After that I could never pass a dead man without stopping to gaze on his face, stripped by death of that earthly patina which masks the living soul. And I would ask, who were you? Where was your home? Who is mourning for you now?
-Ernst Toller

Chapter 26: Mourning for You

The pitter patter of rain on the ground echoed in their ears. The sound drowned out the words of the minister as he stood in front of the hole in the ground. Four Hyuuga stood at the corners of the dank pit and tugged at the ropes they held in their hands. Slowly, they lowered the black casket into the depths. A yelp was heard as one of the ropes slipped from one of the man's grips. The other three grunted as the casket shifted before slipping out and dropping a foot to the ground.

A white-eyed man grunted and yelled for the priest to continue. The minister started before hurriedly continuing with the commemoration. Hiashi walked back to his umbrella beside his two daughters. His walk was followed by two piercing blue eyes. All Naruto could think of were some of Neji's last words, "I know Hiashi-sama is involved."

Did Hiashi order Neji's death? Was Hiashi okay with sacrificing one of his clan just like that? Naruto clicked his tongue before looking away irritably. The man didn't even have the decency to shed a tear. The corners of his eyes weren't even red. He was heartless.

Kei put a hand on his shoulder. His back loosened, and he looked over towards her despondently. Her eyes quietly conveyed her apologies. Naruto shook his head quietly before looking back to where the ceremony had continued. The Hyuuga clan members were now filling in the dirt. To be honest, the ceremony had been rushed. They just needed to get it done in a few days to continue with the exams. It "would have reflected poorly" if they didn't even offer Neji a burial before they continued. Neji's wake happened the day after his death, and he was buried only a day after that. It was too quick. It was as if it didn't matter how they honored him and that it was just a nuisance it had to happen in the first place.

"Thank you for coming here today. I am sure Neji-nii-sama would have appreciated your presence if he was here to tell you himself." Hinata rose from her chair and walked out from under the cover to stand in front of Neji's grave. She turned to look at the crowd and clasped her hands behind her back. "He had a long and prosperous future ahead of him that was robbed needlessly away from him. I have been assured by Hokage-sama that everything will be done to catch the one who did this. Until then, keep him in your heart until he finds peace."

"He would not want us to mourn over his death. Neji-nii-sama was too selfless for that." Hinata gave a choked laugh. "So we must keep him in our memories until we pass on." She bowed slightly before straightening. "I appreciate your coming here today, even those that did not know him well." She nodded towards the foreign genin that had been placed off to the side. "The ceremony is over, but Neji-nii-sama lives through us. Thank you for coming."

She looked at the earth mound behind her sadly before walking quickly towards her father. She ducked under the black umbrella, her pale skin standing out starkly from the sea of black clad mourners behind her. Hinata lifted up her hand to rub her eyes before looking up to face the oncoming crowd.

Teru immediately slipped out of his seat and headed over to where Hinata was. Kei watched through the swarming crowds as he put his hand on the purple-haired girl's shoulder. He leaned into her ear and whispered something to which she blinked a few times. Teru rolled his eyes before repeating the phrase. Kei wished that the crowds could all disappear. Oh, what she would give to hear what they were saying. She wanted to know what caused Hinata to jump in shock like that.

Hinata whispered hurriedly back to Teru before giving him a slight push. The blonde nodded before scurrying away from the burial grounds. Kei frowned. They were being awfully furtive. She doubted that Teru was giving his condolences.

Naruto got up from his seat and stretched. "Well, let's go wait our turn." The black sea had thickened, leaving Tsume on the outskirts. Naruto could just see a bit of dark brown, and sighed. His eyes turned up towards the sky as water continued to pour.

"People say that rain is the tears of angels," Kei said, shifting underneath her umbrella. "Do you think that is true?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Whether it is true or not doesn't matter. It is convenient though." Shikamaru moved a few steps forward as the crowd lurched ahead.

"How so?" Kei asked.

"It helps hide the tears a little bit. Some need it more than others." Shikamaru cocked his head to the side, and Naruto's gaze trailed to the right. Lee and Gai had walked up to the grave and were kneeling in front of it. Lee had a hand covering his face, but his tears were audible even from so far away. Gai had a hand around his protégé's shoulders.

The two had traded away their usual green jumpsuits for the traditional black suit. Lee's other hand dug into the wet dirt as he mourned the loss of his friend and rival. It reminded Naruto that this didn't have to happen. He vaguely recalled one of Iruka's speeches during the academy.

"Everything has a consequence. If you buy dango, the storekeeper gets money. If the storekeeper gets money then he can spend it to buy more clothes. If the clothes store owner wants to pay for an assassin, the money he earns might just cover it. One might say that if you didn't buy the dango, then perhaps the person that just got assassinated might have lived. They would have had a little more time and maybe they would have been a little more prepared."

