.
XX
Vigil
XX
.
It had happened again.
Hyuuga Hinata woke up slowly to the strong smell of bleach, lysol, and other cleaning supplies. Her back ached from her awkward position on the floor, and even her limbs tingled in protest when she attempted to move.
Ah, it had happened again, indeed. How many times was it this week? Seven? Nine? She'd lost track after the fourth. Final exams before summer break tended to increase high schoolers' rate of falling asleep.
The problem wasn't that they dozed off; the problem was that they dreamed. And when the REM stage began, she only had so much time before being dragged into it herself.
Sighing, more in resignation than exasperation, she tried to ease her cramping muscles. Her head and cheeks throbbed, but she ignored them as best as she could.
Wait, her cheeks?
Confused but not in the mood to seek answers, she concentrated instead in clearing her mind.
Being pulled into random teenager's dreams was never the best of experiences. Especially when said teen dreamed such indecent and puzzling things.
She covered her eyes, rubbing away the lingering images and the weariness that came after the draining event.
If only she'd stayed with the home-school program her Mother had placed her in since kindergarten. Private classes equaled private time. Which meant no classmates that slept at their convenience during free periods.
Painfully sitting up, she blinked, dimly focusing on the supply closet she found herself in. Vaguely, she wondered at the time and at whatever soul had finally awaken from slumber.
"S-stupid dreams," she muttered. Kami, her head was swimming, her ears ringing, her throat parched.
With trembling legs, she rose to her feet, sluggishly smoothing her uniform skirt over numb thighs.
It was taking longer than normal to regain her senses. That was, perhaps, what made her oblivious to the person standing at the door that was no longer closed.
"Awake yet?"
Startled, she snapped to attention instantly, her dizziness causing her to sway.
Uchiha Sasuke knew she was about to fall before she registered it herself.
Clumsily, she grabbed on to the nearest shelf, managing to catch herself and a knocked pack of disinfecting wipes just in time.
"Great reflexes," he noted dryly, but she could tell by the smirk on his face that he was laughing at her.
Flustered, tired, and feeling like throwing up, she dismissed his humor. Putting the bag back in place, she greeted him. "Uchiha-san, h-hello."
"Hyuuga," he acknowledged.
"Ano, could you let me through? I-I was on my way out," she lied, pushing stray strands of indigo hair behind her ears.
His amusement became more evident. "Clearly."
The irony in that word made her realize he didn't believe her.
Goodness gracious. What had he seen?
"...Are you aware of the time, Hyuuga?" he asked after a moment of stifling silence.
She shook her head, only to regret the motion greatly.
"Thought not. It's past eight in the evening; you shouldn't be here unless you need to talk to a teacher."
Eight?! Her Father was going to have her head for dinner.
Her distress must have shown, for he sighed with something akin to resignation, "Just leave already."
"U-um, e-excuse me!" she all but ran when he took a step out of the way.
He didn't question her, but watched her go. Once she was out of sight, his gaze sobered, his mirth ebbing away.
Sasuke looked at the insides of the closet, reached in to turn the lights off, and wondered at the girl with opal eyes.
...
Eventually, he began to seek answers. Although she suspected he eventually would, his timing the first time threw her off.
"You were sleeping again," he said two days later, approaching her at lunch as if he'd known her his entire life.
Hinata almost choked on a mouthful of rice.
"Easy," he muttered, slapping her back with more force than necessary.
She could have sworn her soul left her body for an excruciating moment. If he noticed her agonized expression, he didn't comment on it.
Instead, he dropped a box of plain milk by her bento and sat on the desk in front of her.
Turning around to face her, and inserting a straw into his own carton, he inquired, "Why is that?"
"W-why is what?" she wheezed. I'm fine, thanks for the concern.
He picked a piece of fried octopus from her bento, scrutinized it intensely, and popped it into his mouth.
She gaped, appalled by his lack of manners.
"Why do you keep sleeping in the supply closet," he clarified once he was done chewing and she was done staring. "Don't you sleep at home?"
"Of course I do," she said, hesitantly offering him a handkerchief. He took it.
"Really." He was doubting her. Of course he was.
Smart cookie.
