hushedsunflower

“I am, mhm!” Her smile was wide, and she leaned forwards with her fingers clasped together in a friendly manner. The blush had subsided…for now. Her heart still did these fluttery movements in her chest which she couldn’t quite stop, but was that really so bad, in hindsight? “Yukirama-kun.” His name rolled off her tongue so easily, and she tucked a strand of hair behind a lone ear.

She wondered if he was lonely, after what happened to the Uchiha family. Her heart went out for him, and before she could stop herself, she reached for his hand and inspected it with pearlescent eyes. Hinata was transfixed on a scar just near the knuckle of his thumb. The intimacy of the moment would surely make anyone uncomfortable. “Are you…lonely?” Gaze wandered up to his, questioning, sincere.

She was touching his hand and knew his name. Yukirama felt mildly overwhelmed, as if he’d been railroaded by a carriage. Had Sasuke talked about him? His little brother, the sullen hedgehog? He couldn’t believe it. 

But Hinata was looking at him a lot with those moonlight eyes of hers and he was struggling a little with coherent thought. Hyuga really were something else up close. 

“Lonely?” his eyebrows creased. Of course he was. He lived in an estate that had once teemed with life. Now, only he, Sasuke and the ghosts of their entire family haunted the halls.

“Everyone’s lonely, I think. I have Sasuke though. Even if he likes to ignore me most days.”

She wandered the forest alone, often. It wasn’t such a curiosity, really, most villagers were brave enough to venture beyond the protected walls. But only shinobi wandered this far, this deep, alone. She moved with no haste, and Hashirama had seen her once, twice, many times before. A solemn young woman. 

Sorrow clung to her very being, loneliness to her expression, her pale eyes.

Hashirama would never mistake the eyes of a Hyuuga for anything else.

Lilac eyes took in her surroundings with fright; it had been some time since she had been taken from her massacred home with little but what she wore on, and a stuffed bunny she held onto tightly in one hand. The grey eyes peering into her own didn’t seem scary, this woman seemed caring, and nice. “H-home? I don’t have a home…” she mumbled, kicking at the floor beneath her with tiny feet. “N-nnn…” Tears welled up in her eyes as she began to sob, clutching her plushie to her chest; wishing her heart would stop breaking in two.

     Knelt to Hinata’s level, Ryū feels her heart grow heavy. She uttered similar words upon waking in Konoha so many years ago after losing her home, her family, her village...everything. She, better than most, can empathize with how the tiny Hyūga is feeling.

     That’s likely why Itachi brought her along.

     Gentle hands take the girl’s upper arms in her careful grip. “...I know you’ve lost so much, Hinata-chan...I know how your heart is breaking. And I know that nothing can replace what you had...”

     “You’ll learn to like it here in Konoha, Ryū-chan. Someday, you’ll be a medic like your mother...”

     “...I know what it is to lose it all. I know how hollow it makes you feel. How alone.” Ryū gives a soft smile. “...but you don’t have to face this alone. You have a place with us, if you want it. We want to open our home to you.” 

     Well...Itachi’s home, technically. The Uchiha are all the notion of family Hinata can still claim to have, beyond her traitorous cousin, given their shared roots so many years ago. Why Itachi was chosen, and not his parents (still with a boy Hinata’s age), Ryū doesn’t know...but she does know that he’ll do all he can.

     And she will help.

@hushedsunflower

Eyes widen - oh, he wanted to preserve her. Oh. Breath caught in her throat; hitched. No, this was…not what she needed. “I-I meant love me eternally!” Fingers wring, feet shuffle nervously. The table creaks below her weight as she sits. Heart beats terribly fast. “Sasori…”

Hyuga.

Yukirama saw that before she even spoke, the eyes kind of gave it away. No one else in the village possessed such a striking set of features, either. Dark hair, ivory skin, gentle eyes...Pretty. 

She was a little younger than he, and unfamiliar, but most young shinobi were. ANBU didn’t foster a lengthy stay at the academy and outside of it, Yukirama no longer had much family.

Actually, she might be around Sasuke’s age, maybe even from his class. Her expression was sweet and gentle and Yukirama felt himself persuaded all too easily to speak with her. Besides, he was on time-off; he could afford a little dalliance.

The last thing Hinata remembered was otou-chan yelling at her, and then a door slamming in her face. There wasn’t much time until he would eventually give a half-assed mumble in apology (if you could call it that, anyway). When she saw Ryuu, she instantly ran into the elder’s arms and clung for dear life. “R-Ryuu…’ve been kicked out again…‘tou-chan is mad, and I don’t know where to g-go…”

     Eyes going wide, Ryū stumbles back half a step as the girl just...latches herself onto her. Well, that answers one question: something is definitely wrong. And a moment later, she learns precisely what.