Chapter Seven: Scaling Up
Lee was getting better.
Tenten was forced to cede ground beneath his onslaught as he kicked, punched, and moved around. Her own hands were moving to try and keep him at bay, shifting her stance. Finally, Lee overextended, and Tenten caught his arm. She used his own momentum against him, and judo threw him onto the ground.
Lee landed and spun back into a stance. "You are indeed skilled, Tenten. I will have to work hard to defeat you."
"I uh, thanks," said Tenten, not feeling particularly skilled.
"It's not that she is skilled, Lee," said Neji. "You just have little to no talent whatsoever."
"If I have no talent, then I will simply beat the odds by working harder," said Lee simply.
Tenten crossed her arms. "That attitude is kind of familiar.
"Have you ever met a guy named Might Guy?"
"Yes!" said Lee enthusiastically. "He is the one who inspired me to stay as a ninja! It is his teachings that have seen to it that I continue to train, no matter how many times I fail."
"Your time might be better spent on something you can build a career out of," noted Neji.
"Those are bold words, Neji," said Lee, motioning in a challenge. "Care to back them up?"
Neji sighed. "...Gladly."
And so began a short, confusing, and one-sided brawl that ended with Lee flat on his back. Neji remained still and calm, face expressionless.
"Ow..." murmured Lee.
"Hey, knock it off, you guys," said Tenten. "I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?" asked Neji.
The idea had come to Tenten very suddenly when she'd gotten up in the morning. Almost a little too suddenly, but it had seemed to fit. Once she'd run the numbers, she'd finally decided on a course of action. And for some reason, Tenten felt like she had to get to work right away. "Lee, Neji, do you want to earn some money off the books really easy and get some training in at the same time?"
"Do I?" asked Lee. "That sounds like an excellent idea."
"Why are you asking me?" asked Neji, as close to confused as he ever got.
"Well, you guys are sort of the closest thing I have to friends around here, so..." Tenten shifted.
Lee began to cry very manly tears. "That is so beautiful! I would be honored to call you my friend, Tenten! You need only ask!"
"Er... thank you..." said Tenten. Why did her associates have to be so weird?
"What exactly do you have in mind?" asked Neji.
"I run a street cleaning service where I charge a small fee to clean the outside of certain houses," said Tenten. "I also do other odd jobs, painting fences and such. Individually, each house gets me a decent amount of income, but I think it could be way higher than it is now.
"See, I've been running the numbers, and I think that with a team, I could do way more. So much more work that, even split three ways, we'd make a killing."
"I could certainly use the money," said Lee. "I fear that I have been living off a fairly meager stipend from the Hokage."
"What, so everybody gets a stipend but me?" asked Tenten, feeling a bit offended now.
"I do not understand," said Lee. "My family were ninja, while yours were not."
Oh, that made sense. Veterans pay or whatever. "Right, good point Lee.
"Neji, you up?"
"What could make you think I would want to involve myself in this?" asked Neji flatly.
"Well, doing chores actually helps a lot with building muscle," said Tenten. "And anyway, I've been doing some reading. It turns out most starting ninja does a lot of D ranks, which mostly involve this kind of thing.
"So, if we get a head start on this, we'll be able to do it far better than everyone else. We might even be able to corner the market on D ranks!"
"...Is your goal in life to become a handyman, Tenten?" asked Neji flatly.
"No, but it'll help us with training," said Tenten. "It'll make us some disposable income, and it's not like you have anything better to do."
"I'll have you know that there are numerous other, important duties I fulfill. The Hyuga family in my spare hours" said Neji.
"Really? What are those?" asked Tenten.
Neji paused. "...Erm, being forced to fight Hiashi's daughter, Hinata. I suspect the Elders will be sending me into another match.
"She's timid by nature and doesn't fight back. Hiashi expects me to attack her aggressively in spars in the hopes she'll get a killer instinct. And if I don't cooperate, they activate the pain receptors in my brain.
"They also do it if I get too aggressive."
"And you would rather be doing that than odd jobs?" asked Tenten. Something else was going on here, wasn't it?
