Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto
Author's Note – Um... okay, so a tamer chapter after that last one =P Anyways, this was inspired from the recent conversation and pictures posted on the NejiTen FC of Naruto Forums! I hope you like it, and please review =P
Thank you to all those who submitted wonderful reviews for the last chapter! I really appreciated them.
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"Team! We have arrived at our destination in one third of the given time!" Gai boomed, shooting his three genin a blinding smile.
Lee beamed back, Neji was silent, and Tenten just rolled her eyes.
"What's the point in that?" she questioned, surveying the empty beach, "None of the other teams are here yet!"
"Exactly, dear flower," Gai said, guffawing, "Kakashi's late again, as usual!"
"Actually, we're early," Neji felt compelled to point out, his tone disgruntled.
He had never wanted to come here in the first place, but Tsunade-sama had insisted. She felt that after the rather –eventful – Chuunin exams, the Konoha genin deserved a break. She had sent Team Gai, along with the Rookie Nine and their instructors to a nearby beach.
It was a two hour journey by treetop – though Team Gai had made it in half an hour. Despite the fact that it was a break, Gai considered it a competition.
Neji considered the entire thing a criminal waste of time – he'd rather be training! Or doing a mission!
"Gai-sensei!" Lee cried, "If we travelled at quadruple-time, won't it take the other teams another hour and a half to reach!"
"Brilliant deduction, Lee!" Gai grinned, shooting him a thumbs up, "Your calculations are indeed correct!"
"Well, what are we going to do?" Tenten asked impatiently, "I don't want to sit around waiting for them!"
"Of course not!" Gai shouted, as if the very idea was blasphemous, "Get changed, my youthful students, and we will begin our special beach training immediately!"
"Beach training?" Lee asked, round eyes bugging out.
"Yes," Gai said, nodding, "It is advisable for ninja to train on a wide variety of ground types. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and you must suit your fighting style to the terrain your are fighting on. This will be good practice, if we are ever accosted on our way to Suna!"
"What youthful words of wisdom!" Lee sobbed, tears streaming down his face, "Gai-sensei is truly incredible!"
"Oh, Lee!" Gai exclaimed enthusiastically, "I knew you'd understand!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
They didn't even need the crashing waves this time – they were already there.
Neji turned his back to the disgusting display and settled himself down on the soft sand. If Gai was going to train them, maybe this trip would be worthwhile. But till then, he would meditate.
Tenten had disappeared somewhere – probably to change. Gai and Lee soon left as well, though Neji refused to wear something as degrading as swim trunks. He didn't even possess them.
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"YOSH! I AM READY FOR THIS YOUTHFUL BEACH TRAINING NOW, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee emerged from nowhere, now sporting an ostentatious pair of green swim trunks with a pattern of turtles and frogs.
Neji immediately de-activated his Byakugan, closing his eyes in horror – that was an image he did not need.
He was thankful the boy wasn't wearing spandex.
Neji was cursing moments later, when Gai emerged, in all his glory, clad in nothing but a pair of bright green, tight, spandex swim briefs.
"Youthful indeed, Lee," he nodded, before turning sternly to Neji.
"Neji, I see you haven't-"
"No."
"But Neji, my boy-"
"No."
"Now let's not be unyouthful, Neji-"
Neji activated his Byakugan, giving Gai a blood-curdling glare.
He regretted it a moment later – he'd been scarred for life!
Luckily, the glare worked, and Gai shrugged mournfully, muttering something which Neji didn't care to listen to, before turning to Lee.
Neji returned to his meditation.
"Hey," Tenten's voice chirped, "I'm ready! Let's begin our training!"
Neji looked up, relieved that the saner part of their team had returned.
His mouth immediately went dry, and his heart gave a funny, weird little flutter.
That was Tenten?
The girl in front of him was dressed in a strapless green bikini – it was the skimpiest thing Neji had ever seen her wear in his life!
Tenten usually wore modest Chinese tops and capris which covered everything – and here she was in a tiny green contraption that barely covered anything at all! And he never knew Tenten even possessed – those kinds of clothes!
