Introduction: Cousins
Ice-cold air drifted through an open window to linger on a pale, gentle face, quickly startling that face into a state of awareness. Bleary grey eyes welcomed the world spitefully as a slow hand ran through long, dark strands of hair; and, with a sigh, the newest junior of Konoha's Pembrooke Academy heaved herself out of bed. Tired legs barely survived their quick tumble towards the shower, but soon learned their footing as warm, soft water cascaded over them. Shampoo and conditioner trickled their way through mounds of hair while almond-scented body wash cloaked porcelain skin. After one final rinse, a towel absorbs the excess moisture and provides cover as a comb snags tangles. When the comb finishes its task, the towel falls over the shower curtain to hang and dry as the hand that tossed the towel begins to pull on clothing.
It is only after she stands in front of the bathroom mirror, hopelessly rubbing at a black pen mark on her lavender shirt, that she allows herself to worry about her first day at her new school. Her cousin Neji would always tell her odd stories about his school at family get-togethers, and now she would have to attend with him. At least he was older than her, that way she would have no need to face the embarrassment of following Neji around; not being able to depend on her cousin would give her wings a well-needed nudge towards spreading.
She gave up on the pen mark and exited the bathroom, picking up her school bag as she continued on through her room and into the hallway. Pausing at her cousin's door, she knocked to see if he was ready for school yet.
"Neji?" she quietly asked the door. When no one answered, she walked down a flight of stairs and into the kitchen, only to see empty seats and a cereal bowl with only milk and an abandoned spoon left in it. She walked back upstairs, frantically wondering if her cousin had forgotten about her and left already; it had just been winter break, so maybe… But she would not think like that. She was probably too quiet when she knocked.
Once again, she knocked at her cousin's door, this time with more force, and was gifted with a reply this time, in the form of a grumble and a, "Wait two seconds." And a few minutes later, her cousin opened the door and led her down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he cleaned up the cereal bowl.
As if answering her silent question, he said, "I like to eat breakfast before I brush my teeth." She was surprised, because the cousin she knew would typically stay silent and leave the mystery of the cereal bowl for her to figure out on her own. Maybe he was trying to help her feel more at home in his house. She decided that this meant he was in a nice enough mood for her to ask a question without getting on his nerves.
"Um, Neji, you know I have only been here a couple of days, so… Where is Hizashi?" she questioned, wondering if that was a rude thing to ask.
"He leaves for work early in the morning," Neji replied.
Her eyes widened; it was not yet seven in the morning, but Hizashi was already long gone. She pitied his job if he needed to wake up so early, especially since she knew that he usually got home late as well.
Neji started towards the door and she followed him all the way out to the car, checking her bag for all of her necessities along the way. It was when she saw the black Stratus that she understood what exactly Hizashi's early departure meant.
"H-have you ever g-gotten a ticket?" she asked, the words falling from her lips before she could think.
"I have never received a ticket; I am a very capable driver," Neji insisted, walking around to the driver's side of the vehicle to unlock the door with his key. "And I thought you had gotten rid of that stutter years ago, Hinata."
"I have," she replied indignantly. "I only stuttered because the thought of you driving a car scares me." She knew that saying something so outwardly rude might annoy him, but she needed to show him that she was a lot more courageous now than she was when she last saw him. After all, she had been through a lot lately and she was still standing. Actually, she was sitting, buckled into Neji's car at that point, but the idea was the same.
"If you say so," Neji said, casting a glance that might have been worried in her direction before looking backwards to back out of the driveway.
As soon as the car touched the government-issue asphalt of the main road, Neji connected his iPod to the car. Soon, jumbled blurts of songs blasted through the vehicle as Neji searched through his playlist for a song he liked, finally settling on a song by 3OH!3. He continued to play high-energy songs until they arrived at the school. It was enough that by the time Hinata got out of Neji's car, she was smiling and singing some of the lyrics to herself.
Hinata started toward the front doors, still smiling her head off. She caught sight of a satisfied smirk on her cousin's face, so she said, "Thank you, Neji," just before he went out of earshot. Neji had played happy songs to help her psych herself up for her first day. Apparently he could be kind when he felt like it.
Hinata quickly changed her mind when she tried the doors and found them locked. He so could have told her about that.
Cousins…
Deidara: Hey, Ellz, you think they want a muffin? I could give them a muffin for reviewing.
Ellie (me, your author): Of course they want a muffin, reviewing is hard work.
Deidara: But writing is hard work too! And no one gives you muffins!
Ellie: *sigh* I know. But reviews are just as good, so please leave one, my dear reader!
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P.S. I accidentally deleted my one-shots, if you were wondering where they went
