Author's Note: I would like to thank every reader who had stayed up until this chapter. This fanfic has come to an end. Enjoy the last chapter, everyone!

Chapter 15: Our Unpredictable Love

Tenten's POV

"Oji-san, I disagree with this engagement."

After my call with my brother ended, I left a note telling Neji that I had an urgent matter to attend to at home and left the school grounds. Even though it was already almost 11 PM, I had to talk to my brother immediately. And luckily for me, my uncle happened to be at our house as well.

I knew it was rude of me but I went straight to the point right after I made eye contact with my uncle. My expression clearly showed that I was against the idea of getting engaged to Deidara. My brother and uncle were confused as to why I was so worked up though.

It was understandable since they didn't know I used to date that guy.

"But, Tenten, perhaps you'll grow to like Deidara if you get to know him better. He's really nice."

My uncle, who was in his 40s, appeared to be as friendly as he always was. I could see that he was slightly taken aback by my lack of manners but at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"If I want to get away with this, I must tell them the truth, don't I?"

"To be honest, I know Deidara for a long time already. I met him at an archery club I used to frequent. And I am very sure it's impossible between us."

My brother's eye shot wide open as he stared blankly at me. My uncle was scratching the back of his head, as if trying to think of something to say. His action had unfortunately messed up his brown hair a little. My uncle's smile widened when he finally thought of something.

"Maybe you'll change your mind if you try going on dates with him."

"He's my ex-boyfriend, Oji-san."

"He is your what?!" My brother stood up from his seat and was staring at me with a horrified look on his face. As for my uncle, he was completely speechless.

"That's why I say it's impossible between us." I crossed my arms in front of my chest as I waited for either my brother or uncle to respond.

"What am I suppose to say to Deidara's family?" My uncle was mumbling more to himself but I heard him clearly anyway.

"Tell them I'm not interested in him." My snappy tone startled my uncle and I felt guilty immediately. I knew I shouldn't be so rude but I was really upset. I hated it when people decided things like these without asking me first.

I glanced over to my brother and saw that he was still pretty shocked. I sighed before speaking again, "And you, Nii-san, why didn't you tell Oji-san that I have a boyfriend?"

"You have a boyfriend right now?!" My uncle exclaimed in surprise and looked between my brother and me. The whole situation was giving me a headache and my eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"Yes, I do." I answered as calmly as I could, even though I was on the verge of exploding from frustration.

"Who?" By then, my uncle had stood up and was crossing his arms in front of him. It was obvious that he was rather unhappy because we didn't tell him about my relationship status.

It was definitely time to clear things up once and for all.

"My boyfriend is Neji Hyuuga."

At the mention of Neji's name, my uncle exclaimed his shock once again. I groaned as I massaged my temples while my brother went back to his seat on the sofa. Next time, I would definitely remember to inform my uncle about big things going on in my life. He seemed to be unable to digest everything at one go.

After my uncle had calmed down, he placed a hand on his chin and appeared to be deep in thoughts. I just quietly waited for him to see what he would say next.

His next words definitely snapped a nerve or two inside my head.

"Neji Hyuuga is Hizashi Hyuuga's son and I heard nothing but great things about him. Although their family business has no connection to ours, it's still a very successful company. It'll be beneficial to us in a way if you're engaged to him."

"Oji-san, how could you see my relationship in that sort of way?! Not everything is about benefits and money, you know!" My uncle took a step backwards when I finally lost the battle with the self control inside me. I expressed my anger without holding myself back and from the look on my brother's face; he understood why I acted that way.

"The thought happens to cross my mind!" My uncle defended himself while trying to calm me down. He was smiling apologetically as he patted my shoulder. The loudest sigh of the night escaped me before I spoke.

"And I just dated him not long ago so it's way too soon to be discussing anything about engagement."

"Don't you want to marry him, Tenten?"

My uncle's question caused me to jump a little in surprise. I wasn't expecting that I would be talking about marriage at such an early stage of our relationship. But despite the rather messed up timing, I was more than sure that I loved Neji with all my heart.

I grabbed onto the panda pendant on my necklace which was a gift from Neji. Somehow, I could feel Neji's love for me radiating from it. "Of course I want to marry him. I can't imagine life without him."

