Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Winter Lily ❯ "Beyond My Sleeping Refuge. . ." ( Chapter 2 )

[~: A/N :~]

 

Semi: Guess what folks? It's chapter two of Winter Lily!

 

ChibiLee: Oye . . . Semi-sama's always late on deadlines.

 

Semi: Ano . . . Hai ^ ^; Gomenasei Minna-san! -bows-

CL: -shrugs- Why not try getting it in on time for once?

 

Semi: Well I'm as lazy as you Chibi so . . .

 

CL: -face plants-

 

Semi: XD

 

CL: It's time for CL's recap! In the last chapter The gang ran into some trouble. Will things turn out alright or is something about to flip their world upside down? Read and find out!
-solutes-

 

[~: Disclaimer :~] I do not own Naruto nor the song “My Last Breath” . Have a nice day.

Winter Lily

By: Youkai Semi

 

Chapter Two: “Beyond My Sleeping Refuge. . .”

 

Hinata stared, her eyes filling with tears and was unable to blink them away. She didn't know how this had happened, nor how it ended just as quickly. Her mind raced in circles, trying to come up with an explanation and found none. Why did this happen? What did we do wrong? When had they lost control of the situation?

 

In front of her laid several bodies, only one form remained erect. Her body hurt to the point of black out, but she remained on her knees at least. She activated Byakugan once more and found that everyone but she and the one standing were indeed dead. She and he were the only ones left alive. Her heart felt like it was torn in two.

 

Her eyes fell on the figure standing in front of her. He was breathing hard and looked ready to collapse. His hair hung loose, no longer in it's restraint. His feet were set apart, one in front the other behind, and his arms hung limply at his sides. He had barely beaten the last of the group who attacked them. And it had been in a rage to avenge their fallen comrade and to protect her.

 

He turned to look at her, and for a moment his lavender-white eyes softened in relief and understanding. Hinata struggled and forced herself up, stumbling slightly until she regained her balance. For another they looked at each other, then Neji began to sway. Hinata noticed that his once white vest like shirt was now covered in blood. Most of it his own.

 

Before he fainted and fell on his face, Hinata moved with the last of her strength to his side and caught him. She struggled under his weight but she managed to hold him up long enough to drag him over to a shady tree. She sat there a minute, catching her breath and trying to collect her thoughts. Her eyes were blurry with tears, disintegrating her vision until all she saw was colors. With all her might she clung to her cousin, lifting his head onto her lap and letting her bangs shadow her eyes.

 

'Too weak . . .” Was all she could think. She had been too weak to be of any assistance on this low level mission. It hurt too much to even try anymore. The one she loved was gone forever, she couldn't even summon the strength to pull his body away from the battle field. She felt helpless, and worse yet . . . worthless. And now she was just so tired . . .

 

As the tears continued to fall from her shadowed eyes, she tired to think of something to do to protect her cousin who was still unconscious. Unable to think of anything she pulled her jacket off and made it into a make-shift pillow for him. To stop the bleeding she would have to apply pressure yet she didn't want to wake him.

 

Hinata looked around after whipping away the tears and found night beginning to fall. Both of them would freeze if she couldn't think of something. Then she remembered her survival training. To conserve heat team-mates would huddle together. She didn't have the strength to get up and get their bag let alone set up the tent. And his wound wouldn't stop unless some pressure was applied.

 

With both thoughts in mind she decided to do the only thing she could come up with. With a small yawn, and a few more tears, she laid across him using his stomach as a pillow and her own head for pressure. It would help both in the long run. Both would be warm by each other's body heat and the pressure of her head would stop the bleeding without waking him up. And it would protect Neji . . . they'd have to go through her to get to him by her using her own body as a shield.

 

“What do I do?” Hinata cried into his shirt. The feeling of helplessness and worthlessness flooding her senses. She hurt all over and had to somehow keep Neji alive. If she could do that perhaps she wouldn't be so worthless. Though her father wouldn't agree on that. If they pulled through this l. . . she wasn't sure but she didn't think being a ninja was what she wanted now. Not when the only one who inspired and cared about her was gone. The kunoichi soon fell asleep, just as the sun sank totally behind the mountains.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hinata-sama?” A soft voice broke through the girl's sleeping mind. She didn't want to wake up. If she did she would have to remember everything. A gental hand on her head, brushing away the hair that had fallen in her face, was what actually brought her out of her dreams. When she opened her eyes she found herself using Neji's lap as a pillow. She blinked in confusion.

