#dragonheartedx

“Hm? Oh, Tenten-senpai, I didn’t think I’d find you here.”

Already it had been over a year since Naruto and Sasuke had left the village for different reasons, and in the time since, she and nearly every other person in the unofficially named ‘Konoha 11′ had become Chuunin. Well... sans Naruto after he’d left for training, but Sakura couldn’t help but feel so drastically different from the year before when she’d still been that bud really blooming in earnest. And of those people, that they’d done it in the brutality of the Land of Wind had been something else, in Sunagakure considering their tense history from just a year before. The heat had ripened to a robust summer, the sun beating powerfully upon them in the verdant, humid air that seemed hotter by the hour. Not that Sakura minded much, even though part of her wondered after the brunette. Hell, she couldn’t remember if they’d spoken much before. 

When Lee received an invitation to Sakura's wedding, he couldn't believe his eyes. Not that he doubted that a beautiful young woman like Sakura could get married, but he hoped that Sakura would marry him. Yes, she didn't agree to go on dates with him, but Lee was stubborn. But ... that's it.

Lee hugged Ten-Ten back, feeling completely upset. Why Uchiha? After all that happened many years ago, Sakura should have realized that Sasuke Uchiha is not the best candidate for a woman dreaming of a family. And Lee had never seen Sasuke take an interest in her as a woman. Since he left Konoha, he has very rarely returned. Was that okay with Sakura? Is this the type of relationship she likes? If so, Lee had to come to terms with it.

“Hmph, indeed you’re not treating me like a child.  Children are allowed to fetch a glass of water without being fussed over.”  He wasn’t too upset with her.  He knew she was only so terribly pushy because she was worried about losing him.  He was merely frustrated and bored, so very bored.  It was the worst part of being injured, being unable to move around and be productive.  At least when Hinata cared for him, she allowed him to do a little cooking or tidy up.  He felt like a waste of space, allowing TenTen to do everything for him.  He hadn’t even been able to disobey her demands while she was out because she didn’t go out.

The Hyuuga took the glass of water, only to set it aside on a nearby end table.  He was definitely sulking, frustrating showing clearly on his face.  She didn’t have to take the doctor’s orders so strictly.  Nothing bad would happen if he were to walk around her home for a while.  “If you were injured, I would not torment you by forcing you to stay on bedrest,” he protested, though he didn’t really mean it.  If TenTen were injured, he’d be busy blaming himself for not protecting her and demanding frequent visits from one of their medic friends, potentially more of an irritant than she was currently being.  

“Very well.  If you insist, I will stay on the couch.”  Though he relented, Neji wasn’t giving up so easily.  He didn’t like to lose.  Despite his injured state, he was still able to swiftly reach over, wrap his arms around her waist and pull her to him, directly onto his lap.  His grip was tight, holding her back against his chest and burying his face into her neck in an affectionate gesture. She was so warm compared to his cool skin.  

suigetsu never expected those words to leave anyone’s mouth. nobody had ever told him to live. the blood mist had told him he had to die - the kekkei-genkai haters had tried to kill him, orochimaru had turned him into a subject, sasuke had turned him into a pawn. an expendable piece in a game of murder.

his violet eyes widened under his fringe of snowy hair. tenten...really said that?

he hadn’t needed a reason to live before. he used to figure that he existed to piss the world off. but hearing someone confirm that he was needed for something other than causing strife and grief...that was unbelievable.

CAMPAIGN 1 | CRITICAL ROLE SENTENCE STARTERS

As she says that, Neji turned his attention toward TenTen. Of course he could have excused this statement she was making on the simple fact that Hyuga eyes tended to give off that kind of look. Though it would be silly to say, knowing TenTen for this long now, she would call this out “Yeah.” Ever so faintly his mouth formed into a smile “ You would notice that, rather than believing it’s just how my eyes look.” He turned his head slightly, the smile beginning to fade back to neutrality “It’s been one of those days.” Usually he was fine. But sometimes, every once and a while, he would find himself thinking about his father. Or even about his family. Maybe it was about his childhood in general. It was a very lonely time for him. Though it had been TenTen’s presence that suddenly reminded him he wasn’t alone anymore. He had Team Gai, and all of the Konoha Eleven “It was silly, right? Thinking about the past.”

HE SCANS THE FOLDER THAT TSUNADE HANDS OVER AS HE STANDS, SLOUCHED, WITH A HAND IN HIS POCKET.

A new mission. B-Rank, escorting job. 

“Kusarou of the Land of Tea wants a guard with him. He’s bringing some assets of his across to a neighboring land to secure a business deal,” Tsunade says, in her usual stern tone, as she looks at Shikamaru.

He looks back at her with half-lidded eyes, eyebrows quirked slightly. “I see. It’s understandable that you would choose Neji and Tenten to come as well.” But she’s tense, and he knows that it means there’s more to them being there than Neji’s recent promotion.

Tsunade’s eyes narrow as she leans back. She knows that Shikamaru has already calculated another concern from that small movement alone.

“Kusarou is a sleaze,” she says frankly, scowling. “He’s more of a pervert than that toady Jiraiya, and I have bets that the ‘assets’ he’s using to secure this business deal are young women he’s blackmailed into becoming servants for the other man’s household.” 

