Dreamcatcher
By Airyo
4
She woke with a gasp.
It took her a moment to realize that she was no longer staring at the mess of a battle, but the clean lines of her bedroom ceiling. Shakily, Hinata sat up. Her yukata was damp with cold sweat, and her muscles felt weak and wrung out. Her fingers throbbed and trembled.
She slid out of her bed and brushed back her bangs in a nervous movement. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room and paused. Other than the dark shadows under her eyes and the darker seal on her forehead, her face was dry and clean.
No blood.
Was it all another nightmare?
She touched her face to check and winced. Her hands were peppered with small scratches and bruises, as if she'd tried to bathe the stray cats she liked to leave food out for. That was strange. She didn't remember encountering a trigger for such a severe reaction. What could have...
A quick glance out the window dissipated any musings about her injuries. The sun was far too high to be morning. She'd overslept! That had never happened before.
Dread chilled her. While she wasn't the solely responsible party for meals, it was her duty. Tsuru, the head of the Branch family, will be angry. She hurried to the bathroom for a quick wash and tossed on fresh robes. With her hair still wet and sticking uncomfortably to her neck, Hinata rushed down to the kitchens.
Hopefully, Tsuru will forgive her. Hinata had submitted the careful ledger of this week's household expenses, including the meal plan, so someone else could have just as readily completed her tasks in her place. Nonetheless, Hinata prepared herself for a scolding.
She turned the corner sharply, only to nearly run over the approaching individual. The man caught her deftly, and steadied them both with the grace of a veteran ninja.
Hinata looked up to thank the man, only to let her words of gratitude wither away in her throat.
Hyuuga Hiashi released her shoulders and stared down at her with an unreadable expression.
"Good day, Hyuuga-sama," she said quietly as she retreated a polite distance. He studied her, and then acknowledged her with a terse nod. Hinata trembled as she bowed, taking solace behind her bangs. She waited for him to go.
His feet didn't move.
"Hinata. Go to the main meeting room. We have a guest that requires your presence."
She looked up in surprise, but her father's face gave nothing away.
"Uh, y-yes Hyuuga-sama," she stuttered out. Another bow, and she hurried to the meeting room. Confusion spun endless questions in her mind, leaving more tangles and knots than answers she could fathom.
She reached the door and paused, patting her haphazard hair and clothes into a semblance of order.
Then she knocked.
"Enter," a man's steady voice told her.
Hinata slid open the door. A young man was seated at the low table.
"Uchiha Itachi-sama," she said in shock, forgetting to bow. That wasn't the biggest surprise. At the sight of Itachi's calm visage, the vague notions of her dreams consumed her like a monster awoken.