She stood in front of a mirror admiring her dress, the pale blue color complimenting her skin tone. Her face was flawless and her smile was warm. A soft touch of pink covered her cheeks like cherry blossoms. She took a glance at her reflection and admired her looks.
Hinata Hyuga was a beautiful girl with a long midnight blue pelt.
She turned around to see the dress
that had been tailored perfectly to fit all her curves and looked so expensive yet elegant. It was made out of some sort of material that seemed almost transparent but wasn't too thin.
The only thing was...
It felt cold when she stepped on it.
She applied red lipstick to her lips. She prepared the ingredients she was going to take to sasuke house since she had already made plans to make a bento for Kei and herself today.
Hinata finished preparing everything before putting on her shoes. She put on her purse and coat before leaving. The door closed behind her before anyone could see her and she left with no trace.
Her heart hammered against her chest and she didn't know why. She had done this countless times. She felt nervous because it was the first time she was dealing with a case like this.
She stood near the bus station and waited for the bus. Her hand held onto the strap of her purse tightly.
When the bus finally arrived she took a seat near the back in the first row. She stared down at her lap while people started filling inside. Hinata breathed calmly.
"I hope Kei will like this ." She whispered to herself. Her fingers tightened over the fabric. "I don't know how to explain how I feel. My heart beats fast whenever it's about him." She laughed softly.
She sighed and placed a hand on her chest where her heart was beating wildly. Her other hand clutched the handle of her purse.
She found sasuke amusing. He was hard to read during school times but when she saw his loving and calm side towards his daughter Kei she found him interesting. He felt like a mystery that she wanted to unveil every day he showed a new side of himself to her and this was only the beginning of the story.
...
"Dad what should I wear" Kei was holding a light blue dress in her hand the young 6-year-old wanted to look good in front of Hinata she wanted to match her look with her new mother since the girl in her class used to tell her that they would often twin outfits with their parents and now it was her time she will twin outfits with her mother.
"umm you should wear crimson it will wait for you," sasuke said he was cooking breakfast for himself and Kei now he also had to cook for Hinata since she was going to have breakfast with them he was getting nervous he didn't know what Hinata was like to eat nor did he know how to cook especially something for someone like her.
He was sure she would say he cooked badly or even worse... she might not like it.
The sound of water dripping came from the kitchen.
Hinata was a kind girl. She wouldn't ever hurt someone's feelings. He didn't know what she would say or what she would say. He didn't want to disappoint her.
The doorbell rang and Kei pouted at her father since he was kind of ignoring her but as she heard the bell she ran towards the door to open it she knew it was Hinata who was at the door. She was excited about Hinata.
"hey Kei" Hinata exclaimed holding the grocery bag in her hand she also had a package of light chocolates in her other hand
.
"What are those?" Kei asked with excitement in her voice she loved chocolates the best. "they're for you," Hinata smiled at the little girl.
"Come on, come inside, we need to talk about something first." She walked into the house followed by Kei
"Hey Sasuke San," she greeted Sasuke, who was still chopping vegetables. He just looked at her and gave her a little nod to greet her.
"Mommy you look beautiful," Kei said she was impressed by Hinata's light blue dress.
Sasuke also looked at Hinata his eyes fixed on her
. He never thought anyone looked better than her, he was surprised to find her wearing bright colors like yellow or blue. His mind kept drifting towards the thought he wondered if she would look as breathtakingly beautiful when she wears black and white.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Kei's words.
"thank you, Kei"
Hinata sat on the chair and took out the cooking ingredients. She one by one placed them on the kitchen counter and table kei watched her curiosity while she was still in pajamas. There was still some time left for the school function.
"Kei do you want me to dress you up? "
Hinata asked as she finished keeping the ingredients Kei grinned she wanted to do this for a long time. A mother making her hairstyle would dress her up and make food for her. She would also help her mother in cleaning and cooking not only in that but in everything.
Kei took Hinata to o her room so that she can try on the dress
She went to her closet and opened it showing Hinata's clothes. There were dresses ranging from simple to extravagant to cute. Hinata was overwhelmed. She couldn't stop looking at all the dresses. There were so many choices and the options were endless.
"Which one do you think?" Kei came out wearing a crimson dress. It was a cute kid dress or had side flowers. Kei looked beautiful but the color made her look mature when she was only 6.
"how about a light blue dress like mine we can match"
Hinata took out a blue kimono for Kei. After she finished dressing up the young girl Hinata also tried a hairstyle on Kei
. The hair on top of Kei's head looked like a bunch of flower petals but then she brushed them aside revealing more hair.
They both went downstairs and saw sasuke finishing cooking breakfast
"papa! "Kei rushed towards her father, hugging him.
"hey Kei"
"How do I look, Dad?" she asked as she swirled around in excitement.
very pretty honey," He said, ruffling her hair affectionately.
Sasuke sat across from them and gave Kei some eggs and meat that were already cooked.
"Do you want to stay here today? We need help picking some food for today's dinner" he asked Hinata, who was busy praying for the food.
