#Nejiten week 2024

[avbocetos]

A turn of fates

My participation on nejiten week

[kvohru]

mean it literally - nejiten week '24

day 4 - يقبرني (ya'aburnee; arabic) a way to declare your hope that your loved one will outlive you, as it would be unbearable to live without them.

“That’s kind of how I feel about you,” Tenten said contemplatively from above, startling Neji from his position against the tree. He jumped ever so slightly, the book in his lap slamming shut. She frowned, still looking down at him. He was reading in their usual spot under that willow tree, and she had ‘snuck up’ on him. (In reality, she’d been standing behind him and reading over his shoulder for the past few minutes. Hardly being inconspicuous, too.) “That could not have actually scared you, Neji. I was literally humming as I walked up here.”

“You don’t exactly inspire danger, Tenten,” he replied drily, but there was no real annoyance in his voice.

He leaned back against the tree trunk, craning his neck back to look at her. “I was reading.”

She scrunched her nose cutely the way she always did, before dropping down to sit next to him. “And you’re a shinobi. You should be able to sense danger,” she argued absentmindedly, reaching over to open the book back up to the page he was reading. He appreciated the gesture—the instinctiveness of it, the casual affection in it— and he, in turn, angled it towards her.

She gasped, her brows furrowed and her mouth dropping open, “How dare you—”

His hand reaching to grab a leaf that was tucked between her hair effectively silenced her. “You were saying?” His eyes barely strayed from her face— from her wide brown eyes and the slight part of her lips, to the pink on her cheeks and her skewed bangs. She was beautiful, Neji noted without any surprise. It was something that didn’t shock Neji anymore, a realisation he’d long come to terms with. Tenten was really pretty.

“Don’t do that,” she breathed after a second, dropping her forehead on his shoulder, no doubt trying to hide how flustered she'd gotten. That was also something she had sort of gotten used to— Neji doing seemingly small things that would set off a torrent of butterflies in her stomach. And it was hard to play it off when things like this happened— he knew her too well for her to be able to hide it. So at some point… she kind of stopped trying to.

She just let it happen.

“You were reading, weren’t you?” She shifted next to him, pointedly avoiding his eyes and staring at the book in his lap. It was something about Suna (and the neighbouring lands?), but she wasn’t quite sure. Her leg pressed up against his, and when she leaned into his shoulder to read with him, the smell of her shampoo wafted into his nose.

“Mhmm,” he hummed, and she felt the vibration. “You said something when you came here. What was it?”

She pointed at a paragraph on the page, leaning her head against him. He didn’t mind. “I was talking about this,” she replied airily. “I said it’s kind of how I feel about you.”

Yo’burnee (يقبرني) is an Arabic phrase that directly translates to ‘bury me’, and it is a way to declare your hope that your loved one will outlive you, as it would be unbearable to live without them. It is often used as a way to express extreme affection, and in a more lighthearted manner (ex: “Yo’burnee jamelak”, translating to ‘your beauty buries me’)...

Neji stilled, his heartbeat picking up in his chest. He didn’t know how to approach this. They’d been stuck in this will-they-won’t-they limbo for so long now that he was sure nothing she could say or do could shock him anymore, but there he was. Blushing like an idiot over a vague, roundabout declaration of affection.

So instead, he wilfully missed her point. Danced around it and toed the line but not quite. Nudging her gently with his shoulder, he asked, “So you think I’m pretty, huh?”

And as expected, she rolled her eyes, pushing herself off of him to make a point. “I take it back. You’re the worst.”

(After a while though, in the quiet of the meadow, with no one to hear him but her, he whispered, “I feel that way about you, too, Tenten.”)

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

The first thing a very teary-eyed Tenten said to her (could’ve been dead!) boyfriend when she visited him in the hospital was, “I didn’t think you meant it literally, you dick!”

many, many, many months (and a war) later.

[soulcialdent]

Day one: Saudade (portuguese)

The feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia. A yearning for happiness that has passed, or perhaps never even existed.

Some bonds are broken and others naturally fade away. Neji wasn't quite sure what his situation was.  It's been a number of years since he and Tenten have really talked. Started off, with her moving away for college and him staying to study at Konohagakure Top University. 

Keeping in contact over video calls, and frequent texts messages.  Even a few weekend visits. To gaped out phone calls and not being able to remember when's the last time they spoke. 

After their freshmen year, the distance between became grew even bigger. Tenten stopped coming home all together. Neji he assumed her new boyfriend had a lot to do with it. But he couldn't be sure.  But the thing he knew for sure was that he missed her. 

His Tenten? The girl he used to spar with. Go to school with. Share hidden smiles and touches with. The same girl who he got into a school yard brawl with in middle school on the rainiest day of typhoon season. The girl that gave him his first kiss before he knew what it was to care about another person who wasn't a familiar bond.  

Not this girl or rather women who cried and yelled at the mere sight of him. Tenten has once said standing next to Neji made her feel like she could take on the world. And he felt the same! 

There friendship meant everything to him. He knew this was something that needed to be fixed. He should have fought for it. This was hurting him.  Time just kept passing and the time to address it just never came.   

So here the Hyuuga was years later filled with regret and broken promises that he could never fulfill. Because death made most things impossible.  On the anniversary of her passing, all his convoluted emotions just hit that much harder. This year in particular, he found himself wanting to talk to her more than ever.  So just for this one time. He would! 

