She woke up early and went to the Yamanaka flower shop to pick up some white, velvety roses.
"I'll take these please, Ino-chan.." The weapon yielder said, pointing out to a dozen roses, shyly with a gentle smile.
"Oh these are lovely. Freshly bloomed too! What's the occasion Tenten-chan?"
Ino said eagerly, gathering the bunch of flowers to the till with a friendly smile plastered on her flawless, pale face.
Tenten rummaged around for her purse in her side-attached handbag, responding to the blonde-haired kunoichi.
"I'm just.. I'm-" she said, struggling through her possessions.
Ino giggled "Need a little help?"
"I'm fine!" The bun-girl said with a sheepish smile.
Finally, she found her money.
"That's ¥1200." Ino replied with a steady tone.
Tenten handed the other girl what was owed, and replied coldly,
"I'm... well.."
She looked down to her feet and put her purse back in her little bag; Ino sensed intensity and distraught in her heart.
The Next Yamanaka leader looked at Tenten with concern until she finished her sentence.
"I'm going to visit a gravestone.."
Tenten finally managed to blink back a few tears and pulled up her head to face Ino, and slapped a fake smile across her face.
Without hesitation, Ino looked at her worryingly and frowned.
"Who are you going to visit...?" Ino said- her voice went from alive to lifeless.
"Neji."
Tenten said without emotion, as she looked down at her wrist. A bracelet was clutched to her small hand, with a bird and Neji's curse mark crocheted on it. The Byakugan specialist had given it to her, as a birthday present. It was as beautiful as a titanium ring, even though it was woven with a curse mark on it.
That bracelet has a story. One day after training, Tenten asked Neji why he always covered his curse mark with his head band, He didn't respond, the Hyūga only asked why she asked in the first place. She replied:
"Because I think it's beautiful..."
Neji denied her and explained why he thought it was a flaw. It was hideous. It was pure evil. To quote what he said to her, "it is the only thing separating a bird from its freedom. It's a chain, my cage, my fate- which my family shares the burden of. We all suffer the same ending- to sacrifice for one's life. It is my curse." She told him that he should accept his appearance because she thought it was the most beautiful imperfection she had ever laid her eyes on.
Ever since her 16th birthday, she couldn't pluck the courage to take it off. Whenever she went out somewhere, the bracelet had to be hugging her hand, not ever letting go. She couldn't manage to leave her house without it-her most valuable possession. She wouldn't trade it even for a thousand kunais, and even that was a huge temptation for the kunoichi.
Ino had gotten a flashback of memories of Tenten whenever she was around the Hyūga. She was always open. Always lively. Always loving.
Ino looked at Tenten with a heavy heart and asked,
"Will you be okay?..."
After what seemed like a moment lost in time, Tenten stopped gazing at her bracelet, caught back with reality and said "I'll be fine.." Taking the flowers, she left the flower shop and bowed in gratitude to her blonde companion.
A few minutes later, Tenten was walking down a path. She listened to the wind blow, the birds call to eachother, and crickets chattering between the reeds. Counting the birds fly above her head just like Neji, she smiled, finally reaching the cemetery.
Tenten stopped in her tracks and looked at the graveyard sign. It read "Rest in perfect peace to those we lost and loved. May they live and flourish in our hearts forever." Tenten gripped the flower stems tightly, took in a deep breath of the passing wind flowing through her bangs, and walked through and under the typical Japanese gate [found at Shinto shrines], greeting and bowing her head. She honoured all the graves around her.
Walking through the neatly aligned-flowered cemetery, she smiled at the other memorial plates infront of her being, and noticed other villagers honouring their loved ones too. She reached her loved-ex teammate's grave, and sat down infront of it.
"Hi."
She said, smiling purely and letting drip a few unwanted tears from her heart.
Team nine's weapon specialist set down the dozen silky pearl-White flowers ontop of Neji Hyūga's grave, thinking that they would compliment his beautiful eyes if he was there with her. She let her emotions pour out of her heart. She cried, allowing her sadness to fall through her. Neji spoke to her in her head at that very moment, and said to her in a soft, gentle and welcoming voice
"Hi.."
She envisioned his gorgeous, show-stopping smile in her head, clutching onto her thought, not letting go. As she was crying, she felt an inviting warmth radiate around her, hugging her, consuming her even, but in a good way. It let her feel safe, and allowed her to fall into the arms of a loved one. Perhaps this was Neji's spirit, she thought, but she couldn't tell if it was him, or the sun beaming down on her back.
Tenten cried and cried some more, not holding back her depression. She cried so much that her eyelids began to swell up and sore her. She couldn't see clearly anymore. She read her lover's stone. It said "Neji Hyūga. Caged but now free forever. May you rest in humble peace."
