Simple Gifts
Originally posted on December 17th 2007.
Simple Gifts
2150 words; G; romance; Neji/Tenten, Neji/OC
From her seat in the front row of the concert hall, Tenten could vaguely discern the outlines of the stream of people making their way onto the stage, taking up their positions at various heights behind the translucent red curtains. From the audience behind her, she could feel the inquisitive gaze directed at her from other members of the Hyuuga household, as well as the numerous other attendants from noble families across Konohagakure. She was more than certain she could feel Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino’s stare and hear they were whispering between themselves about her presence at this prestigious concert.
Indeed, she herself could not remember how she managed to land herself in this predicament. It was 7 in the evening on Christmas Eve. By tradition, she would be at home, alone, eating the Christmas dinner she had prepared for herself earlier that day, having missed her and Neji’s training session to make sure everything for that evening was in order, and pondering over the scent she would immerse herself in when dinner was over.
I remember now, she thought. This is all Neji’s fault.
“Tenten, I want you to come to Kumiko’s concert on Christmas Eve.”
The Weapons Mistress eyed her sparring partner curiously as they sat in the clearing, taking a quick rest between hours of strenous training. “I’m sorry?”
“I want you to be there at Kumiko’s concert.”
“Won’t she suspect something?”
Neji shook his head slowly. “She asked me to invite you, seeing as she is currently in Suna rehearsing. She says there is an announcement she must make on that night, and she begged me to take you as my date.”
Tenten choked. “Your date?”
The Hyuuga prodigy nodded, watching his best friend carefully.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
But Tenten knew, from just one glance, that Neji did know what his fiancé was planning.
“Do you have everything you need, Neji?”
Tenten looked up to see a brunette, the girl she identified as Uehara Kumiko, conversing with the man in question. Although they were being as quiet as they could, her sharp ears, from years of training with the high pitched whistling of kunais flying past her ear, picked up every word exchanged.
“Yes.” There was a slight pause as Neji tried to compose the words in his mind into an understandable sentence. “Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?”
Kumiko smiled encouragingly, not missing a beat as she replied, “For your happiness, and for mine, I think it’s best this happens. Good luck for when the time comes.”
“Thank you. And you too.”
The singer turned her gaze to the girl sitting in the seat beside Neji’s, offering her a small smile, before she pulled up the trailing skirt of her white dress and disappear through a side door nearby. Neji sat down and placed his warm hand on top of hers, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
“What was that about?” But Neji only shook his head, giving her no answer.
- - -
In Tenten’s opinion, the concert flashed by far too quickly for her to enjoy the crystal ring of Uehara Kumiko’s voice. She wasn’t surprised, when she recalled the random piece of information she had learnt from the poster inside the music shop, that the girl’s debut album would be called “Crystal Clear”.
“Before I begin,” Tenten raised her head to look at the angelic girl, “I would just like to introduce this last song.” The brunette’s crystal blue eyes made a quick tour of her audience. “The song’s name is called Simple Gifts, and it was taught to me by a nurse who spent countless hours helping me and many other battle against the fatal disease tuberculosis. Sadly, she passed away recently of cronic fatigue, a result of her tireless efforts at the hospital, so as a tribute to her, I sing this song.”
Kumiko paused slightly, as her eyes met Neji’s, directing a quick nod to him. Tenten felt her best friend shift slightly in the seat beside her.
“Tonight, however, I also sing this song as a tribute to one among us. She, like me, is a kunoichi. A respectable kunoichi of no known family background. A worthy kunoichi of everyone’s recognition. A beautiful kunoichi worthy of a noble. Tonight, I sing this song for my new friend, Long Tenten.” In an instant, the Weapons Mistress not only felt the singer’s warm gaze, but the attention other members of the audience gave her. “Tenten-chan has given to all us so much more than we give to her. For a long time, I have wished to return the favour she has given me over the past year. What I do now, it may, or may not, be enough to make amend for the possible pain I have put her through during this year, but I hope that it is, at least, a start.”