It was embarrassing to say something like that in front of my brother and uncle but it was my sincere feelings. There was absolutely no point in trying to hide the truth. But wouldn't it freak Neji out if he were to suddenly get engaged with me?

What if he didn't want that? Well, I would never know if I didn't ask.

"See, it's perfect! And, Tenten, it's never too early to discuss something as important as marriage."

I took a handful of my hair, which I had let down, when I felt annoyed all over again. I closed the gap between my uncle and me before I snapped.

"It is because of how important it is, we should be taking it slowly and not rushing things instead!"

My uncle thought of my words for a few moments. But when he responded, I knew that he didn't fully understood what I was trying to say.

"If you don't act fast, he might run away! Anyway, don't worry about it, Tenten. I'll handle everything."

And before I could ask my uncle to clarify what he was trying to say, he had left without another word.

I turned to my brother, who seemed to have given up in putting sense into our uncle's mind.

"Nii-san, do something!"

All my brother did was sighing in defeat and spoke in a tired voice.

"You know how stubborn Oji-san is. What we can do now is to wait and see what he does next."

I slumped onto the spot beside my brother and ran my fingers through my hair with greater force than necessary. I ended up looking like I had just had a cat fight but I didn't care.

"Truth be told, if it's Neji Hyuuga, I am sure he will cherish my sister and love her unconditionally for the rest of his life. I don't see any reason for me to stop you from marrying him."

My brother's words reflected his sincere blessings and I could feel his love for me. I grabbed onto my brother's arm and rested my head on his shoulder. I stayed that way for quite some time, feeling the warmth of my brother who doted me with all his heart.

There was a complete change in the atmosphere when my brother asked a question I wished he didn't.

"By the way, Tenten, why didn't you tell me about you and Deidara?"

I still had a long way to go before the night would end, wouldn't I?

Neji's POV

I was surprised to find a note on my desk from Tenten, who said she had urgent matters to attend to back at home. I wanted to give her a call to see if she was alright but was worried that I would interrupt her.

My plan was to wait for her to return before going to bed. But I was beyond exhausted and after taking a shower, I became even sleepier than I already was.

Before I could stop myself, I had fallen asleep unintentionally.

I was woken up by certain soft warmth on my cheek. When I managed to open my heavy eyelids, I caught sight of Tenten smiling cheerfully in front of me. She was giggling at my drowsy state before pulling me away from the comfort of my bed.

I could get used to Tenten's new way of waking me up, that was for sure.

After we had our lunch, Tenten and I were relaxing on one of the benches at the garden. I asked Tenten what happened last night since it was just the two of us. However, she simply shrugged it off and told me it wasn't anything I should be worried about. From the way she tried to avoid looking into my eyes, I could see that she wasn't telling me the truth.

I was going to persuade her into telling me but was interrupted by my ringing phone. It turned out to be my father so I picked it up in an instant.

"Hello, father."

"Neji, is it possible for you to come home after your class ended today?"

"Yes."

My father hung up afterwards, leaving me slightly puzzled. Initially, I thought that he wanted me to go home so that I could report to him about my South Korea trip. But there was something different about his tone. I could sense his usual seriousness but there was a tint of excitement in his voice.

"What's going on?"

"We have something important to tell you, Neji."

I was asked to go straight to the study room once I reached home. Judging from the looks on my father and uncle's faces, it definitely wasn't about the trip. They appeared to be happy for some unknown reason.

"We had decided to have you engaged with the perfect girl for you."

My father's words caused my heart to clench uncomfortably. My eyes shot wide open and were soon turned into a furious glare. How could they decide on something so important without telling me about it in the first place?

"This is unacceptable." My rudeness was definitely out of character but I was fuming. "How could you decide on that without telling me anything?"

"Neji, listen t-"

"And I have a girlfriend whom I love a lot. I'm not planning to break up with her for anyone." I felt guilty for interrupting my uncle but I couldn't stop my raging self. "I love Tenten and I have decided to spend the rest of my life with her and her only."

I was panting slightly for talking way too fast. My glare softened and I looked away from my father and uncle. I felt horrible for raising my voice at them and I couldn't bring myself to look at them in the eyes.

But I abruptly turned to them when I heard my uncle spoke.

"That's good to hear."

I blinked at my uncle in absolute confusion. What in the world did he mean by that?

