Smoke. All that remains of Tenten's last-ditch effort is smoke. Her heart pounds, gallops in her right ear. Everything else sounds more muffled than usual, but the pain from breathing is even more of a distraction. At the very least, she's fractured her right wrist, collarbone, and more than a few ribs. Not sure about her tibia? It feels pretty tender, though.
From the smoke, a silhouette appears.
"Neji?" Tenten blinks.
Of course not. Neji's been dead for two years. His body is ashes and dust; she's visited the grave herself to leave fresh flowers every so often. Just false hope that he's come to lead her into the next life, wherever that is.
The smoke dissipates enough to reveal the rogue ninja she has apparently failed to kill. He's covered in burns and lacerations, some deeper than others, but he's still very much alive. Shit. Her limbs grow heavier as the last of her chakra drains from her body.
"Heh, you almost got me back there," he says.
He's grinning, showing off a gruesome wound that splits his bottom lip and reveals bloodied teeth. Ugh, someone needs a trip to the dentist. And a plastic surgeon while he's at it.
Before this all goes south, she'll have to somehow scrounge up enough chakra so her summoning scroll can cough up a shuriken or two. Wait, no, she's completely gutted her weapons stores for Rising Twin Dragons, her most taxing jutsu. Not to mention, her summoning scroll lies several meters away, closer to the rogue ninja than to her. There's no hope for unarmed combat either, not when her right arm is out of commission and every breath is a stab to the lungs.
Without weapons, without chakra, and without anyone around for backup, Tenten's running out of options. It's taking everything she's got just to keep her eyelids open, and even then she's seeing double. Is it possible to break your own tear ducts? She can't seem to cry.
That's when her knees give out.
"Oh? Are you already done playing?" the rogue ninja says, then narrows his eyes. "I'm not."
Even with her eyesight doubling, tripling, she's aware he's making hand signs, his core swollen with chakra.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Tenten gasps, eyes fluttering open. She's sprawled on the ground, which is completely different than the rocky terrain she was previously battling on.
A wheat field haloed by a deep blue sky. This... definitely isn't the Hidden Mist Village anymore. With all this wheat, it almost reminds her of the agricultural region stretching across the Land of Fire.
Muscles groaning, she manages to pry herself off of the ground. Her clothes are drenched, sleeves still dripping as she tries to rearrange the bangs plastered to her forehead. Even if she somehow managed to survive, that rogue ninja still unleashed one hell of a water style jutsu.
A rustle immediately has her reaching for a kunai, but she swears when she comes up empty-handed. The wheat stalks part.
"You shouldn't be here."
No, she's not falling for that again. Unless Neji really is here to deliver her to the next life.
"Tenten, are you listening to me?" Neji says.
His arms are crossed. It's kind of jarring, actually. The Neji she remembers doesn't quite match the one in front of her, but that's what time does. Slowly, surely, it's whittled away at the memory of him until she's forgotten the details, like the way his hair frames his face. The exact curve of his frown (and conversely, that rare smile when he thinks nobody's looking). Their height difference.
But... now she's reminded of all these things.
And then she does what she's been wanting to do for the past two years. Two very, very long years. She hugs him, burying her face in his chest and feeling the sting of tears gather at the corner of her eyes. He feels real. That thought makes her want to cry all over again.
"I'm never, ever going to forgive you for leaving me alone with Lee and Guy-sensei," she says, hiccupping. "I have to put up with all of their antics. All of them."
He allows her to elaborate on all of the crazy shit Lee and Guy-sensei did after he left them, like seeing who could handstand the longest while dodging flaming arrows, or dressing up as Girl Scouts and competing for #1 cookie seller in Konoha. He lets her rub blood and grime all over his clothes as she pulls him closer. He even admits that he misses all of them too.
"But you have to leave. The sooner the better," he says.
Tenten agrees. If she's seeing Neji like this, that means something is wrong, unnatural even. This could be a cruel and elaborate genjutsu orchestrated by that rogue ninja. Or maybe her soul has crossed over to another dimension, some sort of wheat-filled portal to the afterlife. She might very well be straddling between life and death because, honestly, she didn't even brace herself for the impact of that Water Dragon Jutsu.
