A/N: Apologies to everyone; this was completed on Sunday to be submitted for the Night of Sevens challenge on NejiTen, but due to a glitch on FFnet's part (it kept telling me there was an error with the login/submission area and to try again in five minutes... it didn't work in five minutes-- this is my first time able to access my account) these chapters are only being uploaded now. Sorry, and please enjoy the closing episodes!

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

06: Habit

It was early yet. The sun had just begun to peek over the edges of the horizon as Tenten sat alone in the center of Team Gai's familiar training field, breathing slowly through her nose as she attempted to clear her mind. Clasping her hands before her, she formed the most basic of seals and focused her Chakra, concentrating on sensing the subtle weave of the energy flow within her own body.

Her teeth gritted with a sudden burst of anger, but she breathed in slowly through her nose and attempted to dispel it through an exhale, consciously forcing herself to relax. Inhale. Exhale. Envision white. Envision black. Chakra.

One by one, she felt her muscles tense and relax under her will, letting her anger flow into the ground.

It stung a little, the feeling of being the only one left behind as the rest of her team left to pursue Sasuke. Her fists clenched and released. It stung a little, being the only one left in the training field as Lee underwent further rehabilitation and Neji trained with the head of the Hyuuga clan. Tears of frustration stung her eyes. They were all getting so much stronger, and she hadn't progressed at all. She hadn't even been considered for the mission, the mission that would have been the most important in her life.

She'd forgotten she'd been focusing energy, and her sudden rage of emotion fueled it further until her tentative grasp snapped and it exploded like a silent paper bomb, scattering Chakra in a tidal wave through the clearing.

"You need to work on your control," a sudden voice echoed loudly in what had been complete silence.

Tenten whirled, eyes narrowing then widening in surprise. "Neji? I thought you were training with Hiashi-sama."

His arms crossed over his chest, one foot propped comfortably against a tree trunk, Neji's lips twitched in a small grin as he shook his head. As he pushed off the tree and approached her, a slight stiffness in one shoulder and a reluctance to use his stomach muscles were the only signs of his nearly-fatal wounds. To an untrained eye, he seemed fully healed. "He had clan business to attend to."

"This early in the morning?" She shaded her eyes as she glanced into the sunrise.

With a shrug, he closed the distance between them. "Regardless, I had somewhere I needed to be."

"Oh?"

"Every morning we trained here together. Since the chuunin exams." Inhaling slowly, she felt him absorb her freed Chakra and offer a small smile as he dropped back with only the slightest grimace into his Jyuuken stance. "I'm finally healed enough to train."

"Are you crazy?" Incredulously, she placed her hands on her hips and leaned in to study his face. "You just got out of the hospital yesterday; you're in no shape for training!"

"Exactly my point." Without relaxing his stance, Neji raised an eyebrow. "My muscles need reconditioning. There's only so much exercise one can do without physically moving, and my endurance is weak."

"Then we'll spar open hand. No weapons, no Chakra." Tenten dropped back into her fighting stance, the smallest of grins crossing her face. "I won't go easy on you just because you're injured."

"Understood." Breathing in slowly, he extended his arms before him and snapped his hands into ready position. Exhaling in a rush, he dashed forward, leading with a jab to her face.

Tenten ducked and closed the distance, slapping aside his guarding hand to elbow him brutally in the solar plexus. Jumping back before he could trap her arm in a lock, they paused for a moment in stalemate.

One hand on his abdomen, Neji raised a slender eyebrow. "You weren't kidding about not going easy on me."

She laughed, clear and loud. "Babying you wouldn't help you get stronger."

In unison this time, both ran toward each other, their hands and feet flying in a flurry of blows motivated more by instinct and reflex than any premeditated plan of attack. Neither could score a hit on the other as they twirled around each other in an intricate dance, sweat flying around them like rain. Neither held back as each poured their entire beings into this battle. Though their arms numbed from blocking and being blocked, and legs burned from constant leaping and tumbling, neither combatant was willing to surrender to exhaustion.

As each tired, their attacks became sloppier. Neji caught her wrist and twisted it behind her back, only to release it as Tenten went with the motion and drove her knee upward. Turning to the side, she altered her position and snapped a side kick without setting her foot down, but he caught it at the ankle just centimeters from his face and flipped her to the ground. Her back thudded hard against the dirt, but she rolled and snapped another kick, forcing him to leap away.

And then he saw his opening as she charged in with a right cross, letting it seem to slip past his guard as he pivoted on one foot. Sweet surprise crossed her face at her miscalculation as she overbalanced, and Neji swooped in to seize the opportunity, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her body again. This time he pulled her to him, releasing her wrist for the briefest of instants to wrap one arm around her waist to pin her arms against his own body. Twining his fingers with hers, to an outside observer it would have seemed they were simply holding hands. Tenten's grimace of pain as he bent her first two fingers backward belayed that image, and she sagged in his grip, relinquishing the battle.

"Do you ever get tired of winning all the time?"

He snorted through his nose with a kind of sardonic amusement. She felt his breath brushing the top of her head as he released her fingers, but didn't let go of her hand. "I came close to losing against that Sound monster," Neji admitted quietly. "I need to train more and more until I can see all the way."

"Neji...?" Tenten felt his arms tense against her.

"I couldn't see it, Tenten. You know almost as well as I do the weaknesses of these eyes." Staring blankly into the distance, he seemed to have forgotten he was holding her. "I need to be able to see it."

"And you will." Her voice broke through his reverie, and he looked down to see her following his line of sight to the shimmering orange fading to blue as the sun broke over the tree line, bathing the clearing with sunlight. "You're a true genius, Neji. If anyone can do it, you can."

"Tenten." He rested his chin atop her head and closed his eyes. "Thank you."

"What for?" Tilting her head, she twisted against him to look at his face.

A sudden gasp burst from between her lips as his grip suddenly tightened. "It's because you think I'm a genius that I found the strength to win my battle," he murmured in her ear. "You believe in me. Thank you."

She closed her eyes and leaned back, resting her head against his chest gently. "You're welcome." In a sudden shift of mood, she turned before he could react and poked him in the chest. "But don't you dare leave me out of a mission like that again."

Mouth slightly open, his hands loosely around her waist, Neji said nothing as she crossed her arms and glared into his eyes. "If you're going to see everything," she whispered, gazing into his eyes unflinchingly, "I want to see it with you."