WARNING: VERY VERY VERY SAD ENDING…

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto

A/N: Sorry for the wait… but… midterms… and then the whole post-exam brain melt XP… but here it is at last!

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!

GAME WINNERS: DemonicAngel08,tenjichan,Apple Bubblegum,ChristinaAngel,Boredwithlifeandlove,Kunoichi Hyuuga Tenten,Midnight Memories,shining kitsune,Ceridwen Inari,BleedingHeartHeiress-v2.0,Sugar Highness,AmethystDreamer,Dat New Writa,Nightshadow Dweller,Kunoichi-of the-Leaf,Sarawinnie,animefreakoO, and a special nod to a single waterlilly andCaffineFreePepsi who where soooo close... just off by one.

DEDICATION – Ceridwen Inari… umm… not quite the Kleenex moment was hoping it'd turn out… but it is a little sad. hope you like it… and thanks for all the reviews! XD

SONG:Fade to Black by Metallica (main song, with a tiny snippet of Cry by James Blunt at the end).

FINAL WARNING: VERY VERY SAD, DO NOT BLAME ME FOR THIS ENDING, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (Just covering my bases people!)

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
FADE TO BLACK & CRY
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The day had begun in darkness; the skies literally matching the gloom within the young Hyuga's soul. It was freezing out, and no one doubted that winter would surely bring rain to the village on that day. The ceremony had been typical; same as any other memorial service, for any other fallen shinobi. There was nothing different about it from any other funeral. Nothing special; except it was the last time Neji ever cried.

He could still remember the aching in his chest; the sense of confusion. He didn't know what would happen; he didn't understand why it had happened. But on that day, he had been left completely alone; abandoned and lost in a world he barely knew.

It had been at that moment that she had walked up to him. No more than four years old; the same age that Neji had been back then. The little girl with the twin buns had been at his father's funeral, like everyone else in the village, to pay her respects to a fallen shinobi. When everyone else had left, to escape the rain, she had come up to stand beside Neji. He hadn't moved from his spot, watching as the four Hyuga branch members began filling in the hole where his father's body had been placed. The little girl with the Chinese top had come up to him and handed him a single white flower.

Neji remembered glaring at her angrily. Though she had not been smiling at the time, he could tell from her eyes she wasn't sad; not like him. She looked like she was a very happy little girl, and he had instantly hated her for it. He hated them all! It was at that moment that he had become the cold-hearted Hyuga he grew to be known as.

It wasn't until many years later, when he joined the academy, that he saw the bun-haired girl again. The resentment he felt for her happiness had quickly resurfaced, but he managed to control himself. For the most part, he just ignored her.

When they were teamed up together in their genin cell under Maito Gai, he had continued to ignore her; until, of course, he realized that he needed to train with someone, since Gai was too busy was Lee. Not that Neji had ever wanted to train with the elder green beast anyway; their training regime was too intense, even for him! So Neji had found himself forced to train with Tenten.

The first time they sparred, he had beaten her to within an inch of her life. All the resentment and hatred he had held for the happy-girl had come pouring out. He had expected her to hate him for it; or at the very least, lose the happiness from her sparkling eyes. But that hadn't been the case all. She had come back the next day, bruised and poorly bandaged, to spar with him again. She hadn't resented him; she hadn't even looked upset. And that happy look in her eyes hadn't faded.

Neji had wanted to resent her for it; to hate her for being so happy, when he was so miserable. But then Gai had ordered her home, telling her that she needed to rest and recuperate, and subsequently ordered Neji to tend to her, since he had been the one to inflict her wounds, his entire perception of the girl began to change.

When they arrived at her small apartment, she had offered to let him leave; that she didn't really need him to help her out. He ignored her, walking right in to get the bandages and properly tend to her wounds, so he could quickly get out of there. He had been astonished at how small the place was; there were only three rooms, including the bathroom. The larger room had only a small mat, a kitchen sink, a stove, a small refrigerator and a table and chair. He had wondered if she'd been robbed, but before he could think to ask, she had told him that though it wasn't much, it was her home. Neji later found out that Tenten was an orphan; both of her parent's had died when she was very young, leaving her to fend for herself.

