A/N: ROFL! Four thousand words! Haha, I am SO sorry people! I got a little bit carried away with this fic! XD Plus it only has hints of NejiTen! XD XD XD I'm soooo sorry! But it's one of the best fics I have ever written in my entire life I think. I love it.
/Tearjerker.
(1) About the enumeration: These are all actual stories. Check out E's profile !
Take care!
Prompt eight: For everything gained; something is lost.
A slash of lightning cut through the sky in the distance, followed by the rumbling of thunder. The air was heavy with humidity, but the dozens of shinobi present at the ceremony refused to complain. Many slightly hoped for the rain to drench their black clothing, to refresh them, to cleanse them from the feeling that hung through the air. But no one was moving, their eyes straight in front of them at the casket and the picture frame.
The ceremony would begin only in an hour, but people had begun to gather hours ago to pay their respects to the fallen shinobi.
Tenten slowly filed in, her eyes to the floor. She had let her hair loose that day, mostly so her bangs would shield her eyes. Also so that she could secretly wipe the tears from her face when swiping back her hair.
No shinobi should cry during the service of another member of their village. Yet the kunoichi knew deep down that she'd be shedding some no matter how strong-willed she forced herself to be. After all, out of those present, she had gotten the chance to know the man personally.
She walked through the ranks of people, noticing that there were three empty chairs up front. She knew deep down that one was for her and went to sit down, ignoring the stares from the people behind her. A gust of wind whizzed past, making her shiver as she brought her arms around herself, attempting to stay warm. Her gaze remained on the floor, refusing to look at the picture. She didn't want to see the smiling face up there, because she knew that she never would look upon it once again in her life.
Not five minutes later, someone stopped in front of her. She brought her watery eyes up to meet Kakashi's solemn ones. In his hands were three white roses. Wordlessly, he handed them to her and she accepted them with a grateful nod. With deliberate slowness, she placed one rose on the chair to her left and another one to her right. Then she stood and advanced towards the casket.
The rose trembled through her fingers as she stopped in front of it. She ran a sluggish hand over the smooth wood, beautifully crafted by the best workers of Konoha. Her eyes then fell over the picture and the limp hand flew to her mouth as she stifled a torn cry. She tore her eyes away from the photo, unable to stand the emotions it brought to her. Her body racked with anguish and she remained stuck in place until a soothing hand was pressed against the small of her back.
"N-Neji…" she choked out as the man stopped besides her. "H-how could th-this hap-happen to him?"
His hand moved towards hers to untie her fist, before mingling his fingers with hers. He shook his head and Tenten knew that he didn't even trust his own voice. This was as hard for him as it was for her.
It seemed vital that, since they had spent all their years training together, they should give the deceased their last gift to him at the same time. Together, they both raised their white rose and carefully placed them down on the top of the casket, in the middle of a dark green crown.
After they took a step back, Neji carefully brought her back to their seats, taking the one to her right and further to the casket. He kept his left arm around her, his right hand grasping hers to pour out any ounce of support he could spare.
"Shouldn't you be with the Hyuuga clan?" she questioned softly, knowing that the clan often stuck together during times of tragedy.
Neji shook his head firmly. "You come first. I have earned my spot up front; I will not shy away from it in the back."
Suddenly the air became still. Tenten heard someone slightly clear their throat, a nervous sound that made her turn around with annoyance. But then her eyes stopped on the upcoming person and her heart froze with pain. She frantically clutched Neji's hand, who also turned around. He stiffened besides her and whispered something unintelligible.
The man came slowly towards the front, his head held up high. His eyes, usually so full of emotions, were now frighteningly blank. He was clad in a black uniform from head-to-toe, something unusual for the man who used to beg everyone to try the gorgeous green spandex with orange leg warmers.
But what surprised everyone in the room was how quiet he was.
He marched right up to the front, where he looked at the white flower besides Tenten. He picked it up in a machine-like motion and walked up to the casket, where he remained motionless for a few seconds. His arm was now outstretched carefully, a few inches from putting down the flower, when suddenly he broke down.
