"Hey, you awake?"
The head of the blind girl resting on the bed, turned towards the voice that called to her from her right. Her eyes remained closed as she lifted her arm to reach for the redhead sitting nearby, who hesitantly brought her own hand to take the one that searched for her.
"Miss Tayuya?"
Her voice sounded calm but Tayuya could practically feel the hurt through Hinata's words, she never considered herself empathetic before but she could just tell what the girl was feeling.
"Don't." The bruised up tomboy interrupted. "Just.. Let me say something for a sec."
Hinata gave a concerned look, but simply nodded as her hand squeezed gently on the one holding hers.
"Uzumaki told me that, you went looking for me instead of heading to class. Said that you wouldn't go back without me." Tayuya glanced away as she spoke, not wanting to face the blind girl directly. "Why'd you do that?"
"I couldn't go back." Hinata replied, her soft, whisper of a voice sounding a lot more relaxed than before. "You hadn't told me which way it was."
The eyes of the redhead widened as she turned her head back to look at the girl, giving her an expression that practically screamed 'are you kidding me?!' Her face quickly softened though as she looked upon the girl who giggled quietly, the fingers of her left hand moving to cover her smiling mouth as she did.
"Wha-..." Tayuya didn't know what to say, her brain scrambled for anything to spit out that would make sense. "How can you be laughing? Did you hit your head or something?" It came out a little more aggressive than she meant it to, but it got the blind girl's attention. "You do know what was happening out there right?"
Hinata simply nodded, her gentle smile still gracing her lips.
"Yes, I understand what happened." She sat up slowly and brought both hands to hold Tayuya's, gripping it tightly but as carefully as one would hold an egg. "But I also understand, that you would never have let anything happen to me."
If it wasn't for the fact that the girl sat before her was blind, Tayuya would have held herself back completely. But even knowing Hinata could still hear her, her body trembled and she let her tears flow. The girl she had met only a few hours ago was confiding her full trust in someone who had let her down at the point when it actually mattered, on a regular day nobody would even ask her the time let alone trust her to look after something for them. Letting her forehead land on the soft bedding in front of her Tayuya sobbed uncontrollably into the clean sheets, the only feelings surging through her system at that moment were the guilt for getting the new girl into such a dangerous situation and the warmth that suddenly washed through her body as the almost feather-touch of Hinata's fingers came to rest on her head.
Lifting her neck just enough to glance up at the still-smiling girl she felt the gentle caress of Hinata's hand slowly stroking her hair, she couldn't help the sniffle that came out louder than she expected as she simply laid her head back down on the bed. It was hard to think of any way to describe the way she felt with the tender hand on her head, she hadn't been in a position like this one since she was small, the woman who ran the children's home she had grown up in was a kind person and always gave her the attention she wanted as a kid.
"It's alright Miss Tayuya. Take as long as you need."
Snapping back into reality the redhead quickly sat up in her seat and rubbed her eyes against her sleeve to dry them, taking a deep but shaky breath she looked over at Hinata who was simply waiting with her hands on her lap and her lips still curled into a caring smile. Looking over the girl now that she was less covered by the bedsheets, it seemed that the nurse had gotten her a spare shirt while she was sleeping, though the vandalized bra lay on the bedside table awaiting repair which caused Tayuya's eyes to drift only slightly towards her chest before looking away completely. She wouldn't drop herself to that level, to their level.
"Are you okay?"
Hinata broke the silence which Tayuya had actually not noticed, lost in thought she hadn't been paying attention to how long she remained quiet.
"I'm fine." She lied. "I just, can't figure out how you can be so cheery after all that. If it were me I'd..." She stopped herself, she knew if she went down this road then one of them would end up crying again and she didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already had.
"Because I'm okay, they didn't hurt me." The girl said without so much as pausing to think, which caused Tayuya to frown.
"Don't give me that. I couldn't do anything to stop those guys, it was Uzumaki and that Uchiha chick who got us both out of it. If it hadn't been for those two, they would've-"
"But they didn't." Hinata cut her off with the gentle touch of her fingers on Tayuya's shoulder. "I knew as long as you were there I would be alright."
Tayuya gently brushed the girl's hand away and stood up, her hands balled into fists as she struggled to contain herself.
"You're stronger than me..." With that the redhead left the bedside of the now concerned looking girl and hit the button on the nurse's desk on her way out the door.
Deciding to skip the rest of school in response to a shitty morning, Tayuya made her way to the school's roof and simply stayed there until the final bell rang. Contemplating everything in her head she tried to make sense of the new girl's unusual demeanor, there was no way she could be so happy after such a traumatic incident, if she herself had been in the same position she wouldn't even be talking so soon after. Mulling over the details in her head again, she remembered everything Naruko had told her before.
