Last chapter! (For now, there might be an epilogue later.)
Author's Note:
I changed my mind on some things, and after some thinking I decided not to include any mention of smut/lemons or write it out because I just want the ending to just be romantic and stuff. Hope you all will understand <3
I know I've been really slow with updates lately and I apologize for that. I've been having cases of writer's block where I have things planned out, the plot planned out, the events planned out, etc but I just don't know how to write it out. It's...complicated as heck lol.
If you're reading this book all at once, the other intros/outros in different chapters may seem outdated, and I may have put I'd write something but ended up changing my mind. That is most likely due to the lengthy in-between times of publishing these last few chapters, so I probably either forgot or decided to make some changes.
I know some chapters are so freaking cringey, and I sincerely apologize for that. Once I get time to go over the chapters and edit, I'll try to remove that stuff. There's nothing I can do about the past plot events at this point, so I once again apologize for the cringeyness in that. I went crazy with the plot ideas and they ended up squished into one big mess of a plot.
I've also been working on other fanfictions because my indecisive mind can't focus on just one, reeeeeee. I plan on publishing my future fanfictions once they're close to being done or fully done. That way, I can edit and make any changes to the chapters before they're published, since I've been so self-conscious of my writing lately. One is about KamiJirou (My Hero Academia).
I know I've only written Naruto content but I thought it'd be fun to try something new and write fanfictions for other animes too. I also have some future plans for Fairy Tail.
Anyways, sorry to bother you with this very long intro xd. Enjoy the chappy! :3
---
Tenten often found herself thinking of Neji, constantly zoning out at all hours of the day. It was mostly worry, and the situation bugged her even more after she had openly, kind-of-indirectly admitted that she had feelings for Neji Hyuga, out of all people. Tenten had never felt this way towards anyone in her life up until now. She'd barely worried about emotions in the past, and she'd never felt feelings for anyone to this point- the point where she'd constantly worry about them and wonder what was happening to her. Ino had mentioned that the two could end up together, her 'ship setting sail'. But the chances of that happening...she pushed it out of her head.
Women throw themselves at him. Why would he choose me out of all people? The brunette wasn't an indecisive person; in fact, she was one who could make a decision and stick to it, in most cases. But this wasn't one of those cases. She was stuck debating on whether to bottle up those emotions or let them spill; stuck on debating whether she should give up on the only feelings she's ever had-and possibly ever will have- for anyone or risk their friendship. It was exceedingly frustrating, like a constant, painful mental torture.
A week passed after the girls' talk, quicker than Tenten realized yet slower than she could've ever imagined, all while she still continued contemplating the feelings she felt for Neji despite constantly trying to push the thought out of her mind. At least it's the last day of the project, she thought to herself in an attempt to be optimistic. But she and Neji were roommates, they'd still be together daily, although at least it wouldn't be constant. Once they were back in Tokyo, she could busy herself with studying, sleep, and countless other distractions. Perfect.
Tenten got out of bed and walked towards her suitcase, glancing at a reading Neji. He was lounging in a seat by the glass windows, his brown hair in its usual pristine sleekness. His eyes were focused intently on the book in his hands. She found herself staring at his flawless facial features, from his eyes to his jaw and then to his perfect, smooth lips. A memory of her lips against his popped up in her head, causing her cheeks to flush with heat, but her mind quickly reminded her she was trying to distance herself from this man. She quickly looked away, her gaze landing on something else in the room instead. Anywhere but on him.
The glass door to the balcony was slid open slightly, allowing the ocean breeze to waft in gently and causing the curtains to flutter. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the sea as the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore echoed in her ears.
Tenten took out her clothing for the day, which consisted of simple black flip flops, a pair of denim shorts, an olive green tank top, and a navy blue, two piece swimsuit to wear underneath. While changing in the hotel bathroom, she went over the events of the day in her head. They literally had nothing planned until six in the evening, which was, depending on her viewpoint, both good and bad. Six in the evening is when everyone from the project is supposed to meet on the beach for a cookout, guests being welcome as well. The next morning they'd fly back to Tokyo.
A buzzing noise came from Tenten's phone, which lay on the sink counter. She picked it up and checked who messaged her. It was a text from Ino, sent to the group chat. She also noticed that there was fourteen percent battery left, which wasn't much of a concern to her.
Ino: last day everybody! how about we all meet up and have some fun? there's a huge mall a few blocks away from the resort
Shikamaru: If this is shopping, as always, I refuse to come.
