Months had passed since that day. It was already December. Snow fell down the sky to cover everything in a white mantle. It had always been her favorite season, winter. She liked the snow. She liked the cold. She liked that it reminded her of her mother.
She didn't like she was being punished on the outside while snow kept falling down around and on her, but that couldn't be helped. It was her fault after all. Because she was weak. Because once again she failed to prove herself to her father.
It had been happening more and more lately. She would not be able to dodge a kick in time, or she would hesitate when landing a punch. If Hinata was being honest with herself, even she didn't know the reason she was starting to fail so badly. Was it because her mind was always wandering nowadays? Between the situation with Naruto and the stress of having to talk to Sasuke almost every day and the boy being dismissive at best, she would really like to attribute that to her lack of concentration, but she knew that, deep down, the only problem was her.
Hinata bit her lips, shivering while holding the bamboo staff. She was kneeling in the middle of the courtyard, her back straight as an arrow and her arms on a ninety degree extended before her body. She had been in this position for at least an hour. Her father had said it was so she learned to concentrate. Hinata found it didn't help her much, as she kept thinking of other things.
Ever since that day, she kept bringing bentos to the academy and giving them to Naruto. It wasn't every day, nor was it as common as when she gave Sasuke bentos, but she was proud of herself in that aspect because, at least, this she choose to do out of her own free will. Naruto never invited her to eat with him again though, and she, being the coward she was, never brought it out, but she was hopeful one day she would be able to confidently ask him to eat lunch with her.
As for Sasuke, Hinata never thought they would become close or anything just because she brought him the bentos her father gave her for him. He didn't really speak to her, and she wasn't any better, but since that day when she first saw him leaving for training, the conversation had been limited, if they even conversed, to stuttered greetings from her and grunts from him.
Not like it mattered much to Hinata, but she knew her father still hoped for more interaction between the two. Why, she could not say. She never knew her father to be particularly close to the Uchiha, but then again, she didn't know a lot about her father. She just hoped he would give up with these attempts sooner than later. They were proving to be of no help to improve her nonexistent relationship with the dark-haired boy, and only brought them more stress because she knew she should be trying to get close to him, but she was too shy and he was too indifferent and it just wasn't working out.
But, apart from that, there wasn't really a reason for her to stop giving him bentos. She surmised that, if she didn't feel the pressure from her father, she might not even care that much. Ok, that's a lie. She would care because as time continued to pass, Sasuke looked more and more intimidating, always frowning, always on edge. She knew now that he went to the training grounds every day after academy was over, and she imagined he did so too on weekends, but in some sense, she could understand it.
I need to become stronger. You should do the same.
He wanted strength, for what, she could only guess, and she had a few guesses. But she didn't like to think of that. Hinata felt bad because she knew Sasuke was still very delicate about what happened. And how could he not? Barely six months had passed since the downfall of his clan. But she doubted the bentos were truly helping him besides sparing him time for cooking. And she was too much of a coward to approach him differently. Not that he would allow her to get closer, she supposed, especially considering he didn't let anybody, nor their classmates or their sensei, approach him.
Hinata sighed, her light eyes looking up at the skies. Snow continued to fall, slowly covering her. She was not allowed to even shake it off. Her clothes were already wet and sticking to her and she only felt herself getting colder. How much longer would her father make her stay like this?
Just as she was despairing, movement caught her eye. She looked in the direction it came from, her breath catching in her throat when she saw Neji, her beloved cousin, glaring at her from one of the windows inside the cozy and warm hallway. They kept looking at each other, Hinata being unable to glance away even though she wanted to, until finally, Neji scoffed, lifted his chin, and continued walking, deciding she was not worth wasting more time on.
Hinata's lips formed an involuntary pout. Though it hurt to admit, she knew her cousin hated her. She represented everything that binded him against his will. The seal on his forehead preventing him from ever advancing from his mediocre position in a family that looked down upon him. The loss of his father for her sake. The position of heiress she didn't deserve but obtained just because she was born with luck.
Hinata didn't feel lucky. She hadn't since the day her mother died. Maybe that day a blond boy with a smile like sunshine protected her from bullies she felt like there was light again, but never after that had that sensation come back to her.
She looked upfront again, enduring for another hour until a kind-looking maid approached her, telling her the punishment was over. Hinata stood up, shaking off the snow from her small frame, and used every bit of confidence she didn't have to walk to her father's office with her head held high. The trembling though, was impossible to cover up.
As she saw her father waiting for her, Hinata thought again about her luck, or rather, lack of it, and decided something right there and then.
Next time, she would definitely ask Naruto to eat lunch with her.
From this chapter onwards, Hinata's officially eight!