Don't Forget Me
Chapter 1
An eerie silence spread across the village and the Tailed-Beast broke threw the last defense of the Leaf and Sand shinobi. The brown haired chuunin jumped towards Shikamaru with a look of horror on his face. Three older chuunins follow behind him, one of them bleeding heavy. The huge tailed beast tore threw the village 100 meters away as the shinobi landed beside Shikamaru and a blonde Sand Village ninja.
"Shikamaru, what do we do?" Shikamaru turned his face from Temari to look over at him. The Akatsuki have finally succeeded with their plan.. Shikamaru thought. Two weeks ago they had captured Naruto, and took the Nine-Tails away from him. He was the last tailed-beast left, now they had all the tailed-beast, so they could combine them all once more. To make things worse their Hokage was dead and the same as the Raikage. The world had gone to perfect to shit in a matter of days…What a drag…there does not seem a way out of this…
"What do you mean Tuska? Get some more ninja and stop the tailed beasts from advancing further in to village." Tuska looked at him and then the three leaf ninja that had came with him.
He replied softly, "That's the problem…we are the only ones left…alive." A look of horror spread across Shikamaru's face, which was soon replaced with shock and then finally understanding. He thought for some time and then sighed as he came to a conclusion. At this rate Neji wont have enough time to get to Madara, with Tenten and Kiba. To protect the village they will have to distract the beast long enough for more villagers to escape.
"Shikamaru?" Temari asked with a worried expression. Shikamaru ignored her and turned his attention back to Tuska and the awaiting leaf village ninja. "Prepare for on last final attack, I will take point, Tuska you and your men flank me." They nodded and began to get into formation.
"Shikamaru? Are you crazy? The five of you can't go up against the tailed beast!" Tears began to appear along the bottom of her eyes. He sighed…After all it was a suicide mission.
"You can't do this…you can't leave me h-here." Her voice broke on the word 'here.' He put a finger to her lips, silencing her.
"I will never leave you." He replied indifferently and added, "I must protect the children of this village and more importantly I must protect you."
"But Sh-Shikamaru." He loved her more than she will ever know. But no matter what happens death can not conquer love, for love is immortal. He leans down and kisses her forehead.
"Let me be your hero," he whispered into her ear. Her eyes widened and her tears spilled down her face. He reached up to wipe them away.
"I promise I will come back for you." He looked into her eyes. Sadly that's one promise I will have to break. Hugging her closer to his chest for one last time he jumped back and motioned for the Leaf ninja to follow him as he disappeared for sight, leaving Temari standing, with half of her heart with him.
"SHIKAMARU!" She took a step forward as an attempt to follow them but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Temari…" A dull bored voice answered. "Let him go.." She turned to see her brother, the Kazekage, standing before her. "We all have to make sacrifices.."
He heard her voice, but Shikamaru did not look back. I desperately wanted to turn around and hold her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be ok, but there will be nothing to go back to if I don't stop the Tailed-beast.
Meanwhile
"Holy Shit! Did you just see that?" Kiba yelled as he jumped roof to roof following Neji and Tenten. Neji sighed in irritation.
"If you yell any louder Kiba, the whole world is going to know we are coming.."
"Neji?" Tenten asked beside him.
"Hmm?" He glanced over at her. She sighed.
" Do you really think we have a chance against Madara?"
"Yes." He lied flatly. This usually all she got from him. He never was the one to explain in detail. They jumped onto another roof before Neji signaled them to stop. "Byakugon!" His vision turned black and white and he looked around. His eyes wided as he saw an enormous amount of chakra 50 meter due west of their position. Damn it all. He thought. Shikamaru and four others are trying to fight the tailed-beast. This is not good. We need to find Madara quick.
"Neji!" A voice screamed as he turned around just in time to miss a kunai thrown at him.
"Perfect defense my ass.." Kiba mutters under his breath as Tenten bites into her thumb, sliding it across her weapons scroll.
"Is this really the time, Kiba?" She says. "Rising Twin Dragons!" she says, as two misty dragon erupt from the scroll and rise to meet her. Varies weapons erupt from the scroll as she throws them toward, where the kunai came from. The weapons slice threw anything that is standing and completely cuts down some trees. A hand covers her mouth and pushes her against a tree. Tenten struggles, kicking viciously at the person holding her down.
"Be quiet" whispers a low voice.
"N-Nej-"she tries to speak threw his hand. He shushes her as this a huge fire ball justu flies behind him, burning up anything in its path.
