Summary: Neji had always been there for Tenten. Still, he never noticed how she felt for him. Prequel to "How I Feel About You, Tenten."
Categories: Het Romance > Top Six Pairs > Neji and Tenten Characters: Tenten
Genres: Angst
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: Fate's Intricate Course
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes
Word count: 452 Read: 2440
Published: 23/07/08 Updated: 23/07/08
Chapter 1 by Swords_and_Bandages
Author's Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
This is my own interpretation of what Tenten would've written to Neji in order to elicit the response in "How I Feel About You, Tenten." It's heavily inspired by the original letter, "To love you, or hate you" by Mist_Medic_Nin. Once again, no offense to MMN is intended.
Also, pardon me if this doesn't fit well with my original reply. Any comments, advice, or other feedback, especially concerning whether it fits well or not, would be very nice.
Neji,
I hate you, Hyuuga Neji.
I hate you because of how you make me feel. Every time I’m around you, you make me lose myself. You make me wonder how it would feel when I’ll be next to you, when I could call you mine. But you’re so far away, even though you’re so close by.
I hate you because of what you’ve done to me. There isn’t a day that passes by that I won’t think of you. I can’t sleep at night, because every time I close my eyes, you’re the first thing that comes to my mind. You’re driving me crazy.
I hate you because I love you.
I love you because of how much we’ve been through together. All the highs and lows, all the ups and downs; every day that we’ve spent together as teammates, every mission, every trial. You grew on me, Neji. You grew on me so much that by the time I realized it, it was too late to let you go.
I love you because of your calm persona; even in the most dangerous situation, you’re so focused and collected, that you make me feel confident that we’ll make it through. You’re my pillar of strength, Neji. I need you.
But you’re so far away from me, Neji. You’re always so detached, so aloof. I’ve tried so hard to get your attention, but you never notice me. I’d thought of telling you how I felt before, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you not feeling the same way that I do. So I kept all this inside of me. But it hurts so much to hold it all in my heart.
I love you, Neji. I love you so much, it hurts me to spend every day with you as if I feel nothing for you. It hurts me to have you next to me, but so far away that I can never reach you. You seem so cold, Neji… I want to melt the ice you froze your heart in, but I don’t think I can ever even hope for it.
I want to hate you, Neji. Honestly, sincerely hate you. But you’ve grown so much on me, I can’t hate you without hurting myself. I want to love you, but you’re so far away, I can’t reach you and get you to open up to me. And it hurts me even more knowing that I can’t make you fall in love with me. So I’m letting you go.
In unrequited love,
Tenten
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