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Neji was crying- not from sadness or anger or pain, but from a simple case of hayfever that led to red, watery eyes. Unfortunately, his team and sensei don’t seem to believe him. Regardless of how many times Neji explained that just his eyes were affected, he never got runny noses with hayfever, they all gave him suspicious and sympathetic looks during training. Neji was getting incredibly annoyed, did they not know him well enough by now to know that he does not cry, let alone publicly, for the entirety of a training session?
Neji wiped at his eyes again, his energy focused into practicing his Taijutsu with Lee, who was going easy on him. Neji glowered, though he suspected the effect was somewhat ruined by his watery eyes. His theory was proven correct when instead of getting more riled up, Lee’s attacks got impossibly softer, barely tapping Neji, who huffed. This kind of spar would be fine if they were focused on perfecting fundamentals, but Neji knew they were both skilled at Taijutsu, so it only irritated him further.
“Guy-sensei!” Neji called, feeling petty, “Lee is refusing to… use his youth to fight me.”
Lee started protesting, as Guy-sensei came over with Tenten following behind him. They had been working on weapons training.
“Maybe he’d fight you if you weren't freaking us all out…” Tenten mumbled under her breath, as Guy-sensei jumped into a lecture to Lee, presumably about taking advantage of their youthful vigour and peak of their bodies.
“For the last time, I have hayfever.” Neji shot back at Tenten, who just gave him an unimpressed look in response. “Honestly, I cannot believe you would all so easily think that I would show up to training, crying as the result of some emotional turmoil. It goes-” Neji was cut off when two arms wrapped around him from behind, squeezing his ribs until he wheezed.
“Shhh, you're okay, Neji! We are all here for you!” Lee shouted into Neji’s back, where his face was pressed against Neji’s shirt. “Guy-sensei has some great advice for comforting your rival! I will employ these tactics on you now, Neji!”
Neji tried to twist out of the hold, but Lee was holding on too tight. “Wh- Lee, let go of me. Tenten pull him off.” Neji tried, but Tenten just laughed at him.
“Don’t let go until he stops struggling Lee,” Guy-sensei instructed from a few feet away, and Neji’s eye twitched. What was this ridiculous exercise? He was running short on patience for the shenanigans of the two green-suited shinobi. “I’ve learned from my rival Kakashi, if you let go, he’ll flee, and you’ll need to start the whole thing over again.”
“Lee, let go, or I will make you.” Neji threatened, reaching the end of his rope. He had been trying to avoid activating his Byakugan due to his already irritated eyes, but a few minutes wouldn't do any harm.
“He won’t Lee, see the thing about rivals is…” Neji stopped listening. Lee hadn’t pinned down his arms, so Neji called upon his Byakugan, activating it. The world focused, and Neji used his Gentle Fist technique to lightly disrupt the muscles in Lee’s arms and get him to loosen his hold. Once Lee’s grip weakened, Neji slipped out of the hug and put distance between them.
“Neji! I only want to help!” Lee cried, running towards Neji, who backed up, dropping into a defensive stance. And then, he sneezed, and that moment of distraction was all Lee needed to attack. He tackled Neji to the grass, wrapping all four limbs tight around Neji’s midsection- making sure to pin Neji’s arms this time.
“I. Don’t. Need. Your. Help.” Neji retorted, struggling in the hold, but his eyes were stinging, and every time he blinked more tears fell, so he deactivated his Byakugan. “Ugh,” Neji blinked rapidly, trying to clear his cloudy vision. Lee didn’t respond this time, only squeezing Neji a little tighter, and so Neji gave in. He relaxed, forcibly loosened his shoulders, his back, his legs, allowing the tension in him to melt away, and Lee slowly eased his grip in response.
Lee lifted his head off of Neji’s chest, looking at him with a serious expression. “You are still crying, Neji. Is my loving embrace not enough?” Neji considered his options, he could continue to argue about having hayfever, or he could accept the delusion of Lee…
“I’m just so heartbroken, Lee.” Neji sighed, looking up at the sky, his tone flat. “The only thing that would cure me, is to be left alone.”
For a moment, Neji thought he had beat Lee at his own game. He watched as Lee’s face contorted in a series of conflicted emotions, before it set in a look of grim determination.
“Guy-sensei warned me of this tactic… I am truly sorry, my youthful rival, but I cannot in good conscience leave you alone!”
At this, Neji gave up. He would accept his fate, as idiotic as it may be, and allow Lee the chance to live out his rival fantasy for once. Neji’s arms were still pinned, so he couldn’t even wipe the tears from his face, and laying on the ground was certainly not helping the itchy stinging. He sneezed again, his nose started to run the longer they lay on the ground, surrounded by the source of his hayfever.
“Oh no! You are getting worse!” Lee gasped, hugging Neji tighter again. “Please Neji! Tell me what is bothering you! I will do whatever I can to help.”
“Lee,” Neji sniffled, his face feeling very gross, “I need a handkerchief, and for you to unpin my arms. Then I’ll tell you what’s bothering me.”
This prospect appeared to overjoy Lee, who quickly handed over a tissue from… somewhere, and let Neji’s arms go. Neji smirked.
As he fled for a second time- after making sure to disrupt Lee’s legs so he wasn’t just going to be chased and caught again- Neji couldn’t help but smile. Despite the annoyances, it had been a good training session. After all, he learned a new way to win in a sparring match against Lee- just threaten to be emotionally vulnerable. As if he’d ever.