Rain hammered down from the onyx heavens in sheets of cold rain, driven by icy wind, echoing its fury upon the land. Leaves and other minor debris scattered the airstreams, and were strewn conspicuously. Surely no one would think of going out in a storm like this.

Wrong.

Despite the freezing rain and bitter winds, the Hyuga prodigy could be seen training, the blue of his chakra lost in the gusts of frigid wind that cut his face like shards of ice. Usually, one could see him sparring with a certain bun- haired kunoichi; however, she was nowhere to be seen. She had refused hands down to go outside to train, upon seeing the drenched Hyuga at her doorstep earlier that day. Hearing this, the prodigy turned tail and went off to train by himself. As the swirl of cold and rain whirled around him, he noticed what a difference there was without his weapon's mistresses' smile to brighten up the day.

Later that night, after he had gone inside, Neji found himself rather tired, and achy, the world around him warm and clouded. He excused himself from the dinner table early, followed by the smallest of worried looks from his introverted cousin, Hinata. He noticed, and was inwardly thankful and pleased that she would worry about him. Feet slow and heavy, he finally made it to his bedroom and fell, fully dressed and exhausted on his bed, breathing in the light smell of lilac and fresh cotton that arose from the sheets and numbed his senses, lulling him into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Hinata had finished with her dinner early as well and excused herself from the table. She turned down the long, dark hallways of the Hyuga manor that would have been a confusing maze, had she not grown up in the place. Her bare feet were cold on the ground as she rounded a corner that lead to the cadet house's rooms. She was extremely careful not to make a sound when she ventured into this part of the house; her father still did not permit the main and the cadet branches to mingle. As she ventured, her thoughts turned to her cousin.

She had noticed from the moment he walked in from training, his pale countenance and worn pallor, and became suddenly all the more anxious about his well being. When she had reached his room, she knocked on the door, expecting at least a "Hn," but she listened, and heard nothing. She knocked again, louder this time and pressed her ear against the wooden door, still unable to tell if he was okay. Hesitantly, she grasped the door handle, sliding the wooden barrier along its silvery rail to see Neji asleep on his futon, shivering.

"N-Neji- Nissan? Are you okay?" the whispered words were not enough to rouse the sleeping prodigy. Hinata kneeled at the side of his futon, pressing her hand to his forehead and cheeks which emanated heat like hot metal. Hinata gasped and started to panic- surely he was running a high fever, but if she told her father, he would know she was in the cadet house, and that would earn her some loathful punishment… she thought for a few moments, then suddenly, it came to her! It was risky, but it just might work…

The weapon's mistress hummed to a song playing on her ipod as she carefully shinned a new weapon she had just bought. A fire that was merrily crackling in the fireplace and the pouring rain coming from the dark outside would have made for a very cozy scene. However, Tenten's mind was far from the cozy interior of her home, and cast out into the darkness where her teammate could still be sparring.

I probably should have gone with him… I feel so guilty now- ugh! why does he do these things to me? These thoughts whirred around in her head along with the lyrics she was listening to.

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok
But that's not what gets me…

Thunder shook the air, and made her jump, the earphones pulling out of her ear. As she struggled to untangle them, her phone rang and she went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Tenten-chan? It's Hinata," Tenten's insides squirmed- was this call about Neji?

"Hey Hinata-chan! What's up?" she said, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible.

"A-ano… it's nii-san… I think he's sick, and I can't tell fatherorelseI'dgetinsuchhugetrouble-"

"Whoa- okay Hinata, first thing's first: shut up," Tenten could almost see Hinata fingering the phone cord in anxiety, "secondly: how did Neji get sick? Was it training in the rain?"

"A-ano… I think so… would it be too much to ask-"

"I'll be right over," Tenten said, cutting her off and smiling. She heard a small sigh of relief escape the Hyuga heiresse's lips.

"Arigato, Tenten-chan," but she was speaking to no one as the dial tone rang in her ear and a bun haired kunoichi ran out into the night.

A knock sounded on the back door of the Hyuga house; it was a good thing Neji had taught her the ins and outs of his family's house before- otherwise her cover would be completely blown. The door opened, unleashing a flood of warm air from the dry building into the rain- soaked air. Tenten looked up from under her hoodie to see two white Hyuga eyes smiling at her, and she smiled as well as she recognized the eye's keepers.

"Hi Hinata! I'm sorry I couldn't have been here faster," she stepped inside, removing the hood from her head, blinking in the dimness of the corridor.

"Don't be- I'm thankful you could come at all," she felt Hinata grasp her hand, and begin to pull her toward's Neji's room.

