Work Text:
“Stuffy air” she thinks bored, her eyes darting to the door that had not opened once during the day. With another sigh her eyes wander over the freshly cleaned kunai on the wall, then to the dusty katana on the counter next to her. One hour ago, she had been cleaning any weapon that caught her attention so that the day would finally decide to pass along. Even that became stale after the twentieth kunai. The katana next to her was a reminder of the task that she had set for herself yet she could not will herself to move even a muscle. Her eyes wandered to the clock for what seemed like the thousandth time today. 1 pm, a groan that she could not hold back left her lips, last time she had checked it had been 12:55 pm.
She could not resist shoving her head into her arms, closing her eyes for a moment yet the air was still stuffy and torrid. Maybe she should open the door to let in some fresh air? She didn’t want to leave her counter though. A sigh and she turned her head resting head, so it was now placed sideways, allowing her to observe her shop once more. This wasn’t what she had expected when she opened her own shop. While she felt self-pity for herself her eyes started to wander again. The light coming through the windows of the doors highlighted the dust flowing around in the stuffy room. No wonder customers didn’t like staying here for a long time, well not like anyone needed to buy weapons in such peaceful times. Of course, peace was amazing, that was what she and so many others had fought for a long time ago after all. Another sigh escaped her lips, and she turned her head to the other side.
Now she was face to face with an old, framed picture of her and three other guys. She looked at her younger self smiling cheerfully. She couldn’t help but return the smile, though it was less effervescent than the one she had in the picture. Her gaze fell on one of the guys beside her, Lee. A light giggle left her lips as she noticed his silly posture. With fondness her eyes now stopped just behind her. Sensei Gai. Oh right, he asked to meet me tomorrow. She remembered the conversation the two of them had yesterday. What did he want to do again? Ah he wanted to go eat somewhere together with me and Lee. She had gladly agreed to join him back then. Like this the three of them could catch up again. It was weird, they had been in a team together and survived so many life-or-death situations together but now that they were adults they hardly had the chance to meet up and chat like they used to when they were young.
Would things have been different if he was still here? She couldn’t stop the forming thought in her mind. If he were still here then… She dropped that depressing thought before her mind could come up with more. With a small inhale of the stuffy air her eyes finally landed on the last person in the picture looking as serious as ever. Her gaze filled with nostalgia before she couldn’t look at him anymore. She lifted her body up so that she was now standing once more, her eyes focused on the dusty katana next to her. One swift motion and the weapon was in her hands. She grabbed the towel she had carelessly thrown on the chair next to her and moved it over the blade in gentle and even motions. The steel was cool to the touch despite the heat she felt.
Despite the task at hand her eyes started to get distracted again. This time it was the calendar on the wall, a present from Lee from a long time ago. She used to mark every day on it but now that she could just take a short look on her phone she had stopped doing that, though she still flicked every page at the beginning of each new month. Each month had small drawings of different animals decorating the beige paper.
“October already?” She wondered out loud. She looked at the days, each box had a small note written in it to remind her of special things happening on that day, when her eyes landed on the ninth she stopped her wandering eyes.
“Visit grave” Was what a younger version of herself had written underneath the red nine. A drawing of a white bird sat on top of the number nine, looking satisfied. Her eyes flickered to the picture of the serious boy again. The katana, long forgotten about, was placed back on the counter as she pulled out the phone that she knew to be in the pocket of her pants. The red case was the first thing to greet her eyes. She turned the phone around so that now a black display faced her instead. She pushed the power button and there she saw it.
“October 9th” She mumbled. The screen went dark, and she pushed the button again. It still showed the same date, her eyes hadn’t deceived her. That didn’t stop her from pushing the power button again and again every time the screen went dark until she finally stopped. Nothing had changed, it still was the same date. October 9th.
She looked at the katana before finally moving from the place she had been frozen in for what felt like hours. Her phone disappeared back into her pocket. One step, she walked slow, too slow for her taste. By the second step she walked faster, a third and she had already crossed the big room, landing in front of the door. Not even a moment later the door was opened, fresh and cool air hitting her face, a nice change to the stuffy air inside. She didn’t take her time to appreciate it closing the door to her shop and changing the sign from open to closed. Fourth step, she wasn’t walking by this point. Fifth step, still too slow. Sixth step, seventh step.
