Midnight

Chapter Twenty-Five

The clock had turned many times between the blink of her eyes. The dreams collided with reality until she stopped trying to separate the two and left for her body to guide her. She remembered blue and cold, then a feverish red only to turn into a clean white. An image which if she tried to think it too much she was sure it was more of a feeling, Akamaru resting on her side. It was his smell that she recognised even when her eyes didn't really see him. Then a woman smiled whom Hinata didn't know. Darkness came and replaced with more black until she was finally awake.
It was early in the morning, the light of the sun betrayed it. Her body felt heavy and as she tried to adjust it, she saw her broken arm wrapped in bandages, resting on her stomach. The other pained her in the centre of her palm where white covered the area. She lifted herself to observe her surroundings. The hospital room she was in felt more like the flower shop Ino's family owned. She smiled at the effort her friends put as she thought how powerless one feels in such situations. Her gaze turned to the chair on her side occupied by a man she was too familiar. Her father's face was tired, black circles under his eyes. It didn't suit him, this image. He was a proud man, his posture alone bent any resistance, yet now his back was curved, his fingers crossed together on his lap. It was the first time he reminded of herself.
The door opened and a nurse came. The noise woke him and as a reflex his eyes fell on his daughter not on the foreign person that had entered the room. Hinata offered him a smile and saw the different emotions coloured his face. Surprise then relief. When he turned his gaze on the woman, to command a doctor to arrive at once, he was again the man that Hinata knew. Even that moved her lips. She felt light, lighter than she was a few months before.
The doctor arrived shortly but missed the hand caressing the blue hair.
She was a familiar face again. First she yelled in excitement, then kissed her cheek and found her composure only when a cough was heard from her side.
"I'm sorry." She addressed Hinata. "I'm so glad you are awake."
"It's okay." The voice in her throat felt harsh but she continued. "I'm happy to see you too. How are the others?"
"Everyone is fine. Don't worry. You are the most hurt." Sakura said and began to examine her with care.
"Did we win?" Hinata spoke again, trying to get her voice to sound normal.
"We did. Now relax and let us take care of you."
She opened her lips to say something but the woman placed her fingers in front of her own to signal the end of discussion.
Her father left after Sakura assured him that everything were healing properly. She felt that he wanted to stay more but new people came and he didn't feel comfortable with their presence.
Ino was the first with a new bouquet on her hands. She probably didn't know yet about her recovery because as she opened the door and saw her awake she threw the flowers on the floor and run to hug her. A small sound escaped Hinata's lips and Ino retreated.
"Did I hurt you?"
But she kept staring at Ino's body without an answer. A sigh of relief left her mouth.
"Ino you are a really good friend of mine. Please be careful."
The blonde stared at her with eyes widen. Then she laughed at the irony.
"You are in a hospital bed you know." She looked at her intensily to mark her words. "But the same goes for you." She turned to take the flowers of the floor behind her.
"And Hinata." She said as she bent in the other way. "Sakura is my oldest friend but you always can come to me. I will explain with words what you can't, okay?"
As it seemed, it still bugged her that incident months ago when Sakura was mad at Hinata for rejecting Naruto. But to her it had come and passed as a single moment from years before.
"Okay." She said to let her know that everything was fine.
The blonde replaced the old flowers with the new she brought.
"I'm going to inform the others now. I'll come back." She closed her eye in a playful way and rushed out of the room.
Hinata rested her eyes and soon sleep came. She woke again when commotion from outside reached her ears.
She heard Kiba arguing with someone who she didn't hear.
"For the last time Akamaru is not a pet. He is a teammate and he wants to see her too."
He opened the door with force, his face still holding the anger of his last words.
He turned his gaze on her and his features softened but for a moment he seemed reluctant to come closer.
When she move her arms to prompted him he was already there.
"Hina, I'm sorry." He said and his rough voice was broken. "You told me to be careful and I wasn't. It's my fault."
With what strength she could master, she squeezed him tighter.
"If anyone is at fault it's me. I was reckless. I'm sorry I worried you Kiba-kun." A bark was heard.
"You too Akamaru." She laughed and the man laughed too.
"I will try to be more serious in the future." He said as the guilt dispelled in the air.
He told her what happened when they realised that she was missing, how they run a distance not meant to be crossed in a day, how worried he was, yet sure that she would beat them.
After she explained her part of the story, leaving behind the things that would trouble him unnecessarily, she felt that it was the first time they spoke like that in years. No adverting her gaze, no forced smiles. And he was more like himself, no holding back.
In the midst of this feeling, she felt she could ask him. The question she had in mind as she opened her eyes.
"Kiba, is Sasuke-kun okay?" She finally said it.
He looked at her with doubt.
"Yes. He is the one that found you and brought you back. You don't remember?"
She shook her head in denial. She remembered that he found her, she remembered the safety but nothing else.
"He found you and you were wounded, in no condition to travel back. Sakura stabilise your wounds and Naruto gave you enough chakra to travel back safe. Then Uchiha summoned his bird and brought you here."
"And where is he?" She said mostly to herself but Kiba heard her.
"He hasn't come since. But he is fine. He isn't hurt or anything."
"Can you.."
The door opened and stopped her words before they form.
"Hinata-chan." The loud voice of Naruto filled the room.
He bombarded her with questions about what happened, he praised her, even say that she was the reason they brought the enemy down.
"You were unconscious when I arrived at the battle. You made me worry." He said and scratched the back of his head.
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. So did your mission end?" She said as she smiled at him.
"Yes. I'm finally back. We are going to spend a lot of time together because you have to show me how much you've grown."
As the days passed he kept his promise. He came back everyday and stayed there for hours. But as Hinata noticed he never came alone, and always left before the last person there. But the thought passed as quickly as it came. Because her mind was occupied by another matter. As the days passed and her dearest people came and go, one person was missing. Sasuke never came.