Dedicated to: RamaChan, who's fanart, "Fresh Air" inspired this piece.

Breeze

Tenten narrowed her eyes as she gazed around the clearing. From her high vantage point, she had an excellent view of everything, including her teammate and opponent for today, Neji. The two of them had the day off, and decided to have a little fun sparring. Now, as Tenten watched her target like a hawk, she couldn't help but grin a bit as the needles in her hand glistened in the bright sunlight. This was definitely going to be fun.

"HA!" She leaped out at him, throwing the needles with expert precision. The sharp points glinting dangerously, she watched as he managed to evade every single one of them with his kaiten.

He must've realized they were tipped with poison, Tenten thought ruefully, but she had no time to reflect, as Neji, byakugan activated, began a series of kicks and moves, as she did her best to deflect them and stay out of range of his divine circle. There was a reason, however, that she was known as a weapons mistress, and not a close-range fighter, as she dodged, rolled, and did everything in her power to avoid his jabbing fingers, knowing they were aiming for her chakra points.

Taking out her kunais, she jumped up high into the air, spinning in a ball for a moment before using the momentum to stay airborne long enough to throw them at her opponent in a circle on the ground around him.

After fighting together, and alongside each other for so many years, their spars had fallen into a sort of rhythm, to the point where she could predict almost perfectly what his next move would be, and he, hers.

This time though, she had a surprise waiting for him.

She watched as he moved to do his divine spin, then stop, his eyes narrowing when the weapons came nowhere near touching him. Tenten landed gracefully on the ground, counting to three. The field around Neji exploded.

Smoke engulfed the area, blocking him from view, but she knew better than to assume he was defeated. Taking out one of her scrolls, she jumped up into the air again, unrolling it and marking it with a streak of blood, thereby fulfilling the ritual needed for the attack to work.

For Neji's part, he still had yet to break a sweat. True, the exploding notes attached to the back of the kunais had caught him off guard, but the moment he perceived them, he had gone into his kaiten routine, thereby protecting himself from the explosion.

What he didn't expect was the shower of weapons raining down upon him before the smoke even cleared. Tenten, it seemed, was going to go all out today. He smirked. It would be insulting if he didn't afford her the same courtesy.

xxx

Tenen sprawled out on the grass, exhausted and panting, while Neji leaned beside her on a tree, looking not much worse for wear, though still catching his breath.

"Gee, Neji, you didn't let up at all today, huh?" The kunoichi grinned up at him from an upside-down point of view.

"You should talk," Neji smirked as he looked over at her. "Exploding notes?"

Tenten grinned. "I thought it'd add a little spice to my attacks."

Neji shook his head, smiling, as he leaned back and closed his eyes. The air was relaxed and peaceful after a long and satisfying match. After a few minutes though, Tenten sat up, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked her.

"Do you hear that noise?" She turned to look at him. "It sounds like water."

Her teammate nodded his head. Neji had, indeed, heard the lake when they had first come to the clearing, but didn't think it important enough to mention. Apparently he'd thought wrong, because now Tenten was getting up.

"What are you doing?" He asked, watching her.

"I'm going to see where it's coming from."

Neji didn't answer, but rather, activated his byakugan. "It's not too far, just over the hill," he replied. Now that he'd answered her question, he was hoping she'd lay down again. He was enjoying the peaceful silence between them.

But Neji's wish was not meant to be granted, as Tenten, looking adventurous, began heading in that direction.

"C'mon Neji, let's check it out!"

"Why?" The Hyuuga looked at her quizzically. "It's just water."

But the weapons mistress was already on her way and didn't hear him. Or if she did, she was doing an excellent job of ignoring him.

Not wanting to get up, but feeling left with no choice, Neji reluctantly followed after the girl.

It didn't take too long to reach the lake, its waters sparkling in the late afternoon sun. Tenten marveled at the silent beauty of nature, as Neji caught up to her.

"Now what are you doing?" He asked, as he watched her bend down, pulling off her sandals.

"I just want to go in for a minute. Wanna join me?"

Neji shook his head, not understanding what could have possibly possessed the kunoichi to suddenly decide to get her feet wet.

"Suit yourself," she answered cheerfully, as she stepped into the water.

"Ahhhh, that feels really refreshing."

Neji was starting to get impatient. This whole situation just seemed so…pointless and frivolous. "Done yet?" He asked her, not bothering to mask the irritated tone of voice.

"Oh, lighten up. You're just mad cause you don't know how to have fun," Tenten teased back.

This gave the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan something to chew on while his teammate enjoyed herself. Of course he knew how to have fun! Yet for the life of him, he could not understand what was "fun" in standing barefoot in a lake. However, he waited for her to get her fill of "fun" so they could start heading back. After a few minutes though, he realized the kunoichi wasn't about to leave anytime soon, and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Stepping into the waters as quietly as possible, he crept up right behind her, and before Tenten knew what was happening, swept her up in his embrace.

"Neji!" She shrieked, laughing, "Put me down!"

"I want to have some fun, too," he answered, as he leaned down and kissed her neck. Tenten continued to laugh, kicking her feet on impulse, water splashing everywhere. "Put me down!" She exclaimed again, but stopped when their lips met.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, the other on his face, she returned his kiss more deeply. Neji slowly put her down, choosing instead to wrap his arms around her. When they broke apart, Tenten still had her eyes closed, a smile on her face, feeling him tug her down into his lap as he sat down on the water's edge.

She kissed him again, more passionately than before, causing him to lean backwards until he was almost flat on his back. Neji ran his fingers through her bangs, as she pulled away and rested her head on his chest, letting out a contented sigh.

"Had fun?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

Neji replied, smiling, as he played with her buns, "I think we should make a point of sparring together more often."

Fin

EDIT 8/12/09:

Guys, please stop faving this. Or, if you're going to fave it, at least REVIEW first. It really gets on my nerves that this story is one of my most popular out of all my other fics, and I barely put in any effort into this at all, while I spent hours on other stories of mine, and they barely get half as much attention. So please, read, and then move on with life, don't favorite it. Or if you REALLY liked it that much, at least review first.

Thank you.