Ino: there's so much to do in the mall tho...it's a literal amusement park in there.
Naruto: if thats true im coming!
Kiba: same!!!
Shikamaru: I guess I'll come. This is such a drag.
Temari: I will personally drag your ass there if you don't.
Shikamaru: Troublesome woman.
Sakura: wheres the meeting spot
Ino: near the entrance of the resort :)
Sakura: okie, sasuke will be coming too he said
Ino: great! remember to wear comfy clothes everyone
Tenten stopped reading the group chat conversation for a moment to open the bathroom door and step out, grabbing the clothing she changed out of and turning off the lights. "Neji?"
"What is it?" He asked, looking up from his book.
"The group is meeting up in front of the resort to go to some huge mall. She said it's basically an amusement park or something, and to wear comfy clothes. Are you coming?"
"I suppose so. Tell Ino I'll be going," Neji replied before getting up from the seat and placing down his book, grabbing a change of clothes. He then went into the bathroom to change.
Tenten looked back down at her phone and texted the others.
Tenten: im going and neji said he will too
Naruto: hina said shes coming too
Sakura: "hina" huh? is that your nickname for her? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Naruto: wha- why
Sakura: oh nothing, just curious ya know :)
Tenten chuckled at Naruto's obliviousness before putting her phone in her purse, along with a few other items. She and Neji headed down the elevator and through the glass doors of the resort entrance, meeting with the group outside.
"Alrighty, you two are here!" Ino grinned when she saw them, waving. "We're still waiting for a few people, who should be here pretty soon. Everyone decided to come along!"
Within a few minutes, the entire group had gathered near the entrance of the resort, Gaara and Kankuro included.
"So, what's our plan for today?" Sakura asked.
"Hmm, I thought we'd all decide on that," Ino replied.
"How about we start off together then split off? We have phones if we ever need to contact each other and if we get lost," Temari suggested.
"There could be a meeting spot and a certain time when we meet," Tenten added, "Until then, we can just split up and have fun."
"I agree with their idea," Rock Lee said, giving a thumbs up and a toothy grin.
The others agreed as well, so it was decided. In a few minutes, the group had made it to the entrance of the mall. The building was massive.
"I think w-we should pick a meeting spot that's easy to find," Hinata suggested quietly.
"That's a great idea," Ino replied as the group walked into the mall.
A few feet from the entrance doors was a gigantic fountain, a statue of a mermaid at the top. The mermaid held an urn above her head, water pouring out of that.
"How about that fountain up ahead?" Kiba asked, Akamaru giving a small bark in agreement.
"That will be our meeting spot!" Ino declared, checking the time on her phone. It was 9:46 in the morning. "How about we meet at the fountain at around 2:00 in the afternoon? Then we can all have lunch together. It gives us all a little over four hours to wander around, but remember, don't buy too much stuff. Otherwise you might have trouble bringing it back to Japan."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Naruto replied, giving a goofy grin.
"One more thing," The platinum blonde said firmly, a mischievous glimmer in her baby blue eyes. "The project's requirements. Kakashi Sensei stated that we were to be with our project partners during this trip. What better way to wrap up our essays than to write about the time spent in such a place, am I right?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"I guess..."
"Sure."
"Alright!"
"Such a youthful opportunity!" (Everyone can guess who said this lol.)
"It's settled then!" Ino declared happily, clasping her hands together. "Of course, pairs of partners are ok as well. Anyways, have fun everyone! Remember the meeting time and place!" She hoped this would be the place her ships would set sail.
Neji and Tenten, Sakura and Sasuke, and Hinata and Naruto ended up deciding to stick together in one big group.
"So, do any of you have any plans in mind?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly, his hands shoved in his pockets.
"To have fun!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"I mean a specific plan, you Dobe," Sasuke replied.
"We could just wander around and see what there is to do," Sakura suggested.
The others nodded.
The group continued through the first floor of the mall, which was absolutely huge. It was so colorful, with so many decorations and art everywhere. Along with that, there were also so many stores and so many things to do, it was hard to decide where to start.
They eventually ended up at the entrance to an aquarium. With no entrance fee, they were allowed to just walk right in. There was one large path that people could walk through to view the animals, the glass walls forming an arch over their heads.
"What if the glass breaks?" Naruto asked, frowning as he looked at the glass above him.