“Tenten” His voice made her stop right in track. She turned to where the call had come from and there he stood. White flowers in his hand, a small smile on his face, so unlike his bright smile and a black suit, unlike his ripped green trainings jumper.
“Lee” She answered back, waiting for the boy to catch up to her, when he did he gave her back a gentle pat.
“Are you also going?” She didn’t need to ask him where to, instead she just nodded. At the nod some of Lees usual enthusiasm seemed to return, though it was still dulled. Her eyes wandered down to the flowers in Lees hands.
“You were at the Yamanaka flower shop?” She asked Lee. The quality could be recognized everywhere, only the people from the Yamanaka clan could grow such beautiful flowers. This time it was Lees turn to nod.
“I just thought that he would like them” The earnesty in his voice made her smile.
“I’m sure that he will appreciate them” She answered shortly before taking the lead, one step at a time. Lee quickly caught up to Tenten and they both fell into a steady rhythm. Despite the silence his presence was a comfort to her. It was almost as if they were young again besides the fact that they were adults now, and one person less.
The autumn breeze felt good on her skin, but it still made her shiver reminding her of the colder time coming soon.
Finally, they reached the graveyard. Stones upon stones, all in the same grey, one day Lee and Tenten herself would also become one of these grey stones. She shook her head at the thought, she was not old enough to think about those kinds of things. Lee next to her saw his friend shaking her head and couldn’t help but smile. They walked to the grave that they came to the graveyard for. Tentens eyes wandered over the stones before they moved to wander over Lee who was next to her. She wanted to break the silence, the walls, between them, but she didn’t know how.
In the distance they could finally see their destination, another grey stone like the others but this one was the one. To their surprise, there already were two people in front of it. Tenten could recognize the haircut everywhere. Lees smile light up when he saw their sensei but he didn’t raise his voice, respectful of the resting.
“Lee, Tenten” Gai had already noticed them without them having to say anything. He was turned around in his wheelchair by Kakashi, who rarely seemed to leave his rivals side these days.
“It seems we meet one day earlier than expected” He finishes his statement when Tenten and Lee finally stand in front of him. Tenten’s eyes met Gai’s, she had to look down unlike how she used to have to look up to him when she was younger. The words got stuck in her throat for a moment. She took a breath before smiling at her sensei.
“So it seems” Gai smiled at his students words and Tenten returned her sensei’s smile. Lee greeted his sensei with a respectful bow and Tenten soon followed but Gai just waved his hands.
“You two don’t have to treat me like some elder” Kakashi snorted at the statement but didn’t add anything else, this was Gai’s and his students moment, he wouldn’t interrupt.
“You brought beautiful flowers” Gai finally spoke after silence had formed. There was another silence, they all knew why they were here. Lee turned around to the stone, the grey stone that looked so much like the others before kneeling on one knee, placing down the white flowers in front of it.
“Neji” Lee spoke in a hushed voice, Tenten closed her eyes.
“Neji, I just wished that I could have been able to tell you” Words that never left her lips. Not even once, she saw the man in front of her again. Soft hair that felt like silk underneath her hands. So soft, and fragile. His white eyes, like the flowers on his grave. His gentle touch that felt like a thousand feathers at once. And his rare smile that was as warm as the rays of the sun.
When she opened her eyes again she was back in front of the grey stone that only had his name caved into.
But she wasn’t alone in front of his grave. Gai, Lee, they were still here. Tenten looked at both guys in front of her and slowly a smile could be seen on her lips. Even if they were adults now, they would all still be connected to each other. Lee finally stood up again, Tenten saw a hint of tears in his eyes. Gai’s eyes were also filled with a few and even Tenten could see a slight blur in her vision. It never got easier, but it felt better to not be alone.
Tenten lowered her head, Lee seemed ready to leave and so did Gai. She took a deep breath before finally speaking again.
“Do you…want to go eat something?”