project: fifty days
disclaimer: i do not own naruto, or the characters in it.
summary: "in fifty days, uchiha sasuke will be executed." for fifty days, she will visit him. for fifty days, he will fall steadily in love.
pairings: sasuhina, some naruhina
notes1: "shrek is a sexy beast. ogre. my bad."
notes2: "hey short stuff, you're looking mighty fine." "who're you calling short?"
chapter: o5/5o

Neji was a fearful shinobi. He was stronger than any member of the branch clan—his strength rivaled even her father's, and her cousin still had many years to perfect his byakugan; as hard as it was for her to admit, Neji was a flower blooming in the spring, its petals just unfurling, its true potential yet to be reached. He was beautiful like a flower as well—he was stunningly gracefully, and his fighting style was dance-like—graceful.

Hanabi was an equally fearful opponent. Despite her young age, she was already becoming extraordinarily strong for age. She received tutoring from not only Neji and various members of the branch clan, but also from their father, Hiashi, and other clan elders. Hinata realized that he didn't want to make the same mistake he'd made with her, with Hanabi. Her sister was like a sapling, though—she still had time to grow stronger and wiser.

In comparison, Hinata was a weed; when compared to her beautiful cousin, she was bland. She lacked any grace, with her fumbling fingers and her flushed face. When compared to her strong younger sister, she was pathetic; weak. She was undesirable and troublesome, just like a weed—she remembered, just after the Chunnin exams, the amount of money her father had spent making sure she was fully healed, and received the best treatment. He'd wished her well, of course. She'd still seen the disgust on his face when he'd found the medical bill.

She would never be as beautiful as Neji or as strong as Hanabi—she would never be as deadly and dangerous as her father. She would never be seen as a threat, both as a kunoichi and as a woman, to any other shinobi. She was too bashful and innocent to use her womanly wiles to defeat her opponent, despite the fact that Kurenai had assured her it was the greatest weapons any kunoichi had. She didn't have a special jutsu—she didn't have an ultimate jutsu hidden up her sleeve—she'd thought she had, but then Pein had batted her aside as easily as that.

No, Hinata was a failure.

Ask anyone else, however, and it would be a completely different story. Kurenai saw potential hiding in Hinata, just waiting to be unlocked and mastered—Kiba and Shino, her teammates, saw her elegance on the battlefield; they knew she had the element of surprise. Kiba would have said that her bite was much worse than her bark, especially since she was lacking any sort of bark at all. Shino would have said that she was a talented kunoichi, hindered only by the fact that she did not believe in herself.

Hanabi saw her older sister, someone to aspire to be like, as well as care for and nurture, like a mother. She loved her sister, more than anything—Neji could be as strong and as powerful as he liked, and Hanabi respected that, but she thought Hinata was much stronger. Perhaps not physically, but definitely mentally. She could understand the enemy—she gave them a chance—and then she struck, often ruthlessly; Hanabi had only twice seen Hinata in battle. The first time had been a spar against a fellow kunoichi, Yamanaka Ino; the second had been against Pein and, although that could hardly be called a battle, it was the bravest thing Hanabi had ever seen. She hadn't seen Neji leaping to the rescue.

She'd seen her bumbling, fumbling, blushing sister do the bravest thing in her life.

Neji would have agreed with Hanabi; he might have been physically stronger than Hinata, but she was definitely a stronger person than him. He had had a rough childhood, that was for sure, but he'd seen the disappointment and lack of affection in Hiashi's eyes, when he looked at his eldest daughter. Neji wondered how Hinata stood for it—how she simply stood there, her head lowered respectfully, and let him mock her and scorn her—how she kept all of her emotions hidden within her. However, Neji would have said that Hinata was beautiful, as well—more so than himself. In her finest kimono, she was noble. With her hair pinned back, she was delicate. She had skin as soft as petals—she had eyes filled with love. She did not judge. She loved everyone, unconditionally—himself included, despite the fact that he'd attempted to kill her.

And Naruto…?

Before, Naruto had seen Hinata as just another kunoichi, although he'd never admit that—she'd been a friend, yes, of course, but she had never really stood out to him. She'd changed all of that after the incident with Pein. Her love for him had changed all of that. He had begun to see her as less of a kunoichi and more of a woman—his eyes didn't see the calloused fingers and instead saw the soft curves of her body; he saw that she was attractive, but most Hyuuga's were—he knew she was a kind person, but not much else. He did not know her as well as Sakura.

