I think I'm going to be making one of these for eavery years there's a suicide in my school. it's only the fourth week into school and already it's started. People, really, it's not worth it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Did you hear? Shino attempted to commit suicide over the weekend!" Sakura hissed, whispering to her blond friend Ino. I rolled my eyes and looked down at my paper. We were supposed to be taking a Biology quiz, but none of the students were paying attention. I couldn't even try to wrap my mind around the questions in front of me.

It was always the same old song. Some one tried to kill themselves and every one was gossiping and ostracizing the kid even more once they got back. Some on succeeded in killing themselves, everyone cried, even those that had made the kid's life hell. It made me sick... I'd been one of those kids, never giving a shit about the kid I always tortured... and then I took the time to get to know him...

Gaara...

"Sasuke..." I looked up to find Mrs. Senju looking worriedly at me. I blinked and nodded. "Why don't you go take a walk? Have a breather, ne?" she asked, hinting towards the door. I followed her gaze to find Naruto, Hinata, and, my closest friend, Gaara waiting outside for me. I nodded my thanks and grabbed my things before leaving.

"We going to see Shino?" I asked upon stepping out into the hall. Hinata nodded, stuttering a soft reply.

"We're also meeting Neji there... he's not taking it all that well..." Naruto added. It was common knowledge that Neji and Shino had been exceedingly close, the two having been so different they just gravitated towards one another. We'd eventually befriended them as well, talking to them whenever we got the chance. The bond between our own two groups had deepened only three days after Shikamaru's death a year ago... the same year Gaara almost succeeded in taking his own life...

I shuddered and shook off the thought, following the others out of the school and towards the hospital.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was hard to see Neji that shook up. He was normally stoic if not almost cold to others, but now... he was a wreck. His hair was a mess and his eyes were red and puffy from tears that were still falling down his porcelain face. He refused to leave Shino's side, the nurses and doctors having had to force food down his throat once already. The Hyuuga just couldn't function.

Hinata whimpered upon seeing her cousin like this and stepped forward, setting an unusually bold hand on his shoulder. Neji just looked up at her before choking out a sob and latching onto his cousin. I winced and looked down. Sasuke and Gaara were standing slightly behind me, both taking in Neji's haggard appearance. I felt out of place. I'd never been in a situation like this... never wanted to die... never had some one in my life try to kill themselves... Sure I knew Gaara and Sasuke and Hinata... but it'd been after they'd gone through all of that. I was the odd man in the group... and it showed.

"The doctors say he won't make it through the night..." Neji finally choked out, having calmed down enough to barely form words through his sobs.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I don't think I've ever seen my cousin so shook up. He's always been very cool, calm, and collected. To see him like that scared me to be honest... He was right, though. Shino died in his sleep only three hours later. They just couldn't stabilize his condition... and ultimately... Shino was dead after he'd lit himself on fire anyway... the fact that he was still breathing and his heart was still beating was just the last futile attempts of his brain working to try and save him...

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Neji... We hadn't seen him in days... we couldn't even reach him. He was filed as missing only the second day... he turned up only three days later... he was dead. They weren't strong enough... they'd given up too easily, leaving all of us behind to only mourn them. If only they had both made it one more day...maybe things would have been different...

I kept thinking this as I stood at the funeral of not one, but two people that should never have been burried before their families... With that in mind, I reached out and grasped Sasuke's hand, finding strength in the man beside me. Just a few feet away, Naruto stood comforting Hinata. We were all that was left of our little group... and we had to make it through...

Well, that's it for this one. But remember, please, YOU'RE ALWAYS WORTH THE STRUGGLE! Any one who tells you otherwise is wrong. There's always another way out! So please, don't let it get to this point!