"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire." –Aristotle

A/N: This is actually nothing like what I'd originally planned for this segment. I'd intended to use the prompt "nature" and analyze Neji's post-battle relationship with Hinata from Tenten's PoV. That said, I'm ridiculously proud of how this turned out; I wrote it in two hours; it's now almost midnight. It being almost midnight might be why I think it's so awesome, though.

03: Reason

Tenten slowly drifted to consciousness, cracking one eye open for the briefest of instants before squeezing it shut again, grimacing in pain as what felt like lightning shuddered through her entire body. Then her eyes flew open, and she jolted upright, a terrible shrieking fear freezing her heart in her chest as she stared at her feet, motionless beneath the stiff white hospital sheet. Her spine felt as though it had been severed, and horrific visions of paralysis exploded into the forefront of her mind. Almost afraid to try, she held her breath and tried to wiggle her toes.

They moved, and she managed a sigh of relief between cracked lips. The acrid taste of her own blood still coated her teeth, and a massive bruise probably covered her back, but she would recover. Tenten slumped back against the too-soft pillow and let her eyes flutter shut, overwhelmed for the moment by her minor victory. Eventually, she planted both hands on either side of her and shifted upright against the headboard and examined her surroundings. From the medical equipment beeping softly in an adjacent room and the sterile, lifeless surroundings, she presumed she was in the hospital. Why–?

Ah. The preliminary match. Another grimace, this one more reproachful than painful, twisted her lips at the thought. She'd lost in a matter of minutes to that Sand girl... Temari. How had Lee done? And Neji?

As if her thoughts had summoned him, a reluctant knock sounded at her open door; Neji leaned into her room. "You're finally conscious," he remarked in way of greeting, crossing the room.

Her eyes narrowed, Tenten observed him carefully as he moved to the white-curtained window on the opposite wall. To all appearances, he was completely uninjured. "I take it your match went well?"

"In a manner of speaking," he responded cryptically. Without asking if she wanted the window open, he undid the latch and let the summer breeze waft the curtains, carrying the fresh scent of cut grass and the sound of birds chirping.

"Who did you fight? What about Lee?" Wincing as her back protested at the movement, she forced herself to sit up straight.

"Lee..." He paused, obviously searching for the words.

For the first time since she'd met him a little over a year ago, Tenten saw Neji at a loss for words, and her heart dripped ice water into her veins. "What? What happened?"

"Lee fought that Sand ninja. Gaara." Just the mention of his name was enough to chill the room. Neji turned and stared into the corner, pressing his back to the open window and crossing his arms. "And he lost."

In halting sentences, in as few words as possible, he described the match and the results until Tenten felt sick. Like a child, she pressed her hands to her ears as if by not hearing it, it wouldn't happen. She felt tears welling in her eyes and looked away so Neji wouldn't see them. A heavy silence fell over the room, one the ambient noise filtering through the window couldn't pierce.

One notices the tiniest details when trying to think of other things. For the first time since she'd awoken, she realized that her hair was down, presumably taken out by the medics for some reason that was beyond her abilities to process at this moment. The hair on her arms prickled uncomfortably at the sudden frost that felt like it had covered her entire body, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the sunlight streaming through a crack in the drifting curtains was blindingly bright.

And Neji said nothing. He just continued to stare into that blank corner.

Her tongue feeling like a lead weight in her mouth, she swallowed hard and finally managed to work up the courage to break the silence. "I want to go see him," she whispered.

"You can't." Merciless in its matter-of-factness, he met her eyes unflinchingly. "He's in intensive care. Gai-sensei has all but camped outside his room, and they still won't let him in."

Anger surged through her veins at his callous tone. This wasn't the anger of stories, white-hot in its intensity. This fury was cold, numb, as if it hadn't yet realized its full potential because it still didn't believe it was real. It was cold enough to deaden the pain in her back, and she forced her complaining body off the bed, stumbling to the door with bare feet, wearing nothing but her mesh undershirt and pants.

"Where are you going?" He hadn't moved from his position against the wall, but she could feel his eyes analyzing her every movement.

Her legs wobbled as she spun around, but sheer rage kept her upright. "I'm going to kill that Sand bastard," she growled, grabbing the doorknob for support.

"Can you?"

Those damn eyes, as cold as her wrath, penetrated her soul and silently asked the question lurking in the back of her mind. If she hadn't been able to beat one of the Sand ninja, how was she to have a hope of beating the one who'd fought– and won– against Lee? Fresh tears threatened to swim in her eyes again, but she refused to let them fall, freezing them there as if every liquid in her body had turned to ice. "I'm damn well going to try."

"And when you fail?"

"Don't you mean 'if?'"

Ignoring her bitter retort, Neji returned her glare calmly. "When you fail," he reiterated, "there will be a diplomatic incident of unheard-of proportions. Relations with Sunagakure are strained at the best of times, and this is not the best of times."

"Then what do you want me to do, huh?" Her wrath must have been warming; tears of frustration melted and streamed down her face, and she spun swiftly on her heel to hide her weakness. "You want me to just let this go?" Tenten could hear her voice choking up, and she pressed both hands to her eyes to try and stem the flow. "His entire life was dedicated to becoming a ninja! You should know that better than anyone!" She could feel her heart shattering within her chest, her icy blood thawing and overflowing. "All he wanted to do was surpass you and be recognized and now he'll never be able to do that!" Fists clenching so hard that her knuckles whitened, she fought the urge to slam her hand through the plaster wall dividing her room from the next. "Don't you feel anythi–?"

The summer breeze drifted the curtains, and before she even registered the movement he was behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Shock momentarily halted her tears and stunned her diatribe, widening her brown eyes.

"You think I haven't thought of that?" his voice whispered hoarsely in her ear. "But I know firsthand about the pain following diplomatic disasters, and I don't want to go through that again. I don't want you to go through that."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Tenten turned and buried her face in his chest, feeling the soft fabric soaking up her tears as she clutched his shirt and cried. She could feel the warmth of his body through the holes in her mesh undershirt, felt the strength in his limbs as he gave her what she didn't have. His clothes smelled like sweat and blood; he hadn't changed since the exam.

"Tenten," he murmured eventually. "Train with me."

"What?"

He pulled her closer and rested his chin atop her head, closing his eyes. "Train with me. I'll kill Gaara in the final rounds of the chuunin exam, but I'll need your help. And I'll kill him."

She let her eyes flutter shut, tears leaking from between the lids. "Okay."

There was a strange warmth dripping through her loose hair, but Tenten surmised it must have been sweat from the summer heat. Neji couldn't be crying, too.