Neji's face was covered in blood and tears. It broke Tenten's heart seeing him so weak. She had always seen him as someone who did not have the ability to show sadness, but here it was.
"Neji, are you crying?" she asked stupidly
"Don't let that bother you. I understand how you feel and I respect your wishes. If you want me to leave, then I will. Can I come in and pack my things?" he said rarely looking at her
"Yeah, go ahead." she told him while moving out of the way
He walked to their room. On his way, he saw the shattered pieces of the frame of their wedding photo. Seeing it broke his heart, but he would not let his emotions get the best of him twice today. He picked up the clothes Tenten had thrown out and entered their room, he packed what he needed. He left every trace of her out of his bag. It would only upset him more. Tenten came up behind him and sat on the bed.
"Neji?" she asked
"Yes." he replied
She paused before she continued, "How do you really feel about Ino?"
"It doesn't matter. I love you. I chose you, not her." he said
The room filled with silence. Neji finished packing, picked up the wedding photo, and left. He couldn't let it sit on the floor, but he didn't want the thought of her in his head. He walked to the Hyuga compound and went outside his uncle's room. He quietly knocked on the door as to not disturb the rest of the family. Hiashi slowly got up and went to the door.
"Who is it?" he asked
"Neji" he answered
Hiashi quickly opened the door, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"It is a long story. Ultimately, Tenten kicked me out, now I need my old room. Is it available?" Neji asked
"Tell me what happened." Hiashi answered
"I was going on a mission, but I got stopped by a girl I knew. She has feelings for me, so she decided to try and see how far she could get with me. I allowed it for a while, but stopped before it got to far. After I completed my mission, I went back home. The girl from earlier came to my house and told Tenten what had happened. Tenten got angry and we got in to an argument. It escalated and … got physical" he said shamefully
"What? Neji, why would you do something like this? I expect better from you. I hope whatever that girl gave you was worth your marriage." Hiashi said
"I know it was stupid. I still love her, but something just came over me when the other girl was there." Neji admitted
Hearing what Neji had said, Hiashi's wife came to the door, "Hiashi, let him stay here. He needs help."
"I'm not just going to give him a room. Did you hear what he said? If he isn't afraid to hurt his wife, then what's stopping him from hurting the people in his clan?" Hiashi replied
"Calm down, he wont hurt anyone." she told him
Neji spoke up, "Please uncle. I give you my word that I will not harm anyone in this house or get in anyone's way. I just need a place to sleep."
Hiashi hesitated, "Fine, but if you try anything, you will not be welcome back again."
"Thank you uncle." Neji told him
He went up to his old room to find nothing left. There was not a bed or any other luxury he was used to. There was only a bare floor. He set his bags on the floor to use as a pillow. His hand reached in to the bag and dragged out the photo he had saved. She was on his mind the entire night. As he looked at the picture, he contemplated ideas of how to get her back. Ultimately, he found no answer to his situation and had to accept the fact that he could not repair what had been broken.
The following day, Tenten lazily rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. She had made plans with Lee and Gai to have lunch and catch up. She was looking forward to a Team Gai reunion, but Neji would no longer be joining them. How was she going to tell them why Neji wouldn't be there? She had no idea how to tell Lee without him getting angry. If he found out, he would hunt Neji down then god knows what would happen. Tenten couldn't let that happen. She called the Hyuga Compound.
"Hello." she heard Hiashi say
"Hiashi, it's Tenten. Can you get Neji?"
"One moment please."
He went to Neji's room and told him he had a phone call. They went back to the phone and Neji picked it up.
"Hello?" he asked
"Neji, are you still going to lunch with us?" she asked
"I told you I would give you your space."
"I know, but if you don't come, Lee will suspect something and you know what will happen if he finds out what you did to me. I don't want to start another argument involving Lee."
"I will go, but don't touch me when we are there."
"You won't have to worry about that." she said then hung up
He didn't want to touch her. 'I thought he loved me. He begged me to stay with him yesterday, now he doesn't want anything to do with me.' she thought to herself. She went up to her room to fetch her wedding ring. If she didn't wear it, Lee would start asking questions. She just hoped Neji had thought to put his on too. Every time she looks at it, she can't help but feel his arms around her. She missed that feeling. She had only been robbed of it for a little over a day, but it was killing her. 'Why is he mad at me anyway? He is the one that cheated on me. I should be mad, but right now all I want is his arms around me.' she couldn't help but wonder.
