*Flashback*

"Promise me that you'll be okay," I said as I handed Neji his backpack.

Neji looked at me with his silvery-white eyes, and his usually expressionless face was full of sadness. "I can't promise that, Tenten."

I let my arms fall to my side, and I bowed my head. "I know," I whispered.

Neji closed his eyes, then opened them a second later, activating his Byakugan. "Shikamaru and the others are almost here."

"I'd better go," I said. After about a hundred yards, I looked back. Neji was gone.

*End Flashback*

I was at target practice by myself in the woods, in the clearing where I usually trained with Neji. I had thrown ninety-nine kunai, and all had hit the bullseye. I had pulled out the hundredth and was taking aim when suddenly, Hinata, Neji's cousin, came bursting into the clearing.

"Tenten! Naruto and the others are back from their mission of retrieving Sasuke!" Hinata gasped for air, having said all that in one breath.

My eyes lit up, and I ran over to her. "They are? How did the mission-" I stopped when I saw the fear in her pale, lavender eyes. "Hinata, what happened?"

Hinata face was flushed, and her eyes looked red, as if she'd been crying. "They didn't retrieve Sasuke. Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji tried to defeat each of the Sound Ninja alone as the group moved farther. Lee came to fight one of the enemies to let Naruto go after Sasuke. Gaara came and helped Lee beat one of the ninja, Kankuro helped Kiba, and Temari helped Shikamaru."

I felt worry rise slowly inside me when I noticed she was trying to avoid telling me something. "Hinata, what happened?" I repeated, sterner this time.

Hinata winced, and her voice grew softer. "Choji and Neji were able to defeat their opponents alone. But..." She looked up at me and whispered. "They were left in critical condition. Lady Tsunade is preparing a remedy for Choji, and Shizune is anout to undergo a two day surgery on Neji. But there's no guarantee he'll survive it."

The kunai fell out of my hand, and I ran. I kept running and running, not noticing the tears that were streaming down my cheeks, or Hinata's voice calling out, "Tenten, wait up!"

Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, I was at the hospital. I ran past the secretary and past Sakura Haruno, who called to me, "Tenten! Wait!"

I ignored her and sprinted to the back of the hospital, where the operating room was. I arrived just in time to see Neji being wheeled into the OR on a gurney. His hair was lose, and his forehead was exposed, showing the curse mark of the Branch House of the Hyuga clan. Someone had taken Neji's light beige jacket off, revealing his bare torso. His face was calm, and his eyes were closed, like he was asleep, but the large cut on his shoulder and the huge hole in his chest proved otherwise.

I didn't her myself scream, but I knew I did. I felt arms pulling me back, heard voicing speaking to me, but I couldn't make out the words. The back of my throat burned as the doors to the OR closed, and the red "Operating" light blinked on.

"Tenten?" I heard a familiar voice say. I shook my head, trying to block out all reality. "Tenten, snap out of it!"

I turned a glare onto the girl who had spoken. It was Ino, the genin-level kunoichi who happened to be one of my friends. I tried to stop the tears, but they kept coming. Reality kept haunting me, whispering the truth, the horrible, horrible truth: Neji's in critical condition... He might not survive... Neji might die...

I plugged my ears, trying block out the whispers, but they won't leave me alone.

"Can I speak to Tenten alone?"

I opened my eyes, surprised at whose voice spoke.

Shikamaru Nara was standing in front of me, gesturing for Sakura and Ino to leave. I watched them leave through tearfilled eyes, then turned to Shikamaru, wiping away my tears and trying to hold them back. I expected him to give me a long speech on how Neji ended up this way, but I completely shocked when Shikamaru pulled me in and hugged me tightly. I was tense for a second, then loosened up and hugged him back.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru whispered. "This is my fault. This is all my fault. I allowed Neji to stay back and fight Kidomaru. I'm so sorry, Tenten."

That broke the dam. I cried and cried into his shoulder until my eyes were dry and crusted around the edges. After that, Shikamaru left with Ino and went to the other side of the hospital, where Lady Tsunade was working on Choji, while Sakura came back in. I sat on the bench outside the OR, hugging my knees and thinking about Neji. About how Neji was so cold before he fought Naruto Uzumaki, and how he changed. How instead of being critical everytime Lee or I messed up during training, he would encourage us to try harder next time. His eyes lost that cruel, calculating glare and became softer, more thoughtful, but still serious. And how he noticed small little things that no one else would notice, without even using his Byakugan.

I kept staring at the glowing "Operating" sign, even when the rest of the hall grew dark with nightfall. Sakura left, but not before urging me to go home to rest. I resisted. I had to stay. I had to be there for Neji.

I sat on the bench, mumbling over and over to myself, "He'll be fine. He's Neji, the Hyuga prodigy. He'll be fine. No need to worry. He'll be fine. He'll be fine."

I felt pressure on my shoulder and looked up. Shikamaru stood there, a pillow in one hand, a blanket draped over one arm, and a hand on my shoulder. I stared at what he held, not fully processing what they were for. He wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and placed the pillow on one end of the bench. Then, Shikamaru pulled an apple from the shurukin pouch on his leg and placed it in my hand. Before I could even thank him, he vanished.

