Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Lee! Neji! Stop it!" yelled Tenten at her male teammates. The two ignored her in favor of continuing to shout and trade blows with each other. Well, Lee shouted. Neji wasn't as loud as he blocked and swung at Lee, but there was no less fury on his face.
"They should never have let you graduate from the academy," Neji snapped as he quickly deflected a punch. "You're completely useless!"
"Someone who's a branch member like you shouldn't call other people useless!" Lee retorted. He took advantage of Neji freezing in shock to punch him in the face and send the Hyuuga boy falling to the ground. Tenten winced and inwardly lamented how Team Gai's teamwork had taken such a flying leap backwards. And they'd been doing so well! A mission to stay at a small village to capture a rogue ninja had gone swimmingly – the three genin had even defeated him without the help of their jounin teacher Gai. The older man had heartily congratulated them on their youthfulness and left them there to rest while he bounded off to take the unconscious ninja to the proper authorities.
But after Gai had left, Neji and Lee had started to argue; specifically, about who had been more useful during the mission. This sort of debate wasn't unusual between the boys, and Tenten had just rolled her eyes at first. Then, for some reason, things had turned hostile. Perhaps it was the adrenaline still high from the mission, but soon just insulting each other wasn't enough; their verbal fight escalated into a physical brawl, where Tenten was now (unsuccessfully) trying to calm her raging teammates.
"You guys, cut it out!" she yelled again as Neji jumped back to his feet and charged at Lee. There was no telling how long this would take, Tenten realized, and she anxiously thought of how to stop them. They were ignoring her, and using her specialty, weapons, would be far too dangerous to use on comrades… the only option was to try and physically pull them apart. So when she saw a change she grabbed Neji by the arm – only to have him instinctively give her a chakra-fueled shove. It was forceful enough to send her flying backwards, and she caught a glimpse of Neji and Lee's horrified faces as she fell.
Tenten shut her eyes and grit her teeth as she waited for the jarring impact of her back slamming into the ground. A few seconds later she stopped falling, but there wasn't any pain – in fact, she was rather comfortable, considering the circumstances. Tenten opened her eyes. Gai was looking down at her in concern from where he had caught her just before she hit the earth.
"Tenten, are you alrigh?" he asked, and she nodded silently as she stood on her own feet. Neji and Lee had stopped fighting after seeing Gai and now all three of the genin stood around not knowing what to say. When he saw that no one was youthful enough to explain themselves, he crossed his arms and glared at them.
"Well?" he demanded. "Why were two of my precious students in a fight that was clearly not a spar?"
"Neji started it!" blurted out Lee. "Gai-sensei, he's always antagonizing me!" He glowered at Neji, who sent him a dark look in return.
"That's a lie!" he snapped. "If anyone was antagonized, it was me! Tenten, tell Gai-sensei!" Tenten's mind went blank. She was so used to them bickering that she hadn't even noticed who had started it this time.
"Come, all of you," Gai said, saving her from answering. "We'll talk back at the inn."
But the talk back at their room in the inn proved no more fulfilling, and Gai found himself pinching the bridge of his nose while Neji and Lee once more argued with each other. Tenten nervously eye them from her spot by the wall.
"Admit it, you're jealous of me!" Neji demanded. "Because you're a talentless no-one!"
"Like I said, Neji," said Lee, "The lower class of Hyuuga shouldn't - "
"Enough!" barked Gai. The two boys immediately shut up. "Do you have any idea how saddened I am that my students are fighting with each other?"
"Then tell Neji not to be so difficult!"
"No, tell Lee no to - "
"Stop." Gai's command was calm. Oddly calm. So was his gait as he walked over to one of their supply bags. He rummaged around in it for a few seconds before pulling out a piece of rope, leftovers from what they had used to tie up the rogue ninja. It wasn't too thick to easily manipulate, and it wasn't thin enough to have any cutting ability. Gai tested it against the palm of his hand. It would do.
When he faced his students again, he was holding the rope with the ends together to make it loop. If it wasn't clear what he intended to do, his next word definitely made it so.
"Neji. Lee. It seems this isn't a lesson you will learn with words alone." Gai pointed to one of the beds. "Stand next to each other over there and put your hands on top of the bed."
Lee stiffened and looked at his mentor in shock; Neji only schooled his face into indifference.
"I've dealt with far worse at the hands of some of my clan elders," he said coolly.
"G-Gai sensei! I will run six hundred laps around Konoha! Blindfolded! On my hands!"
