"Thank you for the ride, Ebizo-ojisan," Sakura smiled at the old man with the long, white eyebrows sitting beside her in the BMW's backseat. It always made Sakura chuckle internally at how incongruous the old man and his luxury car was, but it made his grand-nephew happy, so Ebizo-ojisan endured the looks. Since cars weren't allowed on the campus without a permit, the driver only pulled up to the gate closest to her dorm room.
It was a couple of days after she'd gotten married in the Way of the Ninja, and she and Meister had a standing appointment to do some couples missions together that night. However, she still had quite a bit of homework to do before that, so when her tutoring job had run late because her pupil was being difficult, she couldn't help but be a bit anxious. Luckily, one of her pupil's guardians had offered her a ride, saying he was going that way anyway.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan, for putting up with that grand-nephew of mine. Chiyo and I know he's a handful, but we're grateful for your patience with him," Ebizo patted her hand gently.
"He's in middle school - it's a challenging time for everyone," Sakura waved it off with a smile, "After what happened to his parents… well, I'm just glad I can help him with his school work."
"You're a good girl, Sakura-chan. Have a good night," Ebizo nodded to her as she took her bag and clambered out of the car. She slung her bag over her shoulder and then waved at the old man in the back seat. The gate to the university faced a quiet, mostly residential street, with only a convenience store on the corner. As she passed through the gate to make her way back to her dorm, she'd thought she was alone and unobserved.
She was wrong.
(O_O;)
When Sakura got back to her dorm, she'd thought she was alone in the empty main room. Only when she put the kettle on to boil and laid out her stuff on the big table in the middle of the common room did she hear a couple of sniffles coming from the bathroom. Cautiously, she knocked on the door.
"S-Sorry, I-I-I'm almost d-done in here," Hinata's voice quavered from the bathroom.
"Hina-chan," Sakura called softly, "Can I come in?"
"S-Sakura-ch-chan, I-I'm...," Hinata tried to protest, but then her voice faded with a small hiccup. With a sigh, she gave her permission, "Come in."
With that, Sakura cracked open the door to the bathroom cautiously, to find Hinata sitting on the toilet, dabbing at her red and blotchy face with a wad of toilet paper. Startled, Sakura rushed forward to hug the other girl. Hinata tried to smile, but as soon as Sakura's arms closed around her, Hinata crumpled in her arms and wept silently on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay," Sakura soothed, patting Hinata's back, "Get it all out. Come on, Hina-chan." She felt the warm tears soak through the thin red shirt she was wearing.
Hinata cried so quietly, it broke Sakura's heart. She cried like she was used to hiding in a corner, not alerting anyone to her tears. Sakura murmured soft nothings, stroking Hinata's long hair, as she wondered what would make her usually quiet but optimistic friend cry so hard.
"I-I'm okay," Hinata's tears finally stopped, and her voice was muffled against Sakura's shoulder,
Sakura relaxed her hold but didn't let the other girl go, as she held Hinata by her forearms. She examined Hinata's splotchy face as the other girl tried to work up a smile.
"I-I'm okay, Sakura-chan, I really am, now," Hinata tried to reassure her. Sakura didn't entirely believe her, but didn't push her. Instead, she left the bathroom to let Hinata clean up, but she didn't go far.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Hinata said when she finally came out of the bathroom and saw Sakura waiting for her.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Sakura pushed her.
Hinata sighed despondently, "I-It's my family. M-My father called me today."
Sakura swallowed the angry and protective words she wanted to say. Over the year and a half she and Hinata had been roommates, Sakura developed a healthy dislike of Hinata's father as she got to know the other girl better. She'd never even met the man, even though Hinata's family lived in Konohagakure. It was always a stone-faced cousin who dropped her off every term. Even Sakura's parents had taken a couple of days vacation from the bakery to drop her off when she started at Konoha U, and they had to drive down from Uzushiogakure. Such a prominent political family couldn't even be bothered with their heiress just because they didn't like the major she chose - service to the country my ass! Shannaro!
Hinata saw the look on her face, and she smiled slightly because she knew what Sakura wanted to say but didn't to avoid upsetting her. "I-I know you don't understand wh-why I'm not angry at my f-family, b-but-"
"I do," Sakura interrupted her, not wanting to go down this road again, "I do understand you feel a responsibility to your clan, but Hinata-chan, it's making you miserable."
"I-It's not," Hinata protested, "I-I'm upset at my own weakness. I-I have to be responsible for m-making my own w-wishes known, a-and it shouldn't u-upset me so m-much t-to stand up to my f-father."
"You shouldn't need to stand up to your own father, Hina-chan," Sakura said.
"I-I do. O-otherwise I would never grow a-as my own person," Hinata smiled tiredly, "M-My father is doing what he thinks is best, so I don't r-resent him for it. And he listens when I c-can say what I-I want. But because wh-what he thinks is b-best isn't what I want for myself, I-I'll j-just have to g-get used to b-being a disappointment." Her stutter, which had almost disappeared over the past year and a half, was back in full force.
