Chapter 1

At the end of the war, a great number of important events occurred; some major, some minor, and some decisive. Some of these events were directly related to her.

Tenten was a young girl with brown hair that she always combed in a particular way. The young girl watched with her big brown eyes the new dawn on another day full of uncertainty.

One of those things that had changed irremediably was the doubt and the terror that grew inside her before those questions. What had happened to their sensei?

After the chaos generated by the great genjutsu there were massive mobilizations to save those who still had salvation and the unpleasant task of collecting the bodies. Tenten passed on that task, she did not feel capable, instead she used all the energy to try to free those ninjas from the cage in which they were sealed. Everyone celebrated that success but then there was that unsettling feeling that she had wanted to avoid, not only she but everyone in the Leaf Village wondered where was the body of Neji Hyuga?

Fortunately Gai-sensei was still alive, after going through that anguish nothing could have prepared her for what was coming next.

How great was the surprise, Tenten really couldn't believe it; somehow Neji was alive too! He was still here!

She would later find out that it was a much more complicated situation than she had thought, but it was still a miracle.

Shizune had appeared out of nowhere explaining in a technical manner that, together with Sakura, they had tried a new resuscitation technique, they really didn't know if it was going to work, though there was nothing to lose anyway. With the intervention of Katsuyu, the invocation of the Fifth Hokage, they created a kind of chakra bubble that kept the young Hyuga in a vegetative state; honestly, he was more dead than alive. However his brain functions were, apparently functioning, so in his case the vegetative state was extremely convenient to try to heal his body before "waking him up".

For the girl it was so strange to learn about all that, many things she could never fully understand, to see him without that seal marked on his forehead had been an almost surreal experience; not that Tenten had seen it many times but she knew it was there. That mark had not only been engraved on his forehead, it had also marked the boy's entire life, deep down she wondered how Neji would feel when he was finally free of it?

Upon returning to the village Tenten was involved in many activities, the ninja world needed to adapt to the new way of life that awaited them and the village needed to recover. Many celebrated the triumph, others bitterly mourned their losses, she didn't know exactly which group she belonged to. The people she cared about were alive, that was all she had to focus on.

Time went by as many investigations, studies, attempts, tests, endless treatments were applied; as the months passed until they finally managed to revive him once his body was completely healthy.

Tenten could never understand the medical details, she never had much talent for that. The result was the important thing: Neji Hyuga had returned after six months in a coma.

Then came the complicated months of recovery. The Hyuga family had spared no expense to shorten that time of rest, the whole family felt indebted to him and they should be, Tenten thought to herself.

Tenten and Lee had been of great support to the confused young man in those moments when his strength was failing. They told him everything that happened after his "death" with details and the great victory of the shinobi world. Now everything would be different.

A great cloud of gloom hung over the group when Neji asked about Gai-sensei. The brunette girl had always considered herself a strong ninja; despite her explosive personality, she had learned to control the emotions when the situation called for it, she even tried to remain firm during the war as there was no time for tears in those moments.

However, watching his beloved sensei act heroically while his own body was being torn to pieces during the battle to save them all, was one of the hardest things he had to endure watching.

Tenten could never know for sure if her heart had broken as she watched Neji die; what she did know for sure was that its ended up tearing herself apart as she watched Gai-sensei slowly die.

Unexpected miracles definitely existed. She had never been a believer but magic definitely existed.

Another thing added to the many things she would never fully understand. Naruto had managed to save their sensei from death, still, Gai-sensei would never be the same. Regardless, Gai-sensei was a great ninja and would always remain one and Tenten was grateful to have him back.

What was most admirable about him had always been his infinite strength. Tenten had seen him crying over the emotions some simplicities caused him, she knew the man would never let his soul be affected by that new destiny. Someday, she wanted to be as strong as Gai-sensei was. His undying vitality helped the three of them to keep going, always inspiring them, Neji in his recovery and the others to support them both.

Deep down, Tenten couldn't help but think that her team had been left in pieces, they had taken the worst of it.

But those pieces could be restored.

...

In the hospital of the Leaf Village on a spring afternoon placid and calm, a young brunette with tanned skin stood in front of the door of the room. When Tenten opened the door she entered with all the joviality that characterized her.

"Good morning Neji," greeted the girl to a young man with pearly eyes very familiar to her.

Neji watched Tenten as she put down the shopping bag she was carrying on one of the tables before sitting down on the bed where he was lying peacefully with a jump.

"How are you feeling?" Neji asked as usual "I don't know about you but I feel really excited that you're finally going to leave this room, no offense but Hyugas have very monochromatic tastes" She commented casually. The young man noticed that the young woman said it with a funny grimace on the face. It wasn't as if Neji was going to admit that attitude was becoming to him... Earthy?

