"It hasn't changed in thirteen years..."
Shino approached the training grounds.
"Nothing has changed except for..."
He fixed his shielded gaze to the memorial dedicated to the ninja who had lost their lives in battle. He slowly turned to face it and wearily placed his hand on its surface. He ran his finger down the list until it reached the name he was looking for.
Hyuuga Hinata.
It had been seven years since the day they found her. She had been poisoned by... who? They never found out. Shino had always accepted death as a part of life. You are born, you live, and you die. But with Hinata, it was different. He wondered if she suffered. He hoped not. She had suffered enough in her life. She didn't need pain in her death.
After all, wasn't that why she hadn't known? Why he hadn't told her? She didn't need any more turmoil in her life.
Yes, that was why he didn't tell her. About his feelings for her. But was it the right thing to do? At the time, he thought so. But the more he thought about it, the more he saw his mistake.
He might have stopped her. It might have stopped her. She was assigned to investigate reports of mysterious ninja outside the village. She could have declined. She was given the choice. But she was blinded by sorrow. She didn't care about what happened to her.
Why was she so careless?
Naruto.
She had confessed her feelings for him. He had turned her down. Kiba had been furious. He was actually going to kill Naruto for hurting so much.
But she died.
Maybe if I had told her... she would have stayed...
Shino heard thunder. He didn't care. The rain started pouring down over the ground, over the memorial, over him. He was left to reflect on things that could have been.