"I d-don't think that will happen, Naruto," Hinata giggled from beside him, watching a colorful fish swim by.
Once the group had walked through to the other side, there was a place where you could watch a short video through a virtual reality headset, which cost five American dollars per person.
"I think I'll sit this one out," Neji said as he watched the group in front of them screaming at whatever was playing through the headset.
"Same," Sasuke agreed.
"Aww, looks like some people are too scared to try it out," Naruto teased.
"Pfft, of course not," Neji replied, "It is just that I simply have no intention of watching something so-"
"But it'll be so fun Neji," Tenten interrupted, giving him puppy eyes. "Pleaseeeeee?"
"Fine," He muttered in reply, huffing.
"Well that leaves you Sasugay! Are you coming or are you too chicken?" Naruto said mockingly, emphasizing the word chicken.
"Fuck you," Sasuke growled at him. "You know what? I'll do it, just to prove you wrong."
So in the end, they all decided to try it. Each of them paid five dollars and got handed a VR headset. Then they sat down in comfy leather chairs and put the headsets on. Turns out, it was very, very realistic-looking.
"We nearly got eaten by a shark!" Naruto said as the group of six walked out of the VR room.
"Who's the chicken now?" Sasuke asked smugly. "I'm not the one who screamed in fear every two seconds."
"Shut the hell up," The blonde replied, scowling in defeat. He perked up when he saw what was ahead of them in the mall. "Ooh look, a maze!"
"Really?" Sakura asked in curiosity. "I love mazes!"
"They make my head hurt," Tenten replied, sighing.
"H-How about we have a contest?" Hinata suggested softly, pointing at the maze up ahead. "W-Whichever group finds their way out first wins."
"Deal!" Everyone agreed, all of them up for a challenge.
"I'm not getting bested by some idiot like Naruto," Sasuke grumbled.
"Hey, I take that as an offense," Naruto replied, feigning hurt.
When they reached the entrance of the maze (which happened to have no entrance fee, like the aquarium), a lady explained some things to them beforehand.
"It is advised you go in groups," The lady said, pulling a small device out of a box in her hands. "These are tracking devices for the inside of the maze. When you're lost and have absolutely no way of knowing where to go, there's a red button on the side," She showed the group the button before continuing. "However, if you use the button you're technically disqualified if it's a race, because a map will appear on the screen of the device and it will show your current location. It will guide you through the maze." She pressed the button, a map popping up on the screen.
After each pair was handed a device, they began the race. "Loser gets to pay for snacks after this!" Sakura declared, grabbing Sasuke's arm as they ran off to the left.
Naruto and Hinata took the center maze path, so Neji and Tenten took the path to the right.
"Do you happen to have a strategy in mind?" Tenten asked, the two of them running through the maze.
"And why do you think that?" Neji replied.
"Because you're a prodigy or something," She answered, frowning slightly at the words that came out of her mouth.
Neji's brows creased in confusion. "Where did you-"
"I don't know," Tenten said. "I honestly forgot where I heard that, I just know I heard it somewhere..."
He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say much other than, "Unfortunetly, I have no plan in mind."
"Well, we could just continue to go right until we reach the exit," Tenten suggested, giggling slightly. "It might take a while, but it's worth a try."
So, in the end, it took one hour for them to reach the exit. They nearly gave up and pressed the button, but luckily, they made it out with only the help of constant right turns that were bound to give anyone a headache.
"Whew, we made it out," Tenten breathed a sigh of relief. She and Neji stopped to catch their breath, stepping out of the exit.
"We better not be in last place," Neji grumbled.
They soon learned that Sakura and Sasuke had found the exit ten minutes or so before they did. On the bright side, they weren't last. Naruto and Hinata had to rely on the device's button and the map to find their way out of there, but surprisingly, Naruto wasn't complaining one bit. The two of them looked like they had so much fun.
The next one to two hours were spent enjoying different activities throughout the mall. The group eventually advanced to higher floors of the building. Finally, the pairs decided to split up, leaving Neji and Tenten wandering the mall without the rest of the group.
"This place is huge," Tenten breathed, looking around in awe. "I wonder what time it is though."
"Shit," Neji cursed under his breath, searching his pockets for his phone. "I forgot my phone."
"Oh, that's ok, we can use mine," The brunette replied, opening her purse and taking out her phone. It was completely out of battery. "And...I just realized now that I forgot to charge it earlier."
