Tenten looked around the room once more, for the final time. There were many memories of the past two years that occurred in this room, none that were at all unpleasant. One result of said memories, she now carried with her in an inseparable bond…
Her suitcases were already in the cab. As she picked up her last bag, her hand lingered over the area just beneath her stomach…
That same hand then reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, folded neatly and perfectly.
Perfectly… Just the way his family expected her to be. Perfect in a way she never could be. This was why she was leaving. He thought she was perfect-- he loved her-- but they couldn't accept her. To them she wasn't enough for the man who was preparing to head the clan and the family business (as stated in his uncle's will). She couldn't take it anymore.
She placed the folded paper on the nightstand, right next to their photo. It was one of the rare photos he smiled in. He was smiling as he kissed her temple, and she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She felt a sting in the back of her eyes and looked away from the photo quickly.
Opening the door, she slipped her shoes off and walked silently down the long corridor, shutting the door with a faint click.
---
Hinata knocked on the door softly.
"Hello? Tenten-neesan? Can I come in?"
When there was no response, she turned the knob and stepped in.
"Tenten-neesan, did you hear me?" She looked around the room, finding it empty. "Tenten?" She looked into the master bathroom, finding it also empty. "Where could she be?"
She turned around and spotted a piece of paper next to the photo on the nightstand. It was never there before, she thought, so she walked over and took a look at it. She unfolded it slowly, fearing it would say…
It did.
Hinata hurriedly went over to the dresser. The top few drawers belonged to Tenten, she knew. She closed her eyes and opened the first one. It opened easily, as if there were no weight. She opened her eyes.
It was empty.
She opened the next few drawers.
Empty.
She went to the big walk in closet. Only her cousin's suits and other clothes were there. No female article of clothing whatsoever.
It couldn't be... No...
She felt tears streaming down her cheeks. What should she do next? Tell Neji-niisan? Stop Tenten?……
She picked the latter and ran out the room. She knew the hallways of the enormous mansion by heart, so she knew which way Tenten would go to make it out unseen.
She couldn't have gotten too far yet; she had seen her at breakfast this morning.
(Now that Hinata thought about it, Tenten did look quite sullen this morning.)
Please, she thought to herself, Please don't be gone yet.
---
"Tenten-neesan! Please, wait!"
The twenty-two year old stopped when someone came in her way. "Hinata-chan?"
Hinata grabbed the older girl's shoulders. She had to be brave, she couldn't stutter. It was up to her to stop all this.
"Please, Tenten-neesan, don't leave! Please! You can't!"
Tenten sighed. She pried Hinata's fingers off her shoulders. "How did you know?"
Hinata held up the note. "I found this."
Tenten's face tilted forward, causing a shadow to come in front of her eyes. "Please don't tell Neji yourself, Hinata-chan. I want him to read the note."
"But, Tenten-neesan, you can't!" Hinata's face was red. She had done more screaming today than she had ever done.
"I have to, Hinata-chan." She smiled a sad smile to the crying girl in front of her.
"But, why? Tenten, why?" she said, dropping the honorific. (This had nothing to do with honor or respect. This had to do with their family.)
"Because, Hinata. I'll only be a burden to him. Your father asked that he be his successor. I'll only get in the way." She put her hand on Hinata's shoulder and gently pushed her aside, so she could get through. She slipped her shoes on, there was no need to keep silent anymore.
"No!" Hinata called to her retreating figure. "No, Tenten! He needs you now! He loves you! He loves you, Tenten! Please!"
A single tear fell from Tenten's eyes. "I'm sorry."
She proceeded down the hallway as Hinata turned and ran. She was almost to the main entrance.
---
Ino gaped at the red-faced Hinata panting in front of her. "H-Hinata-chan?" Funny, usually Hinata was the one stuttering.
"Ino! Where's Neji!"
Ino's jaw dropped slightly. There was not a single stutter in her sentence, and she didn't use honorifics. There was definitely something wrong.
