Title: Talk on Corners
Characters: Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Maito Gai
Special Guests: Gaara
Summary: Tenten realized she was in love with her best friend after a two-week mission in the Sand.
Sabaku no Gaara
Tenten realized she was in love with her best friend after a two-week mission in the Sand.
There was just one problem.
Neji didn't appear to feel the same.
i.
"A mission?"
Tenten and Neji eyed their former sensei curiously, as Lee all but bounced up and down the four walls of Gai's living room. Gai nodded and flashed a sparkling grin, temporarily blinding the three younger shinobi.
"Two weeks in Suna," Gai replied, "to assist the village in an upcoming festival."
"Festival?" Tenten frowned. "But the Kazekage just got back from being abducted by the Akatsuki. Is it prudent to hold a celebration so soon?"
Lee wagged his left index finger and shook his head. "Dear Tenten, don't you see? That's exactly why they're holding a festival. To celebrate Gaara's safe return!"
Tenten shook her head in response. "Celebrating is good, but shouldn't Suna be cautious about Akatsuki making a second attack?"
"That's why they're sending us," Gai replied, pointing his right thumb to his chest. "To help protect the perimeter while the festival is going on."
Tenten's frown deepened. "I never thought the Kazekage is so . . . careless."
(When she managed to talk to Gaara about it, on their second day in Suna, she found out that the festival wasn't his idea, nor Kankuro's and Temari's. The council wanted to show everyone, in and out the village, that Suna was still strong and thriving, despite the recent tragedy that took place. Gaara would have nothing of it at first, saying there were more pressing matters to attend to, but he lost the vote, seven against three.
Tenten regained the respect she'd lost for the Kazekage that evening.)
ii.
It was Temari who welcomed them at the gates.
Both Team Gai and Team Asuma were dispatched to assist them, something Tenten was grateful for. That meant that aside from Neji, she had Shikamaru too, and Chouji, if he would not be distracted with the food. Lee, she knew, was a lost cause from the start; she figured he'd enjoy the festival more than he's supposed to. At least she was sure he wouldn't forget about the mission, as long as he was not allowed to drink sake. Tenten liked Ino, too, after getting to know her better over the years, and getting over her initial critical judgment of Ino being a "typical teenage girl."
Tenten did not even want to think about what Gai would do.
"Welcome," Temari greeted them, that cheeky grin never leaving her face. "Glad you can join us in the festivities." There was mock humor in her voice, and Tenten felt it was directed more to the shadow nin in their little group. Shikamaru, in return, tched and looked away.
"Well," the sand kunoichi continued, "the Kazekage is expecting you in his office. Let's go."
The group followed her, and Tenten fell down in step with her lazy friend. "Well?"
Shikamaru gave her a tired stare. "Well what?"
"Will you invite Temari to go to the festival with you?" she half-asked, half-teased.
Shikamaru frowned. "Bugger that," he answered, looking straight ahead. "She's too troublesome. I'd rather ask you out than her."
Tenten chuckled. "A pity," she replied. "She seems to like you a lot."
She received a groan in response.
(When Tenten turned to look at her teammates, she noticed that Neji was silently looking at her.)
iii.
The entrance interview with the Kazekage was uneventful, to say the least. Gai did most of the talking, with Lee spouting "Yosh!" every now and then. The rest of them remained silent, and only spoke when Gaara asked them a specific question.
Kankuro escorted the boys to their quarters; Temari the girls. When they reached their room, the Sand kunoichi bid them goodbye, saying that she still has some tasks to take care off.
Tenten watched her leave, while Ino started unpacking her stuff.
"Stop staring at her like you want to kick her ass," Ino suddenly said from behind.
"What?"
"You want a rematch with her. It's so obvious." Ino grinned. "Healthy competition is good, but don't forget about our mission just because of it."
Tenten shrugged. "Don't worry," she answered. "Temari doesn't even consider me as a rival or anything. Far as I know, I'm fodder to her." And when Ino stared at her worriedly, Tenten grinned a huge, half-hearted grin. "I said don't worry about it. I know my place, and I promise I won't let my personal desires affect the outcome of our mission."
(As it turned out, Tenten's personal desires did affect the outcome of their mission.
Temari had nothing to do with it.)
iv.
She was on her way back to their quarters, after making a quick visit to the village's weapons store, when she came face to face with the Kazekage.
"Oh," she stopped in midstep, not sure what to do. She'd never had the chance to talk to him before, at least, not in a one-on-one setting. She wasn't even sure how to address him. "Kazekage" was probably the safest bet, but it sounded so formal. Calling him "Gaara" might be impolite though, so maybe she should settle for "Gaara-san"?
