And the Beat Goes On

Tok. Toktok. Tok. Toktok. Tok. Tok-

"Tenten."

She sighed and wiped her brow with the back of her hand, not wanting to turn around.

"Yes?" She could almost hear what he was going to say before he even said it.

'You are not hitting hard enough. A strong ninja will think nothing of your butterfly punches.'

'You must strike quicker. A fast ninja will already be gone by the time you initiate your attack.'

'You are not trying hard enough. Surely if this is all you have, you will be the first to fall in battle.'

'If you ever wish to be a respected and skilled ninja, you must train harder than this.'

'Your stamina is not sufficient enough, you must-'

"Your hands are bleeding." Her guesses were cut short when Neji took her hands in his and began wrapping them.

"Eh?" She was thrown by his statement.

Wasn't he supposed to be reprimanding her? But that could wait; he was trying to get her attention.

"Look." Oh. She was bleeding.

Neji had lifted one of her hands and pushed it in her face, half wrapped. The point where she had been striking the wooden post was rubbed away to the point of bleeding. It was a little disconcerting that she hadn't noticed before.

"Well, if I don't work hard I won't become better. A little blood never hurt. By working myself hard I will strengthen my resistance to pain, thus producing a more durable ninja." She remembered those exact words from the last time she had been scolded by her teammate.

But Neji did not nod in approval. His eyes became hard, and he looked up at her now that her hands were completely wrapped.

"I told you that."

She was surprised by his underlying tone of anger. Wasn't he pleased that she was training harder to better herself, and following his advice?

"Tenten. Do not push yourself so hard that you are injured. You must train hard, but you must take care of yourself as well."

Neji pushed her hands back to her body, but he didn't let go.

"You must promise you will take better care of yourself." It wasn't a question.

What was with him today? Was he ill or something? She looked down at her hands, confused. Sure, he saved her a lot, even when she didn't need saving sometimes. But he'd just be cool about it and tell her to take care of her injuries before they became a liability. He'd never actually cared about her wellbeing, just the physical wellness of his team member. If she wasn't well, she'd hold them back.

"Tenten." Neji dropped her hands in favor of pressing his fingertips to her face to get her attention. "Promise me."

"Ah? Oh, u-uhm, yeah. I'll take better care of myself." She could barely speak. Where was all of this coming from?

"Good." He removed his hands from her face and straightened. "I'll see you tomorrow at training, then."

"Yeah. Tomorrow." Neji turned and took off, leaving Tenten with a bewildered look on her face.

She flushed, remembering his hands on her face.

"N-Neji." She shook her head, a small smile creeping across her face.

"I need to get something to eat. Take care of myself, ne?"

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

The titles may or may not be related to the fics they head. Usually I get a title as some sort of inspiration, but unless I've already got the whole thing planned out they usually don't end relating the title in any way. So, disregard it if it's confusing. This was Tenten's first experience with Neji's romantic feelings, but I'm not sure if she's had them herself or not. XD Sad, seeing as how I wrote it. Next….I think it will be more from Tennie's point of view, because I sort of suck at Neji. Sorry for the short chappie, hopefully I won't be a bum and write something longer next time.

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