She had a matching green something – Neji wasn't sure what exactly – like a dark green piece of cloth tied around her waist – it had a symmetrical cut and left one entire leg completely bare.
Completely bare.
And on the topic of bareness, her stomach, her arms, her legs – everything except – well practically everything was bare!
Long legs, perfectly toned from Gai's arduous training regimes... flat stomach, with a hint of abdominal muscles... so much smooth skin...
Damnit, what was wrong with him?
Neji surreptitiously turned away so he could cover his nose, feeling all the blood rush to his face.
He could still see her from the back of his head.
What was wrong with her?
She was supposed to be a tomboy! His training partner.
She was not supposed to wear such – things!
And she was wearing little sandals, and her hair was down in two braids – Neji had never seen her with her hair down – he now realised how long it was. Since Tenten always wore her hair in two buns, he'd assumed it was short. And now it was long, and Neji had always liked long hair and... no.
Neji forced chakra to his nose, stemming the nosebleed, and calmed himself down.
She was his teammate. Friend. Sparring partner.
She was not a piece of eye candy (well, actually she was) or someone for him to ogle at. She was not, at least in his opinion – stunningly hot.
Heck, she was just fourteen, the same age as he was!
No.
He was Neji Hyuuga.
But – wow.
Gai and Lee seemed to have similar sentiments.
"Tenten!" Gai shouted, "You have truly bloomed, dear flower! You look youthful indeed!"
"Um... thanks?" Tenten muttered, looking slightly horrified.
"Tenten! You are beautiful!" Lee proclaimed, "Almost as beautiful as Sakura-chan!"
Far better, in Neji's opinion.
"Hahaha," Tenten laughed feebly, "Um, can we-"
"And you are dressed in matching green, like us!" Gai observed, "That is excellent! I am so happy you have decided to join us in wearing the youthful color green!"
"That's not why I wore it!" Tenten shrieked, looking regretful at her choice of clothes, "I never even thought of that when buying this! Though I should have..."
"So it was a subconscious decision!" Gai said wisely, "Which makes it all the more heartfelt..."
"Can we just start training!" Tenten begged.
"Alright," Gai agreed. "So, now that we're all here, let's start our training!"
Neji finally stood up, ensuring, with great difficulty, against his own will, that his eyes did not go anywhere near Tenten.
Gai produced two volleyballs, from absolutely nowhere, and tossed one to Neji. Neji caught it immediately, white eyes narrowing.
"Since we're at a beach I thought I'd make our training a bit more – beachy," Gai said, his teeth glinting, "The first exercise – is a volleyball match! We pair up and play, one on one, for thirty minutes!"
Neji panicked – not pairing up!
Usually, he preferred pairing up, because that meant he could get away from Gai and Lee and their boisterous antics. Tenten was far better company then them.
But today – with Tenten dressed like that – he would surely die!
"Volleyball isn't proper training," he chose to say, unable to voice his other thoughts.
"It can be," Gai said, "It requires flexibility, speed, reflexes-"
"But it's a civilian sport," Neji said condescendingly.
"We can modify it – to a much more challenging sport."
"Great idea, Gai-sensei!"
"Thank you Lee," Gai said, "Now, shall we pair up as usual? Lee and myself, Neji and Tenten?"
"Of course!" Lee said gleefully.
"Fine with me," Tenten said, looking at Neji.
Neji avoided her gaze, hesitating slightly.
"Hn," he grunted after a moment.
He didn't have a choice. He'd sparred alone with Tenten for over two years, preferring her over the other two. He'd even asked for her help during the Chuunin Exam. It would seem strange if he suddenly changed his mind now – and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
Tenten walked towards him, and Neji finally raised his head. He wouldn't be able to avoid looking at her forever.
His stomach gave another funny leap, but this time he was able to control his blood flow. Good. He was getting used to it. It was no big deal at all.
"So, um – you wanna start?" Tenten asked, twirling with the end of her braid.
Neji noted that was something he'd never seen her do before. She usually used kunai – but now she had no kunai, and her hair was usually tied up...