Iruka looked over his students. "But the man's death is not the fault of the person who bought the food. They didn't know that it would happen, so even if they find out, they should not feel guilt. Does that make sense to you all?"

"But Iruka-sensei, that will never happen!" An obnoxious genin complained from the back of the room.

"It will happen, Naruto-kun. All ninja have this happen to them. One day, you'll think, "Could I have prevented this? Is his death my fault?" It will not be, but it will feel like it." Iruka replied solemnly.

"Not if I protect them all! I won't let any of my friends die!"

He had been just a child then. He'd been a child that didn't understand the ways of the world. Now, so many years later, he regretted that he didn't take Iruka's words a little bit more seriously.

"You had better not fail me, Hinata." Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Hiashi talking to his daughter. "I had some hopes of allowing Neji-kun to replace you as heir, but apparently that is not to be. Now that he is gone, I am stuck with you. If I tried to allow Hanabi to take your place, the other clans would view us as weak through you."

Hinata flinched and whispered something softly, looking down at a tuft of grass. Hiashi shook his head before adding, "Get into the final four. That's the least you can do, can't you? Maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations for you. I should be thankful that you haven't killed yourself out of your own stupidity yet."

Hiashi clicked his tongue at the shivering girl. "I will be talking to some of the foreign mourners. Do not embarrass me here." Hinata nodded hurriedly, and Hiashi walked away. The girl gave a relieved sigh before turning to look at the next arrival.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san! Thank you for coming." Hinata bowed slightly, but Naruto stopped her.

"It's all right. I'm sorry for your loss, and... I'm sorry about your father as well," Naruto added quietly, glancing in the direction where Hiashi had gone. The man was talking to the Otokage with a polite smile on his face.

"Ah, I'm sorry you had to see that." Hinata quieted a bit before saying, "I don't really know what I am supposed to do now. Normally, I would always ask Neji-nii-sama. He'd tell me to leave him alone and that it was stupid to be worried over such a thing." Hinata smiled softly, "But then I'd wake up in the morning to find a note on my desk. He'd write and tell me what to do even if he didn't tell me face to face. I don't know what to do now though..."

Hinata's face fell, and she blew out a sigh. "There's no one in the clan house that's willing to give me an honest opinion like he would give me. What do you think I should do, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto bit his lip and tilted his head to the side. "It's hard to know what to say. I'm sure that he'd want you to stay strong even if he can't help you out now. You have a team now. They're there to help you when you're down. So is your sensei, so it's not as if you're completely alone now."

Hinata laughed lightly, "I guess that is true."

"Hinata, we have to leave now!" Hiashi's voice trailed over the crowd.

"Ah, I'm coming!" She looked back over to Naruto and said, "Thank you for your advice. I... I think I know where I'm going now. I appreciate it." She turned and swept away, leaving Naruto behind.

"It's nothing," Naruto said quietly. He looked over to where Kei and Shikamaru were talking to Inoichi and then back to Hinata. "Good luck." He turned away from the heiress and walked back to his team.

-TSUME-

Naruto walked quietly into the room and huddled off to the side with Kei and Shikamaru. They were starting up the exams again. It seemed so soon after the death, yet so long. The days had been passing slowly for all of them. Perhaps this would help them speed up a little bit.

A pale jounin walked on the overhang and slowly made his way to the center of the pathway. He leaned forward on the handrail as the genin streamed in. It was plainly obvious that he was feeling sick. The man was clinging to the bars as if they were his lifeline.

"I..." He started before giving a throaty cough. "My name is Gekko Hayate. I will be your proctor for the remaining sections of the exams. It is an honor to be leading you." He bobbed his head up and down slightly before trying to straighten himself out.

"As you can probably tell," Hayate pointed towards two chuunin in the corner of the room before gesturing towards the large doors that guarded the room, "there are quite a few teams in this section of the exams. A total of thirteen teams completed the section portion of the exams in time. This means that thirty-nine peop- thirty-eight people, excuse me, are competing in this section of the exam."

Hayate caught himself belatedly, reminding everyone of the events that transpired a few days ago. "In any case, thirty-eight is too large of a number. The finals will have less than twenty genin competing due to time limits and arena count. This is why we must have another portion of the exams to lower the number."

"You will all participate in one-on-one battles with your fellow genin. Nation protection is off due to a majority of Konoha genin making it through to this portion of the exams. We will not take complaints if a smaller nation fights someone of their same nation." Hayate looked down at the genin like a vulture before continuing, "The matches are randomized and will be displayed on the screen behind m-"

Suddenly, the doors to the room were flung open. The genin winced at the loud sound the doors made as they were slammed against the wall. A brown haired girl stalked into the room with a dark glower on her face. Naruto almost didn't recognize her for a moment before it clicked. It was Tenten. Her hair was down and was a mess; clearly she hadn't felt like dealing with it for the past few days.

