I suddenly had the urge to do something like this. Just a short story about how people need to appreciate Hinata more. WARNING: Character death. No romance.
Story inspired by the quote by David Brin.

-YYY-

The funeral of Hyuuga Hinata.

Kankuro wasn't entirely sure why he and his siblings had needed to journey to the leaf for it- none of them had been particularly close to the girl. But Gaara had insisted. Hinata had died battling the Akatsuki leader Pein, so in a round-about way they did owe it to the girl to show up. Kankuro glanced up at the sky. The grey clouds threatened to bring rain, as though they were in mourning for the pale-eyed girl. The people around him were all dressed in mourning clothes, just like he was. Some people were crying, mostly girls, but Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto didn't look like they were holding up well.

Only two Byakugan wielders were in the crowd, Kankuro noticed. One was the prodigy Hyuuga Neji, and the other bore no resemblance to Hinata what-so-ever, aside from the eyes. Kankuro's already low spirits dropped a little more. He knew the girl had a sister and a father, at least. And it didn't look like either of them had graced the dead Hyuuga's final resting place with their presence. The mourners formed a line in front of Hinata's grave, and Kankuro dutifully joined in. As people spoke to the dead girl, each line soon began to stab the puppet master's gut like an icy dagger.

He'd never been close to the girl, but he'd never, ever get over how many of the things that were said to Hinata, were apologies.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata, that I ever doubted you," Kiba choked out.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you more often, Hinata-chan," were Sakura's soft words.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't a better friend to you, Hinata-chan," Yamanaka Ino cried.

"I should have paid more attention to you, Hinata, I'm sorry!" Naruto said between sobs.

An apology from Neji followed.

And there was another apology after that from the other Hyuuga.

And another.

And another.

It had long since begun raining before it was Kankuro's turn. He shuffled forward, his hair clinging to his forehead thanks to the water. The Suna-nin pictured Hinata in his mind.

She'd never been very confident. She'd doubted herself at every turn. According to her friends, she often stuttered. The puppet master clenched his fists. He knew people just get like that. That kind of personality came from being told, day in day out, that you're not good enough. It came from being told that you're a disappointment. He knew from her friends that Hinata was the disappointment of the Hyuuga clan. Kankuro doubted that she received a compliment or encouragement more than annually. He treated his puppets better than Konoha had treated Hyuuga Hinata.

But she'd stood through it all. Hinata didn't have a mean thing to say about anyone (as far as he knew). She'd never complained. If the Hyuuga had had a problem, she wouldn't tell a soul. She feared they'd see her as weak. She'd done it all on her own. In many ways, the dark-haired Chunin was probably stronger than Naruto or Gaara. Kankuro didn't want to be one of the people who could only say sorry. Inside, he felt the girl deserved something more than that. She'd earned as much. Rain continued to fall. The sky was crying now.

"Thank you, Hinata."

Why must conversions always come so late? Why do people always apologize to corpses?

-YYY-

That's the first thing like that I've ever done. Constructive criticism? Or just, you know, any review is good. Sooo… Review! It is good for the soul.