"We have no nets," Neji stated, finally meeting her bright brown eyes.
"I can fix that!" Gai shouted, and a few hand seals and two clouds of smoke later, he'd summoned two large nets which stood between the pairs.
"Awesome!" Tenten cried, looking rather excited, before she turned to Neji, "Should we start?"
"Hn," he grunted noncommittally, but walked away all the same, taking position, the ball in his hand.
Tenten kicked off her sandals, and untied the green thing around her waist, leaving her just in a bikini.
Excellent. Now he could see both her beautiful legs – entirely.
Neji fought to control his raging hormones yet again.
Focusing on the ball to clear his mind, he threw it up and hit it, hard.
It flew straight over the net, right at Tenten, far too fast to be a normal throw.
No civilian would have been able to dodge it, but Tenten was a ninja. She managed to side-step gracefully, and punch it back over the net, aiming it to the left corner of the court.
Neji smirked slightly – she'd always had perfect aim, he she was probably hitting it there on purpose.
It wasn't too much for him though, and he managed to spike it back.
She returned, and this time the ball curved sharply.
Neji had no idea how she'd managed that, and had to spin on his heel to return the hit; thanks to the hours of spinning practice he had with his Kaiten, that wasn't much of a problem.
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They rallied for a while, and Neji was busy concentrating on the ball that he nearly forgot about Tenten's state of dress (or rather undress).
He realised why Gai had called this training – it required focus, speed, good reflexes, accuracy – it was a different kind of training altogether.
It was the type Tenten would be good at though – she'd always been good at aiming and hitting things.
A few minutes later, Neji tapped the ball rather lightly over the net.
His previous hit had sent Tenten to the back of the court, and he preferred making her run. She'd tire sooner than he would, and though her hits were harder and better aimed, she wasn't as fast as he was.
They were both strategizing, but like their sparring, they were almost equally matched.
Tenten raced forward, as the ball barely glanced over the top of the net.
She jumped up, right in front of the net, attempting to hit it over again.
Unfortunately, that action bought her chest in full view of Neji's eyes.
Neji froze, eyes widening, blood rushing somewhere wear it really shouldn't have been.
He was paralysed, for a few milliseconds, and in that time, Tenten had managed to whack the ball down again, straight at his head.
He was unable to react though, for the first few milliseconds, and stood there, transfixed, not noticing the ball whirring lethally towards his head.
When he did notice, it was too late to receive it or send it back.
Instinctively, doing the only thing Neji did whenever a large object (usually one of Tenten's insane weapons) came flying at him, he dug his heel into the sand, and began spinning around.
"Kaiten!" Neji shouted, emitting chakra.
The ball bounced off his chakra shield, spinning wildly towards a bewildered Tenten who barely managed to catch it.
Neji stopped his spinning, smirking slightly.
That had worked well, though he hadn't expected it.
Tenten was fuming.
"Neji!" she cried, "That was cheating! You can't just use jutsu like that in the middle of a game!"
"Neji!" Gai boomed, and Neji expected some lecture. To his surprise, Gai looked pleased.
"Neji, I am proud of you! You figured out the true meaning behind this activity! I said before we can modify this to a more challenging sport. What I meant by that in fact, is that you all are allowed to use your jutsu! Use them as creatively as possible! It will make the game all the more difficult – dodging your opponent's attacks, and getting the ball over the net! It requires true skill! Congratulations Neji, on having discovered this, and let's start again!"
"Wow! What a great idea, Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled ebulliently, "Let us start at once!"
Tenten however, glared at Neji through her brown bangs.
"Like you knew Gai expected that, Neji," she said, rather sulkily, and Neji couldn't help but smile, eyes flickering away from her chest.
"Shall we begin?" he asked her.
"Wait," Tenten said, "I'm getting my weapons."
"What use are weapons going to be in this?" Neji asked, "I think he meant taijutsu – and maybe ninjutsu – you'll only puncture the ball with your army."
"I will not," Tenten seethed, "And you'll soon find out!"
She flounced off towards where their bags had been kept, and Neji couldn't help but admire the view from the back.
