Team Gai - Tumblr Posts
ok so like i know the reason is just. sexism but one thing that really irks me about how the post-timeskip naruto manga handled which characters became medic nin bc it makes absolutely no sense to me
sakura's decision to train under tsunade makes sense, and i love that she got a super strength power up, so no notes there, but the other teams.... yeesh
so first off, team ten. we're told that ino decided to follow sakura into mednin land to keep being rivals with her... despite that at no point factoring into their rivalry at all beforehand. ino never showed any interest in that, nor was the yamanaka clan ever mentioned to have anything to do with healing as far as i can remember. it's like going to art school to stay with your bestie when your goal is to become a dentist. why are you there. find other ways to spend time together. it also kinda goes against her family's whole thing as. the guys who do the torture stuff. and it's barely ever relevant anyway
for team ten, i think the team medic should've been shikamaru, and i think this not just bc i think it makes more sense skill-wise (something about the way the nara clan's various shadow jutsu work just screams "you need good chakra control for this" to me), but also bc i think it would make asuma's death a thousand times more painful. bc shikamaru is a slacker. he's not learning medical ninjutsu bc he wants to, he's learning it bc someone on the team has to in order to stick together. they're all chuunin now; one of them has to be a medic. them's the rules. but he doesn't really care that much, even when he is trying to learn, and he's so used to being smart enough to not have to pay attention in lessons anyway that he's not prepared for classes that require his full focus. and then asuma dies and shikamaru is doomed to spend the rest of his fucking life wondering if he could've saved him by paying just a little more attention to those medical ninjutsu lessons (he could not have (but he'll never know for sure))
team eight makes some sense, since giving the girl who struggles with fighting the healing job isn't exactly out of nowhere, but i do feel it was the lazy choice. kiba already had a sister involved in the medical business, even if she deals more with animals, so he could've started learning from her and found that he liked it. plus kiba's goal is to be hokage, and the current hokage is a mednin, so it's not like it wouldn't support his goal. or shino could do it; would add another layer to his character. hinata works fine but. it's just not a very interesting development imo
but what really gets me is team gai. good freaking grief. out of every single team, team gai was the one with the most obvious choice. bc there was only one choice. lee can't do any kind of ninjutsu, and tenten's only real backstory is that her chakra control isn't good enough for her to be a medic nin. so it had to be neji. canon establishes that every team has to have a medic; this is a policy tsunade got passed even before she became hokage, so no way in hell is she going back on it now.
moreover, neji becoming a medical ninja - especially if hiashi encouraged it - would show some development for the hyuuga clan maybe starting to suck a bit less. bc as a medic, neji would be bound by oath to stay alive for as long as possible. imagine a world in which hizashi came back and hiashi was able to tell his brother that not only was their family starting to change, but his son had chosen a path that would prevent him from ever following in his father's footsteps. it would be the first step (of many) to show that the hyuuga clan was freeing itself from its own bullshit.
also it would've made sakura catching the zetsu pretending to be neji a thousand times funnier. like that's her coworker. they've shared shifts at the hospital together. she's seen neji drink vodka straight from a bottle and then crash on her couch after they got out of a twelve-hour surgery on the fucking dumbass chuunin who managed to step on his own boobytrap. she knows him.
Naruto characters hypertranslated
Part 1: Team 7 and Team 9
Naruto
Uzumaki Naruto Uzumaki Naruto is a ninja of the Konoha clan. A jinchūriki is born with nine hearts. After a childhood accident, she gave up hope.
Today is Lalam's birthday, whom he has hated since childhood. It's dog time.
Sasuke
Sasuke Sasuke (本ちとさスけ, Sasuke Sasuke) is a member of the Sasuke clan in Konoha. Sasuke is the last son of the Kinzo clan. When Itachi's brother killed his parents. Sasuke then retaliated by killing Itachi's brother.Attaji gave a summary of SARS.
Sakura
Sasuke Sakura (Uchiha Sakura, Haruno Sasuke) is the protector of Konoha. After three years of training, Sakura Tsunade realized that she was not interested in becoming the best doctor in the world and became the seventh ninja. Sasuke finished tying his tie. Sakura is currently in 7th grade.
