"Shit... Hinata? Hinata!" Horo-Horo shook her by the shoulders, scared shitless by her lack of a response.
"Why?" Hinata whispered, a haunted look on her red-stained face as she rocked the even redder corpse in her arms.
"Why...?"
"Why?"
"Why?" She dragged her fingertips across Neji's face, formally paler then usual because of death, was now streaked red from the blood staining his cousin's tracing fingertips.
"Why...Why don't I feel sad?" Hinata whispered, her rocking falling into rythm with the wind as she shook even more.
"Horo-Horo...Why can't I cry?"
"Why won't I cry?" Horo-Horo gulped. This was bad. Very very bad. Hinata was the most empathic girl in the world, she could cry over other peoples sorrow, but now that she was faced with sorrow of her own, she had closed off. She kept stroking his long brown hair, as if that would give her the answer to her apathy.
"Neji...Neji is my brother... Why can't I cry for him?" her voice was so scared.
"Is it because of what you said last time?"
"You called me weak and a burden again."
"You tried to kill me again."
"You...you came so close to killing me that time. I was in the hospital for three months coughing up blood because of what you did to me"
You came so close so many times... but you never went through with it"
"You cursed me"
"you insulted me"
"you beat me shitless so many times"
"You made me so sad" she stated quietly to the dead eyes staring back at her. as if they could respond to her desperate confession.
"When we were little. Before your dad died. The first time we met. You smiled at me. You called me cute, that was the first thing you ever said to me"
"What happened Neji?"
"What made you hate me so much?"
"You're not supposed to hate me! Si-Siblings aren't supposed to hate each other!"
"So why can't I cry?"
"Why!"
"Why...Why do I hate you so much?"
"I'm...not supposed to hate you"
"I'm supposed to forgive you"
"I'm supposed to cry because you gave up your life for my sake, and I'm supposed to carry on your memory. I'm supposed to love you!"
"B-but I hate you"
"I hate you more then anything in the world right now Neji" Hinata let his body drop to the forest floor as she stood revealing the dark red stain cross her torso and the new deadness in her eyes. Eyes that revealed that she didn't hate him quite as much as she had stated.
"Can we go Horo-Horo?" Hinata stated, an amiable annoyance in her voice.
"I feel dirty" Horo-Horo gulped, nodding slowly.
"Do...Do you want to bury him?" Hinata blinked slowly, before weaving seals that ended in a flame bursting from her mouth, leaving nothing but ashes and scorched ground of her brother
"Hyuuga's are never buried" She stated softly.
"We are always burned, so that our secrets may never be stolen from us"
"Horo-Horo... I-if I die in the fight against Hao... Freeze me" Horo-Horo nodded.
"Let's just get back. The others will wonder where we are. I told them I'd bring you back as soon as you..." Horo-Horo paused. for once taking the time to search for the right words.
"Had done my mourning?" Hinata questioned, studying her own hands, well formed and red with blood.
"Y-yeah" Horo-Horo mumbled, obviously put off a little bit by Hinata's numb wit. Hinata smiled a little bit.
"Thank you Horo-Horo... For staying with me" Horo-Horo smiled despite himself.
"Anytime Hinata. That's what I'm here for"