"H-he's in that meeting with the representatives from Suna… what's wrong, Hinata?"
Ino gasped when the girl pushed past her, saying, "He has to stop her!"
Ino grabbed Hinata's wrist. "What? Hinata, what are you talking about?"
Hinata pulled away. "There's no time to explain! I have to find Neji! He has to stop her!" She dashed down the hallway with the speed Ino never knew she had.
"Hinata?! Hinata, wait! Stop who?! …Where's Tenten!?" she called after the girl.
She heard Hinata's faint, "He has to stop her!"
Then she knew what she was talking about.
She went to one of the doors in the now empty hallway and banged hard on it.
She heard Naruto's voice go, "I still don't get this game…"
And then Shikamaru's, "So troublesome…"
"Shikamaru! Open up!" The door opened and both males were standing in the doorway, a Go board behind them on the floor. Ino didn't even give either of them time to say, "What's going on?"
She grabbed both of their wrists and dashed after Hinata, pulling both of them with her. "Come on! We have to help!"
(They passed by Sakura and Sasuke on the way, who also followed hurriedly.)
---
"Neji-niisan!" Hinata bellowed as she burst through the door. Everyone in the room (Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, a maid, two elders, and of course Neji) turned to gape at her. Since when did she yell?
Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all appeared in the doorway behind her.
"Um… Hinata-sama?" Neji said. "…guys?" He noticed Hinata's wet, worried face. "What's going on?"
Hinata shoved the note into his hands. "You have to stop her!" (Everyone inwardly winced. Usually quiet people could be loud when they wanted to, eh?)
Neji took the note and read it.
Then read it again.
He bowed to his guests.
"Please… please excuse me," he said, then ran out the door with an unreadable expression on his face, followed by Hinata.
Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other, wondering what the hell was happening. Ino was crying and pulled Naruto and Shikamaru with her again, to follow Hinata. Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara followed in a wordless speed, wondering what the next shocking event would be.
"Where's Tenten?" Sakura said, breaking the silence.
"She's…" Ino said. She couldn't bring herself to say the last word. Leaving.
Everyone sped up a bit (trying not to crash into anything or any of the maids).
---
Tenten stepped into the backseat of the cab and shut the door.
"To the airport. Quickly, please," she said to the gray-haired man in front.
The man put the cab into gear and drove down the long curved pathway in front of the enormous mansion.
"The airport, ma'am? May I ask where you are going?"
Tenten smirked to herself at the man's question. She looked out through the back window of the cab. "America."
"America, ma'am?" The man glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.
She nodded. "My aunt and cousins moved there a few years ago."
"Ah," the man said, "and you are going there for a visit, I presume? So when shall we be expecting you back? That was quite a lot of luggage you brought. It would almost seem as if you were moving…"
"Kakashi-san?"
The man glanced at her in the mirror again. "Yes, Tenten?" She was also looking at him.
"Might I ask why a General of your status is driving a young lady in a cab to the airport?"
Kakahsi smirked (he knew why she was leaving, and she knew he knew). "Well, it is an honor to escort someone of your status, and as an old family friend, to the airport."
Tenten looked out the back window again. They were at the gate now… "Thank you, then, Kakashi-sensei." She hadn't called him that in a years, but it felt right to call him that one last time. (If only she could see Gai and call him sensei once more.)
She thought she saw Neji coming out of the mansion, far down the pathway. He mouthed something.
The gates closed behind them.
She faced forward as the tears fell and placed her hand below her stomach.
The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.
---
"Don't go…" Neji mouthed when he saw her in the back of the cab. The gates closed, and he fell to his knees. He was too late…
He heard the others come up behind him (now joined by Lee, Chouji and Gai, all asking, "What's going on?").
Hinata and Ino sobbed.
Sakura buried her face in Sasuke's chest.
"She's gone…" Temari whispered.
Her brothers remained silent.
