Neji hyuuga sat at a table across from Tenten.
"Please??" he begged. Tenten was shocked. She'd never thought she would live to see the day where the famous Neji Hyuuga would beg for anything, least of all from her.
"No," she answered.
"Please??" his face had taken on the qualities of a puppy. It was hard to say no.
"Just a little bit??"
"No. You need to get over it, Neji,"
"Why?"
"You just do. It's not healthy,"
"Awwww, come on Tenten!! A little bit won't hurt!!"
"No, Neji. I said no, and that's that," Tenten tried to sound as tough as she could, but it was hard, wat with Neji's puppy dog eyes.
"Please?" Neji asked again, softly this time. Tenten's reserve cracked.
"All right," she sighed and reached into her bag. Tenten pulled out the one thing that would stop Neji's begging.
Banana pudding.
Then Tenten pulled out a spoon and put them both on the table. She kept her hands on the spoon and pudding for a few inutes, then pushed them towards Neji. He grabbed them without hesitation.
"Thanks Tenten," he sighed before digging into the pudding. A small smile crept onto Tenten's face as she watched Neji eat the pudding.
Neji finished the pudding in no time at all. Then he looked up and saw that Tenten was gone.
'Where did she go?' he wondered. Neji got up slowly, looking around for Tenten. He thought for a minute without moving, afraid she was going to abush him.
Then it dawned on him. 'Of course!! That's where she'll be!!' He started off in the direction of the forest. He knew exactly where Tenten would be.
Soon he was close to the spot and stopped running. He walked slowly through the trees and soon, sure enough, he saw Tenten's back. She was kneeling at the foot of a little shrine she had made for her father. She was crying softly. Neji crept up behind her silently. He put his arm around her shoulder. Tenten leaned into him and continued crying. They didn't say anything for a little bit.
After a while, Tenten stopped crying. Neji helped her get back up.
"Sorry," she whispered, wiping her eyes.
"It's ok," Neji told her softly.
Neji kept his arm around her all the way back to Konaha. She clung to him, gratefull for the company. They walked her to her house, then Neji made to break away from Tenten.
"Please, stay," Tenten asked him, her eyes still red from cying. Neji couldn't refuse.
"Ok," he told her and followed her into her house.
"You can sit down, Neji," she told him. "I'll be right back," Then Tenten left the room. Neji sat down on a chair and looked around. Her house was quaint. It didn't have much, but the essentials and some pictures of her and her father. Before he knew it, Tenten was back. But she looked different.
Her hair was down.
Neji gasped softly. Her hair was soft and wavy and reached her shoulders. It curled softly and framed her face in a nice way. There was no other way of putting it. Tenten looked beautiful. Neji stood up to meet Tenten in the middle of the room. They stood there a few steps away from each other for a few minutes. Both of them were tongue-tied. Then Tenten looked down.
"What's wrong?" he asked her. He had found his voice at last.
"You don't like my hair like this,"
"Of course I do. Why do you wear you're hair up in a bun anyways?"
"I'm not really sure. Just a habit, I guess,"
"Well, you should try to break it,"
"Why would you care?" Even after how nice he had just been, she was still used to the Neji who was tough and didn't really care about other people.
"Because I do. Tenten," he paused. "you really do look beautiful,"
Tenten ran the few steps until she reached Neji. Then she hugged him as hard as she possibly could.
"Thanks, Neji. You know, underneath that toughness, you're really nice," Tenten told him, smiling slightly.
Neji just smiled softly. Then he bent down and softly kissed Tenten. When they broke apart, Tenten was beet red.
"You're welcome," he told her.
EPILOGUE!! From that moment on, Tenten and Neji we inseperable. Wherever one was, the other was surely close by.
8 years later, Neji proposed to Tenten. They were married in June. From then on, Tenten was Tenten Hyuuga.
About a month after the marriage, the leader of the Hyuuga clan died, leaving Hinata in charge. Hinata decreed that there was no longer a 2nd branch. Everyone would be equal.
In October of the following year, Tenten gave birth to a baby girl. She named her Akiko.
This would be the first Hyuuga not condemned to a terrible life. The first one free of the curse.