All that time, Neji had believed she had what he didn't and that that was why Tenten was so happy; but he had been wrong. He realized that she was happy because she had chosen to be happy. He understood then, that the chrysanthemum flower she had handed him hadn't been some hallow symbol of sympathy; it had been a token of hope.

Somewhere along the way, that was exactly what Tenten had become for him… Though his teammate's called her the team's flower, to him… she was hope…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Life, it seems, will fade away
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Neji looked down from his vantage point on top of the hill. Below, he could see the memorial service for Tenten would soon be coming to an end. As always, the whole village showed up for the shinobi funeral. Even the Kazekage and his siblings had shown up. Not that it surprise Neji; Tenten and Temari had developed a strong friendship over the years, even since their battle during the first chunin exams.

Neji could see Lee wailing loudly on the floor as the assembled formed a line to place their tokens of sympathy on Tenten's coffin; Gai appeared to be having a hard time trying to comfort the bowl-headed shinobi. Everyone else seemed sympathetic to the two shinobi's grief; many of them, having similarly lost important people in the past.

Neji could see his cousin Hinata standing near the front as well. She and Tenten had become as close as sisters over the years; even Hanabi seemed to have taken a liking to the weapon's mistress, which was not a common thing. Neji could even see the clan head standing beside his two daughters, paying his respect to the fallen kunoichi.

Everyone had come. Everyone, that was, except Neji. He had left the Hospital late in the morning, after answering some questions, and filling out some papers. Tsunade had let him go after getting the basic information, telling him she would assign Shizune to fill out the rest. He had wandered through the village and into the forest aimlessly, until he had arrived at his team's training field.

Gai had been there, he had told him that the funeral services would be held the following morning. Neji could tell his sensei was devastated, but Gai kept a strong front in order to be there for his students. Gai had walked Neji to the compound that night, leaving him to the care of his uncle, whom Gai informed of the news.

The morning of Tenten's funeral, Neji had left the compound before anyone came to fetch him. Dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing when he last held Tenten, Neji had gone up to the mountain side that overlooked where the memorial service would be held.

Despite the intense rains that had befallen Konoha in the previous weeks, on that day there wasn't a cloud in the sky. For the first time in days, the morning was inappropriately sunny. The sky had cleared to a splendid light blue, as birds playfully soared overhead, thoroughly enjoying the beauty of the day.

It was insult; a mockery of all that was good and decent in the world. Neji couldn't understand how it was possible for there to be such perfect weather, on a day filled with such darkness.

Inwardly, a tiny voice told Neji that Tenten would have probably liked it that way. Though he would have preferred the weather reflect the sorrow of the day, as it always seemed to do whenever the village gathered to pay tribute to a fallen shinobi, he knew that this exception wasn't because nature was ridiculing the passing of the village's cherished weapons mistress, but rather, a reflection of Tenten's very spirit.

As his contemplated the truth of his observation, he looked down at the open casket, where Tenten serenely lay, in her white kimono. Neji couldn't help but think that she had the appearance of a sleeping angel. He considered that perhaps the picturesque climate was Heaven's way of celebrating the return of one of it's own; taking her away from him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Drifting further every day
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The days that followed Tenten's death, found Team Gai temporarily suspended from active dutys. Neji hadn't cared at first; he didn't really want to know about anything at the moment. Gai had also given the two younger shinobi a few days off from training. Neji had spent the majority of his time locked in his room. No one bothered to disturb the prodigy; allowing him to grieve in peace.

But the days went on, and Neji still remained locked in his room, removed from the rest of the world. His friends and family began to grow concerned that he was beginning to isolate himself. Maids brought him food, which at first he had refused, not even bothering to open the door and eat; but eventually he had grown too weak to reject the plates.

On the rare occasions that he did step out of his room to go to the bathroom, Neji would angrily yell at anyone who dared to cross his path. It was clear from the bags under his eyes that he had not been sleeping well; if at all.

"N-Neji-nii-san." A soft voice from behind his door called out to him.

"…" Neji glared at the door, willing his cousin Hinata to leave him alone; though he knew that would not likely work. He knew she'd have to leave eventually; she wasn't the type to nag him. So he decided to just lie down in his bed and wait until she was gone.

"Nii-san," Hinata timidly continued after a few minutes, "Everyone is worried about you. Could you please come out?" she begged.

