Neji had activated his Byakugan without a second thought and turned towards the sound that had shaken the earth moments ago. He stifled a gasp. That explosion they heard was Hokage Mansion being bombed, flames burning in a roaring rage in its wake now. From his place in Tenten's living room, Neji could tell the fire was quickly growing.

"What happened?" Tenten asked, looking out the window. All she would be able to see was the raising cloud of smoke from here, not at all what Neji had in his line of vision.

"The Red House has been bombed," Neji explained as he headed for the door, readying himself for the undoubtable confrontation he was going to have. How the enemy had managed to sneak into the village was beyond him? He had meticulously gone through his rounds over and over that afternoon.

"Hold on," she called out to him, "I am coming with you."

When Neji turned to her, he saw that Tenten had already buckled her big scroll around waist and was in the process of strapping a shuriken pouch on her thigh. He might have protested if it were not for the fact that they would have better chances of apprehending the culprit if they worked as a pair, like they use to back in the day. There was also the matter that Tenten could summon large amounts of water with her scroll, something they would need if they wanted to stop the spread of the fire.

Soon, they were running in the direction of the ever-growing cloud of smoke, Neji devising a plan as they moved, trying to make sense of things. What was the point in bombing the Hokage Mansion? The war was practically over, he saw no reason to it. Unless they thought Naruto was there, which was pointless. Naruto's presence in the war efforts was common knowledge. Then a thought came to mind. What if they were after the scroll—or rather, the scrolls Naruto, unbeknownst to him, had tasked the Konoha 11 to retrieve? Anyone would immediately assume they were in the Hokage Mansion, that would be the first choice. But it wasn't, of course. It would be too obvious. Another question came to mind. Where other places targeted as well? Surely, they wouldn't focus their efforts in one place when there were hundreds of possibilities.

Neji tried to calm a wave of unease that came over him as they neared the Red House, noticing people gathering around the building, wanting to get a closer look at what was going on. He groaned internally. Of course, he wouldn't put it past the villagers to stick their noses where it didn't belong. Neji was relieved to see that Boruto and Sadara were there, instructing the villagers to return to their houses and find a safe place to hide. At least they had the good sense to do that.

"Uncle Neji!" Boruto hollered at him as soon as he spotted him in the crowd, seeming thankful to see him there.

Neji approached him, glad to see that he and Sadara were unharmed. He regarded his nephew with, "Get these people out of here, then go make sure your mother and sister are alright."

"But uncle Neji—" Boruto started to protest.

"You too, Sadara," Neji turned the Uchiha, completely ignoring Boruto. He was grateful that she did not fight him about the matter and only nodded.

"You're agreeing to this?" Boruto sounded outraged as he turned to his teammate. Sadara only closed her eyes and turned her head, choosing not to answer him.

Neji frowned, already irritated that this exchange was dragging out. "I am your superior, you will listen to me. Your only job right now is to get the spectators out of harm's way." He would be damned if something happened to Lady Hinata's son. Neji didn't even want to think what Sasuke (or Sakura for that matter) would do if Sadara was injured and he was somehow responsible. He was aware that as ninjas they might find it insulting, but this was the only way he could have peace of mind.

"But what about the guys who did this?" Boruto demanded, crossing his arms in defiance. "You can't handle them all by yourself!"

"Me and Tenten will do just fine," Neji said, his Byakugan activated again as he searched the building. Boruto was still looking at him in disbelief, so Neji dismissed him with a firm, "Now go."

Neji heard Boruto's huffing as he instructed the villagers to leave the scene, his presence replaced by Tenten's almost immediately.

"Are you seeing whoever did this?" she asked him, looking at the building as if she too had his same eyesight.

Neji nodded, identifying three separate chakra pathways making their way out of the Red House in a hurry.

"How could he or she have gotten inside?" Tenten wondered out loud, standing at the ready. He could tell she was waiting for him to voice his plan, waiting for him to tell her what do. Neji couldn't help reminiscing of their old days.

Neji had wondered that too. He had been dutiful in his rounds, just like he was sure Boruto and Sadara were as well. Only one thought came to mind as to how this was all plausible. "One of our own must have let them in."

Tenten inhaled surprised, but just for a moment. "Them? So, it's not one person?"

Neji shook his head. "I can see three from where I stand. Thankfully, the building was empty. They are coming down the Red House, they seem to be in a rush—"

Another explosion went off. They barely had time to brace themselves before jumping out of the way as ruble fell. So that's why they were in a hurry. They had rigged the Hokage Mansion with more than one bomb, but with how many begged the question. And why was there a need for so many?

Neji might have tasked Tenten with defusing the bombs—she has done it before—or getting the fire under control before it got out of hand, but the people behind this, New Order Society members no doubt, were trying to escape. They needed to catch up to them before they lost their trail. They would be the only ones who could answer all his queries. As if his thoughts invoked her, Tenten was suddenly there.

"Are you alright?" she asked, eyes roaming over him, ignoring the fact that if he were injured, she would feel it in her body too.

Neji nodded. "They are making a run for it, splitting in different directions."

"Tell me where to go," she said diligently. "I'll catch up to them."

Neji pointed to his right, "One is going in that direction." Then he pointed to his left. "The other two in that direction, but they are splitting." He thought for a moment. "I will go after these two, you can take the other one."

Tenten nodded, looking into his eyes. "When I am done, I will go help you."