Earlier in the week, Neji had a conversation with his niece Himawari that really stuck with him. Made him wonder, if he too could send a paper plane high enough to reach the heavens. 

At this moment, he was drunk enough to actually do it. 

He pulled out a blanked piece of paper. And scribble some words on too.  Neatly folded it into a plan. Before giving it too much thought, Neji walked over to his bedroom window and threw the plane out.  It caught wind and took off into the sky. 

For the first time in a long time. Neji felt light. 

[vancocked]

I’ve always loved the headcanon that tenten was part arab. this is an early nejiten week entry (day 4)

[natiyrm]

2024.07.03ネジ誕生日おめでとう！

May the fates never separate us again 🕊️🗡️

Art by @papabay

Dedicated to Nejiten Week 2024 Day 3

“缘分”: the destiny, the fate, or the luck that bring people together

[larssks]

Nejiten week 2024 - (days 1 - 3)

[narutoverse-event-reblogs]

List of Known Narutoverse Event Blogs!

Check out the Narutoverse Events Calendar!

Ship-specific blogs -

gaasaku - @gaasaku-fanfests

hashimada / madahashi - @hashimada-week

kakagai / gaikaka - @kkgiweek

kakairu / irukaka - @kakairu-rocks @kakairu-discord-server

kakasaku - @scarecrowsandcherryblossoms

kakayama / yamakaka - @kakayamaweek2025

kakuhida / hidakaku - @kakuhidaweek

kkob / obkk / kakaobi / obikaka - @kkobweek

Leesaku - @leesakuevents

naruhina - @naruhina-2024

nejilee / leeneji - @nejileeweek

nejiten - @nejiten-month @ntmonth

saiino - @saiinomonth

sasodei / deisaso - @sasodeiweek

sasuhina - @sasuhinamonth

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shikanaru / narushika - @shikanaru-event

shikasaku - @shikasakuweek

shikatema - @shikatemaweek @shikatemamonth

Character-specific blogs -

Iruka Umino - @uminoirukaevents

Itachi Uchiha - @itachi-uchiha-week

Kakashi Hatake - @kakashiweek

Karin Uzumaki - @karinweek

Kisame Hoshigaki - @kisames-corner

Neji Hyuga - @nejiweek @nejiweek24

Obito Uchiha - @obitohideout @obito-week

OC's - @narutoocweek @narutoocshipweek

Sakura Haruno - @harunosakuraweek @sapphicsakuraweek

Tenten - @tentenappreciation

Tobirama Senju - @ace-tobirama-week

Team or clan-specific blogs -

Aburame clan - @aburameweek

Akatsuki - @akatsuki-gift-exchange

Ame trio- @ame-trio-birthday-bash

Hyuga clan - @hyugaclanweek

Nara clan - @naraclanweek

Otsutsuki clan - @otsutsukifamily

Team Gai - @dailyteamguy

Multiple character and/or ship blogs -

Kunoichi characters - @kunoichi-central

Naruto AU's - @narutoauyear

Naruto Calendar - @naruto-calendar

Naruto rare pair events - @narutorarepaireventhub @narutorarepairweek @hate-mail-to-canon

Obon-themed Naruto event - @tales-under-the-lamplight

Would you happen to know of any Narutoverse Event blogs not listed above? Tag us so we can add it! I'll update the blog list as I go!

PSA: Any ships or characters promoted on this blog do not reflect the views, preferences or opinions of the mods.

[gerardwayissexah]

Summary:

“Do you still think about flying?”

Bound in loveless marriages, Neji and Tenten indulge in familiar dreams of flight before the pull of family brings them back down to Earth.

**Written for NejiTen Week 2024 Day 3 - Yuan Fen**

[tentenismybitch]

WIP ask game!

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! then tag as many people as you have wips.

i was tagged by @erumai-maadu! i would tag @bitchnojutsu but chandu did already so. idk. @sagemoderocklee. i have 11 of these and idk 9 other writers to tag so do it if you want to do it!!

tenten's from kumo au

nejiten week 2024 (lol)

post-war depression team gai

daffodils

cut from the dullest knife*

neji abandons konoha au

tenzo and tenten

team gai but make them the main characters au

kakayamagai daycare au

sasuino teas

sasusaiten rokudaime's guards fic

i had to delete all the explanatory parantheticals i added lol

[narutoevents]

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[avbocetos]

Just for a moment...

(Part 2 of this little nejiten sketch)

A turn of fates

My participation on nejiten week

[kvohru]

matching jammies - nejiten week '24

day 2 - gezelligheid (dutch) A convivial, cozy, or warm atmosphere. The warmth of being with loved ones, or seeing a friend after a long absence.

The snowstorm outside didn’t seem to be willing to relent anytime soon, but that wasn’t all that unusual for late December in Konoha. Blankets of pure white snow coated the streets and slicked the windows, creating the idealistic picture of a winter wonderland. It was the perfect setting for creating snow angels or having a snowball fight, Tenten thought, but with them coming up on the coldest month of the year, she couldn’t imagine getting pelted in the face with snow in these particularly frigid temperatures would be very comfortable.

Which was particularly why she’d insisted on everyone staying inside that day, much to her twins’ absolute and utter dismay.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Tenten murmured, brows furrowed, and bit down on her bottom lip. Her eyes flicked up to the clock once again, almost instinctively, and she was again met with the fact that Neji was supposed to be here hours ago.