She returned, a couple scrolls slipped under the strings tying the bottom part of her bikini together.
Neji gulped – was it really that loose? And were scrolls the only things that could... no! NO!
He could not possible entertain such thoughts.
She didn't seem to have kunai or shuriken though, unless she'd hidden them.
But it's not like she was wearing much in which she could hide them anyway... then again, it was Tenten. He'd have to be careful, and he certainly couldn't afford being distracted if she intended to skewer him with weapons.
"Ready?" she asked, and he nodded.
This time she served, and Neji was almost surprised when only a ball came flying at him, no kunai or shuriken following its path.
He struck it again, this time injecting some chakra into his palm.
It flew rapidly towards Tenten, who stared, wide-eyed, barely managing to send it back.
It was a poor return, but a volley of kunai followed it, and Neji barely had time to hit the ball, forget worry about direction, before he had to bat away the weapons sent at him.
The next return was also quite poor, but that didn't matter, because now she was throwing shuriken at him, and senbon as well.
He barely managed to send the ball back with a chakra-powered strike, along with two of the earlier kunai, and one shuriken, as he dodged and deflected the rest of her weapons.
The ball, for some reason, was blazing with chakra as it arced towards Tenten, and she was forced to summon some kind of a stick, which she whacked it with, sending it back over to Neji.
He sent it back, palm-thrusting again, and she returned again with the stick, the ball still sizzling with chakra.
It was a wonder the thing didn't burst; Neji suspected Gai had placed chakra guards around it.
They continued like that for a minute or two, the ball whizzing rapidly across the net, as Neji slid in and out of his Jyuuken katas, hitting the ball faster and faster with his fists. Tenten, similarly, was twisting and twirling with her sticks, pummelling the ball across the net.
If that ball had been an enemy ninja, it would have died a painful death.
A few seconds later, along with the ball, Tenten whipped out a huge chain.
"Kaiten!" Neji shouted, finding no other way to deflect the monstrosity.
When the chakra around him dissipated, he found that Tenten, amidst summoning weapons, had barely manage to spike the ball above the net – it was in the middle, and it could fall on either side.
Neji and Tenten both realised this, and charged forward.
Tenten sent another wave of weapons – shuriken, kunai, knives, fuuma shuriken – at him – some of them even cut through the net – and he spun into his Kaiten yet again, deflecting them all.
This time, when it cleared, there were weapons lying everywhere on the sand. The net had been reduced to tatters, and even the poles had been blasted by Neji's chakra. The ball, after being punctured by Tenten's weapons which Neji had deflected, had finally given in, and was a mass of white shreds.
Tenten was biting her lip, fiddling with a kunai.
She smiled at him sheepishly.
"I think we – overdid it," she muttered, and Neji, surveying the damage, nodded.
They turned to Gai and Lee, who were punching and kicking away at their volleyball.
"Leaf Spinning Wind!" Lee shouted, managing to hit a particularly low ball rather fantastically, and it whirred through the air at an impossible speed.
"Leaf Great Flash!" Gai roared in response, kicking the ball high into the air.
"Strong fist," Lee grunted, punching it over the net.
"Dynamic entry!" Gai bellowed, and the ball shot forward again.
"That's going to go on for a while," Tenten noted, "How long till the others get here?"
"About forty minutes," Neji said, not really caring.
"Hmm... wanna go for a swim?" Tenten asked.
It was a little before noon, and the sun was shining brightly.
The water looked cool, and inviting – and so did Tenten – but Neji didn't have swim trunks, and he didn't do asinine things like splash about in the water.
"No thank you," he replied instead, though Tenten shrugged.
"Oh – okay. Well, I'm going," she said, "It's scorching hot!"
'You're scorching hot' was the only response his mind provided him with, but he dared not vocalize it. He had far too much dignity for that.
And he didn't think it was a good idea for her to go swimming. The amazing control he had over his hormones would not persist with a dripping wet Tenten.
"You shouldn't go," Neji said, "The currents might be too strong."