Then she left, silhouette growing small until it disappeared in a line of trees. Neji inhaled deeply before taking off, running as fast as he could, ignoring the ache of his limbs from his earlier confrontation with Tenten. It surprised him how easily they put that outburst aside to focus on this. If he hadn't been so plagued by the last 24 hours, he might have thought it didn't happen in the first place. Well, he wished a lot of things didn't happen, but there was no use in thinking about that now. He needed to focus.

Easily enough, Neji caught up with one of the New Order Society members. After trying to apprehend him in a nonviolent matter, he had to use Gentle Fist, incapacitating him quickly. Neji couldn't linger to make sure if the person was alive or not, keeping with his chase in hopes of gaining up to the other one before it was too late. Aside from getting answers, he was sure Naruto would want to have them under his custody.

As he ran, another explosion went off, throwing his balance slightly. When he turned his head back, he confirmed with his Byakugan that it had been another bomb going off in the Red House. Again. Why was the Red House the only building targeted? Neji focused on the task in front of him, pushing his legs harder.

Neji proved his theory to be right as he spotted a Konoha flak jacket on the person he was slowly closing the distance to. He forced his feet faster as he took out a shuriken and threw it at the shinobi's leg. The shuriken found it's mark and the man stumbled, falling then rolling on the ground before being stopped by a tree.

As Neji neared, he recognized the man as one of the gate keepers. He had seen him at the gates when his team had left for the Country of Fire and when he returned to Konoha alone. Neji readied himself for the confrontation, Eight Trigrams stance at the ready. "Turn yourself in. It's futile to run."

The shinobi just laughed sarcastically, not making a move. "Figures. Despite dying for the Child of Prophesy, you choose to keep serving him. You ninja never learn."

Neji tried to shake off the confusion, knowing well that he might be trying to distract him. Instead he focused his efforts on the matter at hand. "What other places have you rigged with bombs?"

The shinobi seized him up as if he were trying to understand Neji, then shrugged. "Just the one."

Neji tried to read between the lines, but he wasn't sure if the man was being honest. It didn't make sense for this shinobi to focus his efforts on this sole building. Was he not after the scrolls? Was that not the reason the New Order Society had infiltrated the village? "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying," the man said as he slowly stood. Neji took a step forward, ready to apprehend him. "My only objective was to destroy the Red House—that place doesn't stand for anything I believe in anymore and they have a moron running it, no less. We are not fools, you know. We know the Hokage moved the scrolls, scattering them throughout the countries. Bombing Naruto Uzumaki's house would have been nice, but time was not in our favor for that. Perhaps my only regret. He should know what I feel."

Neji was momentarily shocked by what this man chose to reveal to him. Naruto had not mentioned moving the scrolls. All this time he believed they were in the village and that part of why he was task to patrol was to keep them save. Why would he not say anything to him about it? Well, he could think of some reasons. One of them being that he did not trust Neji or Tenten, even after they had delivered the scroll to him and proven they were trustworthy and loyal. The other would be that he hated Neji (he just had a feeling that he did). There was also the matter of Lady Hinata's house being targeted. Neji can only be grateful for timing for that was what made the difference between mourning the loss of his cousin, niece and nephew and standing in front of this man. Only one thing begged to be asked. "Why?"

"Aren't you Neji Hyuga, the hero who was dead and came back to life? You should be able to understand me. I am much like you in a way. Expect I have been dead for a long time now, even though I walk with the living." He put his hands up in surrender. "The Child of Prophesy stole everything from us. He took my wife in the Forth Ninja War and he took your life."

Neji was starting to understand now. This man was trying to enact revenge on Naruto because he thought Naruto was responsible for the death of his wife. It all seemed pretty delusional when he thought about it. Yes, it was tragic (and expected of war), but how could he connect his wife's death with Naruto? Did that mean he somehow worked apart from the New Order Society? Although, to be fair, weren't all of their members just people who were angry with the consequences of the war? "You and I are nothing alike. I chose to put my life on the line."

The man laughed as if he had told him the funniest thing in the world. "Can't you see? Even if you think you had any say in the decision, the truth of the matter is that everything up to this point has been predetermined. From the start the Child of Prophesy was destined to rescue the world. What they failed to tell you was that it came at the cost of many lives."

Neji ignored the feeling of unwellness in his chest. His mind seemed to be grasping at straws. "You are aware that the building was empty. Bombing the Red House was useless."

The man shrugged again. "Taking other people's lives was not something I was aiming for. Once Naruto is distracted in battle by the explosion, they will get him. They know what to do."

Neji was surprised by his words. Not because he thought it could work, but because this man was convinced it could. "You are aware that this convoluted plan of yours will never work."

The shinobi didn't seem to care. "Only time will tell."

"You have lost already," Neji said stoically, in a final way, stepping closer. "Come quietly or I will have to use force."

The man didn't move, seeming unbothered. "Oh, I never planned on getting caught."

A lot of things happened in that moment. As the shinobi finished that sentence and it dawned on Neji what he just planned on doing, Tenten arrived, calling out to him. His feet were instantly moving as the shinobi's eyes landed on her, an expression of wicked joy on his face. By the time Neji reached Tenten and used Vacuum Palm to draw as much distance from the shinobi, the man had set off the bomb.

The force of the explosion sent them flying, despite his Vacuum Palm taking some of the force off. Neji could barely hold Tenten, his grip slipping. The trunk of a tree broke them apart and he had barely enough time to registered what happened before hitting his head on a rock, instantly falling unconscious.

Neji knew he was wake. Well, his mind was, but his eyes were close, body heavily sedated. As he laid there numb, Neji couldn't help going over what that shinobi told him before he set off the bombs and killed himself. This, in turn, only made him think of the beginning. Or at least, his second beginning.

