日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Thirty Eight: April Shower

"You're not sleeping with Neji." Hinata came down from the stairs to see Sora sitting at the table in complete darkness. "I came to make some tea since I couldn't sleep, would you like some?" She didn't know why she offered, knowing that it was not an actual human she was talking to, but the sentiment felt fitting so she shrugged it off.

Sora didn't say anything but his eyes followed her, and every time she turned around to catch his gaze, he would look down as if he was embarrassed of being caught staring.

"Do you like it here?" Hinata placed a steaming cup of tea in front of him and sat down.

He clenched and unclenched his hand and nodded as he reached for the ceramic cup and pulled back quickly at the hot surface.

"You're sensitive to heat?" She did not miss the way he flinched.

He shook his head.

Hinata frowned. "It's a reflex." She took a sip of her tea. "Were you hurt with fire when you were human?"

Click Click.

"I see." She stood up and left him sitting there for a few seconds before returning with a thicker cup and another filled with water. Pouring the hot tea into the new cup, she mixed it with colder water and served him again. "It should be better."

Although the puppet didn't say anything, she knew that he was grateful that she did something for his benefit. Unknown to it, her Byakūgan was activated as she studied the way the compartments in his frame moved to better understand how everything worked. One of the biggest mysteries was how he was able to eat despite having no digestive system, but she figured that Toneri had done a lot of experimenting to make his puppets pass off as humans if anyone were to investigate him.

Speaking of the man, they had no information on him or the Ōtsutsuki that would be of some aid in case anything drastic happened. It was a little bit upsetting since they had remained allies with the Uchiha for years. To have an enemy work under their nose was rather humiliating, and Sasuke nor Fugaku had to say anything about it to make her understand such a thing since, by proximity alone, the Hyūga were also close to the Ōtsutsuki and trusted them.

That was before Toneri killed them and replaced their members with copies of the puppet that sat in front of her drinking tea as though it was really a person.

(Seriously, how can someone...)

Hinata rested her hand on her stomach and took a moment to collect her breathing. She felt Sora's hand cover her own, silently asking her if she was okay, to which she responded with a brief nod and puffed out cheeks.

"Just nausea." She said after a few minutes, "I'm okay."

The two of them sat down in silence for a while, finishing their tea and staring at nothing in particular as they — well, Hinata — listened to the sounds of the night critters.

"You should stay in the room with Neji, in case he needs you." She gathered their things with plans to wash them in the morning. Her exhaustion had finally settled and her eyes grew heavy. "I will see you in the morning." She placed her hand on Sora's shoulder but yelped when he reached for her. "What—"

He wrote 'goodnight' in the palm of her hand and let her go. A crack was heard, a sound that was always associated with his smile, before he stood up and brought the tray of tea into the kitchen. Hinata watched with slightly widened eyes and then pursed her lips as she continued on her way to the bedroom.

"Gods, you scared me." She muttered as she opened the door to see Sasuke sitting there.

"I was about to come look for you." He laid back down on his pillow and closed his eyes.