She moved the rest of the octopus in his direction, chopsticks clicking. "R-really."
He took the pieces willingly. "You're not trying to bribe me with these, are you?"
She pretended to think. "You weren't trying to do the same, were you?" she gestured at the Moo-Moo milk he'd dropped before her.
His lips curved slightly. "Touché."
He didn't say anything else for the rest of the day.
The next time he spoke to her about it, Friday had arrived.
She'd locked the closet, but a lock wasn't enough to keep him away, apparently.
When she came to, he was sitting on one corner, flipping the pages of a book.
A thin jacket had been thrown over her form, providing her with pleasant warmth.
"You were cold," he said as a way of explanation.
"O-oh," was all she could convey; her vocal cords felt frozen, her arms heavy, her heartbeat slow.
She tried to relax and regulate her breathing without being too obvious, hoping her classmate wouldn't notice.
"...Are you finally going to tell me what's wrong with you?"
Her hope died a rather swift death.
"F-fainting spells." It sounded more like a question than a statement, and both of them knew it.
He closed the book with a loud snap. "Hyuuga, this isn't normal."
He was onto something. She could tell.
"What isn't?" She went for casual.
He scowled down at her. "Don't give me that. This," he waved at her curled body with a flicker of his wrist, "isn't healthy. I wasn't going to say anything, since it's none of my damn business, but you won't take care of it otherwise."
Oh no...
He pursed his lips, and continued, "The way you...sleep. The way you just lose consciousness out of nowhere. It's not normal. It isn't," he emphasized when she tried to deny it. "Do you even know how stiff you get? How cold? When I tried to wake you up the first time, nothing worked." He paused. "Not even when I slapped you."
"You w-what?!"
No wonder her cheeks had hurt.
"Several times." There was no hint of regret in that confession.
Hinata was in utter disbelief. "Y-you hit me!"
"In my defense, I thought you were dead!"
That silenced her.
"Hyuuga, when you sleep like this...it's like you...like you are a corpse." He swallowed, unable to look at her.
She felt her heart clench, but didn't reply.
"That day I found you here, I thought for sure you were gone." He finally lifted his head. "Honestly? You scared the shit out me."
"...I'm sorry you saw that."
"I don't want you to apologize; I just wish you'd stop."
Me too, she wanted to say. "It's not like I can control it fully," she mumbled. She didn't even know if that was possible.
He sighed, his jaw relaxing slightly. "What exactly is it? This condition. Is it like post concussion syndrome?"
"N-not at all," she assured, gradually sitting up. "It's something that has happened for as long as I can remember." She shrugged weakly.
He observed the way she leaned against the wall for support, his paperback dangling loosely from his fingers. "Who else knows about it?"
"U-um, my Mother did, when she was alive. And, um, you."
His incredulity bordered on disgust. "You are kidding."
She shook her head.
He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable. Hyuuga, how can no one else know?"
Hinata frowned, hugging a numb arm to her chest. "No one...would understand."
"Why not?" he demanded.
"Like you said, it's not n-normal." She winced. "I-I'm trying to keep it in check, but sometimes that's not enough."
"...That's why you hide here."
Her pressed mouth was confirmation enough.
It was obvious he was still processing everything, for he didn't comment further.
Outside, the sound of students exiting the upper classrooms echoed down to them.
He ran a hand through his hair a couple of times before sighing. He sounded tired, all of the sudden. Hinata tried not to stare at the messy mane on top of his head. "Do you want to go back to class? It should be fourth period. You haven't been out for long," he told her.
"I think I'm okay. W-we should go."
"Not 'we'. You."
"W-what?"
He stood, pocketing his book and grabbing his schoolbag. "I don't feel like going to class. We have our reviews completed already. There's no real reason to go back in there," he explained.
"So...you're going to...skip?" The word felt foreign on her tongue.
He must have noticed for his smirk made a mocking return. "What, you've never done it?"
Her blush betrayed her.
He laughed, making the tint on her face spread. "No time like the present. Come, I'll make a bad girl out of you."
...
"Has anyone ever tell you your eyes are weird?"
Hinata didn't miss a beat. "Yes."