Neji remembered hearing the thunder overhead, a distant echo of what was to come. Yet the temperature was humid and sticky, getting soaked in sweat easily. It had taken him a moment, a long moment (hours?) to realize he had just dug himself out of his own grave. He had emptied his stomach when he read the engravement in his tombstone. Neji had felt his mind breaking in two as he tried to remember what happened before then. He could only recollect dying, nothing, unrest, then this.

Neji had laid there, next to his tombstone, trying to gather enough strength. He thought of his life, every event flashing like a movie being projected behind his eyelids. He had never been so confused, he surprised himself when started whimpering. He was never one to get frustrated so easily, but there he was getting worked up over this. Over not understanding. His mind was an opaque lagoon. He could only see the surface, but not the bottom.

Neji had thought about his father then, an ache returning to his chest. Was he with his father in this other place before getting here (back?)? He didn't recall being anywhere, just empty nothing. He had felt tears streaming down his face again, but he had been too weak to whimper at that point. He could only shiver from the cold winds that had begun almost too suddenly. He could taste a storm in the air.

At the thought of his father, Neji had thought of his clan. He would be able to find shelter there if bad climate was to befall, change his clothes, maybe understand what had happened and how all of this came to be. After mustering enough strength, he had stood and started walking, his vision coming and going, like waves. He had been instinctively following the pull he felt in the pit of his stomach, the one that he felt guided him home.

Neji had hoped he would be there soon, but when the timing felt off, he had opened his eyes and found that he was walking towards a house. What was this place? He had watched as he knocked on the door desperately, not understanding why he did.

Before he had seen her, before he uttered her name and fallen unconscious, he knew this was Tenten's house.

It only occurred to him that things were different when he had woken up and seen that he was in a strange room. Then Neji remembered that he had dug himself out of his own grave and it all came flashing back. This was Tenten's place. When did Tenten moved out of her apartment? It only occurred to him that some time might have passed when he had recalled the way she looked. The same, but different in a way. He couldn't tell what it was. As he had looked around the messy room trying to piece the puzzle together, he finally understood.

Neji saw the empty scroll laying on the floor almost instantaneously. He might have not thought anything of it, she had lots of scrolls space-time ninjutsu fanatic that she was, but this one was the one they were tasked to retrieve, he could tell by the design. The one he thought they had burned. He was starting to understand now. He had been slightly irritated by the thought that Tenten had tricked him somehow with a slick slight of hand. How did she managed to hide the scroll from him?

This questioned had been overshadowed when he looked up and found his reflection in a mirror propelled on a wall. Neji had stared at himself, mouth open. Outside from looking older, his curse mark was gone. He had tentatively touched his forehead, shocked that there was nothing there.

A lot of things came over him then, too much to process. He had been dead and Tenten had brought him back, that much had been obvious. He could try to understand her, where she was coming from, but he was too angry by the prospect then. Tenten knew what Neji felt about the scroll and what it represented, he had been clear and upfront to her about it. He had always discussed his notions about the Hyuga clan and their need to control everything. This had been just the same. When he sacrificed himself, he had done it out of his own free will. Not because of a curse mark or because he felt coerced into doing it. Tenten bringing him back was her taking his autonomy from him. Like he had been caged under lock and key by a friend he once trusted. And he had tried not to be mean about it, not at first, but he couldn't help it.

Neji had only controlled his irritation because there was a storm passing by and he couldn't give Tenten a reason to kick him out, but he needed time to properly process everything. And so, he did at beginning, while everyone was still shocked that he was there, that he had somehow come back. When they had asked, he said that he didn't know how that was possible. Neji didn't want to implicate himself, not when it had been his idea to destroy the scroll, not when it implied insubordination, and he certainly didn't want to implicate Tenten either, even if he was furious with what she did. He still held some sense of loyalty to his team. Even if she didn't.

Neji had to admit that he was surprised with how many things have changed, specially getting used to them his first week back. Although, yes, Naruto being the Hokage was somewhat surprising, it was predictable. Even his marriage to Lady Hinata didn't seem unexpected—he had always assumed they would somehow end up with each other. It was the Hyuga clan and its inner workings, his flesh and blood, that shook him somehow. When Hiashi had ordered for his return to be celebrated after he cried and hugged him, he knew a lot if things most have changed. Drastically.

At the dinner party Hiashi concocted at the Uzumaki's residence in honor of his return was the topic of Tenten brought up. During that point he had tried to avoid the mention of her, which was constantly being touched on for some apparent reason Neji couldn't seem to grasp. Lee and Guy had been easy to deflect, their pestering simple enough to ignore, but up until that point Neji had not considered Lady Hinata's children to be a hard target to dodge. Well, not Boruto. Despite being reminded of a young Naruto, he did not have enough in him to be conniving. No. It was Himawari.

Neji should have figured something was wrong the moment he had ignored Himawari's insistence over Tenten that dinner. He should have seen her ploy from a mile away, but her obsession over what she had deemed years ago—before even meeting him—as her favorite uncle had soften him up (he figured that was what happened to Hiashi as well) and he had fallen for her trap, thinking there was no harm in it. By the time she had dragged him out of the manor to 'show him around' Konoha, it was too late. Himawari's explanation for doing this was that things had changed a lot in 14 years, and he needed to know where everything was situated now. When he realized he had stepped into Tenten's store, it was too late.