"You've got to be joking! How could you just continue with this as if Neji-kun's death had never happened? It has been less than a week, and you're already back here ready to participate in some stupid tournament? There hasn't even been an opportunity for a serious investigation into who killed him!" Tenten shouted angrily, stamping her foot on the ground.

"He got killed during the chuunin exams! Doesn't anyone think that this might be a good time to stop them in case more deaths happen? But no, you're just going to continue onwithoutfinding his murderer!" She clenched her fist tightly and shook her head from side to side.

Hayate coughed awkwardly at the front of the room. "Now, Tenten-san, I know that you just lost your teammate. Hokage-sama has jounin out trying to find the culprit. We are trying to find out what happened, but the world cannot stop for him. We've been planning this chuunin exam for over a year now. Despite this happening, it cannot be stopped. I hope you understand."

"No, I don't understand!" Tenten snatched a kunai out from her side pocket and hurled it at Hayate's head. The brown haired man leaned out of the way as the kunai embedded two inches into the wall behind him. "You're talking about these exams as if they are worth more than his life! His murderer could be in this room, and you wouldn't be able to do a single thing about it!"

A hushed chatter circulated around the room. Could the murderer really be one of the genin in the exams? What if they had to battle the murderer in the semi-finals or the finals? They didn't want to do that at all!

"Tenten-san." Hayate's voice dropped as the murmur became ever louder. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the hall if you cannot control yourself. No exam is worth more than someone's life, but we cannot do anything more than what we are doing now."

"I'm not going to leave unless you tell me who killed him!" Tenten yelled back. She moved to grab something else to throw at him, but was stopped as someone grabbed her arm. Tenten tried to tug her arm out of Gai's grip, but it was no use. The senbon that was clutched weakly in her hand fell down to the ground.

She hung her head sadly and let her hair drift in front of her face. "I'll take her out. I apologize for the commotion." Gai said, looking up at Hayate. The jounin nodded and coughed. "Let's go, Tenten." He pulled on her arm lightly, trying to get her to move.

"I promise," Tenten whispered, "I promise that I won't let Neji-kun's killer get away with this." She looked up and glared at all of the genin. "No matter who it is, I will find them and make them pay. No matter what nation they are from. You understand me? If his murderer was any one of you, then don't expect to live much longer."

Tenten yanked her arm out of Gai's hold. She swiped the senbon from the ground before storming back out of the doors. Gai quickly followed after her, closing the doors behind the two of them.

"Tenten-san has been disqualified for disorderly conduct. I trust that none of you are eager to follow her example?" Hayate surveyed the crowd before hacking into his fist. "Right, now let's continue on with the exams. The names of the first two competitors will be up on the screen behind me. For those not named, please evacuate to the stands."

Lee stared longingly at the shut doors before turning back towards the front of the room. "I'll promise, Tenten-chan. I promise that I'll win the exams for you and Neji-san." His eyes glowed with determination as he stared up to monitor. He'd leave the investigation to Tenten and win in their honor.

-TSUME-

Orange names flashed across the screen, rapidly changing until finally a loud bing sounded. The two names clicked into place and glowed eerily on the screen. "Good luck, Shimizu-san," Shino said, pushing his glasses farther up on his face.

"To you as well, Aburame-san. I have to admit that it is surprising that I am facing you this round. Let's make it exciting for the viewers." Kei slipped her notebook out from under her arm and handed it to Shikamaru. "Hold this for me. I don't want to damage it accidentally."

Shikamaru nodded, taking the notebook. He shunshined up onto the higher level, clearing the central arena. Kei's golden eyes flicked up to where Hayate was standing. "Well, are you going to cue the beginning?"

"Ah, yes." Hayate cleared his throat. "Genin, get into your battle stances. The battle will begin in three." Kei flipped open her weapons pouch, keeping a careful eye on Shino. He didn't seem to move at all, even with Hayate's warning. She knew that Aburame were able to connect with their bugs, but she would have thought that it would require some sort of tangible communicator. She couldn't detect any substantial chakra pulses, but maybe they were weak enough so that enemies couldn't feel them.

"Two," Hayate's voice cut into her thoughts, and she edged a few steps away from Shino. The gray-clad genin remained frozen as Hayate counted down. "One, begin!"

Author's Note: It's really interesting to read all of your guesses for the culprit! About half of you are wrong, but that's all I can say. (: At least one person mentioned the guilty party! I'll be subtly giving out clues until I finally reveal who it is in an upcoming chapter.

Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me even though I consistently turn in late chapters. This will be bad if I get a time-conscious job...

Thanks for reading and reviewing!