Tenten’s breath caught in her throat, rendering it impossible for her to breathe as she watched her best friend, illuminated by a spotlight, kneel before her, an open velvet box in his hand. In the background, Kumiko had began to sing the last song for the night.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be in valley of love and delight
When it comes to giving, one simple fact is true
Everything you give away will soon come back to you
Giving makes you richer, that’s why I believe
That it is always better to give than to receive
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be in valley of love and delight
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
When the song ended, there was no applause: everyone’s attention was still fixed upon the couple at the front of the hall. This, it seemed, did not faze the singer one bit, as she hurried on to speak.
“With the power installed upon me when I was engaged to Hyuuga Neji, I wish to break this and any previous or future marriage arrangements between us and I ask of the Hyuuga clan to accept and acknoledge Tenten as one of your own.”
“Marry me, Tenten.”
Tenten wasn’t sure she heard what Neji had said properly: was he asking her to marry him? But when she looked at him once again, after closing her eyes and pinching herself (only to wince and find that she wasn’t dreaming), she only saw the seriousness in his eyes, and nervousness in the droplet of sweat that rolled down the side of his face, visible only to her.
She opened her mouth to reply, but she found that she seemed to have swallowed her tongue as no sound came out, and quickly shut it again. Instead, she resorted to nodding, slowly at first, as she rose, pulling the Hyuuga up with her and threw her arms around him. She heard him sigh in relief and when his lips touched hers, she knew no more.
Thank you, Uehara-san, for giving us this chance.
- - -
Night had fallen, and a thirty-year-old Tenten sat on the futon spread out on the floor of her and her husband’s room, her fingers combing through the chestnut brown locks of the little girl resting in her lap as they both leafed through a photo album.
“Mama, who is this beautiful lady?” the little girl asked, pointing to the photo of Uehara Kumiko.
“She’s your godmother, Kumiko-chan,” Tenten replied, “who shares the same name as you.”
“Will I ever get to meet her?”
Before her mother could reply, the door slid open and another person entered the room, sliding the shoji door close behind them.
“Papa!”
Neji picked up the little brunette who had rocketed towards him, smiling at the giggle she emitted when his fingers tickled her side.
“Have you been good for your mother while I was away, Kumiko-chan?”
“Hai!”
“Neji, you’re back. How did the mission go?”
“Well. She’s been asking for you again.” He set his daughter down in his lap as he sat down. “Tomorrow, Kumiko-chan, we’re going to see someone in Sunagakure.”
Kumiko cheered as she leapt up and ran to her room through the open shoji doors.
“Kumiko-san is in hospital?”
“The tuberculosis returned. She doesn’t have long to live. She asked me to take you to see her before she passes on.”
Even though his face remained emotionless, Tenten could hear the sadness in his voice.
“Then let’s not make her wait too long.”
- - -
The heart monitor at the bedside beeped loudly between long intervals as the heart it was monitoring slowly gave out.
“Kumiko-san.”
Eyelids fluttered open and sea-blue eyes, dulled by the disease, looked up at her visitors.
“Tenten-chan.”
The said woman laid a warm hand on the cold forehead as she smiled at her friend. “How are you feeling today?”
“Tired: I don’t have long left. But I’m glad I was able to see you one more before I leave.”
“We brought someone we thought you might like to meet. Kumiko-chan, come here.”
A little girl with shoulder-length brown hair and a pair of silvery-grey eyes peeked out from behind her mother’s leg. She looked up at the lady in the bed and smiled, running forward to hold out her hand flamboyantly.
“Hyuuga Kumiko-chan at your service.”
The elder Kumiko smiled weakly as a frail hand lightly touched the offer hand. “Kumiko-chan, do you know who I am?”
The little girl nodded vigorously, and then held a podgy finger to her chin, as though recalling some piece of information tucked in the back of my mind. “You were a very talented kunoichi and a very beautiful singer. I’ve heard your CDs and watched all your live concerts, because mama and papa often play it at home. You are a very beautiful singer, and one day, I wanna be just like you!”
Kumiko laughed, a pale shadow of the melodious one Tenten remembered, but a laugh nonetheless. “Thank you, Kumiko-chan. Do you know anything else about me?”