After getting too heated in the store and somehow ending up fighting with Tenten, they had realized the extent of the scroll. And though his anger had subsided quite a bit, Neji decided to put it aside and focus all his energy in understanding just what the scroll implied. By that time as well, Neji had been also trying to simultaneously understand his nightmares and the toll it was having on his body. They had started around the third day of him returning, leaving him with a bad eerie feeling when he would wake up. What had concerned him was that they were getting more severe with time, the reason as to why a mystery.

Then one morning he had woken up from a nightmare unlike any he had experience up until that point. When Neji had gone to the training grounds that day tired and dreadful, Tenten had silenced him in shock. She had expressed how she had shared the same physiological response he had when he had his nightmare. He was drawing his own conclusions about the scroll, its power and what it meant, but this seemed to unnerve him. He had not been particularly fond of sharing or bonding with Tenten over something so disconcerting, much like he didn't like their bodies and chakras being linked, but he was starting to let go of his anger towards her when she voiced her support, seeming to understand his point of view.

Neji had even agreed to meet with his old team, after Lee had pestered him for some time, at a ramen shop as an effort to bury the hatchet somehow, but when he had gotten there, he felt strange, like something was off. The way Tenten and Lee had interacted with each other made him feel like something had gone over his head and he had just noticed what it was. Last time he had checked—well, before he died—Tenten never behaved this way towards Lee, like they shared a secret no one knew. Seeing her hold his hand had reminded him that she had held his hand when she told him she would be there for him, and though he knew he should not feel so betrayed—after all, this could be her way of showing her support—he felt like he had been tricked. This was not something they had shared, just the two of them.

As he kept watching their interaction, Neji had felt like he confirmed all his initial doubts. Feeling like his pride was hurt, he had lashed out the only way he knew how. In a matter of minutes, he was angry again, lettings all his previous notions of ending their quarrel behind. He had been too aware how fickle all of it was.

It was later when Neji would see Metal, his teammate's son, for the first time, when he had felt like he had been punched in the gut, that he understood he was not actually angry. He was jealous. When his mind couldn't take the ambiguity any longer, he had confronted Lee. Aside from feeling flustered for letting all of this get to him, especially when Tenten and Lee could do whatever they pleased (it wasn't like his death was a road block) he had been relieved to finally get an answer, even if that answer implied that their teammates actually did have something.

Neji had told himself he would be more aware of his emotions next time. Yet, he had not been mindful enough to realize just how alleviated he actually was. By then his nightmares were getting more out of hand and Tenten had been the one who had shaken him awake in their campsite. He could have blamed being too tired for the lack of his judgment. For Neji agreeing to have Tenten mere inches away, a sort of safety net for his ailing predicament. He could also have said that he was too spent to be angry or jealous, too exhausted to stop her from running her hands through his hair. For loosening his tongue and saying things he did not intend to voice. Like not finding rest or peace. Maybe that's why he had all of his nightmares (yet later this would be proven to be wrong).

Apart from seeing Tenten in a different light when she preformed in the palace and even more so when he had her in his arms, trying to wake her up from her nightmare had been the breaking point for him. Neji was able to see her perspective for the first time when he had seen her die a thousand deaths in her dream, the thought of her dying finally planted in his mind. He had been the one who had to think about it. He realized then how much he cared for his friend, how he actually always cared, even before the war, and that both scared and confused him.

Neji didn't want to ruin the bond he had with his friend because he didn't have any self-control in that moment when they were being hunted down, because he was too blinded by longing to think straight. No, he and Tenten were finally getting along. But then they had split up and she had been captured, held in a bunker and tortured. When she came back and he saw how unwell she was doing, he had realized that the feelings he held for her were more than just caring. Neji Hyuga did not simply go on a whim and prepared food for anyone—never. No. He wasn't a person who frequented another person's house for that matter, nor did he ever stay too late if that was ever the case. Neji could count with his fingers the times he had visited Lady Hinata's house.

Then he had that dream and—

Neji wasn't certain how much time had passed, but he was sure the sedative must have worn off enough for him to be able to open his eyes in a gasp, the epiphany he was just about to reach vanishing like smoke. He gasped for air as he sat in the hospital bed, wondering for the first time how he even got there. There wasn't much time to wonder at the fact as he looked around though, trying to find Tenten, knowing something must be happening since his lungs refused to take in oxygen and he wasn't in any apparent distress.

The fluorescent lights were blinding, but even he could tell he was alone in the room. Neji pulled at the needle he had in his arm and attempted to stand, needing to find Tenten and rectify whatever was wrong. As he put weight on his legs, he found himself being drawn to the ground by gravity, his body unable to do much but fall like a rag doll. The sound of him falling must have alerted one of the nurses in the hospital for soon the door to his room swung open. Neji was too busy trying to steady his spinning head, but he was convinced he heard the nurse call for Sakura.

Before Neji knew it, two other nurses came and helped him into bed. He was massaging his temples, eyes close, monitoring the way he inhaled and exhaled. Slowly, he was starting to feel like he could breathe properly. Whatever was troubling Tenten was passing.
"Why am I not surprised by this?" Sakura said, Neji suspecting she just walked in. He was trying to rub a headache away, so he hadn't deemed facing her just yet. "Rock Lee did this, Might Guy too. Team Gai is all the same."

Neji slowly opened his eyes, his mood souring at being compared to his former teacher and teammate more than the pulsing in this brain. "Where is she?"

Sakura frowned at him, arms crossed. She was annoyed too, it seemed. "By she you mean Tenten?"

Neji stared at her impatiently. Who else did she think he was referring to? If he was brought at the hospital, Tenten must have been too. Whoever must have found them, must have found them in the same place. She stared back, unimpressed. He scowled.

