With a demotivated "clonk" the shuriken bounced off its target and fell to the ground. Tenten sighed. It was getting dark. Maybe it was time to leave the training ground, she thought, had already packed her things, when she heard someone nearing her.
She was a little surprised, when she recognised Neji. Every time they had met off duty, it had been on her initiative. Something must have happened, she concluded, but oddly enough Neji didn't seem to be in any hurry or immediate distress, though he didn't seem to be particularly at ease either. Still, he concealed it well and Tenten wouldn't have been able to tell, had she not known him through almost all of her life.
"What's wrong?", she asked as soon as he was within comfortable earshot.
"Nothing", he shrugged.
"Sure", Tenten raised one eyebrow. She knew better than to prod around though, and instead shrugged in turn when Neji asked her, if she wanted to continue her training.
"It's getting dark", she explained. "My aim's not really much use if I can't see."
"I'll be your eyes"
For a second Tenten had the impulse to tell him that she was perfectly fine with her own set of skills and not at all in need of any help, but she fought it back, instead nodded. She had thought about this possibility before – her problem had never been to take aim when she could not see her target, her problem was that if she could not see her target she simply did not know where it was. Yet, she had never dared to suggest any such thing to Neji.
She closed her own eyes as she felt him close behind her, felt the tip of his nose briefly brush against the back of her head, before he adjusted their distance to close-but-not-yet-touching.
An involuntary smile spread across her lips, as he described the exact position of her – their – target, whispering measures and angles into her ear.

It didn't work perfectly, though they got better after some practice. By the time her weapons finally hit most targets Neji chose for her, and Tenten gave a sigh, exclaiming that it was enough training now, it was well in the evening. She waited, braced herself for the cold air that would reach her back once Neji stepped aside, but he remained where he was.
She wondered if he assumed that – as she had decided to call it a day – it was up to her, to be the one who would walk away first, but even if he did – by now she had passed that moment. Like in a conversation, when both remain silent for to long, neither will find it appropriate to be the next to speak. And then she felt him move, shift a little, and rest his head against her left shoulder.
Tenten froze. She counted the seconds during which nothing happened, then – carefully – slipped away from Neji and turned around, placing two firm hands on his shoulders.
"Now, you tell me again nothing is wrong."
Neji shook his head, pealed away from her grasp and started collecting her weapons.
Tenten watched him, tried to figure out what was going on. And then she remembered. Because he had told her – only it had been one year ago.
One year ago, when Hyuga Hiashi had finally succumbed to the long-term effects of his injuries, and had taken his conviction – that in this war it was impossible to lay the blame for the death of a member of the main house, of his own daughter, to the failure of a member of the branch family – with him to the grave.
"Have you talked to Kakashi-sama yet?", Tenten asked. She stored her weapons away.
"He won't be able to help", Neji explained – just as he had one year ago.
"You won't know that until you asked him."
"These are clan-intern affairs."
"Oh, come on. You're pretty much irreplaceable for him, right now. There's got be something he can do."
Neji shrugged, wanted to walk past Tenten, but she blocked his way.
"If you won't, I will talk to him."
"I told you, it won't -"
"We don't know that for sure, so would you please stop being so fucking fatalistic!"
She waited for him to brush her aside and just leave, but he didn't.
"Alright", he mumbled, then lapsed back into solemn silence.
"Right", Tenten nodded, "where is he?"