After she'd confronted him about Sasuke, he'd had to reevaluate all of his feelings for her. He'd carefully sorted through the facts that he knew and the feelings he felt. He'd thought of her confessions, over and over again (and his mind had strayed from the taboo that was Sasuke, for at least a little while), until he'd decided that he'd like to get to know Hinata better. He knew she was a strong, beautiful kunoichi.

He wanted to know what was underneath.

.

.

Hinata twisted, lashing out with her right palm, aiming for a tenketsu point in her opponent's shoulder; Neji blocked her attack effortlessly, span on the ball of his foot and then pushed his palm at her chest. She arched clumsily, her mind elsewhere, placed both of her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself backwards—Neji waited for her to land a distance away before tilting his head and frowning.

"You seem occupied, Hinata. Is there something wrong?"

She blinked, bewildered, and then shook her head hesitantly. "N—nothing at all, Neji. I was just thinking a—about… things."

Truthfully, she had been thinking about Uchiha Sasuke.

Not long after she'd told him her story, he'd closed his eyes and his breathing had become relaxed and even. She had waited for a while, before gathering herself together and thanking the ANBU on duty—they had nodded tensely, obviously waiting for her to make some kind of fuss about Sasuke's decision, but she had said nothing. Instead, she had walked down the corridor, sneaking a peak into each cell, checking to see the condition of the inmates, and then exited the prison as quickly as possible—every other inmate she had seen had been fine. For some reason or another, Sasuke was an exception.

She didn't know him well enough to say that she liked him, but she couldn't leave him in that state; she owed it to Naruto to keep him healthy and well. She had promised, more to herself than anyone else, that she would make his last fifty days enjoyable, and being beaten up every other day probably didn't help her promise.

She'd hurried to the Hokage's office, but had been turned away instantly—Shizune had smiled apologetically and shook her head, mumbling something about the Hokage being "busy right now, and can she get to you tomorrow?" Hinata had simply thanked the other kunoichi and left, asking for an appointment the next day.

Neji's frown deepened as he considered his obviously distracted cousin—she had returned to gazing somewhere off to her left, her lips pursed tightly, sweat dribbling down her forehead and sticking to her hair. She made no attempt to brush it away. He slipped back into his defensive stance and waited for her to make her move—to rush him and attack him—but nothing happened; she almost completely ignored him.

He let out a small, almost unheard, sigh, before darting forwards; Hinata's eyes widened as she finally noticed his approach and she let out a small squeak, slipping into a hasty defensive stance. Upon nearing her, he span on the ball of his left foot, swung his right leg gracefully through the air and kicked her stomach; her eyes widened to an almost comical size as his kick slipped straight past her defensive block, and she was pushed backwards.

He hesitated, scanning his cousin for the same signs of distraction, but she was glaring weakly at him, one arm pressed against her winded stomach—he flipped his hair out of his face and made to move forwards again, before stepping back and reconsidering. Her heart obviously wasn't into the spar. He doubted she was even taking it seriously.

As Neji turned away, his shoulders tense and his fists clenched, Hinata knew instantly that she'd done something wrong; ever since she'd gotten closer to her older cousin, she'd begun to understand when something was bothering him, but she couldn't always quite figure out what was wrong.

He stopped suddenly, glancing briefly back over his shoulder, and she noticed that his expression was carefully blank. "Are you mocking me, Hinata? If you wish to be a strong kunoichi, you must fight with your heart as well as your fists," he paused, obviously torn between saying something else or leaving. Finally, he murmured, "…and if anything is troubling you, remember that I am your family. I will not judge you."

She noticed the hurt in his voice and winced, stepping forwards to attempt to comfort him; but she instantly knew that that wasn't what he wanted—he never liked it when she stumbled over the word 'sorry'; she doubted he liked that word at all. She watched as he walked briskly back towards the Main House; sweat gleaming on the back of his neck, his hair swung over one shoulder and slightly frizzy; and wondered how on earth she could apologise to him, without saying the word 'sorry'.

She waited until he was safely inside, before grunting and flopping down onto the floor, placing her head in her hands and thinking. She adored Neji, that was true; she loved him with all her heart, and didn't want to hurt him, because he'd been hurt so much before; but she couldn't tell him about Sasuke. The Uchiha's name had become an unspoken taboo; whenever Naruto was around, the villagers would share telling glances but wouldn't say a thing; whenever Sakura walked into a building, women would fawn over her and immediately tell her that he wasn't worth it. No one said his name. No one openly spoke of him.

