NejiHina. Angst. Drama. One-shot. Implied character death. Revised.
Disclaimer: No, *sobs* I don't own Naruto.
"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."
- Anaïs Nin
"What's your name?"
She was a lost cause. Skin clear of colors akin to that of a pristine wan eyes and lips so sallow it reminds him of her, whom his jaundiced pride, one he has acquired on his childhood, had hurt.
It was choking him. It unnerved him.
Neji-niisan.
He can hear her voice echoing inside his head.
"What's your name?"
The girl with the ebony-black hair, strands of silk that bedazzles him, even in the darkness of the surrounding, iterated. Her voice was soft, so soft, she sounds exactly like the one whose voice he won't be able to hear anymore.
Don't cry.
Everyday I try not to.
"Neji." His voice sounded macabre, even to himself.
The girl, who was now making strangled sobs, hold onto his his arms. "Neji-san, s-save m-me. P-ple-please."
Please, take care of Hanabi for me.
He would.
A B-class mission on the Hidden Village of Willows brought him here. A land hidden by hordes of green, after whom its name was taken, and surrounded by crystal clear lakes is bewitching. A peregrine beauty of a foreign territory.
Father too.
He has to.
It was past midnight. Hefty, cinereous clouds are blocking the illumination of the full moon. She continued sobbing. He didn't move a muscle.
I love you, niisan. Tell imouto and Father that too.
He will.
The tempest of the witching hour passed through. Sweeping the cause of murk from above with its tail, alas, the moon shone. The luminescence of the night's orb fell on the woman's face, a canvass absent of hue.
He gasped.
Her yellow eyes are that of a child. Innocent, round, bright, big and hers.
I'm not in pain.
He can't be sure.
"What happened to you?"
She stopped sobbing to look up to him. Flashes of emotion danced on her face like a moth on flame, only there for a fleeting moment before it disappears and never remembered after. Fear, pain, agitation, anxiety, relief and finally, happiness. She was like her in so many ways.
It unsettles him.
Don't be like that.
Tell me how.
"I-I was a-a-attacked! My family w-was a-attacked! Th-theere w-were a lot of th-them! H-high level shi-shinobis! I can't d-do s-somet-thing about t-them. I-I'm only a g-genin." She cries. "O-our v-village is ru-ruined."
It was. The Hidden Village of Willows was attacked at the dead of the night by two ninja villages. They were outnumbered and outpowered. It was their demise. When the message reached Konoha, it was over. They have met their end.
Neji-niisan, be strong.
I am strong.
"Are you from K-konoha, N-Neji-san? D-Do you know i-if there are s-survivors?"
"A few."
She wailed. It was a cry of anguish, a cry of despair.
Can you tell Kiba-kun and Shino-kun to take care of Kurenai-sensei? ...and themselves too?
I will.
He watched her cry. He watched her pour out her pain. He watched her. Like how he used to watch her heart out. One thing he learned from her is that to let people mourn for their broken hearts.
To mend the pain that none can share.
As if realizing something she momentarily forgot, she stood and faced him with a countenance full of determination. "I will not fall, I will not deter."
"Neji-san, I will never go back on my word, because that is my nindo, my ninja way!"
'Neji-niisan, I will never go back on my word, because that is my nindo, my ninja way!'
She's back.
"What's your name?" It was his turn to know.
"The color of my eyes, I am Taiyou."
This girl is the sun as she was my moon.
Neji-niisan, please, find someone to protect other than me.
I found her.
"What do you want to do now?"
She hesitated before answering. "C-can I come with y-you, Neji-san? To Konoha?"
He's more than willing to bring her.
"One condition." Her face lit up.
Like the way he remembers she does every time he let her do things that makes her happy.
Please, guide Hanabi. She can't lose another one in her life.
I promise.
"From now on, you are Hinata." He turned his back to her.
"I accept."
I love you Neji-niisan, goodbye.
I love you Hinata, see you.
"From now on, I am your Neji-niisan."
A/N: Can you feel my feels?