Tenten followed Neji, who was a few steps ahead of her. The pedestrians seemed to have faded and assimilated themselves into the background as her vision turned tunnel-like - there was nothing in her gaze except for the shape of him and the flickering lights on the street.

With each step she took, her heart fluttered, at this moment, there was nothing else but him in her world; she felt as if time has wounded back, back to the day when they were on the battlefield.

The wind blew across the rugged rocks, she could hear it howl as it brushed past the tent with great intensity.

Tenten turned around as she lied down, trying to salvage some sleep before the war tomorrow.

Careful not to wake the others sleeping next to her, she turned again, only to realise that he was staring at her.

Lying on his side, Neji blinked. Tenten smiled at him.

He stood up and walked out of the tent, Tenten looked at him as he did.

Neji stood at the entrance and turned back, his ebony hair glittered under the cold moonlight.

Tenten scrambled to her feet, and followed him outside. He led her away, a distance from the tent before he stopped.

He stood at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the valley beneath and looking up at the glowing moon.

Tenten stared as Neji seemed to be surrounded by the aura of glistening moonlight, he turned around and looked at her.

"Are you scared?" His calm voice broke the silence, another rush of wind brushed past them and carried his words away.

Tenten blinked before taking a step closer to him, minding the edge of the sandstone cliff.

"I am," she said. "This is war, it's not like we haven't been in one, but last time… we were still kids - it's up to us to protect the children of the village this time." Tenten looked away, at the furthest edge that she could see. She wondered if Neji could see further than her, perhaps he could see past the rugged rocks and the roaring seas from afar… perhaps he could see the future?

"And you, are you scared?"

She could hear his deep sigh, as if he sighed from the bottom of his heart, deep within him where his soul was.

"I am petrified." His voice was ever so calm, as Tenten turned and looked at him. He was staring afar. "I am frightened to my core, but on the other hand, I am quite excited."

She was about to ask further, before she could, Neji blinked and smiled.
"I can finally stretch my wings," he said softly. He turned around and looked at Tenten in the eye. "Before tomorrow," he said. "I want to tell you something."

Tenten felt her heart began to race, as if it was picking up its pace. She felt blood rushing to her face as she stared at Neji's porcelain, sculpture like face.

As his lips parted, he quickly turned around. "Someone's coming, probably looking for us."

He proceeded to turn his body around and walked back towards the tent.

Tenten stared longingly as he did, her heart wanted her to shout his name, but her mind told her to follow him in silence.

That was the last words he had ever spoken to her.

"Tenten?" She found herself far behind him, as he stood at the edge of the narrow street, looking back at her.

"Sorry." She muttered as she catch back up.

She followed him as he leapt up to the roof, they leapt from roof to roof, just as they once did when they were genins, catching rich lady's cats or looking for a lost child.

She realised that the lights began to dim around them, as they moved further and further away from the centre of the village.

The sound of crowds was replaced by the sound of wind brushing pass the trees, the rustling of the leaves as he descended from the tree tops.

As her feet touched the ground, she found herself standing in front of the river in the training ground. Neji stood there right in the middle.

Tenten stood there as he walked up to her, his pale eyes fixated upon her.

"I want to tell you something." Her spine shivered as a chill went down. His voice never changed, while everything about her has changed.

Tenten took a gulp, she stared into his eyes, wondering how they could be so pristine.

"Go ahead." She paced herself, straightening her back.

"I can only tell you this," he said. Tenten's heart sank, her mind was instantly alerted. "You're the only one I can trust with this."

"Not even Naruto?"

"Not even Naruto, not before I am sure." He blinked, closing his eyes painfully as his knees hit the ground.

She dropped to the ground immediately, holding Neji by the shoulder right before he collapsed to the ground. He gritted his teeth in pain, she saw a strange eerie light glowing on his chest.

Tenten gently removed the clothing, and saw a small rhombus, glowing right where his heart was supposed to be.

"Neji, you need to stay awake, tell me…" Neji held her hand, before losing his consciousness.

Tenten stared as the rhombus faded back into a small scar of the identical shape.

As he slumped himself down onto the soft grass, Tenten took several deep breaths as an attempt to calm herself down.

There must be something more sinister to this, and whoever has brought Neji back to life must have a purpose - and is preventing him from telling her.

Tenten smiled at him painfully, as she saw him lying on the grass, asleep. Checking that his vital signs were fine, she laid down next to him, staring at the profile of his face.

Perhaps this face was the same face that spoke to her that night at the cliffs, perhaps those lips spoke the same words; apart from all that, something was different.

Just like her, Neji is not the same.

Right now, there are simply too many questions that have to be answered - and only if those questions are answered can she finally get the answer she wanted.

What did he want to tell her that night?

Author's note:

Hello everyone, here's a new chapter - hopefully you enjoy the new elements (or not so new) that I added into the story ... just to make it more multilayer - I hope I don't end up breaking your hearts (at least not too bad) ...

About updates: I apologise for not being able to update regularly; I am currently a final year university student with a very demanding schedule ... I will try my best to update. Thank you all for your support and patience - I will try to produce quality chapters (hopefully more regularly) for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

V.S.V xoxo