Gai and Lee weren't afraid to let the tears fall.
Chouji put his chips back into his pocket, not having the appetite anymore.
Shikamaru turned his head.
Naruto pulled Hinata into a hug.
Every single one of them here, who had all been friends for so long, couldn't believe it…
The last person who completed their longtime circle of friends…
She was…
She's gone…
Neji's fist met the ground.
How could I be too late?
---
Later in the evening.
"How's Neji-san, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked. Hinata shook her head, and everyone in the room sighed.
"I can't believe she left," Ino said. "Why did she leave, Hinata-chan?"
Hinata sat down next Naruto, who immediately put his arm around her. "She… thought she would be a burden to him. The elders didn't want to accept her when Neji proposed to her. But Father gladly accepted her. That was the only reason the elders did. Now that Father's… I guess the elders… She probably thought their marriage would cause some trouble now that Father isn't here…"
They turned to the opening door. Hanabi walked in and sat down in an empty chair. "Neji-niisan's still sitting in his room. He keeps rereading the note over and over. It's as if he's in a trance."
Lee held his head in his hands. "Where shall she go? Her aunt and cousins went to America when her father died…"
They were silent for a few minutes. Kakashi entered, breaking the silence.
Once he saw all the solemn faces, he said, "Who died?" jokingly.
Temari said to him, "This isn't exactly a good time to be joking, Kakashi-san."
Kakashi's eyebrow rose. "Temari-san? Kankuro-san? I'm guessing Gaara-san is meeting with the elders? Why aren't you there?" He looked around the room. "Ah, where are Neji and Tenten? They're not alone in their room are they?"
His questions were met with silence.
He sighed. "I didn't expect the news of Tenten's departure to spread around so quickly. Her flight just left a few minutes ago."
Ino looked up at him. "How do you know?"
He shrugged as if the situation wasn't a bother for him. He pulled out his orange book. "I might have been the one driving the cab…"
"YOU WERE THE ONE DRIVING?!"
Kakashi's eye twitched as he read his book. "You know when nearly 20 people are screaming all at once and at the top of their lungs… it kinda hurts the ears…"
"Where is she going Kakashi?" Gai asked.
He looked at all of them. They all had the same look on their face: anticipation. They hoped that she wasn't too far. That her flight was only an hour away. That they could always go and visit her.
He hated to crush that…
"America."
All their faces fell.
"America…" Hinata sighed as she let her head rest on Naruto's shoulder. "She's probably going to her family…"
They were silent again. There was no noise as they all thought, not even Chouji munching on his chips. He just sat and stared into the full bag.
"Hinata-chan…" Sakura asked.
"Yes?"
"Does Neji know that Tenten's…?"
Hinata shook her head. "He doesn't," she said quietly.
"It's best he doesn't know."
Everyone turned their attention to Sasuke, who had barely said anything through all of today's events.
"What?! Why, teme?" Naruto asked him.
"It would only put more stress on him," he replied.
"How would that put more stress on him?"
Shikamaru yawned, "Troublesome idiot. His wife is out there on a plane to America pregnant with his child. Wouldn't you be stressed?"
"Well, yeah I would, I guess…"
"Just don't tell him…"
Everyone's attention was now on Hinata. "Don't tell him," she said. "He doesn't need more heartbreak right now."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…
---
Next Chapter: 20 years later…
---
A/N: This story is inspired by the movie What A Girl Wants. But it's not based on the plot… This is more focused on Neji and Tenten, than their daughter. Everyone's kids play a part in this story, but it's still focused on Neji and Tenten.
I've decided the side pairings are Naruhina, Sasusaku, and Shikaino (Sorry Shikatema fans.). There may not be a whole lot of romance between them, but they have kids. So… I hope all you Shikatema fans still read this story.
I'm looking for a beta-reader. Is there someone who can? PM me, and I'll look at your stories or you could tell me if you beta-read for anyone else.
I hope you liked it! Please review!