"You're not a disappointment," Sakura scowled, hugging her again.
"I-I know," this time, Hinata hugged her back, "I j-just need to get strong enough to b-believe that. A-And studying and getting an internship will help. H-have you looked at the Algo homework yet?"
"I was just about to do it. Wanna do it together?"
"Y-Yeah," As they spread their books out over the large table in the center of the dorm, Sakura forcefully tried to put her worries to rest. All she could do was be there for her friend.
(* ^ ω ^) (´ ∀ ` *)
"My brain is officially mush," Sakura complained, "Let's take a break. If I have to justify any more asymptotic bounds for T(n)'s, my eyes are going to cross."
Hinata laughed at the face she made, "Y-yes please. I-I'll just follow the example our scholarship student is setting."
"Hey, I know how to work hard and play hard," Sakura checked the time on Hinata's phone, and saw several texts from someone named Neji. "Hinata-chan, you have a text."
Hinata picked up her phone and looked, but didn't check the messages. "O-Oh, it's not urgent." She smiled, "I-I'm going to make some milk tea. D-Do you want one, Sakura-chan?"
"Sure, thanks Hina-chan," Sakura smiled. She started browsing around on her computer as she waited for Hinata to boil the water. Finding herself on the University forum page, Sakura browsed through the student's advertised events, homework and class discussions, polls (that stupid campus beauty poll was still up), and gossip. Sakura wasn't any more virtuous than the next person, and she enjoyed a good piece of gossip, but when she saw one particular post, her jaw dropped in outrage.
"A pretty Konoha U Co-ed exiting a BMW with an old man, and my innocent dreams are destroyed," Sakura's voice rose in pitch as she read the title of the post out loud.
Hinata looked over at her from their sink and kitchen unit with a frown, "What's that, Sakura-chan?"
"What does that title imply to you, Hinata-chan?" Sakura said angrily, bringing her laptop to where Hinata was standing to show her the post.
Hinata shrugged, "I don't know?"
Sakura sighed at her naivety, "They're calling me a prostitute! A sex worker! Someone doing compensated dating."
"Wh-what? How are you involved?" Hinata asked, surprised.
"Because that's me coming out of a BMW! Shannaro!" She pointed to a picture in the forum post. The face was blurred out, but Hinata could still make out that the girl's hair colour was pink. While Sakura wasn't the only girl on campus with pink hair, there weren't that many. "Ebizo-ojisan dropped me off today after I was done tutoring. How that became I'm a sex worker…" Sakura scowled fiercely, but tears welled in the corner of her eyes.
"L-Let me see," Hinata took the computer from Sakura's hand and scrolled through the comments, which got more and more scandalous and sanctimonious as they accumulated. Luckily, no one had tried to guess the identity of the girl in the picture yet, but…
"How dare these people irresponsibly judge someone like that?" Sakura continued to rant, "There are plenty of reasons that anyone would be getting out of a BMW, but no, because of a stupid title like that, people immediately assume the worst! I can't believe them!"
Hinata put her hand on her back as she continued to read, and Sakura vented her feelings fiercely until Sakura felt Hinata's hand suddenly freeze on her back. This made her pause and look at Hinata in confusion.
"I-I recognize th-this username," Hinata said unhappily, pointing to a particular post. She looked white as a sheet.
Sakura frowned, Why would Hinata-chan look like that? "What about it?" She read the post that Hinata pointed to, "I've seen that bag before in the sciences building…" Her face turned pale as well. Most of the other girls with pink hair were part of the arts department. Shannaro!
"TopSpin96? Who is it?" Sakura asked cautiously. Hinata looked like she was getting more and more upset.
"I-It's my c-cousin." Hinata said.
(⊙_⊙)(╯︵╰,)
Hinata mustered every ounce of courage she could scrape together as she stared at a door in the fourth year male dorms for the foreign languages department. She got a couple weird stares - even though it was still visiting hours, she doubted he ever had visitors - but she did her best to ignore it. Trembling, she raised her hand to knock softly.
No one answered. Hinata wanted to cry, but she knew she couldn't before facing him. She knocked again.
The door swung open, and Hinata nearly stepped back in surprise. She looked up at a strong, determined, and sincerely annoyed face that appeared in the doorway and wanted to hide.
"Hinata-sama," That trace of annoyance disappeared when he saw who it was, and his calm diplomat's mask returned.
"N-Neji-niisama," Hinata greeted him, wanting to bite back the stutter.
"I see you still have that unfortunate speech impediment," Neji said.
"Th-That's not wh-why I'm here today," Hinata felt the familiar pang of shame that came with her family's disapproval, but she pushed on, determined not to let her good friend down. "I-I have something to discuss with you. C-Can I come in?"
"Of course," He stepped back, letting her into the spartan room. His other roommates weren't there at the moment, so it was just her and her cousin. She was glad for small mercies.
"I'm assuming you won't be staying for long, so I won't offer you a cup of tea. What is it?" Neji got straight to the point.
