Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I wish I owned Neji, but the last time I checked... He belongs to someone else. (sigh)

I guess I'll be asking for far too much if I'll beg you to stay with me.
You don't belong here. You don't belong to me.
But I want you to know that I really did love you, maybe not in the way that you wanted me to.
I may not be your first choice. You wanted him so bad. I can tell.
I may be just a bandage that keeps you from bleeding to death.
I may not mean much to you, but you... You're a different story altogether.
You came into my life... as a burden. At that moment, when I laid my eyes on your broken and crying form, I thought the gods must be against me. They've given me a burden I do not know how to carry.
I brought you back to the village, still broken, but at least no longer crying.
You thanked me, and although you were in a mess, I felt your sincerity.
Then you fainted into my arms.
That was the momen..., the moment I fell for you.

You carried the weight of the world in your shoulders.
You followed the man of your dreams and he stepped on your heart, crushing you in a million pieces. Yet there you were smiling at me. Even though you've been wishing yourself to be dead whenever you wake up, you had the heart to thank me for bringing you back. You had the heart to give me that broken smile. You had the courage to face the world you left behind.

The next few days I was still assigned as your bodyguard.
But this time, you weren't a burden. You... you became a blessing. I realized that fact when I came to fetch you the next day. I saw how you rose from your miserable state with a strong determination to make a difference and forget the past.
I saw your smile, I heard your laughter and I felt the concern in your voice whenever you ask me if I'm ok.
I felt warm inside, knowing that you care.
Days turned to weeks, and i've been accustomed to your presence and to your ways.
I have changed my routine to fit yours.
I spar with you every once in a while.
I drink tea with you every friday afternoons.
I eat ramen with you and Naruto every saturdays.
I go to the hospital with you everyday.
I changed... you changed me.

It may be just part of your routine to ask me how I am in the morning, but it means so much more to me.
You may be just being polite whenever you ask me to eat with you during lunch, but for me... that was sweet.
You may be just being friendly when you invited me inside your home, but for me... that meant you trusted me.

I had a lot of opportunity to tell you how I felt... how I feel. But I didn't take them. I was afraid that it was too soon. You still cry over him in your dreams. You still reach out to him, even though he pushed you aside.
It was all too soon.
It may be too late now, seeing as I'm not longer by your side.
But I just want to let you know... you mean so much to me.
You gave my life new meaning.
When we part ways at the end of the day, I long for sleep... because I know I'll see you in my dreams.
You've brought happiness in my life that I never thought I would have.
It may be too late now.
But I still want you to know...

Sakura... aishiteru.

Sayonara.

Yours...
Neji.

-----

Sakura couldn't stop the tears from falling. She's been reading that letter for the umpteenth time in front of the memorial stone, and yet she couldn't accept it. She couldn't accept that he's gone. It's been just 7 days since Neji and his team returned from a Class A mission. He was delirious when they arrived, he's been poisoned and no antidote can be made. He was saying the same things over and over again.

'I want to see her...'

He wanted to see... me. He was delirious, dying... but he wanted to see me... Sakura thought sadly. She's been waiting for him to open up to her. His presence gave her peace. Why? She couldn't tell. Maybe it's because of the way he looked at her, or maybe it's because of his silence and his willingness to follow her to wherever.

Even though Shizune was a talented medic-nin, her skills were not enough to save him. The Hokage wasn't around at that time. Sakura asked to leave for a while to research on an antidote, he thanked her and gave her a battered scroll. She took it without question. Then he said...

'Read that... on my funeral'

She was so angry at him.

'WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP!'

'I'm not giving up... that's why I can still talk. But time will come when even my will won't be able to take this anymore'

He closed his eyes and slept. She left the room immediately and started to devour book after book, searching for a way to save him. But to no avail. Just two hours after, someone knocked on the library door and told her of the news.

'Haruno-san, Hyuuga-san stopped breathing. He's got no pulse. The doctors said...'

'It can't be!'

Sakura rushed back to the hospital, tears streaming down her face. But it was too late. She saw him in the same bed.

'He's... he's just sleeping right?', she asked to no one in particular.

-----

She closed her eyes, it felt as if it just happened. Neji died smiling. Yet the memory of his face pained her so.

'Neji... Aishiteru...', she cried and wished to be taken too.

Then snow started to fall.

A/N:
 This is my first fic. Brutal honesty would be appreciated. (cheers!)
BTW... I'm a Neji fan, I love him to BITS! But this is a drama fic so I had to kill him. sniffs
BTW #2... This is a one-shot fic. No new chapters will be added.

. fireblend .