With that disgusting utterance off her tongue, she raises a fist to her teeth. Clearly, she’s enraged. And she has the right to be.

Shikamaru’s eyes widen at the statement. He wonders what Tsunade is going to say next; he feels she’s going to say something from the way she’s sitting there. He waits, for a moment.

“Get Neji and Tenten and leave immediately,” Tsunade barks at him. What she wants to say is left unsaid. She gnaws on the knuckle of her left index finger as  he turns around.

He knows she’s doing that, anyway. The signs were all there.

And this mission...there are signs here, too.

Walking through the sparse forest, Neji could feel his muscles ache.  With the intensity with which his team trained, he hadn’t thought it possible to be even more exhausted than he usually was after team training, but here he was, taking slow, staggering steps once out of sight from any who might judge.  Everything hurt.  Perhaps he shouldn’t have trained with Hinata in the morning and his team in the afternoon.  He was over confident again.  The heat of the summer didn’t help either.  It was so hot.  At times he thought his shoes might melt to the ground.  They should have switched to night trainings like some of the other teams but no, Gai had insisted sweating was more youthful.  Ugh, he felt sick.

The Hyuuga was aware of a small dock extending over to stream that touched the edge of their training grounds.  Fishermen used it at times, but these days it was mostly empty.  Now that the rest of his team were on their way home, it wouldn’t hurt for Neji to stay and relax.  He stepped onto the dock, taking a moment to take stock of the water below.  It was clear enough to see the rocks at the bottom, a few plants tinting the water green here and there.  It was quite the improvement on the thick green waters of the pond on his family’s property.  After taking a look around to make sure no one was watching, the Hyuuga slipped off his shoes, and sat on the dock’s edge, dipping his feet down into the cold water.  He wouldn’t call it dignified to be so undone in public but he was on his team’s training ground.  No one would see if he allowed himself a bit of indulgence.  Even the small bit of cool water was already a relief to his aching muscles.

Original Post Here

Supposing such at thing to be true, Neji had wondered much of his past he had liked to be part of him. Because of what had been going on in his family, he had forgotten to be kind. That had made him into quite a cruel person for a time. A person he really wasn't on the inside. But the anger and pain had easily gotten to him without his mother or father there, for him. He had no siblings, and until graduating, no true friends. Just people talking about his being a genius. That didn't make ones childhood any better. Staring at Tenten, he blinked and listen to what she had to say. Then turned his gaze away, nodding once " I have done some terrible things, in my past.  Things that need to be made up for." However, each time he had tried to do something for Hinata. His mind would come up with another excuse for why he shouldn't.

He had loved Hinata, he always had. That, he knew, was one part of why he had been so angry toward her. Even if she had never done anything to him. She stood for everything that had been done to him. She had become the epicenter for all his suffering. But he now knew that his anger was misdirected. Her ignorance was not her fault, but Hiashi's and the Elder Hyuga's. It was them, who had deserved his ire. Narrowing his eyes a little bit, he went back to staring off as his thoughts continued to swirl with things that had happened so long ago now. When Tenten had finish what she was saying next, he held his arms straight down his sides, his fingers toying with the insides of his shirt sleeves, absently, for a moment " Even now that I have Team Gai, and am no longer lonely. There's just some loneliness that presence cannot fill. The presence of a parent, that will never be there."

Neji gave a faint, solemn grin at this " But still, the presence of a friend, can make all the difference. Can't it?" Neji questioned staring up toward the sky through the tree's. Yes, he may not have been able to fill that void the loss of his parents left behind. But he now had friends, he wondered if his father was proud of him. Maybe his mother was glad her son wouldn't be so alone anymore, from now on. But that was also something he would always wonder, what would the think of him. What stories did they still have to share with them. What were they like as children. How different would his life had been from the one he had now, if they had still been around. It was harder, when Neji had grown up being Hinata's measuring stick for her father to grade her ability with. Neji let out a small huff.

Listening, his ears twitched slightly as he hears here toss the kunai, his head turning after it for a moment before he is looking toward Tenten once agian. He had always enjoyed Tenten's companionship the most. Probably because she was a lot more tame, like him, than the other two had been. There was only so much he could handle of the other two all at once, when they were having one of their more spazzy, high energy days. Thankfully, today it seemed that the two other Team Gai members had vaporized into the either, and given him and Tenten the day off. Neji had to assume they were bound to show up any moment however "Yes. Sadly, this sadness isn't something that is one that could easily be mended, no matter how much, you, or I, or anyone else attempted." The only thing that could heal it, was long gone and buried by this time.

It was a shame, he was looked up to. Yet, he found himself often thinking about such terribly sad things. He spent far too much time focusing on being better than any other Hyuga, to prove that a branch member was and could be better than a main house member. But outside of his own family, people looking up to him had never been something he thought about. He already had known he was better than the people outside of his own family. Shifting finally, he moved closer to the other, sitting down beside her in a lotus style. Bringing his arms up to cross under his chest he offered a faint smile toward her "Yes, I know." He had always found spending time with her and just sitting quietly, or talking could often turn his worst days into far better ones at the end, than they were in the beginning. Quietly he sat on the grass, staring up at the sky just enjoying the quiet between them, knowing that any moment Gai and Lee would probably find them.