My grandfather doesn't seem to be improving, nor does it seem like his condition is treatable. The vacation is off for now, and my dad wasn't home on the 4th of July :/ So I'm kinda a wreck right now. Like last chapter, I apologize for any quality drop. I have decided, however, that continuing this fic helps me out a lot. So despite what's going on, I will post as often as I can 8)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I also do not own any people/things/companies mentioned anywhere in this fic.

After Saturday passed, life settled down for Tenten. Of this she was partly relieved. Her world hadn't turned allthe way upside down. But a certain part of her, and she wasn't sure how big that part was, longed for the drama she had lacked the previous fifteen years of her life. It was almost like she was finally living, becoming more of a somebody.

Sakura had called Tenten Sunday night (another routine they had) to discuss their weekends, their plans for the next week, and what they (mostly Sakura) were going to wear on Monday. And as usual, Tenten mostly responded with 'yeahs' and 'mhmms'. Life was easier that way when dealing with Sakura.

"…so then I was like, 'you know what, hun? I'd rather eat watch The Wiggles than see that movie with you'. Hey Tenten? Are you listening? ….Tenten? Tennntennn! TENTEN!"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah," Tenten finally responded, having lost herself after drowning in Sakura's 'he said, she said' stories.

"Did you hear a thing I just said?!"

"…No. Are you really surprised though?"

Sakura sighed. "Guess not. Sooo…whatever happened to that brat after we left the mall? Did you tie her to a pole and shove lima beans down her throat?" Tenten wasn't there but she'd bet fifty dollars that she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Sadly, no. I leashed her and gave her more video games. Unlike you I have neighbors. A hundred of them. That girl could probably scream her head off and I'd have the authorities at my door in a matter of seconds"

"I see…so did you get to see Neji?" The upward inflection in her tone couldn't be missed. She was obviously extremely curious as to what had been going on between the two people. Tenten wondered if Sakura was suspecting some secret relationship.

"Uhm…no...yes" she sighed. You couldn't lie to someone like her. Though she wasn't a very good liar, period.

Sakura squealed on the other end. "So what happened?! Did you kiss? Oh my god! Did I lose already?! Do I seriously have to date Lee? I was just starting to make progress on Sasuke!"

"Sakura! Shut up for a second! No, we didn't kiss. It's not…like that," Tenten couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. "He came to pick up Hanabi at my place and he treated me to Ramen for all the hell I went through with her. It wasn't a date or anything. He was pretty composed the whole time"

"…I'm sorry, Tenten. That's from a friend. But from someone whose reputation is on the line with this bet, I've got to say I'm glad. No offense"

The rest of the conversation included Sakura's detailed accounts of all the time she had spent with Sasuke since they received their project, and a rather heated self debate over what color blouse would look good with a pink skirt. Tenten didn't hear a word of it.

"Sakura, if I don't want to look like a zombie tomorrow, I've got to go to bed. Just go with the green top. Wear orange and you'll look like a Starburst. Night"

She hung up the phone before her friend could distract her with another useless topic , then turned the lights off and fell asleep.

It was dark. So dark. Tenten wandered forward, arms held out tentatively to feel around. There was nothing.

Suddenly the darkness lightened and she found herself outside a hut. Her home…her old home. The house they lived in before her parents died and she moved to Konoha to live with her aunt. The stream was there, and the clothesline, and the apple tree. It was all there, just like beforeBefore everything went wrong.

Tenten wandered forward, afraid. She was somehow aware that she had seen this so many times before in her mind. She somehow knew this was that same nightmare that haunted her. She wanted to turn and run but was drawn into the doorway without a choice

The house was dark. There was no movement inside, no laughing or boiling pots like Tenten remembered from her childhood. No smiles existed, no mouth-watering aromas drifted about. It was silent except for a white sheet flapping eerily on the clothesline. Tenten's hands gripped the doorway, shaking. She didn't want to go in. She didn't want to…

And then he was there. Neji was sitting at her crudely carved kitchen table, turned towards her. His face was smiling and he beckoned her with a hand. Oh how she wanted to go to him. She wanted to stroke that face more than anything. He looked so beautiful with that smile. There was no way that this was a nightmare…no way.