Despite the world being fairly peaceful, the Fourth Great War having ended five years ago (along with the whole ‘let’s blow up the moon!’ thing from three years ago), shinobi were still needed, and especially capable Jōnin like Hyūga Neji. This time, he was tasked to lead a team of two Chūnin on a mission in the Land of Silence. She didn’t know anything past that, though— he wasn’t allowed to share any specifics with her, but she imagined she had a basic idea of the objectives.

Tenten knew he could take care of himself and of those with him, she trusted him implicitly, honestly, but whenever he was late coming home from missions, she still couldn’t help but worry.

What if he was hurt? What if his subordinates were hurt? What if they encountered—

“Mamaaaaaaa,” a sulky voice came from behind her, little feet padding on the kitchen floor and cutting her train of dreary thoughts short. She could practically hear the pout that was surely on her two year old daughter’s lips. “When’s Papa coming home?”

Ah, yes. And then there was this little munchkin. Tenten had accidentally fallen pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, two years ago, around this time. Thankfully, it was a fairly easy pregnancy.

Too easy, in fact, to the point where they didn’t find out until around seven months in. By chance, at that. Was quite the way to celebrate Neji’s twenty-first, that one.

(And then it was even more surprising when they went for their first checkup and found out they were having, not one, but two children. But that’s a story for another day.)

The brown-haired woman sighed, picking her adorably sleepy—though Hibari was vehemently insistent on denying this—daughter up. “Soon, baby.” She planted a kiss on Hibari’s cheek and fixed her sweater, absently wondering if she should turn the heat up a little more. “Are you cold?”

Hibari shook her head, tiredly nuzzling into Tenten’s neck. “Can we play in the snow, at least?” Unlike her twin brother, Hibari was very vocal. Sakura told her that they were both incredibly advanced for their age, speech-wise, but Hibari was a lot more outgoing than Hao, and therefore a lot more chatty.

If there was someone who did not let her terrible grammar and weird conjugational habits (like exclusively using the word ‘talk��� in the past tense, no matter what) stop her from speaking her mind, it was Hyūga Hibari.

“It’s too cold right now,” Tenten responded, repeating that same explanation for what seemed like the millionth time that night. And then, in a playfully chiding tone, she said, “And it’s too late now, anyway. It’s way past your bedtime.”

Hao was already asleep on the couch, wrapped up in Tenten’s knit throw blanket, having gotten too tired to stay up waiting for his dad. It was a valiant effort, and Tenten didn’t blame him— it was just past midnight by now, and she frankly wished Hibari would just let herself sleep, too. And, well, he was also two years old.

“You sure you’re not sleepy?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure?” Tenten walked back to the living room and folded herself on the couch next to Hao’s sleeping form. Hibari nodded again and nuzzled into her mom’s chest.

A tell-tale sign that she was about to surrender to sleep.

Smiling, Tenten reached over to grab the second throw blanket they had draped over the couch, and adjusted it over the two of them

“Wanna watch a movie?” she asked, voice quiet so as not to wake up Hao. Tenten’s master plan was to put on a Christmas movie, have Hibari utterly entranced and engaged for, like, thirty minutes, before she would inevitably fall asleep. Worked every time.

When Hibari replied in the affirmative and Tenten put the movie on, she was finally free to fret over her husband once more. 

And so they sat there; all three of them on the couch next to each other, Tenten and her two chunky two year olds, bundled up in cosy Christmas pyjamas and warm knit blankets. It was a sweet sight.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

When Neji quietly unlocked the front door of his house and walked in, absolutely and utterly exhausted from that week-long mission abroad, he was surprised to see that warm, yellow light coming from the living room.

Hm. It was probably one of two things: either Tenten was still awake, probably reading or watching a movie (she did that sometimes after the kids went to bed, taking advantage of any alone time she could get), or Tenten was reading or watching a movie, and ended up falling asleep on the couch. Also a likely possibility, and usually an inevitable consequence of the former.

With a small, amused huff, Neji took off his cloak and hung it up by the door, and stepped over the threshold. “I’m home,” he said lowly, if only out of habit rather than out of a real need to alert his wife. As expected, no response came. He made his way to the living room, where a large, prettily-decorated Christmas tree sat in the corner, dimly illuminating the room along with the fairy lights Tenten had strung around. The only other source of light was the television, which was playing one of Tenten and Hibari’s favourite holiday movies (Hao found it a little too scary), The Nightmare Before Christmas. The volume was very low, though, and the credits had started playing at some point before he walked in.

And again, as expected, Tenten was asleep on the couch.

Her long, brown hair was unbound, falling in waves over the back of the couch, and her lips were slightly parted, making way for quiet huffs of air. What surprised him upon walking closer, though, was the toddler laying on her chest, and the other one asleep next to her thigh. All in matching red and white pyjamas, by the way.

He sighed, exasperated but without any real annoyance. He should’ve known they’d wait up for him. Or, well, try to wait up for him.

It was touching.