"Thank you so much for what you're doing, Tenten-chan. I would do it myself but father…" her voice faded, but Tenten could still feel the anxiety brewing beneath the silence. They reached his room, and opened the door, sliding it closed behind them. Tenten's heart clenched at what she saw- Neji lying face up on his futon, his breathing shallow, a faint blush kissing at his cheeks. She went over to him and pressed her hand against his forehead, feeling an intense heat. Her brow furrowed: if his fever was too high, she'd have to take him to the hospital but if she dared hope it wasn't that high, he could stay here and sleep it off.

"We need to wake him up to take his temperature- do you have a thermometer?" Tenten turned around to ask Hinata, and was presented with an electric thermometer moments later.

"Arigato," she said, smiling as she was handed the device. Now came the hard part. She shook Neji's shoulder to try to wake him up, but he still didn't arouse from his feverish slumber.

"Neji? Neji? Come on now… you need to wake up just for a second," She whispered in his ear as she shook his shoulders again. Thankfully, his dreary eyes opened, clouded with fever.

"T-Ten…ten?" he whispered back hoarsely. "What… are you…"

"Shhh now… just open your mouth and we'll see how hot you are- I mean- uh… how warm you are," he did not appear to have heard the last bit and she silently thanked his drowsiness for that. The thermometer lay under his tongue for a few moments while Hinata figited in anxious silence. Tenten noticed this and said:

"Don't worry Hinata- I'm sure his fever's not that bad," she tried to convince herself this as much as Hinata. Suddenly, the thermometer beeped, and Neji's eyes snapped open at the sharp sound. Tenten took it out of his mouth and read the temperature:

102.2˚ Sighing thankfully, she cleared the screen and told Hinata what his temperature was.

"Is that… bad?" the Hyuga Heiress asked hesitantly, and was relieved when Tenten gave her a small smile.

"No- it just means I might need to stay overnight to see that he gets better, but at least he doesn't have to go to the hospital," Hinata nodded, and put her finger to her lip; an age-old habit of hers.

"A-ano… I'll get you something warm and dry to sleep in- you might get sick too if you stay in those wet clothes." Tenten smiled gratefully at her best friend, accepting the offer and also asking for some medicine Neji would take when he awoke again. Hinata nodded, and dissapeared for a few minutes to gather the belongings.

While she was gone, Tenten noticed that Neji had fallen asleep again, his usual pale cheeks tinted with a feverish glow, his breath, coming out in hot sighs that riffled through the still room the sound broken only by the raindrops still cascading from their dark home in the sky. Tenten brushed aside a stray hair that lingered on his face, and leaned closer to him, stopping as she heard Hinata returning from her 'trip'.

"Thanks Hinata- these are great," she said, unfolding a midnight blue tank top with silver stars and black sweat pants.

"Here's the medicine- did I get the right kind?" Hinata held a bottle up to Tenten.

"Yeah, that's perfect Hinata-chan," she replied, smiling.

"A-ano…I need to be in bed right now, but if you need me then please text me- I'll have my phone on." Tenten nodded, and said:

"Okay- I'll have mine on too. Night Hinata-chan!"

"Goodnight Tenten-chan! If anyone can make nii-san better, it's you," She closed the door silently behind her leaving Tenten to ponder what she had said. The rest of the night, Tenten stayed by Neji's side occasionally waking him up to take his temperature or to give him some water or medicine. By two in the morning, Tenten was exhausted but relieved. The thermometer held in her hand as she fell asleep read: 98.6˚

The next morning shone bright and cloudless, birds chirping their 'good morning' to anyone in the vicinity, bathing in the puddles left by the night's rain. Neji woke up, feeling a pressure on his bed, and looked over, astounded at the sight of the kunoichi whose arms and head rested on the futon, complete with a thermometer that read his temperature.

He stayed completely still so as not to wake her; it was evident to see that she had spent most of the night awake as there were dark circles under her eyes, hair in mussed buns, and a countenance was that of one that had an energy drain. In her sleep, she mumbled something unclear. Neji smiled softly, and bent closer to her, hoping she would say it again.

"Neji…get… better… soon…if you don't… I'll kill… you…" she lapsed into a silent slumber once again, not seeing the priceless expression that adorned the Hyuga's face- a cross way between humor, pity, and confusion. He let out a small chuckle, thinking a noise so minor couldn't possibly awaken the kunoichi.

Nope.

Tenten's eyes fluttered open at the sound, thinking it had just been a dream- surely even if Neji was awake and well, he wouldn't have- her thoughts stopped abruptly as their eyes met. She smiled at him, and said:

"Feeling better, now are we?" Neji, whose face had been blank since he saw her eyes open simply shrugged, but could not help notice that his teammate had a blush framing her usually ivory cheeks. Frowing, he put a hand to her forehead and felt her warm skin against his.

