That was kind of how the next day went and the day after that, as well. The antibiotics seemed to truly be helping, as I began to see marked improvement and I was hopeful that Neji would be back up within three days.

As the days passed, I grew more and more accustomed to having him in my home and it almost seemed normal now to see him. As he regained his strength, I began to see him more and more and even those long conversations started to return, one word at a time. It began to feel like Neji was just visiting rather than laid up with some tonsil-stripping illness.

We were rounding day eight when I woke up and saw the clock near by bed reading seven AM. I had screwed up my sleeping schedule severely with what was in retrospect needless fussing and I was not surprised that I had overslept by two hours. I yawned widely as I stepped out of bed. I absently threw on some house clothes and ran my fingers through my hair as I stepped out of my bedroom, walking down the hallway and heading towards the kitchen. The sun was already shining through the open blinds as I walked through the living room, running into the couch and the table on my way into the kitchen. I started a pot of coffee and fetched the newspaper from my doorstep- again, running into the couch on my way past. I tossed the paper absently on the living room table and went to wake my student up for breakfast.

I pushed open the door and glanced inside. "Neji, a- huh?"

The bed had been stripped down and a fresh set of sheets had been applied so flawlessly a coin would have bounced off them. The flowers had been put in fresh water and placed by the window. Neji's extra clothes were missing, as were his bag and shoes. The floor had been swept and the furniture dusted. The room was spotless, as if no one had ever been there. Curious, I walked back into the living room and again, ran into several pieces of my furniture.

Cursing, I looked around and found that it had all been rearranged- into perfect parallels and right angles. In fact, my weights had been moved as well, neatly organized by their bench. Even the sheets from Neji's bed were lying on the couch, folded neatly along with the laundry I had left in the dryer a few nights before. I was now wondering how I had slept through such a thorough cleaning of my apartment. I made my way back into the kitchen and found Neji sitting down at the dining table with a cup of coffee, patiently working his way through that morning's crossword in the newspaper.

Those eyes came up and I noticed immediately the old alertness in them.

"Morning, Neji. You look much better." I wandered over and took a seat next to him. I felt his forehead, earning a dissatisfied murmur. As I had hoped, his fever had broken the night before. He was still warm though. I dropped my hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"You sound better. That's promising! Are you actually feeling up to breakfast this morning?"

Neji shrugged and flicked his pen off the last letter in a word. "I don't have much of an appetite, sensei."

"Well, give it a shot. You haven't eaten much of anything since you got here."

Neji shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep."

I stood back up and went to the cabinets, gathering items for an easy breakfast. I threw a pan on the stove and set it to high heat. "So… you feeling up to training?"

"Yes."

I chuckled lightly. "I was just kidding, Neji. You're still sick."

"But not contagious."

I leaned back to give him a look through the doorway. "How do you know?"

Neji did not look up from his crossword. "The antibiotics fix that after twenty-four hours. Didn't you read the bottle?"

I frowned. "I read the important stuff."

I turned back to breakfast, tapping a few eggs into the hot pan. "You sure you're even up for it?"

"No, but anything's better."

I laughed and left the eggs to cook. I tossed a few slices of bread in the toaster, then took two sets of chopsticks out of a drawer. "Hey. Catch."

Neji's hand came out and caught them lightly, setting them on the table before marking down another word on his crossword. His reflexes were back to normal. I grabbed two plates out of the cabinet and the toast out of the toaster. I placed the eggs on the plates and served the toast with butter and jam. I set his plate in front of him and sat down. "How's your crossword coming?"

"Slowly but surely."

As we ate, I watched him, nothing the certain rhythm to the switching of pen to utensils. He certainly spent more time on his crossword than on eating and I thought he was going to be sick again. Then, I noticed something very strange. "Neji?"

He looked up with a roll of those white eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you write backwards?"

Neji cocked an eyebrow, glanced at the newspaper, then looked back up. "Yes."

"Why?"

He shrugged and set his chopsticks across his plate, having barely made a dent in breakfast. He made a last few marks on his crossword, noting something in the margins. He flipped the newspaper over, bit into a piece of toast and began work on the three boxes of Sudoku.

"I never understood Sudoku. It takes me forever."

"That's surprising."