Kumiko the Younger looked puzzled. What else has mama told me about Kumiko-san?
“Kumiko-chan,” her mother began. But Tenten never got round to finishing what she had started to say.
“I KNOW! You’re my godmother, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” the lady chuckled wholeheartedly. “Yes, Kumiko-chan, I am your godmother.”
“You must have been really pretty when you were younger, because even though you’re ill now, you still look very pretty.”
“Why, thank you.”
At that moment, Neji entered the room and ushered the boisterous little girl out of the room, leaving Tenten free to talk to her.
Together, the two women sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what to say to the other. It was comfortable silence, where both of them just looked in different directions, waiting for the other to speak. In the end, it was Kumiko who broke the silence.
“She’s a beautiful little girl, Tenten-chan. I wish I could watch her grow up.”
Tenten’s head snapped up to look at her friend. “Don’t say that, Kumiko-chan. You’ll get better, I’m sure of it.”
The forlorn smile that answered her shattered all hopes for a full recovery and the mother felt a stinging sensation behind her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek signalling the onset of many more salty droplets. Her callous hands found the frail one on the sheets beside its owner.
“It’s too late for me, Tenten-chan. The disease has claimed too much of my body. No amount of healing is going to save me now. Even you know that. I just wanted to see you one last time before I go, because I wanted to thank you.”
“Why?”
Kumiko didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head to look towards the blue skies outside.
“Because you were there to offer me those simple gifts.” And with that, the former singer closed her eyes, her last breath leaving her shakily.
The door behind her opened softly and she acutely picked up the suffling of two sets of feet entering the room.
“She fought bravely until the end,” was the only thing Neji said to comfort her.
“I know, Neji, I know.” She stood up and turned towards the door and her husband. Her daughter had long since disentangled herself from her father’s embrace and had wrapped herself around her mother’s leg. Tenten bent down and picked the little girl up, hugging her tightly as she looked at the resting lady before walking through the door one final time.
Thank you, Kumiko-chan.
This is so old it deserves a place in Madam Tussades' wax gallery 8D;;
Concrits are greately appreciated. ♥
Simple Gifts
2150 words; G; romance; Neji/Tenten, Neji/OC
From her seat in the front row of the concert hall, Tenten could vaguely discern the outlines of the stream of people making their way onto the stage, taking up their positions at various heights behind the translucent red curtains. From the audience behind her, she could feel the inquisitive gaze directed at her from other members of the Hyuuga household, as well as the numerous other attendants from noble families across Konohagakure. She was more than certain she could feel Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino’s stare and hear they were whispering between themselves about her presence at this prestigious concert.
Indeed, she herself could not remember how she managed to land herself in this predicament. It was 7 in the evening on Christmas Eve. By tradition, she would be at home, alone, eating the Christmas dinner she had prepared for herself earlier that day, having missed her and Neji’s training session to make sure everything for that evening was in order, and pondering over the scent she would immerse herself in when dinner was over.
I remember now, she thought. This is all Neji’s fault.
“Tenten, I want you to come to Kumiko’s concert on Christmas Eve.”
The Weapons Mistress eyed her sparring partner curiously as they sat in the clearing, taking a quick rest between hours of strenous training. “I’m sorry?”
“I want you to be there at Kumiko’s concert.”
“Won’t she suspect something?”
Neji shook his head slowly. “She asked me to invite you, seeing as she is currently in Suna rehearsing. She says there is an announcement she must make on that night, and she begged me to take you as my date.”
Tenten choked. “Your date?”
The Hyuuga prodigy nodded, watching his best friend carefully.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
But Tenten knew, from just one glance, that Neji did know what his fiancé was planning.
“Do you have everything you need, Neji?”
Tenten looked up to see a brunette, the girl she identified as Uehara Kumiko, conversing with the man in question. Although they were being as quiet as they could, her sharp ears, from years of training with the high pitched whistling of kunais flying past her ear, picked up every word exchanged.
“Yes.” There was a slight pause as Neji tried to compose the words in his mind into an understandable sentence. “Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?”
