Chapter four:

Disclaimer: Naruto and its affiliates/characters are not owned by me. I'm just experimenting with fanfiction so I can get extra English credit once school starts up again.

For all reviewers who gave me good advice: Thank you, I will try as best to my talent to be a better writer and use your advice to my advantage. Thank you for taking the time to point out my errors and help me fix them. you guys rule! hands you all fictional MP3 players (I'm too cheap for real ones)

I've decided that pairings won't exist, because my brother didn't like Naruto for its romantic value, he liked it for the fights, the comedy, and the philosophy.

((Neji's POV))

Here, alone in the ice cream parlor with Naruto. He turned all his attention on his ice cream so it would seem like he had a good reason not to talk. I subconsciously brought the cone to my mouth as I thought about the times Hinata and I had shared.

When I first met her, she smiled shyly at me and hid herself behind her father's leg. I was so happy to meet her; she was so beautiful and cute.

I had been so worried when she had gotten kidnapped, and I felt so much respect for my uncle when he brought her back with out her even knowing that she had been gone.

I remember fighting her in the preliminaries, when she truly showed me how powerful she'd gotten. She certainly was really powerful, and I felt bad that I had to defeat her. I felt bad that one of us had to stay behind so the other could advance. But at the time I felt that I needed to prove to my father that I could be strong even when facing the people I loved.

Why is it always the people I love that die? Why couldn't it be some person who I hated? Like Sasuke... why didn't that little bastard kill himself? Or Sakura? If destiny needed a suicide on that day, why was it Hinata who destiny chose?

I looked over to Naruto. I wondered what he was thinking about. I wondered if he and I were thinking the same things... reminiscing over past times, wondering what we could've done different...

If I had let her beat me in the preliminaries, would it have been her fighting against Naruto instead of me? Would fate be that cruel? Or would fate put her with Shino. Either way, I think Hinata would've lost. And those two would be the two that would've gone easiest on her.

Is that why she killed herself? Because I put myself before her in the Chuunin exam? Or because I was never a good enough relative. I never went out of my way to treat her how she deserved. She was just the daughter of the fucker who killed my dad.

Or did she kill herself so she could finally be acknowledged? So people would finally think of her. That would be why I would kill myself. So people could gather together at my funeral and tell my dead body how great I was, how much of a friend I was. So I could watch the tears flow on people's faces at the fact that I was gone.

But that doesn't seem like something Hinata would do. She isn't that selfish. No, it definitely wasn't that. Something or someone, had convinced her to end her life, and I was determined to find out what.

Perhaps Hanabi had been giving her grief again. Or her friends, like Kiba had mentioned were in her long rant.

"Neji... I'm sorry. I should've just listened to her," Naruto said, "She was right... I was only dating Sakura because at the time I was so happy that she accepted me that I didn't care that she wasn't ever going to get over Sasuke."

I grunted. I couldn't be mad at him, although I found it hard not to be. I know how messed up people can be when they have a crush on someone. Like when I had a thing for TenTen but she would always be in love with Lee, who would always be in love with Sakura, who would always be in love with Sasuke who would never be in love with anyone. So I assume it's the same with them, Hinata would always love Naruto who would always love Sakura who would always love Sasuke who would always love no body. So if we want to get technical, the person of whom has the ass that I should be kicking is Sasuke, but since he never even conversed with Hinata, I couldn't blame him.

"So we've still got no leads as to who killed Hinata," Naruto said, quickly eating the rest of his ice cream.

"No. We do, Hinata's friends," I said. He nodded, standing up.

"...which friends?"

"Sakura. Ino, TenTen maybe," I guessed. She sometimes hung out with them. 'Used to anyways' I added mentally.

We left the ice cream parlor. The Yamanaka flower shop was a few blocks down, I think Blondie works there.

"Ino first?" Naruto asked. I nodded.

I would never get to have Hinata force her husband to let me be the best man. I would never get to tell her and her first boyfriend not to forget to use condoms. I would never get to see her become an Anbu, or even a Chuunin. If she became a teacher, like she always said she wanted to be, I'd never get to make guest appearances in the class room and embarrass her. I'd never get to pester her into naming her first son after me.

It was my destiny to protect her... I couldn't even do that much! I didn't protect her from depression, or herself. Hinata... your suicide has hurt me in so many ways. Do you know how much you hurt me?

We stepped into the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino waved at us.

"Hey there guys, how're you?" she waved.

"Not that great," Naruto whispered. I said nothing.

"Eh, why not?" she came over to us, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Ehm, Hinata...." Naruto choked on his own tears as he tried to tell her.

"Hinata..." Ino gestured for him to continue.

"Hinata is dead." I said. My own words stabbed me and my chest ached. Ino looked from me to Naruto, eyes wide.

"Oh, ha-ha, guys, you almost had me..." her voice was shaking.

"It's not a joke, Ino-chan..." Naruto told her. She looked up to me, eyes pleading for me to tell her that it was. I nodded. She clutched onto Naruto's shoulder, and buried her face in his chest, pounding on it as well. She was crying profusely, not afraid to show that she was, like everyone else had been. Tears stung at my own eyes, why I was crying again I didn't know. Shinobi's don't cry! I kept telling myself. But I did any ways. I never did live by their rules.

Ehm... not much happened there. But I hope I did a good job. I tried to think of what reactions I had.... I'm going to go visit his grave. Bri, hope they have computers in Purgatory, and I hope when I write Hinata's chapter from her POV, I get the after life right.... R&R, all comments are appreciated (That's a lie, don't flame me, it's already too hot as it is)