Either way, Tenten can feel the pull of her physical body, even though she really, really doesn't want to leave yet, not when she's finally able to see and feel and hear her teammate. There are so many things she wants to tell him, to ask him.
She's itching to train like they used to, testing the limits of her weapon summoning jutsus while he pushes the endurance of his Eight Trigams Palms Heavenly Spin. They'd both roll their eyes when Lee and Guy-sensei interrupt their sparring match with an impromptu squatting competition. Afterwards, she'll drag him to that one restaurant with crabs freshly caught every morning, stuffed with spices imported from the Land of Wind. They were actually planning to go there at one point, but Tenten's 15% off coupon now sits somewhere at the bottom of her knapsack, crushed under the weight of scrolls, assorted weapons, and grief. It's probably expired too.
"When you leave flowers at my grave, you could also stay for a while to talk," he says, as if sensing her hesitancy to leave. "I'm able to hear the prayers of the living."
"It's unfair if you can hear my voice, but I can't hear yours. That's pretty one-sided," she says, only half-joking.
Around them, the stalks of wheat sway in the gentle breeze. The field stretches as far as the eye can see, maybe even farther with the Byakugan.
A moment passes. Neji pulls away, bringing his hand up to shield his eyes. Those can't be tears, right? She hasn't seen him cry since they went to that infamous curry restaurant in the Land of Rivers. And those were only tears of pain because he has such a low spice tolerance.
"Tenten, I'd hate to tie you down like this," Neji says, "but please keep visiting my grave, even if it's once a year. Please don't forget me."
Tenten plants her fists on either side of her hips, quirks her mouth. "Seriously, who do you take me for? Of course I'll visit you. I'll keep you updated on whatever bullshit Lee and Guy-sensei pull so you can feel the wrath of my secondhand embarrassment." Her eye twitches just thinking about them. Then her voice softens. "There's no way I'll forget you, okay?"
Neji briefly wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and nods. That rare smile. "Of course. Thank you."
"Any flower requests for your grave? I'm thinking daisies."
"Daisies?" he says. "Surely the Yamanaka Flower Shop has a better selection."
Tenten scoffs. "So high maintenance, even after death. Fine. How about magnolias?"
"I'll allow it," Neji says, a flip of his hair.
He's standing right in front of her, but she can't help but miss him so much more. Meanwhile, the tug of her physical body grows stronger and stronger, demanding to be felt.
"Well, I better get going so I can acquire magnolias for Your Royal Highness," she says, trying to push down whatever's welling up inside of her.
When he places his right hand on her forehead, she can feel the prickles of chakra gathering under his palm. And while he's still in front of her, she soaks up as much of him as she can into her memory because she really, really doesn't want to forget those little details. Not again, at least.
"This isn't the end, Tenten," Neji says. "Release!"
Tenten knows this bed. It's the lumpy yet familiar mattress only found in Konoha Hospital. When the door slides open, she tries to get up in greeting, but she realizes the right half of her body is encased in plaster casts.
"Good, you've finally woken up!" Sakura says.
She's wearing a medical nin uniform, indicating she's on duty.
"How long have I been out?" Tenten asks. How long was she with Neji?
Sakura taps her chin in thought. "The ANBU Black Ops retrieved you sometime after you lost consciousness. They brought you back, what, a few hours ago, I think?"
"And the rogue ninja?"
Sakura offers a smile that conveys more pity than comfort. "He got away. Sorry, Tenten."
Ah, so she failed the mission. Filing a report for the Hokage is going to be such a headache... but she'll deal with that another day. What's important is that she's made it back in one piece.
"Oh, but it looks like somebody's left you a flower arrangement!" Sakura points out. "Maybe it's from a secret admirer."
Secret admirer? Tenten laughs because her love life is non-existent. As good as dead. She cranes her neck toward the nightstand, which is situated between her bed and the window. On top, a garish bouquet bursts with one of every flower the Yamanaka Flower Shop has in stock. Who would pick this out? It's… hideous.
A small notecard is propped against the vase. It reads in an all too familiar chicken scratch, "Get well soon so that you may enjoy the springtime of youth! If you need anything, we'll be doing 100 laps around the village. Actually, we'll make it 1000! Your eternal teammates, Might Guy and Rock Lee."
Tenten groans because, like, how embarrassing. Wait till Neji hears about this.