"Tenten," the Kazekage suddenly broke her out of her musings. "Good evening."
"Ah, good evening, Kaze—" she started, but Gaara shook his head.
"Gaara," he said. "That will do. Your friends call me that."
"Oh," Tenten replied. "Okay then," she continued, relieved. "Good evening, Gaara. Are you off to somewhere?"
The Kazekage nodded. "I need to meet up with the elders to discuss something."
"Oh," Tenten smiled. "Must be hard, being the Kazekage at such a young age." She looked away, the smile not leaving her lips. "You sure are admirable."
When she turned to look at the younger shinobi, she was surprised to find a small patch of pink on his cheeks. "Uh, are you okay?"
Gaara shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, smiling. "Hearing something like that from other people, it makes me uncomfortable."
Tenten chuckled. "Really?" she grinned. "I thought you would have gotten used to it by now." Sighing happily, she continued, "Well, I better get back before Ino gets worried and starts alerting my teammates. Kami knows what Neji will do if he finds out that I'm missing." She gave Gaara one last smile and waved. "Good night, Gaara. I hope you have a productive meeting with the elders."
She watched as the Sand shinobi nodded, and off she went, skipping a giddy little skip until she reached her room. She wasn't sure why, but talking to Gaara and discovering that he was a normal person after all made her happy inside.
(When she mentioned her brief encounter in passing, over breakfast, she got mixed reactions.
Lee nodded vigorously, saying how youthful Gaara was for being so reliable.
Chouji continued munching on some breaded pork, then said that Gaara was mostly misunderstood, but definitely had a good heart.
Shikamaru eyed Tenten warily, but said nothing.
Ino squealed, exclaiming that she smelled a romance being born sometime soon.
Neji, as was characteristic of him, merely glared.
Gai wasn't able to join them. If the rumors were to be believed, it was said that the older shinobi was outside the village gates, training with sand gerbils.)
v.
By the end of two weeks, a couple of things have happened.
Ino managed to drag Kankuro out on a date, much to the surprise of her teammates—and Kankuro himself.
Tenten got her wish for a rematch with Temari, and this time, she wasn't knocked out cold and humiliated in front of everyone. By the end of the match, Temari's short-sleeved kimono was inches shorter, her face full of cuts and bruises, and her fan with several noticeable holes in it. Tenten didn't fare well either—her white top was mutilated so much that she figured she had to buy a new one when they got back to their village, and her arsenal of weapons depleted to a degree that was disturbing—but she kept her ground until the end of the fight. Temari was still the winner, technically, but the Sand kunoichi claimed that it was a draw, since she was supposed to have the upper hand in the match to begin with, what with her fan a great advantage against Tenten's weapons. Tenten said she didn't need to be patronized, but Gaara said that she deserved to be considered as good as Temari, and should not think of herself as mere fodder. Tenten blushed beet red, and Ino squealed. Neji and Shikamaru frowned, and Chouji, silent but observant Chouji, chuckled silently in between munching on some pork cracklings.
Gai won almost all the booth games in the festival, shaming not only his team but Team Asuma as well, so much that none of them, save Lee, was willing to walk with him around the village until they left.
Two gatecrashers found their way to the event, but were quickly apprehended, thanks to Shikamaru and Neji. How the two managed to work together was anyone's guess, but that evening, it was as if the two had the same concerns, both work-wise and personal.
Chouji won an eat-all-you-can-yakiniku contest, but that was expected.
Lee drank half a bottle of sake by mistake, on their last night in the village, and it took Gai, Neji, Chouji and Shikamaru, plus Kankuro and a few other Sand shinobi, to tie him down until he sobered up. Gaara would have helped, except that he was not present during the skirmish.
Tenten was nowhere to be found either.
(They were on a date.
If you can call training in the vacant lot near the cemetery a date. The night sky was clear and they were technically under the stars, at least.)
vi.
Three days after they got back from Suna, a messenger from the village visited them in their training grounds. Only Tenten and Neji were there; Lee was currently scaring the squirrels, and Gai was searching for his eternal rival Kakashi in hopes of challenging him to another match.
"Tenten-san," the messenger greeted, and the kunoichi had to stop throwing her weapons at the target board above Neji's head. "I came bearing a message from the Kazekage."
Tenten threw her kunai on the ground, wiped her hands clean, and accepted the scroll from the messenger with a whispered "thanks." The messenger made no move to leave; it was obvious he was instructed to wait for a reply. Neji watched silently from behind, and Tenten felt conscious of his stare.