Kumiko smiled encouragingly, not missing a beat as she replied, “For your happiness, and for mine, I think it’s best this happens. Good luck for when the time comes.”
“Thank you. And you too.”
The singer turned her gaze to the girl sitting in the seat beside Neji’s, offering her a small smile, before she pulled up the trailing skirt of her white dress and disappear through a side door nearby. Neji sat down and placed his warm hand on top of hers, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
“What was that about?” But Neji only shook his head, giving her no answer.
- - -
In Tenten’s opinion, the concert flashed by far too quickly for her to enjoy the crystal ring of Uehara Kumiko’s voice. She wasn’t surprised, when she recalled the random piece of information she had learnt from the poster inside the music shop, that the girl’s debut album would be called “Crystal Clear”.
“Before I begin,” Tenten raised her head to look at the angelic girl, “I would just like to introduce this last song.” The brunette’s crystal blue eyes made a quick tour of her audience. “The song’s name is called Simple Gifts, and it was taught to me by a nurse who spent countless hours helping me and many other battle against the fatal disease tuberculosis. Sadly, she passed away recently of cronic fatigue, a result of her tireless efforts at the hospital, so as a tribute to her, I sing this song.”
Kumiko paused slightly, as her eyes met Neji’s, directing a quick nod to him. Tenten felt her best friend shift slightly in the seat beside her.
“Tonight, however, I also sing this song as a tribute to one among us. She, like me, is a kunoichi. A respectable kunoichi of no known family background. A worthy kunoichi of everyone’s recognition. A beautiful kunoichi worthy of a noble. Tonight, I sing this song for my new friend, Long Tenten.” In an instant, the Weapons Mistress not only felt the singer’s warm gaze, but the attention other members of the audience gave her. “Tenten-chan has given to all us so much more than we give to her. For a long time, I have wished to return the favour she has given me over the past year. What I do now, it may, or may not, be enough to make amend for the possible pain I have put her through during this year, but I hope that it is, at least, a start.”
Tenten’s breath caught in her throat, rendering it impossible for her to breathe as she watched her best friend, illuminated by a spotlight, kneel before her, an open velvet box in his hand. In the background, Kumiko had began to sing the last song for the night.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be in valley of love and delight
When it comes to giving, one simple fact is true
Everything you give away will soon come back to you
Giving makes you richer, that’s why I believe
That it is always better to give than to receive
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be in valley of love and delight
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
When the song ended, there was no applause: everyone’s attention was still fixed upon the couple at the front of the hall. This, it seemed, did not faze the singer one bit, as she hurried on to speak.
“With the power installed upon me when I was engaged to Hyuuga Neji, I wish to break this and any previous or future marriage arrangements between us and I ask of the Hyuuga clan to accept and acknoledge Tenten as one of your own.”
“Marry me, Tenten.”
Tenten wasn’t sure she heard what Neji had said properly: was he asking her to marry him? But when she looked at him once again, after closing her eyes and pinching herself (only to wince and find that she wasn’t dreaming), she only saw the seriousness in his eyes, and nervousness in the droplet of sweat that rolled down the side of his face, visible only to her.
She opened her mouth to reply, but she found that she seemed to have swallowed her tongue as no sound came out, and quickly shut it again. Instead, she resorted to nodding, slowly at first, as she rose, pulling the Hyuuga up with her and threw her arms around him. She heard him sigh in relief and when his lips touched hers, she knew no more.
Thank you, Uehara-san, for giving us this chance.
- - -
Night had fallen, and a thirty-year-old Tenten sat on the futon spread out on the floor of her and her husband’s room, her fingers combing through the chestnut brown locks of the little girl resting in her lap as they both leafed through a photo album.
“Mama, who is this beautiful lady?” the little girl asked, pointing to the photo of Uehara Kumiko.
“She’s your godmother, Kumiko-chan,” Tenten replied, “who shares the same name as you.”
“Will I ever get to meet her?”
Before her mother could reply, the door slid open and another person entered the room, sliding the shoji door close behind them.
“Papa!”
Neji picked up the little brunette who had rocketed towards him, smiling at the giggle she emitted when his fingers tickled her side.
