Hiashi Hyuuga.
Her father's name was stamped perfectly on the letter that lay on her doormat, the black ink standing proud against the off-white envelope. Wrinkleless. Flawless. So very like her father, and Hinata did not immediately bend down to grab it in fear that she would ruin such a perfect sight.
It was always like that, after all.
Somehow, she always ruined the perfection her father created.
The lock of her door clicked, and the door was pulled open. Sasuke stared at her, brows furrowed in wonder. "What?"
Snapping out of her trance, Hinata picked up the letter with careful gentleness and slipped past Sasuke, dropping her backpack onto the ground before she went to the dining table. Pulling out a letter opener, she sliced the back open and slid out the crisp piece of paper inside, taking note that the envelope still felt heavy in her hand.
"This is from my father," she told Sasuke as she began to read. "He barely writes to me. I wonder what this could be."
Her gaze skimmed the cursive words inside, and with every line she read, her heart cracked. When she finished, she returned to the envelope and pulled out the small key from inside. It was … smaller than she remembered, but then again, it's been a good fifteen years since she's held it.
"I know Hiashi Hyuuga," Sasuke said, sitting on top of the table. "He's a famous name among the demons. It's not difficult to coax him into cruelty."
Hinata bit her lips together. "This is the key to a cabin my family owns. We used to go there all the time." It had been ages, but she still remembered the place; the log cabin out by the lake, where she and her sister would watch boats glide by and skip rocks from the dock. They used to go there every summer. "Father is selling it, and he wants me to go clean out a few things from there this weekend."
Warmth washed over her as Sasuke breathed out, eyes squinting.
"If it was only that," he muttered, "I wouldn't smell the evil coming from those very words he had written." He gave her a look. "There's more to it than just that."
The hairs on her arms stood. Hinata glanced down at the key, then whispered, "It's my mother's stuff. He wants me to move her things."
"Your dead mother," Sasuke noted, as if it weren't painfully obvious already.
Unsure what to say, Hinata nodded and left the key and the chilling note on the table to go take a long, scalding shower.
Chapter 17
Fifteen Years Ago, This Place Was Full of Happiness. Now, That's Not the Case
The tips of her sandals grazed the bright, yellow line as bodies of crowds moved around her. The domed roof echoed every whisper and shout in that small station, and for perhaps the tenth time that minute, Hinata looked back to make sure Sasuke was there and alright and (most importantly) not burning someone.
They never really went out in public together, Hinata realized. He'd come with her to work sometimes, and since college started up again, he would sometimes walk her to the front gates; but that was it. Most of their time together was in the isolation of her apartment, away from others who could watch in wonder as the tall, dark man next to her glared at every single thing around him.
Obviously, he wasn't much for crowds.
She just hoped he wouldn't try to kill someone while they were there.
"You didn't have to come," she reminded him once again, voice low so that no one could hear her. His flying gaze eventually turned to her, and she saw the growing frustration on his face. "I'll be fine going there alone."
"No."
That was all he said, and then he went back to glaring.
And all she could say was that she was very glad no one could see his horns or feathers, for that would only make matters worse.
…
When the train arrived, Hinata grabbed Sasuke's sleeve on his left arm and made sure he stayed close, not so much to keep out of other's way, but to prevent him from going from 0 to 100 if someone so much as bumped into him.
Handing her tickets to the man by the cart, she gave him a fleeting smile before stepping inside and finding their spot. The booths were clean and red, with overhead cabinets to hold luggage, and Hinata distracted Sasuke by asking him to put her suitcase up there before sitting down by the window. As the other passengers boarded, she tapped on her phone to check the time.
"It's about two hours away," she mused, more so to herself. "We'll be there by noon, I suppose."
Sasuke settled himself next to her, long legs pressed against the back of the booth in front of them. He could barely lift his head without his horns hitting the underside of the cabinet, and he scowled.
"So long."
"I-It, um, goes by faster when you're distracted."
He eyed the people passing them, then looked at her. "Then distract me."
Her face heated up, along with the rest of her body, and she pulled off her jacket and tied it around her hips. "I brought a book," she offered, "and, um, some yarn to crochet." In the corner of her eye, she noted his bare hands on his arched knees. "You don't have your gloves?"
"Do I need them?" he asked.
She'd rather not have him start a fire on the train, so she nodded. "Just in case."
Sasuke brought them out from his cloak and pulled them on, the leather stretching against the joints of his fingers. His right hand pressed down between the two of them, giving him enough support to lean over her and press his mouth against the length of her neck, the fabric of her turtleneck acting as the only barrier between her skin and his. His left hand captured her chin and tilted it back, giving him more access, and Hinata gasped and grabbed onto his horns.
"Wh-What are y-you doing?"
His eyes found her face, but he did not pull away. "This is what you wanted."
"Wha – I –" Her foggy mind tried to think back. "Oh – no, I meant for the book. I-I didn't want you to burn my book."
Scoffing, Sasuke opened his mouth a bit further and sunk his fangs into her turtleneck, causing them to just graze her skin.
Her eyes flew over his shoulder, waiting for someone to spot them. "N-Not here, Sasuke."
"I'm distracting you," he murmured. "It makes the time go by quicker."
"People will see."
"I don't care."
Hinata tilted her chin down to give him a look. "I do."
She must have looked or sounded serious, for he finally pulled away, though looking none too pleased. "Two hours." Settling back into his spot, giving her room to breathe, Sasuke went back to glaring at the rest of the world. "Damn it."