The message was simple. Gaara will make a visit on the morrow, and he was hoping to meet up with her for dinner. Tenten smiled a happy little smile, excited at the prospect of seeing the Kazekage again. Her last "date" with the Sand shinobi was productive; she was able to master a new technique she had been practicing for weeks, and the Kazekage even gave her tips on how to maximize her chances of winning against opponents like Temari.
She quickly told the messenger that she would love to go out with Gaara when he arrives, and the messenger smiled in return, thanked her, and left.
Only when the Sand shinobi was gone did Tenten remember that Neji was still there.
They hadn't really discussed her evening with Gaara during their last night in Suna, mostly because Tenten wasn't really sure where she stood with Neji to begin with. They were definitely not an item; the little dance after the daimyo's ball was a once-in-a-blue-moon event, and the following morning, they went back to their training, as if nothing had happened between them the night before.
She had been relieved, despite her misgivings, when they were given the mission in Suna, because that might make her more certain of her feelings for her best friend, and get clues as to whether Neji felt something for her as well.
Except that Neji had all but avoided her during the two weeks, or was it that she avoided him? She had spent the two weeks either with Lee, Ino, or Shikamaru (which made Neji mad for some reason), or Gaara (which made the Byakugan user madder). The few times she tried to reach out, Neji shot her with a glare that told her it was wise if she stayed away from him for the moment.
And now, here they were, locked in a stalemate, not knowing where they stood with each other, but neither willing to make the first move.
"Sorry about that," Tenten began quietly, as if weighing her words. "Do you want to spar now?"
Neji nodded quietly, stood up, and dusted himself off.
The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur, and by the end of it, Tenten found herself standing alone in the clearing, shedding tears. Neji had left a few minutes earlier, after telling her that she could have the day off tomorrow so she could spend the day with the Kazekage.
Something in his voice made her guilty for some reason. That, and the way he brushed off a loose strand of hair from her face and smiled softly, as if he was silently telling her that it was all right, that she didn't need to explain anything to him.
Tenten wasn't sure why, but it felt as if Neji had given up on her, even before anything could happen between them.
(That made her sad, more than she was willing to admit.)
vii.
Her date with Gaara consisted of eating in Ichiraku, a stroll near the riverbank, and a moment in the tower where Gai first met their team. The view below was beautiful, because the sun had already set and the village lights were on, giving the appearance of multicolored stars. Tenten told Gaara that it was there that she first told her teammates about her dream to be as strong as her idol Tsunade-sama, where she first heard of Lee's wish to be strong despite his inability to use ninjutsu, where she witnessed firsthand how much of an ass Neji was.
But all of that seemed so long ago, and now, the three of them worked together so well it was almost impossible for others to think of them apart.
Gaara smiled as he listened, and then shared briefly his life story with Tenten—how he grew up knowing that nobody loved him, how angry he had been with everyone, and how Naruto had changed his way of thinking with his words.
They stayed in companionable silence in the tower for a few more minutes, before Gaara broke into her thoughts with a question.
"Tenten?" he started, and Tenten pulled her eyes away from the village lights to look at her date full in the face.
"Yes?"
"Are you all right?"
The kunoichi blinked. "Of course I am," she answered, confused why Gaara would ask something like that. As far as she was concerned, her day had been close to perfect—she didn't have to undergo a grueling sparring session with either Neji or Lee (or, heaven forbid, Gai), and she was out with an amazing shinobi who seemed to understand her, or was at least willing to listen to her with genuine interest. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Gaara smiled and shook his head. "You seem sad, that's all."
"I . . . am?" Tenten was taken aback. Was she sad? Was there any reason to be? It wasn't as if she was affected with her little incident with Neji the other day. As she kept telling himself, there was nothing going on between them, so she could go out with anyone she wished, and he could definitely do the same.
So why were tears streaming down her face?
Gaara lifted a hand and gently wiped the tears away. "You don't even know you're crying," he said, smiling kindly.
"I don't even know why I am," Tenten managed to answer, chuckling as the tears continued to fall. "You must think I'm crazy."
The Kazekage shook his head and looked away. "Sometimes, I don't realize I'm crying, too."
Tenten grinned, and wiped the last tears from her eyes. She looked back at the beautiful lights below, and heaved a deep sigh. "Well, I guess you're half-crazy, too."
That earned her a sincere laugh, so sincere that she ended up laughing as well.