Sasuke glanced at her, lowering his bottle of water. "'Yes'?" he repeated dryly. "That's all you have to say?"
Hinata bit deeply into her steamed bun and nodded, unfazed.
They sat under the shade of a blooming apple tree, a mile away from their school. A bag of recently purchased convenience store snacks was between them, courtesy of Hinata.
Sasuke shook his head and reached for wrapped origini. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were blind."
She'd hear this before too. "E-everyone in my family has perfect vision," she informed him.
He snickered at the unveiled pride in her voice. "It sure wouldn't look like it. Bet opening ceremony was a nightmare." No one, after all, had eyes like hers.
Hinata stopped chewing, frowning in memory. "Y-you have no idea." All that insistent staring had unnerved her.
He huffed. "Makes me wish I'd been there to see it," he said, finally mounching on his ball of rice.
The Hyuuga regarded him for a moment, shifting on her seat. "You weren't there?" she asked after swallowing.
Sasuke rested his back against the smooth trunk. "Not a chance."
"You skipped it."
"I did," he confirmed, quickly finishing eating.
She couldn't help but blink in disconcern. "B-but why?"
A dark eyebrow arched in return. "Why not?"
"Well, it's opening day for a reason...right?"
Sasuke stretched out on the grass, making himself comfortable before answering. "When you live in the same town all your life, with the same people and the same rules, things like that become predictable." He closed his eyes. "Predictable...is boring."
Hinata thought about all those days of uneventful home schooling and agreed.
"But you're from out of own, so I don't expect you to understand."
"You'd be surprised," she murmured.
He opened one eye to peer at her. "What?"
"O-oh, just that this is a nice place," she decided to comment.
He pillowed his head with both arms. "Guess so. No one comes here at this hour."
"Do you...come here often when you skip?" she asked.
He semi-shrugged. "Sometimes. Speaking of which," his voice lost that lazy drawl, "how does it feel to skip for the first time?"
Thoughtful silence.
"It's kind of n-nice," she admitted, blushing and almost feeling guilty for finding pleasure in ditching classes. She was suddenly glad Neji-niisan was three cities away.
That smug smile was back again. "I knew you had it somewhere in you."
Hinata was hit by the urge of wiping that grin away. "Don't sound so pleased. If we get caught, I'm b-blaming you."
He snorted. "Hyuuga, if there's something I never do, is get caught."
Her eyes narrowed. "E-ever?"
Now he was looking directly at her, black eyes steady on her own. "Ever."
...
"I don't understand," he finally voiced one afternoon, leaning against the closed door.
It was Wednesday, and Finals were fast approaching. Three more days, Sunday, and then exam time.
On the other side, Hinata groggily took off her school uniform, shivering at the slippery cold sensation left on her skin.
"U-understand what?" she prompted, steering clear of the dripping mop and bucket at her right.
"Your reasoning. This sleep thing. Above all, you. Obviously."
She blinking dumbly at the door, wishing her skepticism would just go through. "Um, you don't have to," she said deliberately, choosing her words with care. Her Uchiha classmate tended to be unpredictable, and sometimes it was hard to tell what would tick him off.
She heard him huff. "Are you kidding? You're the most interesting thing that's happened to this school since Orochimaru's lab mice escaped their cage."
She was too tired to say they hadn't escaped; Orochimaru's pet snake had simply eaten them overnight. She, however, did remind him "...I'm not a puzzle," as she let the last of her garments fall.
"I disagree."
The skirt landed ungracefully with a wet plop. Hinata couldn't afford to give it a second glance. It was ruined anyway; the bleach had taken care of that. Even her black thighs were already an uneven shade of splotched red.
Someone had failed to dispose of the dirty water when they mopped the day before. Unfortunately for Hinata, on her blind hurry to reach the supply closet, she'd kicked the bucket (literally) before succumbing unwillingly into someone's dream. By the time she'd come back to awareness, Sasuke was waiting for her, a change of clothes that looked suspiciously like his in hand, the floor clear, the mop and bucket finally placed where they belonged.
A knock and a "Are you decent?" forced her to hurry into the black T-shirt and shorts he'd handed her.
"Don't come in!" she squeaked, hastily pulling at too large shorts.