"They're not," Tenten said, "That's why Tsunade-sama sent us here. Sakura, Naruto and the others are even bringing surfboards! And come on Neji, we're ninja! We can walk on water!"
Neji didn't know what argument to give to that, and soon Tenten was scampering away towards the waves.
He shook his hand, watching her go. At least he'd have some peace now, if he blocked out Gai and Lee's shouting. He could finally meditate, without her distracting him.
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Neji had barely begun his meditation, when a loud shriek pierced the air.
"Tenten!" he shouted, eyes flying open and he sprang up, heart pounding.
Why would she cry out like that? Was she hurt? Where was she?
What he saw, however, annoyed him excruciatingly, though his worry vanished instantaneously.
Tenten had emerged, sputtering and coughing from beneath the water, her hair plastered against her face.
She was glaring murderously at a laughing Rock Lee.
"I'm sorry, Tenten!" Lee gasped, "But it was – so funny!"
"Are you crazy?" Tenten screeched, "Don't ever sneak up on me and dunk me like that!"
"But Tenten! What is I was an enemy ninja trying to drown you! Do you think I would give you a warning? You should have been more alert!"
"Moron, I thought you were an enemy ninja, which is why I was so close to sticking this into your face!" Tenten shot back, brandishing a large spear.
Lee looked taken aback, but then sobered down, nodding.
"I commend your instincts then, and sincerely apologize," he amended, and Tenten shot him one last glare before sending her spear into whatever dimension she had summoned it from.
"Aw, come on, Tenten!" Lee pouted, splashing her playfully, "Don't be mad!"
"I'm not," Tenten said, turning to him with a grin, "But I'm getting you back for that!"
She ducked down into the water, and a few seconds later, Lee's figure disappeared as well.
They resurfaced, and this time, Tenten was laughing, while Lee coughed out water.
Neji didn't know why, but seeing Lee and Tenten playing around in the water was making him feel almost – jealous? Like he wanted to be a part, but wouldn't ever admit it to them.
And how did that pestilential Lee manage to dunk Tenten into the water? It must have entailed touching of some sort, touching that bare, divine... damnit, he really had to stop thinking such thoughts!
Damn that Lee.
Damn Tenten for wearing such inappropriate things.
Damn Tsunade for even sending them here.
Neji was so caught up in his damnation, his Byakugan de-activated, that he didn't notice the truce Tenten and Lee had reached.
He didn't notice them creeping up behind him.
He only noticed it, when suddenly, he found himself flying through the air, about to land in what was icy cold water.
Cursing himself for not noticing his conniving teammates (and when had Tenten started turning against him! This was betrayal!) Neji immediately redirected his chakra, managing to land neatly on top of the waves, barely sinking in a centimetre.
It was slightly harder to balance on waves than normal water, since it kept moving and he had to keep re-adjusting his chakra, but Neji managed it, and glared at his two teammates, feeling rather smug.
He had failed their plan. But how dare they distract him from his meditation! As if Tenten hadn't distracted him enough already!
Tenten and Lee both grinned at him, their heads bobbing above the water surface.
Neji was thankful he couldn't see Tenten's body.
"Come on Neji!" Tenten called, "Come inside, it's a lot of fun!"
"Yes, my youthful rival, Neji!" Lee agreed, "We can have underwater training!"
As much as Neji was tempted to join them, he shook his head primly, walking across the waves to settle back into his meditating position.
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Things were peaceful for the next few minutes – Gai was making Lee and Tenten do actual underwater training, which involved holding their breath for as long as possible. Soon, he forced Neji to join in as well.
Grudgingly, Neji took off his shirt, and unwillingly entered the cool water, clad in just his black shorts.
"Neji! You came!" Tenten said brightly, smiling at him.
His spirits lifted, but Gai made them spend the next twenty-five minutes holding their breath for as long as possible.
Neji had no idea where and how this kind of training would come in handy – I mean, it's not like they'd ever face enemies who'd trap them in water or something – it was a waste of time... but he partook in the training all the same.
The fourth time they resurfaced from the water, the beach was filled with new voices, hoarse shouts and shrill screaming, signalling the arrival of the Rookie Nine and their teachers.
