Yup, Nejis the angstiest bishie that ever did angst. Well said.

Dear sweet Tenten! First of all, I absolutely love the ending: how, like Lee, she decides that it's better to have Team Gai than family. I like how you made Tenten's backstory similar to Lee's, with the difference being that Lee has a "gotta be better than that" attitude, while Tenten's all "hakuna matata".

All in all, this is a great piece of work! Thank you so much for sharing!

(Out of Team Gai, Neji is my fave tbh) Everybody knows about Neji's dad, so I love it that you use this fic to explore what might have happened with his mom. This is so very tragic - no wonder this angsty bishie grew up to be so angsty! Also, most people deal with missing moms using the "died in childbirth" or "got sick" (or occasionally, "got killed in a mission") route, so I love that you used a mental illness here.

This entire story broke my heart. I always love stories in which Team Gai were all parentless, and this is one of the best interpretations out there.

On Lee's part: I love how Lee vows to be better than his parents - and the part where he thinks that Team Gai is better than parents is just so heart-rending. I like that you gave this exuberant boy a tragic backstory that builds him positively (in contrast to Neji, especially).

I recently came back to reread this story and realized I never reviewed your final chapter! I feel kinda bad, because I know I read it at the time, and I've always been an advocate for Tenten deserving more fans. (Makes me feel like I'm not doing her justice.) Well, I guess I'll just have to rectify that now.

I adore your first paragraph. It's just so accurate, and I just cracks the fourth wall. And I think you pegged Tenten perfectly. I just love the tone of this chapter, and Tenten's knack for moving on without all the angst and melodrama is a perfect way to end this story. I don't know if you're still involved in the wonderful world of fanfiction, but this is one story I plan to come back to in the future and share with others so that it gets the attention it deserves.

Happy writing!
-AnimeFan202

I love how complex you've made their stories. It's just too simple for his mother to have been physically sick, and I like that.

I also like the last line, showing how even Neji has come to appreciate his pseudo family. I understand if it's a little too sappy for you, but after Tenten's little one-shot, I would love to see a short little thing where the members of Team Gai actually do sit down and have some sort of discussion about their biological families.

If this is any indication of how the rest of the story will go... I'm really excited. :)
I'm glad that you chose Lee first (because, of all the members of Team Gai, I feel like we would have gotten a proper backstory- complete with family- for him by now) but none of their families are really gone into sans Neji, and that's really looking more at how the Hyugas as a whole operate, not really as his relationship with his father. Speaking of, where is Neji's mother? Is she dead? Not around? Not mentioned because the fact that he still had a parent who cared for him would take away from the sadness of his backstory?
Sorry, rant over, I promise.
Anyway, I really like that you're looking into this aspect of Team Gai, and I'm excited to read the next installment.

She's definitely tough-as-nails. :) I think you managed to keep her in-character better than most here, which I liked. You didn't give her a dramatic coming-of-age story, but I honestly don't think one was in order. She's kind of always just been Tenten.

Thanks for this one! :)

I read the first one shot a while back, but decided not to review because it didn't have a complete on it. Browsing again, I reencountered your fic.

I really liked the way you portrayed the three-speaks to them and it's not overly emotional. Hmm. _ That made no sense. Oh well. Good job!

I really like this one! Team Gai always manages to be a study in psychology, mostly because of Gai himself, I believe. :) But I really like how the studies of their actual lineages make them who they are. Anxious to read Tenten's! :D

I really like this story so far. I can't wait to see what you do for Tenten. I want to see how it compares to my own thoughts :)

I really like this story. It takes a new look at one of my favorite characters, and it is well written.

PS would you do one for Gai Sensei too (after neji and tenten of course, but I just think you'd make it interesting) D