Hinata groaned as she finally stopped falling. She was officially having a bad day. It was lucky she was already halfway down the stairs. She touched the bump on her head and hissed. She looked at her hand. No blood. Where did her umbrella go? She looked up the stairs. Nope. She cringed, looking down at the next flight. There it was.
Hinata sat for a moment to brace herself for the annoyance this was going to be. She scooted to the arm rail, death-gripping it and pulling herself up. She put weight on her bad leg, it went right out from under her, and she tumbled back down, nearly smacking her face off the handrail. Before she cursed, she heard someone running down the hall.
Kisame was down the first flight of stairs in one jump. "You okay, mouse." His fingers lightly touched her jaw, turning her head, so he could see where she was sure a bruise was forming. "That looks nasty."
"How did you know I fell?" Hinata tugged her skirt more completely over her knees.
"Superior hearing, if someone was to fall, it was probably you, and you were the only one missing," Kisame's hands hovered around as he looked for worse damage. "Kinda rushed out without explanation, though."
"You shouldn't have…" Hinata was cut off by being promptly picked up. She squeaked, grabbing for his uniform for grip.
"I'm taking you to the nurse." Kisame headed back up the stairs and down the hall.
"I'm really fine. I only fell a few stairs." Though she would take a painkiller for the headache, she was getting.
Kisame turned the corner, walking as quickly as he could without jostling her. "Why didn't you use the restroom up here?"
"It's closed for cleaning." Kisame huffed, bringing her into the nurse's office and setting her on a bed.
That's when she realized. "My umbrella!"
"It's not raining… wait… oh yeah." Kisame stood up, holding his hand out. "You stay here. I'll be right back." Kisame ran back out.
Where was she going without it? Hinata took a breath, looking down. That's when she noticed how crooked her leg was. Oh, no. She pulled up her skirt and rolled down her tights, she tried to correct it, but it was clearly danged. She might as well-head home if it could be fixed here.
Kisame snatched up her umbrella and jogged back to the nurse's office. He found the nurse on the way, and she followed him back. He pointed at Hinata and started to explain as they entered. He was stopped in his tracks as he realized Hinata was holding her whole leg in her lap.
Tsunade passed him, leaning over her. "The strap broke, and I can't put it back on," Hinata held up the prosthetic.
Kisame opened his big dumb mouth. "It's fake?" Hinata leaned around the nurse to nod. Kisame sat down, processing the information. "Oh."
"Well, I'm not sure if I can fix it here. Do you have any more straps at home?" Tsunade ignored him.
"I do, but what should I do about classes?" That's what she was worried about.
"I can get it to stay on, but I don't think you will be able to walk on it." Tsunade tried. "Can your uncle pick you up?"
Hinata shook her head. "I can't disturb him at work."
"I can carry her home," Kisame volunteered.
Tsunade put a hand on her hip. "Are you trying to get out of class?"
"No, but I don't think she should have to leave class with a leg and come back missing one." Tsunade pursed her lips. Hinata made a face. Sorry, mouse. "Can you check her out first?" Kisame waved his hand at her. "I heard her fall the whole way down the hall. Look at her forehead."
Tsunade pulled the curtain between them. "What did you land on?" Kisame a couple hmm from the other side but then. "These look older. They're already purple." Now he was pissed.
"Oh, I also fell this morning in the hall," Hinata explained.
"Was tripped," Kisame corrected from the outside, crossing his arms.
"Did you report it?" Hinata must have shaken her head. "You should have. A previous fall is probably what broke your strap." The curtain opened as Tsunade came out, opened a freezer, and handed it to Hinata. "It's all bruises. You're not showing signs of concussion." That was a relief.
Kisame stood up. "I'll go get our bags."
With both bad and Hinata on his back, Kisame trekked down the street toward her building. Hinata buried her nose into his jacket. He was sure it didn't smell great. It always picked up the smell of cigarettes from the bar. He couldn't wash it out at this point.
Kisame was just hoping she wasn't crying back there. "Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore. My hip was sore from this morning. I lost balance." Hinata's voice was muffled by his jacket.
Should he let her think that's what he meant? "I meant usually."
"Not anymore," Hinata repeated, lifting her head to rest her chin on his shoulder. "The end gets a little sore if I walk too much, but it doesn't feel much anymore."
"Don't imagine it would." What did he say? It wasn't like he needed to make her feel better about losing it.
"My sister died the day I lost it," Hinata tightened her arms on his shoulders. "We were being driven to an event, and a shipping truck lost control and hit the side of the town car. She was killed on impact, but I was crushed into the side, and when the car rolled, it cut into my leg. By the time they got me out, it was too late to save my leg. It wouldn't be usable anymore, and it was at risk for infection." Hinata's voice was monotone like she was giving a speech she over-rehearsed.
"Your sister from the sketchbook." Kisame connected. "She looks like you."
