Chapter Three: The First Day of School and a Hidden Secret
"Good morning, Hinata!" Shinra greeted her the moment he saw her out of the corner of his eyes.
"Morning…" She sat down at the table before she looked down at her lap.
"So are you ready for school?" Shinra asked as he placed the breakfast in front of her.
"…Yes." She softly mumbled.
Shinra looked up at her when he heard her mumbling.
She avoided his eyes and her eyes were staring quietly at nothing as she ate her breakfast quietly.
Once she was done, he took the bowl from her to put it in the sink before turning to her. "Are you ready to go?"
Hinata looked at him in slight confusion.
He smiled at her. "I'm going to walk you to school so you don't get lost. After all, this is a big city." He grabbed her backpack which was hanging on the edge of the chair. "Here."
"Thank you…" She took it from him before she hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't want to bother you…"
"It's no trouble at all! I would worry if you went by yourself. You've never been to this part of town, right?"
She slowly nodded.
"Then that settles it!"
Hinata looked around for a moment.
Celty must have left already.
"And we're here." Shinra looked at Hinata, who looked up at him. "I might get called in for a job. Do you want me to ask Celty to pick you up?"
Hinata shook her head. "I can make it back…"
"Are you sure? Celty won't mind."
"I'm sure…" He helped her get to school, so she can remember a way back.
"All right. But just in case, you can text either one of us." He had made sure to give her a cell phone with both their numbers. "Have a good day!"
Hinata gave him a small wave before she walked inside.
It was going to be a long day…
Hinata walked past the others with her head down.
School always made her depressed since no one ever wanted to be her friend.
As she was walking by, she noticed a bookstore nearby before she went inside.
She wandered over to the manga section before she grabbed one to read.
"Aw, she's so cute!"
Hinata jumped, turning around to see a young woman and a young man.
The woman has brown hair that was pulled up in a braid along the back of her head with two piece of her hair hanging freely in front of her ears and brown eyes. She was wearing a black newsboy cap, a long-sleeved black dress, and black ankle boots.
The man has light brown hair and closed eyes. He was wearing a light blue long-sleeved hoodie, dark pants, and brown shoes.
"She's like a precious cinnamon roll!"
Hinata blinked. A…what?
What did that even mean? How could she look like food?
"Hi!" The woman smiled at her. "What's your name?"
"…H-Hinata Hyūga. It's nice to meet you…" She bowed to them.
That only made the brunette squeal, making Hinata jump.
"Her name is like a heroine!" Huh?
"You're right!" The man agreed. "A shy but strong heroine! Don't give up, Hinata!"
The purple-haired girl blinked innocently.
Was something…wrong with them?
Someone behind them signed. "Stop bothering her or she'll catch your disease."
"But Dotachin! She's so cute!" The girl exclaimed.
Hinata saw a man sign at them.
He has brown hair under a black beanie and brown eyes. He was wearing a dark green jacket, tan jeans, and black shoes.
He looked normal compared to the two.
"Honestly…" He bent down to her height. "Hey, are they bothering you?"
Hinata slowly shook her head, holding the manga close to her chest.
They kept squealing about how cute she was, which the man ignored.
"Sorry about them. They're a bit weird. That's Erika and Walker." He gestured to them before pointing to himself. "And I'm Kyohei. And you?"
"Hinata…" She softly murmured.
"How come you're by yourself?"
"I…I just left school and I… I just wanted to look…"
"That's okay. Can I see?"
She slowly nodded, giving him the manga.
"D. Gray-Man, huh? That's a good choice." He gave it back to her.
"Thank you…" She looked up and noticed the time. "I-I have to go… B-Bye…" She puts the manga back on the shelf before running out of the store.
"Bye Hinata!" Erika and Walker waved to her while Kyohei watched the young girl.
By the time she got back to Shinra's apartment, she was panting with beads of sweat pouring down her face.
Hinata stopped for a moment to control her breathing before she went inside.
"Welcome back, Hinata!" She heard Shinra just as she was taking her shoes off. "How was school?"
"It was okay." Hinata softly said before she looked around to see it was just her and Shinra.
Did Shinra stay inside all the time?
Even though she didn't really understand his explanation of his occupation, Celty seemed to work more than he does.
She shook her head. It wasn't her business.
She placed her backpack on the table before she began drawing in her notebook.
Shinra looked over at her. "Do you like to draw, Hinata?"
She looked up before she nodded. "Yes…"
He smiled. "That's great. So do you want to be an artist?"
"I don't know…" She looked down. "I…never really thought about it…"
"That's okay." Shinra said, making her look at him. "You're still just a kid. You have your whole life to think of what you want to be."
Hinata merely stared at him.
He was so different from her father…
Her father never encouraged her at all and yet Shinra never looked down on her.
Hinata looked at her drawing.
It was a landscape drawing of the view outside the apartment complex.
Suddenly, they heard the door open and close.
"Celty! You're back!" Shinra greeted her. "We've been waiting for you!"
She jab him before he could get close to her.
Hinata winced at the grunt of pain that came out of the man.
"Ow!"
They had…a strange relationship.
Celty walked over to Hinata, ignoring the whining man. [Was he bothering you, Hinata?]
She shook her head. "No… Welcome back, Celty." She gave her a gentle smile.
[Thank you.] Celty looked at her notebook, noticing it open.
Shinra had went over and noticed what was on the page.
Hinata was confused before she looked at what caught their attention.
Then she froze, her eyes widening.
She quickly grabbed it, closing it. "I-It's not that good…"
"Not that good? This is incredible!" Shinra beamed at her. "You have talent, Hinata!"
She flushed before shaking her head. "I don't…"
Celty typed in her phone before showing it to her. [It is amazing, Hinata. You captured it in such perfect detail. You could be a talented artist someday.]
Hinata blushed at the compliment.
No one ever really compliments her.
It was strange to her.
"T-Thank you…"
Then she hesitated as something dawned on her.
Ever since she first met Celty, she's noticed that she never takes off her helmet.
Why?
Hinata looked at the woman. "…Celty? Can I…ask you a question?"
Celty tilts her helmet to the side while Shinra went to get dinner ready.
"How come…you don't take your helmet off?"
Celty stiffened while Shinra stopped, looking at the two girls.
Hinata noticed the guarded look on his face before she flinched, looking down. "I'm… I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…"
Shinra walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Hinata." He looked up at Celty. "Actually, we should probably talk about this."
Celty nodded before sitting down next to her, typing on her phone before showing it to her. [You won't get scared, will you, Hinata?]
Scared? Why would she get scared?
Hinata looked at her in confusion while Shinra sat down.
Celty hesitated before removing her helmet.
Hinata's eyes widened slightly.
There was no head…but Hinata could see black smoke coming from her neck.
So that was why. Because she wasn't…human.
"…I'm not scared." Hinata told Celty.
[You're not?] Celty typed. [Why?]
Hinata looked down. "…Because you're not scary." She looked at Celty. "You're kind. You and Shinra…are one of the kindest people I know."
They were kind to her.
Kind to her when she suffered from her loneliness and self-loathing.
They were kind…like her mother.
[Thank you, Hinata.] Celty typed to her. [It means a lot to me. More than you know.]
Shinra softly laughed. "You're embarrassed, Cel—" He yelped when his cheek was pinched by her.
Hinata covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
They were far from normal, but they were the kindest people she knew.
And now Hinata finds out the big secret. Honestly, I don't think Hinata would be scared like most kids would. She just thinks of the kind of person Celty is than her being headless.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.