Tossing the flower to the floor, he fell to his knees and, in a heartbroken voice, shouted out, "Why Gai-Sensei!? Why him!? It's not fair!"
He then fell forward, his forehead against the ground as he wept openly. His fist pounded the floor once, his monstrous strength making the ground shake lightly, as he shouted with despair, "He was all that I got! Why did you take him away from me?! This can't be true, Gai-Sensei, wake up!"
Tenten's heart twisted with sorrow as she threw herself away from Neji's embrace. She ran to her teammate and crumbled to her knees, before attempting to wrap her arms around him. He shrugged her away easily, before turning his stricken facetowards her. "Why are you here?" he hissed venomously. "You never liked him! You were ashamed to have him as your Sensei! Then you dare show yourself at his funeral?" He then whirled to the crowd. "As all of you! Anytime Gai-Sensei would try talking to any of you, you'd look away or give excuses to not be around him! You're all hypocrites!"
Stung, Tenten inched slightly away, but Neji walked right by her to stand on the other side of Lee. Kneeling down, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, looking at him with remorse flooding his eyes. Lee only held his gaze with challenge as he cried, before finally nodding. Relenting, he threw his arms around Neji and clung to him desperately, all while whimpering questions that no one could answer.
Seconds passed and finally, Lee turned to Tenten and crawled to her, also craving a hug. As Tenten was pulling him close to her in a vain attempt to soothe his pain, Neji also slid his arms around the pair, resulting in a long hug from the trio.
"Oh Lee," she breathed in anguish. "Please forgive us. But we loved Gai-Sensei too."
"I know you did," the boy tearfully stammered. "I'm the one who's sorry, my friends. I'm just…"
"We understand," Neji spoke up. He was the one who straightened first, soon followed by Tenten. Lee slowly stood up; going to retrieve the flower he had thrown down. It was still miraculously perfect when he placed it down with Tenten's and Neji's, before he went to sit down besides his friends. The kunoichi took both of the hands of her teammates on either side, which comfortably held onto it.
Tsunade, along with a few men of religious authority, stepped forward and began the ceremony. Long prayers were uttered for the man, along with oaths to his courage. But after a while, Tsunade stepped in front of the casket and spoke.
"Dearest shinobi, do I have to remind you of the great man that we are burying today?" She turned her eyes to the trio sitting up front. "I'm certain that if any of us asked his students, the last thing they'd want is to have Gai's ceremony be bland and common. We all know, without a shred of a doubt that Gai was far from being a bland and common man, so why should he deserve such a ceremony?"
A few people smiled at her comment, which made her continue. "Actually, if it isn't too much to ask, I would love to have his three students to give us all an insight on Gai's life that we never knew. Just a little story would be nice, if you wouldn't mind."
After stepping from the front, a few seconds of stillness occurred. Then, reluctantly, Tenten stood up and marched to the front. Her eyes were misty, but she spoke her tale clearly as though it was happening for the first time.
-Tenten's Story-
The kunoichi groaned as she looked down at the beautiful dress she was wearing. She threw a pleading glance at her Sensei, who only grinned at her.
"Tell me why, again, did you volunteer for this mission?" she snapped angrily, once again looking at the mirror. She winced slightly at the v-neck that showed much more cleavage than she was accustomed to. "Shouldn't Ino or Sakura try these kinds of mission? I'm hardly the social type, Gai-Sensei!"
"Yes, my youthful flower!" he grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "You look so womanly, I'm certain every man in the room will swoon for you! Meanwhile, Lee and I will creep up to the King's quarters, retrieve the scroll, and wait for you outside."
Tenten stiffened slightly, though she was definitely glad that she wouldn't need to stay for more than a few hours. "And Neji?"
"Oh, he'll be scouting the ballroom in case something happens to you!" A small, mischievous glint appeared in Gai's eyes, but he whispered good luck wishes and departed before she could ask him anything more. What a strange man…
Shrugging, she headed towards the room. Her mission was simple, to flirt with the new King until midnight, where she could leave. Neji would meet her outside and would bring her to Lee and Gai.