My father was smiling as he nodded in agreement and the two men in front of me spoke as if I wasn't there.

"It seems like Neji's engagement does not have any problems." My uncle smiled upon hearing my father's words and he placed a hand over his mouth as he thought about something I had no clue about.

"Hizashi, when do you think is the perfect time for them to get married?"

"It's best if it's after they graduated from university."

"I agree." My uncle nodded absent mindedly, as if his thoughts were somewhere far away. That was until an idea seemed to have surfaced in his mind. "We should definitely hold a grand wedding, don't you think?"

"Of course, that goes without saying. Also, I th-"

"Wait, stop right there." I interrupted an elder for the second time that day but the whole thing was confusing me to no end. I had made it clear that Tenten was the only one whom I wanted to marry and yet, they continued talking as if I had agreed on the engagement they decided on. "I believe I made myself clear that I do not wish to marry anyone but Tenten."

My uncle and father looked at me as if I was some sort of odd ball and were exchanging confused glances with each other. My father was the one who broke the silence.

"We understand what you're trying to say, Neji. And we're more than happy to know that you feel that way."

"Then why are the two of you still discussing my engagement with another woman?!"

"What?" My uncle's voice trailed off in a slightly awkward way and I had never saw the dumbfounded face he was making at that time. My father, who was equally astonished, was able to regain his composure first and began explaining the whole situation.

"Neji, the perfect girl we are referring to is Tenten."

"What?" It was my turn to appear completely stunned and I was standing there like an idiot. I felt even more embarrassed when I saw my uncle trying to suppress a chuckle and my father was shaking his head while sighing.

"There is no way we would have you engaged to someone you don't love, Neji. Who do you think we are?" My uncle didn't bother to prevent his chuckle from escaping when he heard my father's words, which made my face go bright red.

I quickly shook my head and spoke up my mind, "But this is way too sudden. And I just started dating Tenten not too long ago."

"Actually, it was Tenten's uncle who approached us about this." My uncle then told me that Tenten's uncle visited my father and him at the company earlier in the morning. He told them that initially, he had planned to have Tenten engaged to Deidara. But Tenten was furious and made it clear that I was the one she wanted to marry.

My cheeks were burning even more when I heard that but it would be a lie if I said I wasn't overjoyed. My father and uncle obviously noticed it even though I was trying to hide it from them.

"The two of you have decided to spend the rest of your lives with each other. I don't see any problems with the engagement." My uncle seemed very pleased and was smiling wider than usual. The sight comforted me and I caught myself smiling along.

"But don't you think this is happening too soon? It feels kind of rushed." I must admit I still had doubts about the whole plan. Even though the two of us agreed to the idea, it felt weird to be engaged officially when we had just started dating.

My father must have sensed my discomfort and thought of the best way to settle the whole thing.

"Well, to know that the two of you are serious about each other is enough to put us at ease. Tenten is a wonderful girl and we are more than happy to have her as part of our family. We'll leave the rest to you. Propose to her whenever you feel is the right time."

I smiled and nodded with confidence. I wanted to show my father and uncle that there was nothing for them to be worried about.

After all, Tenten was the only person I wanted to be with until the very end.

Tenten's POV

I met up with Deidara a day after my uncle told me about my engagement to him. I made it clear to him that it was not possible for us to be together. Seeing how serious I was, Deidara told me that he could see how much I loved Neji and there was no way for me to change my feelings.

Deidara, after knowing that he had no hope, apologized for setting up the whole engagement thing between the two of us. He admitted to have asked his father to speak with my uncle about it.

Before Deidara left, he wished me luck and hoped that I would always be happy.

That was what happened more than two years ago. After that day, Neji and I talked about the engagement that was decided for us and had a good laugh at it. We confessed that we wanted to be with each other forever but both of us agreed that it was too soon to make it official.

And right now, it was the day of our graduation, marking the end of our high school journey. It was an emotional day indeed and I had mixed feelings about leaving high school. So many memories were made and precious friendships were forged. Not to mention, I had found the love of my life in high school.

It was amazing how time flied so fast. It felt like orientation happened yesterday and we just started our high school lives. But everything passed by in a blink of an eye and we were already graduating.

At least all my classmates and I were going to attend Konoha University together. It made leaving high school less sad.

