2: They get along.
"So you think that that Neji kid and Tenten get along?" Millie asked her friend, Tammie.
"I know they get along, but why do they is the question?" Tammie answered.
"Yeah, it does seem so strange that they would." Millie answered.
"And how?" Tammie asked. "Tenten is all pretty, and of an heir of a great clan, and from a main branch of one."
"And Neji is from the branch house of the Hyuuga Clan; another great clan but nothing like someone Tenten should get along with." Millie explained with great detail.
"She should be hanging out with princes and kings and stuff like that, to marry since her parents are gone, and left her and they're almost, what now, 15?" Tammie asked.
"Her parents are alive; they have just gone somewhere, all the time, on missions; while he has no parents." Millie said harshly.
"She's rich and he's poor." Tammie continued.
"She lives like a princess while he is just a niece of the Hyuuga Clan; if they wanted to they could dispose of him, and leave him out of the clan, since his mother and father are dead."
"He thinks everything is set in stone." Tammie added harshly.
"While she believes that for her own good, things have to change, become happy, and fate is changeable, she can be happy and find her parents."
"While he sees that it can't, you have to accept it."
"He is starting to see that things can change but only because of Naruto. At least he changed his attitude about Hinata, right?" Millie questioned.
"Yeah, I guess some things do change. I'm glad that he changed his mind."
"What's the point of training if you can't change fate?" Millie asked Tammie.
"True, so true," Tammie responded, nodding.
"There are so many reasons why they shouldn't get along, yet they do, why?" Millie said thinking about it.
Flashback Starts
"Team 6, Neji Hyuuga, Tenten Hoshi, and Rock Lee," Their teacher announced. The instructor announced.
"Yes, the spirit of youth has given me teammates that will help me become strong then I though I ever could."
"No, I don't plan to help you. I'm only here for myself." Another reason why they shouldn't get along, Neji was all for himself; who knows about Tenten.
"What about you? Your name is Tenten is it not? Will you help me?" Lee asked.
"I would but I've got to work on target practice, bye." Tenten said insulting Lee and running off to a target practice field.
"That's her polite way of saying, leave me alone weakling, I can get stronger easier without a weakling like you." Neji answered, walking off to spy on his new teammate. Neji Hyuuga didn't pay attention to anyone but himself and teacher during school, so now he'd learn his teammates. He didn't care to learn about Lee but Tenten seemed like someone who could maybe possible stand to not kill.
Neji walked off into the field to spy on her and a Kunai flew and nailed the neck of his sweater to the tree. "What do you want?" Tenten said, angrily, walking over reaching past Neji and removing her Kunai.
"Impressive."
"What, throwing a Kunai, wow, I specialize in it. Now push of whatever your name is, I train to become stronger, and I can't if you're watching me, it breaks my concentration." Tenten said angrily with a touch of Sarcasm at the beginning of her words.
"No."
"What's your problem? I'm here to train, like we were told to and you stand here, what I can do to get you to leave."
"Touchy, I just want to observe. Then you can go and throw Kunai or cry to your mom about me upsetting you. Poor Girl," Tenten without Neji even seeing them, threw them pinning him to the tree.
"You can throw faster than…
"You can see, yeah no one can see them, whatever. I knew that. Now leave, I need concentration, and some boy, is bothering me." Tenten said annoyed with Neji's presence.
"Byakugan can see threw any tai-jutsu, copy it as well, and I should have seen the kunai, yet I can't. You're more advanced then even I thought. Care to spar."
"Target practice can wait, Byakugan. You're a Hyuuga, and a talented one by the way you use Byakugan without visualizing it first." She said recognizing his talent, skill and level. A genius kunoichi, this would be fun for Neji.
"Neji Hyuuga, you?" Neji said introducing himself.
"Tenten Hoshi, so you sure?" Tenten said grabbing then Kunai from Neji's clothing and spinning them around her fingers.
"Yeah, this time I'm not going to be allowed to be tricked by your Kunai tricks."
"No tricks, Neji; just skill." Tenten said they prepared for battled.