"Leave me be, Hinata-sama." Neji monotonously replied from his position on the bed.

"Like hell we will!" a loud and obnoxious voice yelled from behind the door. "What do you think you're doing Neji? You've got everyone worried!" Naruto hollered, "You think you're the only one hurting? You didn't even have the decency to show up at Tenten-san's funeral!" he accused.

"Naruto!" a voice that, to Neji, sounded a lot like the pink haired kunoichi, scolded the blond loudmouth.

"What?" Naruto loudly whispered in response, "It's true isn't it? If he cared so much, why didn't he show up to pay his respects like the rest of us?"

"Shut up Naruto!" Shikamaru's lazy voice reprimanded the other shinobi.

"Yeah Naruto!" Ino's annoyed voice sounded from behind Neji's door, "Everyone mourns differently." (i)

"Will you all just GO.AWAY." Neji demanded from his side of the door, before pulling his head under a pillow to drown out their incessant voices.

Neji didn't care if other people were worried he was drifting away. He didn't care what anyone thought.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters; no one else
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As the days turned into weeks, Neji's friends came to see him on numerous occasions; pleading with him to come out of his room and rejoin the rest of the world. But he didn't budge. He was intent on remaining in his room, where he could lose himself within his solitude. Nothing mattered to him anymore. Not even his once unyielding pride had prevented him from showing such vulnerability, as he drowning himself in his agony. Whereas before he would have suppressed and hidden any sign of emotion, now it didn't seem to matter to him what anyone thought. Nothing mattered; no one did.

Eventually his friends stopped coming. They realized there was nothing thing they could do, but hope that he would come to his senses sooner or later…

"Hinata-chan." Hiashi addressed his daughter as he passed by Neji's room, where Hinata faithfully placed a fresh plate of food and knocked gently on the door.

"Y-yes father?" Hinata timidly approached her father, who had been standing at the other end of the hall.

"Is Neji-kun still refusing to leave his room?" Hiashi asked.

"Hai." Hinata nodded her head disappointedly.

"It has already been a number of weeks." Hiashi observed.

"Nii-san has taken Tenten-san's passing rather harshly." Hinata responded.

"I was not aware that his teammate had meant this much to him." Hiashi solemnly stated.

"I don't think he did either." Hinata half whispered; longingly staring at her cousin's bedroom door, painfully wishing there were something she or anyone else could do to ease him of his pain.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
 I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"HYUGA!" Tsunade's demanding voice echoed through the Hyuga compound. "AS YOUR HOKAGE I AM ORDERING YOU TO GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF THERE!" she yelled.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune meekly pleaded, "Maybe this isn't the best way to go about doing this."

"Nonsense Shizune." Tsunade shook her head, "this is the only way to do this. He's been in there for over a month, it's time for him to get back to living in the real world."

"Tsunade-sama, try to understand, he just lost his closest friend." Shizune implored. "Have a little compassion."

"I know that!" Tsunade replied, "And I understand what he must be feeling." Tsunade thought back to the time when she too had lost the person she most cared for. (ii) "But I also know it's not healthy to sit around feeling sorry for your self. He's going to have to learn to deal with this. He can't just give up."

Neji listened silently as the Hokage and her assistant carried on their conversation on the other side of his door. He realized the Godaime was right; he was sitting around feeling sorry for himself. But he didn't care. What could he give to the world, when there was nothing left of him? What point was there to living if there was no reason, no one, to live for?

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"N-N-Neji-nii-san!" Hinata so was surprised to see Neji out of his room that she dropped the platter of food she had been carrying to his room.

The old Neji would have caught the falling object before it hit the floor, but this Neji didn't even flinch; he merely stood there with a vacant look in his eyes as the tray came crashing to the floor.

"I will be meeting my team at our training grounds." Neji stated before walking off; leaving a shocked Hinata to pick up the mess on the floor.

She was glad to see that he was making some progress, at least now, it seemed, he was free from the confines of his bedroom. Hinata was happy for her cousin, but at the same time, the dead look in his eyes terrified the young kunoichi. She had never seen her cousin so emotionless. Even though Neji had always been known for his stoic personality, there had always been a glimmer of light in his eyes that betrayed the true emotions within. But not this time; this time his eyes were devoid of all substance, almost as if he wasn't even there.

