She always wore glasses. Her grandpa told her to, and thus, Tenten kept her glasses on and only took them off when she goes to bed. And when she wakes up the first thing she does is reach out and puts them on. She then changes into some new clothes and puts her hair in long brown plaits that rest nicely over her shoulders. Then, she heads down the stairs to find her strict but kind grandpa cooking breakfast.
"Why do you wear glasses? I bet your vision isn't that bad, and even if it were, you can get contacts," her best friend Neji says as he, her other best friend Lee, and her walk down the familiar road to school. They are in middle school, in the same class with the same teacher, and even plan on attending high school together. Neji is Hinata's older cousin, and he does not like his uncle. Rock Lee is funny-looking, but his heart is always in the right place.
Tenten shrugs. "Grandpa won't get me them," she explains laconically. "He told me to always wear glasses, so that's what I do. How can I see what the teacher's writing if I don't wear my glasses?" She playfully taps her friend on the nose and turns back to walking.
Neji grumbles and rubs his nose like she had burned him. He mutters, "I don't get it." But he does not continue arguing.
At school their class is known to have the most rowdy kids, but also the smartest. They all tested into this course, the seminar program, and thus their class is smaller and they are taught away from the regular classes. Most of the other classes do not like them because they believe that all of them are the stereotypical nerds, or just really bizarre. Because of this, they have become one big circle of friends. Naruto is the class-clown, while Sasuke is the boy all the good girls want. Ino is the most popular kid at school, actually one of the few who is accepted by the outside classes, and Sakura is her long-time childhood friend/eternal rival. Shino and Kiba fight, and Shikamaru sleeps while Chouji eats. No one wears glasses except Tenten and Shino (who has highly sensitive eyes and wears sunglasses, not because he has poor sight), and thus she is referred to as "Specs" by the class foreign-exchange student, Sai.
"Looking good, Specs," the boy says when they enter the classroom. He smiles and twirls his pencil in his hand.
"Thanks!" Tenten says, uncaring if he really means it or not. Sai says whatever he wants, so she learned to take it at face value.
The class is made so that they sit in semi-circular tables to face the teacher. Iruka also devised it so that most tables had at least one female at them - with the exception that Sai sits at Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's table - and is also the reason why Lee, Tenten, and Neji are best friends in the first place. They sit near the back, mainly because Neji has the highest grades in class and thus does not need to be taught while Tenten is assumed to be able to see the board even though she studies with Neji, and because what Lee lacks in academics his two 'most youthfully radiant' best friends in the whole wide world make sure he passes the eight grade.
And despite the class being a close-knitted circle, smaller factions make up the entire group. They refer to these factions as 'teams' based on their favorite teacher is. Team Kakashi, their janitor who is always messing with students and never on the job; Team Kurenai, the school's counselor who is always there for the students and is actually efficient at her job; Team Asuma, the school principal who tries to quit smoking and may or may not be flirting with a raven-haired red-eyed woman; and Team Gai, the gym teacher who is half-crazy half-awesome and all youth.
Taking her seat in the middle of the human ice cube and the most exuberant hothead (rivaled only by Naruto), Tenten diligently listens to their teacher Iruka open up the day by teaching them the newest lesson in geometry. They are not called geeks and nerds from the outside students for nothing. Tenten finds that she is having trouble understanding the problem, and pours more of her attention into the lesson. So much, that she does not notice when Neji's hand reaches for her glasses or that Lee is watching as if the long-haired male is tentatively shoving his hand into the mouth of a lion's gaping maw.
At first, the numbers on the board were crystal-clear, but Tenten feels a whoosh of air and a feeling of lightness on the bridge of her nose... and she can still see the numbers perfectly. She shrieks. "Neji! Give those back!" She makes a grab for them, but he pulls them out of reach. She grabs his long hair and privately takes pleasure in the look of pain now etched onto his proud features. Her glasses are still in his hands though, and Tenten hears her grandpa's words echo in the back of her mind.
"Never take your glasses off, Tenten. Only when you are sleeping and your eyes are closed underneath your blanket are you permitted to take them off. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Grandpa."
Iruka is at them in a second, retrieving Tenten's glasses for her and scolding Neji with lunch detention. She is miffed when she puts them on, not because they were stolen, but because they didn't change her vision like Neji had predicted. The look of smug triumphant on his face tells her that he knows this as well as she does, but she ignores him angrily and sticks her tongue out at him when the teacher is no longer looking.
Naruto is laughing at Neji's 'display of affection' while Sasuke smirks at the impulsive move the Hyuuga is not known for. Neji's cousin looks at him worriedly, wondering if he had forgotten to take his medication. Neji high-fives Lee underneath the table, making sure to give knowing looks at Tenten until the lunch bell rings.
As Tenten and Lee sit at the usual place all of their class eats, mostly from being ostracized by the 'normal' kids, she cannot help but realize that Neji is right once again. The insufferable genius! She bites into her peanut butter sandwich with more force than necessary, causing Lee's eyes to look at her with wide eyes. She turns away from him, blushing. Most people thought that she'd develop a crush on Neji, what with all of their teasing banter, but her sights are set more on the horribly dense yet adorably kind Rock Lee. If only he wasn't into Sakura...
