everything changes.

         no form of dōjutsu was needed to know she wasn’t as “alright” as she claimed to be   ;   none of them were. himself included. children thrown into war. into atrocity after atrocity. just barely managing to stumble past all the destruction &. loss to claw their way to the light at the end of the tunnel that seemed to merely taunt them every step of the way. but they were survivors. able to surpass the long night &. make it to the brighter tomorrow. there’s a breathy ❛    hm  …    ❜   that follows as she speaks      /      half lidded gaze towards horizon shifting towards corners to once again catch a better glimpse of heiress.

          just as adversity had strengthened him , it had done so to her as well. for all her could recall before exiling himself from the leaf village , THIS was the most he’d ever heard her speak without turning into some stuttering mess. without flaring up the same colors of his eyes out of sheer embarrassment. so much has       …     changed since his departure.

           ❛    if you say you’re fine.    ❜    he starts , knowing not to press any further.    ❛    then i’ll take your word for it , hinata.    ❜    for a moment , he honestly forgets that she even took his hand in her own. so used to calloused palms , the sting of electricity &. the burns of flames. this sensation of touch other than his own was       …     comforting ? no. numbing.

            ❛    home           —————-         for awhile now , i’ve been trying to figure out just what that was. i’ve been so blinded by my own hate that i couldn’t see what i had in front of me. only what i lost.    ❜    there’s a pause , thumb absentmindedly rubbing against her hand while brows began to knit &. crown gave a slight shake.     ❛    like i said. i know that look. i’m not leaving again. or i’d have you , naruto &. the entirety of the leaf trying to drag me back.    ❜

         a sigh emits from the hyuga. there’s a part of her, a far off distant visage of her youth where in which she stood opposed and at odds with her father. ----------  with her now late cousin. despite the effort she had weaved into her daily life to better herself. to raise herself to their standards and expectations, and it was that child who had distinctly looked out at the other children and thought: why. 

        it’s not the same, she knows. the paths in which they took from then to now are vastly different, but all the same, there’s still that little part of her. that little girl with the meek voice and hesitant mind that emphasizes because she could oh so easily slide herself into his shoes and see the world from his perspective.  ------------  and in many ways, she still can. 

        so, her crown tilts. locks of azure ebony spilling past her shoulders as hand embraces hand. her own thumb kneading ---- returning the absent calming stroke in which he’s bestowed upon her. unwittingly or not. 

        “i don’t ----” she starts then, once the dust has settled and the weight of his words has sunken into her skin. “there was a time, where i didn’t know ----- what that meant.” she hates this. despises the fact that the second she tries to open up to anyone outside of her team is the moment in which the words get stuck in her throat.  

        there’s a war brewing beneath the hyuga’s calm surface. grossly beating against the cage encasing her heart. melancholy is a bitter scent that sweeps through the air between them. between everyone, but he’s not the source, nor is she the primary despite the fact that it claws at her so. 

                                they’d lost so much in this war.  -------- she’d lost so much. 

        “but ----- .” it’s the beginning. the cracks sprouting along the damn’s face and surface finally getting the better of it. a breath comes, and pale lilac hues find purchase against the raw knuckles precariously held between her own battered hands. his hand was softer than hers. an absent realization. a deflection and distraction on some bearing level. “--even if you say that, it doesn’t change the fact that we were worried.”

        she’s still worried. all this hardship, all this strife and surmounting pain. she’s worried they’ll all wake in the morn to discover it’d been nothing more than a fever dream shared between many. she fingers at his hand, grasp light and willing to release if he pulls back ----- and though it’s a small gesture, the fact that he hasn’t retracted that arm yet speaks volumes to her. like a whispered promise. a confirmation behind his spoken words. 

        she doesn’t linger. refuses to dredge and wallow in the thoughts. instead, she pushes forward. “i’m alright.” as alright as anyone can be with their family torn in twine, and their friends scattered and bleeding. “i’m ----- i’m just glad you’re back ----- that you’re home.” 

❛ i’m just fine my girl; believe it or not, i’m not as fragile as i look ! ❜ a smile pulls at the fallen hero’s lips & out puffs sunken cheeks, arms feigning a flex for show. laughter sits on the edge of his tongue, threatening to break that faux show of strength; inevitably, it does, & doubled over he goes, breaking off into a tumultuous fit. with a cough, he straightens, self satisfied grin taking a concerned edge. it was rare for people to stumble into him, lampost of freedom that he was, tall enough that doorways were an archenemy as much as all for one. he stuck out even now as plain old toshinori, albeit in a way he didn’t care for. something must’ve been troubling the girl then, perhaps. hmm’ing, he raises his lunch, bound in that typical rabbit patterned cloth,  

❛ not to pry, but  —  i have an inkling that something is troubling you. you’re free to join me for lunch, if you’d like to talk about it. ❜

“th-that was-n’t” what she had intended. by no means had she ever considered him fragile. shame plays a heavy hand at darkening the apples of her cheeks. “i d-don’t think you look fragile, all might sensei.” there’s more, another apology winding up within her core, only to be snuffed out by the unexpected offer. hinata pauses, and pale lilac iris’ drop to bento in his hand in disbelief. 

asuma is dead after all the licking

at least three people now have a mouth full of sand and i still don’t have an explination…

               SHE KNOWS IT’S HIM THE MOMENT HIS arm drops around the cradle of her shoulders, even before the soft embrace of his voice touches her ears. perhaps, if it had been another ---- or if she hadn’t expected it, she would have ultimately shied away. instead, a smile, automatic, and reserved for both kiba and shino touches her features as she turns, and absently leans into him. accepting the physical affection with the subtle return of her own. 

               the hyuga can practically feel the excited mirth reverberating off of him in waves. pale hues shift to regard him in full, her brow creasing in soft kindled amusement, she can’t stop that small bubble of a laugh that rings out between them. “i-i’m sure whatever you had planned on getting would have been wonderful.” hinata muses softly. knowing that as long as it had come from him, she would have cherished it. 

               accepting the box with a muted ‘thank you’ before promptly diverting her attention from kiba in favor of unwrapping the package. “i -----” but the words catch in her throat;  her heart skipping a beat or two before restarting in a pattern that ultimately warms her face----- sending out a speckling of red that precariously dusts over the bridge of her nose.hinata takes care to remove the pendant from its casing to get a better look at it. “it’s beautiful.” she breathes by way of response.

@ukubi & hinata spend their birthday(s) together! 

@honorascent doesn’t realize that normal people say happy birthday.