A/N: ATTENTION. THIS IS UNDER THE PROCESS OF REWRITING. CHECK THE BOTTOM OF EACH CHAPTER TO SEE WHERE THE REVISION ENDS. APOLOGIES FOR THE MESS (AND THE YELLING). Hi guys! I really liked this story when I wrote it a couple years ago, but obviously I was a bit overzealous about it and didn't really plot it out or think it through. I showed it to one of my friends that is waaaay more into Naruto than I am, and realized how cringe-worthy it really was, so I've decided to improve it. It's going to be pretty messy until the revision is complete, so like I said, check for the author's note at the bottom of the chapter to see where the revision ends. Happy reading! Please feel free to review and point out any improvements I still need to make or any mistakes I have overlooked, so I can address them!

TenTen was sitting apart from most of the camps, not wanting to socialize. The fighting in the Shinobi alliance had been brutal this past while, and she had already seen many comrades fall beside her. She counted herself lucky she had not been among them. The young woman sighed, unrolling and examining her main weapons scroll, checking once again that it was in perfect condition, ready to surrender its weapons at a moment's notice. It wasn't necessary, of course, but it made her feel better, at least.

After re-rolling the scroll and putting it to the side, she sighed again. There was no way of knowing who might die tomorrow. It all kept getting even more dangerous every day. She could not bear the thought of losing her teammates. Neji was too skilled to fall, surely, and Lee…Lee was far too stubborn to die.

"What's wrong?" A mellow voice asked from slightly behind TenTen. She didn't jump, as she knew he was there.

"Nothing," She replied simply. How could she even try to explain her feelings, after all? And why should he care?

She turned her head in slight surprise at the sound of shifting sand and gravel as Neji Hyūga settled cross-legged beside her, a very faint frown on his face and something like concern in his pupil-less white eyes. "I don't believe you."

She scoffed. "What is there to believe?" She asked, looking away from him, into the distance in front of them. "Nothing is wrong, except for this war we're fighting in. We've already lost so many…allies, friends…and we will lose more before this is over. I only hope we aren't counted among the victorious dead." She glanced back to see him nod once, rather slowly.

"TenTen," He said, "We face the threat of death every day as shinobi. This is no different. It is a far bigger battle than a normal mission, and there will be casualties. Those casualties are just as likely to be us as any other shinobi." She looked away again, not wanting to glare at him. Damned Hyūga, how could he be so calm about all this? It just seemed like he didn't understand, somehow. She shivered slightly as a cold desert breeze blew rather suddenly across the area the alliance was camped in.

TenTen sat up in slight surprise at the feeling of a warm arm across her shoulders and turned back to her teammate, who wanted to offer her comfort. "The more you fear something, the more power you give it over you," He informed her with gentle matter-of-factness.

"So you've told me. But it isn't just that." She paused as her heart sped up a bit at the thoughts that suddenly intruded, running across her mind and leaving rather dirty footprints. I've been interested in him for some time now, but there's no way I could ever ask anything like that of him…especially…THAT. She looked away and swallowed, trying to calm herself before he got more concerned, or suspicious. We're teammates, it's wildly inappropriate!

"TenTen?"

"It's not…it's not dying that scares me all that much," She explained, exhaling sharply at the end of her sentence. "I'm not really afraid of dying. I'm afraid of not getting to really live." She hoped he might understand, but it was rather obvious that he didn't. "There are so many things I want to experience that I never will if I die in this fight," She elaborated. "Like marriage, and motherhood. I want to send my son or daughter off to the academy like my mother did, I want to have a husband and know what it's like to…you know…" She trailed off, unwilling to quite say the words. That was just too much.

There were several beats of silence and TenTen closed her eyes, unwilling to look at his face, certain his realization might turn to disgust. She was certain he never thought about such things. To her surprise, the next thing that happened was a gentle squeeze of the arm that was still across her shoulders, pulling her closer to him so she could easily feel the heat of his body—there was not a millimeter left between them, except the bulky flak jackets they both wore.

"In a way," He said, glancing to her as she looked at him with slight surprise, "you fear a loss of freedom, and that I can understand." He offered a tiny smile. "There is no way to experience all the things you mentioned in a single night. But, I can think of one or two things…"

Her surprise and guilt spiked instantly, and it was Neji's turn to also look surprised at her reaction. He'd partly been joking, but she had been entirely serious. "The real question, I believe, TenTen, is if you already have someone in mind for that task?" The bun-headed kunoichi actually jumped guiltily and blushed, telling Neji everything he needed to know without actually saying a word.

"Well…I was—" She began to stammer out, only to be silenced by gentle lips on hers. "h-hoping…you." Neji offered another gentle, faint smile, one that showed far more in his eyes than the rest of his face. She had no idea he had ever felt the same way.

Neji put a gentle hand on TenTen's cheek, holding up her head so she wouldn't look away from him shyly. "I didn't know you felt this way also," He told her softly. "I was going to wait until this was over before courting you, if you chose to accept it." She smiled much more widely. "Well, you don't have to court me. I'm yours." Did I really just say that?

The hyūga man looked around quickly, seeing they were entirely alone with no one nearby to bother them. Lee and Guy were already asleep, most importantly. He let her go and took off his flak jacket, discarding it to the gravelly ground almost carelessly before offering his hand with a larger smile.

"What are we waiting for?"

TenTen sat bolt upright, sweating and shaking, forgetting for a moment where she was in the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, showing her the familiar surroundings of her room, her heart slowed and her breathing eased as she realized it had only been a dream, or a memory, anyway. Ordinarily, she would have considered a dream like that to be a happy one, but not anymore. Not since Neji…

Not since Neji died.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It was not the first time she'd had that dream since the end of the battle with the ten-tails. At least this time it had ended long before the worst part happened—the memory of Neji jumping in front of the spikes and being impaled to save Naruto and Hinata, and dying in Naruto's arms. She hated herself for being farther away, unable to stop him or help him. She missed him terribly.

TenTen shifted to sit at the edge of her bed for a moment before giving up and getting up to make herself some tea, knowing she wasn't going back to sleep tonight. While the kettle heated, she leaned against the counter in the light of her lamp, not bothering with all the lights, as it was still the middle of the night. The battle had barely ended less than two weeks ago, and the hospital was still packed, as it would be for months. The cemetery had many new graves, and she regretted every one. Especially the one that was marked 日向 ネジ。

Her mind turned away from those thoughts, going back to wondering what had woken her. Something must have, since she was a sound sleeper, and the dream had never let her out early before. She tried to think back through the rapidly fading details. Just as He had reached to push up her uniform shirt, something had poked her sharply in the stomach, a bit like the feeling of being poked by a senbon. It wasn't a part of the dream. She went back and checked her bed thoroughly, making sure there were no errant weapons she had forgotten to put away or something, but there was nothing that could have poked her anywhere. How strange.

TenTen jumped as the kettle whistled and quickly shut it off, pouring herself the water and brewing the tea, trying to relax. It was nothing, that was all. Just her mind playing tricks. She took a sip of tea and sat down at her table, looking into the cup. Maybe, soon, she would be brave enough to go and see his grave. But not now. It was still too fresh for her to accept.