Hi guys. I decided to come out with an early Christmas present for everyone in honour of everyone's favorite stoic Hyuuga, Neji. *sniffle* GODDAMMIT KISHIMOTO! You killed Neji! You bastard, you couldn't kill off Sasuke instead? Why, WHY? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this and an early Merry Christmas to you all.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say anything? If I owned Naruto, we would still have Neji and Itachi! *sniffle* Fuckin Kishimoto.
He could remember his fifth Christmas, he had received his treasured engraved set of kunai and had learned a new technique for the Byakugan. He had played with the small Hinata in the training grounds for hours. There had been a beautiful blanket of snow covering the ground and the two had made snow angels for hours.
But there would be no more of that.
Neji sighed as he floated by a large oak tree near the Hyuuga compound. After his death in the Fourth Great Shinobi War against Uchihas Madara and Obito, he had been roaming the Earth like the lonely spirit he was.
He was disgusted with himself; afraid to move on to the afterlife, why was he afraid? The answer was simple, he answered himself while looking at the entrance to the compound. The answer was Hinata. He had sacrificed himself so his precious cousin would be safe.
No, not his cousin, his sister. Hinata had forgiven him for all of the horrible things he had done to her when they were younger. She cared for him in a way no one had cared for him before. She even went as far as to call him her brother. For that reason, Neji was afraid to leave her alone. After all she had done for him, how could Neji leave his precious sister to fend for herself in this horrible world? He wouldn't it wasn't an option.
So Neji floated near that oak tree and watched his cousin and friends enjoy the Christmas party Hinata had thrown. He watched as they all laughed fragmented laughs and smiled broken smiles in an attempt to be merry. The war had taken its toll on everyone in this village and each and every person had been presented with a view on the true horrors of the shinobi war.
Naruto and Sakura stayed close together while Sakura held Sai's hand in a loose but familiar grip, it was as if they were trying to make up for the absence of Kakashi, Yamato and Sasuke who had all been killed while trying to protect Naruto, or kill Naruto in Sasuke's case.
Kiba had an arm draped around Hinata and Shino but there was a noticeable absence of his partner Akamaru.
Shikamaru stood near Kurenai who cradled her baby boy while Ino and Chouji sat not to far off.
His own team, or what was left of it, sat on a sofa near the fireplace. Lee had an arm around Tenten's waist while she rested her head on his shoulder.
Neji wished he could comfort them with all of his might and he gave a frustrated sigh and his hand phased through the tree. There would be no comfort from him.
What a mess this was. Families, friends and teams torn apart because of some stupid Uchiha with a god-complex and another with a grudge that lasted fourteen years.
When the last of the guests had left, Neji watched as Hinata sat on the porch instead of going inside to sleep. It was windy and cold out and she shivered as small snowflakes stuck to her clothes and hair. Her hair was tossed about in the wind and lavender eyes glanced upward.
"The stars are beautiful tonight." She murmured. She rested her head upon her knees and began to sob.
"Brother." She choked out. Heart torn in two, Neji floated over to where Hinata sat. Her body trembled and he ran a translucent hand up and down her back in comfort. She quieted after a few minutes.
"Neji-nii." She mumbled as she turned puffy, red rimmed byakugan eyes up to look at him. He smiled at her gently.
"Hello Hinata." She teared up again and sobbed even harder.
"Shush, shush, it's alright I'm here." He spoke softly and rubbed her back some more. After she quieted again she studied him for a while.
"Neji-nii, how are you here?" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Because I cannot move on to the afterlife."
"Why?" He smiled again.
"Because I'm afraid." Hinata looked at him with curious eyes and for a moment he was reminded of the small timid girl she used to be.
"You, afraid of something Neji-nii?" She asked, shock evident on her face. He chuckled.
"Yes."
A comfortable silence passed for a few minutes while the two basked in each others presence.
"What are you afraid of Neji-nii?" Hinata asked quietly. Neji was silent for a few minutes.
"I'm afraid of leaving you Hinata." She gasped quietly.
"What?" He looked at her with a serious expression.
"I'm afraid of leaving you. I don't want you to face this world by yourself." Hinata was quiet for awhile. While she sat thinking, Neji ran his ghostly fingers through her long raven locks. Finally Hinata turned to him.
"You shouldn't have to be afraid to move on because of me Neji-nii, because you'll never leave me." She placed a small, delicate hand over her heart and another where Neji's would have been.
"You will never leave me because you will always stay right here." She whispered. She smiled at him and as broken and fragmented as it was, it was the most beautiful smile Neji had ever seen.
"So please don't be afraid to move on because of me. I want you to find happiness Neji-nii and you won't find it by wandering this world forever."
Neji felt light and happy for the first time since his death, he felt complete. He smiled at Hinata and she smiled the same beautiful yet broken smile. A gust of wind blew and he was gone.
"Merry Christmas Neji-nii." She whispered as tears ran down her porcelain cheeks.
There, I hope I made everyone cry because I was nearly in tears while writing this. Rest In Peace Neji, don't worry, we'll kick Kishimoto's ass for you.
Also, review or I'll do something... Rash. Like, having Chuckie the mouse/rat thing stalk all of you.