I don't usually like sappy endings and I know it's the "FIVE" stages... but I'll make an exception just for NejiTen.

Thanks to laila45, lancecomwar, Perentie Fan, CookieDemon212, Fruits, Rose Tiger, forever - a i n e, 8ouji-Rui, Aaldeb, Akaiko Y, Atemumberry, Giada Luna, LuvleeCookieChan, Naara-no-temari, Sweetbaby162014, Tot Tyrer, Unique95, WhightGriger, anamorales25, daniisteaparty, foraslanthelion, heroesofolympus63, 217, and softballqueen219 for the reviews/follows, and an especially big THANK YOU to Aquarius Galuxy for the inspiration!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Epilogue

"To arrive in the Pure Land, the deceased pass through a middle plane of existence. The souls residing in this plane are those who haven't been able to move on because of earthly regrets or because of a decision to wait for someone."

When Tenten came to, she gasped forcibly for a breath as if she had just reached the surface of the water after a long dive. Warm, sickly sweet air fill her lungs and sent a surge of relief through her body. She felt her muscles relax, but her mind remained unsettled. For the life of her, she couldn't remember where she was or what had just happened. In fact, she could barely remember anything at all. There was an eerie haziness saturating her thoughts that was making it nearly impossible to think straight. Where was she? What just happened? When she finally popped her eyes open she was only more confused.

Tenten found herself standing in complete darkness. Not a typical darkness as if the sun had gone down, but an ethereal and eternal darkness so pure it seemed tangible. It was everywhere and all around her, enveloping both the ground and the sky. Any sort of depth perception was impossible, but in her heart Tenten had a feeling that the blackness stretched on infinitely into the void.

And yet it was not an intimidating darkness. In no way did it feel unnatural or menacing; rather it was somehow inviting, and Tenten felt at ease in its shadowy embrace.

When she lifted up her arm, Tenten expected to be unable to see her own hand in front of her face. But to her surprise her own body was bright as day. She could clearly see her slender fingers and the smooth skin stretched over her knuckles as she flexed her hand into a fist.

Wait, what? Something struck Tenten as very out of place. Her skin was smooth. No, not just smooth. It was young. Where were the wrinkles?

In a frenzy to confirm her suspicion she grabbed her face. Tight! She ran her hands down the muscular curvature of her waist. Toned! She awarded a final pat on her butt. Firm!

Even though she was baffled beyond belief, Tenten had an inner rejoice at the discovery. Her body! She was young again! This body was one she could recognize in an instant. This was her body from her chuunin days.

As Tenten stood admiring the softness of her younger hands, something she hadn't experienced for many decades, she noticed that the light on her skin was moving. There were shadows dancing along her hand and arm. After being accustomed to the unnatural darkness of the void, it took her a moment before she realized that the glow was coming from a flickering light source behind her. As she turned around, she saw that there was indeed a large fire several paces away. And then her heart froze.

He was sitting against a tree in a meditative stance, positioned directly below a training dummy she hadn't seen since her genin days. There he was, every detail exactly as she remembered, every curve and every line. That strong jawline, the long velvety hair, and those beautiful pale eyes that peered back at her with all the interest in the world. It was a vision as if from her dreams, a replica in every way… except for one. His forehead which she was accustomed to seeing either covered with a protector, wrapped in bandages, or inlaid with the emerald weavings of the curse seal, was markedly bare.

Tenten felt her pulse quicken as she finally gathered the courage to speak, "Neji?! You… I…" She looked at her surroundings again in puzzlement. "...is this real?"

"Do you doubt your eyes?" His warm voice pierced straight through her in a way she couldn't have predicted. That familiar tone washed smoothly over her ears and she felt her heart begin to melt.

"No, but," she replied warily, "is this a dream?" Tenten pinched herself to be sure. Ow, nope not a dream. Neji smirked in response.

"It's been a while, Tenten," he said gently.

"Where the hell is this? I don't remember how I got here."

"Don't worry, that comes back to you over time."

Tenten looked intently at him. "What… am I…?" She paused, and for a moment they could only hear the crackling and snaps of the fire between them.

"Yes, this is the passing area before the Pure Land," Neji finally replied.

"So… I finally... kicked the bucket, huh?" Her life and long career in Konoha must have come to an end, but she couldn't remember how.

"Gai and Lee passed through here earlier."

Tenten froze in shock. Her old master? And Lee? She hadn't seen either of them in years. "Gai-sensei and Lee?" she repeated with an delighted shriek. "You saw them?!"

Neji nodded and smiled. "Just like their old selves. They were so excited that they already ran on ahead."

"...ran ahead," she murmured. She hadn't seen Gai walk since she was a little kid. The thought of him running… yes, she could picture it now. Reunited with Lee and bursting forward with passion and youth, just like the old days. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't wait to meet them again.

But that left one question.

Tenten dried her eyes and then addressed her former teammate, "Neji… then why are you still here?"

"I think you know the answer to that. I've simply been waiting," he replied matter-of-factly with a slight cock of his head.

Waiting… suddenly, the memory of her meeting with Kakashi burst into full view — the time when he told her of his meeting with his father… his father who had been waiting for him…

"Oh god, Neji," she quickly blurted out, "...it's been so long. All this time, y-you… You've been waiting… all these years?"

"Haven't you?"

The tears were back again and this time running freely down her cheeks. She wiped them away and said with a grin, "You know the answer to that."

Neji lifted himself gracefully from the ground and took a few steps towards her. "I want to hear about you. Tell me everything."

The kunoichi couldn't help but beam as she bounded right up to him. "Yes!" she exclaimed brightly. "I'll tell you everything! All the things you've missed! My god there's so much! I lived so long. There were so many years…"

"Well now we have all the time we need."

Yes, she thought. All the time… all the time in the world. All those days in the past she had wished she had more time — now she had more than she knew what to do with.

"Let's go on," suggested Neji. "Gai and Lee are waiting for us on the other side. We'll be a team together again." He slowly extended a hand toward her. "Ready?"

That hand. The offer. She may have lived to be a woman but with that one gesture she was immediately transported back to her younger years. She was a young girl again — a young girl faced with all the same fears and trepidations of following her heart. Could she accept it now? Did she have the strength?

Tenten took his hand without hesitation. Hell, she hasn't gone through an entire lifetime dreaming of this moment just to back out now.

"Ready." They both gave each other a satisfied smile that spoke a million words. Nothing more needed to be said.

At that moment Tenten saw over Neji's shoulder what began as a twinkle in the far distance. The twinkle began to grow in size and light poured through, as if something had pierced the seam of the void. Suddenly the seams burst at the sides and tore like lightning across the horizon. A gust of warm wind billowed throughout the shadowy dimension, followed closely by the surging flood of whiteness. Tenten closed her eyes while the felt the pleasant warmth of light wash over her, pulling her weightlessly to a final resting place. As she felt a smaller flutter of anxiety within her, she squeezed Neji's hand firmly and he gave a reassuring squeeze back.

And the light overtook them.