Sakura gave in first, sighing as she grumbled, "I don't have time for this. There are a lot of people that need to be treat and more are on their way now that the war is over."

Neji was stunned by her words, his teammate momentarily forgotten. "The war is over?"

Sakura smiled in relief, her anger easily forgotten by the mention of their apparent victory. "Yes, it is."

"The explosion didn't deter Naruto?" Neji felt his body going slack now.

Sakura's eye seemed to be filled with disdain at the mention of the explosion, but she was able to shake her head, chin high. "If anything, it made it end faster."

Neji thought of the shinobi's words. From the start, the Child of Prophesy was destined to rescue the world. He had been right. Somehow the thought made him feel queasy.

Sakura approached him in concern, regarding him with a clinical gaze. "Are you alright, Neji?" Neji nodded but he winced as he did. She leaned forward, inspecting him. "You and Tenten were shaken quite a bit with that explosion. Though you guys did not sustain any serious injuries, aside from a few cuts and bruises, you need to take it easy."

"It's the sedative," Neji explained as a wave of unease hit him. He never liked being on any sort of medication, he preferred his body deal with injuries without any help.

"Normally I would have just given you guys some pain killers, but Tenten was too angsty when she got here, I had to give her something to calm down. You must be feeling the effects of the sedative reflect in your body," Sakura explained, pushing Neji's shoulder, somehow forcing him to lay down in the bed.

At her words, Neji grew alert again, brushing away her hands. "Where is she?"

Sakura stared at him, pursing her lips in a stern matter. He wondered for a moment if he was reminding her of Guy and Lee again. "She's fine, she is in the woman's wing. Just stay put and let your body rest. Since you guys aren't in any critical condition, I might have to discharge you later so there are vacant beds for incoming patients."

Neji stayed silent, letting her believe he was complaint. He knew it was useless trying to fight with Sakura. He could try to find another way to get out of his room when she was gone.

Just as she was halfway to the door, Sakura turned and said, "Oh, I just remembered. Did Lee ever tell you I needed to discuss somethings with you and Tenten about the scroll?"

Neji shook his head, certain Lee never mentioned anything of the sort.

Sakura rolled her eyes as if this too didn't surprise her. "Figures. Although, to his credit you were being discharge and he was going on about visiting Tenten."

Neji blinked, trying to think past his nausea. "What about the scroll?"

He instantly noted how Sakura's demeanor turned serious. "Well, when you were hospitalized recently because of…Tenten predicament, I, uh, started looking into some of the medical books they use for our training, trying to find an answer, a way I could help. I stumbled upon something—I assume this is how Lady Tsunade heard from it in the first place, why she tasked you guys to retrieve it. I would like to go over it with you."

Neji felt his heart sinking with the possibilities of answers. He nodded in understanding. "You can fill Tenten and I later, when you discharged us."

"Okay," Sakura agreed, heading to the door once again. "Try not to get into any trouble until then, please."

But Neji managed to do just that an hour later when he reckoned he was stable enough to stand on his feet and head to the women's wing, thinking that Lee and Might Guy had greatly influenced his resolve and that Sakura had been dreadfully right about them all being the same after all.

Neji tried to act nonchalant as he slowly walked out of his room and into the hallway, tying not attract the attention of the nurses or the staff, but he found that they were all too distracted with the work load and incoming patients to pay him much mind. The fact helped him relax for the time being, easily finding Tenten with his Byakugan in a matter of minutes.

He knocked on the door to her room before going inside, quietly announcing himself. Tenten, who seemed to be on the brink of sleep when he walked in, groggily regarding him.

"Neji," she whispered in a single breath, looking exhausted. There were dark bags under her eyes, a bruise on her right check. Her hair, although pinned up like always, looked matted and greasy. She cleared her throat. "I was wondering where you were."

Neji made her way to her, dragging a chair from the corner of the room to her bedside, wondering if he looked worse for wear too. Probably. He just hadn't seen himself in the mirror yet. Although, he felt a little sore, he did not feel like he was on the verge of collapsing yet, which he credited to Sakura revealing she had information about the scroll. Dread and anticipation were the only things keeping him standing at that point.

"Are you alright?" Neji asked her, getting to the point of his visit quickly. "Did something happen? I had a problem breathing an hour ago and I assumed it was you."

Tenten smiled weakly, weaving her hand in dismissal. "It was nothing, I just got a little anxious is all."

"Hm," Neji said as he regarded her words, unsure if he should press the matter further. Sakura had told him as much earlier.

Silence fell as Neji pondered over what he should do next, looking at the ceiling for divine direction. He turned to her when he heard her yawn, Tenten's eyelids dropping with sleep. This only served to make Neji feel foolish for being there, for intruding. Why had he left his room in the first place? What did he plan to do? If Sakura caught him, she would be furious.

"I should go and let you rest."

This seemed to shake her from her dozing. She reached for his arm, stopping him even though he hadn't made any attempts at leaving just yet. Tenten gave him a pointed stare. "Stay. Please."

Neji nodded, watching as Tenten closed her eyes, a small smug smile on her lips. Her even breaths came seconds later, a clear sign that she had fallen asleep. He too was about to fall into oblivion, her hand still firmly gripping his arm, when Tenten gasped. He first registered the distress in the tone of her voice, then that his breathing and pulse were erratic—a reflection of hers. Much like how it was when he had woken up an hour ago.

He tried to loosen the death grip she had on his arms with his free hand as he said, "Breath, Tenten."