Neji
Hyuuga Neji (Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Neji) is a ninja from the Hyuuga clan who possesses a hidden sword. Only women can get respect in the family. Hinata (Hinata's wife) Hinata Neji.The Yucca family is complex, but not simple. This is the first time this has happened. Naruto didn't like that Uma's family brought Nachi home early. I know this to be true. asked Najib. Naruto didn't answer.
Tenten
This place is not far from Konoha. But I want to talk about the sand. But it was sad. Improve your tennis skills.
Tsunade's sister ran to help. But he knew he didn't have a team to help him, but Fujitsuno improved his equipment and approach.
Rock Lee
Like most ninjas, Hana's sister Rosario (Rock Lee) can't use magic. But you can go to a good school and make money.
As a Konoha ninja, Hans cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu. After special preparations, the mattress entered the ring and won.
That's it. Thank you for reading.
{x} | Artist: じゃんぷ | Permission to Post ※ Please fav/retweet/visit the artist's work!
found some naruto redesign stuff from 2020
team braid…..team jacket…..hehe
Team Gai pokemon trainers (◡‿◡)
not rn babe im busy spiralling because of the new piece of information i found out about one of my old hyperfixations
limerence - iterum
is this a good time to shamelessly promote my nejiten fic 😣😋
I was tagged by @tentenismybitch !!
Please share your last sentence; or, if you don't have one, share a plot bunny or idea!
this is (part of) a scene from my fic “limerence - iterum” that comes a bit later in the story but i was too excited to write it so i did :p obvi tentative (and a bit rushed oops) since im not at that part yet, so it might change as i go on, but enjoy :)
“You said it yourself, Neji.” Her voice was gentle, resigned. It held none of that anger he’d expected—hoped for. She released a short, humourless laugh, her voice lowering into a gentle whisper, as if pointing out an unmistakable truth, “We can’t be friends.” “Tenten.” His voice was pained. Desperate. Imploring. Her face softened, if infinitesimally, and those beautiful brown eyes gazed into his with so much ill-concealed longing he was ready to get on his knees and beg. Beg for her forgiveness. Plead with her to give them another chance. To forget he ever said those senseless words. He was ready to get on his knees and repent ceaselessly like he were a wicked sinner and she his altar. Her brows pulled into a soft frown, and she faintly shook her head. “I'm too much for you,” she said in a broken whisper, almost desperately. He didn't know who she was trying to convince of this—himself or her. “I don't” —she looked away, swallowed— “I don't regret you, Neji. And I can only hope you think back fondly on what we had, because—” Her voice wavered, broke, and she took a shuddering breath to compose herself, her eyes going skyward to stop the tears collecting on her waterline from flowing.
well. now you know why i included we can't be friends & don't wanna break up again by ariana grande in the fic playlist HEHE hope you likedddddd (link for the fic is pinned on my blog love you)
i have no one to tag (PLS BE MY MOOT I BEG) so if you see this & wanna do it, pls go ahead!!! pretend i tagged you HAHAHA
one of my favourite neji headcanons is that one of his primary love languages is gift giving because hes a #richBoy and he has so much money, which he enjoys spending on those he loves. like, imagine one of his friends (probably lee or tenten, mostly) (OR hinata and hanabi) mentioning needing/wanting something VERY BRIEFLY/in passing & then later opening their door to find a package on their steps with the best model/highest quality piece of said thing.
and they'd immediately know who the culprit was.
and then the exchange would go something like this:
“???”
“?”
“neji, this is insane!! why would you buy this for me ??? how much did this cost you ??? how did you even KNOW I WANTED THIS —????”
“you said you wanted it, right..? 🙁”
“HOW MUCH WAS THIS!!!!”
“it was not very expensive. please do not worry about paying me back or anything of the sort.”
“how. much.”
