"So the girl is?" Kisame asked, heading back after an awkward and shy goodbye at the end of her first day to both of them from the girl in question.
"Hinata Hyuga, the Hyuga are much like my family. Large clan owning a massive business." Itachi explained.
"Is she here for the same reason you are?" Kisame asked. The rich boy in a middle-level school didn't make much sense to him at first, but the two Uchiha boys chose to be in the cheap private school and live in an apartment away from their parent's house while they were still in school. Something about keeping them from the pressures of the business world, or some bullshit, so they could focus on their studies and being healthy socially, or something else he didn't understand.
Kisame didn't have such luxuries. He was only at the nice secondary school because he got a diversity scholarship. He kept it as long as he kept his grades up. He lived on his own because he didn't have anyone to care for him. He had a job because he had bills, a job Itachi was walking him to.
"I assume she has moved in with her cousin and uncle and wanted to go to a less prestigious school with him after being tutored for so long." That explained next to nothing. "The Hyuga see everyone not in the main family as second class." That made less sense.
"Rich people." Kisame scoffed. "You would think you would take a better education."
"The better education comes with extra pressures that I wouldn't put on Sasuke," Itachi repeated.
"Yeah, yeah," Kisame grumbled. "So you knew her well?"
"We were pushed together as children. Hinata was always painfully shy and had trouble being direct. Despite that, I am not surprised she sat next to you." Kisame cocked his eyebrow, willing him to continue. "She's always been kind and nonjudgmental, to a fault. The only time I have seen her mad over someone being rude to her cousin because of his status below her."
"Hmm." Interesting, so Hinata didn't even think about his features as dangerous? She hadn't even really thought about giving him her lunch. She saw a problem and wanted to fix it.
"I have suspicions she's going to be more prepared to make friends tomorrow." Itachi finished as he came upon the store Kisame worked in. Itachi's way of being smug.
"Sure." Kisame groaned.
"Akatsuki?" Hinata asked as she cut vegetables. Her hip leaned on the counter.
Neji leaned on the counter as he spoke. "They're a group or club, a 'study group' of mostly teens on inner-city pity scholarships and lower high-class delinquents whose parents don't watch their behavior."
"A delinquent study group?" Hinata asked, confused. "Itachi's has one of the jackets." She didn't think he was considered a delinquent.
"I'm not sure what it is that qualifies to get in. I would prefer you steer clear of them. They aren't known for their grades. They're known for getting in trouble and getting into fights off campus." Hinata frowned. Was that why the large blue man looked so bruised? At least, she thought they were bruises. It was hard to tell with all the blue.
"I'm not worried. They seem nice enough." Hinata voiced, earning a frown.
"I wish you would have been put in class A. We don't have many of them." Neji sighed.
"I'm fine. The ones I sit with seem nice." Hinata set the vegetable to the side and started on the fish.
"That's another thing. Why did you choose to sit with Kisame Hoshigaki, of all people? Wasn't there any other seat open?" Hinata gave her cousin a stern look.
"That's mean." Hinata scolded. "He's nice." After sharing her lunch, Kisame offered her to look off his textbook since hers hadn't arrived till she had gotten home.
"Have you seen him?" Neji asked. Hinata glared at the fish as she finished slicing it. She hated how quick her cousin's judgment could be. "He is a six-and-a-half-foot shark whose hobby is street fighting, and it shows. I strongly advise you to stay away from him."
"I will choose my friends," Hinata answered firmly, setting the knife down with a slight snap. She felt him flinch. "I'm sorry, but you promised not to interfere."
"I just wish you would choose better people to befriend," Neji grumbled under his breath. It still hurt.
Hinata was already sitting in the seat next to him when he came in. Kisame hadn't scared the little thing off yet. She lit up a little when she saw him. Really? Was she that sweet? Like a little puppy.
Hinata gave him a small smile and a good morning as he sat down.
Kisame grumbled, rubbing his eyes and slumping on the table.
"Didn't you get enough sleep?" Hinata whispered with a tilt of her head. At least she understood the need for peace when he was miserable. Itachi simply spoke louder.
"I worked later than scheduled last night," Kisame grumbled into his arms. "But I got overtime."
Hinata asked no further questions.
Deidara decided to try again. Leaning on the desk as soon as he came in with more probing questions. "Hobbies, hm?"
"Uh, I like to cook, sketch, and write," Hinata answered uncomfortably.
Deidara immediately perked and reached over to smack the arm of his neighbor, who glared at him, heavily annoyed. "Me and Sasori here are in the art club. You should come by, yeah!" He exclaimed to her.