"We ran into her not long after you left, she looked lost so we came over to help. She said that you'd given her a tour around the school but you cut it short before telling her where the next class was, so she wanted to ask you in person, she can be pretty stubborn y'know."
"Stubborn?" Tayuya asked, with an eyebrow raised as high as her bruised face would allow.
"Yeah, we offered to take her to class but she insisted that you come with her, after that she just kinda wandered off onto the field. We were worried she might run into trouble if she didn't know where you were so we kept an eye on her from the hallway, it wasn't 'till we saw those guys grabbing her that we knew we had to get down there asap."
Scoffing into the wind Tayuya simply glared out at the town around the school, as if wanting some kind of voice to answer so she could argue with it, just to let out her pent up aggression. Finishing what felt like her twentieth can of drink, she crushed the metal container and idly tossed it over her shoulder onto the growing pile nearby. She usually brought enough food and drink with her to last the day if she needed it, but with the mood she was in she'd gone through nearly the whole stash in her bag in just a few hours. Taking another look at the buildings around the school grounds she simply gave up trying to figure out why she felt the way she was, why her chest hurt despite the fact the pain should be in her face. Threading her fingers through the wire fence around the rooftop Tayuya rested her forehead against the cool metal and closed her eyes, giving a deep sigh and simply letting the sun's rays wash over her. She'd shed her black jacket a while ago and dropped it by her bag, it was filthy now anyway so just having her shirt between her skin and the heat was refreshing to say the least.
A click and a creak behind her caused Tayuya to practically spin on her heel to face whoever had come to disturb her alone time, scowling at the door to the stairwell she was about to unload her frustration when the familiar sound of the cane tapping the floor caused her features to soften. Watching Hinata emerge from the doorway, Tayuya felt her body relax but her chest tighten up once more, the girl seemed to scan the area before she called out.
"Miss Tayuya? Are you here?"
Tempted to stay quiet and let the blind girl leave, Tayuya sighed and nodded, an action she quickly realized was pointless.
"Yeah, I'm here." She had a clear tone of exhaustion in her voice, nonetheless her reply seemed to make the blind girl's face light up as she heard it.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Miss Uzumaki told me I could find you up here."
Uzumaki again, Tayuya made a mental note to give the blonde a piece of her mind next time she saw her.
"No, you're fine. I was just trying to relax." She wasn't exactly lying, but wasn't going to start spouting the truth of how frustrated she still was. "What brings you here?"
Hinata walked steadily closer, giving a soft squeak of surprise as her foot knocked the pile of cans on the floor. The reaction even caused Tayuya to jump slightly, but more so made her stomach twist in a way she couldn't explain.
"I wanted to know if you were alright, you seemed upset when you left the nurse's office."
It couldn't be denied that Tayuya's little outburst had been pretty easy to read, especially for someone as perceptive as Hinata. Even so, Tayuya felt somewhat guilty for causing a blind girl to come all the way to the roof just because she was worried.
"I'm fine, I just needed time to think."
Turning back to the fence, she simply listened to Hinata's small, shuffling steps towards her. The feeling of the girl's slender fingers sliding their way over her shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze caused her to flinch slightly, as the tight feeling in her chest practically crushed her heart and lungs, her only response being an inaudible sigh that escaped her lips.
"My eyes may not work." Hinata's soft words felt heavy as they were almost whispered into Tayuya's ear. "But I know you are not okay Tayuya."
The redhead grit her teeth and lowered her gaze to her feet, her hands gripping the fence tightly as she wracked her brain for something to say, anything that would change the subject. As much as Hinata seemed to care and wanted to help, Tayuya did not want to open herself up to anyone, she wouldn't let herself be hurt again.
"Look Miss goodie-goodie." Her fingers were starting to feel numb, the thin wire of the fence almost cutting into them as her hold only tightened on it. "I didn't ask to be paired up with you, I didn't want you to follow me. All I wanted, was to come here and kill time till I can go home again."
She was fighting back tears as she reluctantly snapped at the poor girl, her body instinctively pushing itself into defensive mode with the only escape plan she knew, push everyone away and get the fuck out. Forcing herself away from the fence she turned to leave, expecting Hinata to be too dumbstruck and shocked to react, her system was not prepared for the sudden weight on her back which forced her into a stumbling halt. Tilting her head just enough to see the arms wrapped tightly around her chest and midsection, under her own arms which were now raised in surprise. The blind girl's cheek pressed itself firmly into her back in an attempt to keep Tayuya from leaving.
Staring down at the girl in disbelief for longer than she realized, Tayuya shook her head and forced the frown back onto her face, her hands pushing the arms holding her away in a blind panic.
"What the fuck?! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Pulling herself out of Hinata's grip, she glared back at the blind girl who simply held her imaginary gaze on the redhead timidly. "You think that's it? You think you can just hug me and tell me it'll be ok? And that'll make everything better?! Do you have any idea the shit I've been through? Huh?!"