"Hey! Sasuke-teme! Bet I can surf better than you, you loser!"
"Naruto! Don't be so inconsiderate! What if Sasuke-kun doesn't want to surf!"
"Hn. Bring it on, moron."
"Stop trying to speak for him, forehead! He does! Sasuke-kun! I bet you can beat him!"
"Stop trying to get on Sasuke-kun's good side, Ino-pig!"
"Shut up! That surfboard is as big as your billboard brow!"
"Oooh, Ino you bitch!"
"Stop screaming... this is so troublesome..."
"Yeah. Wanna go get some food, Shikamaru? Asuma-sensei said he'd summon a barbeque..."
"Hey! I wanna surf too! Coming Shino?"
"My bugs are averse to the water."
"K-Kiba-kun! Be careful! You've never done this before!"
"Meh! Don't worry about me, Hinata! Akamaru and I will be naturals at this, right Akamaru?"
"Arf arf!"
Neji wished they hadn't come at all – it had been almost pleasant earlier, but now the beach was full of rambunctious shinobi.
"Hey! Bushy-brow! Neji! Tenten! What's up?" Naruto shouted, splashing into the water at once. He was wearing bright orange trunks with swirls on them. Almost as bad as Lee's.
"Naruto!" Lee greeted joyously, "I'm glad you've arrived!"
"Wanna watch me kick Sasuke's ass in a surfing contest?" Naruto asked.
"As if," Sasuke muttered, appearing behind him in dark blue, Uchiha fan-patterned trunks, and tackling him into the water.
"Aaargh!" Naruto screeched, but was cut off as Sasuke pushed him in, using his foot to hold Naruto's head down.
Kiba and Akamaru soon joined the fray, and Sasuke stood calmly, while Naruto flailed and thrashed in the water below him.
"Um – don't you think you should let him out?" Lee said, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, no one's going to do CPR on him," Ino yelled from the beach.
Neji noticed his cousin blush deeply at this, and wondered why.
Sasuke soon did let Naruto up, and the blonde leapt at him in rage, and the two boys began wrestling in the water.
"Naruto! Get off him!" Sakura yelled, and Kakashi just shook his head, sighing.
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Neji and Tenten soon left the water, as Kiba, Lee, Naruto and Sasuke began a surfing competition.
Tenten joined the other three kunoichi in building a sand-castle.
Gai and Kakashi were having a surfing competition as well, though in a deeper part, further away from the sure – Neji was sure Gai had challenged Kakashi to it.
Asuma and Kurenai had disappeared, and Neji didn't need his Byakugan to know that they were probably in the little log cabin that had been used as a changing room.
Neji found himself sitting under a large, colourful umbrella with Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji.
They were mostly silent, save Chouji's large chip-munching, watching the others, and Neji didn't mind their company much.
More often than not, his eyes wandered over to Tenten, who was crouched not far away, sculpting the sand castle with her kunai as Hinata moulded it with her chakra.
She was still wet, and he could see the beads of water rolling down her bare thighs, the curve of her back when she bent over – it was tantalizing, and as much as he tried not to look, his eyes defied him more often than not.
An hour or so later, they began playing volleyball, a tournament proposed by the teachers. The teams were their actually ninja squads, and Neji was relieved to be playing with Tenten instead of against her – though she'd be closer to him now, at least she wouldn't be directly opposite.
Their first match was against Team Asuma, and they won it easily. Shikamaru was too lazy to move, Chouji had never been particularly athletic, and Ino screamed instructions more than anything else. With their natural athleticism, speed, and strength, they won that match easily.
Team Kurenai would have been easy as well. Hinata was too timid for an aggressive sport like volleyball, and though Kiba was decent enough, he couldn't match up to Neji, Tenten and Lee. Neji suspected he was also slightly distracted by Tenten (he'd caught the boy drooling, and shot him a murderous Byakugan glare). The real problem was Shino – or rather, Shino's bugs. They followed the ball everywhere and never let it hit the ground on Team Kurenai's court. Team Gai was forced to hit the ball with all the strength they could, aiming it as far away from Shino as possible. Of course, aiming had always been Tenten's speciality, and they soon won that match as well.