 

“Hinata-sama? It's nearly noon, we better get back to Konoha.” Neji looked at her then closed his eyes. She sat up and glanced around, noticing her jacket had been draped over her while she had slept. The bodies were gone, but a rouge kunai or shuriken still remained here or there.

 

“What happened?” Hinata turned to her cousin who opened his eyes to look over the battle field.

 

“The Anbu came this morning.” His reply was cool, near emotionless. They sat in silence for the next minute or two while thinking of their lost team-mate. Naruto had always been so boisterous, it was hard to believe he was gone.

 

It was Hinata who broke the silence, “Neji-oniichan? Daijabu?” She shifted her eyes to him, her brow knitting in worry. He turned his head to look at her and nodded. Sighing in relief she got up and found their bag. If she didn't do something to occupy her mind she would surely go crazy and break down again. She couldn't allow herself to break down a second time . . . it would probably kill her.

 

When she came back with their bags, Neji lifted an eyebrow at seeing her digging in one of them. The kunoichi brought out a roll of bandages and a small bottle of antiseptic. Neji was amazed that she always put others first. Wincing slightly from the dried blood holding his shirt to the wound, he unbuckled and removed it to get a better look at it. It was deep enough to cause sever blood lose, but thankfully it hadn't hit any internal organs.

 

“May I?” Hinata asked quietly without looking at him directly. She felt it was all her fault and wanted to help. At first Neji was about to take the bandages and do it himself, but the sharp pain that shot through him when he tired to move and the look in her eyes changed his mind.

 

He frowned slightly then nodded his head. It was almost comical . . . a spoiled main branch princess wanting to help a cadet branch member. He would have laughed had his wound aloud him to. Hinata soaked a small portion of the bandage by tipping the bottle over it slightly, then gently cleaned the wound out with it. She felt him tense in pain and tried to be a little more careful. Once done she wrapped the clean bandage around his middle and over the wound, tying it off tight enough to keep constant pressure but not so tight as to give him major discomfort.

 

Neji looked over her handiwork and was again surprised that it was rather well done. He slipped his blood stained shirt back on and stood up. Hinata repacked everything as he activated Byakugan and looked around. There was no one near so the coast was clear. After a moment he looked down at the Hyuuga and frowned. Her chakra was bare minimal. Had she used the last of it to drag him under the trees to safety? His respect for her went up a notch, but that left them in a bit of a bind if they were to be attacked again. He was nearly spent as well.

 

“Ready to head back?” The older Hyuuga asked quietly. Hinata looked up at her cousin and nodded. That's when he noticed that her eyes were dead. She had given up. She had done what she could for him but now there was nothing left.

 

“Daijabu desu ka?” Neji asked gently, his voice holding concern.

 

“Daijabu.” She replied back without emotion as she got to her feet. She slung her backpack across her shoulders then proceeded to carry the other two. Where had she gotten that kind of strength from? Maybe it was because she didn't care anymore. This wasn't the same Hinata. . . no, the person before him was dead and had no will to live. He did not have the heart to chide her on her stupidity. He had known for a while now about how she felt about the brat.

 

Everyone else had been blind when it came to Hinata, but Neji was always looking out for her so he knew. . . he knew she had loved Naruto. He also knew that to lose a loved one was possibly the most painful thing to go through. That your heart dies more often then not in these situations, and only a small number were able to rebound and continue living. He hoped Hinata was the latter and rebounded back.

 

“It must be hard . . .” Neji turned his attention back onto the road in front of them as they walked side by side.

 

“Nani?” Hinata never lifted her lifeless eyes from the ground in front of her.

 

“To lose the one you love . . . it must be hard.” He leveled his lavender-white eyes at her and waited to see some kind of reaction. A flicker of light appeared but was extinguished the next moment. Her eyes filled with tears that would not fall. She nodded once, going deathly silent afterwards. Frowning, Neji began to get worried. No, this wasn't Hinata. This person was fragile and was likely to break at a moment's notice. . . he wouldn't let her break. Surprising himself he stopped, pulled her to him and hugged her.

 

“Hey . . . it's ok to cry when it's something like this.” He held her close. At first she stiffened and seemed to want to get away, but slowly her arms went around him. He felt her hand clutch the back of his shirt then the shaking. She buried her face into his chest and let out a sound like that of a wounded animal, letting the tears fall finally. The ferocity of her tears caught him off guard and soon soaked his shirt, but he didn't mind if it made her feel better.

 

By the time she was finished, Hinata felt exhausted. Drained and rather sleepy again, she let go of Neji and whipped the tears from her eyes. He almost laughed when she developed the hiccups. Actually, she was rather cute at the moment. It made him wonder why he hadn't noticed it before. No . . . he had, but chose to ignore it until now.