Tears rolled down Hinata's pale cheeks, she was definitely hurt now, her body starting to shake but her hand slowly rising towards her 'companion'. "Please, if you'll just talk to me."
"What is wrong with you?" Tayuya's cheeks flushed with blood as the defense switched to offense, her pained yelling quickly turning to real anger. "You want to know what happened? Huh? What made me as fucked up as I am?" Her mind screamed at her on repeat, "Don't do it! Don't drag her into it!" but her tounge refused to listen. She was in too deep and there was no coming back.
"They fucked me." Tayuya could only watch the pained expression on Hinata's face as she practically spat the words at her. "Two years ago, I wanted to be cool, wanted to be part of the bigger picture. So to get into that group I did whatever they told me." She felt herself heating up, her insides twisting beyond recognition and her chest caving in on itself as she spilled her guts for the first time. "They made me take off all my clothes, they held me down and they used me one by one. They used me as their personal fuck-toy for three hours until they had enough and told me that was it. That was all it took."
She didn't even realize she was moving closer to the girl who simply stared up at her with closed eyes, her hands balling into fists as her body became hotter and hotter, her rage building as she neared Hinata's pure face and her arms lifted.
"They broke me."
Hinata's arms draped themselves tenderly around the sobbing form of the redhead who collapsed to her knees in front of her, holding the shorter girl's head to her bosom and gently stroking her hair as she wailed into the blind girl's chest. Tayuya grabbed handfuls of Hinata's hair in an attempt to hold onto her, her arms locked tightly around her as she let everything out.
The pair remained kneeling on the school roof, holding each other dearly for at least twenty minutes. Most of the students had left campus by the time Tayuya calmed down enough to pull herself away, her reddened eyes staring up at the girl who simply smiled in return, the girl who single handedly smashed down every defense she had put up with a touch the strength of a feather.
"Are you alright, Tayuya?"
Hinata's whisper of a voice cut right through Tayuya, a tone that could only come from the kindest of souls, like a mother would console her child.
Tayuya could only muster a nod and a shaky "Uh-huh."
The pair rose slowly to their feet where Hinata pulled the sniffling redhead into yet another tender embrace, not having the strength or the will to object, Tayuya simply let herself be held. Eventually letting go, Hinata smiled warmly down at the tomboy who tried to dry her eyes without aggravating her bruises.
"Now Miss Tayuya." She suddenly started, the redhead looking up at her in surprise. "I want you to help me with something." She took a few steps back, her smiling face never once wavering.
Tayuya stepped forwards shakily, unsure what the girl had in mind but curious enough to want to know. She watched Hinata's arm as it lifted slowly and straightened itself out, its slender form tipped with a single delicate finger outstretched towards the edge of the roof only proved to confuse her more.
"Out there." The girl spoke as if she knew exactly what she was pointing at, which wasn't entirely unbelievable. "There's a whole world out there that I've never seen." She paused for a moment. "That I'll never see."
Tayuya could've sworn she spotted the first true display of sadness in the girl's expression before she lifted her head, turning her face to the sky.
"You are my guiding light. I want, you to help me see."
"Hinata..." Tayuya stepped towards the girl who responded not with words, but with a display of her desire. The weary tomboy could only watch in silence as Hinata's eyes slowly and elegantly fluttered open.
They were like nothing she'd ever seen before, her eyes were a soft lavender hue that had been glossed over with the most beautiful white mist, they almost seemed to shimmer in the evening sun as for the first time Tayuya felt like Hinata's gaze was truly upon her and her alone.
Her face felt warm and her chest tight, but not in the same painful way it had been before. Tayuya stepped forward and took the girl's hand in her own, leading her slowly back towards the wire fence. Taking a deep breath she looked out over the scenery around the school, she'd never taken the time before to really look at the view before so it was as much an experience for her as it was for her companion when she took her time and started to describe it.
She left nothing out. The buildings, the trees, the park at the end of the street. The way the light hit certain areas and reflected onto others, the people and animals she could see wandering the town, if she could see it then she was going to make sure Hinata could too. She found herself glancing at the blind girl between descriptions, with each new thing she pointed out she watched Hinata smile and nod, with each smile she could feel her own heart beating faster. By the time she'd finished talking the sun was setting behind the tall trees that lined the far side of the town, both girls were extremely late going home and they knew it, but at this point the only thing that mattered to them was each other.
The pair held each other tightly in their arms, the gentle breeze blowing across the rooftop making the both of them pull tighter as if it was going to force them apart. The girls who had begun the day as polar opposites now stood in unison against the setting sun in a moment they wished could last forever, a moment they shared in silence and harmony until the cruelty of time would bring it to an end.
"Hey. Hinata?"
"Yes Tayuya?"
"You tell anyone about this, and you're still dead."
"Alright."
