day 4: good fortune.
Tenten felt like she was the luckiest person in the entire world today. It was to the point where she wondered if the heavens were gathering every ounce of good fortune just to make up for all her previous unlucky days.
In truth, Tenten’s morning had begun with an absolute nightmare. Today was the first day of her monthly cycle, and dull, aching cramps had begun to torture her since the previous night. Tenten lay tossing and turning on her bed, cold sweat drenching her body, her lower back so intensely sore it felt as though she had just lugged a massive summoning scroll through ten laps around the village. It wasn't until the faint light of dawn broke that she managed to catch a brief moment of sleep.
Thinking of Team 3’s usual grueling training session, Tenten forced herself to sit up. Looking at her exhausted reflection and pale complexion in the mirror, she had only one thought: she had to ask Guy-sensei for the day off. However, her thoroughly drained body wouldn't allow her mind to think clearly enough to concoct a proper excuse. Intending to lean back onto the bed just for a second to ease her aching back, Tenten instantly plunged back into a deep sleep before she even realized it.
She was startled awake by the persistent ringing of her doorbell. When her groggy eyes drifted over to the clock, Tenten’s heart nearly stopped: it was already 9:00 AM! I’m doomed, I’m two hours late! Tenten frantically smoothed down her messy hair, hurriedly adjusted the hem of her shirt, and rushed to open the door.
Yet, the person standing on the other side was not the Guy-Lee duo, ablaze with their usual fiery spirit of youth.
It was Neji.
He stood there beneath the morning sun, his face wearing its usual calm and quiet expression, but his hand carried a rather large bag.
"Oh, Neji? Why are you here? Is there no training today? I... I’m so sorry, I overslept..." Tenten blurted out in a single, breathless rush, her face flushing crimson with embarrassment.
Waiting for Tenten to pause and take a deep breath, Neji lightly cleared his throat and calmly cut her off.
"Training is canceled today. Guy-sensei suddenly wanted to alter the schedule, so he took Lee for a ten-lap endurance run around the outskirts." He swept a brief glance over his teammate's still-pale face, his eyes subtly darting to the side as he extended the bag toward her. "I was taking a walk and picked up some hot soup along the way. Take it and eat."
Tenten blankly took the heavy bag from him. The radiating warmth of the soup container seeped through the plastic, thawing her freezing hands.
"Oh, I'm putting you out... But how did you know I hadn't eaten yet? And what else is in this bag?"
Neji turned his face away slightly, shifting his footing backward as if eager to make a quick escape. He cleared his throat once more to mask his awkwardness.
"It’s nothing. Just some dango if you want something sweet, and some warm ginger tea. There’s also... a hot water bottle. I saw them on display along the street, so I just bought it at random. Remember to drink the tea while it's hot. I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow."
Neji’s tall, slender figure departed so quickly that Tenten’s words of thanks and goodbye were swept away by the wind the moment they left her lips. She stood dazed at the threshold for a few seconds, watching the white-clad silhouette of her teammate grow distant.
Tenten hugged the bag tightly against her chest. The fragrant aroma of the soup mingled with the sharp, comforting warmth of the ginger tea, drifting into her nose and straight into her heart. A smug smile graced her lips as she thought to herself that she truly was blessed. Out of nowhere, Guy-sensei changed the training schedule, out of nowhere Neji felt like taking a stroll down her street, and out of nowhere he happened to buy the exact things that could "save her life" today. The heavens really knew how to please a girl!
Tenten went back inside, happily enjoying her incredibly lucky day off, completely unaware that... there were never truly that many "out-of-nowhere" coincidences in this world.
She didn't know that Neji was a genius observer. His Byakugan was not meant solely for combat; rather, his gaze had long since silently settled upon her figure. He remembered the exact timeline of Tenten's monthly cycle even better than she did. He had noticed a few days prior that she had begun to wince slightly when lifting heavy objects, her footsteps had grown a bit heavy, and she would unconsciously thud her fist against her lower back after every physical conditioning hour.
She knew even less of the fact that Neji had arrived at the training ground exceptionally early that morning. Waiting but never seeing that familiar, vivacious figure appear, he knew the reason instantly. Neji had to employ every ounce of his serious demeanor to "fabricate" a reason along the lines of, "Tenten’s physical condition isn't optimal today; it would be more beneficial for you to take Lee for specialized training in the outskirts, Sensei," successfully convincing the overly enthusiastic Guy-sensei to postpone the team's practice.
And that bag, claimed to be "bought at random during a stroll," was actually the result of a proud, seventeen-year-old Hyuga teenager standing hesitantly in front of a general store for the longest time, his face and ears burning red as he asked the shopkeeper which ginger tea was the least spicy, and which hot water bottle retained heat the longest for a girl. Even the soup wasn't a matter of convenience; he had stood waiting for them to ladle it out the moment the shop opened its doors and lit its stoves, then cradled it securely within his robes as he sprinted all the way here, solely to ensure that when it reached her hands, its warmth remained entirely intact.
Thanks to the clumsy, silent tenderness of the boy that year, Tenten was granted a monthly cycle that was profoundly peaceful and warm. Every coincidence that shielded her from the cold that day, in reality, bore the name of Hyuga Neji.

