“Have you been good for your mother while I was away, Kumiko-chan?”
“Hai!”
“Neji, you’re back. How did the mission go?”
“Well. She’s been asking for you again.” He set his daughter down in his lap as he sat down. “Tomorrow, Kumiko-chan, we’re going to see someone in Sunagakure.”
Kumiko cheered as she leapt up and ran to her room through the open shoji doors.
“Kumiko-san is in hospital?”
“The tuberculosis returned. She doesn’t have long to live. She asked me to take you to see her before she passes on.”
Even though his face remained emotionless, Tenten could hear the sadness in his voice.
“Then let’s not make her wait too long.”
- - -
The heart monitor at the bedside beeped loudly between long intervals as the heart it was monitoring slowly gave out.
“Kumiko-san.”
Eyelids fluttered open and sea-blue eyes, dulled by the disease, looked up at her visitors.
“Tenten-chan.”
The said woman laid a warm hand on the cold forehead as she smiled at her friend. “How are you feeling today?”
“Tired: I don’t have long left. But I’m glad I was able to see you one more before I leave.”
“We brought someone we thought you might like to meet. Kumiko-chan, come here.”
A little girl with shoulder-length brown hair and a pair of silvery-grey eyes peeked out from behind her mother’s leg. She looked up at the lady in the bed and smiled, running forward to hold out her hand flamboyantly.
“Hyuuga Kumiko-chan at your service.”
The elder Kumiko smiled weakly as a frail hand lightly touched the offer hand. “Kumiko-chan, do you know who I am?”
The little girl nodded vigorously, and then held a podgy finger to her chin, as though recalling some piece of information tucked in the back of my mind. “You were a very talented kunoichi and a very beautiful singer. I’ve heard your CDs and watched all your live concerts, because mama and papa often play it at home. You are a very beautiful singer, and one day, I wanna be just like you!”
Kumiko laughed, a pale shadow of the melodious one Tenten remembered, but a laugh nonetheless. “Thank you, Kumiko-chan. Do you know anything else about me?”
Kumiko the Younger looked puzzled. What else has mama told me about Kumiko-san?
“Kumiko-chan,” her mother began. But Tenten never got round to finishing what she had started to say.
“I KNOW! You’re my godmother, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” the lady chuckled wholeheartedly. “Yes, Kumiko-chan, I am your godmother.”
“You must have been really pretty when you were younger, because even though you’re ill now, you still look very pretty.”
“Why, thank you.”
At that moment, Neji entered the room and ushered the boisterous little girl out of the room, leaving Tenten free to talk to her.
Together, the two women sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what to say to the other. It was comfortable silence, where both of them just looked in different directions, waiting for the other to speak. In the end, it was Kumiko who broke the silence.
“She’s a beautiful little girl, Tenten-chan. I wish I could watch her grow up.”
Tenten’s head snapped up to look at her friend. “Don’t say that, Kumiko-chan. You’ll get better, I’m sure of it.”
The forlorn smile that answered her shattered all hopes for a full recovery and the mother felt a stinging sensation behind her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek signalling the onset of many more salty droplets. Her callous hands found the frail one on the sheets beside its owner.
“It’s too late for me, Tenten-chan. The disease has claimed too much of my body. No amount of healing is going to save me now. Even you know that. I just wanted to see you one last time before I go, because I wanted to thank you.”
“Why?”
Kumiko didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head to look towards the blue skies outside.
“Because you were there to offer me those simple gifts.” And with that, the former singer closed her eyes, her last breath leaving her shakily.
The door behind her opened softly and she acutely picked up the suffling of two sets of feet entering the room.
“She fought bravely until the end,” was the only thing Neji said to comfort her.
“I know, Neji, I know.” She stood up and turned towards the door and her husband. Her daughter had long since disentangled herself from her father’s embrace and had wrapped herself around her mother’s leg. Tenten bent down and picked the little girl up, hugging her tightly as she looked at the resting lady before walking through the door one final time.
Thank you, Kumiko-chan.
This is so old it deserves a place in Madam Tussades' wax gallery 8D;;
Concrits are greately appreciated. ♥