The battle was a hard one for Neji, the girl he had chosen to battle knew of the Byakugan, and he had explained all that it could do. Being a new Genin he was quite skilled more than others but his skills didn't go much father than that, his gentle fist art was all he had and the girl used only indirect attacks, catching Neji off, and hitting him down. They were challengers for the other, he could see the attacks, but couldn't do damage to each other. After a while they both had tired out.
"You're very good, Neji." Tenten complimented leaning against a tree, propping herself up against a tree at the target field, throwing Kunai every single one hitting its mark.
"As are you?"
"Hoshi, it means?"
"Star and Hyuuga?"
"In the sun."
"It's getting late; shouldn't you return to your parents?" Tenten replied.
"No, have none."
"I'm sorry."
"What about you, surely you should return. I wouldn't want to have to explain to your mom or dad why your late and beaten up."
"A girl is entitled to her secrets of her family, is she not? It was your choice to reveal you had no parents, and I choose not to share of my family. I mean no disrespect but I just can't." Tenten ran off as fast as her legs could carry her.
She walked inside her home and into her room, and grabbed her diary
-"I passed the exam like I knew I would, of course. My team is horrible; well it's fair at the best. I'm paired up with Rock Lee; he's a dunce, not jutsu skills besides Tai-jutsu like me, except that he can't at all pose a threat in battle while I can.
Neji is very annoying, he challenged me and his attacks require on close range attacks, and it causes problems because I stay away testing him on every level, while I can hit him. We are both weak and evenly matched, he could easily find a way to repel kunai with his Byakugan, and probably will tonight but it'll take practice which means more target practice with my teammate; for now practicing with Neji is strengthening me, and I don't mindhe's a jerky, genius boy at all.
He wanted me to talk about my parents, he has none. I feel bad for him, I have some there just gone somewhere, they probably are dead though. ANBU went off to kill them some while ago, while not reported dead, they weren't reported alive either, and those ANBU never returned so who knows."-
(Hyuuga Home) Neji walked in the door and sat down in his room and thought on the things that happened to him today, and talked with Alex, a 3rd Level Branch Member; his 2nd cousin. (Simply: His dad's, dad's brother's son.)
"So who's on your team?" Alex said with the normal Hyuuga tone.
"On my team is this useless boy, Rock Lee and this girl, Tenten Hoshi. She's a challenge to defeat, and I can't even track her most of the time, by the time I spot her I'm pinned to a tree, all my jutsu are useless because she stays away from me."
"Smart girl,"
"She knows the inner workings of the Hyuuga Clan, yet no relation. I don't even know if she has parents, if they are they're never home in which she holds a grudge, or they're dead and she despised them anyway or something like that."
"Hoshi Clan had an heir a while ago, almost 12 years now, a girl. They had the girl at the age of 16 I believe, she and her parents were to be killed, but the girl was left so they decided not to kill her, seeing talent and a curse she was placed under."
"What kind of curse?" Neji asked curiously.
"We don't know but she is. The ANBU sent to kill her parents never returned, we suspect that her parents killed them off."
"Oh, so they're alive."
"Probably not, wanted by Konoha, they're dead most likely. If you had a heart you wouldn't tell her."
"She can find out on her own, fate will take care of it." Neji answered.
"Fine, but if your not careful you could get hurt, apparently the great Neji is having a trouble with a girl who just throws kunai. The Clan wouldn't like this." Alex said walking away.
"She's good, really good. She knows the inner workings of every clan, even the kekkei genkai; she's dangerous, strong, and a challenger." Neji answered. "I understand her, and what she wishes to do."
"And what would that be?" Alex asked.
"Become stronger, it's the same goal I have."
"Ah, and that would be a reason why you two get along so well, right?"
"Get along? She hates me."
"Well it doesn't seem that way; she enjoys fighting you because you pose a threat though you annoy her she wants to fight you to become stronger."
"Makes sense, so I guess we've sort of formed an agreement to fight to become stronger rather than fight to hurt one another, it makes little sense in a way it does."
