endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2006-10-18 08:19 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2006-10-18 08:19 pm
Anniversary: Among the Leaves
Title: Among the Leaves
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: Learn to Fly
Character(s): Rock Lee, Tenten; breif mention of Maito Gai, Hatake Kakashi
Pairing(s): LeeTen fluff
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Written for the anniversary contest at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ten_squared. Yeah, this one was my entry. I thank the four of you who voted for me. But really, the others were so much better.
Dedicated to: The neglected fandom of LeeTen. Aww. <3
“Come on Tenny, you can do it,” came a familiar voice deep within the forest.
The young kunoichi in-training paused from her balancing act on the slim yet sturdy branch of a grand oak tree to stare at the excited boy with a mixture of horror and annoyance before he disappeared completely into the leaves. The break in her concentration was almost enough to send the girl toppling over the edge towards the mound of dirt that laid piled beneath her. But she had caught herself, only wobbling a bit before managing to straighten herself out. Spreading her arms out wide and resisting the urge to put her other foot down on the wood, Tenten stood tall and strong once again.
Silently she quickly switched her standing position, never letting both of her feet touch the wood at the same time. Without missing a beat, she flipped back into a handstand on top of the thin surface area. The kunoichi in training had only bobbled a little at that, a great improvement from the first time the move had been attempted. She only allowed herself a moment to beam with pride before it quickly casting it aside to reprimand her friend.
“Lee, I thought I told you never to call me that,” she called out, searching for her hiding companion amid the strands of hair that cascaded over her face.
With a puff of air to blow the dark locks aside, the young girl let her eyes sweep across the expanse of forest that laid out before her. Slips of movement dashed here and there just barely outside of her vision, forcing the young brunette to constantly search around for her easily excited teammate while still maintaining the difficult stance. But despite her irritation, she couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. The new graduates from the Ninja Academy had been announced only hours before and the both of them had been among the newly appointed Genins of the village. More importantly, they had been assigned to the same team.
“Correction, you told me not to call you that in front of others,” Lee assessed from some unknown point among the leaves, “We are alone in the forest now.”
“Well I’m changing it,” the kunoichi in training responded, her legs swaying a bit from the constant movement, “Now could you please stop playing around and help me like you said you would?”
“Of course,” Lee agreed cheerfully, popping up right beside her.
“Whoa!” Tenten cried out, having been taken off guard by his sudden appearance.
Her legs flailed about and her arms moved along the branch as she fought to retain her balance, but it was a losing battle as she pitched forward over the edge of the tree branch. Tenten’s eyes widen at the rush of air filling in all around her. A deep foreboding embedded itself in the pit of her stomach as the ground began to rush up at her. And in the next instance, she felt a hand grip onto her arm. Tenten stared down at the ground in awe, intimidated by the height that stood between her and the divide to the here after.
Glancing past her strained limb, the brunette looked up at Lee as he gripped tightly to her arm, bent over the side of the branch at an odd angle. The young girl stared in awe at the strength that he had despite his slender frame, but was still none the less thankful for his quickness.
“Are you alright?” the young shinobi in training inquired, letting none of the strain of pulling her up filter into his voice.
“I’m fine,” the brunette replied, trying hard to keep from looking down again, “Just pull me up, quick.”
Never one to disappoint a female in need, Lee used all his might to pull her back on to the sturdy tree limb, making sure that such an incident would not happen again before letting go of her. As she made to stand up once again on the natural platform formed in the wood, Tenten worked to catch her breath. All the while Lee watched her intently for any sign that indicated that she had enough of training, but there were none.
“You are getting better at that,” the young boy commented when she remained quiet.
“…Stop humoring me,” the kunoichi in training finally managed to say, her voice sounding so defeated.
“I am not kidding,” Lee protested, “You delayed your fall long enough for me to catch you.”
“Like your speed had nothing to do with it,” she scoffed in response.
“Well I will admit, that did help a little bit,” he stated, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, “But your ability to retain your balance for as long as you did was a factor as well.”
“…Really?” came her hopeful inquiry as the brunette lifted her head to glance up at him.
