青い骨の美 - The Beauty of Blue Bones

Chapter 23

Spring
Thursday—10:04AM

She stayed up all night and well into the morning, exhaustion did nothing but annoy her as she tried to resume her day as though it never stopped. She trained until she collapsed, gulped down bottles of electrolytes, took another shower and hung around her library with no plans to do any reading whatsoever. They woke up a few times to check up on her, silently monitoring her for a few minutes before heading back to bed.

Hinata simply smiled and waved them off whenever they asked her if she was alright while she ignored the bubbling in her stomach as her mind imagined what sorts of things they could be doing with each other. She wasn't perverted in the slightest, it was a trait she absolutely hated in other people, but she was old enough to come up with a few things that couples would usually do.

None of it made her any happier than she was before. Yes, she was actually glad that they stopped beating around the bush, stepping on eggshells when they clearly were interested in one another. She was absolutely delighted that Naruto no longer had that sad and yearning look on his face whenever he took small glances at an aloof Sasuke. She just wished that it was her instead.

Who could blame her? She's liked him since they were kids, silently supporting him long before others even took notice of him. She was his biggest supporter, and fell in love during that time, of course she'd feel envious and hurt that despite all of that; despite her putting her life on the line for him twice, she wasn't the one he picked.

She supposed that Sasuke did more than that; he was physically there for Naruto when they were younger even though their relationship was sort of odd to onlookers. He was outright with how much he cared, he didn't hide away and get nervous whenever he was around him. He wasn't like her.

Naruto would need someone as strong as Sasuke at his side. He would need someone who wouldn't be reduced to sad eyes and stutters when he needs them the most. He didn't need someone whose self esteem was still pitifully low even with all the exterior work they did. He didn't need her like he would need Sasuke.

It didn't help that Enkai just wouldn't shut up. No matter what, she would laugh, and then hold her while telling her that she is all that she would ever need. It just got so...Hinata wanted to scream. She wanted to throw things around and break everything within reach. Yet, she settled on training until she dropped for the third time within the last twelve hours.

She collapsed to the floor, her chest hurting with every breath she took as she squeezed her eyes shut and listened to the loud ringing in her ears. It was enough to drown out her voice of envy, as well as Enkai's soft giggling at seeing her sister look so beat after all the harsh words she said to herself.

The gauze around her arms, wrapped securely, were splattered with drops of dried blood from picking at her skin. A harsh cough rattled her lungs, making her chest hurt even more as she already struggled with just the simple act of breathing. The sun was up, and the house was quiet for just a while until a door was opened.

She didn't have to turn around, or open her eyes, to see who stepped out. His chakra was already clogging her senses; bright and warm like his usual smile.

"Good morning." Naruto peeked into the dojo, took one look at Hinata and hid a frown. "You've really been up all night?"

She was too weak to answer, so she nodded and turned onto her stomach to push herself up. Holding her position for a second, contemplating whether she should do another round of leg stretches, she lowered herself and began doing push-ups.