"I also spend time observing the Main Clan practice the techniques I am not allowed to learn," said Neji.
"Really wowing me with your excuses here, Neji," said Tenten.
"This isn't the point, Tenten," said Neji. "Doing menial labor for a pittance of pay is beneath my dignity."
"But you're going to have to do it anyway when you start D ranks aren't you?" asked Tenten.
"Yes," said Neji reluctantly.
"So wouldn't it be better to get used to it now?" asked Tenten. "I mean, you're the one always going on about destiny. It's your destiny to mop floors when you graduate. Aren't you the one who says destiny cannot be-"
"Just give me the damn mop!" snapped Neji.
"Great, we'll see if we can burrow two others and we'll get started with our rounds," said Tenten.
"Right now?" asked Neji.
"When are we going to have a better time?" asked Neji. "Come on."
And so Tenten distributed the equipment they had bought this morning. They headed to their first mark. They found Ino waiting for her as she'd gotten into the habit of doing. "Oh, Tenten, you're here.
"I gotta tell you, this is a lifesaver-
"Uh, who are your friends?"
"Oh, they'll be helping me out," said Tenten. "Don't worry, our pay is still the same as mine was. We're splitting it three ways."
"Right, great," said Ino. "Anyway, I have to water the roses."
"Don't worry," said Tenten. "We'll handle it.
"Alright, now I'll show you the ropes."
And so began Tenten's period of instructing Neji and Lee in the art of doing menial chores. Lee seemed incredibly enthusiastic and followed her directives without hesitation. Neji did as well; however, he had a very focused expression. Like he was hating every minute of this but didn't want to admit this. And was also unwilling to quit, but also unwilling to admit why he wouldn't quit.
"No, no, put your back into it!" said Tenten. "Move faster. We've got other places to do, Neji."
"Will you stop yelling at me? I am perfectly capable of doing all this," said Neji, who had started to lag behind Lee. "Why is this... so... difficult."
"Because you're taking a lot of positions that we never take in sparring practice," said Tenten. "Doing this is using muscles we haven't trained as much in. The academy trains us in muscles you use while fighting. Now quit your whining and work."
They finished quickly. Neji and Lee were both enthusiastic and willing to learn. Unfortunately, Neji had an attitude problem. And he kept missing places on the street and having to go back for them. Eventually, Ino came out and looked at them. "Oh, done already?"
"Yes, ma'am, we finished right on time," said Tenten.
"Great, here's your pay," said Ino. "This is a huge help. How did you get Neji to help with this anyway?"
Neji's silence was blood-chilling.
"Nevermind, I uh... let's drop it," said Ino.
Tenten took her money and wondered how Neji knew Ino. "Right, we'll head out."
At that moment, Naruto Uzumaki sped by them, with two open buckets of paint, pursued by Chunin. As he passed, paint splashed from the buckets, and Neji rolled out of the way. However, it got all over the cobblestones, destroying an hour's work.
"Ahahahaha! You'll never catch me!" said Naruto.
"Get back here!" said his pursuers.
"Oh no," said Tenten, putting her face in her hands. "Neji, Lee, we're going back."
"But we finished," said Neji. "The letter of our contract clearly indicates-"
"I don't care about the letter of our contract, Neji!" said Tenten. "We got hired to do a job, and Naruto had wrecked it. Well, we're not leaving it half done, even if it is half done and is not our fault! That's not how professionals do things!"
"Honestly, what is his problem!" said Ino. "Now there's paint all over the street. And the walls."
"Don't worry, Ino, we'll take care of it on the house," said Tenten.
Ino nodded. "Right, thanks, I guess. You're a real lifesaver."
"Do we not have other appointments to make?" asked Neji. "If we come back later-"
"Yeah, but we saved a lot of time," said Tenten. "If we finish up here, we should be able to get there right on time. Now put your backs into it, this is a job, not a vacation!"
"Why did I agree to this?" murmured Neji.
Neji was a bit of a complainer, actually.
