Okay, I've decided to do a sequel. It isn't necessary that you read my first story, "Never Let Go", but it would be better if you did. In my opinion, the sequel is hardly even close to being as good as the original, but I just felt like I would be in the mood to write this. There will be two chapters. This is the first one. I'll upload the second chapter when I have at least three reviews, good or bad. Well, I hope you enjoy this story! It isn't a song fic like the other one. I also just want to say that I did not use spell check on this, because I don't have it on my computer. I had to write this with wordpad, just like my other fanfictions. So please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction, Tenten and Neji would have more romantic moments, and well...the anime and manga would suck because of my lack of creativity, ne?
If you asked some people who she was, some would give you a strange look and reply that they didn't know. Others would say, "She's the one on Team Gai, right? Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and her jounin Maito Gai?" They would nod. "That Rock Lee was supposed to be a drop-out, but he's really proven himself well in this town. And that Neji Hyuuga, he's a prodigy exiting from the Branch family of the Hyuuga clan. Amazing if you ask me." But they would hardly say anything about Tenten, and if they did, it was something like this: "Weapons mistress, right? I heard she has perfect accuracy. Very surprising, coming from such a young ninja." And then there was the rare, "Didn't she die on that mission with Neji Hyuuga?" Yes. That was the only responce that was right. She is not the one on Team Gai. She was the one on Team Gai, and some people close to her were still unable to digest the fact that she is dead. Others did not even care. They would talk about her in the present tense, as though she was still alive. To their knowledge, she was. To those who cared, she wasn't. No matter how much they tried, they could not deny the fact she was gone.
A year had finally passed since Tenten died. For most, she was just another ninja. She was there, and then she wasn't. For others, she was much more. A close friend, a dependable teammate, and the love of a lifetime. Her tombstone lay next to ninjas who commited suicide. A male around Neji's age made the mistake of stating Tenten commited suicide. He casually leaned against a wall near Ichiraku and spoke loudly, knowing Neji, Lee, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke would hear. The five decided to get something to eat to calm themselves from the startling news. Although it had been two weeks since the incident happened, the five were still uncomfortable. The boy spoke of how stupid Tenten was, going after the last enemy instead of letting the prodigy fight once more. He also stated that he received information of how Tenten decided to die, and how she wanted her pain to end. The boy went into details about how she stabbed herself, wanting to finish the job, and how Neji lay there not caring. Neji immediately stood up, going to beat the living day light out of the boy. Lee decided to pull Neji back, explaining how if Neji killed the boy, there was a chance the unworthy ninja might be buried near Tenten. Neji nodded and went back to eat.
Neji lifted his lonely eyes and stared into the sea blue sky, as if asking for answers. Before walking out of his room, he observed himself once more in the mirror. Neji's hair was no longer tied at the very end. Instead, it was tied in a low ponytail. He wore a black tuxedo, with a visable white shirt underneath and a tie. Ten roses were tucked under his arm, wrapped in the finest wrapping paper, bought from none other than the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Three were white, three were pink, and four were red, the colour of love.
Neji slowly made his way to her grave. Whispers from the villagers were heard quite often. Neji heard, "Isn't that Neji Hyuuga?", "Why is he dressed up like that?" and, "Where is he going?" Neji frowned. Even though Tenten may not have mattered to them, they could respect the fact that she has died, and that some people did care. It would make Neji feel a little calmer if he heard at least one, "He's going to Tenten's grave, isn't he? You know, she died exactly one year ago on a mission." Just one person who remembered what happened, would make Neji think someone other than himself and his friends cared.
When he reached the grave, he realized Lee was not there yet. Not many flowers were placed near her grave. Actually, only one white rose was there. 'Probably Gai-sensei's rose,' Neji thought. Gai had left for a mission assigned to him that morning. "You know," he said out loud, directing his sentence to the grave, "I was supposed to be on a mission too, with Lee. But we stayed here, we stayed just for you."
FLASHBACK (the day before)
Tsunade was attempting to straighten out scattered papers on her desk according to mission ranks. "Neji, Lee," she said, finally acknowledging their presence, "I've called you here for a mission. B ranked to be exact. You will be leaving tomorrow morning when the sun comes out, and you will be heading to the Rice Country. There have been sightings of suspicious characters wandering around the village at night." She looked up from the stack of paper she was straightening to see a certain look on both boys' faces.
"I refuse," Neji said simply.
Tsunade was furious. "What do you mean, 'I refuse'?" she repeated, acting as though she could not understand what Neji was saying. "This mission counts on your special techniques!"
Neji frowned at the fact that Tsunade was not understanding. "My techniques derive from the Hyuuga fighting style. May I inform you that Hinata has been getting better?"
"Hinata is on a mission," she rebutted, "and no you may not inform me of such! I do not need to hear your excuses! Why are you suddenly backing out of missions?" 'What is with this kid? He's been fine with missions, so why is he backing out of this?' Tsunade's mind clicked. "Is it because it's a B ranked mission?"
