"WHERE IS OUR YOUTHFUL BLOSSOM?!"
Tenten woke with a start, barely catching herself from tumbling off the couch at the sound of the ear-shattering exclamation from just outside.
Sitting up slowly, she rubbed the back of her neck and attempted to make some sense of her surroundings with her still-groggy mind. It had been a mistake to fall asleep on the couch – her leg ached worse than ever, and the strange angle at which she'd slept had left her with a crick in her neck, one that she knew would plague her for at least two days.
She didn't have long to focus on her ailments, however, as she was shortly interrupted by the sound of wood splintering and an alarmed shout.
Rotating her encased leg around, she reached out for her crutches, but she didn't have the time to right herself. At that moment, a figure burst into the room, his wide eyes frantically searching. When his gaze finally lighted on her, he rushed forward.
"TENTEN!"
Tenten shrieked, unable to fend off the man suddenly barreling at her. Cringing in anticipation, she prepared herself for the lung-crushing embrace that she knew was soon to follow.
She maintained her defensive curl, but after a few moments, nothing happen. Slowly uncoiling, she took stock of the situation in front of her.
"G-Gai…sensei…"
Maito Gai was frozen mere centimeters from Tenten, held back only by the great effort of one Neji Hyuuga. Neji had one arm wrapped securely across Gai's shoulders and the other in a death grip on his upper arm, struggling to keep him from leaping forward and tackling Tenten.
Tenten, for her part, could only watch, frozen partly in horror and partly in amusement.
"Gai-sensei…" Neji gritted his teeth, slowly pulling their enthusiastic teacher backwards. "Tenten is injured. Attempting to tackle her in the name of youth will not help her situation."
"But our delicate flower—"
"Is recovering!"
Slowly, Gai relaxed. Neji loosed his hold, but the force he'd been exerting was enough to make him stumble backward – it didn't escape Tenten's notice that he had to grab onto the back of a chair to steady himself.
"Tenten, my beloved student!" Gai began to move forward again, but thought better of it, and settled for sitting down across from her, his eyes welling with melodramatic tears. "If I had known sooner, I would have rushed back from my mission!"
"Gai-sensei," Tenten grimaced, trying and failing to hide the embarrassment that was creeping into her cheeks, "it wouldn't have made a difference if you were here or not. I'm fine, really."
"Clearly you are not!" Gai leapt from his chair, practically knocking it over. Only Neji's quick intervention managed to keep it from falling over completely. "Clearly, you—"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
The roaring voice, even in its fury, was instantly recognizable. Three faces turned to see a fuming Sakura, her fist clenched so tightly it was shaking.
"Sakura-san…"
"Did you…" Her voice shook with the effort to control her rage. "…kick down this door?"
Gai chuckled uncomfortably, unwilling to meet her gaze. "My student… she was severely injured and—"
"I'm aware of her injuries!" Sakura's face was growing redder by the minute, and it occurred to Tenten that while she and her teammates were quite used to their teacher's antics, for Sakura, this was simply unacceptable. "The fact remains that you cannot just run into any place you like and start destroying things! You kicked down the door and part of the wall of a Konoha medical facility building, which now cannot be used while we conduct repairs."
It took a few moments for the realization to sink in. When it did, Tenten practically shot out of her seat.
"Does that mean I can go home?"
Sakura gave a tired sigh, gesturing down the hallway at the ruined door. "You really shouldn't, but I don't know what other choice we have. All of the other independent care facilities are occupied, and we can't leave you here with a broken door."
Tenten had never been so happy to have a certifiably insane teacher as she was at that very moment.
"You… really didn't pack much." Neji glanced around the empty room, the contents of which had been compacted into one small duffel bag. Tenten surveyed it proudly, the barest hint of a smile lighting her face for the first time in what seemed like weeks. Neji couldn't suppress a smile of his own upon seeing it.
"Makes it easier to move!" Picking up her crutches, she pulled herself slowly to her feet. "Let's go!"
Neji stared at her skeptically as she made her way to the door. With a stiff leg, her progress was slow, and every step took more effort than the last. They made their way out the door, but while it was barely an effort for Neji, Tenten was sweating within moments. By the time they'd made it out onto the main road, she was flushed, and wincing every time her left leg hit the ground.
