"Tenten!" the bowl cut haired lad yelled while running to his friend standing over the building. "Tenten!" He grabbed her shoulder swiftly, pulling her from the edge.
"No…" she replied, holding back the tears. "I pray you, let me go!"
"Tenten, stop this madness-"
"Let me go Lee! Let the air take me in with all its force. Let it not wait thrice to take my life into its hands! Let me die, Lee! Let me die!" she screamed while trying to push away her teammate. He kept his grip firm, unable to believe every word that reached his ears.
"Tenten, this is not the way to react! Everyone was close to him, everyone…" Lee's voice trailed as his eyes began to water. "I can't let you do this. I promised him I'd protect you."
"Then let me leave this world to be with him! Let me go with him!" TenTen quit her thrashing as Lee loosened the grip on her. She fell to her knees, face saturated by salty tears. Her hands gripped the extra cloth on her pants, sobs coming from her uneasy breathing. "I… can't… do this… anymore…"
Lee looked down on his teammate, pity filling him. "Hey," he spoke in a casual voice. "I'll leave you time alone, as long as you promise not a kill yourself." TenTen nodded with these very words as Lee turned away from her. "Just remember, he died to assure you kept your life. He didn't die for you to grieve to the point of death." Lee took his steps one by one, leaving the female ninja to overcome her own feelings. He feared that her feelings may take over, though. He feared she may act rash as she had been for the past few weeks. Lee clenched his hand into a hardy fist. Damn it, Neji. Why the hell did you have to die?
-Flashback-
"Keep your focus, Neji," Tenten spoke in her girlish voice while throwing another kunai at the handsome brown haired Genin on the field. He rotated his body slightly, the kunai grazing the side of his shirt. He stood still, looking at the one person he always trained with perched in a nearby tree.
"Ok, ready for the finale?" she asked while holding onto a thin string. Neji nodded while grinning. Tenten took out another kunai and cut the string. One by one, the trap was released, hauling multiple kunais and shurikens at the center of the field. Neji moved his shoulder to the right, then the left. He dodged each kunai, and with skill, made a narrow duck while using his blue lit hands to cut through the metal objects. He gasped as an unseen kunai sliced through his right shoulder.
"Neji!" Tenten yelled while jumped from her tree. She ran over to the boy, her eyes fixed on the bleeding wound.
"It's alright," Neji replied while gripping his shoulder. "Just a scratch." He winced with these very words. Tenten looked around, spotting her backpack. In no time, she grabbed her water bottle and bandage she always kept for emergencies.
"Here you go," she said while handing the contents to Neji.
"Thank you," he replied gratefully while splashing little bits of water on his shoulder. Tenten watched, slightly confused, as he finished washing the wound. Neji bandaged quickly, leaving a messily bandaged shoulder.
"Neji?"
"Hm?" he replied to his name.
"Why didn't you dodge the kunai?" Tenten knew her teammate better then anyone else. For the longest time, they had been training together. Neji seemed always adept when it came to spotting kunais, but not this time. Neji sighed.
"My Byakugan has its limits," he replied. "I have a blind spot," he admitted. Tenten's eyes widened, almost unable to speak. As they started to come back to their usual size, they wandered to the corner of the socket, looking off to her right side. "Don't worry. I never intend to get hit there. Nor do I intend to die."
"Promise?" Tenten asked, worry striking her mind. A strong hand gripped her shoulder. Tenten looked up, slightly surprised at the pair of lavender eyes staring straight into hers. Timidly, Neji leaned closer to Tenten's face, delivering a soft kiss. He pulled back quickly, seeing the red appearing on the top of Tenten's cheeks.
"Promise."
-End of Flashback-
"So did you see Tenten?" Gai asked his almost identical students.
"I did, Gai-sensei." Gai let out a heavy sigh while keeping his serious look on his usual carefree face.
"She was the closest to him then any of us. She's probably having the toughest time. And just when they started to get better along…" Gai spoke in a sorrowful voice. Kakashi shook his head at Gai's remark.
"Started getting better along?" Lee repeated.
"They were in love," Gai replied. "Have been for a long time." Kakashi closed his free eye while keeping a serious look tightly locked on his face.
"How did he die?" Kakashi asked.
-Flashback-
"Tenten!" Neji yelled to his teammate. "Move!" Tenten glanced at her surroundings frantically. A strong force pressed against her feet, as weights did to a anything between them and the ground.
"I… can't," she replied, desperately trying to lift her legs off the ground. Lee looked at Tenten, his eyes suddenly widening.
"Not good! String of kunais are flying towards her!" he yelled to Neji.