The shinobi trainee merely nodded excitedly in reply, accompanied by a wide smile that was nothing short of contagious. Even despite the near death experience she had and the unpleasant mood that resulted from it, the kunoichi in training found herself joining him in the cheerful exchange. With a shake of her head, she turned to the side to gaze out at the forest of trees and branches that stretched before them. Against her will, she also glanced back down at the ground, resisting the urge to step back at the seeing the long drop once again. With a tired sigh, the smile soon disappeared, replaced by concern and doubt.
“Long way down huh?” Lee mumbled quietly.
“Yeah,” was all Tenten could manage to say, her voice losing it‘s strength at the sight.
“So…are you ready to move on to the next stage?” he inquired enthusiastically, seeming to have quickly forgotten about the previous incident.
“After what just happened?” Tenten reminded him with great apprehension, “…No.”
“Do not worry, I will not let you fall,” the young shinobi in training assured her, “I will be here to catch you.”
Holding on to the trunk of the tree, the kunoichi in training felt her heart drop into her stomach at the height, the memory of her near death experience still fresh in her mind. There was nothing she wanted more than to simply swallow her fears and complete the training session on an extremely high note. But her insecurities reached further back than a simple case of anxieties.
“Do you not trust me?” Lee questioned, making her feel terrible for hesitating.
“I do but…” she started to say. But when she saw the eagerness in his eyes, her heart simply gave in to the guilt. “Oh fine, but if I die...”
“If you die…then I will give you a nice funeral,” the young boy responded cheerfully, giving her a thumbs-up in affirmation.
“…That’s not funny, Lee,” the kunoichi in training stated flatly.
Still grinning cheerfully, the young student shrugged off her response and hopped off into a nearby branch, continuing on until he was a few trees away from where Tenten was standing. He stopped to look back as if calling her to hurry up and follow before disappearing into the foliage. The brunette hesitated a moment as she looked back down at the long drop. She could picture the outcome of her attempt, the fall towards the ground where her body would land with a loud and resounding thud as it made contact with the earth. Tenten swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as her brows furrowed in a mixture of fear and determination.
“I can do this,” she muttered to herself, “I am first and foremost, a kunoichi; I can’t let my fears take control of my mission.”
With that said, she rushed off the edge of the branch, sailing through the air to the next one in line. The momentum of her leap pushed her forward to the one following it and the one after that, continuing on until she found herself rushing forward at a constant rate. Fixing her eyes ahead, the kunoichi in training spotted Lee zipping through the trees, turning back occasionally to most likely keep track of her progress. He smiled from ear to ear at the sight of her, turning around just long enough to flash a thumbs up sign while still managing to maintain his course.
Feeling the pride building up inside of her, Tenten smiled back at him, staring in wonder as he flipped over a rather large gap in the trees. She had been less graceful in her form, simply pitching forward like normal; it had been her only option. Slowing down to think the matter over would have reduced her momentum and she had been running to fast to stop in time.
The distance was too far, but despite that the kunoichi in training still reached out her hand in hopes of grabbing onto something that would stop her descent, looking on in shock when she saw Lee situated on the tree limb like a trapeze artist and reaching back towards her. Their hands connected together as both gripped on to the other, Tenten holding on for dear life. With the force of her initial jump, Lee’s body arched forward with her movement like a swing.
The next thing the brunette knew, she was somersaulting through the air and gripping onto the branch that was on the other side, resuming with the motion until she could manage to jump regularly among the treetops once more. Tenten gazed back as Lee popped up from his upside-down position and made to catch up with her. Instead of letting the shinobi in training overwork himself, the young girl skidded to a stop on a fairly decent sized tree limb, panting as she waited for her companion to land beside her.
“How’d I do?” Tenten asked once she managed to catch her breath.
“Better than I could ever hope,” Lee replied with pride, his smile a bit brighter than usual.
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” the young girl stated cynically, “I know that was terrible.”
“But you did not fall,” came his response to her comment.
“Only because you were there to catch me again,” was Tenten’s bitter retort.
“…And I always will be,” the young shinobi in training said solemnly, “I will always be there for you, no matter what.”