"I haven't looked into clubs. I hadn't thought about joining any. I'm supposed to walk home right after classes with Neji-san." Hinata explained.
Deidara ignored her discomfort and started to explain the club and what he and Sasori did, with heavy insults to Sasori's ideals. In the end, she made the mistake of letting him put his number in her phone so that he could send her pictures.
She would regret that.
Deidara invited her to show her the cafeteria after Hinata had explained the reason he didn't see her was because she stayed in the class. Hinata declined with an explanation of preferring a quiet lunch. Deidara barely accepted the answer and told her she had to make it up to him by dropping by the art club later.
Itachi came in at his usual time with his lunch, turning Sasori's chair around to sit with Hinata, now taking his usual seat.
Kisame turned his attention to talking to him idly until the shorter male stopped and got a slightly amused quirk to his eyebrows. "What?" Itachi nodded his head to his side.
Kisame turned to Hinata, holding out a couple-sized bento out at arm's length with her head bowed from her seat. "Please accept this," Hinata mumbled at her lap.
Kisame noticed she also had hers from the day before sitting in front of her. This one was just for him? She had made him his own bento? She quickly went to shrank into her food to hide her embarrassment.
Itachi gave him an 'I knew it' face that had the urge to punch. Kisame set the box down and opened it. It was a much larger version of what she had in hers. Hinata mumbled into her food, something he couldn't understand.
"Hmm?" Kisame asked.
"Our soy sauce is gluten-free. I thought it was, but I double-checked." Hinata said louder.
Kisame tried not to laugh as he gladly dug into the meal. The only thing he had time to eat yesterday when he got home was another banana and some poorly made rice that was in the fridge. This girl was a saint.
Itachi glanced between the two with amusement. He watched Kisame gladly munch down on a specially made massive rice ball. Kisame had told him of the meal they had shared in his absence, but he doubted Kisame understood what that meant to the girl that he was accepting of her care.
They hadn't even exchanged names properly, and she was trying to take care of him. She really couldn't help it, could she? Itachi wasn't surprised.
Hinata had always been sweet and eager to help, but after the accident, Itachi thought she would have lost some of her purity of heart.
Itachi didn't know the details of her full injuries or recovery, but he had suspicions that her cousin's overprotective behavior had something to do with it. He debated with himself on whether or not he should inform Kisame of everything he knew, but it would probably be best if he found out on his own.
"That was great," Kisame commented with his mouth full. Hinata frowns, holding up a napkin. He chuckled at her manners, wiping her mouth.
"What else do you like?" Hinata packed away the bentos.
"You're going to keep this up?" Kisame asked.
"It is unhealthy to skip lunch, and I like to cook." Hinata defended purposely shifting the attention to her hobby, not his lack of resources.
"Seafood, but no shark fin soup, obviously." Hinata hadn't considered what he was.
Hinata fiddled with the end of her skirt. "No gluten, no preservatives, no milk, no shark."
"You don't need to make me lunch," Kisame repeated. Hinata deflated. "Not that I mind, but you don't need to take the time or effort."
"I make two bentos for my cousin and myself. What's one more?" Hinata mumbled at her lap.
That confirmed Itachi's assumption of her. Kisame gave her a nod as people started to file in. Guess he made a little friend.
Itachi gave him a knowing uplift to his lips. Annoying little rich boy. "Yeah, yeah, you were right. She's a little angel, sort of a mouse, though."
"It's certainly interesting to watch you two interact. I've never seen you so speechless." Itachi teased.
"I'm not exactly used to receiving gifts." Kisame defended. "That's your thing."
Itachi gave a slight turn to his eyes. "I'm sure you enjoyed it much more than I do."
Hinata looked around the room she was told was the art room. She opened it quietly, peeking inside.
"Hinata-chan! Come in, un." Hinata jumped as the blond bounded toward her.
"I shouldn't stay too long," Hinata explained. "Neji-san wants me to leave with him when his kendo meeting is done. It was the only way he would let me stay." Neji didn't even know she wasn't waiting in her classroom.
"Oh, Itachi's in that too. We'll just show you around then, yeah?" Deidara tugged her in, luckily by the correct arm. Hinata stumbled, letting her weight fall on her umbrella as he drugged her in. He showed her what he was working on. To her surprise, it included an opening for explosives.
Sasori grumbled at him, which started a fight between the two.
Sasori held up the puppet he was working on, explaining what he thought art should be. How were these two friends if they hated each other's ideas so much?
"I just sketch," Hinata explained. "I have no real skills in physical models."
"You should bring in some of your work, yeah," Deidara exclaimed.
"I'll bring my sketchbook sometime," Hinata admitted defeat.