Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 1 – Back to routine
"It's not like you to get worked up so much like this" Shikamaru commented, yawning as he took a sip of his tea. The lazy genius was one of the only friends of the stoic athlete, and his reaction with that girl surprised him somewhat, usually the Hyuga would only apply his icy cold glare and move on. But not right now, as he watched his friend still fuming with annoyance.
He only got a grunt as an answer, which didn't really surprise him. Neji was, after all, a man of a few words, his glares did all the talking needed.
"Why are you dragging me around anyway?"
"So you won't miss practice, we start today, remember." Shikamaru feign ignorance, of course he remembered, he even had his practice gear with him, but planned on skipping it, it was too damn soon to start exercising, and was a nice day to cloud watching. Being the setter was too much of a drag, he was made the main setter after the coach saw the incredibly fast and intelligent decisions he would make, always lifting the ball for the best player and getting the adversaries blockers all over the place, not knowing where to block. It was a drag, but the scholarship was nice, so he made an effort for it, a minimal effort.
"How troublesome, thank you for the tea at least. That girl knew what she was doing" He hit a nerve, as the Hyuga glared at him. Shikamaru discarded his empty cup in the trash ignoring the daggers that Neji was throwing at him, "What was the big deal anyway? She only commented that because she really never seen eyes like yours, or your family, which you have to agree that are different."
"You do not address a person like that, especially not a Hyuga" Ah, there was the thing, family pride. Shikamaru knew that Neji was too prideful, and he had an itch that what really pissed him off wasn't her comment, was the fact that she didn't know who he was, and the fact that she didn't care. Always being called a genius and the high expectations that his uncle put on him made him think that he was above everyone else. His clan being one of the top clans of the country didn't help that matter at all.
It would be a pain in the ass to touch all this subject, so Shikamaru just opted the easy way out, yawning and moving on.
Reaching the training facilities, both young men changed to their uniform and headed for the court, where they were greeted by the remaining of the team.
"Neji! My eternal rival! How was your youthful summer break?" A boy with huge eyebrows and a bowl cut came running to meet both men.
"Lee" Was Neij's only answer as he passed by Rock Lee. Shikamaru made a gesture that indicated the bad mood of the Hyuga, which everyone understood minus Lee.
"I challenge you to a serve competition, hitting bottles on the other side of the field! If I lose, I'll run a hundred laps around college!" Everyone sweat dropped and chose to resume what they were doing, it was really better to leave them be. Neji was about to retort when their fitness coach emerged from the front doors. His equal bowl cut shining brightly.
"Lee, I am most moved by your youthful spirit, challenging other players so both can improve" Might Guy was a very… youthful man, who Lee watched as a father figure, him being his tutor from early age. Neji didn't care much, he turned his attention to warming up. "But Lee, you have to think higher! Why only a hundred laps? Why not pump up the stakes! Go for three hundred!"
It was no surprise, to anyone present there, how the next scene developed. In cries of youthful, both Lee and Guy just went for the laps, without even doing a contest.
"I wonder how they can have all that energy" Naruto, a blonde guy with blue eyes questioned.
"Looks who's talking, you too have an infinite font of energy" a guy with spiky brown hair answered, prompting Naruto to point a finger at him.
"You too! Always going on runs with your dog!"
"Honestly, you both and Lee have way too much energy" Shikamaru commented, laying on the ground, ready to take a nap.
"And you are too lazy!" Both Naruto and Kiba said at the same time.
Neji only ignored the turmoil his teammates were throwing, it was always like this. Hopefully all this loudness wouldn't scare potential freshman's or new recruits. Their team was good, yes, but it relied mostly on his year students. The older ones started to dedicate themselves more to studies, only coming to practice to keep their full or partial scholarship. New blood would be good for the far future of the team.
"Hyuga" A man with onyx eyes greeted him, alongside him was another man with really pale skin and short black heir smiled. Sasuke and Sai, the other quiet members of the team, which Neji was glad that not everyone was as loud as the others.
"Uchiha, Sai" He greeted both, and resumed his warmup routine. Both men joined him in silence. Soon enough, their coach, Jiraya, arrived.
"Hello my dear students! I saw that Lee and Guy are already running, lets leave them like that for now. We will start with the usual laps, then we will practice spikes, reception, and serves. We will have a game in the last 30 min of practice." And with that, practice started.
By the end of practice, Neji was exhausted. Jiraya wasn't so crazy as Guy, but his trainings were still very physical demanding. Fortunately, his bad mood eased, the soreness of muscles taking away the stress later present.
After a shower and changing back to his usual attire, Neji left for his dorm. On his way, he could see Lee and Guy still running, which made him shudder. Deep down he was glad to have Lee on the team. The guy was a beast in the court, and with him they didn't have to deal so much with the crazy work outs of Might Guy.
Picking up his pace, Neji avoided being seen by the two beasts.
The end of the turn was finally upon her, and Tenten was glad. Working with Ivan was fun, but still, make drinks all afternoon, while having classes all morning, was tiring.
"Finally, we can go rest" she said, bouncing a little from happiness. Finally, she could go throw herself at her bed.
"Don't even tell me, I'll miss you tomorrow though" Ivan commented, Tenten smiled. Tomorrow was her day off, she had practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday's mornings. She wasn't a morning person, but for practice she had no problem waking up.
"Who knows, maybe a knight in shining armor will be your partner tomorrow" She joked, "Just hope that he or she isn't like that Hyuga guy…"
"Oh, but I wouldn't mind looking at someone like that, would be a refresh for the eyes. Not that you are not beautiful dear, but you know my preferences" Ivan grinned. Tenten laughed it off, a person like Ivan would have no trouble making friends with whoever was tomorrow.
Both walked chatting about how their classes were, and how they would need their study sessions in the future. Ivan had made a habit of walking her to her dorm, even when she said that it really wasn't necessary, they were on the campus, and was supposedly safe, but Ivan was a gentleman. He was stronger and taller than her, so he had a stronger presence. She always wondered why he wouldn't go to any clubs, he had the athleticism after all, but he always said that seeing a lot of sweaty men wouldn't do good for his heart.
On their way, they could see what seemed like the silhouette of two figures, running around the campus. Tenten knew exactly who were. Her tutor and somewhat brother figure. Not wanting to know what they were up to, she hurried Ivan so they could make it before the self-proclaimed green beasts of Konoha saw them.
Fortunately, they made it safe to her dorm, where she said her goodbyes and headed inside, ready for a shower. Tenten shared her room with another person, who she really didn't knew who was. She just left her things this morning and went to class, if she stayed any more, she would end up sleeping and missing class. By that time her roommate hadn't arrive yet, so she had yet to meet her companion for the year.
Upon arriving, she saw that her companion did arrive, her things were neatly organized around her part of the room, but the person in question wasn't there. Deciding to take a shower first then eat her dinner, Tenten went for a shower.
Letting the warm water run through her body relaxed her tense muscles after a long day. She smiled to herself, tomorrow would be even more tiring, but practice was always good for her, it cleared her mind. Finishing the shower, Tenten put her pajamas, and for her surprise the girl arrived.
Upon opening the door, a girl with long dark blue hair, and some very unique set of eyes met hers, and terror shot through Tenten's body. All she could do was just stare the girl, who blushed and lowered her gaze, playing with her fingers, until after some seconds, she offered a smile for Tenten.
"H-hi, I'm Hinata Hyuga. N-nice to meet you" What shocked Tenten more, was that the girl was the complete opposite of the other person who had the almost same eyes.
TBC
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Reviews and recommendations are always welcome!
I apologize for gramar erros.
See you around and be safe!
