Felt like I needed to distract myself from my main fanfic-writing... Gotta hate that darn writers block!

Anyhow, I hope to update chapter 5 for Troublesome Encounters (from now on called TE) this week, also start writing on an extra long chapter 6! If you haven't yet read it or even heard of it, I strongly suggest you do! ^^

This little tragic oneshot is something I came up with around about 2 o'clock one night... It's really sad, but based on the song "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush, which in turn is based off the book "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronté. Both masterpieces. Suggest to listen to the song before reading, or after for that matter, to understand more of the contents.

The Neji parts are written in normal font while the Tenten parts are written in italic. I hope you can keep up! The storyline pretty much reveals itself throughout the text... so please read and review! And try not to cry ^.~

She made sure of it

-X-

By: OwlPenguin

The open fire crackled merrily, but the heart of the normally ice cold man sitting in his usual armchair remained mirthless. He stared emptily into the flames playing in the fireplace, watching them intensely without really seeing them at all.

A cold wind embraced her as she closed the distance between herself and the house she knew so very well. The lamps weren't lit, but a flickering light dancing out through the windows of the living room indicated an open fire. The mere thought of warmth and his arms holding her closely hurried her steps further more.

She was so young, so beautiful. The sound of her sweet voice lingering in his head, the most gorgeous ever to exist, made him want to smash his head against something. Everything, every thought, was too painful, too real. His fingers were numb from pressing the replay buttons on the answering machine, over and over again…

The smell of a shirt she had forgotten some weeks ago laying across his lap, stinging bitterly in his nose, extracting the very last drops of agony from his scarred soul and mind. He couldn't stand it anymore, yet he clung to it desperately.

She finally reached the door. Pulling on the handle, but it was locked. Frustrated, she knocked hard three times. Several times more, with no such luck as having the door opened. Eventually she gave up and resorted to go knock on the living room windows instead. He mustbe in there, she thought. He'd never leave a lit fire by its own. She knew him that well.

Right, there he was. Sitting in his armchair, as usual. Holding something. She peered through the glass, it closely resembled a shirt she'd forgotten here a while ago, and he held it closely to his chest. Shaking. Why was he shaking? She knocked the window persistently.

"Neji! I'm here now, let me in!"

He jolted in his seat. Was it imagination, or did he just hear his own name being called out by her? It must've been his imagination playing him a nasty prank, he thought. She wasn't here, she couldn't be. He gripped the green shirt tighter with his pale fingers, trying to stop himself from panicking, trying to calm himself down. He was shaking to the core. He did not cry, he couldn't, and he wouldn't. He hadn't cried in several years, and crying now would most likely disappoint both himself and her. It would only feel bizarre. Sure, he thought he was expected to cry, but could he really? Could he do it for her?

She noted his reaction, he sat up straight in his seat, scanning the room. He was still shaking, clutching her shirt. She knocked on the window again, persistently.

"Notice me, silly! I'm out here Neji!"

There it was again. Was he going mad?

"She's not here Neji. Tenten is not here, stop making a fool out of yourself." he told himself, only then realising what a fool he actually was, talking to himself. He rose slowly from his seat. He felt sick, he felt empty. He wanted to vomit out all the feelings, yet he couldn't let go. He was literally nothing without her, and now he was left alone to prove that simple fact. He took a shaky breath, feeling the first hot, salty tear escape from his left eye and run down to the corner of his lips. His next breath got stuck in his throat, and he kicked aside the small coffee table in exasperation as he broke down on the floor. Blinded by tears, he kept her shirt close to his heart, sobbing in a heart-breaking volume.

"Damn it, Tenten! Why did you have to die!?"

She froze, completely dumbfounded by the scene playing up before her very eyes. Neji breaking down crying on the floor along with her old shirt… was she dead?

She looked down to inspect herself, searching her body for any signs of death. But no, nothing, she looked and felt exactly the same. She searched her memory instead, trying to figure out when the hell this could've happened. Only just yesterday she remembered having an amazingly lazy day with Neji, what happened to make him this way? What happened to her?

She raised her hand once again to the window, this time refraining from knocking and instead concentrating, focusing hard. She closed her eyes, and next thing she knew she opened her eyes to see herself standing on the other side of the glass. She would've been pretty damn impressed of herself for doing that in any other moment, but now was really not the time. She looked around the room, feeling the soft carpet under her somehow bare feet, and hearing Neji's muffled sobs. A thought crossed her mind. What if he can't even see me anymore?

"Neji?" she spoke softly.

He looked up. The room was still as empty as himself, but this time the voice had drifted closer, and there was a remarkable difference in atmosphere. He couldn't possibly be imagining anymore.

"Tenten…?" he whispered unsurely.

I'm here. Please don't cry Neji.

Her voice felt like it was closer than ever. He couldn't really determine if the voice was in the room or in his head, but he felt somehow comforted. He sat up straight, waiting eagerly to hear more.

I'm so confused. I just want to be with you and never leave you.

"But you've already left, my dearest Ten… Why? Why you?"

Hard to tell… I suppose it was simply my time to go. I'm so sorry…

He dried off his cheeks with his sleeves before speaking again.

"I love you Tenten, you don't even understand how much. I can't live without you." Another tear escaped. He didn't bother anymore.

His words came out shaky and she cried with him with silent tears. It hurt her everlastingly to see him like this, but somehow she knew she had to let him go.

"You must try Neji, for me. I love you so much too, and I promise I'll wait for you. Forever. In the end, all the lonely days will be paid off with an eternity of peace. I promise."

She concentrated hard again, but this time she focused her energy on Neji. She just needed more than anything to see him smile once more before she left.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a comforting warmth enveloped him. He felt safe, happy, and the room seemed brighter. He closed his eyes and lent against the closest piece of furniture, clinging tightly to Tenten's shirt. He felt comforted somehow, perceiving a faint farewell from the sweetest voice in all worlds. So he smiled, whispering softly; "Farewell, my dearest Tenten."

And it was alright. He didn't have to love it, he just had to manage it until they'd cherish in each other's company once more. And he knew he could do that. He knew he was strong enough.

She had made sure of that.