Hinata/ Naruto
Hinata laid in bed on her day off trying to write her feelings down in a way that made sense to her, but it was a lot harder than she had thought it would be. She wasn't sure what she should write, she didn't even know where to start, there was so much she wanted to say, and she just didn't know how to say it. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted it all to end, and soon.
Her father had come to talk to her earlier that day and had told her that she was betrothed to her elder cousin Neji, and that they would be married within the next few weeks. He had promised her a small ceremony and few guests so that she would feel more comfortable, but she knew better than to believe him, she knew if it happened it would be a huge social event and everyone would be there. She was completely crushed and could barley stop crying for long enough to start writing. Knowing that she would never got to be with Naruto now was what hurt her the most, and if she couldn't be with him, then she wouldn't be with anyone.
Over the last few years she and Neji had grown closer, but not this kind of close, more the brother and sister kind of close where they told each other everything and went to each other for advice. She wondered if they'd even told Neji yet, and if they had how he'd reacted, but knowing him he probably just accepted it and thought it best for their clan. Hinata knew that this was for the sake of her clan, to bring the branch house and the main house together, so that the clan would be stronger and at peace finally.
Once again she began to write, using her best hand writing to make sure that everyone could read, she succeeded in getting her feelings down this time. After she had finished writing, not even trying to stall and savor what little time let she was giving herself, she folded the paper and put it into an envelope, then hid it under her pillow.
Standing up she grabbed her sweat shirt and put it on closing the door behind her as she left her room, then locking the door with a seal she had developed herself.
She was sitting on the ground at the training grounds where she knew Naruto would be training at some point during the day waiting for him to finally get there.
After about an hour he came jogging up the small hill to the training ground, he had discarded his jacket somewhere along the way and had on a black tee shirt. He stopped when he saw her sitting there on the ground looking pretty spaced out and upset, he waved his hand in front of her face. She came to and jumped at the sight of Naruto so close to her.
Naruto sat down so that he was facing her, "Are you okay Hinata? You looked kind of upset a minute ago."
Blushing because he was sitting so close to her and giving her his full attention she began to explain, "I-I'm fine N-naruto-kun, I was just th-thinking is all." She looked away from him when she said it.
"Are you sure? You just seem kind of out of it is all, like something is upsetting you. If you need to talk I'm right here." He said trying to get her to meet his gaze, but she refused to listen to him.
"What do you think of Neji-nii-san?" she asked glancing at him to find him still looking at her.
"He's a good guy, but I could defiantly take him in a battle! Believe it!" Naruto said trying to get Hinata to at least laugh, but she didn't even smile. "Why?"
"I was j-just wondering is a-all." Blushing a deeper red than before at both being caught and by Naruto looking at her even more intensely now.
"Hinata, why are you asking?" his voice was more stern but gentle this time around.
"I-I was just wondering is all, N-naruto-kun." She said then stood up quickly, he stood up just as fast. "I have to be g-going now, see you l-later."
"Yeah sure. But Hinata, promise me you'll tell me why you were really asking me about Neji soon."
Hinata shook her head yes then turned around and took off down the hill and back towards her home, not looking back to see if Naruto was even paying any attention to her anymore.
She ran through the gate ignoring hanibi's question of where she had been, going strait to her room undoing the seal and redoing it on the other side, but this time with a more easily breakable seal that would be harder to detect. She reached into her closet and pulled out her weapons pouch and sat down on her bed and dumped it out, finding the kunai she wanted she put the rest back and placed the pouch on the floor. She pulled the letter back out from under her pillow and placed it on the floor beside the pouch.
The kunai she had taken out had been a present from Naruto for her 16th birthday, she knew Jiraya had been the one to come up with the idea, but she still loved it dearly. It had her name engraved on the blade that was made of the strongest purple crystal, Hinata loved it more than any other gift she had ever been given, she never used it for battle, even though that's what it was meant for.
"Hanibi do you know where Hinata is, I need to speck with her." Neji asked his younger cousin.
"I saw her run off to her room about three hours ago and she hasn't come back out since." She shrugged and walked off.
Neji went to Hinata's room and knocked on the door, he heard no sound from the other side, using his byakugan he checked the room for her, but didn't see any chakra. He attempted to open the door after he had disabled his byakugan, but found the door sealed, he recognized the seal and disarmed. As he opened the door he could feel that something was wrong, he nearly passed out when he got a good look around the room.
Hinata lay on the bed, paler then normal, blood soaked into the sheets around her, a kunai covered in blood lying peacefully beside her body on top of an envelope. Fighting back a gag he checked her pulse to find that she was dead, and he noted to himself cold, meaning she had been dead for a while.
Running out of the room he ran down the hall turning bends faster then ever before till he reached Hiashi's study where Hiashi sat reading a book. "Hiashi! Come quickly, Hinata has committed suicide." Hiashi stood up quickly and followed Neji to Hinata's room, by now the maids and other people in the house had noticed Neji running and where starting to wonder what all the fuss was about.
They reached Hinata's room and entered closing the door behind them. Hiashi couldn't believe his eyes, no Hyuga had ever committed suicide and he had never thought that Hinata would be the first. He thought that she'd taken the news of her and Neji's engagement well, and that she had accepted it as Neji had, although Hiashi knew Neji had been expecting it for some time.
Neji pulled the envelope out from under the kunai to find that it too had been sealed, but this time so that nothing could harm the letter inside of it. Neji remembered teaching her the sealing jutsu for it, she had gotten it down quite easily, and he had been impressed. He released the seal and brought put the letter that had been folded into it, and handed the letter to Hiashi so that he could read it.
