A/N: Thank you to everyone who engaged with the story so far. I appreciate you! As per usual, I am additionally very thankful to my beta, Sommernacht. She's seriously amazing! ;D
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Previously:
He tried his best to be honest in return, but didn't know what Toneri would make of it. The white haired man merely smiled. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Not quite the answer I was looking for, but at least I know it wasn't all in my head," he eventually clarified. Sasuke nodded in his direction, thanked him for the drink and left the establishment being more confused than when he had entered.
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She didn't even need to leave her bed to hear the squeaking of glass. Hinata heard her flatmate diligently scrubbing the windows for what she was sure was not the first time that day. Sakura's cleaning shift was every Sunday morning. In turn, Hinata would do her share on Thursday evenings.
Entering the shower, she smelled the cleaning agents, a confirmation of Sakura's efforts just minutes prior. As she took her first step into the shower, now barefoot, Hinata made contact with the cold tiles, clean to the point of being nearly sterile, she thought. They were cold like the scales of a reptile to the touch. Turning on the hot water, Hinata felt the temperature beneath her feet slowly increasing.
Wearing just a bathrobe, she got the jointly owned coffee machine started, the acidic smell of the fluid in the server starting to overlap with the smell of the cleaning products. Taking the time needed by the appliance to brew as an opportunity to get dressed, she came back into the kitchen to pour the coffee into their mugs once ready. Then, she washed and cut six oranges for pressing some fresh juice. The commotion caused by the juice machine finally grabbed Sakura's attention, who smiled. Finally done with her chores, her flatmate went to shower. Hinata took out an umeboshi jar from the fridge and formed some pickled plum onigiri with the leftover rice, Sakura's favourite.
As they both sat at the table, green eyes sparkled in appreciation and Hinata nodded in her direction. It was the morning after the party and neither of them had addressed the elephant in the room yet. Hinata needed to do some thinking and Sakura didn't want to pry or force a timeline on her.
"I know what you're thinking about but… I am not sure I have any coherent thoughts about yesterday other than me needing to at least apologise to this guy, I mean… I don't even know his name."
"Let's call him Shinta then."
Hinata blushed and waved her hands in protest. Sakura merely raised a brow as if challenging her.
"What? Are we too grown up for code names?"
"No… Shinta-kun is all right." Hinata chuckled. "He was really…"
She then took a few seconds to think about the stranger – err Shinta-kun. He had helped snap out of the terrifying loop she had found herself stuck into. Had made her tea... And the image of his handsome profile staring at the ceiling, his angular jaw and prominent Adam's apple and the feeling of his lips – nonono, stop right there .
"...kind." Yes, kind . She settled on kind. If Sakura noticed her blush, she decided not to comment on it. Hinata changed topics to hide her embarrassment. "I just wonder if he figured it out yet…"
Sakura sighed. "I doubt Shinta's stupid flatmate bragged about it to be honest. My guess is Shinta still doesn't know." She pursed her lips to blow into her coffee mug. There were visible signs of tension on her face.
Hinata nodded. "I'd like to meet him again. To say thank you."
"Might be that this… Meeting won't end up quite how you imagine, it might be very uncomfortable, especially because Shinta and his flatmate discussed you," Sakura provided. It wasn't lost on Hinata how Sakura avoided saying Naruto's name at any cost.
"I… I know, which is why I," Hinata mumbled while fidgeting with the umeboshi onigiri, just to set it back down on the plate and turn her attention to her coffee mug. "I don't know if I should."
"Hmmm," the medicine student started while eagerly looking at the umeboshi onigiri on her plate, "Oh, I didn't mean to sway your decision. If you want to thank him, then do so. We just have to figure out a way to meet him when he's not in foul company."
"Right..."
"Hey, we'll figure it out."
Sakura then returned her attention to her food and moaned in appreciation as she took a bite. Hinata proceeded to finish her coffee in silence.
"How do you feel about having met him again?" Sakura probed.
"I… I feel like I was and still am a joke to him . It hurts."
Sakura stopped chewing midway and dropped her onigiri. Her face looked the same as the night before. Hinata had just started to remember what had happened yesterday night after they came home. Her friend had recommended that she take a shower and when she had come back, Sakura had been in her room, water and tissues on hand. She had cried, while her friend had held her. She had fallen asleep cuddled by Sakura, who then had tucked her in and left.
"It's cruel to look at yourself through his perspective, don't you think?"
What was being left unsaid was that his opinion and actions shouldn't matter. Rationally she knew that, but on an emotional level, it still hurt. They finished their breakfast in silence.
