Homecoming
She looked around the room one last time.
Was there anything else she should take with her?
Kiba and Hana had come to help her pack.
She couldn't think of another thing.
Nothing had ever really been hers, that much had always been made clear - she'd never deserved any of it.
She was leaving.
Maybe this one thing would make her father happy.
The thought was sincere, no trace of bitterness.
"Is this it?" Kiba asked, lifting the one suitcase containing a few items she'd bought herself since becoming chuunin.
"Yes," she said, brimming with happiness, "Isn't it great?"
Skywatching notes:
Dog Days falls between July 3 and August 11 in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the period when Sirius, the Dog Star is beginning to rise with the Sun. Dog Days spans the 20 days on either side of the actual conjunction of Sirius and the Sun. Conjunction is when Sirius appears to be completely consumed by the Sun in the sky. It's stated pretty blatantly in chapter 19 that Hinata is the Sun and so Kiba is of course Sirius.
What's more oblique in the fic, but I still like the way it came out is that during the period of Dog Days, Corona Borealis is almost at zenith in the sky. It is quite visible in the Northern Hemisphere at approximately 9:30p.m. EDT. Corona Borealis is Ariadne's crown. The Princess Ariadne loved the Hero Theseus but was left behind by him. Ariadne is forlorn but holds no bitterness in her heart toward Theseus himself. What she doesn't know is that her love for the Hero is only a step on the journey toward true love with the God Dionysus who finds her, loves her beyond measure, makes her his wife and sets her wedding crown (Corona Borealis) in the sky for eternity.
Thanks for putting up with me and reading my story. Now go out and look at some stars, they've been telling their stories for thousands of years now!