Author's notes: This has been done before, and by way better authors than myself. Still, I wanted to give it a try.

Introduction

Neji's first day at Konoha's Ninja Academy does not go at all as planned.

The little boy, long dressed and ready, stomps out of the Hyuga house as soon as it is light outside, and the confused maid whose job it is to walk him to school finds herself running after him. They arrive at the empty academy courtyard more than an hour early, the the woman both irritated and exhausted. Do I have to wait with him? She decides against it and goes to hand him his lunch when she realizes she has left it behind. At least she has some pocket change.

"Neji, you're here awful early. Don't you want to run by the market and pick up something for lunch?" Her voice is high pitched and she talks to him like a child.

Although he is only five, Neji is anything but childlike. He has seen too much already, holds the pain of too many wounds close to his heart. "No," he says solemnly, claiming the swing hanging from the sole tree for his own and glaring at the annoying woman with moon-like eyes. He sits upon the playground device, but his sandaled feet remain firmly planted on the dusty ground. "Go away."

The maid hurries off, glad to be dismissed and afraid to disobey the strange little boy.

Watching her go, Neji snorts. One small hand tightens upon the ropes of the swing, turning completely white with the pressure he uses, betraying his negative feelings. As if the maid has anything real to fear. At least she can leave his family's employment whenever she wishes. He is the one who will spend the rest of his life as a slave, or else he will end up-

Like his father. It has been less than a year since Hizashi was killed to protect the main branch of the family. Loneliness is eating away at Neji; he has no one to talk to. Everyone he would have turned to is now the enemy, or has been removed. He hates them all: Grandfather, Uncle, even little Hinata. And he hates his own caste, the cadet branch, for sitting quietly by while their leader was murdered. He even hates himself.

I should have done something... I should have been able to do something.

The sun rises higher, and above him in the tree birds begin to sing. Their gentle calls soothe the angry something inside of Neji, and he thinks that it is nice to be here, alone. The little boy revels in the fact that, for this one moment at least, he is free. Out in the wide world, his own master. Who knows what he could become out here? He closes his eyes, and attempts to meditate as he has been taught.

An odd rustling reaches his ears, the organs made newly sensitive by the closing of his magic eyes, and he opens those pearls in curiousity. He quickly turns and looks over his shoulder to find that the playground is not as deserted as he previously thought. On the other side of the ancient hardwood is a little girl about his age who must have been there before him, peeking shyly.

She is a small, thin thing. Her clothes are a size too large, baggy shorts and an old, faded t-shirt. The Hyuga, always clean and pressed, has never seen anyone so unkempt. In fact, the neatest thing about her is her brown hair, carefully pulled up and wound into two buns atop her head. She has chocolate eyes in a tan face colored pink with embarrassment at being caught observing him. All in all, she is very different from the pale and monochromed family members that have comprised his world thus far.

Now that she has been seen by the odd swinging prince, the little girl stops nibbling her pink lower lip and comes around the tree, sticking out her hand in a gesture of friendship. "I'm Tenten," she says, her voice slightly accented.

No family name? That is weird. As a member of an esteemed family whose name is known far beyond the borders of Fire Country, Neji knows that a person's most important title is their surname, that of their clan. To not give one shows bad breeding, but the little boy is quickly distracted by another thought, one that takes precedence over the mystery surrounding the girl.

Neji slips off the front of the swing, comes around it, and tries to peer around the tall tree. The girl remains in front of him, holding out her right hand. Neji does not give her his name, and he does not shake her proffered palm. Instead, he says the first thing that comes to mind, the thought that bothered him from earlier. "Did you walk your brother here?"

The girl, Tenten, looks shocked, her dark eyes widening. She drops her hand and stares the boy in confusion. It is then that Neji notices the ankle-high pile of small rocks at her feet and the three-ringed target drawn in the red dirt a few feet away. Seven rocks lay in the center- perfect bullseyes'- plus another three around the edge. It is her homemade version of target practice.

She is training. Why would she do such a thing?

"I don't have a brother," Tenten explains slowly, wondering if this white-eyed boy is mentally handicapped. There are a few children like him in the orphanage she comes from, so she has not quite written him off as a pal yet, but he is just so weird! She patiently elaborates. "I'm here for school. I was so excited that I got here really early. I'm going to be a ninja." She smiles wide, confident in her dream.

She sounds so sure of herself that Neji feels he had better let her down gently. He meets her eyes and tells her, "You can't be a ninja, because you're a girl."

From Neji's point of view this last statement is entirely factual. His younger cousin Hinata, after all, would make a terrible ninja. Watching the brunette's face turn red, he explains, "Girls cook, and clean, and have babies. You should go home. Your mom is probably wondering where you are." It is not Neji's intention to be cruel, just to educate her on her destiny. Fate is not something that can be avoided.

The girl's small hands fist at her sides, and she purses her lips, glaring daggers. Inwardly, she revises her previous opinion. This boy is not slow, he is just a jerk, and he has just lost out on any chance of her friendship. "I can so be a ninja! Haven't you heard of Lady Tsunade?"

No, Neji has not heard of Lady Tsunade. Should he have? Is that something you need to know to attend the academy? Furthermore, he is even more perplexed. Why is this dumb girl getting angry and arguing with him when he is so obviously right? He reiterates. "No, you can't."

Tenten grits her teeth, grinding them together. Her words are even more accented now, something that occurs when she is upset. "Yes, I can."

Neji is hard pressed not to sigh. Why will she not give it up?

"No, you-" Before he can finish, she rears back and punches him in the left eye. The blow is hard enough to hurt, hard enough even to make his head spin. He catches himself on the swing and then quickly lets go, too prideful to show his pain or be caught needing an object for support. He is mad now, furious even, and tempted to physically teach her a lesson. You do not mess with a Hyuga's eyes.

But she is a girl, and boys are not supposed to fight girls. Where does that leave them?

The wide schoolyard begins to fill with youthful students eager for their first day, and the other children begin milling around, perhaps sensing the distress of the first two. Neither Neji nor Tenten notice the crowd. His eye is aching and rapidly swelling shut, and her knuckles are red and bruised. They stand there, just a few feet apart, glaring at one another. Each nurses their respective hurts until the bell rings and the academy doors are thrown open.

As they head to class, Neji decides he does not like Tenten very much.

He is the first and only Hyuga to ever start school with a black eye.