haven't updated this in a while huh? oh well enjoy :D

The next couple of days went by, full of the same nightmare Neji had before. Although the one he had had this time was slightly different. Instead of the diamond casing filling with water, it was filling with blood, and Neji still could do nothing.

Neji also made a point to try Shikamaru's advice, he talked to her. He told her how much her brother was going miss her if she didn't wake up soon. And how Shun was doing at the academy and how Mika was going to join soon. She was missing a lot.

Possibly half the village had come to visit her, the room was now covered with flowers and get well cards. Some were dying, so Neji threw them out as someone new came in to replace them. Even Otohashi, the butcher Neji and Tenten had known since childhood, came, Neji was sure he would want a word alone with the sleeping girl so made a point to leave. Otohashi, however, stopped him.

"Don't go too far, I would also like a word with you," he gave a toothy grin as well as a chuckle as Neji went down the hall to get some movement in his stiff muscles.

Otohashi took a deep breath and moved towards Tenten's bed. "Oh, my dear, I don't think you have yet to realize the emotional stress you've put Neji-chan in," he told her, rubbing her hand. "If you could see everything going on, you'd see what I meant when I was teasing you. I wasn't joking."

The man gazed at all the flowers surrounding the room. "And you still believe you're only an average Kunoichi, well for a simply average Kunoichi, you have quite a few admirers….Knowing you, you'd probably laugh that one off and just say you have good friends. You do, but I'm certain there are a few names in here that you only vaguely remember…"

Otohashi gave a sigh and looked out the window. "Takashi-chan will not be pleased with you still like that, he'll be returning tomorrow, you know. I know you miss him as well, but I know what you really want to hear. You don't want to hear me bitch and moan about things you've heard time and time again, you want to hear Neji come to terms with what happened. And understand why you did what you did, but he's too damn stubborn and doesn't want to talk about it…you're pranking us now, aren't you? As soon as I get Neji to talk about this, you'll wake up and scare the shit out of him."

Otohashi let out a small chuckle. "At least, that's what I can hope for, after all there is some good news. Many of the smaller cuts you gained have healed and the lump on your head has gotten smaller." he looked at her as her face had remained unchanged. "All right, all right, stubborn as always. I'll bring in Neji-chan."

The old man left a kiss on the sleeping girl's forehead, the gestured expected from the man who was like a grandfather to her. He left the room in search of the boy who had always been such a clueless genius.

Neji had only been waiting outside the room, he wasn't too hard to find. Otohashi walked up to him, "And here I thought you weren't one to get personally involved with missions."

Neji remained silent, he was tired, the nightmares had been relentless to him. There was nothing to say to the man anyway. "You have always said that, haven't you?" Otohashi smirked.

"Tenten is my teammate," Neji retorted, surly that would get the old man off his back. "And she is injured."

"Because of the mission, making you worried about her. That is where you denied yourself," the old man replied, his younger companion stared blankly at him. "Tenten was hurt because of your mission. This caused you to become worried and attached to her. In essence, you have become personally involved with this mission."

"The mission is over and she is injured, because of me."

"Your job is finished, but your mission, however is not."

Neji was getting a little aggravated now. "She is still in there because at the time I was incapable of saving myself."

"Neji, you're really going to take this route?"

"It's my fault she's in this coma!" Neji nearly shouted, his fatigue starting to break his temper.

"Yes!" Otohashi shouted right back. "It is your fault she's in there!"

Neji was slightly shocked. Everyone had been telling him not to feel this way, and here the old man was confirming his beliefs. Neji didn't know whether to be insulted or grateful someone saw things his way. "I know…" Neji's voice was filled with exhaustion and fatigue, realization kicking in as this thought seemed to be so factual. "I was so useless, all I could do was carry her back here. Now she's in there and it's my fault-"

"So what if it is your fault!" Otohashi exclaimed, grabbing the boy's shoulders. "Tenten cares about you so much she would rather be the one in that hospital bed if it meant you received minimal damage! Don't you see that! It may be your fault, but it is Tenten's as well!"

Otohashi was shaking Neji by now, not hard, but enough to try to jog some sense into him. "You both share the blame here! And you are probably sitting in there barely talking to her! What she wants to hear is your intake of the event! You think that steering clear of the subject will bring her back, you're wrong!"

The old man let go of Neji and turned away, fed up of this whole ordeal. "You're the one she really wants to hear from, and not what everyone else is doing…"

"There is nothing for me to say…"Neji replied, almost disappointed at himself.

Otohashi sighed. "Talk about the mission. Realization sometimes can only happen when you say everything out loud." He began to walk away, this conversation taking more out of him than he had expected. "I better go now, Neji-chan, good luck. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of this ordeal. Jaa nee."

Again Neji was alone, confusion encasing his already exhausted mind. The old man had to crazy, what realization was left? It had only been a few months since the young Hyuga had realized his love for his teammate, of course he had begun to deem it as a simple crush considering he really hadn't have felt either. However what more was there to realize?

The next thing the boy knew, he was in his seat next to the Weapon's Mistress of Konoha. He must have been in a trance walking back to the room, that had to be it. What was he to do? Continue his normal approach? "The old man thinks I need to tell you about our mission. Do you think I need to repeat it?" Neji asked her aloud.

Without a response Neji found himself recalling the whole day, the mission, their return home, the attack…everything. "It was just a simple mission, helping out the military in Suna, nothing big. It was when we were almost home that everything fell apart…"

Neji didn't notice the slight difference in Tenten's heartbeat, he simply continued his intake of what happened. "We were ambushed. Rain ninja appeared out of nowhere and started attacking. There were too many, whenever I was about to be attacked, you stepped in to take the blow. You did so for each of us, but I just don't understand, why?"

He didn't notice that he was no longer alone with his teammate. Nor did he notice that his two green clad companions for the first time in their life weren't shrieking about youth. He didn't even notice that this was the first time in a long time he heard his voice show a new emotion. He was worried, afraid…confused.

"Why did you do that? Why? You had us with you, there was no need for you take the brunt of nearly every hit! We could've helped! Why!" That was when Neji realized his real question. "Why did you protect me? Why did you apologize for not being of more help?"

He didn't notice as three more people entered the room, all of them feeling slightly content that the boy was putting all of this out there.

"You're last words, saying you weren't of help and apologizing for it. What did you mean?"

Tenten's heartbeat had sped up a great deal, causing two of the medics on the room to rush to her, surprising the Hyuga. Within a moment, the Kunoichi's bed was surrounded by six close friends of hers, Neji at her left side, watching in amazement.

The girl's eyes fluttered opened then shut quickly against the light. She opened them slowly, then began freak out about the mask on her face, being foreign to her. Sakura removed the oxygen mask just as Tenten's eyes focused in on everyone around her. Her eyes darted to each person lighting up in fear.

"Who-who are you?"

who didn't see that coming? lol i hoped you liked this so far plz review :) jaa nee!