Pairings: KibaHina if you want to read it that way.
Warnings: AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Seeing the world through darkness was easy for none, least of all for a girl who had never known light to begin with to be able to tell the difference.
Hinata traversed the world with her hands and her ears, not her eyes; her eyes were useless, after all. The Hyuuga clan had paid for their fantastic eyesight with their discernment of compassion, and one could only have one or the other. It made sense that Hinata would have to sacrifice a great deal for her compassion.
The concepts of color and contour were meaningless to her, just flat and hollow words that had no depth or importance. The only time Hinata saw in any sense at all was when the Byakugan was activated, and the Byakugan saw neither color nor possessed any sort of depth perception.
She was sightless, a lone girl in a dark, dark world. Hinata had never seen light nor darkness; she had never known the glitter of the sun or the smooth gleam of the moon. She had never known beauty nor ugliness, nor had she ever known the joy of reading a letter from a comrade far away.
But somehow, she could read Kiba like an open book.
Kiba was alone in his knowledge of her predicament; no one had ever guessed, not even Kurenai-sensei, and God knew Hyuuga Hiashi had never attempted to discern if there was a reason his daughter lagged so far behind.
Kiba alone knew his kunoichi teammate's true heart, her genuine vulnerabilities and her hopeless wishes and hopeless dreams.
And Hinata alone could instantly tell when his mood rose or dropped like the barometric pressure outside.
Maybe it was just that, without her eyes, other things had become heightened, namely her intuition. Maybe it was just that she knew Kiba so well.
But when Kiba felt a hand on his cheek, saw her wide, sightless yet discerning eyes stare up at him, and heard a small, "Kiba-kun? Are you alright?", he knew he couldn't hide anything from her, and was glad he didn't have to.
Hinata was blind, but saw better than anyone else.