Hey there! So, this is my first time every writing a two shot, or a drama… or maybe it's a tragedy… anyways, this came to me while I was making paper kunai. I was thinking about how I was making so many, then for some reason, I was thinking about the 1000 paper cranes wish thing, then before I knew it, this thing was writing itself! I swear, I get ideas from the strangest places! Hope that you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the affiliated charactors. I do however own Mable and her story. I also own the plot. Any semblance to real persons or events is strictly a coincidence, and is not meant to be taken to heart

^ I sound like a bloody tape recording there, eh?

"Hello Miss. Tenten, It's nice to see you!" said a delicate looking woman in a wheel chair. Tenten looked up from the bundle she was holding, and a smile broke out across her face. she reached into the package, and pulled out a lovely bluebell.

"It's nice to see you too, Mable! I brought your favourite again!" replied Tenten, a smile on her face, handing the old woman the beautiful flower. The old woman took it gladly, and put it in the vase beside her bed, a vase that held many more of the same.

"I suppose that you are going to see Master Neji again, correct," Asked the woman. Tenten nodded in agreement, her happy expression turning serious for a minute before becoming playful again. Tenten remembered the first time she had met the old lady. She had been looking for Neji after the… accident, when she stumbled on this kind, lonely old lady.

They had started talking, and Tenten offered the lady a flower in thanks, and it had become a tradition. Every day, Tenten would stop at the hospital to visit Neji, and she would stop by Mable's room on the way for a chat. Mable never asked what happened to Neji, and Tenten never asked what was wrong with Mable.

For the past few weeks, Tenten noticed that Mable had been looking worse and worse. She decided that today they would ask each other the one question they never had; their reason for being here.

"I am indeed. Mable, can I ask you a question?" Tenten bit her lip as Mable nodded, her smile never leaving her face. "Mable, why are you here in the hospital?"

"ah, that is a good question. One that I will only answer if you tell me the story of Master Neji, and why you visit him every day if you are not his lover." Mable had a stern look on her face, one that left no room for deliberation, so Tenten agreed.

The old lady motioned for Tenten to sit down, which Tenten did. It did not escape the older woman's sight that as she sat, Tenten's hand went unconsciously to her chest and she winced in pain.

"many years ago, when I was a young girl, I used to love horses. I would ride my horse, bluebell, every day for hours on end until my mother called me in for dinner. He was my best and only friend. He went everywhere that I went. I thought that we would be together forever… that is, until that fateful day." Mable took a long, deep breath before continuing.

"A missing nin crept into our stables that night, supposedly to seek shelter from the rain. My father, he heard the horses acting up so he went to check it out… and the ninja, he killed him. A single kunai to the jugular. I too heard the horses and decided to check on them before they could wake up my parents. When I got to the stables what I saw will haunt me to this day. What is saw was-" Mable had to stop for a minute, the tears were welling up in her eyes. she took another, long, deep breath. Tenten told her that she didn't have to finish if she didn't want to, but Mable told her it was good to get it off her chest.

"I saw that man, bending over my dead father, a look of pure hatred on his face. I was going to run away when he saw me. He knew that I had seen what he did, and that I had seen his headband with the crossed out village symbol. He-he raised his arm, a kunai in hand, and prepared to throw it at me. Knowing that I couldn't run, or stand a chance against an S-ranked criminal, I closed my eyes and prepared to die." Mable's eyes were haunted, almost as though she were watching a movie of what was happening.

"Instead of feeling all-consuming darkness, I felt a lot of pain in my right shoulder, then on my entire left side, finally, a great weight landed on me. Looking to see what was pinning me, I saw my horse, bluebell, the knife sticking out of his flank. He had pushed me out of the way, saving my life. Unfortunately, he had knocked down the candle that my father had brought with him, and it caught fire to the dry hay. Everything started burning, and me, pinned under a 2000 pound dead horse, could not move." As though to prove her point, Mable lifted up a hand to show Tenten how the flesh had melted there. She was missing several fingers, and there was no skin in places.

"I was forced to watch as my entire stable, then house burned down, the only thing saving me was the fire retardant blanket that my horse had on him. Not only had he sacrificed himself for me, he also left me a final gift. As I was watching my house burn, I heard a horrible scream, the scream of my mother, trapped in the house, unable to get down the stairs. I later learned that she never came out at all. My mother screaming was the last thing I remember from that night." Mable winced as she told Tenten the painful memories. She took another deep breath and continued.

"I woke up in the hospital, a homeless orphan, who was severely burnt, had smoke damaged lungs, and a broken hip. When I asked how I got there, the doctors told me that firefighters had found me under a dead horse, covered in a flame retardant blanket, and saved my life. I didn't have to worry about being adopted though. I didn't even have to worry about an orphanage. The damage that I had suffered was so severe that I could not leave the hospital. That is the story of why I am here. Now the doctors tell me that the fire damage to my lungs is still so severe that I could keel over any minute. On top of that I have somehow contracted pneumonia, and therefore won't live long at all."

Tenten stood up to give the crying old lady a hug. Wincing when she felt the pressure on her chest, but otherwise showing no other reaction than empathy, she tried to calm down the her friend. When the lady was sufficiently calm, she smiled at Tenten and said,

"well, now I've been explained, its your turn." She gave Tenten an encouraging smile, while the other woman took a deep breath.

"3 months ago, my team and I, team Gai, were given a mission to take out an S-ranked missing Nin. We spent about 2 weeks tracking him, then we made a plan to ambush him. Tsunade told us that we had to bring him back alive, so the plan was that I would attract his attention with weapons, then Neji would gentle fist him, and Lee and Gai would carry him home from Rice Country. It was a good plan, in fact it was perfect. I suppose that that's why it all went wrong." Tenten took a deep breath and winced. She stared down at the basket she had brought with her, her mind filled with memories, and tears threatening to overtake her eyes again.

"the Nin, he had joined a group of other renegade ninja, only they were about 3 times as large as the Akatsuki. We were no match for them. It turned out that the ninja had been observing us tracking him the whole time, and had listened in on our plan. Instead of us ambushing him, he ambushed us with 30 of his closest S-ranked friends." Tenten laughed bitterly, no humour in her eyes. she started coughing, bringing her hanker chief to her mouth to smother it. She put it into her pocket without looking at it.

"I was knocked backwards when some guy used his Kekki Genkai on me, and was left in a semi-conscious state. I could watch, but not move. I watched as Gai and Lee each took out about 10 guys, before getting knocked out themselves, then I watched as Neji took out the rest using his rotation technique. He was worn out from using all his chakra, and unfortunately, the guy we had been tracking evaded the original attack." Tenten took a deep breath, blinking away the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"The guy, he used some weird jutsu on Neji that caused him to go into a coma. I-I used everything that I could, and I threw a kunai at the guy and I killed him! Lee and Gai carried us all back to Konoha when they woke up, and they put us into the hospital, but-but-but Neji never woke up!" at this, Tenten burst into tears, sobs wracking her frame. The old woman looked at her with knowing eyes.

"I read somewhere that if you make 1000 paper cranes, then you get to make a wish. I've been making paper cranes everyday in Neji's room for the past 3 months, ever since we got back. The doctors tell me that there's a strong chance that he will never wake up but… but if I can finish all the cranes in time, maybe he will. That's why I'm here. I've already made 997, and I just have 3 more to make." The old lady smiled at Tenten and told her to go. Tenten smiled at the lady and said goodbye, promising to come back the next day.

When she was out of the room, Tenten took out the hanker-chief from earlier and looked at it. She smiled a bitter smile; on the hanker-chief were little droplets of red blood.