Every Birthday
Hinata smiles at Shino. It feels fake. It feels like a pale reflection of someone else's smile. Not that Shino would notice. She's not sure he ever notices anything. But she likes him. He's quiet; he doesn't bother people. He would never lick her face.
Kiba laughs. Hinata knows why he's laughing. It's why her smile feels fake. Because she's smiling for the wrong reason. She should be thankful, happy. She is happy, but she's smiling for another reason. Inside she is laughing along with Kiba.
Today is her birthday. And every birthday Kiba will drag her and Shino out somewhere. To buy ice cream and watch old videos. Or out to a remote area of the forest to chase birds. And every birthday Shino buys her a gift and Kiba yells at her.
Every birthday Shino buys her a scarf. This year it is purple.
He doesn't seem to realize this is the sixth scarf he's given her, or that it's a little strange, a little repetitive. That people don't usually give you the same gift every year. He doesn't react to her smile, to Kiba's sarcasm. He is stone.
Her smile fades away, too weak to hold on any longer, but inside the laughter continues. Kiba has not stopped laughing. Every year he laughs and he doesn't stop laughing until Hinata asks him to stop, or something happens.
This year it is a squirrel. Kiba grins wickedly and jumps up into the trees to chase it. Hinata and Shino are left alone in the forest clearing. Hinata coughs nervously and pulls her sweater tighter around her throat, wraps the scarf around her neck to protect herself. She doesn't like this feeling, this one on one.
Shino doesn't react. He is stone.
And she? What is she? She wanders away as she loses herself in her thoughts. If Shino is a rock and Kiba is a dog, what does that make her? Is she really a moth? What is she's something else? Maybe she's a squirrel, like the one Kiba is chasing.
But no one is chasing her.
Kiba falls down, almost on top of her. In his hand is clutched a terrified squirrel. She sympathizes with that squirrel, she feels just as it does. Now she is no longer alone with Shino; she is alone with Kiba.
Kiba grins at her, scaring her even more. He holds out his hand as though to offer her the squirrel, but he lets it go. The squirrel runs away quickly, leaving her there. She wants to follow that squirrel, back to the village. Back to civilization. Maybe Naruto has remembered her birthday…
"Nice scarf."
Hinata tries a smile and touches the scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. It doesn't feel like it's choking her, despite the little squeezing feeling. It's cutting of her air, but it doesn't feel dangerous; it feels safe. She smiles a little wider.
A scarf for every birthday.