"It didn't have to end like this!"
She shouted with a broken voice. Tenten's voice started to choke and break as she could not control her myriad of emotions. Pain. Depression. Anger. Fear. A mix of everything.
Tenten fell down on her front, burying her face into the freshly cut grass, letting her hair loose. She felt the tension of her hair being in place, being freed, again like Neji's freedom. Her hair fell over her shoulders, enclosing her from the surrounding world.
Half an hour passed by. Tenten gathered her strength and pushed herself up, kneeling on her knees and wiping her eyes gently. Her beautiful bracelet caught her eye, and she smiled lightly at it. One last tear drop fell, and it fell on the woven bird on her birthday present.
The radiating warmth around her had stayed ever since she started mourning. It was still lovingly comforting her. Neji had spoken again to her.
"I miss you. Thankyou for visiting me here...please stop crying. I love you.."
Tenten's facial expression stiffened. She couldn't react to anything. Her face was plain and clueless. Lost in a daydream which was more of a nightmare..
She exhaled and finally gathered her wits.
"I miss you too.. I love you more but I miss you too much that it's unbearable.."
Sitting up but slouching, Tenten pulled and played with the fresh grass beneath her with a saddened face.
Neji was talking to her. Comforting her. Soothing her. Relaxing her.
From a distance, a friend was watching Tenten cautiously. It was Ino. 10 minutes after Tenten left the Yamanaka business, Ino asked her father if it was ok to visit the village cemetery. Ofcourse her father couldn't say no, so Ino quickly followed after Tenten, but keeping a distance between them so Tenten wouldn't notice her. Ino had watched her friend sit at her ex comrade's grave for what seemed like centuries now, watching her mourn. Time has stopped around them since the first teardrop fell onto the earthy soil; but the sun was still shining high as ever, happily in the sky.
Inoichi's daughter had waited long enough. She then started walking towards Tenten and Neji's spirit, clueless that he was there beside her, pulling out a tissue packet from her bag. Closing the distance between them, Ino appeared from behind Tenten, crouched down to her left side, and gave her a soft, small tissue.
"Oh.. Hi Ino.."
Tenten said, looking up at the handy-sized tissue.
"Thanks.."
Tenten giggled and cried a little.
"I really should've come prepared with tissues of my own.."
"It's alright, Tenten.."
Ino said, comfortingly.
Ino bowed her head to Neji in respect, and suddenly she felt the warmth radiate around her too.
'I feel warm all of a sudden..' She thought, smiling at her brown-haired friend.
"It's Neji.. I figured it out a long time ago when I was crying.."
Tenten said, staring at the gravestone and reading her friend's thoughts.
Ino realised that Tenten had been talking to the love of her life, which is why there was a warm glow around where she was sitting. It wasn't just the sun. Tenten's crying but soft voice had awakened Neji and he started to look after her.
"Thankyou, Neji-kun. We miss you.. Thankyou for watching over our comrades.."
Ino closed her eyes in respect whilst bowing her head, leaned Tenten's head on her shoulder and hugged her. Tenten was quite vulnerable at this moment, so Ino comforted her, with Neji's present spirit on the weapon mistress' right side, embracing her petite hand in his.
The two girls stayed there for a long time until Ino suggested they go back to the village centre.
" I'll even take you for some dumplings if you want, Tenten-chan."
How could Tenten refuse?
"Alright.. Let's go then.."
And with one fluent push, Tenten was up again, stretching her legs and finding her inner self.
She planted a gentle but all-loving kiss on Neji's gravestone, stroked his engraved name, grabbed her bag whilst tightening her bracelet and walked away from her lover's grave with her sweet friend.
Looking back one last time, she saw Neji's faint spirit, watching her as she bid goodbye, smiling and protecting her fragile heart from inside her.
The wind blew past, making both Ino and Tenten's hair sway delicately to the left. A few leaves rusted on the floor, and gold Eagles were in the sky. 'Two.' Tenten had thought to herself, but her thought seeped out of her mouth quietly. Ino questioned her.
Hm? What did you say Tenten?"
"Oh, nothing.."
Tenten smiled and Ino intertwined her fingers in Tenten's; the weaponist watched the two birds fly against the wind current freely and gracefully.
'Someday I'll be up there with you, Neji.. Soaring against the wind. Just like the Eagles up above. But for now, let's just say that's me and you.. ' she thought to herself, her own voice echoing in her head.
One final tear fell because of gravity. But Tenten could not keep her head down on earth. She was lost in the blue sky, not wanting to be taken away from Neji's ever-living presence, which was flying freely through the clouds.
~
The end.