It had been an easy plan, until the moment where the King, drunk beyond any measure, pinned Tenten against the wall. Since she had introduced herself as royalty, Tenten knew that she had to endure whatever he'd do to her, since any use of the hidden weapons on her would send their plan toppling over the edge.
Someone should've told that to Neji.
As soon as the King had begun to hungrily kiss Tenten's neck while the girl stared up at the ceiling praying for strength, he had angrily stomped over to the pair. With a beastly growl, he had grabbed the King by the collar, shoved him besides Tenten, then had landed a few nice punches in his face. It only took the kunoichi a few seconds to realize what was happening, before hurriedly dragging Neji away from the castle.
The two had staggered through the bushes surrounding the massive, before Tenten, slightly inebriated by the few glasses of wine she had chugged down, crumbled to the ground in a fit of giggles.
"Were you jealous, Neji?" she taunted, reaching over to loop her arms around the prodigy's neck.
"Hn," he replied, looking away furiously. But his eyes translated everything he felt once he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close.
Meanwhile, in the distance, two giggling Green Beasts watched the scene with obvious amusement. The two gave each other Nice Guy Poses at having created the perfect "mission". There was no important scroll to retrieve, the entire point had been to have Tenten, clad in a suggestive dress, flirt willingly with another man and have Neji observe for a few hours.
The result had been even better than they had expected.
-End-
Many people clapped at the end of Tenten's tale. Neji had sunk slightly lower in his chair, his cheeks tinted with embarrassment. Lee, meanwhile, was laughing heartily at the memory of Neji's face once he had discovered the plan made against him.
Ready to get even, Neji stormed up to the front, passing a smirking Tenten on his way there. Firmly, he planted his feet and began reciting one of the moments he was sure he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"It was exactly on the day of Gai's last birthday…"
-Neji's Story-
"Good morning my precious students!" Gai bellowed as soon as he arrived, giving them all a shiny Nice Guy Pose. "Today is a VERY important day! Can you all guess what it is?"
"It's your birthday!" Lee shouted eagerly, punching the air. "And this will be, without a doubt, the best birthday ever!"
Tenten giggled softly as she looked at the Hyuuga's passive face. They both knew exactly what was going to happen today. Like every other year, Gai's birthday gifts always included, in some form or another, craziness. Soon they would go over to the beach, where Lee and Gai would stand in shallow water and sob the evening away.
"Gai-Sensei, we have a surprise for you!" Lee grinned. "Today, I have no gifts for you. Neither do my rival or our precious flower!"
Gai's face slightly fell, but only to take an incredulous look.
"Actually," Lee smiled happily, "we will spend the entire day doing whatever your big, youthful heart desires, Gai-Sensei!"
"A-Anything?" Gai stammered with his mouth agape, looking expectantly at Neji and Tenten, as if to confirm.
Unable to deny him the 'gift' that Lee had planned, Tenten smiled weakly and nodded. After a firm jerk in the ribs, Neji nodded as well.
"Amazing!" Gai shouted, before putting a fatherly hand on Lee's shoulder. "Thank you Lee."
The younger Green Beast proudly smiled as Gai considered what to do first. Suddenly, a sadistic smile made its way onto his features. Shooting a look at the prodigy, he finally whispered something in his favorite student's ear. The younger man also took a savage look on his face as both turned to look at Neji.
Neji met their eyes with a glare of his own, but distinctively whispered under his breath, "… I should've stayed home."
--
Not an hour later, Tenten was lying on the floor, laughing so hard that Lee had to literally beg her to calm down, before having to resort to simply taking her from the room.
"Neji!" Gai grinned widely, "You look very youthful!"
"I.Hate.Your.Guts." Neji muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes closed in morbid embarrassment. "Now can I take it off?"
Gai looked up and down at Neji, now clad in stretchy green spandex, before shaking his head. "No, you still need to get the haircut!"