"You're feeling a bit warm, you know. I'm afraid you might have caught what I had," Tenten scowled at him.

"I do not- and if I do then it's all your fault. You shouldn't have been training outside when it was pouring- I mean, seriously? What kind of idiot does that?" She locked eyes with the now ticked genius, and smirked. "Well, I guess there is such a thing as a stupid genius then..." her voice, thick with sleepiness and fever, suddenly alarming him. He looked sternly at her, and said:

"Stop that, Tenten. How warm are you?" he picked the thermometer out of her hot hand, and as she opened her mouth to speak, stuck it under her tongue.

"Mmmm!!!! hmmhphmhphph!!!" Tenten hmmmmed, upset at being caught unawares and have this thermometer rudely shoved under her tongue... the same on Neji had used in fact... Tenten thought of this with a mixture of grossness and sick giddiness. The device beeped just as it had done with Neji in those nightly hours, and it showed a temperature equal to his from the previous night.

"That can't be good..." Tenten sighed as the slid down until she was completely laying on the floor. Neji rolled his eyes, and got out of bed, picking her up, amazed at how light she was but a bit worried at how warm her skin felt to him. He set her down on his bed, watching her eyes contract, as though in pain.

"What hurts?" he asked her, pulling the covers over her shivering body.

"Everything..." she replied drowsily. Neji painfully recalled how achy he had felt as well the night before and an inkling of pity rushed to his teammate.

"Get some sleep- I'll see if Hinata-" the ringing of Tenten's phone cut him off as a text message appeared on the screen, saying:

Tenten- im coming down now. c u in a bit!
-hina

Neji sighed in relief- Hinata would know what to do. As said, a few mintues later, a knock came from outside the door. Neji answered with his usual "Hn?" Hinata opened the door to see a scene completely opposite from what she had left the night before- now it was Tenten sick, and Neji healthy. Hinata tried her hardest to keep a straight face in front of her serious cousin.

"D-don't tell me, nii-san... she got w-what you got?" Neji nodded, and asked her what he should do to make her better.

"A-ano, she gave you two tablets of that medicine last night- that should be enough for her, and make sure she has enough fluids- oh, and check her temperature often. Should I tell your sensei that you're neither of you will be there today?" Neji nodded, thanking her. Hinata smiled, and walked out. He turned back to his bed to find Tenten staring at him, fever now spreading across her eyes, clouding them.

"Since you're awake- do you mind telling me why you were here last night?" Tenten closed her eyes, and said:

"Hinata said you were sick, and I was feeling guilty," Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Why were you feeling guilty? You didn't do anything-"

"Yeah, I did, actually. I felt like I abandoned you or something... when you were training all by yourself 'cause normally... I want to train with you... but yesterday... I think the weather's odds were against us..." they both stayed quiet for a few minutes until Tenten began to breathe more deeply, and Neji knew she must have fallen asleep. And just as she had done, he watched over her with an eagle's eye, waking her up periodically to take medicine or her temperature, but most of the time, he would let her sleep, sometimes brushing away a stray hair or two that had fallen out when he undid her hair so she could rest more comfortably.

By the end of the day, Tenten had woken up, feverless just as Neji had done, only faster. She told him that since they were both better, she'd finally be able to beat him in a spar. He smirked and said that the only thing she had beaten him in was getting better which ultimately led to a smack in the head from the angry kunoichi. The two got to the training grounds to find them strangely deserted with no green-clad shinobi about. The two stood there in silence for a few moments contemplating- where had they're team gone? Suddenly, a green flash was speeding towards them, shouting their names.

"NEJI!!"

"TENTEN!"

"LEE, SHUT UP!" both ninja screamed as Lee scampered to a stop in front of them, smiling his pingy smile.

"And it was so nice and quiet..." Neji muttered under his breath while Tenten asked Lee what on earth he was screaming about.

"What I was... oh yes! Gai- sensei is sick with a fever, and it is our youthful mission to attend to him dutifully!!"

Neji: 0-0

Tenten: 0-0

END

A/N: wow- bet u guys are glad that's over! whew! i think that's the longest one-shot i've done yet! i hope it was good! it was requested by Sasukes-girl08 so thank you very much for the request! PLZ REVIEW!!! YOU GUYS KNOW I LOVE READING UR COMMENTS!!!

DISCLAIMER!!!: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG WHAT HURTS THE MOST BY RATTLESNAKE FLATS!!! HAPPY NOW??? GOOD!! HAVE A COOKIE!!!!