"Hey, Neji... "
Calloused fingers wring the stem of a brightly colored bouquet of flowers, each blossom specifically picked for its melancholic or otherwise sorrowful meaning. As early in the morning as it is, the air is already thick with humidity and cicadas scream from their hidden perches in the nearby trees. Dew covers the grass, yet to be evaporated by harsh sunlight, the tears of the fallen saturating the ground between gravestones and glimmering in the mid-morning haze.
Summer. It clings to Konoha like wet silk clings to skin, threatening to suffocate anything trapped beneath it. Or was that the tears clawing at the corner of her eyes and the wordless cry knotted in her throat?
"Sorry. I know it's been a while. Business, y'know? Guess I don't have to explain that to you, huh?"
July 3rd. The fourth July 3rd without him. He should be here, at her side, turning twenty-two today. Should be spending the morning meditating beside her while she polished her ever ` 1growing collection of blades, breathing in the thick morning air with an ease that is not afforded to her now. Chest rising and falling, a familiar rhythm to guide her hand and keep her grounded. Peace and quiet - exactly as he preferred it - right up until the moment Lee found them and, with achingly familiar exuberance, forced them back to town for some kind of proper celebration.
Gai-sensei would reserve a table. Hinata and Hanabi-chan would be there, bearing extravagant gifts and gentle smiles that scream 'you are LOVED' in subtle Hyuuga fashion. Naruto would come as well, grinning beside Hinata. They would make jokes at the new couple's expense and when the time came to sit at the table he would sit at her side because that's where he belonged and-
Instead he's six feet beneath her feet and she's polishing a tombstone, brushing dead leaves off the sleak stone and gathering withered flowers in her arm. Lee and Gai-sensei have been here already, if the delicately placed lotus flowers and tea candles are any indication. The Hyuuga sisters, too, and they'd left sunflowers - bright blooms in a vase already turning to seek out the morning sun. It seems, given her choice of pheasant's eye, verbena, and hyacinth, that she's the only one still in mourning.
She and the tombstone stay, but everything around them changes.
"Lee and I just got back from an escort mission in the Land of Rivers. Boring stuff. Worse than when we were genin. You woulda hated it. I saw these beautiful red little red finches, though. They reminded me of you. I counted...sixteen, but you probably would've seen more."
A lull in the conversation while she grasps desperately at the half formed sentences spinning round in her mind. Not that a moment of silence matters. She's holding a conversation with a slab of rock. A very fancy, ornately engraved slab of rock, but it's still stone nonetheless. Cold and unresponsive. With a decent amount of effort, her hand pushes through her hair, shoving still damp bangs out of her face and snagging in unbrushed tangles. She should've put it up. She never remembers to put it up when she comes and she always looks like a disaster. Excellent presentation, Tenten, as always.
"I…"
Love you? Miss you? Too little, too late. She throws herself back onto the ground, keeping her legs crossed so as not to send the flowers atop his grave flying through the air. God, he's not even here and this is difficult. Her hands spread out in the grass, the dew soaking into the back of her shirt. "The sky's pretty today, isn't it?"
Silence again, but her memory provides her with 'yeah, it is' in his voice. A perfect replication, the pitch and timbre etched into her mind. Twenty years could pass and she would never forget it. If only she had told him as much while she'd had the chance.
"Hey, Neji… I wonder... what do you regret?"
—月が綺麗ですね—
It's 5:30 am when a stray sunbeam falls across Tenten's face, rousing her from a particularly blissful dream about sitting beneath a tree next to a handsome young man with dark, silky hair and a face some women would kill for. A peaceful, gently happy countenance and the scent of flowers on the breeze. A vision so heavenly she could have stayed for hours more if not for the treacherous sun and it's blinding light. She rolls onto her side, reaching to scrub at her eyes, and it isn't until her groggy gaze wanders to the clock on her bedside that she realizes she was supposed to have woken up half an hour ago.
SHIT!
