Always (NejiTen)

II

Tenten's P.O.V-

     "Since we'll be seeing a lot of each other for a while, we might as well get to know each other pretty well," Tenten commented to her fellow shinobi who was sitting next to her. Guy sensei had put the two of them on watch duty on the outskirts of the village while he and Rock Lee did some intense taijustu training.
     "Fine. You get three questions," Neji said without taking his eyes off of the woods.
     "Okay... How about this- " Tenten was cut off by Neji when he said, "Hey, I get to go first."
     "Okay then," Tenten giggled looking at him.
     "What's your family like?" Neji asked and Tenten's face fell.
     "I never knew them. My father was never in the picture and my mother died of an illness soon after I was born," she murmured, looking at her feet.
    "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," he said quietly.
     "It's okay," Tenten said cheerfully, putting a smile on her face, "My turn now."
     She thought for a moment and then turned to him. "Why do you wear the bandages on your arm all of the time?" She asked.
     Neji looked at her blankly for a minute, with a look of surprise on his face. It quickly went away and he cleared his throat. "I've worn them since I was young. One day after the Hyuga elders were being particularly annoying, I put the bandages on and made a promise to myself that I would wear them until I was strong enough to overcome the curse of being in the side branch of the family."
     Tenten looked at him with slight confusion that he was opening up to her, even if it was only a bit. She looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm sure that the day will come soon."

                                     ~•~

     Ah the adventures we had, Tenten thought, smiling softly.
     She slowly walked to the kitchen. Tenten made herself force down a few bites of food and a glass of water. She abruptly stood up after sitting down on the couch and ran to the restroom. After she had emptied her stomach of what little was in there, the doorbell rang.
    Grumbling, she got onto her feet and trudged to the door. Pasting on a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, she opened the door. The first thing Tenten saw was a pair of pale lavender eyes. Could it be? Then she realized that the person standing at the door was a girl who had long blue hair.
     "Hinata! What are you doing here?" Tenten exclaimed cheerfully.
     Hinata looked at her with a small smile. "I'm j-just checking u-up on you," Hinata stuttered.
     The two of them had grown much closer after Neji's death. Tenten felt that Hinata was the only one who could empathize with her since she too was close to Neji.
     "So how are you?" Tenten asked Hinata.
     "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Hinata said.
      Tenten sighed, "I guess."
      Hinata looked at her with knowing eyes.
      "I'm well. Doing much better." Lies, Tenten said, "What about you?"
      "Alright. It was like loosing a brother, even though it was my cousin. It's even harder knowing that he passed while protecting me," Hinata looked down, her eyes watering.
     Tenten put a hand on her shoulder. There was a moment of silence between the girls. They walked into the house.
     "U-uh do you want any tea or anything?" Tenten asked Hinata as soon as they got inside.
     Hinata shook her head. "Gomen, but I'm just stopping by before training."
     Tenten nodded. "I understand."
     Hinata waved goodbye and walked out of the door. Tenten should have started training again by now, but she's stayed out of it for a while, blaming emotional wounds from the battle. She sighed. Whenever she tried to train with Lee, all she could think about was Neji. Their trio that was now down to two. How she couldn't protect him in the end, no matter how bad she wanted too.
     Tenten tugged on a sweater, grabbed her basket and walked outside into the chilly air. She shivered and started down the trail to town. The sun slightly peeked out behind a cloud, beginning to warm the air. Down the road was the florists, run by Ino.
     The bell rang as she walked in the door. Ino stood at the front desk, talking into the phone. Tenten waited while she finished.
     "...So that's a delivery on the fifth of a rose bouquet?"
     There was silence while they talked on the other side.
     "Yes, and that will be 2,206 yen. Arigato."
     Ino put the phone down and looked at Tenten, smiling brightly.
     "Hey there Tenten. What can I get for you today?"
     "Um... just a lily," Tenten told her and handed her the change.
     She took the lily and walked out of the store. Tenten could her Ino say, " See you later!" As she walked out.
     Lilies were always Neji's favorite. He admired them for their beauty.

                                     ~•~
Tenten's P.O.V
     I walked up to the gates of the Hyuga compound. Hinata was having her 7th birthday party there and she had invited me.
     I saw a girl through the window. Who could that be? A sibling of hers? I felt like I have seen them before, but I couldn't place it. I knocked and a woman came to the door.
    "Hello dear, you must be here for Hinata. I am her mother, Mrs. Hyuga. Come with me," she told me and let me in.
     We walked down a long hallwayI wanted to ask her about the girl in the window but when I had finally mustered up enough courage to speak, she said, "Here we are. You have fun now. I will be around if you need anything."
       Mrs. Hyuga walked away as I walked through the door. Hands pulled me through the door.
     "T-Tenten-chan!" Hinata called from the bed. The person who pulled me in was Ino. Sakura was sitting on the floor, as well as a couple other girls I didn't really recognize.
     "Hi Hinata! Happy Birthday!" I told her.
     "Arigato Tenten." Hinata said to me.
     I caught up with some of the other girls there for a while, mostly talking to Hinata and Sakura. Another girl there, I think her name was Asami, she suggested to play hide and seek. Everyone agreed, and we played "Inky Binky Bonky" to find out who was it.
     People were eliminated, and then it was between me and some other girl that I don't know her name. The turn landed on her foot and I was the winner. Hinata set down some rules on where you can and can't go, but I wasn't really listening.
    Once she was done, I said, "I'll count to 60 and then come find you."
    They nodded and there was an assorted "Kay," here and there. I covered my eyes with my hands and turned around.
     "One, Two, Three..." I could hear people scrambling out of the door to find places to hide. I finished counting all the way up to sixty.
     "Ready or not here I come!" I yelled and walked out the door.
The air was cooler out in the hall, compared to Hinata's room which had had so many people in it. I could feel a breeze coming from down the hall, where a door was left ajar. I know Hinata told us not to go outside but if I haven't found anyone yet, who's gonna know, right?
I walked over to the door and peeked outside. There was a small garden, composed mostly of white lillies. I took a few steps into the garden before I stopped myself, thinking, I should go back, the girls are waiting to be found. As I started to walk back, a voice stopped me, "Hey! What are you doing here?"
I froze and slowly turned around. It was that girl from the window, but as I took a closer look at her face I realized that it wasn't a she, but a he.
    "Um... I-...I got lost," I started to make up an excuse. He turned back to watering a patch of lillies and said, "Go away."
I bit my lip and stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Tenten."
     "My name is Neji," he said without looking up.
    "Well maybe we can be friends?" I asked him hopefully.
    He gave no sign that he even heard me so I repeated myself.
   "Well maybe we can be friends!" I practically screamed at him.
   Neji continued to ignore me. I huffed and walked back in the house to finish playing hide and seek. I found the girls pretty quickly (they weren't many places to hide for that many people). Eventually my mind wandered to him, but I shrugged it off. The girls were suspicious why I took so long in finding them, so I told them that I had stopped to admire a tapestry in the hall.
     They would never have to know about me meeting the long haired boy with the garden of lilies.