great expectations
Characters: Tenten, Hyuuga Neji
Pairings: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Rating: K
Prompt: N/A
Word count: 540
Summary: In the beginning, Tenten isn't quite sure why people seem to hold a skinny little boy like Hyuuga Neji in such high regard.
Notes: Originally a draft for another project I'm working on — this particular section doesn't quite fit in with what I have in mind for it, now, and so I've decided to post it here, instead of keeping it hidden away on my laptop.
Posted: Saturday 19 November 2016
When she first meets him, Tenten finds herself terribly underwhelmed by the fact that the acclaimed prodigy of the Hyuuga clan is a small, pale, and slender little boy whose hair prettier than hers. He's shorter than her, too (and she learns later that he's even a few months her junior) and as she watches him from her seat at the back of the classroom, Tenten can't help but wonder if there is really anything that special at all about Hyuuga Neji and his piercing silver gaze.
She receives her answer a few days later, when their class is brought to a nearby training field for their first exercise in one-on-one combat. When her name is called, Tenten moves to the center of the field and waits patiently until she and her assigned partner — a stuttering girl who does not seem to understand how to hold a kunai — are given the signal to begin. She makes short work of her partner, and after receiving a few comments about her technique from their teacher, Tenten moves back to the crowd of students waiting at the edge of the field, where she watches the subsequent matches with little interest until she notices the sudden silence that has fallen over her classmates, and, her interest piqued, she looks toward the center of the field to see what could have captured their attention so thoroughly.
Hyuuga Neji is now standing in the middle of the training field, facing off against another boy who looks considerably more competent than Tenten's partner had been, and it's with a start that she realizes she's much more interested in the outcome of this match than she would like to admit. Neji's small, delicate frame is dwarfed by that of his much bulkier opponent, and there is no question in Tenten's mind that if it were to come down to a battle of sheer physical strength, the likelihood of the Hyuuga prodigy emerging as the victor would be very slim indeed.
After ascertaining that both combatants are ready, their teacher signals for the match to begin, and in that moment Tenten understands why Hyuuga Neji and prodigy are used in such frequent proximity with one another.
The match ends quickly: Neji's opponent surges forward the moment the signal is given, and Tenten isn't surprised to see Neji easily sidestep the initial rush and move behind the other boy. But what she doesn't expect is the way the veins around his eyes suddenly become more pronounced, and the way Neji gracefully spins around the larger boy until he's behind him once again, where his pale, bony hands flash into view once, twice, thrice, precisely striking along his opponent's spine, and Neji's opponent crumples onto the grass, immobilized and in shock.
Tenten watches Neji pointedly ignore the praises and congratulatory remarks heaped upon him by their classmates when he returns, choosing instead to take a seat far from the main body of students clustered around the edge of the training field, and as she watches him settle into a meditative pose while the practice battles continue on, she decides that maybe the pale little boy with the pretty, pretty hair might actually be a little bit impressive after all.