Tenten's head popped through the door, soon followed by Lee's. Both obviously wanted to see Neji's reaction.
"Forget it," the prodigy quickly replied. "I humored you this far, Gai-Sensei, but you are not, in any circumstances, laying a finger on my hair!"
The kunoichi spoke from the doorway. "Aww, Neji, you can't deny birthday wishes!" She then had to duck one of Neji's shoes as it was hauled her way.
Lee then made himself known. "Either we cut your hair or we let the fangirls in! Kami knows how much they'd pay to see the great Hyuuga in spandex!" Then came another Nice Guy Pose, along with Tenten's humorous laughter.
-End-
"Took me months to burn all the pictures those fangirls took," Neji grumbled good-naturedly as people pelted away with laughter. Even Lee, who had been so heartbroken moments before, was now laughing wildly at the memory. But it soon choked as he realized it was his turn to speak.
Slowly, he made his way up front, before Neji gently touched his arm with encouragement and went back to sit down.
"I don't know what to tell you all," Lee started with a sigh, looking around the audience. "I don't know whether I should tell you about the time where Gai and Kakashi tried to explain to us why women had periods, or all about our Springtime Picnics of Youth…" (1) He was silent for a few seconds before finally settling on one.
-Lee's Story-A war cry was heard a few meters away from where Lee was sitting as he watched Tenten throw an array of weapons at Neji. The latter, without batting an eyelid at the thousands of pointy things being hurled his way, began to spin his Kaiten. They had been practicing this technique of Neji's for days now and the boy was already showing some incredulous development.
Meanwhile, Lee watched on jealously. Both Neji and Tenten could keep themselves stuck to trees by chakra, but he couldn't even manage that feat. Both could use any jutsu they wanted, yet he wasn't able to mold chakra properly, so that barred him from many doors. He looked away from the fighting pair, distressed by the fact that he couldn't even train with them.
Suddenly, a rustle to his left made him look up.
"Well, Lee!" Gai grinned as he gave the youth a thumbs-up. "Why aren't you training with your teammates?"
"I-I can't…" the boy murmured tearfully. "I'm not good enough for them, Gai-Sensei…"
Gai felt himself lose his smile as the boy brought his knees to his chest, hugging them in the process. He then raised his eyes to the two sparring pre-teens, knowing that they'd fare quite well on their own.
Kneeling in front of Lee, Gai brought back the smile to his face and said, "Then how about you and I go train together?" He then proceeded to give him a Nice Guy Pose. "Lee, on this day and moment, I can promise you that I'll turn you in the best shinobi in this village, excluding our Hokage! If I cannot do that, then I will train every single shinobi in the village to learn their skills, then pass them on to you!"
Lee blinked, wondering if his Sensei was bluffing. But seeing the honest grin displayed over his face, the youth felt a rush of warmth hitting his chest. Also breaking in a weak smile, Lee stood up and nodded.
"Good!" Gai exclaimed, beginning to march away with Lee on his heels. "Then come with me! You need a youthful look with that new attitude of yours, Lee!"
Minutes later, Lee was dressed and had his haircut. His eyes were shining wildly at how close to his Sensei he resembled and he practically started crying again. The beautiful green shades of the outfit, the shiny and bouncy haircut, the contrast of the orange legwarmers… He loved it.
"Gai-Sensei…" he murmured tearfully, "thank you so much…"
Gai was about to give him another Nice Guy Pose, but Lee threw himself in his arms and began weeping. The older man, slightly stunned, reluctantly drew his student in his arms.
"I never had someone who believed in me, Gai-Sensei!" Lee whimpered. "But you do! I'll never forget you Gai-Sensei, no matter what happens!"
Sensing his chance, Gai prodded eagerly, "Or…?"
Lee blinked curiously after detaching himself from Gai. "Or what, Sensei?"
"You made a promise, Lee!" Gai boasted with a smirk. "If you break it, what will you do?"