It warmed her heart to hear the energetic young boy say that, as he knew it would. Both smiled thoughtfully at each other before beginning their slow climb down to the ground, leaving behind their more serious attitudes for the familiar traits mannerisms of friendship. The sun had traveled a great distance in the sky, having climbed up into the sky during their long and rigorous morning session. Tenten was glad to be under the shade of the forest during the warmest part of the day, quietly setting out the lunch that she had made for the both of them.
“When do we meet the rest of our team?” she asked as she passed a healthy sandwich over to Lee.
“The paper he left us said to be at the assigned training field tomorrow morning,” he replied, accepting the offered food graciously.
“You think this Maito Gai person they set us up with will be a good sensei?” Tenten inquired curiously.
She had never worked on a team before and aside from Lee had never really associated herself with others when it came to learning the art of the shinobi. No doubt the experience would be unusual at first and prove to be difficult with the melding of different ideals of the individuals involved.
“He is a Jounin, so I suspect that he would,” was her companion’s simple response, a bit muffled by the mouthful of food.
“Just because he’s a high ranking shinobi doesn’t automatically make him a good sensei,” the young girl quietly retorted, ignoring his brief bout of bad manners, “I mean, look at the Copy Nin, he’s never passed a team.”
“Then I guess we should be grateful we were not assigned to him,” Lee lightly retorted, seeming so casual in his demeanor.
She smiled at his comment, ever the eternal optimist that he was. The trait would often grate against her nerves on occasion. But now as they sat among the trees in the forest in perfect silence, it didn’t seem so bad. Tenten was actually a bit thankful as it did well to calm her anxieties…much like Lee had always managed to do.
“…Thanks, Lee,” Tenten said softly, just before she leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek.
“…For what?” the young boy asked, his cheeks dusted pink at the gesture.
“For teaching me how to fly…like a shinobi,” she replied with a genuine smile.
AN: I was in a rush when I wrote it so I didn't quite like this one all that much. :/
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: Learn to Fly
Character(s): Rock Lee, Tenten; breif mention of Maito Gai, Hatake Kakashi
Pairing(s): LeeTen fluff
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Written for the anniversary contest at
ten_squared. Yeah, this one was my entry. I thank the four of you who voted for me. But really, the others were so much better.Dedicated to: The neglected fandom of LeeTen. Aww. <3
“Come on Tenny, you can do it,” came a familiar voice deep within the forest.
The young kunoichi in-training paused from her balancing act on the slim yet sturdy branch of a grand oak tree to stare at the excited boy with a mixture of horror and annoyance before he disappeared completely into the leaves. The break in her concentration was almost enough to send the girl toppling over the edge towards the mound of dirt that laid piled beneath her. But she had caught herself, only wobbling a bit before managing to straighten herself out. Spreading her arms out wide and resisting the urge to put her other foot down on the wood, Tenten stood tall and strong once again.
Silently she quickly switched her standing position, never letting both of her feet touch the wood at the same time. Without missing a beat, she flipped back into a handstand on top of the thin surface area. The kunoichi in training had only bobbled a little at that, a great improvement from the first time the move had been attempted. She only allowed herself a moment to beam with pride before it quickly casting it aside to reprimand her friend.
“Lee, I thought I told you never to call me that,” she called out, searching for her hiding companion amid the strands of hair that cascaded over her face.
With a puff of air to blow the dark locks aside, the young girl let her eyes sweep across the expanse of forest that laid out before her. Slips of movement dashed here and there just barely outside of her vision, forcing the young brunette to constantly search around for her easily excited teammate while still maintaining the difficult stance. But despite her irritation, she couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. The new graduates from the Ninja Academy had been announced only hours before and the both of them had been among the newly appointed Genins of the village. More importantly, they had been assigned to the same team.
“Correction, you told me not to call you that in front of others,” Lee assessed from some unknown point among the leaves, “We are alone in the forest now.”
“Well I’m changing it,” the kunoichi in training responded, her legs swaying a bit from the constant movement, “Now could you please stop playing around and help me like you said you would?”
“Of course,” Lee agreed cheerfully, popping up right beside her.
“Whoa!” Tenten cried out, having been taken off guard by his sudden appearance.