Dream forgotten, she bursts into a frantic flurry of movement, crashing through the house in a panicked attempt to compensate for the late start to her day. Overslept-! How could she oversleep? Hadn't she set an alarm? She remembers thinking to herself that she ought to, but then something had distracted her and she can't exactly remember what. Well, whatever it was, it doesn't matter now, does it?
She wrenches the door to the refrigerator open, setting about the daily task of making breakfast for her mother and herself. Something small - if only because she doesn't have time for anything extravagant. Congee. Yes, that'll do. It can cook down while she's in the shower. All the ingredients are haphazardly prepared and then tossed in the pot to cook and she runs off to make herself at least somewhat presentable for the day.
First order of business: a shower. She jumps in without checking the temperature of the water, yelping as it scalds her skin and scrambling to adjust it before it can do more damage. Body - washed. Face - washed. Hair - washed, with some difficulty but only because she hadn't bothered to tame the mess of tangles before getting it wet. In the end, it takes more time to work the shampoo and conditioner into her hair and rinse it out than it would have to brush it beforehand and the whole ordeal completely depletes any time she might have taken to bask in the warmth of the water. She barely takes the time to fully dry herself before dashing off to her room to dress.
Pink and teal. Navy and brown. A cursory glance is all she gives to her kunai and shuriken, buttoning her pouch closed without further inspection. Her fingers run through her hair, pulling out any knots that might interfere with her plan for it before tying it up in two sloppy buns, bangs left damp and unattended to. Out of her eyes and out of her way. She takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror, pressing her lips together.
Not exactly cute, but presentation isn't high on the list of priorities for a young and ambitious kunoichi such as herself. There are more important things to worry about - like if all of her weapons were in working order and rather or not she'd actually be on time and is something burning?
"Shit. Shit. Shit!"
"Tenten!" Her father's voice rings through the house like a clock tower bell - loud and crisp and with a habit of catching her off guard despite it's adherence to a very strict schedule. It's Monday morning, she reminds herself. He's usually gone by the time she wakes up on Monday mornings, but today the graduating class is meeting early to receive their new assignments. Which is exactly why she's late- a change to the schedule. "Language!"
All at once she comes skidding to a halt in the kitchen, blushing either from the effort of getting ready or in response to his scolding. She bends at the waist and clasps her hands together, loudly proclaiming her regret at having used such harsh language and promising not to do it again. A rather overperformed apology, but it's enough for her father.
"I dunno when I'll be home tonight," She starts, watching as he scoops out a bowl of porridge for himself (so much for her breakfast), "Before you leave, can you tell mom-"
"Don't bother. I've heard it all before." Her mother catches her unaware this time, leaning against the wall that leads down the hallway to the bedrooms. There's a bite to her words that's not often directed at Tenten and, in fact, causes her to step away in unconscious anticipation of what typically follows. "Breakfast?"
"Yeah, ma, help yourself-"
"Wait, you made this?" Her head is spinning the second her father speaks up. Don't. Don't. Please, don't. But he does anyway, rounding on her mother with his brow pinched together, "No wonder she's late. You're supposed to be the adult, Chun. Why didn't you wake her up this morning and make her breakfast?"
"Why didn't you?! You've got hands, don't you?"
"You don't do anything all day, Chun! Take some responsibility-"
Soft brown eyes shift from one parental figure to the other, their words fading to an unintelligible ringing in her ears. A breath is sucked in between pursed lips and then exhaled with more effort than needed. As reluctant as she is to do so, she needs to step in. So she raises her hands in a gesture meant to both grab attention and placate, a lopsided smile that barely disguises her discomfort pulling at her lips, "'s no trouble, really! I shoulda woken up earlier than I did. So it's my fault! But I gotta go, so I'll see you both…"
A pause. Just for a moment. Both sets of eyes have shifted to her and she breaks the silence with a tension easing giggle, "Well, whenever I see you! Bye!"
Tenten doesn't wait for a response from either before dashing around the corner and into the entryway.
