Wish of a Fallen Star, a naruto fanfic

Ah...I'm alive! And I bring you more NejiTen, A.K.A. the nectar of life. ;)

I wrote this over a period of two days; I started it yesterday and finished it just now. D: That's, like, a record for me, I think. xD I hope that it turned out okay...
Anyway, enjoy!

-EDIT- I changed the ending a bit due to request. I'm happier with it now, too, and I was thinking about doing it anyway. I hope it's still okay!

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure that I don't own Naruto. Yep, I'm pretty darn sure.

Like a Dream of a Fallen Star

Tenten sighed. She had just attempted to start another conversation with her teammate and sparring partner, Hyuuga Neji, and he had put it to a swift halt with yet another one of his famous "Hn"s.

Just.

Like.

Always.

The two were now fifteen years old and had been teammates for three years. Three years, and he still would only reply with a "Hn" whenever she talked to him about anything other than shinobi training. At first, it had simply annoyed her a little, but over time all of those "Hn"s had built up to be one big aggravation for the bun-haired kunoichi.

It was around 5:00 p.m. They had been training for a few hours, and normally they would continue long after the sun had set, but at the moment Tenten was severely ticked off at her teammate and wanted nothing to do with him.

"Neji, I'm going to head home. I'm tired."

"Oh? Are you really that tired?"

Tenten had already started packing her things up, but she stopped and looked around at him after hearing his reply. 'Is he...worried about me?' Shortly after thinking that, though, she realized what a huge mistake it had been, and remembered one of the reasons why she was angry with him. Neji, who was standing a few yards away with his back to her, didn't even turn to look at her when he added, "Fine. I didn't think that you were so weak."

No. He did not just say that.

If you know Tenten at all, you know that she would take that as a huge - no, as a MASSIVE - insult. Tenten is of the belief that gender doesn't matter in the slightest when it comes to being a great shinobi. Her idol, the fifth Hokage, is a female, and is also one of the greatest ninja in the world, and Tenten had aspired ever since she was a child to be just like her. Anyone who said that she couldn't do it because she was a girl was in for a good "talking to" - in Tenten's case, usually a rather large array of kunai, shuriken, and other pointy objects hurled in their direction.

Tenten straightened up and turned on her heel to face her teammate; or rather, his back. Neji was still just standing there, now readjusting his forehead protector like nothing had happened. This just angered her even more, and she was now absolutely seething.

She was just about ready to chuck whatever was handy - conveniently, her pack, which was filled with all kinds of sharp things - at him, but somehow she reasoned out that if she did that, it would result in more

time with the jerk in question, which she most certainly did not want. So, instead, she took as deep a breath as she could manage, picked up her pack, and walked away without a word, still fuming.

Neji, who had been expecting a kunai or shoe, or something of that nature to be thrown at his face, was relatively puzzled as to why it hadn't happened yet. He turned to see that Tenten had, in fact, walked off, and was now a good ways away.

Secretly, Neji only irritated her like that so that she would stay and train with him longer. He had grown quite fond of his teammate, and actually enjoyed her company. For the Hyuuga, however, this was a new and rather uncomfortable feeling, so he had never come out and told her about it; his "tick-her-off-so-that-she-stays-here-longer" method had been working just fine up until now.

"...Tenten."

Of course, she was too far away to have possibly heard his sad attempt at calling her. He knew this, and yet he still expected her to stop and turn around.

He stared at her back for a few moments, and, when he couldn't see it anymore, he resumed his training, alone.

When Tenten finally reached her apartment - it wasn't too long of a walk, but for some reason it had felt like forever - she went to straight to her bedroom and plopped down on her bed. After throwing her pack carelessly into a corner of the room, she rolled over so that her face was against her pillow.

She had realized her feelings for her teammate some time ago, and it had made training a whole new, grueling experience. Every time she saw him, her heart beat away at speeds that she didn't even think were possible. She would find herself slipping, falling into the pools of milky lavender that were his eyes and the endless, flowing rivers of deep chestnut in his hair...and there was nothing that she could do to stop it. She would let herself drown.