"Too late," he said, already opening the door.
Hinata yelped. "S-Sasuke-san!"
He regarded her sharply. "What did I say about honorifics?"
"...Not to use any," she recited unhappily, adjusting the loose drawstrings.
He offered her a cold smile. "Good girl."
"Rude..." she mumbled under her breath.
His eyes narrowed. "What was that?"
"N-nothing."
"Hmph."
His brows arched as he glanced from her face down to her vestment.
"You know," he began thoughtfully in a way that made her squirm in deep discomfort. His casual monotone always delivered a nasty critique. "My gym clothes couldn't look worse on you if you'd tried."
Hinata's cheeks burned with indignated embarrassment.
Of course he'd say something so mean.
It was plain to see Uchiha Sasuke had no manners, especially when treating his peers. The boy that she'd thought quiet and well behaved in class was turning out to be quite the brat.
She wrung a side of the oversized shirt, biting her lip. And yet...
"Thank you...for the clothes...and for cleaning and watching over me." Curse her tendency to see the best in others.
He seemed surprised she'd mention it, evident by the slight widening of his eyes. That was quickly chased away by a condescending gleam. "Ah, so I see you're not so spoiled as not to give thanks."
Her eye twitched, her feelings of gratitude evaporating.
Before she could retort, he picked up their school bags from the side shelves and tossed one to her. "Come on."
She looked at him, then at her blue bag, lost.
He tsked. "Come on, Hyuuga," he urged impatiently, already out of the closet.
"W-wait!" she called after him, gingerly scooping her ruined uniform. "Where are we going?"
"Food."
"Food?" she echoed, trying to catch up to him. "You mean to buy some?"
"Yes. I'm hungry." He eyed her from the corner of his eye. "That, and you are too puny."
"E-excuse me?" This guy.
"Don't you have people that feed you?"
"No, but I do eat! I'm just s-small!"
"Underweight," he corrected indifferently. "Like I said, puny."
"H-how?" she demanded.
"Frail, short, and too skinny," he droned and she couldn't help but wonder what Haruno-san and 90% of the girl population on a diet would say to this. "You can't be heavier than 45 kilograms."
She gaped, because that was exactly her weight.
"Oh? I'm right, aren't I?"
She colored to the tip of her ears.
Curse him and his all-knowing attitude.
"You're stalling," he informed her. "Last one to reach the store gets to pay."
She ran after him. "N-no fair!"
...
Sooner or later, he was going to find out. Already, he'd seen and heard things he shouldn't have.
Sasuke was smart. He could connect the dots if pushed in the right direction.
Hinata knew this, and it scared her. Would he think her strange?
Definitely. Bearing witness to people's dreams was hardly a normal talent.
"He'll think me crazy," she barely had time to whisper before she was struck by the sensation of lightning.
The classroom began to waver before her wide eyes, Kurenai-sensei's voice fading away, her own body numbing at an alarming pace.
Someone was dreaming. Someone was pulling her in, and fast.
That could only mean someone was dreaming about her. She'd experience enough to know that.
Hinata was conscious enough to know she was leaning dangerously close to the edge of her chair.
No, no, no!
"...uga-san? Are...okay?"
Sensei.
"Hyuuga-san!"
Distantly, she felt her skull meet with the hard floor as she fell, her body following shortly.
I'm going to feel this later, she thought. And it's going to hurt a lot.
Suddenly, the lightning invading her senses died out. It occurred so fast she was left reeling, the disorientation by far the worst she'd ever had.
"She fainted! Hyuuga-san fainted!"
"Wait! She's not breathing! Make room!"
Trust her sense of hearing to be the last one to go.
Then, among the chaos, a familiar voice. "I'll take her to the infirmary."
The commotion turned into hushed murmurs, some of confusion, some of amazement.
Sasuke.
No one had expected him to speak up.
Hinata hadn't either.
With that, she heard no more.
…
For the first time in a while, she didn't wake up to a cold floor, tingling limbs, or the smell of bleach.
The dizziness, though, was there to stay.
She groaned, turning on the white bed.
Her head was about to explode.
"Wake up, Hyuuga."
Whatever sound came from her mouth, was very much a negative.
