Hyūga Neji
He knows it's a meaningless gesture by this point, but he's still staying. It's silly, he knows that too, but that's what being a part of Team Gai is most of the time. So Neji keeps quiet when Lee pleads with Shizune-san who frowns and folds her arms across her chest but ultimately allows them to spend the night under the condition that they'll be gone by the time Tsunade-sama shows up to do her rounds.
Tenten gets her bed. Lee pushes it into the room for her – there's barely enough space and they end up having to push Gai-sensei's a little closer to the wall which makes Lee break into cold sweat. Neji has no doubt that if their teacher had woken up, Lee would have committed seppuku then and there.
Finally, Tenten curls up on the bed, making herself small enough to leave room for Neji and instantly falls asleep. Neji sighs, unsure what to do next. Lee has retaken his seat in the chair now wedged between Gai-sensei's bed and the wall. He's holding Gai-sensei's hand like a lifeline; you couldn't pry him away with a crowbar. They've switched off the light; the room is dark and all Neji wants to do is sleep.
So he sits down on the bed. Behind him Tenten makes a small sound in her sleep and shifts. She is facing Gai-sensei's bed, he rolls over to face the door. The room is filled with the sounds of his team mates' breathing. Neji closes his eyes and lets their presence wash over him.
It might be silly, but for the moment it feels to him like he is exactly where he is supposed to be.
When Neji wakes up he isn't sure how much time has passed or why he is even awake. At first he thinks Tenten might have kicked him in her sleep – it wouldn't have been the first time – but then he hears something.
A soft scraping sound followed by a click.
Someone is at the window.
He lies very still, focusing his chakra. Activating the Byakugan while trying to suppress the chakra pulse is difficult, but Neji has been training relentlessly the past six months. He's going to make chūnin soon; there's no way he'll fail the next exams.
Maybe should pinch Tenten to wake her up, but a startled yelp from her would definitely give them away. For now he'll lie low and assess the situation.
His Byakugan reveals Lee who is slumped over in his chair, fast asleep, his head resting on Gai-sensei's chest and Gai-sensei doesn't seem to have moved at all since they decided to stay.
Neji looks past them. There's movement at the window; it swings open silently and someone climbs in. He stiffens, then relaxes abruptly when he recognizes the chakra pattern. Hatake Kakashi. There's no doubt. It's the Copy ninja.
What's he doing here?
Neji isn't sure how late it is, but he knows that by the time he switched off the light it was around ten pm. He fell asleep soon after and he figures that a couple of hours must have passed since then. So it must be around midnight, probably even later than that. Definitely too late for a hospital visit.
Hatake Kakashi, though, is a fairly strange man. A jōnin of legendary skill and supposedly a genius, Neji still knows him best as Gai-sensei's so-called eternal rival. Of course, that ridiculous title is Gai-sensei's creation, but Neji has seen the famous Copy Ninja engage in Gai-sensei's often pretty stupid challenges. He might do it reluctantly, he might roll his eyes and sigh and shrug and pretend he doesn't listen, but the point is he never walks away.
Neji didn't understand it at first, but now that he's been Gai-sensei's student and Lee's team mate for two years, he feels like he is starting to get it. Gai-sensei is a good person. It's as simple as that. Under all the weirdness, the terrible hair cut, the strange mannerisms, the insane obsession with spandex and youth, Gai-sensei is a caring, loyal friend, not to mention an incredibly strong shinobi.
If Hatake Kakashi has known Gai-sensei even half as long as Gai-sensei claims, he should know this better than anyone.
Still, it's the middle of the night. If Kakashi-sensei is here to show his concern for his friend, he could have waited till morning. Gai-sensei isn't going anywhere.
Keeping his face turned to the door, his back to Kakashi, Neji uses the Byakugan to watch quietly as the jōnin sneaks to Gai-sensei's bedside. Kakashi-sensei moves without making a sound. Careful not to disturb Lee, he leans forward a little and reaches out.
For a strange couple of seconds Kakashi-sensei's hand rests on Gai-sensei's shoulder. Neji can see his thumb brush over Gai-sensei's collarbone. Then Kakashi bends a little lower, until his face is close enough to Gai-sensei's cheek to touch. It looks like he is whispering something to Gai-sensei, but Neji can't make out the movement of his lips. His heart is pounding, his stomach queasy. He has no idea what he is seeing. Then Kakashi straightens up and leaves the way he came.
Team Gai is alone again in the darkness, the quiet interrupted only by Tenten's and Lee's soft snores.
No more than a few minutes later, Neji isn't sure if he saw anything at all.