(Gaara walked her home afterward. She gave him a goodnight kiss on the cheek before she went in, chuckling when she saw the usually cool and composed Kazekage blush brick red, as red as his hair.)
viii.
"Tenten!" Lee bounced up and down toward her the second she stepped into the clearing. Behind him stood Gai and Neji, apparently discussing something of grave importance. "Did you hear? Did you hear?"
Tenten's forehead creased. "Hear about what?"
Gai was suddenly behind the younger green beast, tapping his shoulder gently. "Lee, let me tell her." Beside him stood Neji, looking far more serious than he had ever been.
"What is it?" the kunoichi asked, fear filling her heart.
"Tsunade-sama called me to her office this morning," Gai started, no hint of amusement in his voice. "It appears as if the Kazekage had made a special request to her late last night."
"Last night?" Tenten repeated, confused. "But I was with . . ." She spotted Neji frowning, and stopped herself from completing her sentence. Instead, she asked, "What request did he make?"
"He requested for a liaison officer to be relocated permanently in Suna," Gai answered.
"Liaison officer?" Tenten asked. "But aren't Temari and Shikamaru the liaison officers for Konoha and Suna? What do they need another officer for?"
From the corner of her eye, she saw Neji's frown deepened.
"More specifically," Gai continued, not directly answering Tenten's question, "He has asked you to fill up the position."
Tenten stared blankly at her friends. "Me?"
("Sometimes I think I want to leave the village for a while, to find myself," she told him, as they continued staring at the village lights below. "I love Konoha, and my family is here," she paused, "not my biological family of course, since I'm an orphan, but Gai and Lee and Neji," her breath hitched for a fraction of a second at the mention of the Hyuuga's name, "and the rest of my friends are here." A pause, a sad smile. "But sometimes, I feel as if I don't know myself anymore, and I want to leave, so I'll be able to know who I really am."
"Is that the reason why you're so sad?" Gaara asked, standing beside her, regarding her intently but not unkindly.
Tenten smiled. "Partly, I guess," she answered. Then, as an afterthought, "But also," and she paused long enough to flash Gaara a wide grin, "I think I'm about to be heartbroken real soon.")
xi.
"Come in."
Tenten walked inside the Kazekage's office, clutching the appointment scroll in her left hand. Gaara regarded her silently as she approached his table.
Then, "You came."
Tenten nodded. "I did."
They looked at each other quietly for a couple of seconds, before Tenten placed the scroll on the table.
"And?"
Tenten smiled sadly. "Thank you," she whispered, "But I have to refuse."
Gaara didn't appear to be surprised. "I understand," he said, taking the scroll and putting it in his table's topmost drawer. "The offer still stands, should you change your mind."
Tenten shook her head. "I know," she answered, her smile only growing sadder. "And I wish I could accept it. Truth be told, I was very much tempted to do so." She turned and walked toward the window, clutching the hem of her white blouse tightly. "But that meant running away, and I was never good at that."
From the corner of her eye, she saw Gaara stand up and walk over to where she was standing. Silently, they looked outside, watching as Suna went about her daily routine. It was like Konoha in some ways, but completely different.
"Must be hard, bearing a burden like that at such a young age."
Tenten turned to look at Gaara, surprised. Gaara faced her, a small smile gracing his lips.
"You sure are admirable."
(She was near the gates of her village, on her way back from Suna, when she saw a familiar figure waiting for her.
The fuzzy wuzzy rabbits came full force, and brought along a hundred butterflies with them.
"Neji?"
The Hyuuga was leaning against the gate, his arms crossed across his chest, but he was smiling at her, and her heart did a double flip, much to her annoyance.
"You didn't accept the position."
Tenten shook her head. "Couldn't leave you to deal with Lee and Gai alone. You'd end up either jyuukken-ing Lee to death, or go bat-shit insane."
Silence. Then, "Tenten."
She offered him a smile, as if saying that it was all right, that he didn't need to say anything to her. Instead, she took his hand, and grinned mischievously. "Treat me to sesame dumplings?" she asked, hopeful.
Neji returned her smile and nodded. "As many as you want."
They walked hand in hand back to the village, unmindful of the stares they got from the villagers.
Tenten knew that come tomorrow, everything would be back to normal, that both she and Neji would act as if nothing had happened between them, that nothing was going on between them. But she realized she didn't care anymore. It didn't matter if Neji never reciprocated her feelings the way she wanted to. For her, what mattered was that she was with him—as a friend, a best friend, a comrade whom he trusted with his life.
She was in love with Neji, she realized finally, but it didn't matter that he wasn't in love with her.
They loved each other enough, after all.)