A/N: Oh God. I don't think I can even begin to describe all the things that have gone wrong since yesterday evening. (However, there is a full-fledged rant in my LJ, if anyone is interested). So, instead of reading about how miserable my life is at the moment, you can read a cute little blurb about our favorite Naruto heroes.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

…..

Neji landed with a soft thud in the moist grass, disrupting a cloud of evening mist. The veins around his eyes bulged as he reactivated his Byakugan, feeling the last reserves of his chakra dwindle and fade. The straps of his pack cut into his shoulders, and he grunted, tired beyond words, readjusting his things so his knees wouldn't collapse underneath their weight.

He flicked his wrist, and understanding the subtle signal, Tenten and Lee were at his side in an instant. "We're safe," the Hyuuga informed them, deactivating his Byakugan and pressing two cool fingers against his aching temples, "For now," he added as an afterthought. Tenten nodded, closing her eyes, ready to just fall asleep on the spot. Her bag slipped off her shoulder to the crook of her elbow, and Lee, knowing she had defeated around twenty shinobi on her own and then rushed to provide reinforcements to her teammates, clearly pushing the restraints on her chakra, gently coaxed it from her grip.

"The others should be here soon. I caught Naruto's chakra in the distance," Neji said, jerking his head towards the middle of the small clearing. "Let's set up camp."

Tenten unfurled their sleeping bags, and at Lee's urging, and even insistence on Neji's part, lay down to rest. She had pulled the muscles in her arms, disturbing and mangling the chakra networks in her limbs. After starting a fire, Neji came to sit beside her, ready to fix the mess. It hurt at first, but under his gentle ministrations, Tenten's facial muscles became less taut with pain and she succumbed to a light sleep.

Lee came back then, soaked up to his knee, holding up the fish he had caught in a nearby creek. "Dinner," he grinned.

Just as Neji predicted, Naruto was the first to stumble into their haven, hair tussled, clothing dirty and wrinkled, bright blue eyes flashing with excitement. His teammates trudged behind him, first Sakura, then Sai, not nearly as enthusiastic as the blonde.

"All right! I'm starving!" the Uzumaki exclaimed, plopping down beside a disgruntled Neji.

"Yosh! Our youthful friends have arrived!" Lee greeted happily, opening cans of food from his pack.

"Naruto," Sakura began solemnly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "How can you think about food when… you know." The boy scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Oh right. Forgot about that. Just seems so unreal- a guy like that, going down- weird," he said, turning back to face the members of Team Gai, this time much more glum.

"What happened?" Neji asked, immediately on edge, searching their faces for telltale signs of the news. Even Tenten sat up, chocolate eyes alarmed.

"What guy? Who went down?" she pressed.

Sai opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the arrival of Shikamaru's squad. They too were quiet: Choji wasn't munching on a bag of his favorite barbecue chips, Ino wasn't yelling at anyone, and Shikamaru wasn't as calm and collected as usual. The Nara nodded at Sakura, then nudged his head in the direction of Team Gai, as if silently asking if they had heard. Emerald green eyes averted themselves to stare at the ground, an uneasy feeling stirring in their owner's stomach.

"Guys," the Haruno began quietly, feeling all the more self-conscious as everyone's attention shifted towards her. There was an awkward pause as the medic desperately searched for aid. Ino offered her a feeble smile and nod as if saying it was the right thing to do. "Gai-Gai sensei he-he (she inhaled deeply) he's gone." Her lips twisted as she contemplated on how to soften the blow. Unable to find the right words, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

The wind whistled in the treetops, an eerie silence settling among the group. Lee was the first to speak up. "What?" he asked, hoping his ears had deceived him. Tenten's heart clenched at the sound of his broken voice.

"Lee," she said softly, crawling to sit next to him, arms snaking around his shoulders as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"It cannot be!" he shouted. "Gai sensei is-is far better than anyone we're fighting! He's much more superior than any rag tag team of fighters! He would never- he would never- he"

"Lee," Neji interrupted, giving him a warning look to get a hold of himself. But the green-clad man ignored him, burying his face in Tenten's shoulder, letting himself shake and cry to his heart's content.

For a while, the only noise was that of Lee's strangled sobs and the snorts he made as he took in one shaky breath after another. "Lee, it's going to be okay," Tenten tried to comfort the poor boy, though her eyes had begun to water as well. "We'll be okay."

Neji did not like how small and tiny and unsure her words sounded, and sighing, he moved over, awkwardly rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back.

"Be strong," he murmured. He caught the female's eye, holding her gaze until she reached up to wipe her tears. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck overhead. Tenten watched as a raindrop slid from Neji's hair, down his cheek, trailed along the length of his jaw, and finally plummeted from his chin onto the earth below. She felt calmer now, under Neji's touch. She tangled her fingers with his, feeling safer when he was near.

"We'll be okay," she repeated, sounding much more confident. Neji nodded in approval.

"Ow! Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined as his teammate slapped his hand.

"STOP TRYING TO STEAL THE FISH DAMN IT! THEY'RE HAVING A MOMENT!" she yelled, grabbing his collar, yanking him towards her until their noses touched.

"Okay-okay," the blonde put up his hands in surrender.

The Hyuuga shook his head, smirking. Some things never changed.

After dinner, before they all crawled into their hastily erected tents (who wants to sleep on a soggy sleeping bag?), Tenten pulled her teammates into a hug, one arm curling around Neji's neck, the other around Lee's.

"My boys," she whispered, settling her chin in between their shoulders. The two men exchanged a glance and a small smile.

They were hers, always hers.

…..

A/N: Gah! I'm sorry it was so choppy and blah! I needed to publish something- needed to.

Thank you for reading and please review!

~M.I.