No one visited him.

Apart from her. And if she told Neji she was visiting a traitor—an S-rank criminal—she wondered if he'd really understand. Sasuke was dangerous and Neji didn't want Hinata to get hurt. She wondered if he'd really, truly be able to understand her situation?

She stretched onto her back, gazing up at the sun, and wondered if she'd started something she would never be able to break out of. For an hour, each day, for fifty days, she'd have the most terrible secret anyone had ever had. Oh, if only the villagers knew! The amount of gossip there would be.

She chuckled out loud.

"H—have you heard? That shy little Hyuuga girl is visiting the i—infamous Uchiha Sasuke. Isn't it incredible?"

.

.

Tsunade was an important woman—the Hokage of the entire village of Konohagakure, which was a pretty damn big village, if you asked her; and the amount of people she had to satisfy and keep happy was huge—sometimes, she wanted to simply sit down with a flask of sake and drink her way into a coma. With such a big village, she reasoned, it was natural that not everyone was happy.

As she attempted to explain this to a fuming Hyuuga Hinata, she wondered what she was doing wrong. She had returned after Hinata had left—she'd actually been hoping to meet the girl on her way back, and ask the Hyuuga if she could try and get some information out of Sasuke during their little meetings—and healed the ungrateful brat. She'd even washed his hair and put him in a new straightjacket. She'd replaced the flowers and placed money on the table, in payment for Ibiki smashing the vase; and she'd told Hinata all of this, but the girl still wasn't pleased.

"I a—apologise for making such a fuss, L—Lady Tsunade, but I s—still cannot understand why Uchiha Sasuke is b—being treated like this in the first p—place," the Hyuuga repeated, her hands linked in front of her, looking as shy as ever; but Tsunade could see the determination and force glinting in her eyes, and she did not like it one little bit.

"I have told you already, Hinata," she replied, attempting to sound patient, "But Uchiha Sasuke is an S-ranked criminal, with relations to the Akatsuki. We need all the information out of him that we can get."

"Torturing him isn't g—going to work, though."

"I would much prefer to call it 'questioning', Hinata; and yes, I am aware that it is hardly going to work on such a stubborn individual." Tsunade attempted to discreetly sneak her hand into her drawer, scrambling around for her sake bottle, but she was sure the younger girl had noticed—of course she had noticed. The Hyuuga clan had the best eyesight around.

"Then, if I might a—ask, why are you torturing h—him?" Hinata's lips quirked into a fixed smile, and Tsunade knew that, as she poured herself some sake, pretending it was tea, her drinking habits had not gone unnoticed.

For a while, Tsunade didn't answer—instead, she simply sipped her drink, relishing the taste of alcohol and the fuzzy buzz it was giving her, gazing into the milky-white eyes of the Hyuuga girl. After a few more seconds of simply looking, she decided that the brat wasn't going to give up without a fight, and therefore a fuss, and it would be much easier just to let her have her way, like a spoilt child. Less drama that way.

But Tsunade could also be stubborn when she wanted to be, and now was one of those occasions.

"Hinata, it isn't as simple as that. Let me attempt to explain—and please, be quiet when I do so." She waited for the Hyuuga to nod meekly, before continuing. "Although I am the Hokage, there are many people who help make the decisions with me—that is diplomacy, Hinata, and that is the way the village is run. For example, the village elders stated that it would not be a good idea to let Naruto, or Sakura, see the Uchiha, because of the emotions that could be stirred up within both parties, and the unpredictable outcome. I opposed this idea. I believed that we could trust them. I was overruled, as the majority sided with the elders, including Nara Shikamaru and his father, some of the greatest minds of our village."

She watched as Hinata frowned, abandoning her bashful, shy nature and folding her arms. If anything, the words Tsunade had just said had simply fuelled the female Hyuuga, and the Hokage was beginning to regret her decision to argue back.