“...$$$$”
“WHAT TEH FUCK”
DO YOU SEE THE VISION ‼️‼️‼️‼️
tenten aka #1 victim of the sassy man apocalypse. :P
insp by @lubdubu's blog post saying the exact same thing LMFAO - redraw of #THE nejiten panel/screencap/wtv
never both/pragmatic - nejiten week '24
day 1 - saudade (portuguese) The feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia. A yearning for happiness that has passed, or perhaps never even existed.
Tenten was surprised when she got the dinner invitation in the mail. She supposed she shouldn’t have been, though. It was just about time for the Team Gai monthly dinners—the weekend of the 15th of every month. Every month, on the fifteenth (or the weekend that corresponded or was closest to it—for practicality purposes), Gai-han would meet up at a local diner and have a meal together. They’d catch up and discuss how their weeks were, complaining about mundanities such as an annoying grocery store run or the pipes being frozen again due to the harsh Konoha winters. They might even share the details of their last mission—with Neji being a newly appointed Jōnin, it delighted Gai to listen to his student, whom he’d nurtured from a cynical little twelve year old, constantly angry at the world and stuck in his ways, to a mature, level-headed young adult who had finally begun to have faith in life. Who had finally allowed himself to dream and hope and love and laugh and everything in between.
It delighted Gai even more so when he’d notice, through the little passing details in Neji’s stories, that the Hyūga had subconsciously adopted some of Gai’s ways when leading a team of his own. It got him thinking how it would be for Neji if he were to ever lead a squad of Genins, someday. How his own experiences as a Genin and how Gai’s tutelage might subconsciously pass on to that new squad. Out of the three of them—Lee, Neji and Tenten—Neji was the least likely to verbally express affection. He wasn’t particularly good with flowery words, and he often struggled to articulate such feelings, courtesy of his upbringing, so it was much easier for him to show affection through his actions. He was always willing to go out of his way to help, even in small, almost unnoticeable ways such as filling up an extra water bottle just in case someone forgot to fill up theirs (usually Gai, ironically enough). Buying candy for Tenten if he noticed (which he always did) that her mood was down. Making time to spar with Lee despite their packed schedules, if only to indulge in that nostalgia and spend time with his friend, in their own special way.
He was dependable. Kind.
Contrary to what some might think, Hyūga Neji was so very kind. He was undeniably good, and it showed in his actions. It bled through to his morals and how he conducted himself.
So for Gai to have his legacy passed on so tangibly, subconsciously no less, and to be able to see that with his own eyes… It was a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other. No amount of successful S-Rank missions or victories could trump the feeling of knowing you made a difference in someone’s life. Of knowing your influence on someone changed the course of their life for the better, even if only by a little bit.
This would be the first Team Gai dinner since Neji had died in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
This would be the first Team Gai dinner as a squad of three, not four.
Tenten looked at the invitation again. It was from Gai-sensei, inviting her to the local yakiniku place they’d been to so often in the past. Sometimes they’d go after missions, and Gai would treat them to reward their success, or even to uplift them after a failure; to remind them that there’s always a next time. Sometimes they’d go for celebrations—birthdays and rank promotions and such. And sometimes it was simply an excuse to see each other again, amidst all the responsibilities of being older, more dependable shinobi. Sometimes it was just an excuse to enjoy each other’s company and be together, if only for a night, like they’d grown so accustomed to in their earlier years.
It had been so long since Tenten had met up with Gai-sensei and Lee, outside of formal business of some sort. It was just too painful.
Over the past year or so after the war, Tenten and Lee alternated taking care of Gai. After the many months he spent bedridden in the hospital, during which they would alternate visiting him almost everyday, it was a given that one would see Gai strolling around the village in his wheelchair, accompanied by one of his former subordinates. It was like an unspoken agreement had been signed between Lee and Tenten: always one of them, and never both. It was easier that way.
When one of them was alone with Gai, it was easier to pretend that the two absent teammates were off doing their own thing. It was easier for Tenten to pretend, if only for a little bit, that Lee and Neji were off training at their usual spot, and it was easier for Lee to pretend that Tenten and Neji were taking a stroll around the village, or even hanging out at a tea shop, like they’d taken to doing at some point down the line. It was easier to ignore that gaping hole Neji’s death had left behind. That missing limb that overwhelmingly hindered the movement of the body as a whole. It was easier to ignore than to try and adjust to it—to the missteps and phantom pains and jerky movements.
