Authors note:

Hi. It's been a long time. Being an adult caught up with me.

I would like to announce that this shall be my last fic and I will see this through. As per the title of my fic, there will only be 7 chapters.

I have finally completed reading Naruto. For the longest time, I stopped reading the manga after I heard of Neji's death. As you know from my many fics, I love nejiten then most.

I will go back to my roots and do angst tragedy which I am best at. So, please join me on my last journey. My final story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

7 Colours of the Rainbow

Chapter 1 by naash

Star light star bright

First star I see tonight

I wish I may I wish I might

Remember the colours no longer in my sight

Neji had left the world by sunset.

All the colours, gone from the world, were consumed by the darkness. I had waited for the sun to set again, waited for him to wake up from his long slumber, waited for his sarcastic remarks, his piercing gaze. But it never came. All that was left was the biting silence.

Nothing was the same again. Not after the Fourth Shinobi War.

But team Gai managed. Gai Sensei was forced to retire after a permanent injury but he was often counselling other disabled shinobis. He was still optimistic on the future but I could tell the light in his eyes had dimmed.

Lee still presevered with his dreams of being a great ninja. He has matured greatly. Once reckless in battle, he, now weighs the risk of going into one. But that never stopped him from getting into one. He still protects. But I feel that he protects himself from losing someone dear to him again. He has a son too, a splitting image of his father.

And I... I suddenly cannot see again. I cannot see the life, the purpose, my surroundings and the colours.

Day to day, life is a blur. And the sun that comes, burns, charring my reality.

How I managed to live all these years after the war... I was not sure.

"Tenten." I snapped out of my reverie. Lee was in front of me, clothed in a black spandex jumpsuit. Or so I thought it was black. I do not notice the colours anymore. "They're waiting."

"Who?"

"The Seventh. Everyone," he said, his brows furrowed together. When did Lee get so old? "They won't start without us."

"What day is it today?"

"It's the memorial day for the shinobis that had fallen during the Fourth Shinobi War." Lee reminded her, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Ah." Neji's death anniversary. "Let's go then."

But out of all the colours, I remember the colour red vividly. I learnt what the colour red truly means when the news of his sacrifice reached my ears and when I found him lifeless on the ground.

At the memorial ground, a wide expanse of green with marble tombstones, I found myself moving forward, snaking past the crowd. Lee's hand at the small of my back urging me to go forward. His hand was gone by the time we reached the front lines.

My gaze immediately fell to the name 'Hyuuga Neji' inscribed on a tombstone. He was just a distant memory now.

"Tenten," a small, wavering voice called out.

I turned to see eyes as pale as my fallen comrade. "Hinata..." I blinked surpressing the pain that came.

"I haven't seen you in a while," she asked. "Are you well?"

When was the last time I saw Hinata? When was the last time I saw a Hyuuga? It may be months now?

I managed a smile. "The usual," I told her.

"How is the weapons store?"

"Business is slow." I gazed intently at her eyes. What would an older Neji look like?

Hinata blushed lightly.

"Sorry Hinata," I apologised. "It's just that your eyes..."

The Hyuuga heiress's eyes widened, fingers twirling in anxiety. "Tenten..." She started. "I should be the one to... i took him away from..."

From whom? From Team Gai? From myself? "It's ok. I would have done the same thing for him." I smiled. "The Seventh mentioned that he died a free man."

"He thought the world of you," Hinata stated.

I shook my head. The Neji, then, did not have time for love, if love was at all Hinata's indication. "He loved you, Hinata." After all, his life has always been in your hands.

Hinata shifted her gaze to the ground.

The memorial started moments later. The Seventh, Naruto spoke the tale of the fourth shinobi war, the actions and sacrifices that the fallen had done and for the villagers and fellow shinobi to ensure that the sacrifices were not in vain.

But these are no more than words. The fallen are slowly being forgotten. And the nature of man is difficult to erase.

The memorial came to an end when dark clouds rolled through the sky and the crowd started to disperse.

I stayed behind, walking through the rows of marble, white tombstones and stopping until I reached Neji's. I suppose many of the team 11 and Hyuuga clan stop by, as per the fresh and withered flowers adorning his resting place. I would too but I had nothing to give, nothing to say. After all, what do you say to a dead man? What would you give to a dead man?

"He was one of the greatest men I knew," a voice muttered from beside me. "Though I admit he had a troublesome personality."

I exhaled my breath in amusement. "He was always stubborn. But he always knew what to do. He never hesitated." I turned to see the advisor of the hokage, Shikamaru. "You're a busy man, Shikamaru. What do I owe this pleasure?"

He hesitated. "I suppose just saying that I was visiting Neji's and Asuma Sensei's grave would be a lie."

I gave him smile. "We know each other too well for this."

He gave me a smile. "It's a mission which only you can take on." He passed me a scroll. "I had to persuade the Seventh to bring you on this."

I unfurled it and glanced at the contents. "S-ranked? We haven't had any S-ranked missions since the war." It was true. The war left the shinobi villages with renewed sense of trust and alliance in each other.

"During the fourth war, Kaguya Ootsutsuki mentioned of a threat of the future. Sasuke spent years surveying the land and trying to seek this threat. He may have found it. And the key to this threat is linked to the secret of the Hyuuga eyes. It is much too dangerous to send in a Hyuuga clan member. For other teams to go in is dangerous as well they do not know the Hyuuga eyes well enough. This may result in failure and the enemy will know that we are on to them," He started. "If you take this, the mission will have 95% success."

"This is a solo mission." I stated rather than questioned.

"No. There is a team but only you will go in alone."

"When is the debrief?"

"They are waiting at the hokage's office as we speak."

"Is there something you're not telling me."

He hesitated. "It's better I tell you now. Naruto wanted this to be kept confidential," he said, his eyes turned serious. "I trust you not to tell anyone."

I waited. A wind swept over the area, autumn leaves dancing midair.

"Tenten," His eyes clouded over. "They have Neji's eyes…."

And then came the rain…

To be continued