Tenten opened her eyes, seemingly realizing she had been sleeping. She wiped at the perspiration forming on her forehead.

"You're here," she said quietly, like she couldn't believe it.

Neji couldn't help looking at her amused if not slightly worried. "Well, you told me to stay."

Tenten shook her head, her eyes far way, sleep forgotten. Neji frowned in concern, squeezing the hand he tried prying off him seconds ago, trying to bring her back to the present.

She looked at him, wide eyes, appraising him like he was an apparition. "I thought you had died when that man set off the bomb. I thought you bumped your head so hard you died. It seems funny now in hindsight, considering everything."

"What do you mean?" Neji asked stupidly, though he could quickly infer that Tenten had not lost consciousness like he had after the explosion. For a moment he wondered why he thought they both did. It seemed silly to assume such a thing.

Tenten appeared to not hear his question as she went on, lost to a memory. "It never occurred to me that you couldn't be because I was still there. Even when I dragged your body to the hospital and begged them to save you, it didn't cross my mind. I must have looked crazy because Sakura had to sedate me. It didn't help. Every time I close my eyes, I just see your limp body on the floor."

"You carried me to the hospital?" He wondered how she was able to manage it, he was bigger than her.

This seemed to snap her out of her trance, making her smile sheepishly, like it was something to be embarrass about. "I ran into Sadara when I broke out of the trees and she helped me the rest of the way."

Neji took her words in, momentarily realizing that though Sadara seemed complaint at first, she had not done as she had agreed. Perhaps she hid someplace where he couldn't detect her, maybe that was what she was planning on doing all along. He sighed, telling himself that at the end of the day, he wasn't her sensei and he needn't worry about it. Yet, he couldn't help feeling angry at the thought.

"Was Boruto there?"

Tenten shook her head.

Neji relaxed for a reason unbeknownst to him. At least, hot headed as he was, his nephew had listened (although to be fair, he suspects that he wasn't clever enough to come up with the idea like Sadara). "Good."

"I still can't believe you aren't dead," Tenten whispered, voice hollowed again.

Neji felt like an open wound. Her words left him feeling bare and defenseless. Tenten had gone through two consecutive stressful events, one of which could be a direct result of his poor judgment, and he could see how they were taking their toll on her body and her mind. Yet, despite all of that, she never thought or put herself first.

"Try sleeping," Neji began, trying to make his voice soothing and calm, assuring. "I will stay awake and make sure nothing happens."

Tenten eyes got glassy, making her blink several times. She smiled for a nanosecond before getting serious. Neji doesn't know why he thought she would protest the offer, why he thought she would behave like he did when she had suggested the very same thing.

"Thank you," she said quietly, before closing her eyes.

The grip she had on his arm and hand loosened when she dozed off, her steady breathing filling in the room. Neji took that opportunity to remove arms and hand and shake them awake. They had grown numb under her tight hold, sharp stabbing going through them from the lack of movement. She must have found peaceful sleep now.

He thought he ought to return to his room, to wait be discharge there—to do all of this before Sakura noticed he was gone. But then he thought that he had told Tenten that he would stay, and that he should keep his word just like she kept hers—she had stayed up all those hours without rest while he slept.

Ironically, as he thought all of this, a wave of sleep fell over him then. Maybe it was do to the lack of rest and his injured body, or the silence and Tenten's peaceful slumbering presence, be it whatever the reason, Neji found himself placing his arms on the bed and resting his head on top of them like a pillow.

On the back of his head, he swore he still heard the shinobi's words again, the meaning behind what he said lost to him as darkness took over.

Neji wasn't sure how much time had passed before Sakura's reprimanding voice woke him up, "Again, why am I not surprised?"

"We need to talk to Lady Tsunade," Tenten said as she opened the door to her house, the first words she had spoken since being discharged from the hospital, since Sakura explained what she found in an old medical textbook, one they use when training medical-nin.

Yes, Tsunade. Neji was perplexed that it never occurred to him that the Godaime could help them out. She had been the one who gave them the mission in the first place. Basically, she was the one who inadvertently got them in this mess to begin with. It made perfect sense to go to her.

Neji nodded. Yes, that needed to be their next step.

"Okay," Tenten said in a this is settled kind of way. He was sort of amazed at how she seemed to take control of the situation so effortlessly when he was still processing everything Sakura had told them. When the words of the Feudal Lord still rang in his ears. "So, it's decided that that is what we need to do?"

He nodded again. "We can try to get in touch with her tomorrow, before she leaves the village."

There was a paused as Tenten looked at the ground. Neji could tell her mind was still in Sakura's office. His was too. "It's crazy, right?"

"I suppose it is." But Neji didn't think it was crazy at all. In a twisted way, it made perfect sense to him. "Well, goodnight, Tenten."

"Wait. Can't you stay for a while?" Tenten smiled in a pleading sort of way that he had not seen before.

Truth was, he didn't want to be with his thoughts alone tonight. Maybe that was why he conceded without much of an argument, his usual excuse of needing to leave early the only terms for him staying. It was late. They had been discharge in the evening and, though Sakura said that she needed to touch on what she found briefly because she was swamped with work, it took quite a few hours, departing from hospital when the moon was high in the sky.

Neji hadn't noticed how distracted he was until Tenten brought him a cup of tea. Usually, he was the one who made their drinks, not a fan of how she prepared or went about hers, but tonight his thoughts had consumed him greatly… He was left with no other choice but to drink hot water.

Neji had thanked her, and they had fallen into a quiet conversation about what Sakura told them. By the time they went over everything—especially getting in touch with Tsunade—Neji had deemed it a good enough time for him to leave. He needed to shower and change clothes, sleep, and rest (though those wouldn't come easy to him).