She twisted her hands together nervously. "Wh-why did you implicate m-my roommate on that forum post?"
Hinata didn't look up, so she missed the flicker of surprise and disgust that crossed Neji's face when she asked this. After a pause, he asked, "Is it her? Getting out of the BMW?"
"Y-Yes, but-" Hinata tried to explain, but she was cut off when Neji's face became stony.
"You have poor taste in friends, Hinata-sama," He said, "We will have to look into it."
"I-It's not what it looks like!" Hinata protested, alarmed. She knew what could happen when her family looked into things. She'd lost more than one friend over the years from that. "Sakura-chan's not that kind of girl! P-Please don't."
"You must consider more than just yourself, Hinata sama. The honour of the clan must not be stained by your association with such a person. You may have left your family behind, but your family still looks out for you. We must investigate," Neji said heavily, "If it's true, you cannot live with such an unworthy person."
"Y-You're jumping to conclusions!" Hinata protested.
"Your judgment is clouded," Neji looked disapprovingly at her. "Since nothing like this showed up on her initial background check, we will need to use the… slightly heavy-handed tactics."
"S-Slightly heavy-handed?" Hinata said incredulously.
Neji didn't respond with words. Instead, the ruthless look in his eyes spoke volumes, and cold sweat dripped down Hinata's back. The clan wouldn't actually let Neji deploy those tactics for such a minor matter like this, would this? Even still, Neji-niisama acting on his own could do enough damage...
"N-Neji-niisama, could you please just trust me? You d-don't need to investigate her, and please take down y-your comment," Hinata asked, without much hope.
He looked away from her, as if she was too disappointing at that moment. Hinata's heart throbbed in pain. She was too used to seeing that look, from her entire family, but now even her once-cherished older cousin was looking at her that way. Her hand fisted on her chest.
This was too much. It was one thing if they kept trying to control her, trying to turn her into the perfect diplomat's wife when she wanted to have her own career. She liked coding, and she was good at it. She didn't care if it wasn't ladylike. But to try to control her friends with such little regard for their futures...
"Wh-why can't anyone j-just trust my judgement?" Hinata said, finally showing her frustration with her family's attitude.
"Your judgment is clouded by your friendship," Neji repeated stonily.
"C-clouded or not, I have lived with Sakura-chan for three terms now, so I know her situation," Hinata said quietly, finding her confidence in her new, bitterly cold disappointment, "She may be from a working-class background, but she's never taken advantage of our friendship, mine or Temari-chan's."
"She could be putting on a good front-" Neji tried to dismiss her words.
Hinata continued as if he hadn't spoken at all, "H-Her cellphone and her laptop were stolen from her at the beginning of the term, and she used all of her scholarship money to buy a new laptop this term because that's all she could afford. B-Both Temari and I have offered to let her borrow our old phones, but she's refused because she doesn't want us to think she's taking advantage of our friendship. When we go out, she n-never borrows money and rarely lets us treat her. She doesn't ask her parents for any money because she knows they're already giving her everything they can afford."
"All the more reason she would do something like that," Neji sniffed.
This blatant classicism and prejudice made Hinata really get angry at him, "No, it means she's a good girl, and if she does end up leaving the school because of your investigation, you will have ruined a brilliant future, and y-you'll have only succeeded in d-destroying one of the few good friendships that I have managed to make. T-Take the comment down and don't investigate her. I'm begging you, Neji-niisama."
"I am looking out for you, Hinata-sama," Neji said stubbornly. Hinata's shoulders slumped. She knew what that meant. He wouldn't change his mind. None of them ever listen to me. What was I expecting, coming here? She'd have to figure out some other way to help her friend.
"I-If that's what you believe, th-then I have n-nothing else to say to you." Hinata was holding back her tears at this point. She wouldn't let him see her weakness.
"Hinata-sama-"
"G-Good bye, Neji-niisama," She opened the door and nearly ran from his dorm before she really did break down crying.
AN: Dun dun DUNNNN. Oh Neji, you're one of my favourite characters, but you must suffer for the sake of the second ML syndrome. So yes, we're avoiding the traditional drama love triangle and introducing protective older brother drama. This is where I expect to lose some readers who are also drama watchers, LOL. I don't just like love triangles, what can I say (and what is with Asian dramas and the traditional love triangle anyways?). I ended up rewriting the last half of the chapter at the nth hour so my Beta didn't have enough to do his full magic, but I still owe a huge thank you to Reglee and Marie for reading through this. Plus - Angst. Angst is hard, guys. I'm trying to keep a weekly schedule, though, otherwise with 100 chapters left to go, we're already going to be here for a few years - I don't want it to take any longer.
As always, reviews, comments, kudos, favourites, bookmarks, and get well soon balloon animals always make my day. I'm not sure if it's the isolation, bad sleep, or extra weight I've put on that's been getting on me, but I'm hoping it passes soon. Thanks for stopping by, and see you soon - until then, stay safe and healthy.