A hand is placed upon her chest, breathing in and out slowly to steady herself. This is why she never wakes up before she needs to anymore - it's far easier to deal with them separately. And it's not exactly how she'd been planning to spend the morning that she's supposed to meet her new teammates, but what could she expect, really? Regardless, shoes. She's gotta put on her shoes and leave before-
A letter?
Right there, tucked between her sandals, her name sprawled across the delicate stationary in handwriting that's almost too familiar. She picks it up curiously, spinning it between her fingers to get a good look at both sides. No date. No sender information. Not even a mailing address, which begs the question of how it got here in the first place. And to be so gently nestled between her sandals? It's reasonably thick, as well. Undoubtedly a letter of importance, if she's ever seen one. From mom or dad, maybe? But the handwriting so closely resembles her own…
Her finger is hooked beneath the flap when her mother's voice cracks across the wood floor like the snap of a whip. Leave now or you won't get the chance to. She tucks the letter into her pouch, scrambling to put on her shoes and dash out the door lest she be forced to mediate the erupting argument.
The door slams shut just as her father's voice rises to meet her mother's and both of them are drowned out by the early spring wind. She hadn't had a chance to look at the clock before she'd left, but judging by the position of the sun in the sky, if she runs, she can make it.
By her estimate, Tenten arrives at the academy with seconds to spare, cheeks flushed from the effort of running as quickly as she could halfway across town. She barely has time to greet Iruka-sensei, slipping by with a quick nod of the head before shouldering past the sea of other students to take her seat at the front of the classroom for the very last time.
The very last time… The thought strikes her as somewhat nostalgic, lips curling into a smile as she rests her chin in the palm of her hand. She'll never be in this classroom again. Not as a student at least. Though teaching doesn't exactly seem like her style either, so the likelihood of her ever coming back to the academy for anything other than business seems… slim. Which would be sad if not for the bright world blooming before her.
The sound of Iruka pulling the door shut drags her from her thoughts, eyes following him as he wanders towards the front of the room and begins shuffling through his papers to find what he needs. Ah-! That reminds her…
She reaches into her kunai pouch, careful not to nick her hand as she reaches down the side to pull the letter out and once more spin it around in between her fingers. No sender information, no mailing address, and the handwriting looks just like her's. A little frillier, now that she's really looking at it, but it's definitely her own. Her eyes steal a look up at Iruka-sensei, who seems to have finally found the papers he'd been looking for and is clearing his throat in preparation for addressing the class.
There's time. As long as she's discreet and listens to at least every other word, there's time.
Once again her finger hooks under the flap of the letter, pulling upward in a motion that is both firm enough to tear the seal but gentle enough to do so without making too much noise. The papers inside are folded in half over themselves and, just as she'd expected, there's a decent number of pages. Another glance up. Iruka-sensei is going on about how they're all expected to be responsible and mature now that they're no longer academy students. Her gaze shifts back to her hands.
Very carefully, she unfolds the letter and begins reading.
To My Freshly Graduated 12-Year-Old Self,
How are you? Surprised, huh? I bet you're thinking 'great, this is exactly the kind of weird crap I need after the morning I just had' and for that, I'm sorry. I know it's not easy, but I've got a really big favor to ask and, trust me, it's not something that can wait a single day more. For either of us.
Her brow furrows. The letter had to have been delivered before mom and dad's fight this morning and regardless, there's no way anyone could've known about it. She hasn't- she never tells anyone. My freshly graduated 12-year-old self, huh? But that means… it's from herself. Sometime in the future. But- how?
You're a smart kid, so you've probably already guessed but I'm writing this letter ten years in your future. Well, our future, I suppose. I can't really give the specifics of how, just that it's REALLY important that you read this and pay attention, okay? In this letter and the ones that will follow, I'm gonna chronicle the events that are about to happen and the choices that I need you to make so please…
Please don't repeat my mistakes.
● Iruka-sensei ends his speech by saying he's proud of us and looks forward to seeing our future successes.