The graduation ceremony ended and I was hanging out with my classmates at the garden where the after party was held. We had all removed our graduation gowns and were in our formal attires. The girls and I wore long white dresses while the guys were in their suits.

My uncle and brother were there as well and I saw them speaking with my classmates' parents. It was when I saw Neji's father that I realized that Neji wasn't around.

"Where is Neji?"

"Tenten."

I turned around at the familiar voice calling me. My breath was taken away from me when I saw the man I was looking for, standing in front of me with a beautiful bouquet of flower in his right hand. What surprised me more was the velvet box on his other hand.

The sight in front of me was more than enough to make me cry tears of utter joy.

Neji's POV

The past three years I had spent with Tenten were definitely the happiest days of my life. It wasn't always smooth sailing, of course. There were times we argued and fought. But at the end of the day, it just made our relationship even stronger than ever.

More than two years ago, my father had trusted me to be able to decide when was the best time to propose to the woman I loved with all my heart. And I had decided graduation day was the perfect moment.

Everything felt so right and I knew it was time. And seeing Tenten tearing up with such a blissful smile on her beautiful face, I knew I had made the right decision.

I walked over to her, all the while not removing my eyes from her. I handed her the bouquet of flowers before wiping away her tears. Tenten was holding onto the bouquet tightly, as if it had just become one of the most important things in her life.

I took a quick glance around and saw that the two of us had become the center of attention. I caught a glimpse of my father and uncle, who were both appearing immensely happy with my decision. The same could be said about Tenten's brother and uncle.

My teachers seemed very pleased as well and I heard Gai-sensei exclaiming something about the 'beauty of youth'. As for my classmates, let's just say some of them were clearly overexcited.

Naruto and Kiba was literally shouting at the top of their lungs, cheering some incoherent words I didn't bother to make out. Sakura and Ino were squealing like crazy and brought Hinata into a group hug. Hinata, as always, was much calmer but from the look on her eyes, I knew that she was truly happy with my decision.

I turned back to Tenten, who had yet to stop sobbing. I chuckled a little and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. I caressed her drenched cheeks lovingly before I made my final move.

Tenten gasped once again when I opened the velvet box in front of her, revealing the shining diamond ring I had bought for her using my own money. About a year and a half ago, I asked my father and uncle to hire me as a part-timer in the company. It was for experience and also for this very moment. It would only feel complete if I were to use money I had earned on my own.

After all, Tenten deserved all the sincerity from my heart.

I got onto one knee and held the velvet box towards Tenten. I had always found this action to be very embarrassing but I didn't mind doing it for Tenten. I smiled when I saw more tears escaping her mesmerizing brown eyes, reflecting pure bliss and happiness.

Happiness was flowing throughout my body as well and all traces of nervousness were gone.

"Tenten, will you marry me?"

Tenten didn't waste any time and was nodding as more tears of joy fell from her deep orbs.

"Yes, I will, Neji."

I stood up and took the ring from the velvet box before keeping the box inside my pocket. I held onto Tenten's left hand and placed the ring on her finger.

Tenten traced the ring lovingly, as if checking if everything was happening for real. She looked at me in the eyes for another confirmation and was overjoyed to be convinced that we were indeed engaged for real.

I pulled her into an embrace, which made the audience cheer loudly and excitedly. Tenten removed her head from my chest and smiled at me heartwarmingly. I did the same as I rested my forehead on hers. We stayed that way for a few moments despite the crowd around us.

"We're not going to get married any time soon, right?" Tenten asked while giggling softly.

"Don't worry. Marriage can wait until we graduate from university."

"Then why did you propose now?"

"Maybe I'm just too excited to start calling you my fiancée."

Tenten laughed at my answer before kissing me on the lips.

"I love you, Neji."

"I love you too, Tenten."

If I were to look back to the first day I had met Tenten, I would have never imagined that a day like this would arrive.

But then again, we could never guess what would happen in the future.

After all, life was unpredictable.

THE END

Author's Note: I'm kind of sad this ended. I want to thank every reader who had supported me and finished reading until the very end. I am very happy! At the mean time, please check out my other fanfic as well. I'm planning to start a new one soon so look forward to it too. As usual, please leave a review on your way out. Thank you for reading and see you in my other fanfic!