Always (NejiTen)

VII

The harsh pitter patter of the rain calmed to a soft trickle as the sad, bun haired girl stood there on the roof. Cold rain soaked through the thin hospital gown she woke up in, but Tenten did not even seem to notice. Her bare feet felt like they were made of ice as they stepped up onto the smooth ledge of the roof.

The emotions that Tenten was feeling right now were a flurry. Thoughts zoomed around in her mind, but something about the rain and the cold made them seem slower. She had been through so much, and here she was, debating whether she was strong enough to go through anything more. The once powerful kunoichi felt weak. Defeated. Depressed. Lonely. But most of all? Tenten felt tired. Tired of being insane. Tired of trying to be okay. Tired of missing Neji. Tired of being alone. Tired of being an empty shell of the girl she once was.

Tired of living.

Neji said I couldn't see him again unless I was dead, so here goes, she thought bitterly.

Ever since she lost him, nothing seemed to be worth it anymore. Her old life could never be the same. Missing him as much as she was, was draining the life right out of her. And in these moments, Tenten did not have the strength to fight it.

The pain that she had gone through was simply too much, and she wanted it to end. All she wanted was to stop hurting and to be with her love once again.

She thinks of her friends, sitting down in the lobby waiting for her. The only people that she has left to care about. A door squeaks behind her, but the soaking wet girl is too lost in her thoughts to notice.

"They're better off without me. All I do is just weigh them down," Tenten says.

A voice behind Tenten calls out, "Tenten, you're wrong!"

Clenching her eyes shut, Tenten does not turn around.

"Go away Hinata! This is my decision." She calls back

A second voice, Kiba's, joins the conversation.

"Tenten get off of the damn ledge, you're scaring me."

~3 Minutes Earlier~

Hinata's eyes darted across the room. All she wanted was for Tenten to wake up so she could talk to her. Hinata had just lost her closest relative, her cousin Neji, and she was determined not to lose her best friend too.

She hadn't realized the extent of what Tenten was going through, and she wasn't there when the girl truly needed her. Tenten had not shared how she was feeling about this with her, keeping her in the dark.

A flash of white shook Hinata from her thoughts.  Someone in a white hospital gown leaving Tenten's room.

Where could she be going? Hinata thought.

Nudging Kiba, who was passed out next to her, she stood up to follow where Tenten was going.

Dragging a groggy Kiba behind her, she asked a nurse in the hallway if she saw where the bun haired girl had gone.

"Oh she went up the stairs. Maybe for a bit of fresh air on the roof," the nurse told them.

Hinata locked eyes with Kiba, as he finally grasped what was going on and why she woke him up. The two of them raced up the stairs together, hoping that their worst fears hadn't come true.

~Present~

When the girl does not move from her spot, Kiba continues.

"Listen, I know you've been having a hard time lately. But we're all here for you, no matter what. We wouldn't be here if we didn't love and care about you. Neji's death hurt all of us, but you can't just let yourself give up like this, I won't let you give-"

"Kiba, save your breath," Tenten said, cutting him off, "I'm not worth it. You should just let me die. Maybe then you could move on, and not be poisoned by my constant misery."

Now it was Hinata's turn to cut in, "Tenten stop it. You are more than what you were with him. You are more than your grief. You are more than your sadness. This isn't how your story is going to end. I won't slow that. And neither would Neji if he were here."

Tenten stayed silent as she stared out into the village from the edge. The rain picked up again, mixing with the quiet tears on her face. She knew there was truth in their words, but yet was unwilling to change her mind.

"Hinata stop babying her. We've tried being calm and nice and it's not helping her. So you know what Tenten? Go ahead, jump off the ledge. Take the cowards way out. Rip my best friend away me, all because you're too weak to be able to move on from some guy. Believe me, I know how much Neji meant to you and how much his death hurt you, but you need to grow and move on because it's destroying you. But I mean by all means jump, cause not only will you be proving Neji wrong, who believed you were this strong and capable kunoichi, you'll be disappointing him too."

A smile twitched at Tenten's lips. Kiba had always been the one for tough love.

"So please, be my guest, either jump and kill yourself or get the hell down from that ledge and let us help you," he continued.

Still slightly unsteady, Tenten glances back at her two best friends. Maybe they're right. Maybe it doesn't have to end this way.

Maybe I can get better.

Maybe for them, I can be better.

With a new form of strength surging through her body, Tenten swivels around to face her friends. She takes a deep breath and a small step towards them to steady herself, but the smooth wet surface of the ledge sends her extremely off balance.

Kiba rushes forward to help her as Tenten struggles to find her footing once more on the slippery surface. They both reach their hands out towards each other

But both hands are left grasping at cold air and rain as Tenten falls backwards off of the hospital roof.

Time seems to move in slow motion as she falls.

She can hear Hinata and Kiba's screams.

"Tenten!"

"No!"

Just a few moments ago, this is what Tenten wanted, but something about what Kiba and Hinata said had made her question her choices as of late. Her friends love her, and she loves them. Neji is in the past now, and is not worth giving up her life over. There's more to live for.

Tenten squeezes her eyes shut tight as she falls.

I don't want to die

But alas, it was much too late.

___________

Lmao I shockingly wrote a chapter after like a year.
Hope this didn't suck, I just thought this book deserved an ending (even if it's a bad one but hey I wrote the plot when I was like 12)

there'll be a short epilogue after this but that's it for this book