"Don't have to tell me the obvious!" Neji replied while running next to her.
"Neji, go away! You'll get killed!" Tenten cried as he stepped closer to her.
"No I won't. Get down." Tenten obeyed while crouching to the ground. Neji made a stance. "Kaiten!" he yelled as blue chakra surrounded them. Each kunai flew, being bat off the chakra. Neji's hands glowed blue as he stopped rotating. He quickly jumped, making his moves count as they sliced through every gray metal in sight.
"Behind you!" Tenten yelled. Neji quickly moved his arm, slicing away at the last kunai aimed at the blind spot. Neji glanced at his teammate, noticing the chakra strings holding her down. He cut through them quickly with a blue lit hand.
"Lets go home," he told her. That's right, he promised he wouldn't die on me, she thought while excepting the outstretched hand. His eyes narrowed. "Tenten, move!" Tenten froze as Neji grabbed her wrist and spun around her.
Blood splattered. Her eyes widened as metal pierced into the chest of the Hyuuga. "No…" she mumbled. She fell to her knees, sobs falling from each breath. "No…"
"Tenten!" Lee yelled while jumping down to his teammate. He looked over to his rival, eyes widening.
"No…" Tenten murmured. Lee grabbed her, looking around him.
"Neji…"
"Lee," Neji croaked through a dieing breath. Lee looked at his dieing companion, trying to keep himself from tearing. "Get her… out of here…" Neji spoke while collapsing. "Protect her…"
"Neji!" Tenten cried while placing face in her hands. Lee nodded while picking up his friend.
"Come on, Tenten."
"This can't be happening." Tenten continued, not noticing the fact she was in the arms of Lee. Lee jumped off, regret filling every bone in his body. He didn't want to leave the body of his rival to the enemy. But he didn't have a choice now…
-End of Flashback-
"I see," Kakashi spoke. "Where's Tenten right now?" Something lit Kakashi's free eye.
"I don't know…" A shock went through Lee's mind. "This presence… could it be?"
"I think so…" Lee's face lit up with Kakashi's words.
"By the gate?"
"Yeah."
Lee grinned. "That bastard has some explaining to do."
Tenten held back her muffled cries, scuffing against the roads of Konoha. Her hair was in a braid, her clothes consist of a black v-neck shirt and black pants. She wore her headband on her head, still unable to believe the recent events. He was gone. Forever. Never to come back again. She stopped in front of the gates of Konoha, remembering the time they left for that horrid mission that took his life.
"Good afternoon, Tenten-chan!"
Tenten turned around to find the faces of Lee, Gai, and Kakashi. "Hello," she replied in a flat tone. Lee ran up to her, a smile on his face.
"Don't you sense it?" he asked in his normal cheerful voice. Tenten raised an eyebrow.
"Sense what?" Lee pointed to the outside of the open gates of Konoha. From the midst, a figure with a brown cloak made their way up the road. They lifted a hooded head, suddenly rushing. Tenten's eyes widened, the presence she thought gone so long ago coming back.
"Could it be?" She started running towards the figure, hope restoring into her dreary heart. The figure lost his hood; her thoughts were correct. Tenten ran faster and jumped into the arms of the person. Neji held her tight while spinning. Tenten felt herself land into a kiss, her eyes staring to water.
"I thought you were dead…" she spoke while drawing away. Neji pulled her closer to him, a smile appearing on his face.
"I promised you I wouldn't die," he replied while pulling her closer to his chest. Tenten tightened her embrace, warmth coming back into her as a pair of lavender eyes kept a gaze on her face. "They set up some sort of Genjutsu, hoping I would be defeated without you two helping me."
"They were wrong," Tenten replied while smiling.
"Yeah. I had a reason to come back." A cold breeze brushed towards them, causing Tenten to shiver. "I fought them off for days straight; I thought my chakra would run out." He removed his cloak quickly, revealing torn, white robes over blood stained bandages. "Here, you look freezing." He quickly wrapped the brown cloth around her torso. Tenten clenched the sides of the cloak, reassured comfort coming into it. "I rushed back as fast as I could," Neji told her in a low whisper. "I was afraid you might do something rash… if you thought I was dead."
Tenten pressed her lips against his, stopping the words. "Never scare me like that again," she told him. "Never… please never…" Neji stopped her words with two fingers on her lips.
"I won't."
Lee, Gai, and Kakashi watched from behind. "Ah… isn't that so sweet, Kakashi? Perhaps we men should get ourselves a wife!" Gai announced while puffing out his chest. Kakashi took out an orange book, opening it to a certain page.
"You ruined the mood," Kakashi replied while walking away, his book up to his face.