"Yeah, well rest up, you look tired. You might want to have someone take care of those cuts and bruises or you'll be pretty weak tomorrow to train."
"I will, later. Bye." Alex nodded and walked off.
After getting healed and rested the night Neji woke up at dawn and walked out to the practice field and he heard noises of someone training very hard, he saw someone pushing themselves beyond their limit, he would have expected some weakling to be trying to deny fate but it wasn't, it was… He couldn't see but he would know in a few seconds. Once again he found himself pinned against a tree, he was beginning to get quite annoyed by this, even though it was the second time this happened, he didn't like it, not at all.
Only one person was so fast and talented at throwing Kunai to pin him to a tree and that was Hoshi Tenten. "You again, what are you doing here, at this time of day?" Tenten asked taking her kunai out of his clothing again.
"I could ask you the same thing but I'm sure they'd have the same answer. I'm here to train." She nodded, telling him their ambitions were in a way exactly the same, and they were both quite alike.
"You always train this early in the morning?" She asked using a tone that seemed more calm and friendly rather than her earlier tone that was annoyed with him, he liked this tone better. He couldn't train to become stronger if she wouldn't allow him to.
"You don't get stronger by sitting or sleeping all the time, do you?"
"I suppose not." Her answers were all serious, not unlike his.
"If you're up to it, we could spar again?" Neji said wanting a challenge.
"You should warm up first, you might sprain something."
"As should you, according to those marks on the trees you just got here mere moments before I do."
"As you can see, I am warming up." She said smart mouthed in response; she was challenging him.
"I don't warm up; my Byakugan is at top power level all the time, as am I."
"Gentle Fist art requires hand-on-hand combat does it not? Which requires your movements to be precise, accurate, to the point a signal needle point, a chakra point, correct? So you need to stress or this early your muscles will cramp up and or you could sprain a muscle then I'd have to take you to Hinata to heal you. And if I'm correct she's your cousin, seeing you're in the branch house, she's in the main, I suspect you hold a grudge against her, am I correct?"
"On all points, you are."
"Then do whatever you do to stretch while I still practice." Neji stretched as he observed Tenten using his Byakugan threw the back of his head, that way he could observe her while she didn't know it, and she could concentrate. He stretched while amazingly every signal kunai, shuriken, or needle that she threw hit its mark. He was amazed by her talent, even he wasn't that on target, though he wasn't very good with kunai to begin, though if he asked maybe she could help him learn a jutsu that would control the kunai to the chakra holes, if anyone could, she would know how.
"You done yet Neji, you seem to be stretching for quite a long time," he had lost sight of her, where was she? He looked around with his Byakugan and couldn't manage to see her. "Above you," She said smartly falling from the tree landing in front of him. "You okay, you seem distracted."
"Concentrated on inner thoughts, is all." He said walking in the middle of the battle field.
"Okay, so ready?" He nodded, shutting off his Byakugan. He walked and this time he would not just wait for her attacks, he'd use hand on hand combat, which was dangerous, because she was fast, and could easily move out of the way of his gentle fist attacks. And he was right, he was taking this fight farther than he could, he was taking it to a level where he himself had given him and unfair disadvantage.
If she was a Hyuuga she would a be the best, if he could learn to hit his targets as perfect and precise as she did he could use kunai to target the chakra holes on his opponents' body.
After a ton of training, and practice, Neji was tired out while Tenten was hardly touched, though her left arm was down and useless but that was close enough of a sacrifice to beat Neji.
Neji was knocked out and falling for the ground fast, Tenten thought fast, she fastened a net to her kunai hitting 6 trees spreading out the net catching Neji. Tenten jumped to the ground and lowered Neji in the net to the ground.
Tenten ran into the Hyuuga Mansion right to Hinata's room. "Hinata, I need your help." Tenten said dragging her left arm behind her, and Hinata looked at her.
"Tenten, what happened to you? I thought that you were just training, what did Gai-sensei have you do that, did this to you?"
