I don't usually publish fanfiction for Naruto, but I really needed to vent some stress. A very short angsty drabble.
"Hey, Tenten."
"What?"
"Promise me one thing."
A laugh. "Why are you being so serious, Neji?"
"If anything happens to me, you can't cry."
Silence.
"W-what are you talking about Neji? Speaking negatively will bring ill luck you know."
Another silence. A chuckle.
"I suppose."
When she learned about his death, it came as a shock. She had stood there, numb, staring blankly at the floor, as Lee cried.
He's dead.
No. No, it couldn't be. Neji, strong, mature, and collected. There was no way he could have died. He, who saved her and Lee countless times on the battlefield. He, the genius of their team. He, who was her most important person.
Yet when she looked down at the scene, the truth of the situation struck her hard. She felt a pile of emotions working their way up her chest.
"You can't cry."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she managed a stutter.
"L-Lee..."
Then Gai spoke.
"Lee, as long as we remember Neji's feelings, he will continue living inside us."
Tenten clapped her hand over her mouth, blinking rapidly. She drew in a shaky breath.
I love him.
I love him.
I love him.
It took all of her willpower not to lunge forward and wrap her arms around his lifeless body, letting her tears fall. Yet his words still rang in her mind.
"You can't cry."
She wanted to laugh at the seemingly impossible situation before her. It was as if he knew that this would happen, and yet make her promise something that would make her heart clench and her chest ache.
He was cruel.
But she loved him.
Her hands tightened into fists, and she could do nothing else but make up her resolve to fight.
And it wasn't until years later, on her deathbed, that she finally let her tears fall.