"huh yes sorry I was busy praying?" she smiled apologetically.
She looked like an epitome of beauty and youth but when she was nervous or anxious she didn't act like the cheerful, bubbly person everyone adored.
She was a shy little child hiding under a facade of happiness.
"That's okay," he said kindly to her.
Hinata nodded and then ate her meal.
Sasuke turned on the car Kei was sitting in the front Hinata sat in the back He turned the radio Kei felt happy her heart was beating faster because of joy the car was warm with love and passion they all three ate like a family and now they were going to school to attend Kei function.
"Hinata, if you want, you can choose the song that you want to play," Sasuke said as he looked at her from the rearview mirror.
She was looking outside the car window.
" I'm okay..." She didn't want to pick anything because she was scared of being judged as an outsider.
She always had been. The only time she interacted with others she was forced to speak to them due to social norms. Everyone hated her because she was shy, especially her clan.
"Mommy we can play Mienai Tsuki it's a good song"
"hm yeah, I'm okay with that." She nodded. The two of them sang along with each other laughing.
As they entered school Hinata felt relieved to see the familiar environment. She saw many parents coming together chatting happily and carrying children to their classes with smiles on their faces. Some of them looked like they were trying hard to avoid the states or people who recognized them.
"human beings are complicated"
The function ended with fun Hinata enjoyed the dance show Kei won the first prize again she got to learn that Kei was an excellent dancer and sasuke enrolled her in dance from a very young age. She also got to meet Kei's teachers. They all complimented their small family.
She seems to adore this idea of family.
And as they were going back home kei fell asleep on Hinata's lap sasuke was sitting in front driving the car under the city light their white car shone. Tokyo City looked magical that night with the soft music playing.
"It's been a long time since I saw something like this"
Hinata began trying to break this comfortable silence between them. Sasuke looked at her from the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows at her comment.
"come again? "
"last time I saw a school function was 3 years ago it was at Hanabi high school freshers"
"Oh, your younger sister? " he asked.
"yes,"
she smiled at the memory of her family and all the good times when they would dance together in her room. Neji would scold them because they would play the music at a loud volume and it would disturb his office work. Hiashi would be in a deep sleep and wouldn't know what was happening in the house. In the end, Neji would also join them in their little sleepover.
They would make a pillow castle and take big fluffy blankets turning on the Ac at the coldest temperature and would watch a horror movie cuddling to each other with snacks by their side. And after being scared of the movie they would eventually fall asleep in the middle of the movie.
Hiashi would find them in the morning at this stage and would scold them for causing a mess in the living room area. He would make them clean the living room and would lecture them about family and business values.
"my father would scold us if we ever put on a lighter just to watch a movie" she laughed as she stroked Kei's hair.
"My father would never bother to ask us about our day," He complained.
"oh so we both had a similar father experience during childhood", she asked him he just shrugged his shoulders.
"my father always cared about Itachi, he loved me but he never bothered to show it to me" he stopped the car.
Hinata listened to his words. She could feel the same pain that he felt her father would also compare her with Neji or Hanabi. It was humiliating for her. She wanted his love and acknowledgment but as time passed by she learned to love herself and be confident about herself.
The car stopped in front of her apartment. The music continued to play. Kei was still on her lap. She didn't bother to move. She wanted to talk more. He waited for her; he was patient and was not running fast. She moved Kei a little from her so she could move away.
"I understand what you feel sasuke san"
"you do? " He said he was not surprised because he knew hiashi was also kind of Fugaku; these uchiha and hyuga only cared about their reputation and not about their children's feelings.
"I do understand your feelings" she paused in between and took a deep breath" I do "
"I do also understand your feelings toward your family but Hinata I am trying my best to be a good father to Kei" he sighed.
She patted his hair.
"I sometimes feel lost if I am being a good father to Kei or not" he sobbed. She just patted his head reassuringly but she felt bad for him. He wasn't good at dealing with these kinds of things.
"don't be sad, you are a wonderful father to Kei and even your mother loves you too, don't forget that" she assured him she knew how much he cared for her daughter.
"yes I remember that" he let out a sigh of relief, tears slowly streaming down his face. "I'll give my life to raise Kei. She will be the center of my world no matter what happens. I can always count on you to take care of her. I will never leave her again."
"you won't ever lose her I swear you won't. You and I are family no matter what and I will protect both you and Kei"
He looked at her and she was close to him. She smelled like rain and flowers. He could smell something familiar yet different. It was a calming scent. It reminded him of home. She held his hand and squeezed tightly, her touch was comforting for him. She looked at him with soft lavender eyes full of love. "We are a team right? A strong team no matter what happens we support each other"
He saw 16 year old Hinata in her that he used to know she had grown but her sweet gentle nature was still here Hinata grew up he grew up their childhood faded away it was long dead and buried years ago along with everything else and now she looked older then before she seemed to be in her early twenties.
"a strong team" He replied as he looked up to meet her soft lavender eyes, his black gaze net with her lavender one.