A/N: Once again thanks to the readers who reviewed my chappie 4! Thanks to fellow readers also, though I'd be way happier if you all would just leave a tiny, tiny review…. (pouts)….
-[To Love Or Not To Love?-
Could it be? He tried to calm himself down by taking deep breaths but what he is seeing is too shocking, maybe it's not Tenten and Neji-sama hugging each other. Eri was staring from the kitchen, half revealed from the door and half hiding behind the wall. Gosh, who am I kidding? I can recognize Tenten anywhere. He fixed his eyes on the Hyuga as the couple released from their extensive embrace. Eri was panicking in his mind now. No one can take Tenten away from him and yet his rival is Hyuga Neji, the prodigy, and one of his masters. It was then when the black haired boy thought of an idea, someone will and can stop them from staying together…Hiashi-sama.
Tenten let go of Neji's warm, cozy hug and stood up, "I better leave now." She stammered a little and her eyes darted from the pavement to the Hyuga. Neji only managed to give a slight nod, with his cheeks still blushing.
"I'll see you." He mumbled and Tenten couldn't help but smile.
Kiba and Naruto were standing beside the table, where Hinata and her father, Hiashi were leisuring at. It was awfully quiet in the room and Naruto couldn't resist fidgeting a bit. Kiba gave Naruto a small nudge on the ribs when Hiashi noticed.
"Father, would you like some…" Suddenly someone knocked on their door. The heiress didn't even finish her sentence. "Tanaka Eri-san?" Hinata wondered questionably and saw Eri's face all reddened from his sprint.
"Hiashi-sama," He gasped and wiped away the sweat on his face with the back of his hand, "I saw something very disturbing." He marked the words with distaste.
Looking up, Hiashi asked, "What is it?" There was a force that tried to tell Eri not to say it but still, he did.
"Neji-sama, he is in love with a servant." He blurted as everyone's eyes widened with astonishment. Hiashi's eyebrows scrunched up. "It's Tenten-san. I saw it with my own eyes!" Hinata's heart suddenly beated a million times faster than usual. There was a mere silence as Hiashi slowly digested what Eri had just reported. It was so quiet that Hinata thought that her bodyguards would be close enough to hear her heartbeats.
"Are you sure?" Hiashi inquired carefully. "Are you sure it was Neji." Eri nodded assuringly. "What were they doing?!" Everyone flinched a little when they heard how his tension grew. He was definitely angry.
"They were..uh…embracing each other." Eri said a little awkwardly. Immediately, Hinata budged in to defend Neji and Tenten.
"You must have mistaken Neji nii…." A loud 'thump' on the table was heard and Hinata spun around to see her father pounding on it. This was not looking too well.
"I…I…what will I do with her. That Tenten…and that boy…" The clan leader hollered. Hinata soothed his back and attempted to relax her father but it hadn't work. "I must find a way to make Neji leave her." He told Hinata and the girl bit her lip with anxiety. Eri could only give a slight sneer.
"You may leave now, Eri." Hiashi ordered as his hands shook with irritation when he drank his tea. The black haired boy gave a slight nod and bowed to leave.
"Father, I…." Once again, Hinata tried to tell her father about her opinions but Hiashi shooed her away.
"You can go too, Hinata. I need to think alone." Without another sound, Hinata hesistated a bow and left with her guards.
"Oh, what should I do?" The heiress was now pacing around her garden as she thought about what just occurred. Her guards could only heave a sigh. "Neji nii-san and Tenten is going to be in big trouble." She continued murmuring to herself.
"If I may suggest, Hinata-sama," Naruto said and the heiress darted her eyes to him. He stepped forward, "I think you should warn Neji-sama and Tenten first."
"Whoa, did Naruto just say something useful?" Kiba blurted. Hinata grinned satisfyingly at Naruto's suggestion and agreed.
"Then you should start from there." Naruto beamed and stepped back beside Kiba's position.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun." The heiress then turned to Kiba, "Kiba, can you inform Tenten?" The Inuzuka nodded as Akamaru barked happily. "Then I'll tell Neji nii-san and all will be set."
Tenten was joyously humming her favourite songs as she was treasuring her free time to clean her room. Neji-sama hugged me, she thought as she tranced out back to the moment where the romance began. She couldn't help but giggle a little. Abruptly, Kiba arrived, hitting on Tenten's door. Happily, she skipped a step or two (because her room was very tiny) and opened it.
"Oh, it's Kiba-kun!" She was so excited that she added 'kun' at the end of Kiba's name and she didn't even notice. She was just about to give the dog a big hug when Akamaru barked continuously and Kiba shook his head in disappointment.
"Why are you so happy?!" He shook Tenten by her shoulders and she laughed.
"Because…" Her voice trailed off and then blurted, "I can't tell you!" Again, she chuckled.
"Hiashi knows about you and Neji-sama!" Kiba yelled, "He's finding a way to separate you two!" He warned. Tenten turned around and gave a serious gaze to the Inuzuka. Her eyes squinted a little.
"What?" She cried. Tenten couldn't believe it. "That's not true! Who told them? How did you know?" She demanded and this time, it was she who shook Kiba by the shoulders.
"That guy, Eri reported to Hiashi-sama just now." He explained as Tenten's mouth dropped wide open. "And Hiashi-sama mentioned something about 'getting Neji away from her'" He pointed his index finger at Tenten's forehead and said with force, "WHICH.MEANS.YOU."
Soon enough, Tenten snapped out of it and she was about to dash out of her room, until Kiba pulled on her arm.
"Hinata-sama will inform Neji-sama. Don't worry." He paused and tugged onto her arms a bit tighter, "What I'm worried is if you'll be able to stay in the Hyuga compound. Don't you remember about yesterday?" His tone sounded severe now and Tenten agreed slightly. Of course she remembered what happened yesterday, the kneeling for 12 hours will never escape her memories, ever.
"For now, you will wait until Hiashi-sama reveals what's up his sleeve." The Inuzuka verified, "Whatever your decisions are Tenten… Naruto, Hinata-sama and I will always support you." Tenten then received a playful punch from Kiba and she grinned uncertainly.
The brightly lit stars piled in the evening skies as the night had already fall across the compound. Tenten was still worried, for sure. Yet, she trusted her friends, and Neji, most importantly. It was then when she noticed that someone was knocking on her door. She didn't even want to know who it was, until an oh-so familiar voice filled her ears.
Gradually, Tenten opened the door and saw Neji grinning at her happily. Next thing she knew, she was grabbed out of her room. The Hyuga dragged the brown haired girl out of the compound and onto the peak of the hill.
"I want to bring you to see the stars, Tenten." His voice sounded so heartwarming; still, Tenten didn't want to respond. "What's the matter?" Neji asked.
"I don't think we should be together anymore," Tenten turned away uncomfortably, but Neji wrapped his arms around her waist. "Let go, Neji-sama." She whispered into the thin air.
"Are you afraid of Hiashi-sama?" He asked her in a concern tone and she shook her head in refusal. "Then what are you scared of?"
"I'm…I'm so scared that…that you'll be sent away somewhere." She choked from her tears, "I'd rather be friends with you, to see you everyday, than be lovers that are destined to be separated from plain distance." She put it into simple words, yet it still sunk deeply into Neji's heart. He brought Tenten into a tight embrace and soothed her back gently.
"I'll always be here, Tenten." He paused and gazed into her sorrowful eyes, "I love you, I will for eternity. I love you wherever I am and whenever I am. Nothing will be able to break our love apart." Neji kissed her on the cheeks tenderly and Tenten snuggled onto his shoulder as more tears fell. The couple stood there without another sound, under the starry night, as they continued to hold each other.