Yeah, actually, I'm not dead, just sick, which is pretty close to the same thing, but not quite, apparently.

I own nothing, btw.

Ever since the kidnapping escapade, Neji and Tenten had been wary of anything Gai thought of. Today was no exception: for some reason, Gai thought it would be wise to have their team and Hanshiro's team train together, since Hanshiro had recently graduated and he and Neji were cousins.

Neji couldn't quite see why Gai thought this was a good idea, so she didn't even try to figure out Gai's logic; clearly, her sensei was a mad man. She crossed her arms and huffed as they walked down the road towards her cousin's training grounds.

Lee, on the other hand, was thrilled by the idea. She wanted to make a difference to the young ninja, and show them that anyone could be successful. She was also eager to see who Hanshiro had gotten as teammates; she hoped it wasn't anyone too harsh, he was such a sweet little boy.

Tenten, was less than pleased, but not horribly bothered either way. Especially since Neji was bothered by it. If Neji didn't like it, obviously it was something good.

The group came to a stop at the edge of the training grounds, and Lee saw Hanshiro look at Neji with pure fear. And Neji was doing nothing to calm that fear, glaring at him as if she planned to kill him on the spot. She poked Neji nin the ribs.

"Come on, be nice." She said, mostly serious, though trying to be lighthearted about it.

Neji turned her glare on her, true fire in her eyes.

"I do not have to be nice if I don't want to! What makes you think he deserves to be treated nicely?! You don't even know him!" She snapped, corssing her arms, and causing Hanshiro to seem to wilt. He didn't really understand why Neji was so angry with him all the time, whenever he'd asked, she'd nearly bit his head off.

Suddenly, an Inuzuka boy stepped forward, scowling at Neji.

"Hey! Don't talk about Hanshiro like that!" He demanded, jerking a finger at her.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Neji, don't go all bratty on us again." What kind of person could hate someone as little and cute as Hanshiro?

Neji turned an interesting shade of purple before storming off angrily, kicking a rock that was in her path along the way. Gai was at least a little concerned; it didn't normally take so little to set off his student, perhaps something else was bothering her. He followed after to investigate, and make sure Neji wasn't killing the wildlife.

Tenten crossed her arms.

"That girl is so spoiled..."

The Inuzuka next to her nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what sort of excuse does she have? Jerk."

The two looked towards each other, immediately smiling cordially.

"I'm Tenten, by the way."

"Kiba. Ready to train?"

The two headed off to train, apparently getting along right off the bat. Hanshiro blinked at the suddeness of it all. He looked over shyly at Lee.

"I-I guess th-that just leaves u-us to trai-train..." He stuttered, scratching the back of his neck shyly. His face was tinged a rosy hue.

Lee, of course, caught none of this, and smiled obliviously.

"Yeah! Do you know gentle fist style? I want to learn how to beat Neji, so she'll respect me and be my friend!" She said, enthusiastically dragging the beet-red boy off, Hanshiro narrowly managing to utter an 'eep!' before he fainted.

Things were less comical at the scene Gai had come on, however. His student was punching holes in a tree, and normally he would simply ask what the tree had ever done to her to deserve such treatment, but the look on her face made him stop. Pure rage. He'd seen Neji irritated and annoyed, but rage was something new.

"Neji?"

She looked up at him, her anger quickly becoming more veiled to avoid a miscommunication.

"Yes?" Her teeth were clenched almost as tightly as her fists.

"What was that back there?" He asked, looking at her seriously.

Neji looked down at her feet, seeming to stop and think over her answer. Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion, and lifted her head to look him square in the eye.

"His father and mine have...a serious disagreement. A wrong-doing." She replied, once more being enigmatic.

Gai sighed, placing a hand on his student's shoulder.

"Neji, you mustn't let this disagreement come between you and your cousin." She didn't seem to be paying him much mind, so he cleared his throat.

"The Chuunin exams will be coming up in the next few months," Her attention was immediately turned back to him. "Which means you might be taking the exam at the same time as your cousin. But," He paused for effect. Neji began to get impatient. "I will only let you participate if you promise me you won't let this conflict cloud your judgement."

"I promise!" Neji said, a little too quickly for Gai's liking. A promise was a promise, however, and he nodded. Neji actually smiled at him. A rare combination.

"I won't let you down, Gai-sensei." She said, before turning and heading back. The only opponent left for her was Shino, but somehow the silent boy suited her well. Didn't ask too many questions, though he did seem rather suspicious of her after her outburst. Their sparring went well.

---

Three hours later, the teams were leaving, new friendships having been formed. Tenten waved goodbye to Kiba.

"See ya later, try not to die on your first mission!" She called to him.

"Try not to kill Neji before we get a chance to meet again, I still want to kick her butt in a sparring match!" Came the reply.

Neji quietly waved goodbye to Shino, which earned Shino a poke in the ribs and a knowing wink from Kiba. Hanshiro and Lee had already said their goodbyes, Hanshiro, albeit, shyly, and now he tried to say goodbye to his cousin.

"B-bye, N-neji..."

Neji sighed, and after a couple seconds of what appeared to be a struggle of will power, she nodded.

"Bye, Hanshiro."

Hanshiro seemed delighted by the fact that his cousin had acknowledged him, and looked back at his teammates as if to verify he wasn't hearing anything. Maybe, she was starting to accept him...

Still no pairings, believe it or not, so don't freak out on me, people. And don't forget to review, I do so love reviews! ^_^