"Oh Nii-san, can't you see there's still people here for you?" Hinata quietly lamented; saddened to see her cousin so broken inside.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Things not what they used to be
Missing one, inside of me
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Neji-kun." Lee gasped upon seeing his teammate enter their training field.

"AH NEJI-KUN," Gai enthusiastically greeted, "We are very pleased you have decided to finally join us." He smiled at the young prodigy, giving him a thumbs-up.

Lee and Gai had come many times to see the Hyuga, but like all the others, even they had failed in luring him out of his isolation. Gai was grateful, whatever the reason, that Neji had finally decided to step out of his seclusion and attempt to move on with his life. He was certain Tenten would have wanted that.

"Why don't we take a few laps around the village as training today?" Gai suggested; thinking it was best to ease Neji back into their routine, without placing him in a position where he would be reminded of their fallen kunoichi. "Since Neji has been out of practice, I suggest we warm up with 50 laps." The older shinobi offered.

"YOSH!" Lee excitedly pumped his fists in the air. Though 50-laps, was half of their usual minimum, he was more than will to ease up his training to help his shattered comrade.

"Hn." Neji followed as the two men began running at a leisurely pace.

Neji knew they were running slower than they would have liked, for his benefit. Neji wasn't the type who liked to be pitied. If anyone did the pitying, it was going to be him; not that he ever wasted his time on such trivial matters. But he didn't care.

As they approached their twentieth lap, usually when Neji and Tenten would have begun to start feeling the strain on their muscles, Neji turned to his right to face the spot where the weapons mistresses normally ran beside him; but she wasn't there. For an instant, his heart stopped in his chest, and he realized… it wasn't the way that it was supposed to be.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Deathly lost, this can't be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Lee and Gai now a far distance ahead of him, Neji decided he had had enough running. Coming to a complete stop after his twenty-first lap, Neji realized he had drifted off the path. As he scanned his surroundings, he realized he was a short jog from their training field. Without so much as realizing it, Neji's legs began moving him back toward that very spot where he and Tenten had spent countless days together.

Approaching the beech tree that the pair had spent endless evenings leaning up against, after each spar and mission, Neji turned his eyes to search for the small heart carving.

"Tenten…" Neji whispered as he traced the faded heart.

He still couldn't believe she was gone. The only woman he had ever loved; and she had been taken from him before he ever got the chance to show her how he felt.

How could fate be so cruel? Neji just couldn't understand; was he born to suffer? To live his live in perpetual torment?

How could anyone be cursed to endure such agony?

An overwhelming swelling in his chest caused his breathing to be labored, as Neji clenched his fist to his heart; pulling on the cotton fabric that fell over his aching chest. Life was unfair.

Falling to he knees out of sheer misery, Neji shut his eyes tightly; attempting to will the sorrow away. But the pain was too much for him to bear, and finally, after years of suppressing his pent up emotion, Neji openly wept against the beech tree.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he's gone
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Hey Neji." Neji felt a small finger poking his side, disrupting his nap on the soft grass. "Nejiiii."

"Hn." The prodigy grunted in response, refusing to move or even open his eyes; he was far too comfortable to get up.

"Wake up, you're missing it!" the tiny voice whispered from beside him; blowing gently in his ear in the process.

"Missing what?" Neji moaned.

"Look!" Neji felt himself being pushed up, off of the ground.

"It's a sunrise Tenten." Neji growled, having found no other option but to open his eyes and look at what the kunoichi had been telling him to see.

"Yeah…" Tenten smiled brightly from beside him; her left arm still holding on to his back from when she pushed him up into his current seating position.

"There will be another one tomorrow." Neji groaned, preparing himself to fall back to the comfortable floor.

"How sure are you of that?" Tenten countered, looking down at the prodigy as he resumed his pervious position.

"There always is." Neji yawned in response.

"You don't know that." Tenten insisted.

"Tenten." Neji was getting slightly annoyed by her thickness; he'd never considered her to be dense. "It's a fact that the sun always sets in the evenings, and rises at dawn." He nonetheless concluded his argument.

"And does that make this one any less special?" she challenged.