"I know you said you needed to leave early," Tenten started slowly, almost a whisper, "and maybe I am asking for too much… but would you stay until I fall asleep? Like you did in the hospital? I was able to rest well when you were there."

Neji did not understand how Tenten could ask this of him and look so unfazed, like she was talking about the weather or something unimportant, and here he was, feeling his ears prickle with heat. He wasn't the one who made such an outrageous request, why was he the one getting flustered?

"I, uh," Neji started, then stopped. Something in Tenten's eyes made him reconsider. He sighed. "Sure."

At first, he stood at the foot of the bed, watching over her while she tossed and turned. Tenten did that for a while until she looked at him and told him that she wouldn't be able to sleep if he loomed over her like that. After going back and forth about the matter, Neji gave in and laid on the edge of the bed. This seemed to stop her fidgeting. Some time most have passed, in which Neji assumed she had finally fallen asleep and was about to take off, when Tenten shifted again. Neji was about to chide her for it, but she was quicker to speak.

"Isn't it funny, the war is over."

Neji pondered over her words but didn't find sense in them. "How is it funny?"

"Last time we won a war, I lost my friend. Now another war is won, and I somehow got my friend back," Tenten said, voice thick with sleep. "Isn't that so odd?"

Neji didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought about it that way. He could only respond with, "Hm."

"I am so happy you didn't die in this one."

Soon after Neji heard Tenten's even breathing… and he didn't understand why, but he lifted his legs and laid on the bed, hands knotted on top of his chest in thought. He looked at the ceiling again, trying to find divine intervention. The reason as to why.

Neji started thinking about what the shinobi said, about everything being destined and how the Child of Prophesy was meant to save the world. He thought about his fight with Naruto many years ago and how he told him that he was able to choose his own path. And he did…or he thought he did. Neji wondered for a moment if Naruto ever thinks about those words, about how stupid they are when he put them in hindsight. Probably not.

Though he tried to avoid it at first, his thoughts kept wandering. Now he was thinking about what Sakura told them, about what he read, and he couldn't help feeling so helpless.

Why am I trying to fight something so undeniably unavoidable?

So Neji sighed, reaching for Tenten's hand. He briefly glanced at her to make sure he did not disturb her sleep, then he looked at the ceiling again. He slowly allowed himself to imagine what his life would have been if the dream he had had come true. If being like this had been his rightful place all along.

Neji fell asleep soon thereafter.

It's a dream, he told himself, but it helped naught. His unconscious mind was a labyrinth and he soon lost himself. He barely remembered his name by the time he found the exit.

Neji felt like he had asked something, important or trivial he couldn't tell. It didn't matter, though. He couldn't remember what it was at the moment, in spite of racking his brain for what felt like hours. He only knew he was waiting for an answer, expectation eating him whole. Aside from that, he was keenly aware that his eyes were close. For some reason that he couldn't fathom, they were. Yet, as he tried to make sense of things, he realized he wasn't afraid of not seeing. He knew he didn't need his eyesight for this.

Neji felt the whisper of her touch as it ran down his forehead and temples, around the angles of his jaw, stopping on the curve of his neck and shoulder. No, he didn't need his Byakugan to see the stars exploding and expanding on his skin, spreading like wildfire, burning everything in its path. It was like the birth of the universe. Her fingertips were the genesis of all things.

Her breath tickled his lips as she chuckled lightheartedly. If she were laughing at him, he wouldn't have cared. Neji would have laughed too, just so the sound could keep going and going, echoing forever.

"I think that somethings are just meant to be," Tenten said so quietly he might have thought she was miles away.

Before Neji could ask her what she meant by that, she kissed him. No, she didn't kiss him. It was more like a lamb pouncing on a lion, devouring him without a shred of remorse. The sad part—the miserable lion did nothing to stop the lamb. Rather he helped her in her efforts of gulping him down whole.

Neji felt her hand slip to the back of his neck then to the crown of his head, the other going down to his back, drawing herself closer and closer. He too felt his hands wander to her waist, pulling her to him until she was sitting on his lap.

If Neji had an ounce of dignity left in himself then, he might have felt besides himself. After all, what would someone say if they heard the unholy sounds she was slowly drawing out of him? He tried to concentrate on her earlier words as he attempted to stifle them down, to gather himself.

As he did, Neji remember what he had asked her.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Neji remembered he had not mentioned Sakura's discovery to Tenten until they were discharged, and the former member of Team 7 told them to follow her to her office so she could discuss her findings about the scroll. He had barely any time to prepare her before the pink-hair kunoichi cut to the chase.

"There is a lot of patients I still have to look at, so I want to make this brief," Sakura explained as she went to one of the bookcases and took out a worn looking book. She opened a page and offered it. Since Tenten hesitated, looking distraught, Neji took it. "There isn't research per se or a background on its history, just the handwritten logs of the Feudal Lord Shinko Lao-Yung, who was the one who created this jutsu after his wife, who he believed was his fated love, was killed in an invasion attempt."

"Wait," Tenten interrupted. "I thought the discovery was accidental."

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "The Feudal Lord's eldest son accidently discovered it years later, but only after his father had it was sealed away and ordered his people never to make mention of it. Lord Shinko thought the jutsu's could be too powerful in the wrong hands."

