As he opened his eyes, his vision began to clear up.

Tenten was sitting right next to him, there was a shade of darkness underneath her large, brown eyes; he could tell she was struggling to stay awake.

"You haven't slept the entire night?"

"Hehe," she chuckled softly before stretching and throwing her lean arms into the air. "It's not like these training grounds have changed, since…" Tenten looked away for a brief second. "Anyway, you fainted last night, it's only right that I keep watch until you wake up."

Neji pressed onto the ground and sat up, Tenten hesitantly reached out, she retracted her hand as he did.

Before he could say anything, Tenten sighed softly and caught his attention.

"You said you have to tell me something last night, something that you couldn't even tell Naruto." Tenten studied his stoic expression. "The thing is, the moment you started to try tell me, there was a small rhombus on your chest that started to glow and then you fainted."

"Hmph, someone is stopping me from telling you something."

"From telling anyone that something," Tenten stated, her voice was stern. "I've been studying these new ninja tech, this does seem like an inhibitory device."

"Is it possible to remove it?"

"Maybe." Tenten said. "I'll talk to Sakura about this, but with that, I suspect that you are being monitored, for a more sinister purpose."

"Hmph," Neji sighed softly. "I guess this is fate then."

Tenten arched an eyebrow, as the man stood up and spread his arms open.

"No matter how hard I try, I'm always the bird in the cage - even in this new life." Neji laughed dryly. "No matter…"

Neji was not expecting Tenten to say anything - after all, she never did when he said things like that in the past.

He could sense a rapid approaching movement, before he could dodge it, his face took a hit, and he found himself spinning slightly from the sudden force.

He steadied himself and turned around, only to find a huffing and puffing Tenten, red with anger, glaring at him.

"What's that for?" He asked, confused, pressing onto his face with his hand as he felt it popping beneath his touch.

"Can you not be like this?" Tenten gritted her teeth, her body froze following her swing against him. "I thought...I thought you would have realised how important you are," she tightened her fists. "Do you know how many people thought of you as their hero? How you sacrificed yourself for Naruto and Hinata, how you are the role model that Hinata preached to her children everyday; how you lived your life by breaking free of chains … now you want to bind yourself again with all these destiny crap?"

"Tenten I…"
"I'm not finished," Tenten looked up, her brunette eyes filled with anger and sadness as she glared straight into his milky white orbs.

"You, ever since I met you've been the centre of my world - I admired you, I looked up to you … hell, I loved you," her voice faded into a soft sigh. "I still do."

Neji stood straight, facing her as his hand fell from his face to his side.

"When you...when you died, Neji," Tenten wrapped her arm around her torso, as if she was suppressing an unbearable pain. "I didn't have the time to feel, I had to fight, and fight … I only had the time to mourn when everything was finally over … I never stopped thinking about you."

Neji closed his eyes for a brief moment, there was so much sadness, so much pain in her eyes - he wished he could do something.

"I... I…" Her incessant sobbing halted as she took a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shouted, at the top of her lungs.

"It took me almost twenty years to accept the fact that you're gone, how dare you to just show up and become alive again?" Tears streamed down her face as she shouted, as loud as she could.

Birds scurried and flew away as her voice echoed around the forest, perhaps the birds sensed the desperation in her voice, the fury, the sadness.

Each word she said rocked his world, shaking him to his core - it was as if everything was collapsing around him.

"How dare you just show up, as if nothing had happened and now, now you decided to just tarnish everything that you stood for? How dare you!"

Neji stood there stunned, frowning slightly as he stared into her sad bloodshot eyes.

"I am sorry Tenten," said Neji. "I...but aren't you at least, happy to have me back? Aren't you glad that I am alive?" He raised his arms in frustration. "Do you wish that I am dead, gone forever?"

Tenten looked at him, there was a sad smile on her face as she looked at him, he wondered if he had seen anything darker than this - it was almost as dark as the endless void he thought he saw when he died.

"What for?" Her voice was raspy from crying and shouting, each sound she made scratched against him like sandpaper. "So that you could come back and destroy your legacy? So that you could throw yourself back into despair?" She paused as she looked down on the ground.

"So that I could lose you again?"

Neji thought his heart stopped for a second time. He watched as Tenten dropped to her knees, silently sobbing as she covered her face in her hands.

He walked up to her slowly, step by step as he could hear the clear crunching of grass beneath his sandal.

Crouching down, he was inches in front of her.

He felt a stung as he touched her shoulder with his fingertips; it felt ever so familiar, yet it seemed that the distance between them was insurmontable.

"Tenten," he said, his voice as soft as a touch of a feather. "I'm sorry."

The woman did not budge, she knelt on the ground and continued to cover her face - he could hear her sobbing stop.

"I...I didn't realise what I said would hurt you so much, I'm so, so sorry."

She looked up, he reached over quickly and wiped away a stray tear off from her face. As his fingertip grazed her skin, he noticed the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, the sparse grey hair that hid itself well in her brunette locks … he found himself gulping at the sight.

Tenten reached up and held his hand in hers, it remained on her face as she did.

"I've lived eighteen years safeguarding your legacy, protecting the village that you would've done if you were here," she said, a warm smiling hung on her face as she did. "I wouldn't let anyone tarnish your legacy, not eve if it's you."

Neji found himself at a loss of words, the only thing he knew he could, and should do was to pull her into his arms.

Tenten found her head against his chest, listening to his humming heartbeat - it was a strange sound to hear, almost disturbing to her senses.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me back then?"

Neji felt a shock down his spine as his embrace around her became frigid, Tenten looked up and patted on his shoulder gently.

"It's ok if you don't remember, don't push yourself too hard."

"I remember," he said. "I do."

He looked down into her brown eyes, those eyes that shared the same longing he had for her, the longing that he had not discovered som many years ago.

He whispered the words gently into the wind, into her ear before gently pressing his lips against hers.

Be mine.

He could feel his heart fluttering as he did, to become one with her - it was long overdue.

Unknown to him, behind the fluttering of his heart, someone had been watching in the shadows, quietly.

It's almost time.

The shadowy figure smiled mischievously as it disappeared into the dark woods.

Author's note:

I hope you enjoy, I had some time (and lots of inspiration) to write up chapters! Feel free to leave me a review xoxo

Will try to update ASAP xoxo Thanks for the love and support

V.S.V

P.S. I hope I tugged your heartstrings with this one, it's a tad bit emotional ...