"Tenten" his soft voice began "you know I love you with all my heart right?" "oh Neji you don't know how long i've waited to hear you say that!" she replied before jumping in his open arms and they shared a long and passionate kiss "we will be together.." Neji said "forever" she finished with a huge smile brightening her features "yes.. forever" and again they kissed

"tenten.. can you atleast try to focus?"

Tenten looked up from where she was laying, arms behind her head while she was leaning on a sakura tree in her and Neji's sparring ground.. it was barely 5:30 soo how could Neji expect her to focus anyways?

"Neji I'm still tired how can you expect anything from me at this hour?" she said once again closing her eyes "Tenten, that's why we're meditating so we can rest up before we train.." "Neji, I hate to break it to ya, but not everyone's idea of resting is meditating" "hn.." was all he replied.. My kami.. that's what he always says.. "ne, Neji?" "Nani?" "let's just start sparring before I fall asleep" "hn.." again .. jeeezzz didnt anyone teach this guy that hn isn't a word..

As the two team mates got up and went to their opposing ends of the training ground to commence sparring match #1.. depending on what kind of mood neji was in today, tenten could be looking at anywhere from 20 to 45 matches from him.. Ahh well though atleast this way she got to spend time with him.. but as Tenten was walking towards her end of the field she once again found her thoughts wondering elsewhere .. it's already been 5 years.. wow.. i can't believe it, it seems like just yesterday we were assigned to a genin team, back then i thought that it would be a death sentence being with my team.. humm, the crazy Maito Gay as a sensei, and the equally crazy Rock Lee .. those two .. my my, they never change do they? Ah well.. but then of course my Neji .. At this she found herself blushing okay... maybe not MY Neji.. but you know. I just thought he was some creep who thought he was better then everybody else in the world.. well he did think he was better then everybody, but he was not a creep at all! more of an emotianless teme really.. hehe.. nah Neji's alright, he's my best friend, and I love him! she concluded ... But once again blushing at the thought

"Tenten..." she looked up towards the voice of her "beloved" a small smile finding it's way on her lips, did he ever look gorgeuse in the rising sun ..

The dawn is breaking

A light shining through

You're barely waking

And I'm tangled up in you

Yeah

"Nani?" she asked

"let's just begin"

"hai."

and with that they were off..

I'm open, you're closed

Where I follow, you'll go

I worry I won't see your face

Light up again

She never understood why she would spar with him so much .. it's not like she ever really did have a chance of winning... her close range fighting was worth shit compared to his Jyuken, and even with her weapon's for far range his Kaiten took care of it every time... By dear god was she happy he did, tenten would stop doing anything for this boy..

She wished with all her heart that they had met sooner.. before all the stuff between him and his familly had happended .. even though she knew he was fine now and that everything was alright, just the thought of a small and frightened crying Neji, made her want to run up to him and give him a hug soothing him to the best of her ability.. though she figured if she were to do that he'd either push her away and ask what the hell happened to her, or best case scenario he would return her hug and cry his heart out.. but she seriously doubted that he would cry.. alright she KNEW without ANY doubt that he wouldnt cry, but hey I girl can dream can't she?

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find

You and I collide

After about an hour and a half of sparring tenten was exhausted to say the least.. she didnt understand why, she had been sparring with Neji for years and she and him had been known to go at it for 6 hours straight without even stopping to breath.. but now, now she felt like her body was about to collapse

what the hell is wrong with me?

I'm quiet you know

You make a frist impression

I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

"tenten" she heard a voice speak from directly behind her, for about a second she completely tensed, but after registering the voice as Neji's she again placed her hands on her knees and panted

"y-yeah" she replied

"what the hell's wrong with you?" he asked, she could practically feel his piercing gaze on her, chances are he probably had a quirked eyebrow aswell, turning slightly to face him she found her assumption to be correct..

