Tenten exhales in satisfaction upon reaching the familiar ridge of the mountain range. They arrived right on time too. In another ten minutes, the sun will rise to the best spot in the sky and paint the village in the warmest shades of yellow and orange.
She remembers the first time Gai-Sensei brought the three of them here. Tenten had been so annoyed to be told to get up and out of bed before the sun had even risen. She had refused to return Gai-Sensei's smile or greeting when she met with him, Lee, and Neji at the base of the mountains that butt up against Konoha. Tenten knows she wasn't the only one who had been unhappy either.
Neji grumbled complaints beneath his breath the whole trek up here. Lee, who was all but sold on Gai-Sensei and his vision of life even then, had been uncharacteristically slow for their hike. Instead of bouncing alongside their teacher on their way up the mountain he'd planted himself at the rear of their group and stayed there for the whole hike.
Gai-Sensei hadn't been bothered by their petulance. As always, he kept up his cheerful attitude. He told them a story from his youth, smiled, and laughed on his way up the mountain. When they reached the ridge, he'd ushered them all forward and suggested they simply watch.
That first sunrise is one of the most beautiful sights Tenten has ever seen. She didn't know there was anything like it right here in her home. Tenten always figured if she wanted to see something that steals her breath from her she would need to leave Konoha.
After that morning, Tenten found she trusted and respected Gai-Sensei a lot more than ever before. Not only is he teaching her how to be a kickass kunoichi, but he's also showing her why she should want to be one too. Their village is a place full of inspiring sights; to protect them, Tenten needs to be strong.
She's shaken from her reverie by a sniffle. Tenten spins around on the balls of her feet to face the boys. She feels herself blanch when she finds between Lee and Neji is Gai-Sensei, teary-eyed and swallowing back hiccups.
This isn't like her teacher. He's not a man who's afraid to cry. Why is he muffling himself now? What's upset him? The hot feeling of panic takes Tenten swiftly.
Did her team do something wrong?
Tenten steps away from the ledge and goes to join Neji and Lee where they're huddled around Gai-Sensei. Neji is frowning at the boy while Lee has begun to rub the spot between the preteen's shoulders in hopes of comforting him.
"Gai-Se— Gai?" she fumbles out as she stoops slightly to meet his gaze.
He shakes his head. "Sorry!" he sobs. "Sorry…"
"Oh, oh, it's okay," Tenten tries to soothe while Lee pats Gai-Sensei's back harder.
"I should have said something earlier when I realized where we were going," Gai-Sensei admits after he's stopped the worst of his tears. "I–I thought I could handle it," he whispers.
Tenten feels alarmed at his confession. She raises her gaze to meet the wide ones of Neji and Lee. Hesitantly, Neji, to her surprise, taps Gai-Sensei's shoulder to get his attention.
The boy turns his head and looks up with a miserable, puffy gaze.
"Did something happen here?" Neji asks in a low murmur.
Gai-Sensei shakes his head and bites his lip. "N-No," he stutters. "It's just—" Gai-Sensei stops and visibly struggles for a few seconds not to be drowned by a new wave of sobs. "My dad used to bring me here," he chokes at last. "He died not long ago protecting me and my teammates…"
Tenten blinks and then looks over her shoulder at the ridge with a new perspective. This spot isn't just one of beauty. It's one full of history; love. She wonders if Gai-Sensei's dad was brought here by his own father or mother.
Maybe he was shown this place by his teacher.
"I'm sorry," says Lee.
Tenten turns back around and sees Lee's pulled Gai-Sensei into his chest for a tight embrace. The boy curls into it; pressing his wet face against Lee's cheek. Neji puts out his hand in front of Gai-Sensei and Tenten shifts her attention to his inscrutable expression.
"Wh—" she begins.
"I know what it's like to lose a father too," he says to Gai-Sensei, cutting her off. "He died for someone else's sake as well."
The younger boy squirms around in Lee's arms until he can take Neji's hand. Once they are linked, Neji tugs him away and towards the ledge that they always sit on when they come up here. There, he urges Gai-Sensei to crouch down with him.
"It has been several years since he died," Neji continues with his back to her and Lee. "At first, there were many places I didn't want to go because they came with memories of him."
Neji keeps his hold on the boy's hand as he leans back on his other. Gai-Sensei sidles closer to the brunet until they are knocking elbows. Features unusually tense, Gai-Sensei asks Neji, "And later?"
"Later, I realized I couldn't avoid those places forever," he says. "So I went back to them; I shared the spots with new people to make more happy memories."
Gai-Sensei's brows furrow. Tenten thinks he looks perplexed, maybe a little affronted too. She feels unsure if this is a moment she should get in the middle of like she did with Sasuke and Kakashi the other day. She prepares herself for the possibility. Tenten will need to be quick if the need arises. This is a mountain's edge they are on.
"You… have erased your old memories?" questions Gai-Sensei in a voice that is almost cold.
Tenten cants forward but stops herself mid-step when Neji huffs in amusement and pulls his feet up to rest firmly on the ground. "No," he replies, voice unusually amiable. "I still hold onto them. They will always be precious to me. I just couldn't go on treating the places we loved as various graveyards to my father. Here, this world, is a place for the living. It should be enjoyed by us alongside those who are also alive. Not treated like a constant funeral for everyone who's gone before us. Do you understand?"
The boy stares at Neji for a long moment and Tenten begins to twist her fingers. Is Gai-Sensei offended? Neji's being gentle right now but often even his softest is still rough enough to scrape.
"I think I do," the boy whispers and Tenten lets her knees go wobbly in relief. Gai-Sensei sets his sight on Konoha.
It is just now being warmed to life in various shades of gold-yellow, sunflower-yellow, and orange-yellow. Tenten moves to go sit on the other side of Neji. Lee copies her and plops himself down beside Gai-Sensei.
In silence, but together they watch the sun rise over their home. When it has settled high in the sky above Konoha, Neji leads them in rising to their feet. As they stretch, twist, and dust off the seats of their pants, Gai-Sensei beams at them.
"Thank you for bringing me to see the sunrise with you," he says. "I liked being able to make a new happy memory here."
Tenten returns his grin. "Thank you, Gai," she says. "You're the one who showed us this spot in the first place."
For a second, he gapes. Then he laughs loudly, hands on his hips and his head tossed back. "Of course I did!" he exclaims. "This is the best spot in all of Konoha!"
Tenten joins him in his laughter. She agrees with him. There's no other place quite so special as this one.
Thank you so much for reading and let me know your thoughts!