Oh, my GOD. It's been…almost a year since I last updated. Thanks to moonshinelily, I got interested to continue this. :))

And since this is a chance to update I don't want to miss, here it is.

Enjoy! ^_^

ON WITH IT!

"talking"

Self-narrating

Thoughts

Inner self

Of Love, Friendship, and Betrayal

Chapter 3-Nightmare

-Recap-

"What are those?"

"What?"

"Red marks. Your neck."

"Oh. This?" She laughed sheepishly. "I scratched it earlier. Itchy. So it left marks."

"Hn."

"Bye."

I nodded.

-Tenten's POV-

Whew! I thought I was going to get caught!

I entered my house and felt Neji's eyes tearing at my back.

I closed the door. I felt his presence. Then from the far corner, I heard a low, dark chuckle.

And then he disappeared.

-End of recap-

-Tenten's POV-

I walked into my room and pulled back the curtains. I watched the surroundings. I stared at the moon as I pondered on what to do and what might possibly happen.

What will I really do? If I accepted his first offer, well… I don't even know if I can still bear to move in that hell. I've already suffered a lot! All those missions…

I shivered at the thought.

If it's to pay with my friends' lives… NO! I cannot let that happen. I can't lose them. They are my family! The family I only have left! What… what am I supposed to do?

Tears started to gather on the corners of my eyes. I didn't notice when they fell.

I closed the curtains and went to bed.

There are houses everywhere, and they are burning. All of them. All except for one house with a silhouette of a man inside. Without thinking, I rushed to that house, and ran as fast as my feet could carry me. But as I run towards it, it keeps getting farther. I tried to catch up with it. Confused, I looked at the silhouette. Never did it move. Never did it seem to feel my presence. Never did I feel it look at me.

And suddenly, without warning, it moved and in its hand, a dagger shone. Never did I know how, as it should be a silhouette, too. Then it was too late when I realized than it was aimed at me. The dagger sank deep in my shoulder, and I doubled over in pain. I gasped for breath, and looked back at the silhouette. It was gone.

I pulled the dagger from my shoulder, my whole body shaking. I tore at the hem of my shirt and wrapped the cloth around my bleeding shoulder and then I tossed the dagger to the side. I tried once more to run towards the house, and at last, I reached the door.

Carefully pushing the door open, I peeked inside. It was dark, but a candle illuminated the room inside. The walls are spluttered with blood and gore. My eyes immediately wavered to the floor.

I gasped at the sight.

There, on the middle of the room, piles of bodies are present. Dead bodies. Corpses of my friends. Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba, Chouji, Shino, and Naruto. Even Akamaru was dead. All staring at the ceiling with their lifeless eyes. All covered with their own blood.

I noticed a movement on the corner of my eye. I saw another shape of a man barely breathing. I inched my way towards the man, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

IT WAS NEJI!

But he has no wounds, none at all.

"N...Neji…"

I saw him struggle to look at me.

"T…Ten…"

His face twisted in pain and agony, and he clutched at his side. I looked over at the wound he's touching.

Disbelief crawled behind my mind. A dagger, similar to what I encountered earlier, is buried in his side. A mere dagger, and it has the ability to almost kill him with a single blow?! Who was that man who owns that dagger?!

And suddenly, he convulsed. Horror enveloped me. I don't know what to do.

"NEJI!!!"

I tore more cloth from my blouse, pulled the dagger, and wrapped the cloth around his waist. His bleeding side drenched the cloth just as I finished.

And then, he stopped convulsing. He reached out for my face, and cupped my cheek with his hand covered in his blood.

I held his hand.

"Tenten… I'm sorry…"

And then he smiled at me, a sad smile that only I will ever see.

And then his hand went limp and he died.

He's gone.

Gone!

GONE FOREVER!

More tears rolled at my cheeks and fell to Neji's arm. I touched his blood and lined my eyes with the red liquid, eager to avenge him and all my friends.

And as I was standing, a kunai flew to me, striking me in the heart. Directly. I fell on top of Neji, and there was nothing else I felt, but pain.

Pain in my body and soul.

I woke up with a scream ringing in my lips. Sweat covered my whole body. I looked at the clock, and it read 3:12 A.M.

"What happened?"

I jumped up in surprise and pulled the kunai under my bed and moved into a defensive pose as I felt someone pinning me down. I relaxed bit by bit as I looked into the pearly orbs of the person. Neji.

And then I tensed up again as I remembered what happened in my dream.

"Neji, are you okay? Are you hurt? What about your wound?" I frantically asked.

He looked at me with a blank expression. That is, before he let his eyebrows meet.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I…I'm sorry. It was just a dream. Anyway, why are you here?"

"You were screaming all the while," he lifted his weight off my body, "and you were shaking wildly."

"I was?"

He nodded once.

"I used the spare key you gave me," he said.

I smiled at him. I gave him that key because I trust him, of course.

"Care for some tea?" I asked.

"You stay here, I'll make it for you."

"Thanks," and I smiled at him again before he left my room.

Um..so that's pretty much the end of this chapter. Haha. Hey, it's longer than the previous ones! XD

Please review! I'd love you! ^_~

kunoichi-ten