**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, he is the property of Masa- *cough cough Sasuke cough* -shi Kishimoto.. ;)

This is my first NejiHina fanfic, and I'm curious to see if there are any other fans of this pairing. The story is more cutesy, but there's the slight cousin on cousin ting going on, something I call half-incest, lol. XD

Reviews pretty please with ramen on top ;D

My Guardian Angel

What have I done?

Neji stared down at his hands in anguish, thinking back to the Chunin exams. The fight that he had won. The final blow that had nearly killed her.

It wasn't her fault.

He hated himself for almost killing her; truly hated himself. Thinking about it now, he was so grateful to the group of Jounin who had stepped in at the last moment, and stopped him from dealing that final, fatal blow to his dear cousin. Neji and Hinata had been close in childhood up until Neji's father died. That was when he began to direct all of his hatred for the head family towards Hinata. He took out all of his angst at her. And now he regretted it. Her weary face during their match flooded his mind, the blood trickling down her chin, her hands clutching her chest as she keeled over in immense pain...

It was never her fault!

He finally knew the truth about his father's death. It had been Hizashi's choice to die for the head family of the Hyuga clan, it wasn't just because he was a member of the branch family. He had done it of his own free will. How Neji wished he had known that sooner; if he had, maybe his and Hinata's relationship wouldn't be so frayed and falling apart.

He put his head in his hands. Hinata was afraid of him now, and tried to avoid him at all costs. He didn't blame her; at the exams, he had shown her no mercy. The thing that wounded Neji the most was the emotions that danced in her big, lavender eyes everytime they accidentally looked at each other. There were three clear emotions that were always present; fear, hurt, and worst of all, forgiveness. No matter what Neji did to her, she never blamed him for it. She was still showing him kindness, even though he didn't deserve it. Hinata really was something.

I wish I could take it all back, Neji thought desperately. I wish I had known the truth sooner; then maybe I wouldn't have hurt her. He remembered when they were children, and they were playing tag around the garden. Hinata was chasing after him, and nearly caught up until her ankle twisted, causing her to yelp in pain. Neji caught her before she hit the ground, and carried her inside. She had plopped down in his lap on the floor as he examined her ankle.

"Are you okay Hinata?" he had asked in a worried voice. She nodded her little head vigorously and smiled sweetly up at him. They had both been so small back then, and by that point, Hinata had lost most of her shyness, around Neji at least.

"Of course I am, 'cause you caught me!" Her soft, round face then took on a more serious expression, and she stared at Neji questioningly. "Will you always be there to protect me, Neji?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Their eyes locked, those same pupiless, lavender-white eyes that all the Hyuga's had, though at that moment, the children's were big and innocent, devoid of the trials and hardships that were to come later. He kissed the top of Hinata's head tenderly, then smiled warmly at her.

"Yes," he replied sweetly. "I will always protect you, I promise." Hinata grinned at him, one baby tooth missing from her top teeth.

"Yay! Neji is my guardian angel!" She grabbed Neji's robe with her tiny hands, and pulled him into a bear hug. They stayed that way for a while, content in each other's arms.

"Yeah... your guardian angel..."

I... broke my promise.

Neji wandered away from the Hyuga clan's compound towards the forest on the outskirts of Konoha. He needed time alone ; he needed to think of a way to mend what was now broken. How could he fix what he had done? He had promised to protect her, be there for her... but instead, all he had done was hurt her. Hinata could've died because of him.

After walking for quite some time, he found himself in a flower field. Wildflowers were scattered everywhere, vibrant splashes of colour against the setting sun. Neji looked up in suprise to see a person a few feet away, sitting in the bed of flowers. It was a beautiful girl with short, indigo hair that blew gently in the breeze. She was wearing a beige hoodie over her slender frame, and the sun's setting rays gave her pale, round face a warm glow. It was her.

Neji stood frozen to the spot, too shocked to move. What do I say to her? What do I do? Silently, he gazed at the sea of flowers surrounding him. The majority of the flowers were different shades of pink, with a few blue or violet ones here and there. But only one in particular caught his eye. It was a beautiful, yellow flower that's petals looked like they were painted by the sunset itself, giving off a faint, golden glow. The only one of its kind. The delicate golden petals seemed to sparkle from the sun's disappearing rays. It reminded him of her; warm, sweet, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind. Neji bent over and carefully picked the flower, gently snapping it's fragile, thin green stem, then began to walk towards Hinata.

Hearing his approaching footsteps, she glanced behind her, gasping in surprise at who she saw. Hinata quickly jumped up and scrambled back a few steps. Her cheeks were slightly pink. Neji winced at the hint of fear in those pale, lavender eyes so much like his own. Her lower lip trembled slightly.

"N-Neji, what're you.. doing h-here?" she asked quietly, sounding quite afraid. Neji pulled a hand out from behind his back and held it out to her. An expression of deep hurt crossed his face as she flinched away from his outstretched hand. But when she spotted the flower he was holding there, her feeling of fear instantly turned to a mix of confusion and shock. A peace offering?

Before she could ask what was wrong, or suggest that Neji wasn't feeling well, words tumbled out of his mouth.

"Hinata, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I am so sorry for hurting you at the chunin exams. I know the truth now about what happened to my father, and I realize that it was wrong for me to take out all of my anger, caused by his death, on you. I know it wasn't your fault. I promised to protect you, but I didn't and I'm sorry. I truly regret what I did, and hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Please." He gazed at her with pleading eyes. Hinata stared back at him, not sure if she was hallucinating or not. Since when did Neji talk so much? As she looked up into his face, she could see the sincerity of his words written there.

"I never blamed you in the first place," she replied, causing Neji's face to crumple slightly in pain. He bit his lip as she took a tentative step towards him. "Even though you hurt me, you made me become stronger, Neji. And I thank you for that." After a moment, a small, sweet smile appeared on her face and she gingerly took the gorgeous yellow flower from his hand.

"Hinata..." Neji didn't know what to say. He was touched by her words, and felt hopeful that they would be able to fix their messed up relationship and return it to the way it was when they were kids, and maybe strengthen it even more. To Neji's surprise, Hinata ran into his arms and hugged him tightly, just like when they were little. She felt like she belonged there, though it had a slightly different feeling this time wrapped in Neji's arms.

"I missed you," Hinata murmured softly against his chest. He pulled her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head. A warm, gentle breeze passed by, lifting Neji's long, brown ponytail and Hinata's short, indigo tresses. A sign of something new, the possibility of feelings changing and growing, and the start of a beautiful new relationship for the two Hyugas.

"So did I," he whispered back.

THE END~

I hope that didn't turn out as badly as I think it did, lol... XD I'm working on a better NejiHina one, I swear! I'm trying to write more than just NaruSasu and SasuNaru stories, bcuz I'm a little too obsessed with them and yaoi and such... I NEED COUNCILING! Dx But it's not my fault they belong together... hehe they're just too cute. :3 But yeah me likes Neji and Hinata too, so I will try and write more than my norm. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IMMA STOP WRITING MA NARUSASU/ SASUNARU YAOI STORIES! :D *evil obsessive laughter*