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I'm proud of all of you and I'm looking forward to seeing all of your future successes as leaf shinobi. But you've been waiting long enough, so how about I go ahead and read these assignments, huh?"
● There are two teams assigned before you.
I don't remember what jonin the first group goes to, only that they're all friends.
The second group is assigned to Hatake Kakashi-sensei.
Brown eyes jerk up from the paper, ears zeroing in on Iruka-sensei's voice. He reads off the names of three of her classmates and declares who they'll be reporting to, the words a muffled blur in her mind as she struggles to process what exactly is going on. Distantly, she hears the newly assigned squad cheering, hollering about how it's so lucky they're all on a team together because they're all such good friends. The sound of it causes her breath to catch in her throat.
No way. It's gotta be some kinda joke, right? Fortune telling and ghost hunting and escapist fantasies are all well and good, but letters from the future specifically written to warn her and tell her exactly what to do-
The next three names are read out and sure enough, the jonin that they're under is none other than Hatake Kakashi. For a second, her ears ring and she feels a little faint. Some wild whim of fate or fanciful stroke of luck and why would something like this fall into her lap when she's so very ordinary in every way? She gives herself a fraction of a second to imagine a future where her and her team are the next trio of legendary ninja before her eyes jolt back down to the paper, curious to see if it can predict the future a third time.
● Your team is third.
Your teammates - Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji.
Your sensei - Might Gai.
"Next up! Tenten. Rock Lee."
No way. No way no way no way.
There's a bout of energetic and somewhat tearful cheering from somewhere behind her. The sound of a chair being pushed back in a rush of excitement and fists being pounded gently against the desk. Rock Lee, no doubt. As excited as if it's the first time he's been told he'd made genin. She wants to look back, curiosity a hot needle in the back of her mind, but her eyes are glued to Iruka-sensei, mouth slightly ajar and fingers curled tightly into the letter in her hands.
"And Hyuuga Neji. The three of you will be overseen by Might Gai."
There's a tone in his voice that screams 'godspeed', despite his best attempts to muffle it. Then, as though nothing unusual had happened (perhaps because nothing out of the ordinary had actually happened to anyone other than her), he continues on with his task.
Immediately, Tenten whirls in her seat, glancing over her shoulder to search the classroom for the two boys who would be her companions for the foreseeable future. Distantly familiar classmates, people she'd observed idly while sharpening kunai or watching them practice. She didn't have a particularly close relationship with either of them, but it's also not as though she's really tried. One sort of kept to himself and the other was something of a social outcast.
Her eyes fall upon Lee first, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. No dignity and no composure, but he's never been able to control himself when fired up or excited. He's at the bottom of the class, from what she understands., with no talent in either ninjutsu or genjutsu and relatively minimal taijutsu skills. But what he lacks for in natural talent, he seems to make up for in effort, having graduated by sheer willpower alone.
She can't argue with the fact that he works his ass off to keep up and for a moment she prays it's a very deeply ingrained character trait, because otherwise she and Neji will be stuck carrying him through most of their missions - an altogether exhausting prospect.
And then her eyes sweep across the room, finding the Hyuuga boy sitting beside the window and she bites the inside of her cheek. This morning, she'd dreamed of a boy with the same calm countenance. With silky brown hair, a face girls would kill for, and eyes that shine like the moon. Had it not been for the letter, she might have put it off as a coincidence. But given the myriad of other supernatural things that seem to be happening today, there's part of her that's fully prepared to believe the dream had been prophetic in nature.
A thought that brings a faint dusting of pink to her cheeks. She'd paid more attention to him than Lee in the past, though their relationship was still minimal at best. She prides herself on being at least somewhat less boy-crazy than the other kunoichis, but she's still a girl. Besides, he's the top of the class - a member of the esteemed Hyuuga clan and an impossibly talented one at that. Even without his looks, there's plenty of reasons for her to have noticed him beyond the typical he's so cute I'm gonna die ones and-
Hell, he's looking this way, isn't he?
