Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 7: Summary: Only a few more days before his birthday. But he's away on a mission. A mission he had been for so many months now. There's only one thing I can do…. Only one thing I can do to reach out to him.

Dedication: This one goes to Shubhs... :D. Thanks for all the reviews... And I'm sorry for not putting much fluff, once again. :D

LETTER

My hands quivered, as the deafening noise around me continued to boom through my ears, making my head throb harder. I looked up desperately as numbers of medic ninjas rushed through. A few of them would spare seconds of their precious time to point a curious glance at me. I didn't have to wonder why. I must have looked horrible.

How could I not?

This morning, they told me Neji had finally arrived home. Knowing that it was his birthday, I ran to the Hyuga compound, elated. I had been praying that he would arrive in time for his birthday, and for the first time in my life, a wish has been granted.

But wishes are dangerous things.

As soon as I entered the compound, I was greeted by his family's grave faces.

When they told me that morning that my teammate had arrived, they forgot to mention one important detail. That he had come injured. It was a fatal wound, they told me, and he had been brought to the hospital immediately.

I rushed to him, and then did I understand the fear in the Hyugas' eyes.

The crimson blood imprinted itself to my brain. I couldn't bear to look. I couldn't bear to see him as he was. They told me that two of his arteries were in danger, and that he had lost a lot of blood.

It has been ten hours since then. And I've been holding back the tears. All I could do then was close my eyes, and think of events long past.

FLASHBACK

Three days. Only three days before his birthday, and he isn't here yet. I inquired to Lady Tsunade about it, and she told me, reading from a letter, that they were still in a village a few days travel from Konoha. He was sent on a mission with a shinobi I had only met once before, and until now, it angered me that he would be sent on an important mission with someone he barely knew, while I was sitting waiting for him to return. It reminded me too much of a memory I was trying so hard to forget. The only good thing I could see in the way things were was that I had the time to think of a decent gift to give him.

I've decided on writing him a letter. There were so many things I could give him instead, of course, but it was the only thing I could think of that would survive long journeys and had any chance of him finding it.

I breathed heavily as I made my way to the river. It was one of the largest and longest rivers, and it led to many other villages in the country.

I clutched the piece of paper in my hand tightly. Yes, a letter. I smiled as I plopped the letter into the bottle I was holding. I got the idea from a romance novel I had just read a week ago. And like the boy in my story, I poured everything I've always longed to say to him in the white piece of processed wooden sap. Everything. Including just how much I have loved him. What a way to confess, I know. But like Neji had taught me long before, fate was a mysterious thing. And for now, I trusted it with my emotions. There were two things that could happen now. He would find it; or he would not.

END OF FLASHBACK

Sakura led me to the room, her own hands trembling slightly. "It's a miracle. We were so sure that he was a goner with all the injuries he sustained," she shook her head. "It's like the Sasuke incident all over again," her voice broke a little at the memory that haunted us both. But she held herself together. "This time, it's like he forced himself to wake up again, as if he couldn't die yet. Like there was something he had to do... or maybe someone he had to see," she grinned. "Apparently, Hyugas are made of tough material," she smiled at me, before opening the door to his room and ushering me in.

"Neji," I whispered, hurrying to sit beside his bed.

His eyes flickered open, and he stared at me.

"Happy birthday," I forced myself to smile, but felt so weakened, just looking at the state he was in.

His lips formed the faintest of smiles.

I nodded my head. He needn't said anything anymore. There was time to talk to him next time, but for now, what he needed was rest. "Go back to sleep," I whispered, to which he shook his head. Slowly, he gestured his head to the small table beside him. That was when I saw the paper, yellow and caked in blood, but the three words written on the outside, still readable. Curry-hater... Happy birthday.

I almost jumped then when I felt his hands wrap around mine.

"Thank you," he mouthed, and the simple effort seemed to drain him of whatever strength he had.

I just smiled as he drifted back to sleep.

It seemed that fate had good things in store for us.

END

A/N: Woo! It's finally finished! OmG! I'm sorry if it was rushed! My head's achin and I really need to go to sleep now… So please review!:D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEJI!

Editted: 5.10.13

If anybody is interested, just PM me and I can send you the original version. Lol.