Hiashi accepted the letter and began to read,
Father,
I know that you're probably very disappointed in me right now, and I am truly sorry, but I just couldn't marry Neji. Give everyone in the clan my love, and tell them I am sorry. Make sure you tell Hanibi that I'm sorry for burdening her like this, but just couldn't go though with it.
Naruto,
I love you, more than you'll ever know, I've loved you since I meet you, and I never thought you were a bad person. I'm so sorry that I was always to big of a wimp to tell you, and I know that you're probably very upset with me right now, and I deserve it. I know you're probably mad that I used the kunai you had made for me, but it was the one thing I would have died for, because you gave it to me. I wish I would have been able to tell you how I felt while I was living, but just remember that I loved you, and never forget that.
Neji,
My dear cousin, you've been there for me for these last few years, and I thank you for that. I've grown to love you as a brother, and this wasn't your fault, it wasn't anyone's. I'm so sorry that I did this, but I had to, and I don't expect you to understand. Please be kind to Hanibi and treat her like you would have treated me.
Love
Hinata
Hiashi read through the whole thing twice than handed it to Neji who read it once than folded it and set it down on the ground away from where Hinata's body lay. "What do you want to do?" Neji asked as Hiashi looked at the body of his oldest daughter in disbelief.
"Summon the Hokage and Naruto Uzumaki, send some one to go get them, and have them come immediately, tell the person you send what has happened, and that they are to only tell the Hokage and the boy." Hiashi ordered, Neji immediately found a trusted servant and sent him.
Tsunade walked into the Hyuga clan complex and was immediately meet by Hanibi who lead her to Hinata's room, refusing to any farther than the end of the hall way that Hinata's room was on. "You'll be able to find it from here Hokage-sama." She bowed and walked away in the direction from which she came.
Hiashi looked up as Tsunade entered the room; he stood up from the corner he was sitting in and shook her hand then led her over to where they had covered Hinata's body with a white sheet. "She's right here; do you want to read the letter she left behind?"
"Yes I would," Hiashi handed her the letter, she read through it and handed it back. "What do you plan to do?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I am planning to be honest and say that Hinata took her own life. I'm not to disown her or anything of that sort, but I'm not completely sure how to handle this." Hiashi admitted.
"Hinata was a simple person, a small funeral with only her family and her friends is best; do not make a big deal of it. Hinata wouldn't want you to. Ask one of her team members to say something about her while they're burring her. Give people roses to put on her grave and have a nice memorial service. Just don't make it bigger than it has to be." Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder, "And make sure you take some time to grieve. Talk to Hanibi about it and tell her how you feel."
Loud yells sounded from down the hall as they heard footsteps approach at running speed, a few seconds later Naruto appeared around the corner. "What's going on? That guy came up to me and told me that Hinata was dead, but I just saw her a few hours ago!"
Tsunade put a hand on the boys shoulder "I'm sorry Naruto, I know you cared about Hinata a lot, but she's gone, there was no way she could have been saved by the time Neji found her. She committed suicide a few hours ago, but she did leave a note, here," she handed him the letter, "read this."
As Naruto read it tears started to fall from his eyes, when he did finally speak his voice was low and cracking "She loved me? Hinata loved me and I never knew?"
Nodding her head Tsunade embraced Naruto, "I'm so sorry Naruto."
"Not to interrupt your little morning party, but what am I supposed to do about this, I know what you told me before, but am supposed to be honest and tell every one my eldest daughter killed herself? It's just plan shameful, I know I said I wouldn't disown her or anything, but I've been thinking about what to do since Neji told me and I read that letter. It really may be the best thing…" Hiashi tried to justify his new view on things, and hard look of indifference in his eyes.
Naruto cut him off before he could finish the sentence though. "Would you just shut up! Don't you see that almost everything Hinata's ever done was to please you, to make you proud of her, but you could never be proud of her ever! And now you want to disown her! You sick bastard, I bet you've been looking for a reason for years to rid yourself of Hinata, you the worst father I've ever meet!" Tears were pouring down Naruto's cheeks by now, and Tsunade could feel his chakra flaring to life inside of him.
"Calm down Naruto." She warned. "Why don't you just take a walk find the rest of the rookie nine and Gai's team in including their sensei's, don't tell them what has happened, but just tell them that it's urgent and to be in my office in a half hour. Oh and tell Kakashi what has happened so that he'll be on time, I will be needing his help explaining a few things."
"Fine." Naruto said with a last glare at Hiashi he took off, not even stopping to say anything to Neji when he passed him in the hall on his way out.
Naruto kneeled before Hinata's grave a week later, everything had passed by so fast that it had seemed like he hadn't had a real chance to tell her anything.
"Hinata, I'm so sorry that I never told you how much I liked you, but I didn't think you felt that way about me, really, I always just thought that you were a nice person. I always thought of you as one of my best friends, but in my heart I always wished we could have been more, and when I saw you I always thought I was going to explode from happiness. When I found you sitting on the ground there in the training field this time last week I couldn't figure out what was troubling you, and it really bothered me. I wish you could have told me, I would have helped you; I wouldn't have let Hiashi make you marry Neji." He has tears streaming down his face as he sat there and bared his soul to her grave, not even caring if anyone heard.
"Hinata, I loved you, and I wish I could have told you that, but I just couldn't. I miss you so much, you were always there for me when I needed you, or even when I just wanted to go get ramen and no one else would go with me. You made me feel like I wasn't alone in the world and that was the best gift you ever could have given me. I'm not upset that you used the kunai I gave you to do what you did, in ways I understand why you did. I'm just so sorry I couldn't save you, I will never forget you, ever, every thing I do will be for you, for us. One day we'll be together, one day."
He laid down a single white rose on her grave just as rain began to pour down from the sky, and as he walked away from her grave he could have sworn her heard the wind whisper I love you too.