Team Harmony

P18: Motivation

Hinata was awake before Mitsuki had even knocked on her door. She was returning to school today and was excited to see all of her friends again, especially Sasuke as she had been wanting to see how he was doing herself. She was also curious about how he felt about their marriage contract.

By the time, Mitsuki did come around to wake her up she was already rushing out of her bedroom fully awake and ready to go.

Part of her felt nervous about returning after many people had seen what she'd done to those girls, but her excitement seemed to outweigh that. When she got her lunch box from the kitchen, she paused. Should she ask the cooks to make an extra one for Sasuke? But she didn't want Naruto to feel left out, so maybe two extra lunches? That would be better.

The cooks cheerfully agreed to pack two more lunches and she thanked them with a bow and a huge smile. She enjoyed being around the cooks as she found them very funny and had interesting stories to tell about when they were her age. She loved speaking with them and they were very helpful with her when she wanted to begin cooking lessons.

"Here you go, Hinata-sama. Have a great day at school!" The Head Cook, Atsuko, said.

"Thank you so much! Goodbye!" She responded as she tucked the lunches away in her bag and rushed out the front door after putting her shoes on.

"Hinata-sama, you seem so energetic this morning," Neji laughed as she nearly ran into him when she ran out the front door.

"Yes, I missed my friends very much," she said, smiling happily at him.

Neji's face went red, but he returned the smile. "Walking to school was so lonely without you. I'm happy you're back."

They walked to school in easy silence as they preferred to enjoy the feel of the cool morning breeze and the sounds of the birds chirping. Morning was Hinata's favorite time of the day even though she normally wasn't a morning person. Lately, though, the silence that is still remanent of the night calms her greatly. She loved watching the sun peak out from the horizon; it was beautiful. A new day was always a blessing.

"Before we get to the academy, Hinata-sama, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay about what happened?" Neji asked, looking at her with concern in her eyes.

"I'll admit that I'm a bit anxious about what people will say to me or how they'll look at me, but I'll be okay," she assured him. "Thank you for asking."

"Your well-being is the most important thing to me," Neji said. This statement caught her off guard as Neji had never specifically said that before. As her protector, she knew having that mindset was part of the job, but to hear it so innocently and genuinely from the boy next to her seemed to shake her.

"I'm very flattered, Neji-kun, but I'd really love for you to value your life more than anything," she urged. "I know it's your job to protect me, but we are equals. We must protect one another."

Neji looked at her with curious eyes. "You're part of the main house," he said as though it explained everything.

Hinata shook her head. "Main house or branch house, it won't matter. Once I become the Clan Head, that's going to change. So we are always going to be equals in my eyes and I'd like for you to see us that way as well," she replied.

Neji nodded, understanding her point. "Yes, Hinata-sama. I will think of us as equals." Hinata smiled happily at this. They remained silent as they walked into the school together and went their separate ways.

"Hinata," she heard someone call behind her. She turned and smiled when she saw Shikamaru. "Hey, are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. As much I needed the suspension, I missed seeing everyone," she replied.