"This isn't a test of your pain tolerance, Neji, and this isn't up for negotiation, Lee, so both of you, do as I say, NOW!" Gai's last word boomed like a crack of thunder, making even Tenten jump. Gai's harsh voice was unlike anything they'd ever heard from the man, and Neji and Lee quickly obeyed without speaking to the position that left their backsides quite vulnerable.
"I expect a lot better from the two of you," said Gai from behind them, and a second later they boys heard a swishing sound followed by a flaming pain on the back of their thighs.
"Aagh!" Neji and Lee cried simultaneously, and Tenten flinched.
"The four of us are a team," continued Gai with a hard note in his voice. "And true allies are hard to find in a ninja's world. Severing those bonds over pride is not only foolish, but also dangerous. For everyone." Gai swung the rope again several times in a row, making sure to make each one count. Lee, was openly sobbing, though Gai knew it was more from disappointing his mentor than the actual pain. Neji, on the other hand, did not make a sound after his initial cry. The only one who could tell he was in any pain was Lee, who could see his teammates knuckles turn white from clutching the bed sheets so tightly.
"Gai-sensei, it is still not my fault," Lee protested through his tears.
"Don't blame me, reject," snarled Neji through gritted teeth. Gai lashed them both again.
"It's this kind of behavior that makes me so disappointed with you!" he barked. He then heard a shuffling noise behind him and turned his head just in time to see Tenten dart out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Gai's brow furrowed, but he decided not to go after her – yet. "You boys have both lost family – you should know enough to cherish what bonds you have. And what's worse, you had no consideration for those around you! You almost hurt Tenten, Neji! What if I hadn't been there, or if you had used a serious attack on her? She could have been badly hurt!"
"Tenten," Neji whispered, and finally the Hyuuga boy began to cry, albeit softly. Gai decided to wrap things up and delivered a final succession of strikes to the bottoms of his students before tossing the rope aside.
"It's done," Gai told them, and the two genin straightened up with obvious discomfort. When he saw their mournful eyes and tear-soaked cheeks, the sighed and opened his arms. "Come here." Lee dove into them without hesitation, but Neji just stood there awkwardly until Gai grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the embrace. "Never fight like that again, my students," said Gai to the top of their heads.
"I'm sorry," choked out Lee.
"Apologize to each other first," Gai commanded. "And when Tenten comes back, you will apologize to her, too." Lee stepped back and wiped his eyes.
"Neji, I'm sorry," he said, sounding genuinely remorseful. Neji looked away and scoffed.
"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault," he said gruffly, and at that moment, any remaining tension in the room disappeared like a genjutsu. Gai mentally sighed in relief.
"You two, make sure to get enough sleep tonight. We're leaving early in the morning for Konoha. We won't be stopping, so get ready to use up plenty of your youthful energy!" He laughed loudly at this, drowning out Lee's cheer and Neji's groan. Gai then headed out the door – there was still one more student he needed to take care of.
He found Tenten in the woods a few minutes from the inn. She was sitting by a brook with her knees drawn up to her chest and her face hidden in her arms. Completely unobservant of her surroundings and open to enemy attack, Gai noted. He'd make sure to talk to her about it later. For now, he gently sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Tenten? My youthful student, what's the matter?" Tenten sniffed and looked up and him, and Gai was surprised to see that she had been crying, too.
"I hate it when people fight," she muttered, and Gai knew what she was talking about. To someone eavesdropping, it would seen hypocritical that a ninja would be so upset over a fight, but Gai knew a little of Tenten's homelife.
She'd grown up with no mother in a house of her father and seven brothers. Their father was a domineering and controlling man, breeding bitterness and resentment in his children that spread to not just him, but also each other. Tenten had never told him, but Gai could tell by the light in her eyes whenever she was with Team Gai that this was the closest thing to a real family she'd ever had. And now that she'd seen Lee and Neji in a more serious fight and Gai punish them, maybe she thought even that would be destroyed.
"Everything's going to be fine," Gai soothed. "Your teammates fought, but they are reconciled now."
"You're angry with them." Gai shook his head.
"No, my dear, I was disappointed in them," he corrected gently. "I expect you three to talk out your differences without letting your anger control you. But even though I disciplined them to make sure they wouldn't forget, I know that no one is perfect and that mistakes happen. What's important is that we learn our lesson and move on." Gai felt her shoulders relax slightly.
"So they're okay?"
"Yes. The pain they felt at my hands is far worse than what they would feel if they ended up seriously injuring one another." Gai stood and helped her to her feet. "Let's go back to the inn. The boys have something they need to tell you."
They didn't speak on the way back, but Gai could tell Tenten wasn't upset anymore. She hummed happily as she skipped ahead of him, looking more like the carefree girl that had been blossoming ever since becoming a part of Team Gai.