Her eyes snap back to the paper and she swears she hears him chuckle, though rather or not it's sarcastic in nature is a mystery she might never solve without confronting the fact that she'd been staring right at him, a conversation she isn't entirely keen on having.
Oh well, there are some questions people are never meant to know the answers to.
○ They're the most important people in my life.
My family.
So please… be sure to treasure them.
There's a splotch on the paper, blurring the words and running the ink somewhat. Just one, though, and for some reason the fact that it is only one rather than multiple tear stains littered across the parchment is… incredibly heart wrenching. She's never been the kind of person who easily sheds tears, a trait she seems to have carried with her into adulthood. Other emotions came more easily - happiness and humor, anger and frustration - but sadness has always been… difficult. Whatever happened, whatever it is that her future self needs her to put right, it must've been a horrific ordeal.
She reaches to brush her finger over the word family, inhaling sharply as she realizes that it's shakily written. Of course. A word that she barely understands, one that carries with it so much weight and so many expectations. It's not one she's ever used in anything but a literal sense, but she can't say she hasn't dreamt of doing so. Of people who support her as much as she supports them. People who show up. People who care about her as more than just another fixture in the house.
People who are happy to have her around.
These two boys, who up until this point she's only been distantly aware of, are those people. And they mean the entire world to her future self. She can see it in the tear upon the paper, the delicate way in which their names were written, and the shake in the word family.
What am I supposed to do with this, Tenten?
"Excuse me, but you are Tenten-san, are you not?"
The voice comes from somewhere on her right and she snaps the letter closed like a child who'd been caught stealing sweets. Iruka-sensei must've finished assigning the rest of her classmates while she'd been attempting to wrap her mind around the information she'd been given. In one motion, she slips the papers back into her pouch and turns in her chair, coming face to face with a grinning boy with the most ridiculous set of eyebrows.
They're the most important people in my life.
"Uh… yeah!" She offers a smile in return, though it by no means matches the size and energy of the one that seems permanently plastered across Lee's face. Neji lingers behind him, somewhat off to the side and while he seems disinterested, Tenten can't help but feel as though he's very actively observing the entire situation. "But I prefer if you just call me Tenten, 'kay?"
"Ah!" A simple kindness, yet Lee reacts as if it's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to him. His eyes light up, smile going somewhat lopsided and fingers curling into a fist. "Then please, Tenten, call me Lee!" He seems to be practically bursting with delight and, try as she might, Tenten finds her heart already swelling at the sight, "And we shall call him just Neji!"
"Wait, no, I didn't-"
But it's too late. Just Lee, Neji, and Tenten. No honorifics. Sort of…
Sort of like a family already.
My family.
She laughs, an arm curling around her stomach. Either because of Lee's extravagant gestures, the composed but still incredibly uncomfortable look on Neji's face, or to release the anxious energy that's been building in her chest over the last forty-five minutes or so. It isn't until a minute or two later, when the laughter subsides, that she realizes the two are both staring at her now with rather quizzical expressions, as though they expect her to explain what exactly had been so funny.
But she doesn't have an answer.
"Alright then, just Lee and just Neji," There's a teasing quality to her voice that she slips into so comfortably, it even manages to take her by surprise, "We probably shouldn't keep this Gai-sensei waiting! I'm pretty eager to see what he's got!"
"As am I!" Lee's voice is warm, with a quality to it that feels like electricity surging beneath her skin. He bounds up the steps leading out of the classroom, two by two, leaving Tenten to fall into step beside Neji. An action that feels… oddly familiar. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches his shoulders relax as Lee races further and further away.
Please, be sure to treasure them.
But something tells her that's one thing her future self didn't need to worry about.
Notes: This is my first fic in over 3 years. Credit where credit's due: it's def inspired by Ichigo Takano's Orange. But there won't be nearly as many misunderstanding and while the fic will focus on Ten's relationship w/ Neji, her relationships with everyone else including her family will also feature very importantly. I hope you enjoyed reading this!