Author's Note: Another Neji/Tenten one-shot. I keep juggling to possibility of making a Neji/Tenten AU, but every time I sit down a one-shot just spews forth unintentionally. I guess maybe after I get all this out of my system I'll get on that. Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.
His Mistake
It was his mistake and she paid the price.
They had been warned when they were given the mission that the enemy would be skilled. Both had bowed respectfully, acknowledging the warning, but when they smoothed their masks over their features, they knew the enemy's skill was no matter. They were practically dead men walking.
The two of them swiftly found their targets, Neji leading the way and Tenten following. His Byakugan revealed double the number of shinobi that he had initially expected and there was a slight uncertainty, but he easily dismissed it, past experience and confidence taking it over. Tenten stood beside him, absolutely trusting and ready, her dark eyes gleaming beneath her hawk mask. She had no doubts and if Neji led, she would follow, trusting he would never mislead her.
She would have followed him to her death.
They used Tenten's explosive shower of weapons to catch the enemy off guard, then like a pair of hawks, they descended on the unexpecting shinobi. With deadly efficiency, the pair weaved and danced between and around each other, clashing with the rogue nin in a flurry of steel and chakra. The enemy was skilled, just as they had been warned and both Neji and Tenten could tell this would not be over quickly.
They battled long and hard and their breaths came in heavy pants. Fighting with each other was like singing an old song whose lyrics were memorized in the sweep of Neji's arms, the twirling of Tenten's wrist, the way they protected the other's weak points and the rhythm resounded in the sound of falling bodies. They knew each other's styles, techniques and where they needed to be. Fighting side by side, he could hear music in the midst of clanging metal.
He had thought they were finished, that the enemy was defeated. He gave Tenten a small smile that bordered on a smirk when he saw the widening of her eyes, and heard her shout a warning that was so desperate that he knew he had made a grave mistake. The enemy launched himself, katana extended, aimed at the back of Neji's neck, exploiting his one blind spot. He whirled around, but when he saw the glint of steel so close he realized it was too late.
Before he could understand what happened, she was between them, unarmed and abnormally swift in her desperation. It seemed appalling slow, the way her hair brushed his cheek as she fell, the way the katana pierced through her body, and how her blood splattered across his chest. Her body jerked grotesquely when his attacked pulled the sword viciously from her.
The sound the nin's neck made when Neji broke it did nothing to satisfy his need to destroy him. Neji didn't have time to dwell over that, as he knelt beside Tenten's fallen form, his hands hovering helplessly over her wound. Her blood was soaking into the ground, staining it a deep crimson. Gathering her carefully in his arms, he raced back to Konoha.
This is my fault. The words flashed through his mind, unable to believe that he had failed to see, that he had failed to protect her. Her blood soaked rapidly through his shirt and he could feel it against his skin, warm and sticky. Don't die, Tenten. Don't die.
He burst into the hospital, sweat dripping painfully into his own cuts, and breathing heavily. People around him gasped at the sight of Neji Hyuuga cradling a bloody Tenten in his arms, her blood painting his clothes and pooling on the tiled floor.
"Someone…someone help her!"
He lowered her gently onto the surgery table, trying to ignore the paleness of her lips and her colorless cheeks. He didn't hear the doctors telling him he has to leave, that he was not allowed into surgery. They were silenced with one sharp glare and they uncertainly worked around him as he held her hand and counted her shallow breaths, terrified that the next one won't come. The time he spent kneeling beside her was measured by the rise and fall of her chest and he barely registered the doctors working furiously around him.
He squeezed her disturbing cold hand and leaned close to her. In a pleading voice so quiet that nobody else heard him he whispered hoarsely, "Come back, Tenten."
His chest tightened when he felt her fingers twitch against his.
"Come back to me."
The rest of the world seemed to fade away, and there was an eternity in the few moments it took for Tenten's eyes to flicker open and when they met his, the world was perfect.
The tension holding Neji up disappeared and he gave out a shuddering breath. "I thought I was going to lose you."
She managed a tired smile and squeezed his hand.
"I came back for you."
Author's Note: This is obviously not my best work, but I swear it was knocking on my skull at night and refused to let me rest until it was written, pushing all my other priorities off the shelf. Either way, hope you enjoyed.
Reviews are very, very welcomed.