"Tenten… are you going to be alright?"
"I'm fine," she mumbled, but she refused to meet his eye.
It's not your responsibility.
Her words returned to him with stark clarity, and Neji couldn't stop himself from fixating on them. Did she really believe herself to be that much of a burden?
Knowing that he was doing something potentially dangerous, Neji pushed past his worries and moved to her side. Before Tenten could even protest, Neji had an arm securely around her waist. Using the weight of her cast to throw her off-balance, he swept her off the ground in one swift motion, hanging her crutches over his right arm.
Even with extra bulk added by the cast, Neji still marveled at how light she was. Though she'd regained some of her strength in recovery, she was still thinner than could possibly be healthy.
"Neji…" She growled. He could see the beginnings of rage kindling in her eyes; despite that, she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself.
"There is no excuse for you to further injure yourself." He stated matter-of-factly. He began to walk; already the progress was considerably faster.
"Neji, I don't—"
He cut her off.
"You're not a burden."
Her mouth hung open, the pallor of realization overtaking her features.
"You heard what I said to Lee."
He shrugged.
"Kami…" she murmured, "I never meant for you to hear that… I didn't even want to tell Lee."
"Tenten, you are our teammate." Neji kept his eyes straight ahead, not trusting himself to look at her while he spoke. "Do you really think we would not do whatever we could to help aid your recovery?"
"Of course not." She replied gently, guilt bleeding through her words. "But you also have responsibilities."
Neji tilted his head noncommittally. To some extent, what she said was true – he was a Jonin, which came with certain obligations. At the same time, however, none of his other responsibilities were as important to him as her health and safety.
The thought came to him so easily that, at first, he didn't even think twice about him.
A few moments later came the cold shock of insight.
Though he had never put words to it before now, the feeling that had been plaguing him since they returned from the mission was now given new clarity. There was nothing in his life that meant as much to him as her – not his training, not his obligations to the clan – all of it paled in comparison to the well-being of his teammate and best friend.
"Neji." He was brought out of his revelation by a poke to his shoulder. Tenten was looking up at him questioningly, and he wondered just how long he had been caught up in his thoughts.
"Neji, I need you to put me down so I can open the door."
He did as she requested, still reeling slightly. He felt slow, a state of being to which he was most certainly not accustomed. When she gestured for him to come in, he could only nod and follow.
"Sorry for the mess. It's been a while since I've been here to clean." She laughed dryly at her own little joke.
"Tenten?"
"Hm?" She half-turned to look at him. Even in the dim lighting, he could see the dark circles beneath her eyes.
"You ought to sit and take the weight off of your leg."
That was not what he had intended to say, but that was what came out. Tenten, at least, did not protest, and followed his advice, arranging herself rather unceremoniously on the couch. Neji took the seat next to her.
The room was silent for a moment.
"It's not a responsibility, you know."
"Hmm?"
Neji looked up at her, his gaze insistent.
"It's not our responsibility to make sure you are cared for."
She opened her mouth, but she didn't have the time to get anything out.
"It's our privilege."
He had never seen such an expression of shock from her.
The longer she stared at him, the more Neji's stomach churned. Finally, he stood up, turning away so that at least he didn't have to feel the weight of her gaze on him.
"You ought to get some rest. I'll stop by to see you tomorrow."
He had taken three steps away when he felt the hand on his arm.
"Neji?"
He turned to find Tenten standing without her crutches – the pain of it had to have been excruciating, but something else was clouding her features.
"Would you… stay?"
A/N: To my reviewers who were wondering where Gai was, there you go! Hehe. ^_^
I apologize for the delay. Given certain... circumstances, this chapter was very hard for me to write. But fear not! Despite the terrible events of chapter 614 (coughcoughandthetravestythat was615coughcough), Road to Recovery will continue! Canon be damned, I still love NejiTen.
Reviews are treasured. I'm still amazed at all the support I've gotten so far, and I hope to keep hearing from you all!
Senka Hitomi