Dreamcatcher

By Airyo

Lessons in Wishing - 1

"Hinata, are you alright?"

She blinked, and realized that she'd been daydreaming, kneeling in the middle of the herb garden with a clump of weeds still grasped in her hand. A pair of feet in clean but worn sandals stood before her. Hinata looked up to see Neji.

"Neji-san," she greeted with a small smile. "Did you just return? You look well. " Hinata placed the clump of weeds and stood as she brushed the dirt from her clothes.

Neji offered her half smile, a bare twist of the lips, as he nodded. Those same lips had once curled in a snarl every time he saw her, but was that was another lifetime ago. After her sealing, there was a new protectiveness in the way he treated her. In his eyes, they were comrades, both victims of a suppressive clan system.

Neji was wrong, though Hinata had no intention of sharing her honest opinion. He was the victim, but she was only the result. While he was never given the chance to fight, she had. Hinata had fallen solely due to her own weakness. That was a responsibility she will keep with her, and never let fall on her undeserved guardian.

"You do not," Neji replied bluntly with a slight frown. His gaze lingered on the dark circles that cradled her eyes. Hinata looked down at her dirty gardening gloves. His concern weighed heavy on her shoulders. "He had no right to use you so freely."

"I am doing better, though," she said after a moment. So he already heard of what happened at the market, though he had yet talk to Hanabi. Despite her grudging acceptance, she was still secretly relieved that Neji wasn't aware that she and Itachi were meeting tonight. That would get very ugly, very quickly, and Hinata's primary goal was still to hold the pieces of her life in some semblance of mundanity. "Genjutsu is triggering, but I'm starting to forget."

Neji's eyes narrowed. "Uchiha Itachi forgets that not everyone gives in to his will because he is a genius. I shall go talk to him."

Hinata looked up.

"Neji." Her intimate usage of his name earned his silence. "Do not treat me like an invalid. I won't lie to you and say I am unaffected, but not enough to justify your reaction." She didn't know why she was defending someone she disliked. "Do not distract yourself with worry while on your mission." Their eyes clashed, fighting a silent battle that spanned years. Hinata was the first to look away, a tactical retreat. "How long?"

It was a clumsy change of subject at best and Neji sighed.

"Three weeks," he informed her. "We leave tomorrow morning."

"So soon?"

Neji made a motion that could only be described as an elegant shrug.

"My rotation will end soon."

Out of habit, Hinata reached up and fixed the collar on Neji's already immaculate jounin vest. And it will remain immaculate, for Hinata knew that as soon as Neji found the opportunity, the jounin uniform would be replaced by the one for ANBU.

All ninja rotated between a schedule of nearly back-to-back mission and a period of rest. It was far more effective, as shinobi did not have to suddenly oscillate between rushes of adrenaline and extreme relaxation, as many villages did. Grouping missions allowed ninja to truly recuperate and train, and ultimately made for ninja with longer, stronger careers.

Nonetheless, she worried. Hinata resisted the urge to hug him, and merely patted his arm.

"Please be safe."

"I will try."

These were hardly words anymore, rather the familiar motions that conveyed all the rich hues and meanings after years of seeing him off on missions.

She squeezed his hand and stepped back as she watched Neji leap gracefully for the roof, his long hair streaming out behind him. She almost let herself wish that she was joining him.

Instead, Hinata turned her view to the hard blue sky, staring at the birds as they faded into the distance.