"…so, together we decided that we had to extract that information from Uchiha Sasuke, and it had to be done quickly," Tsunade continued, staring into her drink sullenly, fully aware that she probably wasn't going to win the argument. "I was against torturing him, if you must know—I thought it would have been better to simply let him give away the information, over the next few days, until we knew all we needed to. The elders disagreed. They said the information had to be found now—since the attack from Pein, and my indisposed state, our village has become weakened. Our barriers are low and the amounts of missions we've had have been slowly diminishing. I'm well now, thank you for asking, but Konoha is still weak. We need that information."

She hesitated for a moment, peering into her drink, before picking it up and downing in instantly. Hinata watched her, obviously deep in thought, and then Tsunade had an idea. A brilliant idea, in her opinion, but one that she knew the Hyuuga wouldn't like at all.

"…however," Tsunade began again, her voice suddenly cheerful, and Hinata glanced up at the change of tone, instantly suspicious. "I'm sure I could convince the village elders to change their minds—of course, I could only do that if someone got the information from Uchiha Sasuke."

Hinata clicked immediately—Tsunade could tell by the dawning realization on her face, followed by the shock and disgust. Then the younger girl's eyes flickered downwards, staring off to the right, to the left, upwards, and then finally back at Tsunade.

"…that could t—take weeks; up to f—fifty days, in fact."

Oh.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes—two could play at that game. Hinata could haggle and bargain as much as she wanted, as long as the job was finished in the long run, and that information was safely in the Hokage's hands.

"And what if Uchiha S—Sasuke is too wary to give out that i—information? What happens then?" Hinata asked, pressing her fingertips together nervously. "What if he just d—doesn't trust me enough to tell me a—anything as private as that?"

"If I don't get that information, Hinata, I'll personally beat it out of the brat."

Hinata was torn, that was for sure—on one hand, she could save Sasuke any hurt and pain; because she hated to see anyone in pain; as long as she attempted to extract that information from Sasuke. She'd be visiting him with a hidden agenda, and she didn't like that. On the other hand, if she didn't get that information from him, the Hokage would be the one torturing him, and she wasn't sure whether or not that was worse, or better, than Ibiki.

If she was anyone else, she'd agree with that second one, instantly—she'd know that Sasuke could take a kicking, but keep on ticking. Even though she'd see him beat up and bloodied, she'd know he was laughing and smiling through the pain. She'd just be going to visit a friend.

She wondered, briefly, what Naruto would do.

Then she decided.

"I'll get that information from him, Lady H—Hokage; on one condition. No one harms a hair on Uchiha S—Sasuke's head."

Tsunade grinned.

"Done."

.

.

Hyuuga Neji pushed past another obnoxiously loud woman, who'd attempted to thank him for rescuing her cat, or some other heroic deed, and cursed the loudness of his village. He'd spent most of the day thinking about his cousin, knowing something was bothering her and generally wondering what it was. Not in a nosy way, of course; he didn't want to find out and gossip, or whisper rumours about her.

He just wanted to know what made his cousin worry like that.

She wouldn't admit she was worried, though; she'd tell him she'd just been thinking about things—she might even throw Naruto's name in there, if she was brave enough—but she wouldn't tell him what was actually wrong. He knew her well enough to tell that something was bothering her; she was never distracted when sparring; she always put her heart into it. She never gave up as easily as that.

He sighed and ground to a halt, placed his hands in his pockets and then turned around, ready to head back to the Hyuuga mansion and wait for her there; why he hadn't just decided to do that in the first place, he'd never know.

"Neji?" A familiar voice drawled, before chuckling lazily. "You know, I thought you never left your bedroom."

"You've been watching me sleep again, Hatake," Neji replied frostily, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and instead keeping his face carefully blank.

"The world has got to be ending," Hatake Kakashi murmured, dropping down from his branch, where he'd been perched above the Hyuuga; the shinobi pushed one hand into his pockets, the other hand clutching that infamous book, and peered at Neji through his visible eye. "…because I think you just made a joke."

"You are hilarious, Hatake," the Hyuuga finished, turning and beginning to walk in the opposite direction; he was vaguely annoyed, but not at all surprised, to see that the silver-haired shinobi followed him, keeping up with the other's stride easily.

Kakashi smiled, flipping a page in his book whilst indiscreetly studying the other man. "No need to be so snappy, Neji; I was merely wondering why you'd finally decided to come and see the sun." He paused, quirking an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I am well."

"Really? Ino told me you were ill—she said Hinata came and picked up some flowers for you. I guess you're fine now, though."