 

'I was too into my anger at the main house to really notice . . . perhaps I've been a fool. Maybe she was right . . . It WAS me running from my fate, not her. She had even accepted the fact that her own father would choose Hanabi over her if he could.' Neji reflected to himself. Hiashi was a fool, and did not deserve a daughter like Hinata by Neji's mind set. The boy looked at his younger cousin and decided.

 

'I will never let anything hurt her again.' He thought with determination. Hinata finished whipping away her tears, looking throughly miserable and tired.

 

“Are you ready to continue Hinata-sama?” Neji asked quietly, this time sama was actually meant for now he really did respect her. With a small nod she gave her affirmative.

 

“Arigato gozaimaste Neji-oniichan.” She murmured quietly, her eyes downcast and hands clasped in front of her. Neji thought a moment then inclined his head slightly.

 

“You're very welcome Hinata-sama . . . and you don't have to be afraid to cry in front of me. I would not think any less of you for it.” He comment gently and lead the way this time. Hinata watched him with a puzzled look. Neji had only been nice to her when they had been kids . . . before the cursed mark had been placed upon his brow.

 

So why was it that he suddenly had a change of hear? It made her headache worse when she tried to figure it out so she let it go. There was plenty of time to ask him later. That is if they made it home safely. She closed her burning eyes and followed her cousin by sound alone. Not only did it help her eyes but it was good training as well. Now she knew how her cousin felt when he had lost his father. . . and she couldn't blame him for his anger, he was justified in it.

 

If only the others could understand him as well. They would get to see a side of him he never showed to anyone . . . well Hinata was the exception but still. All the boy needed was understanding. He had recognition, but no one really understood him until now. If the others could open their minds and ears they would find that Neji wasn't as much of a cold hearted jerk as he made himself out to be. Yes . . . all he needed was understanding.

 

 

* * *

 

It was the next morning when they spotted the gates of Konoha. Neji was feeling better so he carried his own pack. Hinata continued to carry Naruto's in her arms like a life saving device. Both of them were sure hungry now, having eaten the last of their supply the night before. The two of them had huddled together and fell asleep with their backs against a sleep.

 

Overall they were fine and didn't really need any attention so they took their time getting back. Neji's wound would of reopened if they had hurried. He refused to see someone once they got back, but consented to let Hinata look after it until it healed. She was a bit surprised by that but had let it go as unimportant.

 

“Hai, we'll have to go in sooner or later. Might as well get the hard part over with ne?” Neji looked at his cousin with concern, noting the pained expression still in her eyes.

 

“Hai . . . let's go then.” Hinata took a deep breath, closed her eyes and started foreword. Neji watched her a moment before following. She had inner strength all right . . . it jut refused to come out sometimes.

 

Hinata paused in her tracks and stooped to pick something. Neji blinked then understood. It was a dark red rose like flower that was almost black. A rather pretty color. It was the flower of 'lost love' as the tips of the petals were black and was placed by the person's spouse or family among the white ones on their grave. The 'blood drop' flower bloomed only once a year so it was rare. Though the florists kept them going all year long just for these special occasions.

 

To find one just outside the village had to be a sign. It was the perfect flower for Hinata at the moment and he knew she'd be the only one to place one on his grave. Stooping down as well, Neji picked the only remaining 'blood drop' and held it in his hands. No, he would place one as well . . . he owed the brat his life and might of one day been family.

 

The two Hyuuga's stared at their flowers, nether needing to say a word. For now they would mourn by themselves while no one but each other watched. It was easier to cope this way, and Neji knew Hinata didn't want to seem weak in front of her father . . . nor did she want everyone to know her true feeling for the Usumaki.

 

For the moment all the Hyuuga cousins needed . . . was each other.

 

 

 

[~End of Chapter:~]

 

Semi: -sniffs then burst into tears-

 

C.L.: Semi-sama . . .

 

Semi: I'm so evil . . . why did I have Naruto die?

 

C.L.: Plot Semi-sama, plot. Now will you stop crying all over me?

 

Semi: ^^; . . . Gomen Chibi. This is the first time I've killed a character . . .

 

C.L.: -face plants- @-@; Oye . . .

 

Semi: Anyway I hope you all enjoy. Oh! And uh . . . please don't hurt me! -hides behind C.L.-

 

C.L.: Hey!

 

[~: Teasers for the next chapter:~]

 

The gang attends a funeral and mourn the lose of one of their own. But can anyone bring Hinata out of her depression? Tune in next time!

 

Chapter Three: “Gomenasei”