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As per usual, Neji and she would meet every Sunday evening. Today he proposed to her to join him for dinner. He lived in a studio apartment closeby, which looked extremely impersonal. She wondered if she would have been able to tell it was her cousin's place if she hadn't known beforehand that it was in fact his. She wasn't sure about the answer. The thought made her chuckle.
As she took the stairs to the third floor, Hinata probed her pockets for coins, trying to tell how much money it was judging by size and profile of the coins alone. Her fingers inspected the ridges carefully; then, she started counting. Her brows furrowed in concentration, as she was nearing her destination. She was positive: three dimes, two nickels, five pennies and one quarter. When she got the coins out of her pockets to check, she was off: she had one of the five pennies had been in fact a nickel. She pouted. Neji had opened the door, just then catching her in the middle of her game.
"Wrong again?" His voice was kind.
She looked up and felt heat rise to her cheeks from embarrassment. "Y-You know about…?" She gestured to the coins in her left palm. When he nodded, she felt like turning around and leaving. Too much embarrassment for one day.
"You've done this ever since you were a kid. You were never very good at it. I'd say you're off most of the time." She looked away. He chuckled and opened the door wider. He looked at her fondly. Despite his own show of affection, Neji's features stayed stern, creating a comical contrast. She entered his apartment, returning his smile.
She had picked this university precisely to get away from her family and be with her cousin. Sometimes, Hanabi would be able to sneak by, but that would be a rare occasion, as Hiashi kept close tabs on her. Today was no such day; it was just him and her.
"Take out?"
Uh-oh. It meant he had something to talk about and more often than not, that would mean Hinata was about to get scolded for something. She nodded, slightly wincing. He smirked, knowing his cousin had caught on. He was indeed an open book to her. His expression quickly changed when pressing the matter he had been concerned with over the past few days.
"Why Sasuke?" Neji asked in a dangerous tone.
She breathed out in relief. She had no idea who this Sasuke was, but it seemed like her cousin wasn't on her case at all. Might have mixed her up.
"Sorry, who?"
"The guy at the party yesterday, the one you were making out with for the whole night."
Hinata's face fell. How did he know? Her eyes turned towards her lap in embarrassment and she could feel the heat starting to creep up her features. Neji's voice turned softer, but he kept pushing.
"You didn't even know his name? Hinata…" And to her shaking of her head, he sighed.
So Shinta's name was actually Sasuke. Yes, this matched him way better.
"He is one of my students, and I swear I'll break his legs during this week's tutorial if he did something you didn't want him to–"
Hinata laid her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Neji closed his eyes and exhaled.
"He was actually very kind," she said, tears rimming her eyes. Neji's face contorted in some emotion Hinata couldn't point out. "It didn't end up how you think it did and he was very respectful, I"– she took a moment to meet his eyes –"I actually was talking to Sakura this morning about meeting him again."
"Look, he is indeed smart and from what I can tell, seems like a good guy, but…" Neji sighed loudly. It was Hinata. He wanted her to be happy. The last thing he would want is to help her leave the cage she was kept in at home, to lock her away himself. "Never mind. Just take care."
Did it have to be the one student he was locked in an ego battle with, though? Clicking his tongue, he removed himself from his thoughts and focused on his cousin again. All of a sudden, she looked sad. Had he overstepped? Thinking quickly on his feet, he came up with an ideal solution. They'd order that filthy food he despised, but she had loved for the longest of times.
"Ramen?"
Tears started streaming down her face. Hinata felt like choking for air. She had never told him about what had happened and why she could never stomach the smell of ramen again.
"Hey, what's wrong? You can always tell me…" he whispered.
Hinata avoided his eyes. "I am just a little overwhelmed with school... What if my exams go South and then Father…"
Neji shushed her, pulling her close. "You're smart and hardworking. You can get very nervous at times, which can undermine your performance… But you will learn to manage it better with time. We can study together." She felt him tense in determination. "I can look over your subjects, okay?"
Hinata nodded against his chest. She had lied to Neji – of all people. But she was scared that if she did confess, her cousin would go berserk on him . Neji wouldn't let this slide. He would fight for her. He's always been like that.
And Hinata didn't want justice, no, she was just seeking inner peace, something so simple which was still evading her months later. Neji wouldn't understand. But in moments like these, the guilt of not letting him in was eating at her.
She started to cry uncontrollably. She was a terrible cousin, wasn't she? If Neji found it odd that she'd stress so much about exams, he didn't say anything. He just held her and stroked her back, grounding her. She clung to him and their position shifted from stiff to natural in a matter of minutes. She so wished she could tell him one day… For now she just clung on tightly and silently prayed that he'd forgive her.
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To be continued...