It was rather odd to see him like this. In the academy, he was the example of perfection every instructor spoke of. Here, however, he was lagging behind her and Lee and had a far worse attitude about it. Not that he wasn't doing the work, and he seemed like he was trying to be professional. But you could tell by how he worked, how he missed spots, that he was out of his depth. Not to mention that he did not want to be here.
So why was he here?
Tenten had picked him because an impulse had told her his Byakugan could come in handy. It had seemed very important that he be part of the group. Urgent, even, but she couldn't say why.
Whatever the reason, though, Neji looked increasingly miserable as things went on. Several different people remarked on a Hyuga working in such a lowly position. Tenten realized this was a humiliation for him. So why had he agreed to it?
Either way, his complaints fell away as they cleaned the street. He began working, still looking miserable as he did so. Tenten tried to focus him on parts of the job that were harder to screw up, and he did okay. Yet, he was becoming aware of his own failings.
Why was Neji still here anyway? She wouldn't have minded if he'd backed off.
But, either way, he stayed with them the entire way, as if by compulsion. So Tenten decided not to hold his performance against him. He'd do better next time. "Okay, we finally finished our rounds! Good work, team!"
"I... must confess, I have used some muscles that I did not by training in the academy," said Lee, who looked a bit sore. "How did you come by this strategy for training, Tenten?"
"Oh, I needed the money and saw an opportunity to earn some," said Tenten. "After a bit of work, I figured out that I could practice the movements we use in martial arts while doing it."
"It does seem to be effective," said Lee.
Neji remained completely silent. He was looking at one hand with eyes that seemed almost glazed over. Was someone forcing him to be here or something? Lee also noticed it.
"...Hmm, we actually completed all that faster than I expected," said Tenten. "If we can keep this kind of pace up, I might be able to expand our business ventures."
"You seem to be a natural at this career path," said Neji finally. His usual detachment held a note of bitterness.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free!" said Tenten, before noticing what his statement meant. "Hey!
"I'm not going to be cleaning streets forever, you know! Once I've graduated, I'm going to be a great ninja like Tsunade!"
"Believe what you will," said Neji, almost in a trance. "You cannot change your fate."
Tenten should have known Neji wouldn't be a good sport about all this. Even if he was making money. She clenched a fist as he walked off, but somehow he looked... broken. Why? He'd done fine for the first day. "Grr, Neji is so frustrating sometimes."
"I believe he was hurt, long ago," said Rock Lee. "He has put a wall around his heart and defends it by snide commentary. But he is a good person beneath it."
"Where do you get that idea?" asked Tenten.
"Everyone is a good person beneath the surface," said Rock Lee. "You need to work hard enough to bring it out, Tenten."
Tenten sighed. "Well, anyway, I've got to work on a jutsu I've been trying to master."
"Really, what is it?" asked Lee.
"It's based around sealing inanimate objects into a scroll," said Tenten. "Then, when you open it, you can summon them right away. For instance, I could store this mop without any space.
"I always used to seal weapon shipments in them. But now, I'm trying to seal things in different ways. Like, sealing a weapon in it, so when I unseal it, it flies out."
"Wow, Tenten!" said Rock Lee. "That is an amazing jutsu! I am proud to be called your friend!"
"Great, I need to go," said Tenten. "I've got some plans for expanding business into the Uchiha district I need to make."
"Then I shall leave you to it!" Rock Lee raced off.
Tenten thought about why she'd chosen the Uchiha District. Wouldn't the Nara or Yamanaka make more sense? Ino could recommend her. And the Uchiha were suspicious to outsiders, so...
Come to think of it, Tenten could think of a dozen reasons not to go to the Uchiha district. Overcrowding meant somebody already had her job. Everyone in the place had mind control, hypnosis powers. And she might end up wasting the effort anyway since they'd turn her back at the front gate. Her feeling that she needed to go their first, and soon at that, was weird.
Something in all this didn't add up.
But it was none of Tenten's business anyway. So she pushed her doubts to one side and focused on cooking dinner. Yet something inside her told her things were not as they seemed.