A/N: Wanted to dedicate this in part to Goldberry, who's final NejiTenten piece reduced me to tears. Please check out that author's profile if you're going to check out anyone's today. This was just my rushed and emotional output as a result of the recent developments in the realm of Naruto. I don't want to give too much away to anyone who isn't caught up, but I'll say that there are probably some spoilers in the writing below. Also, to those who are caught up, I've obviously taken some liberties, so please bear with me on that. I don't own Naruto, and this fanfiction was just a piece for personal pleasure and hopefully, for the pleasure of a few readers out there! Please read and review!
Shatter
She knows that something is happening in the same way that one somehow becomes aware that the play he is attending is about to begin. The theater lights dim. A hush spreads through the crowd, almost instantaneous, yet not quite just so. The silence is both the same and different from a wildfire. They both extend in the same instant-not-instant way, yet one lifts the volume…and the other cuts it.
It seems odd that somehow she is scattered so far from her closest comrades, yet she is not surprised. War is rarely neat and tidy that way. You are where you land and the trick is really just to keep standing.
In fact, she is so far that she is having a hard time distinguishing any of her friends. She just knows the direction in which to look. She sees that the Ten-Tails is not moving, that no one is moving, and she abides this silent directive as well, tense and alert for further signs.
Fatigue weighs heavy on her—everything weighs heavy on her—and she adjusts her position slightly to relieve her aching muscles while she waits.
Having spent what seems like eons spinning through scrolls and flipping through metals, her grasp is currently tightly upon a thin spear. It is not one of her favorite weapons. It's not even one of her favorite spears, flimsy and wobbly and too long and unwieldy for her absolute liking. She likes the feel of metal and this wooden stick feels foreign, strange in her callused palms. Still for now, as she scans the crowd of nin for hints of the current state of affairs, it manages to help her secure her stance while she leans against it like a wizened old man with a staff.
Finally, she sights Naruto's orange uniform. Hinata next to him, her hair loose and flapping in a high wind. They are kneeling. Why are they kneeling? Hinata's head seems bowed, Naruto's head is turned…a shape draped across his shoulder…
Tenten's tight hold slips on the shaft of the spear and she feels the sharp prick of a splinter entering the skin on her hand.