"As I have just said," Neji closed his eyes while he spoke, "it happens every day. There is nothing special about a sunrise."

"What if it's the last sunrise?" Tenten softly asked.

"It's not." he firmly repeated.

"No one can know that." she insisted.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Neji felt drained. He wasn't sure exactly how long he had been crying, or when he had fallen asleep, but it was now dark out. It had been years since that mission he had just dreamt of.

A simple escort mission Neji and Tenten had been assigned to go on, on their own. Having made excellent time, they had decided to rest on their return. Neji remembered they had fallen asleep under the stars. It had been one of the happiest moments in his life. Not because anything special happened; it had just been peaceful. Perfect in it's simplicity.

He hadn't understood then exactly what Tenten had been saying, but now he did. He was glad that in the end, he had given in to her insistence and sat up to watch the sunrise with her. Though, he hadn't really watched the sun; he had found it much more enjoyable to discreetly watch Tenten watching the sunrise. She had looked so happy; turning to smile at him every few seconds to see if he was paying attention.

There won't be another sunrise. Neji though mournfully.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
No one but me can save myself,
but it's too late
No, I can't think, think
why I should even try
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Why?" Neji took a seat in front of the stone cherub standing guard over Tenten's final resting place. "Why did you leave me?" he begged.

Silence.

For a moment, he almost wanted the illusion that had been haunting him since before Tenten's passing, to appear in front of him and give him the answer. But it didn't happen.

"It's all my fault." Neji sulked, too afraid to face the angel; he was sure he would see the same accusing eyes that had been plaguing his every sleepless night.

For a month, he had found it difficult to sleep, unable to shake the image of his departed love. Too many nights, he had been unable to find any peace; though he was certain he did not deserved it.

His friends had tried to help him. Tried to get to him see the truth; that it wasn't his fault. But no matter what anyone tired to tell him, he couldn't believe it.

It was his fault.

She had died protecting him; she had died because of him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"I'm sorry Tenten." Neji tired to hold back the tears, to no avail.

Neji wished there were something, anything at all, that he could do to go back to that day and do it all different; to erase the yesterday that never should have been…

-:-:-:-FLASHBACK-:-:-:-

"Tenten!" Neji exclaimed as the kunoichi fell forward into his arms.

Time seemed to stand still as Neji looked, wide-eyed, at the kunoichi he held her in his arms. All sound disappeared; the air grew stale and suffocating. For a moment, Neji's mind ceased to function, as he watched the crimson liquid freely flowing from the weapons mistress's wounds. He could smell the metallic scent of blood as the fluid poured out from his fallen friend.

It had seemed an eternity, watching the blood tainting her white shirt, before Neji found himself, byakugan activated, searching for the culprit. He had found the cowardly shinobi hidden a few meters away; having identified his location when the miserable rat had sent the second wave of weapon's at the pair.

It was impossible to tell what had happened next, as Neji's body went into a state of blind fury. Within a matter of seconds, Neji had used his Juken, forcefully inserting a small amount of his chakra into the shinobi's chakra circulatory system, causing the man to double over in pain. Continuing with his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Neji successfully closed all the man's chakra points, before repeating his gentle fist technique to attack the enemy-nin's internal organs. On the outside, the shinobi had shown no visible signs of injury, but on inside, Neji had watched as each of his organ's had violently ruptured inside of him.

Before the man could even hit the ground, Neji had scooped Tenten up into his muscular arms, protectively holding her to his chest, and commenced running toward the village, completely forgetting about Lee and Gai.

-:-:-:-END FLASHBACK-:-:-:-

Though every muscle in Neji's body had screamed in protest for him to stop, he had ignored all pain; hoping against hope, that he would be able to make it in time to save Tenten's life.

But he had failed her.

Failed. Neji repeated the same word he had heard in his nightmares.

That was what he had done. He had failed her. He had let her die. If he had not been so over confident in his abilities, he would have kept his byakugan activated, and he would have seen him; the man who had taken his hope away. Neji would have seen the coward who had attacked them from behind. He would have seen Tenten move to protect him. He would have seen the weapon's aimed at him….

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
I have seen peace. I have seen pain,
Resting on the shoulders of your name.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Tenten." Neji sorrowfully moaned as he lay limply on the grave marker where the stone angel stood watching over Tenten.