One of Tenten’s hands was automatically patting Hibari’s back, as if by muscle memory—which meant she mustn’t have fallen asleep that long ago—while the other was holding the remote. Silently and with the easy grace of a seasoned shinobi, he grabbed the remote control from her lax grip (which, okay, wasn’t difficult whatsoever), and turned the television off, before walking to the corner of the room and turning both the decorative tree lights and the string lights off. He was starving and in desperate need of a relaxing bath, but he would carry all three of them to bed before making something to eat. They’d gone through the trouble of trying to stay up and welcome him home, but the mission had unexpectedly dragged on, and with the snowstorm outside, it had all delayed their travel plans. So the least he could do for them was to tuck them in.

“Neji?”

He turned around at the whispered proclamation of his name.

“I’m home,” he said simply, smiling tiredly at his wife. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to dispel the sleepiness, and gently set Hibari down. “I’ll come to you,” he said hurriedly, noticing how tired she was and not wanting her to get up. It was fine that she’d woken up, he supposed—he could still carry her to bed regardless. At the last second, he decided to keep the fairy lights that were strung behind the television on. Despite his words, Tenten still got up and quickly made her way to him, meeting him halfway.

“Welcome home,” she murmured into his chest once she was close enough, having all but thrown herself at him. Her hands grabbed onto the back of his shirt, as if of their own accord. She exhaled, “I missed you.” Immediately, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, and he basically crushed her to him.

“I’ve missed you more than you can imagine, my love,” Neji breathed tiredly, inhaling her sweet smell, and both of them were content to stay in that embrace for a long moment. She could feel the tension leave his body—the way his toned muscles relaxed under her touch and his shoulders drooped. And Tenten honestly would’ve been content to stay like that for the rest of the night, practicality be damned, but much to her dismay, Neji’s arms loosened around her. She pouted at the loss of contact, and made a sound that was much more fit for her daughter to make than it was for a twenty-three year old woman. He rolled his eyes, amused, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I probably smell. I’ll hug you all you want after I shower; I promise.”

Tenten braced her hands against his chest and stood on her tippy-toes, promptly kissing his scruffy cheek. “You really don’t,” she said honestly. “Smell, I mean.” And it was true—even after a week-long mission with no access to his nice soaps and fancy shower products, Neji still smelled nice. Because everything else wasn’t enough, he just had to add ‘always smells good’ to his résumé, apparently. With a yawn, she said, “I’ll go put the kids in their beds and then I’ll heat up your food while you shower and change into something comfortable.”

He covered her hands with his, rubbing gentle circles across her knuckles. “You don’t have to do that,” he argued softly. “You can just go to sleep, darling. Really, I can do the rest.”

She hummed. “I know I don’t,” she yawned again, “but I want to.” She had already turned around and started gently extricating the blanket out of Hao’s grip, and the look she gave him over her shoulder dared him to argue, and while the refutation was at the tip of his tongue, he let it die.

“Thank you,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He spoke so sincerely, brushing her ear with his lips, “You’re incredible.”

She grinned at him, and with an adorable little wink, teased, “I know.”

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Once she heard the water shut off, Tenten started heating up Neji’s share of their dinner that night—homemade herring soba. This would’ve been so much better fresh, she thought, a touch sadly. She’d gone through the trouble of making everything from scratch (save for the smoked fish, of course), and she would’ve loved if he had gotten to taste it right after it was done. Oh, well. It wasn’t like she regretted putting in the effort regardless— she didn’t have much to do today anyway.

Soon enough, Neji walked out of their room in a matching pyjama set in his size and a towel around his neck. Once his eyes found her and then fell on the bowl of noodles in front of her, it was like his whole body softened. His gaze softened, and his shoulders dropped. 

This girl, he thought, was sure to be the death of him.

“C’mere,”

She obliged, pushing herself off the table with a small smile. The moment she was close enough, he pulled her into a rough hug, lifting her off the ground. Over the past few years, Neji had, not unlike some of their other friends, grown considerably in height. When they were teenagers, he’d had some two inches over her, but now, at the age of twenty-three, that difference had increased to what must’ve been something like nine, if she had to guess. His body had filled out considerably, too. (The wonders of testosterone, am I right?) After the War and his fatal injury, he had had to spend upwards of a year recovering and recuperating, and then he had to spend the next year regaining his strength and training, little by little, but he managed. It was a miracle he’d survived in the first place, though.

The curse mark had disappeared, removing any doubts that he could’ve been alive, but somehow, medics found a very weak pulse, which was enough for them to work with. It was so on brand for him, though—denying the odds so intensely. 

Tenten squeaked gleefully, the noise dissolving into giggles when he pressed his lips to hers. “You,” he was saying between bruising kisses, “are not real.” She looped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his middle, giggling into the kiss but unable to come up with a witty comeback of any kind. “God,” he groaned, “I love you so much.” 

Ah, there it was.

She grinned against his lips, and mustering up her most annoying, smart-alecky voice, she interjected, “Um, the name is Tenten, actually, but thanks—”

Neji rolled his pretty eyes spectacularly, without any real annoyance (when had he gotten so mushy?), and he scoffed a laugh. Of course she’d say that. “Oh, shut up.” 

When she giggled again and nuzzled her face into that spot in his neck, he allowed himself to fully enjoy this moment, letting go of that knee-jerk guilt he felt whenever he got something good, for once.

And when, after a moment or two, she murmured a very quiet, “I love you, too, Neji. I’m glad you’re home,” into his skin, he let himself think he deserved it.

