Fans: -look up from playing KH2- Done what?

Larxene12: Written a Naruto-related ficcy!

Fans: Oh, well, this calls for celebration...

Larxene12: What did you have in mind?

Fans: This! -puts a new game into Larxene12's Ps2-

-game starts-

Larxene12: OMG!!! The Naruto Ps2 game! Can I play?

Fans: No.

Larxene12: Please???

Fans: No.

Larxene12: Well, anyway, review! Cuz' I'll know if you don't. -shifty eyes-

You felt the shudder take your body over, making the room seem a lot colder than it really was. The shudder wasn’t about the breeze that blew into your room from the open window.

It was him… You could never forget…

You gripped your pillow in a crushing hug, as if wishing that somehow, it would just turn into him. Closing your eyes, you felt the tears flow down your cheeks in a burning path.

Why? Why did he have to leave? He abandoned you like you meant nothing. And now, all that you saw when you were drifting to sleep were those absolutely mesmerizing eyes.

Beautiful.

Many nights it came back to haunt you. The same scenario-over and over again. It played out like the real thing. A scalding memory forever engraved in your mind.

Are you real or are you my imagination playing games?

You could feel him. The warm caress of his embrace.

Hear him. Words of love and passion whispered to you in a deep, lulling voice.

See him. Those eyes. Shining with an unending promise…

Yet he broke it.

You attempted numerous times to let it go. To convince yourself that it meant nothing. He was gone, after all. How could you possibly hold on to something so fleeting? It was a momentary lapse of judgment in his case. A way to express love in your case.

But you couldn’t. Everything at that moment just felt so right. It was surreal. Like something out of a fairytale. It felt like something meant to be.

And try as you might to let it go, it wouldn’t escape you. Or perhaps you couldn’t escape it…

Well it must be my fate cause I just can’t escape…

With the recurring dreams, your body was set aflame. The feelings reminisced, you could feel your heart clench in pain.

Ever the same… The feeling was always there…

Trying to keep the dreams away, you spent countless sleepless nights. Crying. Sobs wrecked your small form as your thoughts continued to drift to nothing but him.

How pathetic was this?

Moving on proved quite the task, but somehow you pulled it together. At times, you could still feel the sting. The hole he’d left in your heart with his departure. But you pushed the memory to the back of your mind, hoping against hope that you’d never visit it again.

It was in the past. He wasn’t coming back.

Your breath left your being with the sight of him. He looked just as you’d remembered him before he left. Before he turned his back with hardly something that registered as a goodbye.

And he spoke your name. In that same voice that brought all the imaginings crashing back.

Those same eyes…

Your personal hell…

The pain returned with a vengeance, making you unsteady.

Unwillingly, you fell forward, expecting to get personally acquainted with the ground.

And then you felt those arms…

A broken smile bent your lips. The scenario was too much like a dream.

Which meant it was.

You were sure that these were signs of insanity. Why was it so hard to forget?

You berated yourself while you pushed yourself away from his hold. Gathering all the pieces of your heart, you raised your head to meet what had almost driven you to suicide. Grey returned your cold look with hurt. “You’re not real.” You mutter, staring into those cold eyes.

He went rigid for a moment, as if struck by your words. Then, his shoulders slumped forward in an uncharacteristic fashion. “I’d expected that…”

You just scoffed and turned away. “I’ve been trying to get over it.” You move to walk away. “So, please… Just leave me alone…”

He broke at the ruthless words. ‘He deserves it,’ you tried to persuade yourself. Though you could feel the clenching of guilt in your own gut.

You could only gasp when you felt the warmth of strong arms engulf you in an ever-familiar embrace.

Could a dream make you feel so much pain?

“I’m sorry…” came the muttered apology against your skin, breath brushing your neck. You complied limply when he turned you around to face him. Catching your chin with one hand while his other arm kept you against him, he urged you to look into those eyes.

Unsolicited tears carved a path down your pale cheeks when you saw the sincerity in those opaque orbs. Try as you might to deny it, you loved this feeling. You felt like he was really with you once again. You felt whole.

“It’s me…” His lips dipped down to capture yours in an igniting kiss, setting off the same reactions in your body that it did before. “I’m sorry I left…” he whispered against your lips, the sadness creeping into the creamy white of his eyes. “But I couldn’t stay away…”

You whimpered. Could it really be him? Could you possibly believe something like this when you’d seen it so many times in a realm that was unreal?

“I love you, Tenten…” His words flowed across you like a soft caress, filling you in unbelievably overwhelming emotions. “Please… Believe me…”

“I love you too, Neji…”