His breathing was labored, as he slowly began to calm down from his earlier crying; silently hiccupping every so often.

-:-:-:-FLASHBACK-:-:-:-

"They're going too fast again." Tenten panted from along side Neji.

"Hn." He didn't say anything, but she knew that he agreed. Gai and Lee always over did everything.

"At this rate, we'll lose them again." Tenten added.

"Hn." Neji slowed his pace to allow for Tenten to keep up with him.

"I guess it doesn't really matter." Tenten relaxed a bit, as the pair slowly began coming to a stop.

"…" Neji questioningly turned his eyes toward the kunoichi, as they came to a full stop so that they could both rest for a while.

"As long as I'm with you…" Tenten smiled, without finishing her thought; not that she needed to….

-:-:-:-END FLASHBACK-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
I have seen birth. I have seen death.
Lived to see a lover's final breath.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

She had trusted him completely; and yet Neji had failed her.

She had always been there with him; for him. From the moment he first met her at her father's funeral, when he hated her, she had always been by his side; until the moment he had realized his love for her.

She had helped him overcome his demons; helped him become a better man. She had followed him faithfully, believing in him unconditionally. She had never judged him, never doubted; never left his side.

They had been through so much; grown together as both teammates and friends. Together they had seen many challenges, and faced many foes. They had seen the birth of a beautiful friendship, and the death of romance that never was to be. He had held her at her final moment, as her last breath escaped her lips.

She had been his truest friend; his most important person. Just looking into her eyes; those eyes that never lost their happy glow; he had known hope within his soul.

Hope that one day; he too, would know what it felt to have that kind of happiness inside his own eyes.

But that never came to be…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Do you see my guilt? Should I feel fright?
Is the fire of hesitation burning bright?
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As Neji sat silently before Tenten's grave, unable to put to words all that he wished he could say to her, the night had begun to grow colder and darker. Neji welcomed the frigid weather, hoping that the cold would painfully sting his flesh and help him forget the agony he felt; forget the guilt that he felt inside his heart. But he knew that wasn't possible. Nothing could possibly erase the aching in his chest; prevent the flame that was slowly burning out, from fading from his soul.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
I have seen fear. I have seen faith…
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

He knew what he had to do; knew there was only one way to rid himself of all his suffering.

Only one way.

And he was not afraid…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Death greets me warm,
now I will just say goodbye
-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"As long as I'm with you…" Neji whispered, before sharply forcing a jolt of chakra straight to his heart.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
THE END
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

DON'T KILL ME!!!!

A/N: I SORRY! 'authoress begs for forgiveness'… It was always my intention to kill both Neji and Tenten in the end… kind of my 'Romeo and Juliet' type story… I had been considering adding a scene where Neji and Tenten met up in heaven… but the ending here… just… worked. That line… I thought it a fitting end.

I gotta say, it took me FOREVER to find the perfect song for this chapter… I went through so many, and finally narrowed it down to three: Metallica's Fade to Black, and Tears and Rain & Cry by James Blunt. Ultimate I chose to use the Metallica song because the lyrics and meaning behind the song worked best for the plot… but I did decide to include a few lines from Cry because I wasn't quite done with the story and needed a few more spacers (plus those lines worked really well).

Ummm… I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter though. I mean, it did end how I wanted it to end, but I'm concerned it may have dragged on for too long… I wanted it to seem like he was going through this prolonged suffering that eventually just made it impossible for him to continue living without her… but I'm not so sure I actually was able to capture that… oh well…

Any suggestions, I might actually go back and change things to this one if someone has a good idea on how to improve it. Let me know.

BRIGHT SIDE -- Next shot will have to be happy again! Just to balance all this angst out! XD

Review, please and thank you XD (and don't kill me!!!!)

OLD GAME:

21!... yup… 7 plus 14 equals 21 (and they say law students suck at math… I can add! XP…)

NEW GAME:

(i) Ok, this one's simple if you keep up with the manga… what were Shika and Ino sort of alluding to here?

(ii) Super easy… how's Tsunade thinking of (keep in mind, she's reflecting on the similar feelings of the one she lost and Neji's feelings for losing Tenten).