Author: D.L. SchizoAuthoress
Rating: G
Warnings: none, really. Unless you're put off by fluff-fic and a gratuitous appearance by kittens.
Date: March 13th - 14th, 2006
"Remembrance"
Sometimes, Tenten wishes that they had a different sensei. It wasn't so much any shortcoming of Gai's that made her wish this. She can put up with the strange clothing, the silly poses, the speeches about youth and springtime. But she doesn't like what Lee has become in an effort to emulate Gai-sensei. Tenten remembers the way that Lee used to be, and she prefers that Lee to the chibi-Gai that Lee is now.
----
She remembers how she caught sight of him at the ceremony, in the row behind her and three people down. He'd been peeking out of those longish bangs, glancing at his family in the crowd. She'd noticed his eyes first, because they were unusual -- inky black, and almost perfect circles in his roundish face, with long lashes. A redheaded man in the crowd had similar eyes, so Tenten assumed that this was the boy's father.
Lee had caught her looking, and blushed faintly. Then they'd exchanged shy smiles.
Afterward, as the teachers talked to the parents and the newly accepted students milled about in the crowd, Tenten found the boy again. She'd introduced herself, and found out his name. Rock Lee. Somehow, Tenten felt that he would be important in her life. And she also thought that he was cute with that long braided hair, heavy eyebrows notwithstanding.
----
Tenten admired the way that Lee had worked so hard. Even ranking last in almost all practical areas -- though he rated quite high, strategically and academically -- Lee never gave up. A few of the students would drop out over the course of the first semester, and a few more might lag behind as the year went on. But even with the teachers beginning to give up hope, Lee pressed on. His quick thinking and clever solutions to strategic problems balanced out his mediocre taijutsu and abysmal ninjutsu and genjutsu skills.
But it seemed that fate had it in for Rock Lee. Even in his one area of excellence, he was outshone, especially by Hyuuga Neji. Tenten had noticed Neji on that first day as well. The Hyuuga boy was hard to miss, with those blankly silver-white eyes and all that hair. The bandages and the wide leather strap he wore across his forehead were distinctive as well.
"He must have had extra brain cells transplanted in there," Lee grumbled one time, after it had been announced that Neji had again scored higher than he. Glaring at the offending Hyuuga from beneath thick brows, Lee had whispered to Tenten, "That's why his head is all bound up. To keep his super-brains from leaking out!"
Tenten had giggled like mad at the idea.
----
In the end, though, no one could ignore Lee's shortcomings. The teachers had even had to devise a special test for Lee to graduate from the academy. Because of this, he was rated last of his class. He was paired with Neji, the number one rookie. And Tenten completed the three-man team, with her middle-of-the-road rating.
Disgusted at what he saw as a terrible choice of teammates, Neji sulked. He'd even insulted Tenten, telling her that being average was worse than being a dropout, because it meant that she'd never be acknowledged on her own merit.
"You're more of a loser than the idiot over here," Neji said, indicating Lee. "His eyebrows are so huge, they must crush his brain when he sleeps at night. That's why he's at the bottom of the class."
Lee's eyes had blazed with rage then. He shook a fist in Neji's face, and shouted, "I don't care if you want to insult me, because I'm used to it! But don't say bad things about Tenten! It's rude to insult a lady like that!"
----
Tenten misses that Lee. The Lee who joked with her, who noticed her more often. The Lee that Lee himself pushed aside in his quest to become a great ninja.
Oh, they are still friends. They will always be friends.
But Tenten wonders if she and Lee could be something more...someday...
----
And the old Lee is still there, though probably hiding from the embarrassment of running around in a form-fitting bodysuit. Tenten remembers when her cat Hoshi had kittens. Even Neji couldn't keep up his usual stern expression, and Lee had been absolutely delighted by the little creatures.
His hands, roughened by his training, still handled the small bundle of fur with gentleness. "I wish I could have one," he confesses, "but Fan is allergic to pet dander. Hey, Neji, don't you want a kitten, too?"
Neji looked a bit startled as attention was turned to him. He couldn't hide the grey-and-white mottled kitten that was perched on his head and playing with one of his buckled straps, and for a moment, looked mortified that his teammates had caught him in such an undignified condition. But eventually, his pleasure in playing with the baby animal showed itself. He admitted, "I do. But I wouldn't have time to care for a pet."
"That's all right," Tenten said amiably, "Father wants to sell most of them, anyway. But he likes that kitten," she indicated the one on Neji's head, "as well. We'll probably keep that one."
Hoshi's kittens had probably had a lot to do with bringing them together as a team, off the field as well as on. As Tenten and Lee let Neji become a friend to them, they became a more closely integrated fighting unit.
----
"Hey, did you hear?" Lee asked, touching the target Tenten had painted on one of the training ground dummies. He leaned against the tree that the dummy hung from. "For the first time in five years, there are going to be rookies in the Chuunin Exam."
"Masaka!" Tenten exclaimed in disbelief, flipping the kunai she held, catching it quickly. "It's probably just some stubborn jounin competing with each other or something."
"No, the story is that three of them are students of that Kakashi." Lee responded. All three of Gai's students thought of their sensei's 'eternal rival'.
"That sounds interesting..." Neji commented from his spot, crosslegged beneath one of Tenten's target dummies. There was a smile in his voice, if not on his face.
"But in the end..." Tenten murmured, catching the blade in her hand and flinging it in Neji's direction.
"You have to feel sorry for them." Neji finished. He didn't flinch as the weapon soared toward him. He knew that it would hit its mark on the target. He'd had to retract his previous assessment of Tenten's skills when on the recieving end of her attacks. Average little Tenten had an extremely above-average ability to stike any target she chose with throwing weapons.
Tenten grinned. Despite all the difficult things her team had gone through, despite all the in-fighting and the rise of chibi-Gai in Lee-kun, she knew that they were strong. And nobody would ever feel sorry for them. They were a team to remember.