It was a few months after they had got married. A year and a half since they had been engaged and Tenten in her chunk of the complex was sitting and reading mail. The wedding had been open to the public in the largest field in Konoha. They had arranged it that way as to accommodate the Hyuuga Clan. It was traditional all Hyuugas show up to the wedding. Hinata and Naruto had been their witnesses. Hinata was always close to Tenten and Neji had asked Naruto since he had taught him the meaning of friends and people in Neji's life.
Tenten wore a very beautiful but simple white kimono. Hinata and Naruto wore blue. It was a beautiful spring day and it was wonderful out. Everyone was happy and they received lots of great gifts from everyone. Tenten moved out of her apartment and they were given a new suite at the Hyuuga Complex.
She was in their suite in the small kitchenette opening mail. The letter was addressed to "Mrs. Neji Hyuuga" which she had gotten used to but inside it was different. It simply said Tenten (Aimi).
I saw you at your wedding. I sent you a gift as well in secret. I thought it was only appropriate like this. I'm not supposed to be in contact with you. I'm very happy about your marriage. The moment I saw him following you around I knew it. His focus to find you so that he followed you on that mission was shocking. I haven't seen someone so dedicated in a long time. Especially for someone who was at the time only a friend. I am very happy you found love and that you learned a lot. I have heard that you have become a much stronger ninja since our time and I'm proud of you. I hope that you have a long and happy life with Neji. He seems like a great guy. He can be odd and silent but I'm sure you're aware of that. Things are well with us and I am happy that no one ever came after you. I can only wish that you always slept well and were confident you were fine. I wish I could have been there to help you but she made a decree, you know how those things are. Remember that all the rules can serve you well, except for rule 5. I know that was hard for you and it never served you well. You were greater than anyone could be because you were at heart a ninja. I can only thank you for completing that mission. That was the last mission I ever intended. I am retired and focus on only teaching. It's hard to teach sometimes because I know I will never have anyone as great as you but I try. You were special. Love and happiness to you and your husband. This is the last time we will ever communicate but know I'll be there for you even if you don't know.
With all my love,
~Mika Anbuki
PS: Rule 5 is the only rule I ever made. It saves lives, but it has always been regrettable in that it is the rule that many cannot follow and we loose many good kunoichi this way. It is better than they go if they cannot then for you cannot live two lives. You may live none.
Neji walked up behind her. He knew better than to use Byakugan on or around her when they weren't training. She had already folded up the letter and shoved it in her pocket. "What's that?"
She looked up at him. He stood behind her chair. "Mika, who you know as Nali, she sent me a letter as our final correspondence. She felt that our goodbye wasn't proper enough. I'd write her a thank you letter but she wouldn't get it. She apparently sent us a gift."
"Interesting…" Neji responded. "How are you today?"
"Great! Ready to spar?"
"Of course," he answered wondering why she would ask.
"Let's go!" She grabbed her bag off the table and ran out, pulling him behind her.
Tenten and Neji were inseperable. They went on all kinds of missions together. It took a lot of arguing and convincing to get one of them to go on a mission without the other. Tenten did go on kunoichi missions but she took Neji with her. He refused to let her go alone. He kept his distance and made sure that everything was done cleanly so it couldn't be traced back to them. She followed all the other rules to keep herself safe. She did sleep well, if not just for having Neji there with her.
Eventually they found out that their friends had been spying on their date and explained that they guessed on everything else which is why Lee thought she would give up being a ninja. They were very happy to hear that she wasn't giving up. They all apologized especially Kiba and Hinata who had given them the visual/audible clues.
Tenten and Neji trained daily with Lee and Gai-sensei and they developed a style of their own for pair fighting. Neji would go up to them and Tenten would go at a distance while defending his blind spot from enemies. They became an unstoppable team and started to train other people to do the same.
Neji was never very liked by the Hyuugas until Hinata became head. She made him her advisor for the branch which improved circumstances drastically. Tenten had taught Hinata how to better use her flexibility and to use fans to create a modified style which made Hinata a lot stronger allowing her to defeat her sister and father for the position of head.
Naruto eventually realized Hinata's feelings from him (with lots of help from Tenten and Neji) and they began to date. He became hokage about the time she became head. They were both very young for it. Naruto made new rules for clans and it allowed for the branch to be demolished and they became one big family. Hinata's help with this brought her closer to Naruto and they eventually got married.
Lee and Gai-sensei continued on being close and found more and more ninjas who tended strongly toward Tai-jutsu to take on and make them very strong. They started a school to help those kids as well as to improve basic ninja skills. They're exciting enthusiastic attitude was great for working with young kids. Thankfully the kids didn't turn out to be Gai/Lee Twins.
Nali eventually broke apart from the other kunoichi's and started her own group based on the prinicpals that she had seen Tenten use successfully. She encouraged them to join the other group when they were older but also told them that it was possible for them to do it alone if they had strong enough ties. She stressed her own life story as a warning for them.
Since she had broken away from them she got back into contact with Tenten. They corresponded regularly and Tenten often helped out Nali's group. They would have meals together and talk about life. Nali never remarried or had kids again but she was satisfied with how her life had become. She was happy that Tenten's life had not turned out the same.
Tenten and Neji eventually had kids, two boys and a girl. They all were very gifted with the byakugan but their girl was also talented as a weapon's mistress so she was top of her class. She was a master of close and distance range attacks, even adapting at her mom's unique skills.
Life was long and happy for Tenten and Neji. Tenten never wondered if she had made the right decisions. She knew that Rule 5 was not for her, the fact she could convince the one who installed it marked the fact. Ninja friends made you stronger. They provided encouragement and sometimes backup. Thanks to Tenten, Kunoichi everwhere began to not take everything on individually but to make friends to watch their back. Even the original kunoichi group started to send out two women on missions to ensure the other's safety. It promoted safety, strength and friendship within the group.
Tenten and Neji had an interesting life. They had met as children because he had wondered off, been teamed up as genin and worked together for many years despite being different ranks and one day they got married and had a life together. The story of weird-eyed ninja who chased poor defenseless women was also never forgotten. Rule 5 though was forgotten. For ninja are good friends, good people and are people who you can trust and love. This is why Tenten hates rule 5.
Author Note:
Thank you all for reading. I encourage you to review. Please read my other stories. I have many with this pairing and others as well as many for different animes and shows. Have Fun.
~Anieca Sophistica~