"Move!" he pushes her forward to avoid another one. The mystery ninja forms some hand signs and slams his hand onto the ground. A smirk appears along his face as a huge crack in the earth is running along the ground toward the white-eyed ninja and his companion. The ground where they are standing soon craters-in, leaving a 500 meter drop into darkness.
SHIT. Thought Neji as he quickly glance around and grasp a needled plant that was on the edge of the crater. He screamed in pain as the needles pierced into his flesh. As if in slow motion he saw Tenten falling above him.
I was falling. I never thought it would end like this. I have always been ready for many things, but never dying.. I will never get to press my lips to that cold, ice-block ever again…But he was my cold, ice-block. Closing her eyes, tears began to stream down her face and the darkness rushed up to meet her… A hard jerk stopped her in mid-air, as she looked up to see a rough hand wrapped around hers. She looked up to a certain white-eyed ninja, looking down at her, holding her hand tightly.
"You die, when I die" he simply stated. She looked up even further to see blood running down his left arm and falling into the black nothingness.
"N-Neji?" A look of alarm was present on her features. He said nothing, and glance away from her gaze to look at the plant, which was now coming un-rooted because of their combined weight. She followed his gaze to the plant and her eyes widened.
We're both going to fall to their deaths. The brown-haired kunoichi thought desperately. If I let go of his hand would that be enough to save him? But would I be selfish enough to pull myself away from him and leave him to suffer? Then again it would be selfish to hold on and pull him down with me. Either way was selfish…Maybe I-…A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Don't even think about it." he said, sounding angry at the thought of her doing something like that. He gripped tighter onto her hand to show her, he knew what she was thinking. The plant suddenly shot out of the ground causing them to drop, but a sudden jerk cause them to stop again. As if fate was playing with them, she look up at Neji, who had shoved his fingers in a crack in the wall. More blood was running down his arm and onto her arm.
"…" Neji was breathing hard. At the last second he had shoved his fingers into the crack, breaking them, to stop them for falling. He could feel nothing, the numbness started at his fingers and spread to his arm and finally to his heart; where his realized he could not hold them up forever.
I always promised to be there for her, to protect her and to never let her down. A thought crossed his mind causing him to smile slightly. I could swing her up, over the crater and onto the edge, but that action would cause me to lose my hold on the crack in the wall. Oh well. Her safety was the only thing that mattered anymore. I will not allow her to die with me. The arm holding her slowly pulled up a bit, and she looked up at him with a shocked expression. "I love you, Tenten. You mean the world to me, and I will always be in your heart."
His words brought fear in the deep pit of her gut. His arm pulled up quickly and she was slowly rising. With a sudden determination on his face, he shoved her upward and him downward. As she landed on the edge of the crater, she immediately leaned over the edge and put her hand out as if he would catch it.
He fell and before he was engulfed in darkness he put his hand up also, with a smile on his face he disappeared into nothingness..
As if nothing else mattered anymore the brown-bun girl fell to her knees before the crater, and let lose everything she has been holding back. Tears flooded over her eyes and down onto her cheeks, until falling from her face into the hole. The mission did not matter anymore. She desperately wished someone would end her pain and kill her now. Its felt as if someone had crushed her heart into millions of pieces. She fell forward onto the ground, unable to move, as she cried for what seemed like an eternity. She tried so hard not to think about…him…for fear she might not be able to hold on any longer. No one knew pain quite like this. You can hardly describe it, its something you have to experience. She screamed out loud, in her own pit of despair. Wanting someone to hear her. She wanted to be saved from this unbearable pain.
"Tenten?" came a low voice.
Could he have somehow live? She thought. She slowly raised her head towards the voice. No…it was just Kiba…I must look so pathetic, but I no longer cared. I had lost more in one day, than anyone ever has in a lifetime.
"Tenten, where is Neji?" he asked with worry written all over his face.
Neji…The name burned in her heart as she fell over once more unable to contain the tears any longer. Kiba rushed to her side and put a bloodied hand on her shoulder.
"Tenten, what happened? Where is he? Why is there a giant hole beside you?" He rumbled on questions.
Sometimes his stupidity drive me crazy. Why couldn't he just understand that Neji is dead and he is never coming back.
"Its ok, Tenten" he said, rubbing her back.
Ok? How could it be ok?
His hands slowly wrapped around her body and he picks her up bridal style. He jumps up, with her in his arms, to a higher elevation. An explosion sounds off in the distance as Kiba looks toward the sky.
A/N: This was written by Autumn, who wrote 2 Years Ago. She changed her couple from NaruSaku to NejiTen. R&R so I can tell her what you all think of it. Thanks for Reading!
