(AN: Hi! This is Charini! I have actually just RECENTLY finished Naruto Shippuden and I felt as though Neji honestly could have and should have lived…He could have just rotation-ed those rocks away but nu he had to die. ALSO IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY KISHIMOTO HIMSELF THAT TENTEN IS NOT METAL LEE'S MOM so yes…..The show must now go on…I hope you all enjoy. This is how I imagined Naruto Shippuden AND consequently, Boruto would have changed if he was still alive! And be aware this is totally NejiTen. They have been my OTP for about 11 years now, I started shipping them as a wee baby. Also! The cover was created by unicornchen on DeviantART! Check them out at unicornchen)

ANYWAYS! I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY! THANK YOU FOR READING!

"It's because of you…I'm still alive…." The words rang in his head like a bell, over and over again. Neji held Tenten close to him….It was strange. They were in a futon together, entangled in each other's arms. They were just sleeping together it seemed.

Just now, he was in the midst of a war. The last thing he had remembered was protecting Naruto from the Ten Tails' attack. The boy had just called him a genius….after that it became black, a pitch black darkness enveloping him. All the cries around him had become a sad, murmuring blur. To be honest, Neji himself believed that he was dead. But it seemed…even now he was able to change the winds of destiny.

"Tenten…where am I?" He asked the young kunoichii who was in his arms. He looked down at his chest, there was no evidence of impalement. No evidence of death lay in his vicinity.

It was just him…and Tenten. They were at the Hyuuga mansion one autumn evening. It was quite perfect actually. "You're at home, silly." She teased him. She was in a white robe, plain and simple. In fact, she looked quite comfortable. Her hair was down, not in their usual buns.

"Tenten…why are you dressed like that?"

Tenten raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Dressed like what?" He was in a plain white robe as well.

"Aren't we in the middle of a war?" But God..it was so perfect..this must be a genjutsu created by the enemy. Or was it heaven? Had he actually died?

"Neji..the war ended a while ago. Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?" She placed a worried hand on his forehead. He felt the contact of her calloused hand on the skin of his forehead. (They must have been rough from all that training with metal weapons.) He wasn't wearing his headband either, as he usually had done at home. It was rather sweaty and unnecessary if he was not on the battlefield. Suddenly, he was self conscious. Hadn't she been repulsed by the mark on his forehead? No…Tenten wasn't superficial like that.

"Is that so?….that can't be." He threw the blanket to the side. "No…this must be genjutsu. RELEASE!" He tried to cut off his chakra circulation and release the genjutsu. "RELEASE!" But it was no use….

No matter how many times he tried, he was always brought back to this wonderful world.

Tenten placed her pair of worried hands on his arm. "Neji! Get it together! This isn't a genjutsu!" She shook him, bringing him back.

"Tenten! We have to get out of here! This is a genjutsu! You're the one that needs to get it together!" He shouted back at her.

She smacked the back of his head, quite hard actually. When he had came to, he had noticed that her sweet brown eyes had been filled to the brim with tears. She then stood up. "Maybe coming here was a mistake…." And with that, she ran out the door.

"Tenten! Wait!" Neji stood up, without a moment's hesitance in mind. His body had immediately ran after her, as if it was an instinct he was born with. "TENTEN!" He ran down the corridors, following her right out the mansion, past his uncle's beloved bonsai gardens, where he had found her crying….crying because he had hurt her. He grabbed her wrist. "Tenten I'm sorry….." He squeezed her arm. She was the only one he couldn't bear to see like this. Especially when he was the one who made her cry.

Dammit. He thought to himself. Damn this enemy.

With a swift flick of his wrist, he pulled her back into his arms, pressing the kunoichi's face against his broad shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tenten. I don't know what's wrong with me." He lied. He knew EXACTLY what was wrong. This Madara had put him in some genjutsu. He just wasn't sure how to break it…or if he wanted to break it.

"It's ok Neji. Let's just go back to bed alright?" She suggested, burying her face into his shirt.