I could not tell if he was being sarcastic or not. I watched as his pen flicked over the rows and columns, writing in numbers every few seconds. It was taking him minutes to finish a game that was supposed to entertain people through breakfast and possibly the commute to work. In no time, he had folded up the newspaper and set it aside for good. I could not believe he was finished already. It could only have been around five minutes! That was less than two minutes a puzzle. Surely, that was impossible.

He caught my dumbfounded face out of the corner of those pale eyes, but did not truly acknowledge it. He just brushed his face with a napkin and stood up.

"Still nauseous, Neji?"

"Yes." He picked up his plate.

I practically leapt out of my chair to stop him. "I can get that-!"

Neji turned on me suddenly. "You need to get dressed."

I glanced down to find that I was- in fact- still in my house clothes. I awkwardly allowed him to clear his own dishes and watched him go into the kitchen. It was a shame that he was not himself yet, but he was certainly getting there and that was promising enough. I turned back to the table and spotted the carefully folded newspaper across from me. I curiously picked it up and turned it to the page he had been working on. I ran my finger down the margins, where I saw the reversed timestamps.

He had been timing himself.

The numbers were impressive.

I heard the water shut off in the kitchen and I went to quickly throw some decent clothes on. When I came back, the kitchen was spotless and the dishes had been dried and put away. There was not even a crumb on the table where Neji was now sitting, finally reading the newspaper he had been focused on all morning.

I placed my hands on my hips. "You work fast."

Neji nodded absently in acknowledgement.

"Do you regularly clean other people's houses?"

"Only when I've been subject to them for long periods."

Whether that was a jab or a statement, I was not sure. I pressed my lips together nervously. I was conflicted. I was eager to be out of the house and to get Neji back on track, but I did not want to risk jump-starting a dying illness. Neji certainly seemed alright and expressed interest in going to training, but his continued lack of any appetite concerned me.

I had to be sure. I thought up something that could have been considered a test, assessed the risks and decided to go for it. I approached him casually, carefully reaching-

"Sensei, do you want children?"

The sudden question stopped me in my tracks. I cocked an eyebrow. "Uh… sure. I suppose one day."

Neji looked up with a serious expression. "Then I highly suggest not doing what you are thinking about."

I felt the threat in the alluded places and cringed instinctively. I did not doubt him for a minute, but I was also confident in my abilities. I raised my hands teasingly. "Nonsense."

I grabbed for him and he sprung out of my hands like a rabbit, diving under the table where I could not follow and darting out the other side. I swung around to try and catch him, but he slid under my feet and made a dash for the closest exit. I took a single pounce and tackled him, pinning him to the ground with one hand and attacking his ribs with the other.

He struggled valiantly, writhing under my hands. "Sensei! Cut it out!"

I laughed. "Wh-"

I did not see it, but I heard Neji's foot before it slammed into the side of my head and knocked me clear over. I was shaking stars out of m eyes as I sat up. He certainly was strong again.

Neji shook himself indignantly, glaring at me over his shoulder. "What was that?!"

"Just testing you, kiddo, and you definitely passed." I chuckled lightly, feeling the edges of what would be a nasty bump later on. I grinned. "Wanna go see if your teammates are at the training grounds?"

Neji scowled, straightening his clothes. "No! You are so random!"

"Come on. I'll race you!"

"I don't want to race."

Anything further was dangerous antagonization, but I was feeling rambunctious. I got to my feet and ruffled his hair. "It'll be fun! Come on!"

"No. I won't do it."

"Fine, spoilsport. I won't race you." I grabbed him under the arms and threw him up onto my shoulders, racing towards the door. "I'll just carry you the whole way!"

"No! Sensei, put me down! You are such an embarrassment!"

Neji complained a lot- mostly on the stairs down from my apartment- but he gave it up when he realized it was a waste of breath. While I was disappointed he did not get into it, I was completely okay with his resignation to reluctant silence. In fact, I even took the time to greet Kakashi as I ran past him and I could tell that he was happy to see us both out and about just by the look on his face.

As we approached the training grounds, I could hear my other two students sparring before I reached the gate and it made my heart race. I was so excited to be back in action! I just had to see their bright, shining-!

