Watching
She watched him through a window; the abstract concepts of time and space overlooked.
She did not think of why or when she had started doing this. Those thoughts never occurred in her mind. She just observed him; constantly, constantly.
His face had been twisted in pure anguish as hot tears streamed down his face. He had cried silently, but defiantly not softly. And soon, there was a knock on the door.
"Neji?" A muffled voice came from the other side. "Neji, can we talk?"
He had wiped his tears away, and in and instant, his face was expressionless.
That was her first memory of him, and she immediately became curious.
Day after day, she sat by the window; her desire to know about this man growing every minute. He seemed to live his life in despair. Sometimes, he would walk into his room, already crying. Sometimes, he did not shed a single tear. But she always realized that his motions were repetitive; even robotic.
She wanted to know why. Perhaps it was because of a brawl with a friend, or pressure from work. Or maybe a loved one was far away from reach.
Soon, she became consumed by him, every inch of her consciousness longed to know more about him. She watched him as he slept, imagining a million explanations for his grief. She admired his long, black hair; his silvery eyes… the darkness of night suddenly became quiet, soft, and gentle.
She once caught him staring into photo albums; sighing. Perhaps his loved one had left him, for reasons she could only guess. Maybe it was for his lack of intentions, or the fact that his other half had just… changed. She created a story in her head where she had left for his best friend, and he had caught them in the act.
Until, one day, he slipped a particular photograph out of its album, and she caught a glimpse.
He was in the photo; with an arm draped around… it was herself. In a rush, it all came flooding back to her.
A mission…
A mission gone wrong.
And now, her own grave lay somewhere in the Konoha fields, with all the rest of the village's heroes.