Chapter Six:
Safe and Sound
The mission, in short, was a failure. Sasuke got away and ran to the evil clutches of Orochimaru. Neji was in critical condition and was in need of emergency surgery once he got back. Tenten had heard the news of the team's return and made her way to the hospital.
As she made her way in, she ran into Shikamaru, who had just finished visiting with his teammates who were allowed visitors. "Shikamaru!" she called out as she ran over to him. "How did it go?" she asked. Shikamaru frowned. "Not good." he said quietly. Tenten frowned. "How's everyone... and how's..." She began tearing up. Shikamaru sighed. "Neji is in critical condition," he said softly, "but he just got out of surgery. Everyone's safe and that's all that matters." Tenten impulsively hugged him. "Thank you." she said quietly. Tenten sat outside of Neji's hospital room until he was finally able to see visitors. She quietly walked into the room and placed a bouquet of daisies on the night stand next to his bed. She sat down by his bedside until he woke up.
It was the middle of the night when he finally regained consciousness. He winced in pain and saw Tenten sleeping by his bedside. Her hair was down and she was swimming in an oversized sweater. "Tenten," he muttered. Her hand slipped from under her and she woke up. She looked over at him surprised. "Neji," she said softly, "I thought you were..." Neji smirked. "Well, I promised, didn't I?" Tenten smiled as tears welled up in her eyes. He weakly lifted his hand and wrapped his pinky around hers. Tenten broke down crying. "Why are you crying?" Neji said as he held her hand. Tenten wiped her eyes with her sleeve and hiccuped. "I'm just glad that you're okay." Neji scooted over and yelped in pain. Tenten slipped into his bed and rested her head on his chest. Neji slowly wrapped his arm around her and stroked her hair. He sighed and looked over at her. "Tenten," he said quietly, "are you awake?" She didn't answer. She was sound asleep. Neji kissed her head. "I love you." he whispered as he slowly drifted to sleep.
That morning Tenten got up and prepared to leave in order to let Neji rest. As she gathered her things, Neji awoke to see her hair glistening in the morning sun. "Tenten?" he asked. She looked over and put her backpack on. "Did I wake you?" she asked. Neji shook his head as the sunlight beat down on his pale face and glistened in his translucent eyes. "I need to tell you something," he said, "it's kind of important." She sat down in the chair next to his bed. "What is it?" she asked. Neji took her soft hand. "I... I love you." Tenten's eyes widened. Neji sat up and kissed her on the lips. Neji pulled away and stared into her big brown eyes. Tenten placed her hands on his face and kissed him passionately. After awhile, they slowly pulled away. "I love you, too." she said. The two sat there grinning and holding each others hands. Tenten eventually stood up and put her backpack on again. "I have to go," she said, "plus you need to rest." Neji smiled at her and nodded. Tenten bent over and kissed the mark on his forehead.
After Tenten left, Neji napped until he heard people enter his room. He awoke to see Gai and Lee standing in the doorway. "How are you doing?" his sensei asked. Neji shrugged and looked down. "I've been better." The two laughed and sat down by his bedside. "Have you seen Tenten?" Lee asked. Neji nodded. "She visited last night," he said, "she left early this morning." Gai looked at him. "So, are you two a thing?" he asked. Neji looked up at him. "How did you..." Lee and Gai looked at each other and laughed. "It was pretty obvious." he smiled. Neji smiled and looked away.