"Gai-sensei wasn't there, we train at noon but I went out and then Hyuuga Neji was there so I trained with him, and he decided to take the direct approach but he's knocked out and took a fall to the ground, you have to help."
"Neji, he's my cousin, isn't he?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, but I know you don't have anything against the branch house, do you?" Hinata shook her head and they ran back to the training ground.
"Brother!" Hinata said running to Neji. "I don't think he's breathing, Tenten, go get a med Nin or your sensei or anyone."
Tenten ran into Kurenai, Hinata's guardian, and soon to be sensei. "Help, Neji Hyuuga my teammate is in trouble, help." Kurenai ran and called the emergency med Nin team, which took Neji to the hospital.
Tenten was worried sick, and sat in the hospital. When they announced that he was awake, Tenten was about to go in but Hinata left. "Why are you leaving, if it wasn't for the healing you did on him, he would have died, you held him over until we got here; aren't you going to stay?"
"Neji hates me, Tenten. Don't mention that I helped him, because it will only cause more problems, okay?" Hinata said shyly. She walked back to her home.
The med-Nin who was working on Neji came out. Tenten walked up to him. "What was wrong with him, I didn't do anything did I?" Tenten said worried.
"No, it seemed that because he was not transferring his chakra to anything he was loosing so much chakra and then it seemed that a kunai got his left leg and it was bleeding, no chakra to heal it and a open wound, he was loosing a lot of blood, it happens a lot, don't worry." Tenten nodded and went into see Neji.
"Neji, are you alright?" She asked.
"Better," Was his only response?
"That's good. I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"Why am I sorry, because I sent you to the hospital?"
"No, why did you save me?"
"That's a stupid question."
"Then explain."
"I respect you, you knew it was a disadvantage to go up into the trees where I was most comfortable and fight me, knowing that I could go threw the trees and still attack you without you making a move on me. You are my teammate and I treat my opponents how I want to be treated, after a match. When the match has ended that is it, you are not only my opponent out there you're my friend and teammate, and I respect you. I wouldn't want you to get hurt further then what happened during out spar."
"I respect you too." Neji answered. "I owe you my life."
"No, you really owe someone else your life, I just stopped you from falling, that person stopped the bleeding and healed you long enough to get you here, they're to thank." Tenten thought about how Neji would react even if he should if he respected the person, and then of course it would mean something, even if he didn't know who.
"I know about your parents."
"What?"
"I talked to my cousin, Alex yesterday. He knew all about you."
"Oh, well at least I didn't have to tell you but it's impolite to go behind someone's back to retrieve information."
"In most cases the person would tell me so I wouldn't go find out you didn't, so I did."
"Fine, whatever," Tenten said defeated in a contest of words.
After a few seconds of silence: "The Spirit of Youth has hurt my dear friend Neji, and my dear friend Tenten too, why do you hurt them so, spirit?" Lee asked.
"Get out of my room Lee." Neji said.
"Oh, you must rest, I understand. Come Tenten, we must leave Neji to heal."
"Um… I have to get my arm looked at." Neji hadn't yet noticed it but her last hit, before she took him out was a sacrificial hit, she allowed herself to get hit in order to take him down, smart.
"You're going to have to see a Hyuuga for that, reversal Gentle Fist Style, to power the chakra point up, and revive it. Any Hyuuga could do it." Neji pointed out.
"Then I shall take her to a Hyuuga, wait I do not know a Hyuuga, why will you not do it Neji?" Lee asked Neji.
"I'm can't use it, I'm here because I ran out of chakra." Neji answered annoyed.
"I can handle it on my own Lee, I'll go see Hinata or someone."
"Like Hinata could heal you, she can't barely do Gentle Fist Style and reversing it, that's a joke. Good luck." Neji said relaxing back.
"Shows how much you know." Tenten said walking off.
"I must stop the sprit of elders from consuming Tenten by the insult you bestowed on your own kind which some how insulted our teammate and friend, bye young Neji." Lee ran out of the room to follow Tenten.