--

thank you to my lovely oomfie @lubdubu for letting me borrow hibari & hao LOVE YOU DEARLY!!!

[soulcialdent]

Day 3: Yuan-fen (Chinese)

The destiny, the fate, or the luck that brings people or things together.

The front door to the gym slowly opens and a young brunette stumbles in looking exhausted. Her hair is messy, most likely from the helmet that she currently has slung across her arm. She takes a deep breath and walks further into the building before she finally spots who she came to see. 

“Hey Lee”  the green-clad man whipped his head around and rushed over to her just as quickly pulling her into a hug.  Tenten flinched, Lee let her go panicked

“Lotus, are you okay?” He took in her appearance. Her arms and legs were scrapped up

“It's just been a really rough day.  I got into a little bike accident but I'm fine. You don't need to freak out” 

One.

Two..

Three…

As if on cue, he started pacing back and forth. Asking her 21 questions and firing them off faster than she could answer.  The brunette walked over to a nearby set of bleachers to take a seat.  Lee followed right behind continue his string of questions and concerns. 

“Lee, calm down. Look I'm okay”  

“You have to tell me what happened? Right now! ” 

She rolled her eyes regretting telling him the truth.

“This idiot in a luxury vehicle opened up the passenger side door without looking and hit me with it right as I'm passing his vehicle. I go flying off and this random person catches me and we both end up tumbling to the ground”

Lee nodded so she'd would continue.

“My adrenaline was pumping so I'm a little foggy on the details. I'm not sure how to.. explain it…but the guy who caught me ended up being the owner of the vehicle that I crashed into.  Not how that works exactly because he was out on the street with me but yeah. I think he said his name was like Ninji or something…I got his contact information and I'm supposed to call him to make arrangements. 

Lee puts his hand out, asking for the card.  Tenten reached into her jacket pocket and pulled the thick business card made of vinyl. He read the name.

Hyuuga Neji

Assistant Director of Hyuuga Industries

“ I know him. This is that friend I’ve been wanting you to meet.  How youthful”  A bright smile began to form on his face. “ Funny enough, he should be stopping back shortly for our weekly workout,” Lee handed her back the card. 

Tenten didn't know what to say.  Her high is now gone and the ache in her muscles now begins to set in. 

“You should wait around and properly meet him. Wait here. I need to go grab some from the back”  Lee quickly ran off leaving her to her thoughts.

She didn't know whether this was destiny,  fate, or just random but she knew one thing for sure.  It was happening.

Yuan-fen

[natiyrm]

Nejiten Week 2024 Day 1 - Saudade

Is it possible to feel nostalgia for the happiness that you never owned…?

Art by @zestivivi

[kvohru]

it's you again - nejiten week '24

day 3 - 缘分 (yuánfèn; chinese) the destiny, the fate, or the luck that brings people or things together.

soulmate au - in a world where something memorable your soulmate says to you is tattooed somewhere on your body…♡

The sound of Tenten’s alarm woke her up with a jolt. She groaned, rolling to the side and groping for her phone on the bedside table. It was five-thirty in the morning, and the sun wasn’t even up yet, but it was the only free time she had in her schedule to go to the gym.

Ah, yes. The joys of being employed. Kind of.

She’d recently taken up a new tutoring job for some rich kid, and it ever so conveniently fell during the times she usually went to the gym, so, after weighing her options (not taking the job and giving up the money for a few extra hours of sleep, or giving up her precious sleep in order to afford rent and her tuition), she decided that the importance of sleep was subjective, and who really needed eight hours every single night? (Terrible advice, by the way, and she knew that. She was just coping.)

So because of that, she decided she would start going to the gym earlier in the morning. This is good, she thought, eyes bleary and head pounding as she sat up in bed. She was desperately trying to convince herself not to fall back asleep. I’ve been meaning to start getting up earlier anyway. Self-improvement and all.

She rubbed her eyes, taking a deep breath and resting her head against the headboard. This was only the first day of this new arrangement and she was already sick of it.

Do it for the money, Tenten, she thought, finally getting herself off the bed and into the bathroom. The inscription on her ribcage was visible to her in the mirror from under her bralette. Her soulmate mark.

‘It’s you again,’ it read. 

She’d had it all her life—similar to the rest of the population—and at some point, it stopped being something she noticed. Or thought about, really.

A lot of people were very fixated on finding their soulmate, and there were even people you could go to (finders, they called themselves) to help you reach that person, but, even with how spiritually inclined Tenten was, she found she never really cared for the notion. Nor did she believe in those Finders, but whatever. Sure, meeting your soulmate and eventually getting into a relationship of some sort seemed nice in theory (I mean, wasn’t that the whole point?), but the reality turned Tenten off from it. There was so much pressure to be with your soulmate—so much pressure for it to be perfect. It was a very idealised, romanticised version of reality that it made Tenten roll her eyes.

It wasn’t like she was a cynic or something—far from it—but come on. There was no guarantee that any relationship of any kind would be ‘perfect’, right? It’s human nature, isn’t it? People disagree and fight and argue and make up and compromise and do it all over again; that’s what it means to live and interact with others. So despite the point of the soulmate system being to find that perfect relationship, there was still no guarantee. And you’d think that that much would be obvious to people. You’d think they’d grow to expect it by now, but no. The amount of soulmates who don’t actually end up together, for a lack of trying, is more than a lot of people would care to admit.