The familiar clicking of tongue and irritated huff managed to cut through the slight ringing in her ears.
"Fine. Be like that," he said. "But I'm warning you; if I end up dropping this jar of water on you, I'll tell Shizune it was an accident."
"Y-you wouldn't...dare," she squeaked weakly.
"Fucking try me."
That was enough of a threat to force her eyes open. Even among the blurriness, his deep scowl was evident. "You...are upset."
"No shit. I'm pissed, mostly at you."
She cleared her throat, hoping to regain her voice. "This wasn't my fault."
"I thought you said you could control it?"
"I-I said sometimes!"
"What happened back at the classroom? Do you have any idea the stupid excuses I had to make so an ambulance wouldn't be called?"
"I'm not sure, it happened so f-fast – ugh!" She grabbed her head.
She'd been right; it hurt and Sasuke wasn't helping in making her feel better.
Sasuke quickly returned the pitch of water to its place, hovering awkwardly. "...You hit your head kind of hard," he mentioned unnecessarily.
She glared blandly from one eye. "And yet here you are, s-screaming at me."
He released a heavy breath. "My...bad," he said through gritted teeth.
"I-is that any way of saying sorry?" Hinata demanded incredulously. "Pathetic," she mimicked his deep voice.
Or tried.
He snorted, "Was that supposed to be me? Pathetic."
She felt herself start to smile lightly, only for it to wither when he put his face in his hands. "Are you alright?"
He scoffed. "I'm not the one that cracked my skull open," he pointed out.
She made a face. Certainly, he was exaggerating. However, the throb in her head refused to be ignored.
"Hinata, I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to answer me with the truth."
The use of her first name almost made her mouth drop. She was able to compose herself when he finally looked up.
Onyx eyes fell directly on her.
Hinata studied his face for any clues as to just how serious the matter was before nodding, slowly. "...Okay."
"Okay," he repeated, stapling his fingers together. "Okay," he said again, as if reaffirming himself.
Hands clammy and heart galloping, she swallowed thickly.
He knows.
She was sure of it.
Sasuke didn't disappoint. "When you sleep...is it because someone else already is?"
Kami-sama.
"The first time I found you...no one besides you, Hatake, and I were here. Everyone else was gone, even the clubs. Out of the three of us, two were sleeping. I thought it was weird, and dismissed it."
Her face flamed; so she'd seen Kakashi-sensei's dream and not a teen's.
Sasuke was still talking. "But then, it kept happening. The Nara, the Inuzuka, Naruto," he listed the names in something close to disgust. "I thought it was too much of a coincidence to find them asleep, and then to go to the supply closet no one really uses and find you there. When no one slept, neither did you. I had my reservations, but then...today..." he trailed off, unfocused.
He shook his head, bringing himself back.
"Today, I was the one that took a nap during class and woke up to chaos. You'd hit the floor by then, and I knew...I knew what had happened. When I got to you, your eyes were wide, but your body was stiff. I had to take you out of there immediately, and I did. Then I started thinking, and a lot of things became clear." His gaze pierced her. "You...you get influenced by sleeping people. And you can't seem to stop it."
She wanted to laugh it off and say that was impossible. Absurd. She wanted to deny it, to keep this ability a secret. She wanted to be home and away from the eyes that watched her.
Instead, she said, "That...isn't quite right."
"Look," he snapped. "I know it sounds weird–"
"It isn't right," she cut him off. "I don't fall asleep unless people are dreaming." The words were coming faster than she could think. She was finally saying what she'd never told anyone, afraid of their rejection, fearing the labels, the judgment."I get drawn to dreams, not slumber itself. I get to see the fantasies, the desires, and the fears. I live them and feel them but can't get out unless the person dreaming awakens. If the dreams are light, I can shake them off, but sometimes, they are intense, and they overwhelm me, so I can't– I can't–!" Her hands were shaking by then, and she gripped the bedsheets tight in an attempt to remain steady.
"You can't escape them," he finished for her. He was regarding her, a splash of disbelief coloring his features.
She ducked her head, eyes wet. "P-please don't look at me like that."
He blinked. "I'm having a hard time believing you've finally told me, is all. Actually, I don't think it has sunk in yet."
