Author's Note: Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I have written a fanfiction dedicated to Neji and Tenten. Actually, it's been a long time since I've posted anything on here. But anyway, I think most of you already know the reason why I am presenting this to you right now. Spoilers ahead to those who haven't read Chapter 614 of the manga; you've been warned. Oh, by the way, congratulations to surviving past Dec 21st. It was supposed to be "the end of the world", but well, I guess it really was the case of our hero, Hyuuga Neji.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto character.

Promise

© Aki-Child

Neji was a boy who would never break a promise. Actually, let's me rephrase that. He was never the type of person who would make a promise that he knew he couldn't keep. He would never offer to promise anyone anything unless he was told. He was raised in a family where the word 'promise' didn't exist. Since the age of five, he had always been told that he must do his best in all areas of study, that he must serve the clan's main house without any complain, and that he must protect the heiress even at the cost of his life. To him, 'must' was the only word in his dictionary.

Tenten was a girl who would never make others promise her anything. She knew that most promises were meant to be broken. Her parents had promised that they would stay with her regardless of the circumstance but they went back on their word because selling her off was the best and only option. She knew that most promises were just empty words made by people whom didn't even mean it. But her view on promises began to change since the day she witnessed Lee being beaten to a bloody pulp by the Sound ninjas. He promised that he would protect his precious 'Sakura-chan' no matter what. And he did, even though he had fallen unconscious in the end.

Tenten thought it was super adorable. But, Neji thought it was a foolish act.

Just when everyone thought that Neji would stay heartless forever, that he would never care enough to become a part of the 'promise of a lifetime' trend, he proved everyone wrong. He also surprised himself as well. He didn't remember when he had started to act foolish. Lee called it the springtime of youth, but he thought otherwise. How did it happen? What drove him to make that promise? He didn't recall. All he remembered was that tears were streaking down her face like a river at that moment. Tenten never cried. It must've been a big deal if she was willing to show that side of hers to him. Neji found it amusing.

On the day of his discharge, Tenten was the first to arrive at the hospital. Since he was placed in intensive care as soon as the crew returned from the Sasuke retrieval mission, she didn't get a chance to see him before she was sent to another mission. She knew the mission was a failure – it was written all over Shikamaru's face. But she was glad that all her comrades were able to return alive. Nothing else mattered other than coming back alive.

Taking a deep breath, she slid opened the hospital door and entered Neji's assigned room. She didn't know what to expect since no one told her about his condition. She was prepared for the worst case scenario. Maybe he broke his legs and could never walk away; maybe he was still unconscious and the doctors were powerless to treat him. But when she saw him sitting on the hospital bed with a book in his hands, a rush of relief hit her. She thought she could manage; she thought she wouldn't cry, but she did. It was embarrassing. It would count as one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

Approaching his bedside, Tenten cried shamelessly, "Promise me that you will never come back in this state again."

Neji looked up and closed the book he was reading, "I can't promise you that. There will always be enemies who are stronger than I." Instead of trying to lighten up the mood, he rejected her matter-of-factly. There was no point of giving her false hope. There was no way he could tell whom he would fight against next. There was no way he could tell whether he could come back in one piece next time. "Don't cry now. I am here and well for now."

She bit her lower lips and poked at the wound on his chest with no mercy. He winced at the contact. "I would be stupid to believe that you are well. You were in intensive care for days and I wasn't even allowed to visit you." With that being said, more tears fell. "You will never understand how helpless I felt because you've never seen me in that state."

Neji paused for a brief moment before he spoke again, "You're right. I don't understand. I don't ever want to understand what you were going through. You must never be in this state." He raised his hand to catch her falling teardrops. "Stop crying. You look horrible."

"Shut up!" She burst out crying, "just promise me, you idiot!"

"Alright, I promise," he lifted his hand to her face and wiped her tears away, "I promise I will never come back in this state again. So, please stop crying now. What are you going to do if someone else sees you like this?"

Tenten fell speechless as she turned away so that her back was facing him as she dried her tears. At the same time, Lee kicked down the door that stood between Neji's room and the corridor. Lee was also quite badly injured himself. Heck, he wasn't even completely recovered before he snuck out to follow the Sasuke retrieval team. But it was beyond anyone's imagination as to why he still had the strength to kick down a door.

"My partner!" He exclaimed."I heard you are getting discharged today! How are-" The intruder stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the situation, "What's going on?"

Neji didn't know what he was thinking. He probably did all of it out of impulse. But he just felt like that he needed to pull Tenten close so that Lee, or anyone else, could never see her tears. He wanted to be the only one who had witnessed it. He didn't know why, but he called it 'protecting the woman's pride. "It was nothing," The Hyuuga stuttered.

Yes, Neji stuttered for the first time in his life.

It was too late.

Tenten knew she did wrong.

Multiple wooden spears were pierced through his torso. Blood, his blood, splattered everywhere. The scene was disturbing but she couldn't look away. If it were anyone else, she would've without a second thought. But this person was Hyuuga Neji, her teammate, her sparring partner, her everything. But she couldn't move either. She couldn't abandon her position now; she still had a battle to fight.

From afar, she could see his curse mark slowly disappearing from his forehead. His eyes were slowly losing focus. She was trying her best to hold back the tears; tears would only hinder her right now. But when she saw him struggling to turn his head to her direction, a lone tear fell from her eye. Was he looking for me? But she would never know. It would remain as an unanswered question forever. She was starting to regret that she didn't run over. She was starting to regret that she didn't fight to be on the same team as he. She was starting to regret that… she didn't make him promise to stay alive before they entered the battlefield.

The moment he fell lifeless, a wooden spear struck her. Almost instantly, her knees gave up and she dropped onto the ground. Blood was gushing through her open flesh wound. But the pain on her arm was nothing compared to the heartache she was feeling at the moment. The pain was unbearable. The emptiness, the hurt, the sorrow, and the grief were all too much to handle at the same time. Was it hurting because she cared too much? Was it a punishment for breaking rule number 25? Was it a punishment for falling in love?

Knowing that Neji is a man of his word, Tenten knew that she should've never asked him to make the promise of "never coming back in that state". She would rather have him come back again and again in that state than to not come back at all. But it was too late. She could never tell him to make another promise to her anymore. She could never tell him that she wanted to fight alongside him. She could never tell him that... she cared.

Neji was gone. Forever.

A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! This is a little bit short but I hope you had a great time reading it. I just realize that my last story on NejiTen was written exactly seven years ago, also posted on the day of Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy 2013, everyone! I wish you all an awesome Christmas. Reviews will be appreciated.