"Let's go." He agreed, smiling.

In reality…Neji had never gotten to hold Tenten like this. In fact…the closest they've ever really gone on a date was getting dango together and even THAT was interrupted by one of Guy sensei's youthful monologues. Of course, it wasn't only Guy-sensei and Lee's denseness to blame, it was also Tenten's and perhaps…Neji's own stubbornness.

If it weren't for this damn genjutsu…he may not have realized this was something he's always wanted.

And here he was….sleeping, submitting to the genjutsu.

When he had woken up in the genjutsu, he was face to face with Tenten, whose face had only been about two centimeters from his.

He had never in his entire life…kissed a girl. But he had imagined if he were to kiss one…it would be Tenten.

Up close, she was even more beautiful than he had ever thought possible. Her sleek black hair framed her delicate white skin and round face. Her eyelashes were beautiful, floating above her eyes like dreamy clouds.

Then they began to flutter open, gently batting as she woke up. "Good morning, Neji." She smiled at him, as if his very existence were enough for her.

"G-Good morning." Neji repeated.

Suddenly, she closed the small gap between their faces, her lips pressing against his for a small peck, stealing his virgin lips. "You're so shy…." Tenten sighed before sitting up.

Neji laid there, with his face red as a tomato. That was his first kiss….

"Come on Neji!~" She whined, pulling him up. "It's time to get breakfast!" She exclaimed.

"Hm? Breakfast?" Neji could hear his stomach growl. Well…he was hungry. It was then that Tenten shed off her robe, right in front of him. Out of shock, he had turned around. Never had he dared to peep on any girl and he certainly wouldn't start now.

"Aren't you going to change?" She asked him, seeing as he was turned around, stiff as a board.

"A-Ah. Yeah I will." Neji replied.

He waited until Tenten left to change into his usual garbs. They left for breakfast together, in the Hyuuga dining room. It was then he noticed the ring on Tenten's right hand.

A diamond one.

She was engaged.

To him.

Neji Hyuuga.

She was engaged to Neji Hyuuga.

They sat down for breakfast along with Hinata, Hanabi, Hinata's Father, and….his father, Hizashi Hyuuga.

His father was alive.

There was so much Neji wanted to say to him…and now…he could finally get a chance to say it.

Tenten sat down, ready to eat. There was an open space for Neji, right between Tenten and his father.

"Neji, what are you doing? I'm starving!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Neji, is everything alright?" His father wondered, his voice deep and curious.

"Ah yes. Everything is fine." Neji replied.

"He's been acting weird all morning, father." Tenten turned to his father, saying.

"She's calling him father?!" Neji thought to himself.

Neji sat down, as a servant began to serve them breakfast.

It was strange…the entire clan was eating together including all of its side branches. There seemed to be little to no discrimination between which branch of the family you were from.

As he turned to his father he had realized…there was no curse mark scribbled on his forehead. They were one clan, all protecting the byakugan together.

"Have you made any advancements on the wedding plans?" Hiashi, Hinata's father, had asked.

"W-Wedding?" Neji repeated in his head.

"Ah….Neji and I were going to pick out the cake today, Hiashi-sama." Tenten answered. As always, she was bright. And in her new dress, she was even considered elegant. A shimmering rose.

Then it hit him. He was getting married.

"Neji." HIs father placed a hand on his son's own hand. "You have been a wonderful son to me, and a wonderful clansmen to the Hyuuga clan. You have saved our village current hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. And now…..you have brought me a wonderful daughter-in-law. Thank you, Neji."

"Father…." Neji looked at his father's smiling face.

He then looked back at Tenten, engaging in conversation with Hinata and Hanabi as they advised her on what she should wear. Even though it was custom for Hyuuga's to have a traditional wedding, Tenten seemed to want a different dress.

Damn this enemy. Neji thought to himself.

After breakfast, Tenten had latched onto his arm. "Let's go pick out the cake!" She exclaimed.

"A-Ah…Let's do that." Neji agreed.