"I wasn't planning on saying anything," she frowned.
"Because we barely know each other?" he guessed. She nodded. "If it makes you feel better, I talk to you more than I've talked to other students." Not it was her time to do a double-take. "They're annoying," he said as a way of explanation. "They're too loud and they don't know the meaning of silence."
"O-oh." Her face softened. "That sounds like you."
"I'm loud and annoying?" his tone was close to indignant.
"Y-you talk a lot and tease me all the time," she reminded him.
He considered this, and shrugged. "You're easy to tease and don't get offended," he saw her expression and added, "much."
"Hmph!"
"See?"
She smiled and sat with care, curling her legs under her. "N-now that you know..."
"If you're worried about me telling anyone, I won't. As if."
"A-actually, I was going to ask if there was anything you wished to know."
He paused. Then, "You'd tell me?"
"Mhm."
His cold smirk was back. "Then let's try it. Together."
She almost facefaulted. "Huh?!" He couldn't be serious.
He sat back on the chair, crossing his arms and looking like the world's biggest and clevest cat. "I want to know if I can see you roaming in my dreams now that I know of your...talent."
Apparently he was. Uchiha Sasuke never ceased to surprise her.
"Hyuuga, say something."
Hinata's brain kick started. "U-usually, I just stand in the background. I don't get noticed much by the dreamer," she mused once her shock passed.
"Oh? Is that a challenge?"
"N-no!"
"Hmm."
She pushed her braid back and sighed. "We could try...but are you sure you want to? Dreams tend to be...very personal. I may see something you'd want to keep private."
"I have enough self-control not to worry about that," he said, but she could tell he hadn't really thought about it.
"T-then...dream of me."
He looked startled, for he faced her sharply. "What?"
Hinata furrowed her brows. "Dream of me? So I can go directly to you when you sleep?"
Then she remembered the events that transpired before she hit the floor.
"Wait..." She looked at him in a new light as it clicked. "Me. It was me. In the classroom, as you dreamed. It happened so fast because you were dreaming of me."
His reaction was surprisingly predictable. "N-no way! Are you crazy?"
The colored tips of his ears said otherwise.
"You're lying," she whispered, more stunned than amused. "Why are you lying?"
"I'm not," he said defensively.
"Y-you are," she said in wonder, watching as the color pink invade his cheeks. "That's why I didn't stand a chance." Technically, the dream had been hers. She cocked her head to the side. "Why were you dreaming about me?"
"Hinata," Sasuke growled in warning, "let it go."
"Hinata-san." The white curtain parted, revealing Shizune. "Ah, I'm glad you're awake and talking. How are you feeling?"
Hinata, dazedly and still in disbelief, could only murmur, "I-I'm okay."
"That's good to hear," Doctor Shizune murmured as she shone light into her eyes. Nodding in satisfaction at the results, she continued, "Your Father will be here soon to take you home." She turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-san, you may return to class, or choose to stay until Hyuuga-san arrives."
With that said, she took her leave once more.
Sasuke saw an opening and decided to take it. Without a word or look in her direction, he stood, ready to part.
A small hand, still cold, latched onto his wrist. "Ne, Sasuke."
"Hn?"
"T-thank you for taking care of me," she said.
"...I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" he retorted moodily.
She smiled. This side of him...was kind of cute. "I thank you anyway."
"Of course you do," he mumbled.
She chuckled, and released him. He turned to go.
"Ne, Sasuke," she called again.
He looked at her over his shoulder.
"Next time you think of me before falling asleep, do it after school."
His brow twitched.
"I could get hurt," she explained, a bit sadly.
His irritation subdued, he nodded forcefully. He reached for the entrance, opened it, but hesitated with his hand on the sliding doors.
Not wanting her to have the last word, he said, "Fine. I won't dream of you. But keep your afternoons open, Hyuuga, because come tomorrow, you'll be all mine," before leaving.
…
.
A/N: I edited some things and added an extra scene. Aside from that...
This is dedicated to rosa-atra in Tumblr; I shared it there and now I'm sharing it here lol so I don't expect many reviews. Hope you guys like it. :D
-9.3.17