"She was only eleven." The mouse was breaking his heart
Kisame stopped at her door. "I'm gonna need your key."
"It's attached to my bag." Hinata pointed to the keychain. Kisame fished her keys off her bag and opened her door. Kicking his shoes off before, he set her down on the couch.
"I would think you would have a bunch of cute things on your keys." Kisame held up the plain set before setting their bags off his shoulders.
Hinata shimmied her the thick thigh-high tights down the prosthetic. Unhinging a strap at the top. Her leg, where it ended, was wrapped. Only the upper half of her thigh was left.
"Don't those things usually come with some rubber thing to hold them on?" Kisame asked.
Hinata put the protective to the side. "I had a reaction to the material. This is an older design, but it works."
This place looked more like a showroom than a place someone lived in, clutter-free and clean. "Where do you keep the extra straps?" She was never coming over to his shitty little apartment.
"First door," Hinata pointed. "Top drawer of the nightstand, there's a box."
Kisame opened the door and paused. It was a bedroom with a spare girl's uniform hung on the closet door and a picture frame by the bed. That was it, no knick-knacks, nothing on the walls, it looked like no one lived there. "Thought you like sketching," Kisame handed her the box.
"My sketchbook is in my bag." Hinata opened the box, revealing tools and parts. "Is something wrong?"
Kisame bit his tongue. "Cleaner than my apartment was when I moved in."
Hinata set to work on her leg. "I didn't come with much. Uncle bought me a few things I needed other than what was packed in my suitcase." Hinata hummed, answering the questions he was afraid to ask.
Curiosity got the better of him. "Why so little?" Kisame sat down on the floor by her foot, watching her hands.
Hinata took a moment before answering. "My coming here was not my own choice."
Maybe he shouldn't have asked. "I don't need to know, mouse."
Hinata cleared her throat. "It's fine. I don't mind you knowing." Kisame brought a knee up to rest and his arm across it to listen. "My father, at some point, didn't want to deal with my recovery anymore. I was deemed unfit to continue as heir in my current state."
Kisame stiffed. What kind of father tossed his daughter out because she was disabled? "He sent you off because you were injured?"
"He hid me because I'm damaged." Hinata's tone turned cold, colder than he thought her capable of. "He would have just disowned me if he could in some way blamed the accident on me, but I wasn't driving." Her eyebrows knit together as she glared at her work. "I think he searched for a reason to blame me, but my only sin was surviving when Hanabi-chan hadn't." Hinata set the broken parts aside and set the prosthetic back in its place. "I was trapped with him at home. He didn't want to see me mourn, and he didn't want anyone to see him mourn. I only ever left to go to doctor's appointments, and he would leave me there for hours. The tutor only came once a week to give me assignments. So I just did as much school work as possible not to have to think about… anything. One day he told me he was sending me to live with my uncle and to pack a bag." Hinata's lip finally started to quiver. Her stone face broke. How long had she thought about this over and over? How her father abandoned her. "He wouldn't let me take anything of Hanabi-chan's, just a picture."
Kisame stayed silent for her story, knowing that there was nothing he could ever say to make her feel about it. There were no words that helped something like this.
Hinata took a deep breath, and the tears retreated before they fell. "Uncle gave me two choices, I could walk into school, or I could get a more practical wheelchair." It was obvious what she chose. "It was the first choice I had been given in so long. I think I cried for an hour." Hinata gave a sad little laugh at the memory. "I decided it might be a good idea to hide it, so it wasn't the first question everyone asked."
Hinata actually surprised him. He expected her to be bashful or uncomfortable. To be afraid that he would judge her, but either she trusted him enough, or she really didn't care that someone found out. "It doesn't seem to bother you."
"My disability doesn't bother me. People staring does." Hinata rolled her tight back up her leg before covering it with her skirt. "I'm just grateful my uncle was willing to take me in when I was dropped off at his door. I do everything I can to make life easier for him. I'm just thankful that he let me stay."
Kisame set his jaw not to comment. Opening his big dumb mouth and saying something mean or sarcastic about her father was not going to make her feel better. Though, the big bruise on her forehead was putting a particular pit in his stomach at the moment. Humans were so fragile.
Hinata looked up at the clock. "Do you work today?" Kisame shook his head, ruffling his hair. Trying to get rid of the tension. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Uncle will want to thank you."
Kisame hesitated. He wasn't a friend you want to show your parents, or in this case, guardian. "I'm not sure, mouse."
Hinata pointed at her cane. Kisame got up for it. "Will you at least let me send you home with dinner? You didn't have to carry me home early. I could have waited for my uncle to get off work or Neji to bring back my chair." Hinata fidgeted, rolling the screwdriver between her fingers. She was so cute.
Kisame held out her umbrella while he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to disappoint her, even if he thought it was a bad idea, but what he really didn't want to do was leave her alone to wallow in the story she just told him. "If you help me with our Chemistry homework, I'll stay for dinner."
Hinata lit up. Adorable.