Her legs flailed about and her arms moved along the branch as she fought to retain her balance, but it was a losing battle as she pitched forward over the edge of the tree branch. Tenten’s eyes widen at the rush of air filling in all around her. A deep foreboding embedded itself in the pit of her stomach as the ground began to rush up at her. And in the next instance, she felt a hand grip onto her arm. Tenten stared down at the ground in awe, intimidated by the height that stood between her and the divide to the here after.
Glancing past her strained limb, the brunette looked up at Lee as he gripped tightly to her arm, bent over the side of the branch at an odd angle. The young girl stared in awe at the strength that he had despite his slender frame, but was still none the less thankful for his quickness.
“Are you alright?” the young shinobi in training inquired, letting none of the strain of pulling her up filter into his voice.
“I’m fine,” the brunette replied, trying hard to keep from looking down again, “Just pull me up, quick.”
Never one to disappoint a female in need, Lee used all his might to pull her back on to the sturdy tree limb, making sure that such an incident would not happen again before letting go of her. As she made to stand up once again on the natural platform formed in the wood, Tenten worked to catch her breath. All the while Lee watched her intently for any sign that indicated that she had enough of training, but there were none.
“You are getting better at that,” the young boy commented when she remained quiet.
“…Stop humoring me,” the kunoichi in training finally managed to say, her voice sounding so defeated.
“I am not kidding,” Lee protested, “You delayed your fall long enough for me to catch you.”
“Like your speed had nothing to do with it,” she scoffed in response.
“Well I will admit, that did help a little bit,” he stated, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, “But your ability to retain your balance for as long as you did was a factor as well.”
“…Really?” came her hopeful inquiry as the brunette lifted her head to glance up at him.
The shinobi trainee merely nodded excitedly in reply, accompanied by a wide smile that was nothing short of contagious. Even despite the near death experience she had and the unpleasant mood that resulted from it, the kunoichi in training found herself joining him in the cheerful exchange. With a shake of her head, she turned to the side to gaze out at the forest of trees and branches that stretched before them. Against her will, she also glanced back down at the ground, resisting the urge to step back at the seeing the long drop once again. With a tired sigh, the smile soon disappeared, replaced by concern and doubt.
“Long way down huh?” Lee mumbled quietly.
“Yeah,” was all Tenten could manage to say, her voice losing it‘s strength at the sight.
“So…are you ready to move on to the next stage?” he inquired enthusiastically, seeming to have quickly forgotten about the previous incident.
“After what just happened?” Tenten reminded him with great apprehension, “…No.”
“Do not worry, I will not let you fall,” the young shinobi in training assured her, “I will be here to catch you.”
Holding on to the trunk of the tree, the kunoichi in training felt her heart drop into her stomach at the height, the memory of her near death experience still fresh in her mind. There was nothing she wanted more than to simply swallow her fears and complete the training session on an extremely high note. But her insecurities reached further back than a simple case of anxieties.
“Do you not trust me?” Lee questioned, making her feel terrible for hesitating.
“I do but…” she started to say. But when she saw the eagerness in his eyes, her heart simply gave in to the guilt. “Oh fine, but if I die...”
“If you die…then I will give you a nice funeral,” the young boy responded cheerfully, giving her a thumbs-up in affirmation.
“…That’s not funny, Lee,” the kunoichi in training stated flatly.
Still grinning cheerfully, the young student shrugged off her response and hopped off into a nearby branch, continuing on until he was a few trees away from where Tenten was standing. He stopped to look back as if calling her to hurry up and follow before disappearing into the foliage. The brunette hesitated a moment as she looked back down at the long drop. She could picture the outcome of her attempt, the fall towards the ground where her body would land with a loud and resounding thud as it made contact with the earth. Tenten swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as her brows furrowed in a mixture of fear and determination.
“I can do this,” she muttered to herself, “I am first and foremost, a kunoichi; I can’t let my fears take control of my mission.”
With that said, she rushed off the edge of the branch, sailing through the air to the next one in line. The momentum of her leap pushed her forward to the one following it and the one after that, continuing on until she found herself rushing forward at a constant rate. Fixing her eyes ahead, the kunoichi in training spotted Lee zipping through the trees, turning back occasionally to most likely keep track of her progress. He smiled from ear to ear at the sight of her, turning around just long enough to flash a thumbs up sign while still managing to maintain his course.
