Chapter Text
The first time Tenten had seen it, she had been sure that they had been ambushed by the most terrifying foe the world had ever seen without anybody noticing. She had been convinced that she would be dead before she could even turn around with how Neji had frozen in place, unable to move a single digit.
She could still remember how she had tried to move her hands slowly toward her Kunai purse, only millimeters at a time while trying to meet Neji’s gaze to find out where the enemy was hiding.
Gai had been out, collecting wood for a fire at the time and Tenten was afraid that he might already be dead with how Neji’s face had lost all his color. She had imagined their teacher’s body lying near the river, bloody, contorted in pain he did not feel anymore, his eyes wide open in shock at the sudden attack.
Lee hadn’t stopped humming his song softly while building the second tent a few meters away and Tenten had tried to make him understand the danger too, but he stayed ignorant.
When the black-haired Taijutsu user had turned around, he hadn’t even looked up at his teammates, while going for one of the bedrolls on the pile Neji had been searching for the third tent when he had noticed the incoming attack.
Tenten had seen how Neji’s hand had twitched only for a second as if to grip the other’s hand but stopped because he was scared that somebody noticed that they had been discovered.
Lee had made a surprised noise then, before smiling and Tenten had used this time to grab her weapon, ready to spin around and attack when –
“Oh look, a spider”, Lee had smiled stretching his hand out for the black insect to crawl onto.
Neji had shrieked.
Only when he had fallen back unto his literal ass and scrambled backward, Tenten had finally understood:
Neji Hyuuga was terrified of spiders.