…
Forty minutes into the ride, the pages of her book were weighed down by another set of eyes. She didn't have to look to see him reading; she could very well feel him leaning a bit over, after all.
"What is it?" he eventually asked.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Hinata brought the two ends of the book close to one another, hiding the words from his gaze. "Just a silly story," she whispered.
"I know that," he said, "but what is it about?"
Again, her face heated up, and she stared at the pages. "Just normal things. Fantasy. Mystery. U-Um … r-romance."
She waited for the bitter laugh from him, for the mockery, but it never came. "Ah," was all he uttered, and then leaned over more. "Read it."
"Out loud."
"Obviously."
Not wishing to bother the other passengers, but knowing well she could not refuse this request, Hinata pressed her shoulder against his and began to read in a low, subtle voice.
…
For a while after reading, Hinata simply watched the scenery rush past the train.
It was so … familiar.
But in a sad sort of way. The last time she sat on this train and looked out at the fields, her mother was still alive, and her father wasn't selling the cabin of her childhood.
"Hiashi is a mean bastard."
Somehow, the words she never had the courage to utter were spoken in that moment by a low, knowing voice behind her.
Her lips automatically turned into a sad smile as she nodded. "But he wasn't always like that." Not when Mom was still alive.
Sasuke made no noise of hearing her, and only continued. "I've visited that house many times, years ago. You were a child back then, and I didn't even recognize that face of yours." Right. He had mentioned once how her face was somehow painted in Hell, and she still had a few questions about that. "It's common for the sins of a father to trickle into the souls of his children, and many times, I tried to tempt you. But you never gave in."
Hinata turned away from the window and pressed the back of her skull against the booth's back. "Sometimes, it's that way," she said, "but for as long as I can remember, I've sworn to myself that I would never end up like him."
"Stubborn as always," Sasuke mused, but she heard the pride tickling the edge of his voice. "Only my angelus."
…
When they finally arrived at the station, Hinata grabbed all of her belongings and pulled them off of the train. Even if it had been years since she had last been at that place, she remembered where to go almost perfectly, and before they knew it, they were on a bus into town.
"Again," Sasuke sighed.
Hinata gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. We're almost there."
There was a pull to his face and heaviness in his gaze that made him look – dare she say – tired? But she knew that was not the case. Otherworldly beings like him did not exhaust or sleep. But, still, it was strange to see such a human expression on him.
And it was even more strange when he leaned over and placed his forehead on her shoulders, his feathers tickling her neck and horns nearly knocking the teeth out of her mouth. Heat poured into her body, hot, but not burning. Over the hammering beat of her heart, Hinata could hear coos from other passengers about how cute they looked together. Near melting point, Hinata pressed her hands on his back and allowed him to rest against her, looking out the window and trying to ignore everything else.
…
The creak of the porch under her feet sent a blade of pain into her chest, and Hinata held back her tears as she turned the key into the knob and slowly pushed the door of the cabin open.
The place looked … vacant. Unused. Dusty.
Which made sense. Her family hadn't come back here for a long time.
Cicadas chirped from the evergreens surrounding the grand cabin, and the song of them and the birds and distant sway of the lake made everything so nostalgic that it was painful.
This place used to be nothing but happiness.
But now, the last memory she would have of it before it was being sold away was going to be her dragging out the last of her mother's stuff, as if it were useless junk.
Cruel.
That's what her father was. And the world.
Sasuke was close behind as she entered, flicking on the lights to get a good look at all the dust and cobwebs. But all the furniture was where she remembered it. The curtains were that same, light lavender, and the ceiling fan still had wings that reminded her of the wings on a golden snitch. She checked the kitchen, the bathroom, the back bedroom that she and Hanabi used to share, and the master bedroom on the other side of the cabin. Then, Hinata went down to the basement, which peeked out of the hill the cabin was built on and overlooked the backyard and the lake. That room used to be her mother's favorite room, and Hinata remembered her watching her and Hanabi play as she stayed inside, sewing on her vintage sewing machine.
And it … was still there, and so were some of the threads.
And next to the machine that used to hum in such a way that always sent her asleep was a book, probably once owned by her mother.
Hinata didn't have the heart to stay there any longer, and she rushed up the stairs and went to go unpack in one of the rooms.
…
It was only three in the afternoon, but she was exhausted.
"I don't know why," she told Sasuke as she folded a shirt into one of the dressers. "This isn't like me."
He watched her for a moment, then said, "Humans are controlled by your emotions. It's clear this place upsets you. The emotional toll exhausts you."
That sounded about right, but it also made her sound awfully weak. "I'll be fine," she whispered, turning away from the dresser and pulling open one of the windows. "I just need some fresh air."
The breeze was cool and felt nice against her skin, but instead of waking her up, it did the exact opposite. The chirps and calls of the birds were like a lullaby, and before she knew it, she was sitting on her bed and rubbing her eyes.
"You are not fine," Sasuke said. "Sleep."
Hinata no longer had the energy to protest as she laid back. "Maybe you're right."
"I'm always right." He looked like he wanted to say more, but his face suddenly snapped in the direction of the open window. His eyes were narrow and sharp, and his cape flapped behind him as he jumped onto the sill. "Stay here."
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked.
But he did not answer, only staring out at the trees. "Sleep."
And then he was gone, and she pulled the quilt to her chin and tried to do just that.
Chapter 17 - End
