Note from the Author: Now, did you actually think that in my absence, I haven't been writing?
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"Neji-san!" Sakura grabbed his arm. "You can't go in there right now."
He wrenched himself from her grip, pushing forward through the door and into his cousin's room. "Hinata-sama," his breath stuck tight in his throat, and the smell of blood and medicine hit him full-force. "Hinata-sama?"
She lay with eyes unopened, her face washed of color, dark hair splayed across her pillow. Her thin hands rested at her sides, each with its own IV piercing her skin. She looked so small wrapped in the white of the hospital gown, pressed beneath the light blanket.
He sank into the chair beside the bed, watching her still, sleeping face.
"Neji-san," Sakura's voice was soft behind him, as if she were afraid to wake the comatose girl. "Please, you can't be here right now. If–"
"I'm not leaving." He interrupted fiercely, turning a dangerous glare on the medic-nin. "I'm not leaving her alone here." Do you know how scared she must be? His fist clenched angrily.
She had trusted him. She had trusted him to protect her, and he hadn't been able to. He hadn't been smart enough to realize that she would be ambushed, he hadn't been fast enough to reach her, he hadn't been strong enough to save her.
His fingernails dug into his palm, and his head bent, his teeth gritting furiously. The only thing he lived for was to protect her. It was his only duty, and he couldn't do it right.
"Neji-san," Sakura's voice was hesitant, quiet. "I'll let you stay for a little while, alright?"
As she left she closed the door gently behind her. He figured she knew he wasn't going anywhere.
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"Neji-nii-san," a hand was nestled in his hair, and a weak giggle sounded above him. "Neji-nii-san, my legs are falling asleep."
His head lifted abruptly from Hinata's lap, and he shot to his feet, staring at her through tired eyes. "Hinata-sama, you're awake."
She smiled gently, and he tried to ignore the gash in her lip that stretched with the movement. "Your arm is broken?"
He blinked down at the sling as if he didn't know it was there. "It's nothing." He shook his head, leaning over her. "How do you feel?"
"Sakura-san and Tsunade-sama say I'll make a full recovery." She cupped his cheek in her tiny hand, which was unusually cold. "You look very tired. Why don't you go home and rest?"
He grasped her hand. "I'm not leaving here without you, Hinata-sama." He sank back into his chair. "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you like I should have."
She shook her head. "Neji-nii-san, it's not your fault at all. You did what you could." Her fingers squeezed his reassuringly. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have even survived." She leaned forward, lifting his face with her hands. "Don't be hard on yourself," she said softly. "I'll heal much more quickly if you are smiling."
He kissed her softly. "I promise I won't leave."