Broken Ties
'It can't be changed, my fate, my past,
It can't be changed, the die's been cast.
All that love, anger, sadness n' hate,
Is it possible for me to change my fate?'
'Reaching as far as I can with my arms,
Reaching, then dropping with a sense of alarm.
My fate's been sealed, what more can I say?
Nothing, 'cause it was meant to be this way.'
'Even if I fight, and stay standing strong,
It won't do anything, not when all along,
It can't be changed, my fate, my past,
It can't be changed, the die's been cast.'
'I can't stay for long, not for my friends,
'Cause if I stay it'll be their end.
As a friend, the most I can do,
Is leave, remember, I love all of you.'
'No matter how much, I truly do.
You think I want to do this?
I don't, but I gotta.
It hurts.'
She slipped out of the nightclub, hoping no one would see it. Too late. By the time she had grabbed her pack, the entire Rookie Nine was waiting for her.
"TenTen, you meant it didn't you? That song was your good bye to us." Sakura said quietly.
TenTen nodded. She couldn't speak past the lump in her throat. "I'll- I'll miss you all. Honestly. But you don't understand. I have to leave."
"TenTen.." But this time, it wasn't Sakura. It was Neji, the person everyone least expected to speak up. "TenTen, what'll Team Gai be without you? We won't ever be a team again. We'll be…broken. Our ties to each other- broken. Can you tell me that you don't care about those broken ties?"
"I can't. I'm sorry," TenTen managed to get out. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned around. "You don't understand. I have to leave, or I'll endanger all of you. I mean what I said in that song. I love all of you. But…you especially Neji. Don't you ever forget me. All of you."
TenTen turned around to look at all of them, standing there. One final time. "Remember me. After all, your memories are all that's going to be left of me soon…This is good bye. If I don't leave now, I don't think I'll be able to," She blinked back tears as she gathered chakra at her feet. "I'm sorry. You'll all understand soon." She jumped up into the darkness with incredible speed. Everyone remained frozen for a few minutes.
Then, Ino walked up to where TenTen had last stood and held up two broken hair ribbons. They were the ones she had always tied up her hair with. They were broken now. Broken ties…
Broken ties. All that was left to Rock Lee, Naruto, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and most of all, Neji, of TenTen.
Broken ties.
No one said anything when her body was found, with a cursed seal and a kunai held to her throat by her own hand.
Nobody said anything about all the broken ties. The broken ties TenTen had left behind. The broken ties Neji, Rock Lee and Maito Gai possessed. The broken ties Neji could never salvage now.
Broken ties couldn't be put into words.
All that would be left behind of TenTen-
Were two broken ties.