"So you're implying that we're stuck on who-knows-which floor of a gigantic mall with no idea how to navigate this place?" Neji asked, glaring at her.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, it's not completely my fault," Tenten said defensively, rolling her eyes at his scowling expression. "We'll just...uh...wander around until we find an elevator or stairs. Sounds good?"
"Fine."
They wandered around the floor of the mall, completely lost. Eventually, they made it to a much quieter part of that level, which barely any people and empty spaces that looked like potential shop areas.
"We're even more lost than before," Neji groaned in dismay.
Tenten frowned. "You know...we probably should've asked someone for help."
"Oh, and now you suggest that?!" He responded angrily. "Thanks, that really helped."
"You're welcome," Tenten answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She then noticed a narrow door with a stair-like symbol above the frame. "Those might be stairs," She said, pointing in that direction.
"They better be."
Turns out, they were stairs. When they walked through the narrow door (which was, thankfully, unlocked), they saw that the floor number was marked on the wall. Floor 16.
"We have to walk down sixteen flights of stairs?!" Tenten asked, exasperated.
Neji scowled as he began going down the stairs. "And who's fault is this, exactly?"
"Both of ours!" Tenten replied, following close behind him. "At least I even bothered bringing my phone."
"Your efforts were completely useless because your phone had no battery," He countered, "Meaning you might as well have left it back at the hotel, because it doesn't matter either way."
"It's the effort that counts, smartass," Tenten muttered, rolling her eyes.
"And your so-called 'effort' is part of the reason we're now forced to go down sixteen flights of stairs," Neji continued, eyeing a Floor 5 mark on the wall.
"Yes, and I regret not charging my phone because I have to spend extra time with you," Tenten said angrily. "You're the most arrogant bastard I've ever met in my life."
In a split second, she felt herself being pinned against the wall. Neji glared at her, his face only inches away. "Call me that again and I'll-"
"You'll what?" She asked, her gaze softening into a look of sadness. "Play with my feelings like you did with everyone else?" Tenten felt a sharp pain stabbing at her heart as those words came out of her mouth.
"Tenten..." Neji whispered, frowning. "I didn't mean it like-"
"I love you," She blurted out, unable to bottle up those feelings any longer. "And I know you'll probably never feel the same way so I didn't even bother trying to tell you that and it's so fucking complicated but I-"
"Tenten."
"Y-Yes?"
"I love you too," Neji whispered, unhesitatingly pressing his lips against hers.
Their lips melded together, the heat spreading like a wildfire through their bodies, their hearts beating unbelievably fast. Tenten entangled her fingers in his hair, pulling his body even closer against hers as the kiss deepened, a spark igniting inside their hearts and burning brighter by the second. They eventually pulled away for air, gasping for breath.
"Tenten?" Neji said softly.
"Hmm?" She asked.
He looked slightly nervous as he asked his next question. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes."
---
The sun had nearly disappeared completely below the horizon, with only a few streaks of orange and yellow left in the sky. Neji and Tenten sat next to each other on a towel laid out on the sandy beach. Nearby were their fellow classmates, enjoying the cookout and goofing off.
The most noticeable and noisy of them all was -drumroll please- Naruto, who was yelling and attempting to yank off a crab that had somehow clung to his swimming trunks. Ino had brought the man she met named Sai along to the cookout as her guest.
Earlier, when Neji and Tenten had met up with the friend group at the first floor's fountain of the mall (just in time, if I may add), they had agreed prior to the meet-up that they wouldn't tell everyone about their relationship...yet. Sometime during or after the party was when they'd planned on telling the news to the group.
However, a certain platinum blonde was already suspecting that an event had occurred in the couple's time alone, although she thankfully didn't give an interrogations. Chances are, she probably knew already just from keen observations, without even having or needing any information on the matter.
"I think the fireworks are starting," Tenten whispered.
Sure enough, they were. Brilliant fireworks shot up and exploded in the sky, shattering into a million dazzling sparks of light. Both of them felt an odd sensation in their heads. An orange firework shot into the sky and exploded, and as it did, everything came pouring into their heads. All the memories of happiness, sorrow, pain- it entered their minds and the minds of their comrades, everyone who was affected by it or involved in some way. As Neji and Tenten remembered the past life they had, they also realized the importance of friendship and love. How precious it was to them and how precious it would always be. But most importantly, if you truly believe, dreams do come true.
- The End -
(Until I decide to write an Epilogue lol)