It isn't over
TheTinyestOne
It had all come down to this, this moment. An earthqauke of all things had hit an area of the snow country when he was, and she had never been so terrified. She was shaking, as Lee told her, of her own accord, she got up and left the training gorunds. Still shaking, but she didn't even notice it. After all the life and death situations that the pair had been in, it was a natural diaster that had her more scared than she had ever been. She had faced life or death situations a thousand times. Nothing she had felt in any of those situations had ever compared to the intense heart aching fear she was feeling now. The empty fear was consumming her, echoing a million doubts that were swirling in her mind at this moment. He was the very best part of who she was, a shame she only realised now, now when she didn't know if he was safe or not. She realised with a sadness, that if he was gone, and the fear in her mind told her there was a very good chance he was, he would never know that he was everything to her. She also realised with a shock that she would give her own life in a instant just to know that he was alright, that he was alive.
Thsi can't be it.
She was in love with him, she knew that now. How she could have missed before she had know idea. The way her heart thumped uneasily when they had trained and she had told herself it was just exertion. The way her skin heated up when he touched her. How had she missed it?
and he was, oh god, he was, he was, buried alive? Fine? Who knew, She didn't.
Half of her own self was gone, and she took to haunting the Hokages office to find out if they knew anything yet. Then when they gently told her that she simply couldn't haunt the office like that anymore, she began to haunt the gates, the hyuuga compound, her training grounds. Her friends tried to be some comfort to her, but she blew them off. She didn't mean to, she just didn't see them with her eyes empty like they were now. So her friends began to understand that she had simply lost some of herself, while she didn't know if he was safe or not. They saw that she was only half of herself with out him around, and left her to haunt around the village like a women possesed.
It wasn't their normal strong TenTen, it was new women, a women with a sad secret that had come to be known at the worse moment. Her neighbours, complained in the agnising weeks afterwards of her screams during the night, as she cried out for him in her sleep. In her dreams she saw him, a breif hint of a smile on his face before a wall of snow seperated them, and she'd awaken terrified, sweating, crying. So she took to not sleeping. She didn't want to face the reality that people keep trying foist apon her. He was going to come back, this couldn't be it.
She was taken off active duty, she didn't train. She couldn't face a reality without him in it. She knew she should have been better prepared for it, in the logical part of her mind she did. He was a shinobi this time would have come some time. It was amazing that her team had made it to twenty five without a loss.
It wasn't over, I know it isn't over
It had been a week, a whole week with no news. TenTen hadn't slept in three days, scared of the dreams. She tried not to think, her thoughts had begun to scare her. The snow country wasn't that far from the fire country, they should have had word by now. People were beginning to talk of adding to the names of the team to the list of those killed in duty. TenTen still refused to give up hope.
It's not over, I swear it, I can feel it in my bones, It is not over.
She finally feel asleep on a bench just outside of the walls to Konoha. For the first time since the got the news she wasn't screaming in her sleep, and she wasn't having a nightmare. The guards who had gotten used to the sight of the jounin by the gates, puzzled over what had brought a smile to the emptied eyed girls face.
In her dreams, he whispered to her that it wasn't over
In reality, the chunnin's guarding the gates gasped and went running for medics as a group of Konoha shinobi made there way to the gates. One paused by Tenten, and stroked her face with the last of his strength. He sat down by her, as she sleepily woke up. Tears ran down her face, her face alight with joy, Apart from being exhausted he seemed to be fine.
"How?..."
"We weren't close enough to the snow to be buried, but it made getting home difficult," She tumbled on to the ground next to him, and sobbed. He was shocked at the show of emotion from his normally emotionless teamate. Taking her in his arms, ignoring his own exhaustion, her felt the beating of her heart against his skin, the warmth of her hair, and knew he was home.
"I love you," He whispered in her ear, as she sobbed. Winding her fingers in his hair, not caring that she probably smelt, and his hair had all kinds of natsy stuff in it. She knew she didn't need to say it back, he knew. Neji always knew.