Gai blinked.

"My youthful students are together…"

Tenten winced in anticipation; across the room, Neji's hand clenched in a white-knuckle grip around the arm of the chair.

"…WHAT FORTUITOUS TIMING! I can deliver my youthful news to both of you at once!"

Tenten had never been so glad to see Gai's enormous, guileless grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neji slump back just slightly, and she had to stifle the urge to giggle.

Completely unaware of the dissipating tension in the room, Gai sat down right in the middle of the floor.

"My dear students, my news is both youthful and full of sorrow."

He paused for dramatic effect, gazing intently at both of his students. Neji raised a questioning eyebrow, but it was Tenten who actually responded.

Admittedly, if she was going to deal with Gai's very unfortunate timing, she was going to get this news as quickly as possible.

"What is it, Gai-sensei?"

"I am so glad you asked, my youthful blossom!" He bellowed. Neji's face twitched ever so slightly, a gesture that, to Tenten, suggested he was trying very hard not to roll his eyes.

"It saddens me to tell you all that I will soon be leaving you."

At this he lowered his head, and when he lifted it again, tears had rapidly formed along his lower lashes. Tenten frequently wondered if he carried around bottles of eye drops just for such occasions.

"Tsunade-sama has appointed me to a most prestigious position – I am to be an ambassador to the Village Hidden in the Clouds for the next three months!"

He stopped again, looking to gauge their reactions. Neji, stoic as ever – though, if Tenten was totally honest, looking slightly perturbed – didn't respond.

Tenten managed a smile. "That's wonderful, Gai-sensei! Congratulations."

"Is it not wonderful news?!" Gai sprang back to his feet, grinning effusively. "I shall represent our great village with all the youth and vigor it deserves."

Tenten had to turn a giggle into a cough.

Unfortunately, Gai-sensei seized upon it, rushing forward with concern.

"My dear youthful blossom, have you contracted some illness during the time of your recovery? If so, we must rush you to the hospital at once!"

Gai looked as though he might have been about to pick her up and carry to the hospital right then, but before Tenten could even get a word out, a pale hand fell on Gai's shoulder.

"I think she will be quite alright, Gai-sensei."

Gai turned slowly to look at his student. Neji removed his hand, but did not step away. Tenten watched the progression of emotions across Gai's face, as he went from confusion, to hurt, and then to something like… All of a sudden, he became more serious than Tenten had ever seen him. He stared at Neji for a moment, then the smallest hint of a smile moved across his lips. He glanced over at Tenten, and then back at Neji.

"Of course." He said gently. "Our youthful blossom is quite extraordinary, after all."

There was a moment of silence between the three of them, a sort of tacit understanding permeating the air. And then, the moment was gone as quickly as it had come, and Gai-sensei was back to his ridiculous antics.

"But of course, I know my students will miss me terribly while I am gone, and I will suffer from the lack of youthful training sessions!"

Neji chuckled – actually chuckled – as he responded.

"We will continue to train diligently, Gai-sensei."

"Of course you will!" Gai beamed. "I would expect no less from my wonderful students! By the time I return, I expect you and your teamwork to be more youthful than ever before!"

As those words sank into her consciousness, it suddenly occurred to Tenten that, in all the chaos of the past few weeks, she had neglected to inform Gai-sensei of her decision.

Grimacing, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Gai-sensei?"

He smiled beatifically. "What is it, oh flower of our team?"

"I, umm… I actually won't… well, I won't be with the team for a little while either."

For a moment, he was totally silent.

"Gai-sensei?" Tenten inquired tentatively, waving a hand in front of his face. It appeared to be frozen.

"You… you are leaving our youthful team?" For all the world, Gai's hangdog look reminded her of a certain other boisterous shinobi, who had been equally upset when she broke the news in the Hokage's office.

"Only temporarily!"

I hope, she thought wryly.

"I just need some time to overcome my injury, to get back on my feet." She offered a tentative smile. "I'll be back on the team before you're even back from the Cloud!'

That seemed to assuage him somewhat, but Gai still seemed to be on the verge of tears. Before either of them could stop him, he caught Tenten up in a lung-crushing bear hug.

"The force of your youth will bring you back to health!" As he put her back down, Gai glanced meaningfully over at Neji. "And I know your teammates will care for you. I am only sorry I cannot be here to help see you to a speedy recovery!"

"That's quite alright!" Two voices chorused, and Tenten turned to look at Neji, blushing.

Though no sound came from his mouth, his eyes were laughing.

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry I've been a bit absent lately. School, work, life... you know how it goes. I apologize for the brevity of this chapter, but since it's a companion piece to the last chapter, there wasn't as much that needed to be said. The next one will be longer, rest assured.

Wow, you all left me such amazing reviews in the meantime! If I didn't respond to all of your reviews personally, I apologize profusely, because they were all wonderfull! Thanks to Ami1010, ButtercupandButch, Dancing-Souls, FruitySmell, pusa-is-me, untouchable hexing witch, NixNoxNight, Assymetric, Ani, Fearless Rider, keeping it surreal, GalaxyChild, Guest, Nejitenfureva, Purpleprincess1147, and particularly marionne345 for reviewing every chapter! You guys are great.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!