Heck, Neji was getting some strange ideas lately. Maybe the confinement was getting to him too much.

"Good morning Tenten." The boy greeted as he finished rearranging the bed he'd been in for longer than anyone wanted to be "Yeah, glad to be able to get back to training."

Neji had finally been discharged. In fact, he had been discharged a month ago but his daily activity was constantly monitored by the doctors in charge of following this particular case, so he was still living in the hospital room assigned for him.

The leader of the Clan had suggested taking over Neji's supervision once he got out but Neji didn't want special treatment. He only intended to get back to his normal routine slowly, he agreed to have supervised trainings at the Hyuga grounds as long as he kept his usual independence. Neji had always fended for himself so his workout routine with Tenten would also be part of his day to day life. In addition, they had promised their sensei that they would continue to keep up the morning training of the Gai team.

At some point in the afternoon, his gaze met Tenten's for a few seconds as they packed their few belongings after lunch. Neji didn't know why but during that instant the expectation of freedom dominated the atmosphere.

"So," Said suddenly excited the young woman, pulling him out of his reverie "Shall we go ahead with Lee's 'plan'? Oh come on! You have to admit it's not a bad idea." Tenten added as she saw the hesitant expression on the Hyuga's face.

Ah yes, "the plan", Neji had forgotten about that, a courtesy of his spirited friend Rock Lee. Why was Lee always so energetic?

"Actually I do plan on living fully. I really do have a new lease on life, I don't plan on wasting." Neji said calmly as he continued to gather his few possessions, "Well, maybe not as extreme as Lee or Gai-sensei would like."

They both looked at each other with a grimace of discomfort as they imagined on their own what their sensei's idea of "living to the fullest" would be; it felt like a shiver ran through their respective bodies.

"Definitely, you're right." Expressed Tenten with a slightly chagrined yet amused smile, "We're not going to be running around in green tights doing ridiculous dares or anything like that, but you have to give them credit, those two sure know how to live to the fullest." Tenten commented happily.

"So..." Continued Tenten when everything was organized, "Shall we wait for Lee to get back from his trip? Or is there something you'd like to do when we get out of here?"

So that's what Lee's 'plan' was all about. During one of those moments of conversation while staying in that monochromatic hospital room, their partner Rock Lee proposed that it was time for new experiences now that the world was at peace, Lee claimed that they were in the perfect time to make the most of their youth as they were already close to their twenties. The genius man who were usually more sober than the young man with bushy eyebrows could not refute that logic as it was evident that they had missed a lot of things during their ninja journey.

It was safe to say that they were on vacation as all military activity was limited to reinforcing the security and infrastructure of the city. The team Gai was inactive for obvious reasons, while establishing what their next military ranks and tasks would be Lee proposed to make a list of small or big things that they had not been able to do before and that they would like to do, maybe together or maybe alone. Their idea was to explore the everydayness of what a young civilian did in their spare time, of course, after jogging around the Village for a thousand laps.

Neji and Tenten knew that Lee felt a little lonely now that Gai-sensei could not train with him, so they had decided to accompany him on this new adventure Lee had invented.

After discarding their partner's more eccentric ideas they realized that, it was actually a great idea, so their first big simple adventure would be to spend the day at a waterfall on the outskirts of the Village that wasn't a great distance away so they could come and go in a day. They had been there countless times for training but this time they had decided to go and spend the day quietly, maybe they could swim a little or have some dinner. It was funny to think that they had never before planned to do things that ordinary young people did, other than go to lunch together. They had grown up with the strict discipline of a ninja and hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy the little things, or maybe they just didn't care at that moment.

Perhaps being on the brink of death had changed something in them.

In many moments of loneliness Neji had meditated a lot on that improvised idea of his friend. He didn't need to be a genius to realize that many things had been denied them in their adolescence and youth because of their life circumstances. Neji had never complained about that because it had been his decision to follow that path, although he had to admit that at some point in his life Neji had wished he had been a normal person, perhaps born into another family or in another place.

What Neji had longed for in the deepest part of his heart all his life was to have the freedom to do anything without stopping to think about the consequences. Tenten was right about one thing, green beasts knew how to live at their best.

Those memories made him ponder for a moment; well, the central idea was to improvise, so Neji didn't think too much about it when he said:

"We could go to a bar."

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A story with many twists and surprises.

Clarifications: This story is a translation.

English is not my first language.

The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

This is a fiction made for fans.

You are warned of possible OoC.

AU in the ninja world.

Enjoy the reading!