The group finally arrived at the restaurant. Neji pulled out Tenten's chair for her, but that was the extent of his duties. While they waited for their food, Gai decided to start a conversation.
"How have you two been? I haven't seen you in ages. The last time I saw you was at your wedding." Gai said
Neji replied, "We are doing fine. There have been a few arguments, but nothing we can't handle. We are actually expecting a child soon."
"Wonderful! I will be the first to see the youthful baby!" Gai proclaimed
Tenten replied, "Sorry Gai sensei, but I am his mother. I will be the first to see him."
"It's a boy?" Lee asked
"We don't know, but that is what Neji wants. I can't wait to have my baby girl." she added playfully
"Enough about us, how have you been Gai sensei?" Neji asked
"I've been sent on mission after mission this month. This is the only day I will be home for a while." he told them
"That means we can train together!" Lee exclaimed
The small talk went on for another few minutes, but was interrupted by their meal. After they ate, they exited the restaurant. Lee and Gai went to train while Neji pulled Tenten to the side of the restaurant to talk.
"What?" she asked
"Why are you wearing that ring?"
"If I didn't Lee would wonder where it was."
"I think we need to sort this out."
"Sort what out?" she asked
"This marriage. Clearly, it is not working." he said
"That isn't my fault. You are the one who with all the problems. I didn't ask for a lousy husband."
"I am not going to apologize for anything. I've tried that and it hasn't worked. I want nothing to do with you," he took off her ring, "I want a divorce."
Seeing that he no longer cared for her, she looked at him with begging eyes, "Neji, don't. Why are you making me feel like the bad guy? I didn't do anything wrong. Why are you angry with me?"
"I'm not angry with you. I am simply giving you what you deserve. If I am not in your life, you will be happy. Is that not want you told me yesterday?" he questioned
"Do you still love me?"
"Why does that matter? We can't be together." he said
"Just answer the question."
"Yes, but I-" he was interrupted by her lips reaching his
"Neji, I'm sorry I freaked out about what happened with Ino. I actually attempted to kill myself last night because of what you did to me, but I realized not having you there was worse than you cheating on me." she confessed
"You … you tried to commit suicide?" he asked
She fell silent for a while looking strait at him, "Yes" she said at a barely audible volume
He took her in his arms, "Are you ok?"
She sobbed loudly, "I don't know."
He let her release her emotions and tried rubbing her back to soothe her
After regaining her composure, she backed away from him, "I'm ready to start over." she begged
"Don't say that Tenten. You were right. We need to spend time away from each other. After what I did, I thought about our relationship. It amazes me that you lasted as long as you did. You have been my punching bag for far too long. I love you too much to treat you like that. I don't know why I have the problems I do, but I will not let my shortcomings deplete your chances of having a successful life." he replied
"You are doing better at controlling your anger. I have seen progress. That was the only major 'problem' you had."
"Are you kidding? I threw you and our baby to the floor, I went to Sasuke's house and beat him up, I deliberately cheated on you at the hot springs to make you feel bad. Shall I go on? Tenten, I don't deserve you."
"Why are you pushing me away so much? You begged me to stay with you. Now that I want you back, you are doing everything in your power to keep us apart."
"What you told me finally hit me. When I got ready this morning, I realized that you can find someone better than me. You don't need me to do well." he told her
"You want to make me happy right?" she inquired
"That is all I want." he answered
"Then make this work. I understand what you are saying. You get a little frustrating sometimes, but I still love you. If you walk away, all of my happiness will go with you."
He didn't know what to say. He stared at her daring her to make one movement that would make her statement false. He found nothing. She was serious.
"I love you Neji. I told you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and I intend on keeping that promise."
He turned around and started walking away. Her heart shattered in to a million pieces. After everything she said to him, he could not even respond to any of it. Not only that, but he walked away when she told him she loved him. She began crying for the thousandth time that week. She had nothing left: no husband, no family, no happiness. The only thing she had left was her baby. The child he helped create.