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the stars refuse to shine

Out of the back you fall in time

I somehow find

You and I collide

Now it was Tenten's turn to make a desicion, she could either tell the Hyuuga that she was completely exhausted because for the past week she had not been able to sleep because she kept having nightmares about her familly or she could simply shrug and tell him everything was fine and indure the torture of sparring with the Hyuuga prodigy..

Most people would have told Neji.. but they didn't know him like she did.. if she told him that every night she woke up with tears in her eyes and panting even more heavily then she was at that moment, because she saw her parents standing on a mountain top calling her to come join them and as she ran towards them they got farther and farther away from her, he probably would think that she was insane .. or even worse.. weak

and that.. for Tenten, was worse then enduring the hell she would be put through sparring with him..

Standing up tall she replied as firmly as she could muster "nothing."

and without missing a heartbeat he said "dont lie to me tenten.." she looked into his eyes, those eyes.. even as well knwon as the Hyuuga's werer, some people (who were idiots) that they had encountered throughout their journey's thought he was blind and said they felt sorry for him.. but in truth Neji could see better then anyone, she sometimes even wondered if he could she her soul with his eyes, though she never dared ask, because it would just have sounded plain dumb.

"i'm not lying Neji. I- i -i'm f-inn-e" th last part of her sentence said it all..

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to ryhme

Out of the doubt that fills your mind

You finally find

You and I collide

He looked at her and sighed, she was being stubborn again... So instead of further pressing the issue, for the moment he let it go, only for the moment mind you, he wouldn't let Tenten keep secrets from him... not secrets like this one anyways, one that affected her performance in spars and in the long term, perhaps even missions. No, he wouldn't let that happend.

Slowly he closed the distance between them.. it amazed him how small she looked.. he remembered in the genin days that she was his height if not a bit taller, but now she only reached his shoulders... it was odd.. it was like he had never noticed that before... even slower he slid his arms around back and gently picked her up.. when she did not complain he proceeded to carry her in what people had come to call the "bridal" position. He walked towards the tree that she had been sitting under earlier and gently layed her down, she had her eyes closed, but judging from her breathing he could tell she wasnt asleep yet.

A stray piece of her hair had come loose from the two buns, and without hesitating Neji gently placed it back, causing Tenten's eyes to snap open at the sudden contact, Neji took this as his opportunity

"tenten.." he began

"Nani" she replied trying to sound innocent

"tell me.." he knew he didn't need to further clarify, tenten always understood what he ment..

"alright .. demo..."

"demo nani?"

"you swear you wont think any less of me?"

"hai, i swear"

"yosh .. well i havent been able to sleep well lately.."

"why?"

"i keep having these nightmares..."

"nightmares?"

"about my familyy ..."

after she said the word familly, she lowered her head.. she didnt want to see Neji's reaction.. when it came to familly stuff Neji's eyes usually hardened and he'd say something like.. familly is only another weakness .. or thats what he used to say, she hadn't spoken about familly in so long that in fact last time she mentioned it was when Neji hated his cousin Hinata, and now the two were more like siblings even..

"why didnt you tell me?"

"i- .. i thought you'd be mad and think me weak..."

he chuckled, WAIT? he chuckled, tenten's whole head snapped up to where she thought she had just heard the sound.. he think's it's funny! he brows forced in confusion, which only seemed to make him chuckle once again.. after a few seconds of this he stopped and looked at her seriously he gently placed his hand under her chin and made sure that she was looking directly into her eyes

"tenten.. i would never think of you as weak"

a small smile formed once again on her lips

"promise...?"

"promise." he replied

''good" was the last thing she said before she fell into a deep dreamless slumber.. the most content sleep she's had in years...

& once again Neji picked her up bridal style and began leaping from tree to tree until he arrived at her small modest appartment, taking a key she had given him out of his pocket he opened the door and brought her straight to her room, where he proceeded to gently lay her down on the bed, kiss her on the forehead and with one final glance, leave his team mate, best friend and person who ment most to him in the whole world to her well needed rest...

You finally find

You and I collide

You finally find

You and I collide