Never Forgotten
The first time he looked in the mirror was about a month after the war. Neji had never been vain beforehand, however, he had always prided himself in his clean and collected appearance. Never a hair out of place. Never a speck of dirt on him when he left home. Nothing marring or distracting was able to be seen.
War, however, had changed him. Just as it had changed everyone. Though in his case, very few of his fellow soldiers had come back from the dead. And he had the scars to prove it.
Tenten stood in front of him, holding his robe in her arms and standing out of his way of the full-length mirror that he had put in the closet once he had returned from the battleground. He now stood shirtless in front of it, with bandages as far as the eye could see.
His scar from his original fight with Kidomaru poked out from his upper chest, a light pink that had faded with time and age. For years it had been his worst scar, a symbol of his closest brush with death. He now supposed it would look weak in comparison.
Tenten looked at him as he looked at himself. She herself had not emerged unscathed, battered and bruised from head to toe. A particularly hard hit to her arm had rendered her unable to lift it fully for weeks. And while now she was cleared for easy missions, she was still weary. It was her dominant arm, a dealbreaker for a kunoichi who relied on her accuracy.
She wore her hair down today, waves cascading to the middle of her back. A vulnerable state to her. A side she only let Neji see. He supposed she was trying to be vulnerable with him, as he was about to see himself in a way he never had before.
She shifted the robe slightly, nervous but with a determined face and a steady voice.
"Are you ready, Neji?" she asked just above a whisper.
Neji wasn't one to hesitate. It was a dangerous thing to do in battle or in any situation really. Though he paused here. While he would never change his actions which wounded him so horribly, he didn't like to be reminded of them. It brought back the pain, radiating through his body. The crying faces of Tenten and Lee, sobbing in relief which had transformed from despair. Looking over and seeing Hinata, relieved about him but grieving the loss of her father. A life for a life, a sacrificial apology perhaps years in the making. His uncle's final way of making amends, sacrificing himself for Neji like his brother had done for him. It was a twisted and sad fate, but one that made perfect sense in a way.
He hesitated every time he passed the shrine to his uncle. Just like he had hesitated for a month of seeing what damage war had done for him. But today, he decided that while hesitation wasn't as dangerous as he had originally thought it to be, it would still end today.
"Yes."
Tenten didn't nod, but she put his robe down on his bed, laying it out smooth to avoid wrinkles. The way he preferred it.
She made her way in front of him and reached her hands up, gently grasping the first bandage and slowly beginning to unravel the cloth. Neji closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the soft touch of her hands as she unwrapped the cloth a little at a time. She moved around him, to his sides and to his back. She moved softly but quickly, proof of her training. She didn't speak to him, just touched him. A secret touch they had kept hidden as long as they could from prying eyes. Apparently, it hadn't been as secret as they had thought, it becoming obvious to everyone (except Lee) one at a time.
To them though, they truly didn't care if people knew. But Neji himself believed that moments like this, seeing the absolute worst life could do to a person, could only be shared between those that loved each other. That devoted themselves to one another. To be the freedom that was needed at every moment in one's life.
Tenten was the only one who could be that person for him.
She stopped as Neji felt the last of the bandages leave his torso. They had been changed hundreds of times, Neji having his eyes closed every time they were redressed. So, the only information he had of them was how they felt. They still hurt and according to Sakura, they would ache for a long time. Returning to active duty was not certain, but it would be months if not a year before he knew the answer.
He had felt them healing. The sting of the raw flesh hitting fresh air everytime the bandages were removed. The itchiness of the stitches and scabs that kept him uncomfortable throughout most nights. The burning when certain oils and creams were applied to the deep wounds. He had felt everything, but hadn't seen anything.
Tenten had though. Spending most of her time keeping him company while Lee attended to Gai-sensei. She had been there the first time while Sakura worked on him, by far the most painful one of the treatment sessions. It was a rare moment when he had cried out in pain and Tenten had just held his hand, offering her silent and resilient support.
Neji felt Tenten stand in front of him, toes touching and close enough to feel her body heat on his still sore chest. She was careful not to let her hair brush against his wounds, finding out by accident that that was incredibly painful.
"I'm all done," she said even though he knew, "Are you ready?" she repeated her question from earlier.
Neji nodded this time, bracing himself for what he would see. He felt her move and then felt her lips against his. A light kiss that they both melted into. They had shared hundreds of kisses already, as well as many more intimate things that would always stay between them. But each kiss to them was a promise. A promise that no matter what, they would always have each other's back and ensure that there would always be another.
Tenten pulled back slowly and after a moment of her own hesitation, she stepped away. Once he felt her move to the other side of the room, he opened his eyes and finally saw himself.
The first thing he noticed was red. Hues ranging from fading pink to apple red were everywhere. His front was mostly those colors, only small patches of his actual skin tone peeking through here and there. Scars formed holes at all the points in his chest where the Ten-Tails had hurt him. Most of the stitches had been removed, but the rings were still like beacons, dark red and pronounced against his pale skin. He slowly turned and saw the rings on his back as well, proving that he had cheated death with the help of another.
He was correct though. His original chest scar looked like a cat scratch in comparison.
He spent the next while just examining his body, slowly turning and twisting and ever so gently touching the wounds. He followed the patterns that would forever be engraved on his skin, not wincing even when he touched a still sensitive spot. It was awful to look at and awful to remember the memories of that horrible day and that dreadful war.
It brought back memories of his father. Him, sitting under a tree and meditating. Smiling when he saw Neji approach, his mother pouring tea into cups beside him. Their curse marks gone and happiness filling their gentle faces. The image forever burned in his mind, the image he had headed towards before feeling the tug back into the world of the living.
He hadn't shared that with anyone yet. Perhaps tonight, Tenten would be the only one to know.
Tenten had been silent the entire time, just watching him and lightly twisting her fingers in her hair, a nervous habit she very rarely displayed. He appreciated her silent presence, he wouldn't have been able to do this alone.
Once he was done and just staring at the mirror again, she approached him. She wrapped her arms around his right forearm and looked into the glass with him. She wasn't repulsed, she wasn't disgusted. She was Tenten. His friend, his teammate, his lover, and his support.
His freedom.
She rubbed circles on his arm and he held her hand tightly. Never letting go.
They gazed at his scars together, saying nothing as the sun outside began to set. The world would always be moving forward, hour by hour, minute by minute. But the thing the world never did was forget. Tomorrow would be a new day, but the memories of today will linger for a long time to come. As Neji looked between his wounds and Tenten's eyes in the mirror, he knew he would grow stronger from this moment. Always remembering the pain and the happiness his life had brought him. He knew that there was no such thing as fate anymore and tomorrow was never certain, but he did know one thing.
Every emotion and every feeling, every scar and every smile, and every moment shared with the things and the people he loved would never, ever, be forgotten.