She took deliberately slow steps, still so cautious. There was this feeling she couldn't shake, like something was terribly wrong. And then Neji was before her, somehow even more glorious in her dreams than in real life. She wanted to run into his arms, and would have, but her feet wouldn't budge. Tenten looked down at her feet, pulling urgently on her right leg. It was as though she was glued to the floor. She pulled harder on both legs, nearly crying in frustration. Why couldn't she go to Neji? When she looked back up at him, she found he wastowering over her. Had he grown? No. That couldn't be it…

Tenten held her hands in front of her face. They were small. Her feet were small. She was small. Her age had returned to when her parents died, to when she still lived in this home. She was no bigger than a toddler, yet was still as intelligent as a teenager, fully comprehending the circumstances.

Shocked, she opened her mouth to ask Neji if he knew what was going on. He wasn't there…No. Neji was gone. In his place was her mother.

Her face was hollow, as if she had received no sleep and hadn't eaten in weeks. This was not her mother. Her mother had a full face, like Tenten. A face that blushed and showed dimples when she smiled. But this mother didn't smile. Her mouth was frowning, lips chapped and dried blood caked on her lower lip. Her mouth opened briefly, but only a strangled empty sound came out. The blood in Tenten's veins chilled at this sound. Her body trembled violently. She wanted to run but was just as immobile as before. She couldn't break away from those eyes…those horrible eyes. Those were not her mother's beautiful brown eyes that sparkled and laughed when she wove nighttime stories or received a present from Tenten. No. Those were dull eyes, empty eyes, sorrowful eyes, sick eyes…They were sunken in her face and set within a mountain of purple sags. Tenten wanted to scream, but she couldn't.

"Tenten," her mother rasped. "Why did you let us die? Why couldn't you help us? Help us Tenten! Help us!"

"No!" Tenen managed to cry out. "No nononono! I…I tried to. I tried! Please believe me mother! I miss you..so much!!" Tears flew as she shook her head fiercely from side to side. "I didn't want you to die!"

"It's all your fault, Tenten. All your fault…all your fault. It's because of you we're dead. We loved you Tenten, and you let us die. It's all your fault"

"NO! It's not my fault, it's not! It can't be!"

Tenten jerked up in bed, screaming, tears flowing freely down her face. "NO! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

Suddenly she was aware of her surroundings and opened her eyes. She looked around her and only saw her room. There was no Neji. Her mother wasn't there. Neither was her home. And yet, Tenten couldn't stop shaking. She looked down at her hands, eyes still wide and wet with tears. She fell back against her pillow and sobbed.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered, pained. "I couldn't do anything for you. And for that, I'm sorry…"

When her sobs subsided, Tenten wiped her face across her sleeve and rose from bed. Her feet dangled across the side as she sat on the edge, gazing out the window. There was the same moon she had seen last night with Neji. Yet it wasn't nearly as beautiful as it was then…

Sliding the window open, she jumped to the ground (which is easy for a kunoichi) and onto the grass. She hadn't bothered to change from her pajamas, instead concluding that a black sports bra and grey sweatpants, though revealing, weren't exactly as bad as Blues Clues footie pajamas. And after all the times she left at night, she had learned that no one was out at two am.

Her feet padded softly against the sidewalk as she headed south. There was something creepy about the nighttime silence, yet strangely peaceful and comforting. Being outside in reality helped her cope with her nightmares, though the image of her mom was stuck in her head. It wasn't the first time she had appeared like that, but every time it hit her just as hard. But the words hurt the most…it hurt knowing deep inside there was possibly truth to those horrible words.

Grass crunched beneath her feet and branches snapped before her. There was no need for stealth skills when out like this. All she wanted now was to be alone at her spot. But when she pushed aside a final branch, she found that someone was already up on her hill, head tilted upwards towards the moon. She stood perfectly still, shocked, unconsciously letting the branch swung back. Hearing the noise, the person's head turned.

She had somehow known even before the head turned who it was. Only one person knew of her spot. Yet it was the fact that he was there that surprised her the most. Had he come there in hopes of seeing her? Did he have a bad dream, too? Both seemed so unlikely. So why…?

"Hello," he said. Other than his lips, no part of him moved. His face was calm, as usual. He wasn't smiling like in her dream.