I took a hesitant bite of the apple, then quickly finished it, lying down on the bench. I was asleep before the apple even fell out of my hand.

I was awoken by a sudden pressure on my arm. I sat up quickly, holding a kunai to my attacker's throat before I had even opened my eyes.

"Tenten!" shrieked Sakura as she stumbled backwards.

I quickly put the kunai away and stammered, "Sorry! Reflex!"

Sakura smoothed her dress, and smiled down at me. "It's alright."

The horrors of the previous day came flooding back. My eyes widened and I leaped up. "How's Neji?"

Sakura took a step back. "Um, I don't know, but I do know that the surgery is going to end by this afternoon, if all goes well."

The expression on my face must have been pretty horrified, because Sakura took another step back and waved her hands in front of her. "Not that something will go wrong! Everything will be fine!"

"Tenten!" I heard a voice call out. I turned and saw Ino jogging toward me, with Hinata at her side. "Did you stay here all night?"

I nodded, glanced at the fallen apple, and sat down on the bench. "I never left."

All three kunoichi sat down next to me, Hinata on my left and Sakura and Ino on my right. Sakura placed a hand on my leg and looked at me with her pretty jade eyes, which were full of pity.

"I know you're worried about Neji."

"It's horrible having a teammate surgery," Ino sympathized. Her teammate, Choji, was also undergoing an operation.

I shook my head, and hugged my knees. "Neji's not just my teammate. He's my best friend. He's changed. Not many notice because he's so quiet, but Neji is really nice, and really supportive. Sure he goes into one of his moods every now and then, and he likes to stick to the rules, but he's a hard worker. When Lee and Guy Sensei are off training by themselves, we train together. I helped him perfect his Rotation, and he helped me perfect my Twin Rising Dragons. And just because he's a genius, doesn't mean he doesn't work hard! He does. I've never seen anyone work as hard as him during training, not even Lee. I love training with him. I love spending time with him in general..."

I moaned, burying my face in my hands. "I should have gone on the mission with him! I should have been there to help him, to protect him."

"Tenten," Hinata spoke up for the first time. "If you had been there, Neji would have died trying to protect you."

I looked up at her. "What?"

Hinata nodded. "After the Chūnin Exams, I grew closer to Neji, and I know he would have sacrificed himself in order for you to live. Neji would have jumped in front of any kind of weapon, jutsu, or creature just to save you. Because, Tenten," Hinata placed her hand on my shoulder. "You're his best friend."

My bottom lip trembled, and I couldn't stop the river of tears that began flowing down my face. I felt arms around my shoulders, but I didn't bother to look to see whose they were.

I don't know how long I was sobbing, but suddenly the doors to the Operating Room flew opened and Shizune ran out. I tore myself away from Hinata and the others and stepped in front of Shizune.

"Neji?" was all I said.

Shizune was panting, and she said quickly, "Sugery finished... Stabilized... Must... Tell Lady Tsunade!" With that, she continued to sprint to the otherside of the hospital.

I began sobbing again, but these were tears of joy. I hugged Hinata, who whispered in my ear, "He made it. Neji'll be fine."

I nodded, still crying, as Neji was wheeled out of the OR. The hole in his chest had been sealed, and was replaced with a large, fresh scar. His shoulder wound looked the same. I took his left hand into mine as he was wheeled into his reserved hospital room. I never let go as the hospital staff set him into the bed and pulled the covers over him. I glared at the nurse who had asked me to leave, my hand reaching toward the weapons pouch on my hip, causing the nurse's face to go pale, and for her to back slowly away. As I sat in the chair next to him, Neji never awoke, but I felt his steady heartbeat through his finger tips.

I had begun to fall asleep when I heard a raspy voice say, "Tenten?"

My head shot up, and I saw Neji looking at me with his pearly white eyes. "Neji!" I cried, falling to my knees and getting as close as I could to his bed.

"So I'm not dead," he mused, and I squeezed his hand, hard.

"Don't talk like that!" I said harshly. "If you had died..." I stopped, the back of my throat burning.

Neji blinked. "If I had died...?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I would have killed you."

Neji squeezed my hand softly. "That's why I'm alive right now." He held up his other hand, which seemed to be holding something. Neji reached over and handed me the object. "Take it."

I spun the object, which turned out to be a feather, in my fingers. It was beautiful, and I thought about how Neji wanted to be like a bird, flying free instead of being caged by the curse mark of the Branch House of the Hyuga clan.

I blinked back tears. "Neji, you're my best friend."

He smiled. "And you're mine, Tenten."

I began crying again, holding his hands with both of mine, pressing them to my forehead. I didn't notice the tear that slid down the Hyuga's fair-skinned cheek.

Neither of us noticed the other person in the room. Neither of us noticed as he walked up behind me and placed an apple on the bedside table, or quietly slip out the window.

He was a master of shadows, after all.

I hope you enjoyed it! Tenten is my favorite Naruto character (I don't care how little screentime she's had), and I can't decide between Neji and Shikamaru for second, so I had to throw Shikamaru into this story! :)