Neji blinked, raising an eyebrow; he hadn't been ill, at all. In fact, he'd been perfectly well all week, and Kakashi knew it, too—they'd been on a mission together, nothing big, just a simple delivery to Sunagakure. Naruto was supposed to have gone, instead of Neji, but he'd been… indisposed, and so Neji had gone with Kakashi—it had been alright, as far as missions went, albeit too hot.

That meant that either Hinata had lied about him being ill, and bought flowers for someone else or Ino was lying. In his opinion, it was more likely to be the latter; but, if it was the former, he wasn't in a position where he should start prying into Hinata's private affairs. If she wanted to tell him something, she'd tell him.

That was that.

"…I was ill, earlier," he lied, because he was a kind cousin and now Hinata owed him. "But you are right—I am fine, now. Are there any other rumours you would like me to confirm?"

Kakashi simply smiled.

"Not at the moment, but I'll be sure to come back to you later."

.

.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you have a visitor," Ibiki called, rapping on the glass window with his knuckle, irritated when the Uchiha didn't respond; he turned away, watching as Hyuuga Hinata settled down in her usual chair, her hands folded in her lap, gazing beneath her long lashes at the floor. He wondered, briefly, what they talked about, the unusual pair.

One with eyes milky-white, the other as black as night.

He decided he didn't particularly care. He placed his hand heavily on Hinata's shoulder as he passed her, on his way to the door—he felt her stiffen, before relaxing, and felt her shoulders rise and fall, as her breathing slowed. His hand lingered on her shoulder for a second, and he wondered whether or not to say something; then he simply sighed and turned away. He nodded briefly at the ANBU as he passed, before slipping out of the door.

There was a moment of silence, in which the ANBU exchanged glances, and then Sasuke looked up, lifting his head wearily—his eyes met Hinata's, and then she was scanning his features, checking for any cuts or bruises. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You're back."

"A—Are you going to say that every time I visit y—you, Sasuke?" She smiled slightly, not quite meeting his eyes, still checking to see if he was fine.

He smirked dryly. "Probably."

Hinata laughed softly and finally looked straight at him; for a brief second, her eyes were blank—then she beamed warmly at him, and her eyes were filled with kindness and happiness. His gaze strayed from her face, flicking over to the two ANBU members; they stared impassively back at him, before nodding at one another and then leaving the room, bidding Hinata goodbye as they did so. She nodded respectfully, clasping her hands together, and the room fell silent again.

His gaze lingered on the door for a while, before returning to Hinata's face—she seemed lost in thought. He frowned. "Talk to me."

"What a—about?" Her voice was distant. She couldn't quite meet his gaze.

"Anything," he murmured. "Tell me anything."

She folded her hands again, shifted slightly in her seat, and then opened her mouth to speak. "I… I m—met Naruto, yesterday…"

He was barely aware of the fact that she'd stopped speaking; almost immediately, his shoulders had tensed. He pursed his lips, frowning slightly, obviously uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. Instead, he waited.

"I met with him yesterday. He was… s—suitably upset, I g—guess," Hinata glanced at Sasuke briefly, met his stony gaze, and then peered down at her feet, nervously. "I'm not going to a—ask why you left; why you r—really left; because I don't think I'll u—understand. N—Not yet, at least. Maybe… maybe if you talk to me; because, at the moment, I'm the o—only one you can talk to."

Sasuke didn't respond.

"I know I'm not the kind of p—person you'd talk to normally," Hinata continued, biting her lip and pressing her fingers together. "I mean, we barely spoke before now. You w—were the kind of person I secretly admired; you were the k—kind of person I was scared of. To me, I suppose y—you were just like my cousin, N—Neji. I wanted to speak to y—you, but you were so strong and so p—powerful, and I didn't want to s—seem like an annoying fan. I'd seen how the p—parents looked at you, and seen how the g—girls looked at you, and I didn't want to pressure you anymore. I knew how s—squashed you must feel, with everyone looking at you, and I didn't want to… I just… I w—want to understand you."

Sasuke hesitated, surveying the girl before him—head lowered, hair falling across her face, hands clasped together, trembling slightly—and thought. He knew barely anything about her. He knew nothing about what she liked, what she disliked, who she was, what she did—other than the obvious. Other than the smallest whispered words—other than the briefest facts. He knew next to nothing about her; he didn't have any proper, concrete facts.