Tenten sighs and looks above them. Their class is said to be 'Hidden in the Leaves' due to always eating under the large tree far away from the regular lunch tables. The tree, a might old beast nicknamed Sarutobi, stands tall and strong with a thick trunk and many twining branches. It offers a cool shade during the hotter months and a place to stay for those that do not belong. Even though they're not accepted, 'Konoha' takes pride in their differences.
Adjusting her glasses, Tenten aims her sights for the highest point of the tree, and slowly pulls the specs out of the way. The top leaf blurs a bit, but otherwise it is crisply outline and detected amongst all of the other leaves. Her fears have been confirmed, and now she wonders how she will approach her grandpa like this. She could never dare to accuse him for he is a strict, almost overbearing man and she loves him. But she cannot deny her suspicions either. And just when Tenten is about to put her glasses back on, deciding that she will just keep it a secret - Neji can stuff it for all he cares, the arrogant little ass - she spies something moving amongst the branches. Looking about, Tenten sees that all of then sans Neji (lunch detention - for taking her glasses), Naruto (lunch detention - for getting paint on Sakura's face), and Kiba (lunch detention - for trying to smuggle his dog into class again) are idly eating their food underneath the shade. None of the other kids dare get near them, and the branches are thick enough to support a twelve-year-old child... so who was up there?
Her inquires are answered when something definitely not kid-shaped falls down from between the branches. It looks likes a snake of sorts, with an elongated body, yet has one bulbous eye scanning around and a short, wide beak at the front. It does not see her watch it as it slithers up to behind Sasuke. Tenten thinks that Sasuke will see it, his swirling black eyes almost as good as Neji's, but to her surprise she watches as the snake-bird thing reaches over his boxed lunch and swallows a baby tomato whole. Then it takes its sweet time leaving, lazily going back to the tree and pulling itself up lackadaisically. Until it sees her watching it.
Tenten makes a surprised noise in the back of her throat when she watches the inky black snake scramble up to the foliage. Her gaze follows it up and the snake is looking at her back with its one widened, panicked eye.
"Tenten?" Lee asks inquisitively, pulling the brunette back from her staring-contest. Flustered, she turns to the other, who looks at her with concern. "You took off you glasses, and I never saw you do that before. Is it Neji? Has he made you self-conscious about your youthful appearance? Tenten, you are always a blossoming flower in my book, so do not let his unyouthful words hurt you!" He grins and gives her the thumbs-up. There it was, why Tenten likes Lee so much. His sincerity warms her heart as she forgots all about the snake, the one now making a beeline for behind the tree to escape her wandering stare, and she smiles happily.
"No, it's not Neji. I'm just worried about the geometry. I didn't get the theorem Iruka was using." It was a half-truth, but she wasn't about to talk about something so crazy even Konoha found her weird. She feels the smooth window flow through her brais and it caresses her skin. Neji walks up to them, back from lunch detention. He sees the way Tenten is smiling and blushing at Lee and he scowls indignantly. But then he notices that her glasses are off and that she has taken them off herself.
He smirks and does not need to talk. Tenten's wonderfully serene expression dissolves into an irritated pout and Neji tries hard to ignore it. I told you so.
Tenten's eyes glimmer dangerously. Shut up! I still need glasses!
Neji tilts his head to the side, nose in the air tauntingly. Really?
Lee is fixated with their silent transaction.
The girl crosses her arms over her chest. Yes. I can't see the top of the tree. My Grandpa's right about my vision.
The boy copies her, but with an air of refined attitude. Maybe it's because the glasses are actually harming you sight?
The challenge tightens between them like a knotted cord. Tenten hesitates for one second, and suddenly the battle is won. Neji's smirk is ungodly as he takes a step forward to her and points to his own eyes. "Twenty-twenty," he says with that superior tone of his. "When was the last time you've been to the optometrist, Tenten? Surely one will say that your vision is fine."
"Shizune takes health exams every year, Hyuuga," Tenten tells him, stressing his last name with a frown. By now, the other kids have taken notice of their squabble. They are also interested in Tenten's glasses. "She has not told my Grandpa that I didn't need my glasses, so why don't you just stuff it." She turns away from him pointedly, their distance enough for her to whack him in the nose with her swept braids. He frowns, because now he knows that he has truly made her upset.
Tenten does not talk to him for the rest of lunch, conversely a bit with the other girls and flushing when talking with Lee. She is so engrossed with ignoring a very irritated male Hyuuga that she does not see the one-eyed snake-bird has returned to watch her with much curiosity, hiding itself amongst the leaves. And it brought friends.
As they all walk back home, Team Gai and Team Kurenai bid farewell to Team Asuma and Team Kakashi, mainly because they all live on different sides of the city. Team Kurenai is usually behind Team Gai, the bridge between them being the very shy but generous Hinata and the cold and sadistic Neji. Today Neji is not the aloof genius he is known for, but a common school bully. He is pulling at Tenten's braids as she walks, stepping on the back of her heels, and pinching her skin beneath her clothes. Each time he does this, she turns to him with steely in her eyes and he pretends that he is innocent.