"Leave me alone, Lee. Can't you do anything? I need to go see Hinata… you don't know her so you can't help. Leave me alone." Tenten yelled.
"I just wished to help you." Lee said sadly falling to the ground.
"It's okay Lee, she will be healed and then we will wait for Neji and train again, we must run laps until our friends return." Lee and Gai ran laps until Neji and Tenten returned; which turned out to be a day later.
(Hospital) "Hey Neji, you doing better?" Tenten said in a happier mode then before. She said peeking through a crack in the door to check on her friend.
"Yeah, I'm just resting a bit more. You can come in." Tenten nodded and walked in.
"Where are Gai-sensei and Lee?" She asked.
"You want them here?"
"No, that's exactly why I suspected them to be here. They always annoy me when I don't want it." Neji smirked and nodded, crossing his arms.
"How's your arm?"
"Perfectly fine, Hinata fixed it easy and I was on my way. You shouldn't be so hard on her, she tries her best." Tenten scolded.
"You should know why, she's the main house. She has to be stronger than she is, if she dies I'll be killed as well."
"What, why?"
"If she dies and I didn't at least attempt to save her, her father will kill me. I'm the branch house and her guardian, it's my job to."
"That's horrible."
"Yeah, but because of the curse seal, I have no choice."
"So that's why you hate Hinata."
"Hate's a strong word Tenten, I have a grudge against her position, and her father did this to me. If only one of your children got any part in the family while have more then one, why did I have to be born. Fate hates me as does everything else."
"I don't, I know that for sure. You're my teammate and my friend, Neji. I'd protect you with my life if it ever came down to that which one day it probably will but I know I will be there until then end for you."
"You can influence the Hyuuga Clan Tenten, they're my family. You couldn't stop them if they had need to kill me."
"That doesn't mean I wouldn't try." Neji knew that she was serious, if Hinata couldn't defend herself and died and Neji couldn't do anything to help and his life was going to be taken, he knew that Tenten would help.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome Neji, rest up and get well soon." He nodded and she was about to leave.
"They're wanted for killing the ANBU, they're D-rank criminals, if they're found, or showed up here, they'd be killed." She nodded.
"I know, but unlike you I believe that all people can change fate, whether you except it or not today, fate can be changed like me saving you today, you could have died, very easily but Hinata being born to help people and couldn't let you die, because she saw you as a person not someone against her you lived, think about these words Neji. I choose to train because if I didn't, then fate would have it's way and I could never get better. Every decision we make changes fate, you become stronger because you try, that's why." Tenten walked a few more steps.
"Tenten, thank you, for everything. And to let you know, I'd do the same." Tenten smiled and nodded and walked out. Neji said like he was doing it falsely but she knew he meant in sincerely, she just knew. Neji cared for Neji and though he'd never admit it to anyone outside of himself and her. He liked Tenten's style, standing up for herself, against him. It was quite an achievement, most would be afraid not her, she was cheerful even though he never was.
Tenten understood Neji, as Neji understood her also; this gave them a friendship that they both knew existed even though it was understood to be that way, and never said. Neji brought a smile to Tenten's face. And when Neji was around Tenten she was the answer to questions he had never asked. They were so alike and yet so different in how they acted and saw things, like life and people but they liked each other like brother and sister were, close and though they both would sometimes get annoyed by the other, they liked each other.
Flashback Ended
The reason why… They Get Along.
1. Their attitudes were quite similar at times; angry, sarcastic, annoyed, and harsh.
2. They both didn't like Lee to hang around with them, and found him annoying.
3. They were advanced and sparred together.
4. Neji saw her talent and skill that was equal to his own, and that she was a genius like himself.
5. Equal levels mean it's a challenge
6. They both wish to become stronger
7. Similar goals.
8. Quite alike
9. Respect each other
10. Help each other when they need it.
11. They'd protect each other with their lives.
12. They both have parent problems or situations where their parents aren't with them, or most likely dead.
13. They are like siblings in the way the like and protect each other, even though they see the other as annoying sometimes.
14. They brought the other something they didn't have before.