Too soon after the war, shinobi were forced to take on new roles and responsibilities befitting the new needs of the village and the Allied Shinobi Forces as a whole, which put their grief on the back burner, and at some point, they eventually got too caught up with their own lives (which was, as much as Tenten hated admitting it, somewhat of a coping mechanism to deal with the loss of someone so significant) that they stopped seeing each other and meeting up. In the process of ‘dealing with’ (i.e. forgetting) and moving on from the loss of Neji, they ended up moving on from their bond as a team and all the memories they’d shared. It was easier to cut each other clean off and fully move on from team Gai as a whole than it was to try and pick the pieces back up and reconstruct it, this time wholly aware of the missing member.
That’s why, over the past year or so, Team Gai had let the distance get between them. They surrendered to it. Let it cause a chasm between them and then some. It was better for them to drift apart with love and goodness and grace and well-wishes in their hearts than to let the grief overwhelm them and drive a vicious wedge between them, like it had during those days immediately after the war. The way Tenten saw it—and she felt that Lee no doubt thought the same—it was better for Team Gai to dissolve naturally and amicably.
And for a while, that worked. Terrifyingly well.
The world had already begun to move on from the War, and the village was mostly rebuilt. People—shinobi and civilians alike— were rebuilding their lives and getting used to this era of peace. It was weird. It honestly still felt surreal most days. Tenten—any shinobi in general—was so used to being on edge all the time, and constantly preparing for the worst. Her fight or flight response was always either on edge or at the forefront, waiting like a dog poised to strike. But now, there was no war anymore, and though the effects of it could still be seen and felt everywhere, people were starting to acclimate. She didn’t need to conceal knives on her person anymore when going out. She didn’t need to sleep restlessly anymore. She would be okay. She was okay.
︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶
At the last second, Tenten reached for her mascara again, unscrewing it and giving her lashes one last coat. She knew it was probably unneeded, but she did it anyway, and she felt better. She was still getting used to that—doing things for the sake of doing them, knowing they served no real purpose.
Tenten was… pragmatic. Very much so. And don’t get me wrong, that is a wonderful quality for a shinobi to possess, but Tenten found she no longer needed that. Well, not as much anyway. Her pragmatism had helped her solve countless problems successfully in the past, and it was one of the reasons she and Neji worked so well together. They were both sensible, if not a little hard headed at times, and they understood each other. To their friends, it always seemed like those two were moving in a rhythm inaudible to everyone but themselves. They were best friends, in every sense of the term. They somehow always knew what the other was thinking, and what to do. And part of that was because they were similar in that way—stubborn, sure, but willing to compromise when the situation called for it.
Pragmatic.
Which is why Tenten says her pragmatism helped her in the past, but she would be the first to admit that it also held her back from many things.
‘It would be too difficult,’ or, ‘Our backgrounds are too different.’ Or perhaps even the worst one, ‘We’re probably better off as friends.’
All things Tenten had said to herself in the name of being realistic. Pragmatic.
All excuses Tenten used to hold herself back from doing what she wanted to do, just for the sake of it. Shinobi fell in love. It was nothing unheard of—I mean, they were human after all. It was expected, even. Everyone was harrowingly aware of the risks being a shinobi entailed, and for most, quitting was not an option, so it was up to them to decide whether or not they would pursue a romantic relationship.
It was up to them to decide which they were going to sacrifice: a chance at love, or their career. Because, in their world, it unfortunately had to be one or the other.
The choice was obvious. The pragmatic choice was obvious.
And both Neji and Tenten were pragmatic.
So they chose their careers.
When faced with the choice of being best friends and continuing to toe that line like they’d been doing for so long, or being lovers, and discovering an entirely new part of themselves—tasting an entirely new flavour they hadn’t even known existed—they chose the former. Because it was always one, and never both. And that was fine, for a while.
