Thirty Seven Scars
Its pouring outside. Inside the blood drops synchronize their fall with the rain. All over her new house painted white, red mixes and dries to a brown sort of mushed color. To Tenten, its beautiful.
Resting his unconscious forehead against her shoulder, Tenten has never been more happy to see blood.
"I thought you were dead," she told him, although he probably couldn't hear. She helped him to her white couch and held back her tears. There are more important things that come before tears. Things like completing your mission, keeping up your act so your loved ones don't worry about you, dressing wounds that paint your house red. That's right, her couch wouldn't be white for long.
"Ughh..." He opened an eye. "Tenten? Where am I?"
"You're home, Neji. Don't move around too much. I'm fixing you up now." A nod, and he passed out again.
Tenten removed his shirt and patched up every single cut, slice, stab. She knew almost every weapon that caused the damage and how it was done.
Twenty six hours passed with Neji passed out on her red and white couch. Twenty six hours passed with Tenten staying by his side, counting the scars.
"Thirty five... thirty six..." She sighed when she got to thirty seven. "I remember when I gave this to you. A simple kunai defeating the Hyuuga prodigy. Absurd, you would say, right? You pretended it didn't hurt, and here's the scar that says you were lying. Neji... why do you always have to play tough guy?"
"If I don't, who will? Lee?" He said, eyes still closed.
"How long have you been up?"
"Since yesterday. Why didn't you try to wake me? Now I've bled all over your couch."
"And my carpet, and my wood floor, and my coffee table. The list goes on." She looked down. She looked sad.
"I'll pay for those."
"Not the point, idiot." Tenten looked into his eyes and gave him such a sad smile it made a tremor run through him. She put her hand on his neck and rested her cheek against his. Holding back tears, she couldn't manage more than a shaky whisper. "Neji, you're strong. I know this. Stop trying to prove it to everyone because we all know it. But you know something," Tenten lifted her head and looked him straight in the eyes. "Even if you weren't, we would love you anyway. I'd rather have you alive with me then dead and strong. So stop trying to save the world when we're only Chunnin." She couldn't resist the urge to blink, and when she blinked her tears started flowing. She cried into his neck, almost completely on top of him.
"Tenten..." He held her like that until one of his cuts reopened and he started to bleed on her couch again. "Tenten, I'm bleeding."
"Good. That's how I know you're alive." She said and dried her tears on her bare arm. She patched up the bleeding cut once again.
"Thank you, Tenten," he said when she was done.
"You're welcome," she said as he sat up.
Thirty seven scars, soon to be thirty eight.
Fin