Feeling the pride building up inside of her, Tenten smiled back at him, staring in wonder as he flipped over a rather large gap in the trees. She had been less graceful in her form, simply pitching forward like normal; it had been her only option. Slowing down to think the matter over would have reduced her momentum and she had been running to fast to stop in time.
The distance was too far, but despite that the kunoichi in training still reached out her hand in hopes of grabbing onto something that would stop her descent, looking on in shock when she saw Lee situated on the tree limb like a trapeze artist and reaching back towards her. Their hands connected together as both gripped on to the other, Tenten holding on for dear life. With the force of her initial jump, Lee’s body arched forward with her movement like a swing.
The next thing the brunette knew, she was somersaulting through the air and gripping onto the branch that was on the other side, resuming with the motion until she could manage to jump regularly among the treetops once more. Tenten gazed back as Lee popped up from his upside-down position and made to catch up with her. Instead of letting the shinobi in training overwork himself, the young girl skidded to a stop on a fairly decent sized tree limb, panting as she waited for her companion to land beside her.
“How’d I do?” Tenten asked once she managed to catch her breath.
“Better than I could ever hope,” Lee replied with pride, his smile a bit brighter than usual.
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” the young girl stated cynically, “I know that was terrible.”
“But you did not fall,” came his response to her comment.
“Only because you were there to catch me again,” was Tenten’s bitter retort.
“…And I always will be,” the young shinobi in training said solemnly, “I will always be there for you, no matter what.”
It warmed her heart to hear the energetic young boy say that, as he knew it would. Both smiled thoughtfully at each other before beginning their slow climb down to the ground, leaving behind their more serious attitudes for the familiar traits mannerisms of friendship. The sun had traveled a great distance in the sky, having climbed up into the sky during their long and rigorous morning session. Tenten was glad to be under the shade of the forest during the warmest part of the day, quietly setting out the lunch that she had made for the both of them.
“When do we meet the rest of our team?” she asked as she passed a healthy sandwich over to Lee.
“The paper he left us said to be at the assigned training field tomorrow morning,” he replied, accepting the offered food graciously.
“You think this Maito Gai person they set us up with will be a good sensei?” Tenten inquired curiously.
She had never worked on a team before and aside from Lee had never really associated herself with others when it came to learning the art of the shinobi. No doubt the experience would be unusual at first and prove to be difficult with the melding of different ideals of the individuals involved.
“He is a Jounin, so I suspect that he would,” was her companion’s simple response, a bit muffled by the mouthful of food.
“Just because he’s a high ranking shinobi doesn’t automatically make him a good sensei,” the young girl quietly retorted, ignoring his brief bout of bad manners, “I mean, look at the Copy Nin, he’s never passed a team.”
“Then I guess we should be grateful we were not assigned to him,” Lee lightly retorted, seeming so casual in his demeanor.
She smiled at his comment, ever the eternal optimist that he was. The trait would often grate against her nerves on occasion. But now as they sat among the trees in the forest in perfect silence, it didn’t seem so bad. Tenten was actually a bit thankful as it did well to calm her anxieties…much like Lee had always managed to do.
“…Thanks, Lee,” Tenten said softly, just before she leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek.
“…For what?” the young boy asked, his cheeks dusted pink at the gesture.
“For teaching me how to fly…like a shinobi,” she replied with a genuine smile.
AN: I was in a rush when I wrote it so I didn't quite like this one all that much. :/
no subject
And I'll keep on repeating forever I like your TenTen! :D
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There's just never enough Team Gai love out there. ^^ <3
And I'll keep on replying, I'm so very happy to hear that you like my Tenten. :D I suggest you check out Fourth Isn't So Bad (http://endless-scrolls.livejournal.com/8968.html#cutid1). I have Tenten comment on the bias ranking system in Konoha. XP She kind of makes everything and everyone sound so...human instead of the super shinobis they're sometimes portrayed as.
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You're so right... I'll start working on something Team Gai soon!
I'll run check it, thanx!
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And honestly, I don't think I could ever make Lee-chan dark. He's just too adorable for that. ^^
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no subject
Thanks for reading and commenting. -hearts-