Disclaimer: Unfortunately, nothing is mine…but someday, maybe…uh, nah.
A/N: I got inspiration for this after reading a Chicken Soup book… -
Summary: After you lose someone close to you, you go through the five stages of grief… NejiTen
The Five Stages of Grief
Denial
"Neji, we have news," blurted out Sakura, a worried expression in her eyes. "You should probably come with us."
Confused, the Jounin followed Sakura. He checked a nearby clock and snapped, "Listen, could we make this quick? Tenten's going to be back any second now and I promised I would be there to greet her."
Little did he know that the pink-haired girl was secretly dying inside for him—how would he make it through this? She was gone…forever.
She sighed and turned to face him directly. "Neji, Tenten is dead," she said solemnly, trying to make eye contact and failing. "She…"
Sakura looked up at Neji to see his reaction. There was momentary shock, but it faded quickly into an easier look. "Very funny, but I'm not falling for something like that." He smiled, not knowing what had really happened.
Tugging on the Hyuuga's hand, she led him down a few hallways and into a small room. The Hokage was there, along with a few other people—Naruto, Lee, Hinata, and another unknown Jounin who had been assigned to the same mission as Tenten. They were huddled around something covered with a white sheet. Neji's smile faded quickly as they turned to look at him, a sick twist of grief, anger, and worry in their eyes. Hinata seemed particularly affected; there were tears flowing freely down her eyes and she could hardly breathe for sobbing. Naruto and Lee moved aside to allow the confused prodigy a wide berth—just in case.
He moved towards the covered object slowly, hesitantly. His hands shook a little as he uncovered the unknown.
It was Tenten.
On her face was an oddly peaceful expression, a small smile omnipresent and not a single blemish or crease in her beautiful face.
Excluding the cuts and wounds, of course.
Still trying to ooze out blood that wasn't there to bleed anymore, there were hundreds of cuts all over her body. One of her arms looked broken, she was pale, so pale, and you could see every single vein in her uncovered skin. Her hair was a tumble of soft, perfect brown hair, her ribbons cut off and discarded somewhere unknown. If she had a pair of perfect white-feathered wings, they could have easily mistaken her for an angel…an angel with a demon's blessings.
Touching her half-closed palm gently and tracing a particularly long cut up her arm; Neji's face remained in the shadows. The gathered held their breath as his hand withdrew.
"This is some sort of sick joke, isn't it?" accused Neji sharply. "Well, it isn't funny. Where is Tenten?"
Hinata reached out to comfort her cousin, but he waved her away harshly, a hard expression on his face. "Hinata-sama, you wouldn't do this to me," he pleaded. "Please…where is Tenten? This can't be…"
"N-Ne-ji…nii-s-san," she sobbed brokenly. "T-tenten, s-s-she real—she really i-is dead."
"No, this can't be," he said with a tinge of forced calm in his voice. "She was just on a routine mission. Nothing dangerous was going to happen, you said it wouldn't."
"Ambush. We were ambushed."
The hollow voice of the unfamiliar Jounin seemed to echo through the room. "I would have been killed if it weren't for her," he said monotonously, eyes blank and restraining emotion. "One of them must have had some sort of wind or sound attack, because all of her weapons backfired onto her. She told me to hide or run, and as I was fleeing…she nearly killed them, before they did her. She was screaming about someone called Neji and she was crying…"
He fell silent, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "You may go, Amaya," said Tsunade. "I'm sorry, but I have to go as well."
The Hokage excused herself quickly, not wanting to interrupt anything. She had barely known the brave kunoichi, but she was proud to know that she was Tenten's heroine.
Naruto and Lee looked as if they were going to say something, but Neji cut them off with a blunt, "No." Sending them a glare amplified by his Byakugan turning on instinctively. "No. I don't need…your sympathy. Because that is not Tenten. It wasn't funny in the first place, and I'm not amused at all. Tenten should be back any moment now."
"Neji—"
"Really—"
The prodigy snapped, "She was going on that mission alone. She told me. You ruined your stupid prank the moment you brought that 'Amaya' person in."
"It's called a 'secret,' you baka," snarled Naruto, hands forming fists. "This isn't a prank, Neji, you really think we're that cruel?"
"You want to fight, Uzumaki?" asked Neji icily. "Fine. But it'll have to wait until Tenten gets back or she'll wonder where I am, because I know she's not dead." He paused. "But I am impressed…you got the Hokage to go along with it."
Lee made to get between them, but Naruto retorted, "We aren't joking, okay? Just…" He looked pleadingly at Hinata to help him.
Hinata did something unexpected: she reached down and uncurled one of her hands. On it was a ring with a prism that shone with the light instead of a diamond—their little secret and joke as well. He had always promised her…when he proposed, he would give her a ring with a prism instead of a diamond. Nobody knew about that, not even Hinata—all the heiress knew was that that ring meant something, and something important to the both of them.
The other Hyuuga gently drew off the ring, observing it as if it were a fake. But his heart dropped—engraved at the bottom were two small words: Heavenly Helix. Only they two had ever seen it.
He gently placed the ring back to its designated area. Holding Tenten's—no, it wasn't Tenten anymore. It was just a corpse of who she had been, or so he thought. He couldn't deny it anymore. This was no joke, no genjutsu, no illusion…it was really Tenten. And she was…she was dead.
His face paled, and his body decided that he should collapse. So he did.