Team Gai is Fraught
Blurb: The undercurrents of the loudest team.
Genre: Drama
None of the other rookie teams possessed the drama peculiar to Team 7, the first team of genin the Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi ever agreed to take on, simply because their team did not consist of one lovestruck girl, one lone survivor of a clan massacre, and the outcast host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
Like most teams, Team Gai had one normal girl, and two normal boys. Sure, the boys had sufficient tear-jerker backgrounds and the girl's background could likewise be classified as tear- jerking mainly because no one thought it was worth mentioning. Essentially though, Team Gai was a happy, well-adjusted team without undue drama. Except for the kind of potential drama that arises from any close group of growing teens composed of two guys and a girl.
Tenten had always been aware of it. She was a girl, first and foremost, and rather proud that as a female she could notice these subtle nuances far more quickly than her team mates. Unlike some unenlightened women, she did not consider femininity a weakness to be suppressed in the path to being a kunoichi, but an additional strength. Hence the lipstick at the Chuunin exam. There was always a chance her opponent would have gone easier on her because she was a girl, a stereotype which she would have used to her advantage. Too bad she'd been matched against a similarly-enlightened, more experienced kunoichi. She didn't hold any grudges against Temari. In fact, she admired the way the girl kept her own male team mates in check, considering that one of them was a powerful psychotic murderer and the other a bully who tended to beat up little children while he himself had not outgrown playing with dolls.
With her own team, Tenten was always conscious of how she related to each of her boys. She adopted the sisterly attitude with Lee, because it was the only way she could shake him to her heart's content and berate him without either hurting his feelings too much or being admonished for being so touchy-feely. She knew it was what Lee needed.
As for Neji, she gave him his space. Even after the Chuunin exams, he'd relaxed a bit, smiled more, but was too uncertain about his sudden paradigm shift to allow excessive emotional intimacy, even with his own team. She kept her distance, but knew it would only be a matter of time before her two clueless team mates realized there could be more to their dynamic than just as quasi-siblings or professional colleagues.
She was correct in her forecast that Neji would be the first to notice. Having been so distant, he was hyper-sensitive to the gradual development of their relationship. Lee, being used to her touch, was slower to attribute any other meaning aside from friendly contact.
When they'd fought against the Akatsuki named Kisame, Tenten hid her surprise well when Neji caught her after freeing them from the water prison.
"Thanks Neji," she glanced at him, saw the concern in his eyes that bordered on something else, and then she glanced away.
It was getting complicated.
Lee later on remarked on it, at some obscure point during training, "You really do need to train more Tenten. Neji can't save you all the time."
"It was one time, Lee. And, as I recall, you needed help too," irked, Tenten forsook her scroll, which was empty anyway, and engaged in a futile taijutsu spar with the young green beast of Konoha. It ended with her on the ground, almost. Lee had caught her with one arm before she hit, and was bent over her, a little winded.
"As I recall, I did not need to be supported afterwards by Neji, just as I am supporting you now."
Tenten sighed. Lee did have a point. "Fine. I don't like being a damsel in distress either. Let's train harder, Lee."
Lee grinned. Then he hugged her, as per usual. Tenten complained, as per usual.
"Enough already, Lee. You wouldn't want Sakura to be jealous would you?" she scolded, but knew better than to struggle. It only made Lee, or Gai, for that matter, grip harder.
"Eh?" the boy was quizzical. He carefully set her on her feet, "Why would she be? I love you, Tenten, but simply as my team mate and friend." He watched her face anxiously, "Does our interaction feel otherwise to you?"
Tenten grinned, glad that this wasn't going to become a sticky issue, at least with Lee, "Naw. I was just kidding. I love you too Lee, as a team mate and friend."
What she didn't count on, however, was how Lee began to watch her interaction with Neji. Who, by the way, was beginning to act stranger than ever.
"Neji," she berated, almost tempted to shake him by the shoulders the way she did with Lee, "I'm not a china doll!"
He had stepped in front of her yet again, during a battle, to fend off an attacker. They always analyzed a mission after they got home, but Neji had broken formation so many times today that Gai had ordered him off the battlefield in the middle of an actual skirmish for them to process what was going on. It was a simple mission, and Gai could handle it by himself, with one hand tied behind his back. Which he was currently doing. He trusted his young team to sort this out between themselves in the meantime.
The long-haired jounin crossed his arms, looking mulish and very much like his former twelve-year old self. "I have my reasons."
Tenten was about to explode into a rant about being on equal footing when Lee placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "Neji lost his father in the past, Tenten. His closeness to you is almost on par with that. He does not wish to lose you too."
They both stared at Lee in amazement. "Lee, you're close to Neji too," Tenten managed, "I don't see him—"
"I am his rival. He would like to see me hurt in order for me to improve," Lee's logic was a little chilling, but rather accurate, "He would do anything for you not to be hurt though."
He turned to the stunned Hyuuga. "That is not fair to Tenten, Neji. She is a kunoichi and a very capable one at that. You must trust her. And our team. We should all look out for each other."
Neji looked torn between offense at being lectured by Lee, and shame at his previous actions. "Sorry, Tenten. I didn't mean to come across like I was patronizing you."
Tenten sniffed, "Apology not accepted. Treat me better, and to some snacks after this mission, and we'll talk some more."
The two boys grinned. They were used to their female team mate always milking Neji's very rare apologies for all they were worth. She would even pretend to cry, sometimes.
"Let's just finish the mission," he grunted. "I'll treat you all to soba after." They groaned. Only Neji really liked soba.
"Race you," Tenten jumped back into the fray, greeting Gai with a happy shout that everything was okay now.
Lee held Neji back a moment more.
"We're only sixteen Neji. And we're always with her. Let's make every moment count," with that, Lee ran with a youthful "Yosh!" towards their sensei.
Neji frowned at the things Lee left unsaid, but stopped coddling Tenten.
From that point on, Tenten never even noticed how her two boys began to watch each other with her. She was an intuitive kunoichi, yes, but they were also very sneaky ninja.
End.
A/N: This seems to be an unresolved sexual tension fic. I always hated those, thinking, "Resolve it already, blast you." Couldn't resist a yay!Lee fic though. He is berry berry sneaky.