Then Sakura went into the details of how the Feudal Lord first tested his jutsu on dead animals in an unsuccessful matter and how, after failing time and time again, he decided that being linked corporally wasn't sufficient—there needed to be another element, something he was overlooking. She explained that Lord Shinko made the connection when he started testing with corpses and discovered that the chakra pathways were an unparallel asset for the jutsu to work. Yet, it wasn't enough still. These dead men and women were hollow shells, she told them, puppets. Mere things he could control, but they didn't have any consciousness or will of their own. They couldn't talk or feel or do much of anything without him guiding them.

"He understood what was missing when, deprived of sleep and mournfully grieving his companion, he decided to test his jutsu on the decaying corpse of his wife," Sakura said. By this time, she had taken a seat behind her desk. They too had sat down too.

Neji heard Tenten gasping in surprise or repulsion, he couldn't tell. His stomach turned with a wave unwellness. The book Sakura had handed him open on his lap on an entry that had done nothing but make the sensation in his stomach worse. He was glad he was sitting.

"Lord Shinko attempts were fruitful this time around. The jutsu worked," Sakura revealed. "His wife had finally returned to him."

"How?" Tenten asked, a delicate frown on her face. "Why was this time any different?"

Sakura looked at both their faces, like she was trying to assess them. She closed her eyes, sighed. Smiled. "He discovered that it wasn't enough to link a body to a body or to create one single chakra source, there also needed to be a bond, a purposeful tether, for the jutsu to work."

Neji and Tenten looked at each other briefly before breaking their gaze. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing, if she was reaching the same conclusions. Purpose taut to purpose.

"Oh," Tenten said like it had been obvious all along.

Then Sakura started describing some side effects the Feudal Lord had begun to document as soon as his wife returned. Some of which they already knew—the same injuries and chakra depletion—when Sakura had them go through various tests and when they trained.

"There isn't anything regarding the emotional or psychological side I was initially interested in," Sakura said disappointedly, "but he did mention how he and his wife suffered from night terrors, as well as having a hard time being oriented in time, place and person. Has that happened to you?"

Again, Neji and Tenten looked at each other. They nodded.

"Well, that is to be expected with the jutsu." She paused thoughtfully, making Neji and Tenten's attention rampant on her. As if she weren't serious enough, Sakura looked almost grave, like it was someone funeral. "I think Tsunade might have more answers than me, so I would recommend you go to her as well. There is a note on the book with her handwriting. Actually, I think you have it open on that page, Neji."

Yes, Neji was seeing it. In fact, he had already seen it. He had read it a few times while she had explained anything. It was just one word and a question mark. Undo?

"I think she might have figured a way to undo the jutsu," Sakura muttered.

She might have, Neji figured. If Lady Tsunade knew other people were interested in the scroll, if their enemies could bring back whoever they wanted from the dead, she would have to be thinking of a backup plan. A way to stop them, an escape. She was smart enough to figure it out. Maybe she did figure it out.

Neji heard Tenten breath in sharply. He could feel Sakura's stare on him, as he looked down at the book. Yet, he was no longer looking at the scribbled word of the Godaime. That had not been what had caught his attention for what seemed hours now.

No, Neji was focused on one of the Feudal Lords entries located in that very same page.

Many do not believe in destiny because they want to feel in control, their lack of power over the smallest things guiding their belief. To summarize because they are fools. I do believe in destiny, that everything that has happened, is happening and will happen has been determined beforehand by forces we cannot grasp or begin to comprehend. Much like I believe we are destined, my dear. That is why I am doing all of this, because such matters should not be trotted through so lightly. I am aware we will find each other again in another life, but I am unsatisfied with how this one ended. So here I am, doing things that no man should ever attempt to do.

Some might argue and say, "Does this not prove that you do not believe in what you say?" All of this because I am going against nature itself, against time—a linear unwavering thing. That I seek to control that which I have no command over. But I do not think that is the case at all. For I was meant to lose you all this time, just like I was meant to find you again.

A/N: Hey, guys. Thanks for reading this long update. I knew it was a lot, but to be honest (and I know I have said this before uploading a separate Nejiten *which you should totally check out* one-shot and this update) I don't think I will be able to update soon (this is my last week of vacation before university). If there are mistakes, please let me know. Last time I wrote wedding wrong and I went and fixed it (thank you, hannahzerofive, for letting me know). I have had a hard time writing this because I had a mini crisis where I hated the story. I thought it didn't make sense and the drive behind the characters was nonsensical. I went over the chapters and outlined everything on my notebook. I worked really hard on making everything come full circle and explain things that have not been touched on (thus why it was so long). It would have been longer, I had initially wanted to put their talk with Tsunade in but thought it would have to do for the next update. I really wanted to explore the hypocrisy in Naruto and how, although he went on and on in Part I about choosing your own path, he was a freaking prophesied god-like superhero. Neji had been right all along (there are a lot of You Tube videos that touch upon this). So that is the drive for my story. Please tell me your thoughts on the review sections. Your reviews literally help me so much, they encourage me and make me put things about the story in perspective.

Like always, thank you, hannahzerofive and Kmy068, for always reviewing and constantly showing support for the story. Thank you, Carola, for your encouraging words. I was literally having my crisis when I read your comment and it made me feel like I was stressing over nothing. Thank you Sisi and the other Guests who commented (please leave your names so I can properly thank you).

I am thinking there might be two more chapters before this story is done. I want to do an epilogue too, so three?

Also, please let me know if I am writing some of the ninja terminology wrong (I keep referring to things as jutsu, but don't categorize them—I know there are different kids). Also, let me know if you think some thing went untouched or does not make sense and I will try to address it or fix it. I really want everyone to enjoy the story.

See you on the next update!