"I am not afraid," Neji retorted.
"Then why?" Tsunade demanded. She slammed her fist against her desk, crushing a hole in it due to her strength. "Explain to me why you will not take the mission!"
"Because Tenten will be dead for exactly one year tomorrow," Lee stated abruptly, "and I also refuse to leave on this mission! I will visit her grave tomorrow, because I will be in town. I will not go on a mission on this important day."
Tsunade stared at them, her mind in serious thought about the new issue. Never had someone talked like that to her. Nobody had disobeyed her. Except for Naruto. 'Oh, how Naruto is such a pain,' she growled in her thoughts, reminiscing about every memory of Naruto, which was practically each time he disobeyed or disrespected her. "Fine," she said finally, "you may be excused from the mission." She paused and lowered her voice. "Now I have to convince Naruto to go on this mission with Sasuke. Oh geez, this won't be easy."
"Thank you so much Hokage!" Lee exclaimed, saluting and giving her respect. "You will not regret this!"
Neji nodded. "Thank you, Hokage. You don't know how much this means to me." Both bowed and walked out of the room silently, although joy was dancing in their eyes.
Tsunade smiled knowledgeably and looked over to a picture on her desk. There was a man in the carefully decorated frame, smiling at the lonely lady sitting at the desk. "No Neji," she whispered, "I understand completely."
END OF FLASHBACK
Neji looked up to the sky blue sky, hoping to hear a small reply from the girl he loved. Scratch that. The girl he loves. Then it struck him. Although he was sure she meant it when she kissed him, he didn't hear her say it. Not once. Her angelic voice never whispered the words, "I love you" in his waiting ears. "But you meant it, didn't you?" he inquired, still knowing she wouldn't answer. There was no way he would be able to find that out now. Perhaps it was a kiss of pity? She was dying anyways, so she might have just wanted to take a chance. Use her first kiss on the only boy there. 'Heck, it could have been Lee instead of me and she would have done that, right?' He shook his head, trying to erase the thought. 'No, Tenten isn't like that. But then...why? I just wanted to hear it! Just wanted to hear her voice say it! Even a burnt, torn up note with those words on it would have been enough!'
"Hey, Neji!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Neji slowly turned to face his only teammate. Lee approached Neji. He, too, wore a tuxedo and a tie. Another ten roses were tucked under his arm, except five were white, and five were pink. Lee didn't dare to buy red, the colour of love, because it was also the colour of blood. Blood. Something he dreaded to see again, although that was the shinobi way. To fight. To kill. To win. "I see you are already here."
Neji nodded sternly. "It seems we are the only ones who remembered Tenten's death." He lifted his pale hand and pointed to the grave as Lee noted how there was only one flower there.
"Gai-sensei?" he asked, knowing Neji could understand what he was talking about.
"Yeah," Neji replied quietly. Normally, Neji is not the type to get dirty. He is disgusted by unnesessary dirt, especially on his clothing. Feeling as though he couldn't feel even lower under the main branches feet, he did not want to give them more reasons to mock him. But this time, he made an exception. Neji sat on the ground, and lay beside Tenten's grave, looking up at the bright sky. Soon, he was followed by Lee, who lay on the other side of the tombstone. "It's a bright day."
Lee closed his eyes and nodded as the warm sun gently coated his skin with sunlight. "Yes," Lee replied susurringly, taking in the sweet scent of the carefully placed flowers beside his head. "A peaceful day indeed."
Neji was still distraught about that fact that Tenten had not said she loved him. 'Why, Tenten?' he cried in his mind, 'Why are you making me suffer like this? I only wanted to hear you say you loved me! You know I love you, and I said it! You don't understand how I feel!'
After a long moment of silence, which was used to reflect on how life would be if she continued to live, Lee cleared his throat. "Today is your---"
"Yeah," Neji cut in harshly. "Today is the day of my marriage." He felt a stone cold kunai pierce the inner core of his emotions---of his unrequited love---as he spoke of that word. Marriage. He stood up and gazed down at the grave, reminiscing what had happened only a little while ago.
Question: What the heck do the stars mean?
Answer: As you can tell, I'm very bad at describing appearances, and what people are wearing. So if you are unclear, you can just read the next few sentences below this, telling you where to find what both Lee and Neji looked like.
Like in the ninth opening song. It's not a very long clip, but you can still see it.
Once again, like in the ninth opening, in the same clip as Neji's.
Okay, there is the first chapter. I know it isn't very good, but I really want a review. Any review you are willing to give me! Remember, I'm only asking for three reviews! If you have any suggestions, then I'm open to them. The only thing is, I'm already planning the next chapter, so I might not be able to use some suggestions. Actually, I'm almost done writing the next chapter, but I want to know people are actually reading this. Thanks a lot! R&R!