As they left their house, they were greeted by Guy-Sensei, who was walking on his own two feet instead of on his hands…..and same with Rock Lee.

But…something was different about them…..

They weren't wearing their green jumpsuits, they were wearing khakis. Their clothes looked like they had come right out of a magazine. And their hair, instead of the usual bowl cut, was styled. "Good morning, Neji." Guy-Sensei greeted him, calmly.

These two had seemed radically different. Much more mature in fact.

"Good morning." Neji greeted in return, suspicious. "We were just on our way to pick out a cake."

"Cake? I see…." Guy-sensei acknowledged before sighing tiredly. "I'm too old for cake….." He leaned against a wall dramatically.

"While you do that, I shall be hitting the hair salon!" Rock Lee exclaimed. Oddly enough, a bunch of girls had been spying on Lee from afar. Had he actually been popular in this strange genjutsu? Also…..what was wrong with Guy sensei? Had he actually just realized how old he was?

"Seeing the two of you getting married….I feel so old…"

Old? Neji repeated to himself. The Guy-Sensei he knew would have stated that marriage was only the beginning of another youthful springtime. Then Guy Sensei would have proceeded on wishing him a hot passionate marriage.

This genjutsu was strange indeed. The only person that remained the same was Tenten. She was perfect as she was, she didn't need any modification, at least in his eyes.

"Come on Neji, let's go." Tenten tugged on his arm one more time.

"Alright." Neji agreed, following his fiancee.

They walked down the street together, side by side, as they always had. In fact, Neji could hardly remember a moment in his life when Tenten wasn't supporting up, wasn't by his side. And of course, he wanted to keep being by her side until the day they died of old age. Of course, he hardly had time to let the thought of marriage cross his mind. He didn't feel like marriage was necessary to stay by Tenten's side, he would have continued to be her partner no matter what.

But of course…marriage would have been the best way to stay by her side. They could even have children of their own…they would probably carry the byakugan but he would also liked it if they had her eyes. In this world…his children wouldn't have to bear the curse mark either.

An absolute perfect genjutsu.

He hated himself for not wanting to leave this perfect world.

Then…suddenly…he was released from the genjutsu….the Tenten in front of him faded just as he was beginning to accept the dream. His eyes fluttered open. He was on the cold ground, barely alive.

Yes, this was the real reality. It wasn't beautiful. It was cruel.

He was probably 5 seconds away from death and once he had died, the curse would reveal itself to protect the byakugan as he was destined to do. He join his father on the other side and watch over Rock Lee, Naruto, Hinata, and of course…he would watch Tenten grow old, get married, and have children of her own.

He closed his eyes, accepting his own death, the truly imperfect reality outside the perfect genjutsu.

"NEJI! NEJI!" He could hear the familiar voice shouting. "NEJI'S ALIVE! HURRY!" It was Tenten. "HURRY! HE'S CRITICALLY INJURED!"

What was going on? He wondered.

"NEJI! NEJI! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Tenten shouted over and over again. "Please Neji! Don't leave me behind!"

He was too weak to speak, all he had felt in his throat was blood.

Her voice was hoarse and cracking, littered with sobs. Was she crying?

"NEJI! DON'T LEAVE ME!" She shouted again and again, crying over his frame.

"TENTEN, WE'RE HERE!" He heard a couple of medical ninjas rush to his side. Immediately, they had began the healing process.

"Please heal him…." She cried.

"Tenten! I came as fast as I could." Sakura came, the student of Tsunade. She seemed to have the strength of a hundred seal, taking its appearance as a diamond on her forehead. "We'll have to remove the rods from his lungs." Sakura said. "Do we have enough anesthesia?!"

"Yes we do…" The medics agreed.

"W-Will he be alright?" Tenten asked, fearful of the response she would get in return.

"Yes. Trust me, Tenten." Sakura promised her friend.

As soon as the anesthesia began to course through his veins, Neji had fallen into another deep slumber. The sight of Tenten faded into darkness.

And thus, Neji Hyuuga lived another day.

~To be continued~