In fact, if that had been the end of it, Tenten imagined, perhaps terribly and selfishly, then maybe the aftermath of his death wouldn’t have been as hard. And maybe that made her a terrible person. Maybe she was terrible for wishing he’d never confessed and they’d never kissed. Maybe she was terrible for wishing he hadn’t given her a taste of what she longed for for so long, only to cruelly take it away before either of them were ready. And she knew it wasn’t his fault, but part of her couldn’t help but blame him. And maybe that made her a terrible person; she didn’t know.
But for now, she was content with doing small, pointless, impractical things like putting on another coat of mascara, just for the sake of it. She’d swallow the lump in her throat and put on a brave face and walk out, and she’d do things just because she wanted to. Just because it made her feel better.
︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶
They’d both shown up.
“Hey,” she greeted, once she’d spotted the two green-clad men waiting by the entrance of the restaurant. She’d gotten there a few minutes early, but here they were, arriving even earlier.
“Tenten!” It was Lee.
While Lee had jumped at the opportunity of this dinner, craving the nostalgia like it were a physical thing, Tenten was a bit hesitant. Still, they had both shown up. She smiled. How very predictable of Team Gai.
Maybe things weren’t that different after all.
It was awkward at first. After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the restaurant and took their seats at the reserved booth. The thought of making small talk with people that were once so engraved in each other’s very being was unbearable. The view of the vacant seat at the table was also unbearable—it had been so long since they’d met up like this for dinner that, when Gai-sensei was making the reservation, he accidentally asked for a table for four instead of three. Force of habit.
But they managed.
“How have you been, Tenten?” Gai asked, voice mellow. Him and Lee had remained pretty close through it all, partly because of Lee’s self-imposed duty to care for Gai most of the time, and partly because those two had always had a special bond that not even Neji and Tenten could get between. Tenten shrugged noncommittally, replying with that customary reassurance that made it seem like she was very busy while simultaneously downplaying whatever it is she’d been busy with since she’d last seen them. He nodded kindly, and the three of them started chatting mindlessly about nothing in particular. It was obvious that they were ignoring the elephant in the room. Neji’s loss—his absence at this table—was so palpable it was almost taking up the space of the would-be conversation.
“I miss him,” Tenten sighed, almost bluntly. Flippantly. She didn’t know what reaction she was expecting, but the willing avoidance was getting suffocating. She knew everyone was thinking that, so why didn’t anyone say it?! Why couldn’t anyone give her that relief? Why was everyone—her included, she realised belatedly—so hell-bent on forgetting him, when he had been such a core part of who they were for so long? She missed him. She missed talking to him— about him. She didn’t like that no one brought him up anymore, as if he’d never even existed. He deserved to be celebrated and remembered, for God’s sake! That was the least they could do for him.
“Me, too,” Lee murmured, uncharacteristically resigned. “It’s unbearable, most days.”
Immediately, pressure built up behind Tenten’s eyes, and she vaguely regretted putting on more mascara. “Yeah,” she whispered, almost in wonder, “it is.”
And surprisingly, that was what broke the tension.
Or maybe it wasn’t surprising or weird or unexpected. Maybe that made perfect sense. Because Team Gai was never one for stuffy formalities or beating around the bush—they knew each other too well for that.
Gradually and ever so tentatively, the dinner took on an air of normalcy, and things were almost like the old times—almost. They were able to actually speak to each other again for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, without being snappy or short-tempered, or feeling like their words weren’t reaching through to the other person. They were finally able to acknowledge their loss together, and weirdly enough, it made them feel lighter than they had in ages.
︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶
“It’s getting late,” Tenten yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “We should probably go before we get kicked out.”
With a frown, Lee responded, “Yeah. You’re probably right.”
They, reluctantly, said their goodbyes. She’d originally thought this would be awkward, but she realised with a pang as she was walking away that she didn’t want to go.
“Tenten!” Lee called out from a distance away, and she turned around.
“What is it?” she called back.
“Don’t be a stranger.”
Her breath hitched, and the only thing she could do was nod vigorously and hope he saw it.
She would be okay. They would be okay.