Team Asuma, miraculously, beat Team Kurenai. It was mainly Shikamaru using his shadow to freeze the volleyball mid-air, giving Chouji enough time to hit it over – or Ino using her mind-transfer jutsu on Hinata, and forcing the poor girl to commit her own fouls.
When Asuma demanded to know why they hadn't tried the same tactic on Team Gai, Shikamaru just shrugged, saying it would have been 'too troublesome'.
"What he means is that Team Gai would beat us in any sport," Chouji explained, "They're too athletic, so why bother? It'd be pointless and a waste of chakra, even though he is Chuunin..."
Team Seven beat both Team Asuma and Team Kurenai. They had surprisingly good teamwork, especially Naruto and Sasuke. Though they insulted each other quite frequently, they were strong, and Sasuke's Sharingan could see the ball's movements before they even occurred. Naruto's shadow clones covered the entire court, leaving no open spaces, and even Sakura, surprisingly, landed extremely powerful, yet controlled hits.
The match between Team Gai and Team Seven barely lasted five minutes.
The five minutes, however, were utter chaos.
There were fireballs and arrays of gleaming weapons exchanged between the teams, chakra shields and shadow clones covering the court, high-powered kicks and punched delivered to the ball, and what Neji suspected was even a miniature, low-powered Rasengan which Naruto had flung over the net.
Instead of dodging the ball of compressed energy, Lee 'Dynamic Entry-ed' the volleyball at it.
The ball promptly exploded on impact, and the game ended in a draw, much to Gai and Kakashi's displeasure; for them, this had been a clash of egos, their star students matching up against one another, and a draw was disappointing.
Gai insisted on a rematch, but it was evening, and Asuma had begun cooking an early dinner, and Naruto was too distracted by the food to play again.
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Dinner was a noisier affair than what Neji was accustomed to, and that was saying a lot, considering their most recent weekly 'Team Gai Dinner' had involved Lee getting drunk on sake and destroying a restaurant.
Fortunately, there was no sake here, and Lee was too busy complimenting an uninterested Sakura on her pink bikini.
Naruto and Sasuke, however, with their incessant fighting and bickering, created enough commotion themselves. This was made worse when Sakura called Ino fat, as Chouji, misunderstanding the insult as directed at him, swelled up to gigantic proportions and bull-dozed his way through all the food, causing it to splatter everywhere.
That's when Neji decided he'd had enough, and stood up, intending to take a peaceful walk along the beach.
To his surprise, Tenten stood up at the exact same time on his left, apparently thinking the same thing.
They didn't say anything to one another, as they walked away from the crowd, along the shore of the beach.
The sun was setting, and splashed the sky with pinks and oranges. Even the water had an orange tinge in its reflected light and the waves lapped against the sand.
Tenten would stop every few moments, to pick up a seashell, or something or the other, speeding up slightly to rejoin Neji after.
"Look!" she cried finally, breaking the silence.
Neji turned, raising an eyebrow at her.
He was quite proud that he managed to control his blush – though she'd wrapped the cloth around her waist again, she'd loosened her hair entirely, probably to dry it, and it now spilled over her shoulders and back in long, damp waves.
It made her look extremely pretty, and for some reason, Neji felt shy, for the first time around her.
He focused his attention on the seashell she was showing him, a pointy, conical thing. He didn't find it particularly interesting.
"Bet if I sharpen this, I could use it as a kunai, huh?" she wondered aloud.
"Possibly," Neji said, not trusting himself to speak too much.
"I mean, if we ever go on one of those missions where they check you to see if you're armed or not, it could come in handy!" Tenten went on, before leaning down to pick up another seashell which caught her eye.
Neji went red, as this action gave him full view of her chest - and had to focus his chakra on stemming a nosebleed yet again.
They walked quite a long way, Tenten dipping her feet into the waves, though Neji preferred the sand.