Suddenly, Neji's hands fell over my eyes and engulfed the world in darkness. I skidded to a halt, trying to free myself. "Neji, what the heck? What are you doing?"

"Put me down."

"No way! We're already here!"

"Precisely. You are not dragging me in there like this. I'd rather die."

I looked up at what I assumed was him. "Oh come on. You are so dramatic."

Neji lifted his hands off my eyes and I found myself looking directly into his unamused face. "Put me down."

"Fine." I let go of Neji's legs and let him jump off my shoulders. I gently nudged him. "Spoilsport."

Neji straightened his clothes with an exasperated sigh. "And you are a very strange person, sensei. We all have our bits."

I shrugged. "I guess. Come on! Your teammates are already inside! They're going to be so absolutely thrilled to see you!"

I rushed up on the gates and threw them open, running inside.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee's voice was the first thing I heard and I saw his face appear from around a training dummy peppered with kunai. "You are back!"

"Neji!" Tenten's excited squeal was uncharacteristic, but appropriate. She rushed forward, throwing her arms around Neji's neck and giving her leg an adorable little kick. "You're all better!"

She suddenly shoved him away, brushing her hands off. "You are all better, right?"

"Yes-"

Lee gave him a hearty slap on the back, nearly overbalancing him. "We thought you would never come back! You are feeling better, yes?"

"I just s-"

"Did you get our gifts? Gai-sensei said he'd give them to you."

"I did-"

"Did you like them? We did not know what to get you, so we had to guess!"

"I did-"

"Ah! It is so awesome to have you back, Neji!" Tenten exclaimed excitedly, throwing her hands on her hips. "It's been boring around here without you."

Neji drew back just a little. "Whatever…"

"We are not even kidding!" Lee agreed loudly. "Training has not been the same without your youthful face, Neji! We missed you!"

Now, I was fairly sure it was the lighting, but I thought for a moment that I saw Neji blush before he averted those pale eyes. "You're ridiculous…"

"Did you miss us, Neji?" Lee asked. "Gai-sensei would not let us see you."

Neji did not look at him, but he almost looked like he wanted to say something.

Tenten grinned. "Aw, you did! You missed us!"

"No-"

Tenten punched him in the shoulder. "Admit it. You missed us."

Neji rolled his eyes.

Lee cocked a heavy eyebrow at him. "Is Tenten correct, Neji? I thought you did not like us."

Neji frowned, those eyes turning towards Lee. "I never said I didn't like you."

"You sure act like it!"

"Because I believe your beliefs are stupid, your goals laughable and your antics annoying beyond comprehension. But, that is different from not liking you."

Lee stared at him for a moment. Then, he shouted, "It is not!"

"Is so."

Tenten waved Lee away. "Oh, shut up, Lee. That's the nicest thing he's ever said to you! Take it or leave it."

"The sad part is that it is true!" Lee glared at Neji. "Why did you wait so long to say that! I thought you hated me!"

"If you say things too much, they lose meaning."

The quiet statement silenced the entire training field. Every eye was stuck on Neji, who awkwardly shrugged. I felt the emotions start welling up in my chest. They had done it! They had finally become a team! It was so inspiring and youthful, I just wanted to cry! I wanted to resist for the sake of preserving the moment, but I just could not. I grabbed my students up in my arms, cuddling them tightly in a group hug. "You three! You have finally done it! You have become a team! I am so proud of you, my adorable little students!"

Neji made a dissatisfied murmur. "Sensei, you're embarrassing…"

Lee shot a nasty glare at him. "Shut up! We are having a momentous team moment!"

Neji glared back more effectively. "Make me."

"Fine!" Lee surged in my arms.

Tenten elbowed both of them. "Stop it! You're ruining the moment!"

Lee pushed her. "Cut it out!"

"Make me!" Tenten kicked him.

Suddenly, I had a wrestling match in my arms and I was forced to let them go. Tenten immediately pounced on Lee and proceeded to choke-hold him. Neji had escaped, but his freedom was short-lived. Lee kicked Tenten off him and tackled Neji instead. I watched the three-way wrestling match unfold and found my heart growing warm at the sight. It was a strange feeling, proudly watching my students beat each other senseless. Who would win, I could only guess, but it was nice that they had- for a moment- connected on a deeper level.

Perhaps there was hope for us yet.