Always (NejiTen)

VI

**kinda from neji's pov?? but still third person i guess??**

Oh that poor, poor girl... Neji thought.

His eyes raked over her figure, as they had so many times before. He took in the pitiful girl before him. The strong kunoichi that he once knew was gone. It feels like the thin bun haired girl standing in front of him was a completely different person. It wasn't just her appearance that was different, she had gotten lost in herself. The Tenten that Neji knew and loved was as stubborn as a mule, never backed down from a challenge, always tried her best, was brutally honest, and so much more. Now it appears that she's lost everything that made her who she is. It almost made Neji angry, to see that she couldn't be strong after he passed. To see that how she let herself fall apart like this, over him. Out of everything that she had been through in her life, he was the one who came and broke her. Another emotion that was prevalent in the maelstrom of Neji's feelings was guilt. If he had never been involved in her life, his death wouldn't have hurt her so much. She would have been able to move on.

"Neji where am I, and what the hell are you doing here?" Her hoarse voice shook him out of his train of thought.

The long haired boy took a deep breath, more as a habit than a necessity since he was, in fact, dead. "That's not important, Tenten. What is important, though, is that you are a mess. You're self destructing at every possible opportunity for growth or improvement." He chided her as if she was a child, which was quite reminiscent of the way he spoke to most people when he was younger.

"I thought that by showing myself to you once again that you would come to terms with the situation and move on. Now I see that I have been mistaken, because you've only gotten worse," Neji spoke. His tone grew harsher with each word that he said, as his attitude turned from his usual nonchalant and unyielding persona into something angrier.

"How could you have possibly let my death affect you like this? I thought you were stronger... that's why I admired you..." Neji's tone softened as he thought about what he was saying and then continued, "That's part of the reason why I loved you, Tenten."

Tenten, the girl before him now whom he had loved dearly, looked more pitiful and pathetic than ever. She was still in her ragged clothes and the never ending flow of tears left her eyes red and puffy. This girl was broken, and Neji did that to her.

After trying to swallow down the lump in her throat Tenten tried to speak, tried to explain herself in any way possible. "I-I just missed you so much, and I couldn't just go on without you and—"

"Tenten stop it. I do not want to hear it. Here I am nearly lecturing you as if you were a child. Tenten I love you, but you must accept that I am gone, and I will not be coming back. Never would I have imagined that my death would have such an effect on you. I understand that it hurts, I understand that you miss me, but what good would it do for you to give up on life yourself?"

Neji was pacing now, and the bun haired girl could do nothing but drag her eyes back and forth after him as he spoke. "If you rip yourself away from life as you know it, you will simply be sentencing everyone else to the same fate. Our friends and family will have to endure the pain of two losses because when I died, it seems that the Tenten they knew died with me."

"What about poor Hinata, who all in about a month or so, lost her brother and her best friend. I don't know if she would be able to handle it. She's strong... but then again I always thought that about you and here we are," Neji's tone returned harsh and relentless, as the girl before him could do nothing but listen.

The spirit winced slightly as something came over him. His fingertips started to fade in and out, and Neji knew he did not have much time left. His time was running out with his beloved and all he had done was scold her.

Starting out again he was softer, "Tenten I say all of this because I care about you more than you can imagine. And I wouldn't be able to take it if I was the cause of your downfall. I apologize if I was harsh before, but you needed to hear it. I hope that you take it to heart, because I won't be able to visit you again. My spirit form is weak now and nearly gone."

The man walked closer to her, and laid a ghostly hand upon her skin as he spoke his last words to her, "The next time we meet will be when you join me in the afterlife, which hopefully, though I love to see your face, not be for many many years."

The brunette kunoichi in front of him leaned into his hand, though it felt like nothing more than a cool breeze, but remained speechless with wide eyes.

"Remember that I will always be with you, always," he said as he stepped away, "I love you Tenten, and may we meet again."

As he spoke his final words to Tenten, his very presence began to fade away until there was nothing left. Tenten grasped at the air as it happened, as if somehow she could hold onto him to keep him with her. "No! No, Neji stay!" she cried, as she frantically looked around for any trace that he could still be there, unable to accept that he was truly gone yet again.

The girl covered her face with her hands and grabbed at her hair. By the time she opened her eyes up again she was in a hospital room. Her heart was racing and it felt as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. The bright lights of the hospital were vaguely reminiscent of the white dreamscape that she was in with Neji.

Neji... she thought.

It wasn't as if she didn't want to be able to move on, she just felt as if she couldn't. Not without him anyways. Nothing would ever be the same without him.

Tenten glances out the window and saw that the sky was dark, grey, and cloudy. The soft pitter patter of the beginning of a rainstorm was audible outside the room. It appeared to be around sunset, though you could barely tell that the sun was out because of the clouds.

Stumbling out of the bed, she brushed herself off and found the restroom that was a few doors down. The kunoichi gazed at her reflection in the mirror and splashed some water on her face. Her hair was down, not in its usual bun hairstyle, and very tangly. She did what she could with her fingers to untangle it before leaving the restroom.

After exiting the bathroom she had a good view of the window into the waiting room in the lobby, where she was surprised to see Kiba, Hinata, and her other friends.

Most of them were engaged in a friendly conversation but Hinata just stared at the wall. The worry in her eyes was as obvious as her hair was blue. Silent tears dripped from her eyes as she watched them interact and just be there for her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

And though it pained her to do so, Tenten took one more peak through the window and walked in the other direction until she reached the stairs.

The sign on the wall next to the stairs said ROOF with and upwards arrow. With one last glance behind her, Tenten hurried up the steps.

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oh, worm? me updating? shocking i know. have fun there's only like one chapter left lol