Suddenly Tenten blushed fiercely, realized what she was wearing. If she had known he was going to be there, she would've dug out those Victoria's Secret silk pjs her aunt had given her along with the makeup kit. Instead she was out here in a bra and some sweats. Lovely…

"I didn't know you were going to seriously come here," she mumbled accusingly, finally moving from her spot and walking up the hill. She set cross legged a few feet from Neji (wanting to give him as much space as possible), then looked up at the sky. Even if the prodigy was here, she couldn't let him distract her from her purpose. This was her time.

"I couldn't sleep and remembered what you said," was his excuse. He paused, following her stare upwards. "I can see why you come here…"

"Yea," she sighed, flopping down on her back. "It's so unreal here. Almost like being in a dream. Though I don't have many of those. Usually it's just nightmares or nothing at all. This is the closest thing I get to having one"

"Did you," he asked, almost hesitantly, "have one of those tonight? A nightmare, I mean" Tenten was silent. She closed her eyes and exhaled. For a moment he wondered if he had asked something too personal.

"It was of her…" she whispered. "It's always of her, and sometimes him. And it's always there. The nightmare is always the same. Yet…it hits me just as hard as the very first time. It's like reliving that horrible thing over and over, but somehow worse. It wasn't bad enough to go through it once. No. I have to go through it almost every day of my life. Sometimes I hate falling asleep, just because I know they'll be there. It's like, even though they're gone, they're not. They still talk to me. And the things they say hurt more than anything"

"They? She? Him? There?" he questioned, confused, yet somehow understanding.

"My mom. My dad. Mostly my mom, like I said. And our old house. We lived in the country, just us. My dad usually worked in the fields and I helped my mom with chores. You couldn't begin to understand how much I loved my mom. She was so gorgeous and friendly. Her warmness was like a disease- it spread to everyone. She could make anyone happy with that smile and laugh of hers. I admired her so much. I always wished I could be as beautiful and wonderful as her. I have her eyes, but that's about it. I have too much of my dad in me…" she sighed, saddened by the memories.

"They became deathly ill when I was small. We lived far away from town, too far for me to go on my own. It wasn't safe for me, though I wanted to go so badly. I hated to see my mom like that. Stuck in bed…pale…coughing up blood and shaking violently no matter how many blankets I put on her. My dad wasn't much better. They tried to make me stay away up to the very last minute, fearing for my life as well. They died within a week, only a few hours apart. I spent three days straight crying. I've never felt as alone as I did then. It's a feeling I'll never forget, losing them like that. And they always come back in my dreams, blaming me for their deaths. They tell me it's my fault. It's my fault they're dead. Some part of me believes them…some part of me knows they're right…" Tenten choked, blinking to hold back tears.

"But it's not your fault," he insisted quietly. "What could you have done at such an age?"

"Logically, nothing. Yet if I had known what hell I would go through after that, I would've done something, even if I got eaten by a bear trying to do it. Sometimes I wish I had died, too. I think that God just kept me alive to let me suffer more" she said bitterly.

His eyes watched her carefully, his mouth pulled thin. He didn't say anything more. Silence fell over them and stayed for over any hour, yet Neji never stopped watching her. Tenten's eyes remained closed and her chest rose up and down in a slow, even motion. Several times Neji wondered if she had fallen asleep, but each time her hands moved or she started humming and reassured him that she hadn't.

About two hours later, Tenten stood, wiping grass blades off her pants. Neji kept sitting.

"I think I've got to go," she said quietly, "but thanks…thanks for listening. I've never really told anyone all of that. Even Sakura. It helped. So…thanks" He nodded.

She began to walk off back into the trees when Neji called out to her.

"Tenten?"

God. He seemed to love to do that. Couldn't he just say what he wanted to say when she was there and not…leaving?

"What?"

"Nice top," he snickered. Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure you've seen better"

Ooh. More slight fluffiness…ruined by more insults. Yay! xDDD I'm sorry if this seems a bit dragged out, but I'm only planning on writing about four more chapters (five at the max). Those will obviously be the best chapters with much more action, so I should be more motivated to get those out sooner. 8)

And we all know Neji didn't mean that last comment. He's a pervert at heart ;) I'm sure he was staring at more than just her face (lmao. I was totally thinking that the whole time. Maybe I'm the pervert xDD)

Lastly, I want to wish Neji a happy birthday! It was actually yesterday (the 3rd), but I forgot to add that there at the end on the previous chapter. Ooops. ;)