After all, the downside of a system designed to offer the path of least resistance is people running away at the first sign of trouble. It’s human nature.

So while Tenten was not a cynic, she was satisfied with not being a romantic either.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Neji pulled on a black shirt and grabbed his gym bag before heading out.

It was still quite early in the morning, and he liked that. He enjoyed the quiet serenity of the early morning; it was the only time this city was quiet. Well, relatively, anyway. And that’s why he liked going to the gym that early in the morning.

The gym was pretty empty at six am, and the only constant presence he could expect there was usually his (unofficial) workout partner, Rock Lee. Though he supposed they were more friends now than anything.

The first thing he noticed when he got to the gym (yes, he’d walked there. It was only a few minutes away and it was a good warmup) was the dark blue Audi parked in what would be his usual spot on the days he chose to drive. The gym, though large, would not be that empty anymore, he thought with some irritation.

(Okay, sure, he knew he was being somewhat unreasonable and that this was very much a non-issue, but still. It was six am, and he’d stayed up the previous night studying for a Criminal Law exam he had later in the week. He deserved some slack and an empty gym.)

Oh, come on.

The first thing he noticed when he walked inside was a girl. Which usually wouldn’t be much of a surprise—he wasn’t an incel, thank you very much—but she currently appeared to be using his jump rope, in front of his chest press machine, and her bag (which he hazarded to assume was the pink one with a fluffy pastel charm that looked like it would make cute jingly noises when it moved) was in his bag’s spot.

He hazarded another guess regarding the identity of the parking lot thief.

The thief in question was currently done warming up, it seemed, and she set down the jump rope to grab her (reusable and also pastel) water bottle, humming a popular song he’d heard his little cousin listen to before under her breath.

Because of course she was the type to listen to TWICE while jumping his rope.

Okay, that sounded weird, he realised belatedly. He also realised that he was still standing there being pissy and staring at her, which was not only weird and creepy, but also unproductive.

Weirdly, though, Lee was not here today. Huh, he thought with a hum. He’d send him a text later, he supposed, but for now, he set his bag down next to his usual spot, and grabbed a different jump rope. What-fricking-ever. 

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Tenten pulled on a pair of black tights, a black miniskirt, and a cream knit sweater before grabbing her bag and getting in her car for the third time that day, only this time, she was so nervous she thought she might throw up. She never knew what to expect when it came to these tutoring jobs—and a big part of her was annoyed to admit that the thought of those pesky kids disliking her irked her a little.

Well, irked was the wrong word. It more so… unnerved her, if you will.

Okay, it scared her. In the same way a mob of younger teenagers passing by her made her nervous. Big fucking deal.

And especially this client, whom she found out was very rich. That was, obviously, also terrifying.

She finally pulled up to the location— a mansion that looked more like a castle than anything. Lovely.

Maybe these clients were a little richer than she’d originally thought.

She reread the email that said, ‘Ring the gate when you arrive and introduce yourself as Hanabi-sama’s tutor,’ and sighed. It felt like overkill to her, but whatever. At least the pay was good.

She did as instructed, and when she was let in by a fricking butler, she had to hold back an absurd laugh. Who the hell were these people? Like, okay, sure, she looked it up and found out they were some huge conglomerate or something, but like…? Just how rich were they?

୨୧

So they were apparently very rich, if literally everything around her was to go by.

Hanabi, the fourteen year old she was tutoring, was incredibly sweet, though, so that was nice. Not at all as intimidating as she’d feared.

“Okay, so,” Tenten started, pulling Hanabi’s notebook closer and marking something with her pen, “ihr in Akkusativ is euch not sie…”

They were interrupted by the door of the study room (yeah, they had that) opening and someone walking in.

And holy shit. It was that guy from the gym.

He seemed to have the same realisation, for his jaw dropped open, and he stopped in his tracks.

“You’re the guy that kept glaring at me,” she blurted out.

He blinked, and with a curious sort of confusion in his voice, said, “It’s you again.”

[kvohru]

never both/pragmatic - nejiten week '24

day 1 - saudade (portuguese) The feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia. A yearning for happiness that has passed, or perhaps never even existed.

Tenten was surprised when she got the dinner invitation in the mail. She supposed she shouldn’t have been, though. It was just about time for the Team Gai monthly dinners—the weekend of the 15th of every month. Every month, on the fifteenth (or the weekend that corresponded or was closest to it—for practicality purposes), Gai-han would meet up at a local diner and have a meal together. They’d catch up and discuss how their weeks were, complaining about mundanities such as an annoying grocery store run or the pipes being frozen again due to the harsh Konoha winters. They might even share the details of their last mission—with Neji being a newly appointed Jōnin, it delighted Gai to listen to his student, whom he’d nurtured from a cynical little twelve year old, constantly angry at the world and stuck in his ways, to a mature, level-headed young adult who had finally begun to have faith in life. Who had finally allowed himself to dream and hope and love and laugh and everything in between.