"Today was fun though, don't you think?" Tenten asked.
"Better than I expected," Neji said truthfully.
He'd never expected to see her in such – a state...
"You really need proper swim trunks though," Tenten said, "I have a feeling this isn't the first time Tsunade-sama will send us one one of these little trips..."
"Hn."
"And if she doesn't, Gai will probably make us do a monthly beach training regime or something... he really seems to have enjoyed this..."
Neji's mind had gone into overdrive at the prospect of seeing Tenten dressed like this on a monthly basis.
They walked for longer, the sky gradually darkening, Tenten adding to her seashell collection, and Neji adding to his mental album of delicious, delicious images.
She suddenly squealed with delight, and Neji wondered what it was this time.
"Neji, this one is like you!" Tenten exclaimed, waving a seashell in his face.
Neji regarded the object, a long, white thing, spiralling inwards, and narrowed his eyes at Tenten.
"Tenten, how exactly do I resemble a seashell?" he asked, trying to sound as dignified as possible.
"I never said you resemble it!" Tenten rolled her eyes, "It's just its white, and it's got this big whirl in the middle, and it looks kind of like a screw – and that's what your name means, right? Whirl or screw?"
Her logic actually made sense, when she put it that way.
"Ah. And your name-"
He stopped himself from saying what he was about to say.
Her name meant heavenly, of course. A perfect meaning, in his opinion.
"Heavenly," Tenten scrunched her nose, "Too girly if you ask me..."
"I think its fine," Neji said, looking straight ahead.
"Wonder what Lee's name means... other than the 'Rock' part of it..."
"Probably nothing. He's too moronic to have a sensible name..."
"Neji!"
"..."
They continued on, and Tenten had removed a kunai (Neji truly wondered from where this time) and was scratching something onto the shell.
She handed it to him, and he saw that it was his name, in kanji.
"You can keep it," she said, smiling sweetly.
It was a simple gesture, but it made Neji's heart flutter alarmingly.
"Thank you," he said, as neutrally as he could, before pocketing it.
Their fingers brushed, and Neji's heart raced, but faster this time.
It was nearly nighttime, and the moon's glow illuminated the waters.
"We should get back," Neji said, "We're supposed to leave at eight o clock, and it's already dark. The others are all the way on the other side of the shore."
"Okay," Tenten agreed, "But it'll be faster if we just cut across the water... I'll race you, Neji!"
"No," he shook his head.
He had done too many childish things today. That would be crossing the limit.
"Come on," Tenten pleaded, "It'll be fun! And it'll be faster! You know you want to!"
Neji found he couldn't resist her for long if she looked at him like that, dressed as she was with her hair loose.
"Fine," he relented, before smirking slightly, "But what do I get once I win?"
"Once you win?" Tenten demanded, "That's presuming a lot! And why should you get anything at all?"
Neji wondered why he should as well, but he badly wanted to ask just one small thing of her.
He decided against it, however. That would be utter foolishness.
"If I win, then," he amended, "And forget it, it's not necessary."
"Um – okay?" Tenten looked confused, "Anyways, let's go on the count of three... one... two... three!"
They raced off, running with chakra-controlled leaps over the silver-tipped waves under the moonlight.
...
...
...
"Neji! Tenten!" Lee called, waving, as they reached the shore, "We were waiting for you! We have to get back to Konoha!"
"Alright, let me just get my sandals!" Tenten told him, rushing off to pick up her discarded footwear, "Aren't we changing first?"
"Of course we are!" Lee said, and Neji found himself feeling almost disappointed, though he knew he'd never look at his female teammate the same way after today.
He'd beaten her in their little race, and he almost wished he'd had the nerve to ask her for a 'reward' before... she would have agreed, sooner or later.
Then again, it probably wasn't a good idea.
Tenten would probably skewer him with her makeshift seashell-kunai if he asked her for a kiss...
...
...
...
Author's note – That was fun to write =) Please leave a review!
And if you're wondering, I didn't make Tenten's outfit up. It actually appears, in the sixth ending of Naruto (not Naruto Shippuden) so you can check it out!