Kiba cackles behind them. "Neji, that's not how you get a girlfriend!" His loyal companion Akamaru, who waits patiently for him whenever school lets out, yips in agreement from atop his head. "What are you, a first grader?" His jeering stops when Neji raises a fist. Kiba has not forgotten how hard the guy had punched him for his last remark that revolved around 'Tenten hitting puberty' and 'Neji Hyuuga becoming a full-fledged adolescent during gym'. Ah, kids.
"Neji, seriously, stop!" Tenten cries when he returns his attentions to her hair and nearly yanks her hair tie off. "Stop being such a jerk! You've got long hair too, put those in brais and pull them yourself if you love them so much!" Her scorn stings, but only mildly this time. It is not until Lee steps in that Neji's blood begins to boil.
"She's right, my eternal rival. Girls are to be treated with respect. What would your youthful reaction be if someone were to pull on your braids?" She looks at the fish-eyed bushy-browed bowl-cut haired young man like a knight in shining armor.
Neji grumbles and stops his antics. "I don't wear plaits, Lee." His words are ice as he suspends them all in awkward tension.
They stop by Shino and Kiba's neighborhood, then Lee's, and finally Tenten's. Neji and Hinata wait on the curb as Tenten skips to her doorstep of the cozy two-story little house that is painted a light blue and her rollerskates still thrown on the lawn.
"See ya tomorrow!" She giggles, the day's events far too strange to take seriously. So she doesn't.
Neji raises a hand in his form of a 'wave' while Hinata gives her usual shy smile. "See you tomorrow, Tenten," she says, stuttering a bit and playing with her fingers. Neji gives her one final look that conveys a hidden command to her. She sticks her tongue out at him and he smirks before the two cousins leave for their own house at the far side of the area.
Running up to her room knowing that her grandpa enjoys his privacy, Tenten heads to her bedroom and flicks the light on. It is a simply room with forest green walls and a bed on the right one. Many posters of action movies are hung up around her, especially of the ones that involve the badass heroine as the main protagonist, the independent woman that bites back at her male suitors and is the one that drags him along in the relationship. Those movies make her giddy, knowing that females can be just as good as males. On the wall opposite of her right now is the closed window with a simply white curtain. Her floor is a dark mahogany and she has a large alabaster rug in the middle that is a picture of Bambi surrounded by all of the forest creatures in winter.
Opposite of her bed is a thick wooden desk with a rolling chair, a laptop and her school books with several baubles and toys strewn haphazardly on top. On her left there is an enormous bookcase, for her grandpa values knowledge above all else. She had taken on the habit, and can be entertained for hours with a good thesaurus or encyclopedia, or even the wayward bibliography. She has plenty books about romance and schadenfreude comedy though. Those are her favorite and she admits it to no one.
Above her is a fan combined with a light, and it whirs slowly to refresh her from the warm afternoon. Summer was encroaching. Sitting at her desk, Tenten gets her homework done as efficiently as she can, doing the problems she is good at first before mulling over the ones that are harder. When her geometry gives her trouble, she decides that she will ask Neji about it later. He was a nuisance ever since he took her glasses, and she was not about to forgive him yet. Kid needed to get pushes down a peg or two once in a while.
So she does it the best she can and takes a shower before her grandpa calls her down for dinner. Meals are simple; her grandpa believes that it is not practical to spend so much time on something that will only last a few hours. Plus, he is not the greatest of cooks with his creaky joints, and employs his granddaughter's assistance with the heavy pot to make their pasta. As they eat, Tenten needs no prompting to regale tales of her school day, talking about this and that with enthusiasm. She tactfully leaves out Neji's harassment, knowing that it will only get her grandpa upset and Hiashi involved, which will only become more aggravating.
But just thinking about him makes her question her grandpa. He is a practical man, living by logic alone. He raised Tenten with the necessities, never giving her unneeded praise and does not overly punish her even if he is angry. He has already envisioned her going to college and picking up a suitable job that is not too middle-class but not stifling to her creativity. When she is fifteen she will get a job and her learner's permit. She will be the one to earn enough money to get a car, and when she turns eighteen she will begin paying rent. She knows because her grandpa tells her about it like it will flow out of her head if he does not remind her.
Sure, her grandpa is strict and overbearing, but she loves him because she knows that he cares, and thus she never takes her glasses off.
When she is ready for bed though, Tenten hears her friend's defiant tone, sees his arrogance grin, and can fell the remnants of him grabbing at her braids as she frees them for the night. Turning off the lights, Tenten hesitates above getting under the covers before taking her glasses off. Just once, she promises, and pulls the obtrusive mirrors from her face. All she sees is her dark room, the fan spinning slowly above her while her grandpa snores loudly in the room over.
Huffing, she sets her glasses on the nightstand beside her and ducks her head underneath. For the first time, Neji is wrong.
A/N: Part one of two. This AU is not based on anything I just thought it up.