It delighted Gai even more so when he’d notice, through the little passing details in Neji’s stories, that the Hyūga had subconsciously adopted some of Gai’s ways when leading a team of his own. It got him thinking how it would be for Neji if he were to ever lead a squad of Genins, someday. How his own experiences as a Genin and how Gai’s tutelage might subconsciously pass on to that new squad. Out of the three of them—Lee, Neji and Tenten—Neji was the least likely to verbally express affection. He wasn’t particularly good with flowery words, and he often struggled to articulate such feelings, courtesy of his upbringing, so it was much easier for him to show affection through his actions. He was always willing to go out of his way to help, even in small, almost unnoticeable ways such as filling up an extra water bottle just in case someone forgot to fill up theirs (usually Gai, ironically enough). Buying candy for Tenten if he noticed (which he always did) that her mood was down. Making time to spar with Lee despite their packed schedules, if only to indulge in that nostalgia and spend time with his friend, in their own special way.

He was dependable. Kind.

Contrary to what some might think, Hyūga Neji was so very kind. He was undeniably good, and it showed in his actions. It bled through to his morals and how he conducted himself.

So for Gai to have his legacy passed on so tangibly, subconsciously no less, and to be able to see that with his own eyes… It was a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other. No amount of successful S-Rank missions or victories could trump the feeling of knowing you made a difference in someone’s life. Of knowing your influence on someone changed the course of their life for the better, even if only by a little bit.

This would be the first Team Gai dinner since Neji had died in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

This would be the first Team Gai dinner as a squad of three, not four.

Tenten looked at the invitation again. It was from Gai-sensei, inviting her to the local yakiniku place they’d been to so often in the past. Sometimes they’d go after missions, and Gai would treat them to reward their success, or even to uplift them after a failure; to remind them that there’s always a next time. Sometimes they’d go for celebrations—birthdays and rank promotions and such. And sometimes it was simply an excuse to see each other again, amidst all the responsibilities of being older, more dependable shinobi. Sometimes it was just an excuse to enjoy each other’s company and be together, if only for a night, like they’d grown so accustomed to in their earlier years.

It had been so long since Tenten had met up with Gai-sensei and Lee, outside of formal business of some sort. It was just too painful.

Over the past year or so after the war, Tenten and Lee alternated taking care of Gai. After the many months he spent bedridden in the hospital, during which they would alternate visiting him almost everyday, it was a given that one would see Gai strolling around the village in his wheelchair, accompanied by one of his former subordinates. It was like an unspoken agreement had been signed between Lee and Tenten: always one of them, and never both. It was easier that way.

When one of them was alone with Gai, it was easier to pretend that the two absent teammates were off doing their own thing. It was easier for Tenten to pretend, if only for a little bit, that Lee and Neji were off training at their usual spot, and it was easier for Lee to pretend that Tenten and Neji were taking a stroll around the village, or even hanging out at a tea shop, like they’d taken to doing at some point down the line. It was easier to ignore that gaping hole Neji’s death had left behind. That missing limb that overwhelmingly hindered the movement of the body as a whole. It was easier to ignore than to try and adjust to it—to the missteps and phantom pains and jerky movements.

Too soon after the war, shinobi were forced to take on new roles and responsibilities befitting the new needs of the village and the Allied Shinobi Forces as a whole, which put their grief on the back burner, and at some point, they eventually got too caught up with their own lives (which was, as much as Tenten hated admitting it, somewhat of a coping mechanism to deal with the loss of someone so significant) that they stopped seeing each other and meeting up. In the process of ‘dealing with’ (i.e. forgetting) and moving on from the loss of Neji, they ended up moving on from their bond as a team and all the memories they’d shared. It was easier to cut each other clean off and fully move on from team Gai as a whole than it was to try and pick the pieces back up and reconstruct it, this time wholly aware of the missing member.

That’s why, over the past year or so, Team Gai had let the distance get between them. They surrendered to it. Let it cause a chasm between them and then some. It was better for them to drift apart with love and goodness and grace and well-wishes in their hearts than to let the grief overwhelm them and drive a vicious wedge between them, like it had during those days immediately after the war. The way Tenten saw it—and she felt that Lee no doubt thought the same—it was better for Team Gai to dissolve naturally and amicably.

And for a while, that worked. Terrifyingly well.

The world had already begun to move on from the War, and the village was mostly rebuilt. People—shinobi and civilians alike— were rebuilding their lives and getting used to this era of peace. It was weird. It honestly still felt surreal most days. Tenten—any shinobi in general—was so used to being on edge all the time, and constantly preparing for the worst. Her fight or flight response was always either on edge or at the forefront, waiting like a dog poised to strike. But now, there was no war anymore, and though the effects of it could still be seen and felt everywhere, people were starting to acclimate. She didn’t need to conceal knives on her person anymore when going out. She didn’t need to sleep restlessly anymore.  She would be okay. She was okay.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

At the last second, Tenten reached for her mascara again, unscrewing it and giving her lashes one last coat. She knew it was probably unneeded, but she did it anyway, and she felt better. She was still getting used to that—doing things for the sake of doing them, knowing they served no real purpose.

Tenten was… pragmatic. Very much so. And don’t get me wrong, that is a wonderful quality for a shinobi to possess, but Tenten found she no longer needed that. Well, not as much anyway. Her pragmatism had helped her solve countless problems successfully in the past, and it was one of the reasons she and Neji worked so well together. They were both sensible, if not a little hard headed at times, and they understood each other. To their friends, it always seemed like those two were moving in a rhythm inaudible to everyone but themselves. They were best friends, in every sense of the term. They somehow always knew what the other was thinking, and what to do. And part of that was because they were similar in that way—stubborn, sure, but willing to compromise when the situation called for it.