He simply had opinion. And, in his opinion, she seemed fine. The kind of girl that a mother would love. The kind of girl who smiled at everyone, whenever she wanted to. The kind of girl who'd pay for someone else's lunch, if they didn't have enough. The kind of girl who visited a stranger, for fifty days, until his death—simply because no one else could.

But he didn't trust her, not completely, not yet.

His frown disappeared and his expression turned carefully blank, but Hinata didn't look up. Instead, she continued fidgeting, beginning to play with the hem of her jacket; he hesitated again, unsure of what to say.

"…I can't."

She looked up, and her eyes were wide, but understanding.

He lowered his gaze, gazing at her from underneath his lashes, scanning her face for any change in expression—and as he stared at her, he realized he was waiting for her to look angry, to look shocked or hurt; he was waiting for her to jump up, enraged, and demand the information from him. He was waiting for it, but he knew it wouldn't happen.

"I can't; not now."

She nodded. "I understand. I can w—wait."

He quirked his head, tilting it to the side, scanning Hinata frostily—but she didn't squirm underneath his gaze, like he'd expected. He was waiting for a catch. And, as he waited, he wondered when he'd stopped trusting people. He wondered when he'd stopped believing that everyone wanted something from him, for a hidden reason.

He sighed. It was a weary, tired sigh—completely exhausted. He wanted desperately to stretch his legs—to walk around—to look at anything except Hinata—but he didn't say anything. The Hyuuga stared at him, before glancing to the side and opening her mouth to speak.

"When I was younger, I spent most of m—my time on my own; I didn't really play with other children. I wasn't really a—allowed to join in with their games; my father was protective of me, b—back then. He didn't want me to stray t—too far away from his watchful gaze; he wanted me to stay near to him, all the time. I found it annoying then. I m—miss it now."

She paused.

He waited for her to continue, unsure of the relevance of her story.

"Even so, when I was s—small, I wanted to join in with everyone. I remember watching the other girls—Sakura a—and Ino—and wanting to be just like t—them, but far too shy to join in. I liked the way Ino could do whatever she w—wanted, and people adored her; I liked the way S—Sakura was smart and brave, and everyone wanted to t—talk to her. I wanted to be like them. But my father s—suffocated me, holding onto me so tightly, and I stopped trying to be like them. I never spoke to them. I g—guess I missed my chance. If I'd talked to them then, I wonder if I'd be in the s—same position as I am now; if I'd be as shy and b—bashful as I am now."

She bit her lip.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can speak to m—me. You're not shy or b—bashful; you're strong. You can speak to me, b—because no one… there's no one there to s—suffocate you now. You can… You can do w—whatever you want. You can talk to me."

She stood up, dusted herself down, and then turned away, moving towards the door. Almost immediately, the ANBU slid back into the room, slipping back to their places like shadows—Sasuke watched them for a second, mildly interested, before looking back at Hinata.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, and their eyes met, just briefly.

"Please talk to me."

And then she left.

.

.

Neji flicked through his book, gazing at the words and sentences, but not quite taking them in. His thoughts were elsewhere—he was busy thinking of Hinata, wondering what it all meant; she'd been so distracted during their sparring session, and then he'd learnt that she'd been lying, creating stories, covering up something she had done. It was so completely unlike her, and it worried him.

Greatly.

He closed his book gently, placing it on his bedside table, and then considered changing out of his Hyuuga robes; he'd planned on doing some training, this time without a partner, but hadn't gotten round to it. He frowned, turned onto his back, and closed his eyes. He didn't want to think anymore. He trusted his cousin to do the right thing, no matter what, and that was it.

There was a knock on his bedroom door.

He straightened almost instantly, checking his robes were neat and then stood up, walking over to the door. He placed his hand on the knob and smiled, despite himself.

Hinata was predictable, sometimes.

He pulled the door open and, sure enough, there stood his cousin, her fingers pressed together, blushing and looking guilty. She glanced up at him, smiled weakly, and then gestured towards the training grounds.

"I know its l—late, but I've had time to think and… And I'd like to train, if you w—want to. If that's okay. You d—don't have to, and I understand if you don't w—want to. And I know… I know I can t—talk to you, but I can't now. Not right now. S—Soon, maybe."

His face softened into a smile.

Sometimes, his cousin was so adorably predictable.

notes3: "i enjoy implied one sided nejihina. do you? you do. i know. i know these things."