No Longer Alone.
There was only so much one person could do, only so much one person could accomplish, only so much one person could stand.
Of all the kunoichi of the Konaha twelve, everyone thought she was the most resilient, the one who could stand anything. She could take hits in battle that would have felled her fellow female shinobi. She could protect herself from the outside world and act indifferently. She had teammates that helped her along the way with everything they had. They were reliable where others failed.
But as she sat, broken hearted, beneath the willow trees by the river outside of Konaha, dangling her Anbu mask from her shaking fingers, everything that everyone had ever seen in Tenten seemed to melt away. She did not cry; no, she had done that when she brought back Lee's corpse from an S-class mission. She did not scream; no, she had done that when her father was murdered. She did not feel angry; no, she had felt that when Gai-sensei was killed.
She said nothing. Felt nothing. There was nothing she could do. Everything was gone and it was all her fault. She had been the one to tell him that she could, would, never love him. She was the one who had hurt him and then let him leave on a mission before she could correct herself.
Her arms wrapped around her knees as she brought them to her chest. She rested her chin on her arms as she stared blankly at the sluggish water in the river. Normally it rushed by, happy in its strangely melodic course. But today it seemed stilled, calm but saddened, much like many people in the Konaha twelve.
Of all the teams and all the hardships they went through, Team Gai seemed to be the one that could take any hit and keep going. When Lee was killed they grieved but Neji, Tenten, and Gai-sensei still went on. It was a huge blow to them but they picked up the broken pieces and moved on. When Gai-sensei died, Neji and Tenten disappeared for hours on end only to be found later in their old genin training grounds, exhausted from pushing themselves too far.
But now Tenten was all alone.
She glanced at the grave marker beside her and ran her fingers over the rough engraving on it stating Neji's name, his father, his position, and his team. Neji Hyuuga, son of Hizashi Hyuuga, Anbu captain, and valued member of Team Gai. It didn't say the day he was born or the day he died.
One day the stone would crack, break, and the inscription would fade away. Later generations would come to this place, probably to play or to train, and would be completely oblivious to the resting place of one of Konaha's greatest shinobi and the friend of so many shinobi.
She clutched her mask in her hands as she remembered what she had said to him. She had been so frightened. She knew he was worried he would lose his last teammate. But he wanted her to give up being a kunoichi and marry him, so she would remain safe. She said no. She had slapped him. She had shouted at him in a way she never would have thought to when she had Lee and Gai-sensei to act as good natured buffoons to lighten her mood.
Then he was gone.
It wasn't until later that she found out he had gone on an S-class mission. It wasn't until weeks after that she saw medic-nin rush through the gates cradleing his broken, bloodied, bruised body. It wasn't until two days later that she found out he was dead. It wasn't until after the funeral that she went to his gave.
She was all alone.
She threw her mask into the river and watched it sink. He had wanted her to marry him, to give up her life as a shinobi just because he wanted her to be safe. He was scared and she knew it and yet she let herself be so cruel to him. Now she couldn't say goodbye.
Her hand went to the hilt of her katana on her back and withdrew it from its sheath. She gazed at it for a long time, one of the many weapons Neji had bought her. She ran her fingers over the twisting rose pattern engraved on the blade. It was beautiful. He had given it to her when she was accepted into Anbu. Directly after that she had a mission with him as her captain and she used that sword to save his life.
Her fingers traced the pattern as she thought of him. She was alone now. Everyone she cared for was gone. Her family was gone, her teammates were gone, and her love was gone, tearing her heart out with him. She had always loved him but she selfishly refused to give up her job for him, just because she didn't want to leave behind the freedom that she had.
Later that same day Hinata went to visit her cousin's grave and found Tenten laying there, her arms encircling the headstone. Dried tears left streaks on her face but there was such a look of bliss Hinata didn't have the heart to disturb her until she saw the katana protruding from the woman's heart.
Tenten was buried beside Neji Hyuuga under the willows next to the river that never ran as fast as it had before.
She was no longer alone.