Pragmatic.

Which is why Tenten says her pragmatism helped her in the past, but she would be the first to admit that it also held her back from many things.

‘It would be too difficult,’ or, ‘Our backgrounds are too different.’ Or perhaps even the worst one, ‘We’re probably better off as friends.’

All things Tenten had said to herself in the name of being realistic. Pragmatic.

All excuses Tenten used to hold herself back from doing what she wanted to do, just for the sake of it. Shinobi fell in love. It was nothing unheard of—I mean, they were human after all. It was expected, even. Everyone was harrowingly aware of the risks being a shinobi entailed, and for most, quitting was not an option, so it was up to them to decide whether or not they would pursue a romantic relationship. 

It was up to them to decide which they were going to sacrifice: a chance at love, or their career. Because, in their world, it unfortunately had to be one or the other.

The choice was obvious. The pragmatic choice was obvious.

And both Neji and Tenten were pragmatic.

So they chose their careers.

When faced with the choice of being best friends and continuing to toe that line like they’d been doing for so long, or being lovers, and discovering an entirely new part of themselves—tasting an entirely new flavour they hadn’t even known existed—they chose the former. Because it was always one, and never both. And that was fine, for a while.

In fact, if that had been the end of it, Tenten imagined, perhaps terribly and selfishly, then maybe the aftermath of his death wouldn’t have been as hard. And maybe that made her a terrible person. Maybe she was terrible for wishing he’d never confessed and they’d never kissed. Maybe she was terrible for wishing he hadn’t given her a taste of what she longed for for so long, only to cruelly take it away before either of them were ready. And she knew it wasn’t his fault, but part of her couldn’t help but blame him. And maybe that made her a terrible person; she didn’t know.

But for now, she was content with doing small, pointless, impractical things like putting on another coat of mascara, just for the sake of it. She’d swallow the lump in her throat and put on a brave face and walk out, and she’d do things just because she wanted to. Just because it made her feel better.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

They’d both shown up.

“Hey,” she greeted, once she’d spotted the two green-clad men waiting by the entrance of the restaurant. She’d gotten there a few minutes early, but here they were, arriving even earlier. 

“Tenten!” It was Lee.

While Lee had jumped at the opportunity of this dinner, craving the nostalgia like it were a physical thing, Tenten was a bit hesitant. Still, they had both shown up. She smiled. How very predictable of Team Gai.

Maybe things weren’t that different after all.

It was awkward at first. After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the restaurant and took their seats at the reserved booth. The thought of making small talk with people that were once so engraved in each other’s very being was unbearable. The view of the vacant seat at the table was also unbearable—it had been so long since they’d met up like this for dinner that, when Gai-sensei was making the reservation, he accidentally asked for a table for four instead of three. Force of habit.

But they managed.

“How have you been, Tenten?” Gai asked, voice mellow. Him and Lee had remained pretty close through it all, partly because of Lee’s self-imposed duty to care for Gai most of the time, and partly because those two had always had a special bond that not even Neji and Tenten could get between. Tenten shrugged noncommittally, replying with that customary reassurance that made it seem like she was very busy while simultaneously downplaying whatever it is she’d been busy with since she’d last seen them. He nodded kindly, and the three of them started chatting mindlessly about nothing in particular. It was obvious that they were ignoring the elephant in the room. Neji’s loss—his absence at this table—was so palpable it was almost taking up the space of the would-be conversation.

“I miss him,” Tenten sighed, almost bluntly. Flippantly. She didn’t know what reaction she was expecting, but the willing avoidance was getting suffocating. She knew everyone was thinking that, so why didn’t anyone say it?! Why couldn’t anyone give her that relief? Why was everyone—her included, she realised belatedly—so hell-bent on forgetting him, when he had been such a core part of who they were for so long? She missed him. She missed talking to him— about him. She didn’t like that no one brought him up anymore, as if he’d never even existed. He deserved to be celebrated and remembered, for God’s sake! That was the least they could do for him.

“Me, too,” Lee murmured, uncharacteristically resigned. “It’s unbearable, most days.”

Immediately, pressure built up behind Tenten’s eyes, and she vaguely regretted putting on more mascara. “Yeah,” she whispered, almost in wonder, “it is.”

And surprisingly, that was what broke the tension.

Or maybe it wasn’t surprising or weird or unexpected. Maybe that made perfect sense. Because Team Gai was never one for stuffy formalities or beating around the bush—they knew each other too well for that.

Gradually and ever so tentatively, the dinner took on an air of normalcy, and things were almost like the old times—almost. They were able to actually speak to each other again for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, without being snappy or short-tempered, or feeling like their words weren’t reaching through to the other person. They were finally able to acknowledge their loss together, and weirdly enough, it made them feel lighter than they had in ages.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

“It’s getting late,” Tenten yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “We should probably go before we get kicked out.”

With a frown, Lee responded, “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

They, reluctantly, said their goodbyes. She’d originally thought this would be awkward, but she realised with a pang as she was walking away that she didn’t want to go. 

“Tenten!” Lee called out from a distance away, and she turned around.

“What is it?” she called back.

“Don’t be a stranger.”

Her breath hitched, and the only thing she could do was nod vigorously and hope he saw it.

She would be okay. They would be okay.