar voice aroused Neji from his sleep.
"Waaaaaaake up, Neeeeeeeji!" came the way-too-joyful call of his team mate and constant annoyance, Rock Lee, from the other side of the front door. With a groan, Neji turned over, hoping to all hopes, that by ignoring him, Lee would go away. Another voice from outside vanquished that thought.
"That's right, Lee, use your voice to bring the youth back into your team!" Guy-sensei. This couldn't be good if they both were here. With a great sigh of protest, the Hyuga prodigy rolled from his bunk and walked to the door.
Three faces greeted him, much to his surprise. There was Lee and Guy-sensei, matching suits, hair, and smiles, as he expected. But behind them, close enough to be involved, but not enough to be attached to the other two, was the final member of Team Guy, Tenten, a slight smile on her lips. This must be important if, not only Guy-sensei was here, but Tenten, too.
Neji cast his eyes around at his teacher and friends before speaking.
"You three know full well how tired I am, and yet you still come knocking on my door at this hour in the morning?" grumbled Neji.
Lee was the first to speak, bounding forward, too much into Neji's personal space. "We have something special for you, Neji! A special training mission!" the loud boy nearly yelled into his friend's face.
"That's right, Neji! We need you to follow us right now, so we can take you to the special place we have developed for you!" Guy-sensei said, giving his signature wink and thumbs-up.
Neji looked at both of the green-clad figures, then at Tenten, the only other sane one of the group, but the young girl just kept offering the same smile, revealing nothing. He ran his hand through his bed-warped hair before speaking.
"Guy-sensei, no offence, but I do not have the time or energy for this right now."
"No choice! You are coming with us now!"
An hour later, after much dragging and protesting, the team had pulled Neji way out of Konoha, to a small building in the middle of a field, where they now stood.
The building wasn't much, no bigger than a shed or storage shack, with barely enough room for the four of them to stand in. There were no windows, and just one steel door leading inside. It seemed to be made of stone of some sort. Neji turned to his team, crossing his arms over his chest in agitation.
"What's so special about this place? And this training you spoke of: why here? And at this hour?" Neji questioned to the room at large.
Guy-sensei swept his arms around the room, like a game show host. "You have brilliant eyesight, Neji. Use it now! You will see we are not the only ones in this room right now," explained the teacher.
Neji raised in eyebrow in interest. Had someone been in here without him knowing? Impossible. Concentrating, the Hyuga boy activated his family's bloodline limit, the Byukugan. Every detail of the small room came into extreme focus. There was Guy, Lee, Tenten, and that's all. Except for…
"You wouldn't be referring to the fly over there?" Neji pointed to the wall to his right without even turning. There, a very small, black dot moved around the wall, buzzing every once and awhile.
Guy-sensei pumped his fist in the air in triumph.
"You are absolutely correct, my fine pupil! That fly! Your mission today is to kill that fly!" beamed the excited mentor.
Neji gave him a questioning look. "Really? You brought me all the way out here just for that? I'm leaving," Turning on his heel, Neji headed for the door, but stopped when Tenten placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, Hyuga, it's not that simple. There is a reason behind it, and some catches." That irritating smile was still there. Why couldn't she give a straight answer?
"Right you are, Tenten! The reason for this is to help you perfect your Gentle Fist on moving targets. We brought you out here this early because, as you know, the longer a fight goes on, the more exhausted you get, and the harder it is to use your excellent skills. This training is to eliminate that hurdle in combat!" Explained Guy-sensei, his arms moving wildly as he went on.
Neji raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Hold on. If that's the case, why is it just me? Why not Lee and Tenten as well? If that's the case, why is it just me? Why not Lee and Tenten as well?" queried Neji.
"Well, my weapons style already makes it easy for me to pin-point targets on just about anything. As for Lee, well, he-" Tenten was interrupted by Lee himself.
"I am already a moving target!" The teen seemed way too over-joyed about that fact, copying his mentor's smile and thumbs-up.
"The catch is that you can only use your Gentle Fist technique. No kunai or other tricks, just your hands and that fly." Tenten gave a sly wink, before heading to the door, where the other two stood waiting.
"This place is made of three feet of solid stone, so don't worry about destroying it. It's an abandoned relief station, so it's all good." The brown-haired girl explained, knocking the wall to prove it.
"We'll be locking the door from the outside, and be back to see how you're doing in a hour. Good luck, Neji! May the flame of youth guide your hands!" said Guy, as they all stepped outside.
"Hey! Wait!"
"Good luck, Neji!" The sound of the door clicking shut echoed through the small room. A buzz behind Neji reminded him of why he was here, and turned to face his "opponent".
59 Minutes Later
"Do you think he did it?" questioned Tenten, a small bit of concern making her frown a little. They were just up the road from shed, the time limit almost up. Lee was jumped in the air, excitement lifting him from the ground.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Neji did it! If anyone could kill a fly, it 's Neji. I bet he did it in the first half hour and is waiting for us right now!" proclaimed the bouncing youth.
"Lee, you need to be more optimistic about things. I bet he did it in less than fifteen minutes!" challenged Guy-sensei, himself jumping along side his pupil.
"Yeah! You are right, Guy-sensei! Nothing can stop Neji!"
The two bounded up the road, Tenten silently praying for an end to the madness when the shed came into view. All appeared normal, but that changed rather drastically. With a loud BOOOM!, one wall of the shed exploded outward, rock and rumble flying for hundreds of feet across the open field.
The Team shadow-stepped to the shed in seconds, eyes searching the wreckage, debris and dust clouding their vision.
"Neji! Neji, where are you?" They all called, until a slight cough from the entrance of the new whole alerted them to his presence.
Neji looked exhausted, sweat and dirt covering his face and neck. His arms lay limp at his sides as he panted loudly, sucking in air. His knees shook until, from pure exhaustion, they gave, causing the young prodigy to fall. Tenten was there in seconds, catching him and lying him down gently on the ground.
The others were around him, looking him over. Neji appeared fine, just fatigued. His blank eyes searched their faces, his eyes suddenly becoming manic as his thoughts rearranged.
"Did I get it? Is it dead? Please tell me it's dead!" he practically shouted at his teammates. Tenten brushed a strand of hair out his face, as the two "youthful" men exchanged questioning glances.
"Neji! What happened to you? What was that?" Tenten ordered back.
"Sky Palm. Had to kill it. Is it gone?" Neji was hyperventilating, his breathing growing erratic.
"What? Oh, the fly!" Tenten looked around. The dust was settling outside the hole. Guy and Lee had moved inside through said hole, looking around. Their mouths opened in shock, but that didn't matter now.
Tenten looked back at her fallen teammate. "Yes, Neji, it's gone. The fly is dead."
Neji exhaled loudly, his breathing returning slowly to normal. His eyes slowly closed, the lids still dark from lack of sleep. It took Tenten a few moments to realize he had fallen asleep.
"Hey! Tenten! Come in here! You need to see this!" came an exasperated call from Lee, inside the shed.
Tenten stood and walked in the hole, stepping over rocks and bits of wall. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness of the shed, but when they did, he mouth opened in shock. All the walls on the inside of the shed (those still standing) were riddled with holes. Rough gouges of rock, torn from their homes. All were roughly the size of a hand, and all in random, erratic places.
"Wow. I guess that fly was too much trouble for him. Good thing it's gone." Tenten stated, eyes wandering from wall to wall.
"Uh, Tenten. Might not want to tell him this, but…" When Tenten turned, she saw that Lee was pointing at one spot on the wall. Following his finger, Tenten saw it. A small black spot on the wall, that moved about, and, ever so occasionally, buzzed.