Suddenly, she was jerked from her thoughts by a loud thud. She bolted upright, startled, and looked around for the source of the noise. Her gaze quickly fell upon the window next to her bed, and her eyes widened. A bird had flown right into the windowpane, and was now sliding down the glass, a broken ball of white feathers dirtied by blood.

Tenten wanted to look away, but she found herself unable to. Tears were now overflowing from her eyes and spilling over her face, and, for reasons unknown to her, the one word that kept repeating itself in her mind was, 'Neji.'

'Neji.'

She couldn't get his name out of her head. It screamed at her, it soothed her, it made her want to break down in tears. Hyuuga Neji...

Before it had even registered with her mind what her body was doing, she was out the door and dashing down the streets of Konoha.

Although she was blinded by tears, she miraculously ran into nothing. It was as though a path had been set in front of her just now, lit up by fallen stars, directing her to where she knew she needed to go...

Or maybe it had been there all along...

'Neji.'

Blurred crowds of people whirred past in her peripheral vision. Every blur seemed to be the same, and at that moment, they were. Nothing mattered right now. Not the, "Tenten? What are you--" that swept briefly across her eardrums; not the fact that the hair buns that were, a few moments ago, tightly pulled back on her head were now coming loose and random strands of hair were flying forth from every direction; not the fact that it had started to rain and she was suddenly the only person in the street.

'Neji.'

There were the training grounds, just ahead. The path ended here; it was time for her to act of her own accord. It was time for her to take her heart in her hands and break it open, and release everything that had previously been shut up inside.

'Neji.'

She burst though the grove of trees and into the opening where she knew she would find him. It was raining hard now, and the dirt all around had turned to a muddy ocean, but he was still there, training as hard as ever, and now he turned to look at her, his eyes piercingly white through the hazy darkness.

"Tenten...? What's wrong?"

"Ah...Neji..."

Not even bothering to support herself anymore, she collapsed onto the ground.

"I...I'm so relieved...that...you're here...! I...ah..." Tears had started forming in her eyes again, and she didn't quite know why. She didn't make any attempt to wipe them away, though.

"It's just...I was thinking...that if you ever disappeared...I...I don't know what I'd...do...and..."

The tears were coming faster now, racing down her cheeks and mixing with the continuing rain.

She suddenly realized that Neji was now directly in front of her. He knelt down and looked her in the eye, his gaze enveloping her completely.

"I...Neji...I love you," she said, surprised at how easily the words came out. Neji said nothing, but he nodded, and pulled her closer to him. She clutched his sleeve and buried her face in his chest. There were so many things cluttering her mind, so many things that she wanted to say, but she didn't feel the need to.

They sat there for a while, just taking everything in, not wanting to break the precious silence between them. After a while, though, Neji finally spoke. Or at least, he tried to.

"I...Tenten...I...I..." He blushed and looked at the ground, fumbling with the words. After a few more failed attempts at saying a full sentence, there was a pause, as if he was carefully sorting out the words in his head, and then, still looking at the ground, he managed to say, "I love you, too."

Tenten's eyes widened. It had been quiet, barely above a whisper, but she had heard it. Then, once it had clicked in her mind what had just happened, she couldn't help but break out in laughter. Neji, completely surprised, looked up at her with a look of absolute confusion on his face. After she had stopped laughing, she looked into his eyes, a wide smile still plastered to her face, and just about tackled him so that he ended up lying on his back with her on top of him. For a moment, Neji just stared at her, resting there on his chest, a look of utmost joy painted upon her features. Then, as a smile crept onto his face, too, he wrapped his arms around her and held her, closing his eyes and taking in every part of her being.

They were so happy, just being there, together like that, and without them noticing, the rain had ceased, and the clouds had moved out, and the stars now shone brightly across the vast canvas of the dark sky, illuminating their hearts with their unique faltering and twinkling against the night.

oOo

So! I hope that it was enjoyable! Reviews are very much appreciated! :)