Suddenly at loss, Lee thought precariously about what his answer would be. Finally, after brightening, he shouted, "If I don't remember you, Sensei, then I'll teach everything you taught me to others! No matter what!"
"That's my student!" Gai bellowed, before proceeding to show Lee how, exactly, to do a Nice Guy Pose…
-End-
By the end of his speech,. Lee was once again crying helplessly, yet a smile covered his face at the good memories. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he turned around to look at the grinning picture of Gai, holding his three students preciously in his arms once they had all turned Jounin. The most recent, and last, picture of Team Gai.
The ceremony ended on a good tone and most people began heading back home. Lee remained at the casket, soon joined by Neji and Tenten. Kakashi also lingered behind a few minutes, yet left not long after to give the trio privacy.
Lee remained stuck in front of the perimeter of the empty area for a few more minutes and Neji and Tenten took a few steps away. It was his very last moment with the man who had taught him everything he knew. Carefully placing his hand on the smooth wood, he whispered softly, "Thank you again, Gai-Sensei, for believing in me when no one else would. Deep down, I know that you don't want me to be upset, Sensei. You died as a hero, without a doubt. I'm very, very proud of you." A rustle of wind picked up and it suddenly began to rain, mixing with Lee's tears. "I'll always owe you for giving me a chance."
"E-excuse me?"
Lee had been so enthralled in the moment that he had failed to sense the faint amount of chakra meaning from child behind him. He was a small boy, possibly still in the Academy, with jet black hair and frightened eyes. Instantly, he pulled away with fear when Lee stared at him, obviously realizing that he had bothered something important.
"I-I'm sorry!" he whimpered, taking a step back. He blinked repeatedly, water drenching his pale skin as it fell from the sky. "I won't bother you again."
"No," the Green Beast murmured soothingly. "It's fine. What do you want?"
The boy gulped, visibly nervous. "I-I heard a Jounin passed away recently. I'm sorry…"
Lee chuckled softly. The boy visibly didn't know that he was standing directly besides the mentioned man's corpse. He nodded, then prodded gently, "Yes?"
"I-I was wondering if you might tell me some stories of him…" he murmured. "He once showed me how to throw a kunai the right way. I remember he told me that one day he'd present me to his favorite student. Would you know him?"
Lee almost laughed again. "Without bragging, I can proudly say I'm that student. Tell me about yourself."
"My name's Hotaka…" he murmured hesitantly. "And I'm in my last year at the Academy. I'm a bit worried I won't make it to Genin this year and I'll have to retake the grade again…"
Sensing the boy was about to cry, Lee knelt down and placed a soothing hand on the side of his face, lifting his chin in the process. "I'm sure you will pass, Hotaka. I'll even have a word with your teacher if you don't!" He gave the youth a Nice Guy Pose.
Hotaka's eyes began shining brightly as he stood up a little bit straighter. "Really?"
Lee nodded in answer and the overly-excited boy blurted out hurriedly, "Then can you be my Sensei? I want to learn from you, Lee-Sensei!"
Giggling, the bowl-haired shinobi agreed proudly, ruffling the hair of the young boy. "Of course, as long as Tsunade-sama accepts."
"I'll go ask her right now!" Hotaka squealed, dashing off in the distance. Surely the Hokage wouldn't even take the time to listen to the rants of a pre-Academy student, but if the boy had as much guts as Lee imagined…
"He'll make a fine shinobi one day," he whispered as he straightened.
A few seconds later, he felt a strong hand clasping him on the shoulders. He knew it was Neji, who had observed the scene quietly a few meters away. Tenten was now to his side and had taken his hand in hers, smiling peacefully.
Lee murmured carefully, "I see myself in that boy."
"And I see Gai-Sensei in you," Neji answered, a small smile displayed on his face. "You will be a perfect Sensei, Lee, just like he was."
Lee broke out in a smile as he raised his face to the lightning-filled sky. 'If I cannot do that, then I will train every single shinobi in the village to learn their skills, then pass them on to my student. That, I can promise for you, Sensei…'
