青い骨の美 - The Beauty of Blue Bones

Chapter 24

Spring
Tuesday—1:47PM

The loud cracking of bones, followed by a satisfied sigh resounded in the somewhat empty library. It was almost two hours past midday, the windows to the library were opened wide, and the white curtains ruffled with every gust of wind that came through. Hinata sat in a corner, the reading lamp turned on despite how bright the place already was. Her hair was wrapped in a bun, two long strands framing her face and moved with every turn of her head as she read and took notes.

There wasn't any reason that she was currently tucked away in complete silence; she just needed some time alone from everyone and everything, especially since she had to embark on another journey to the Land of the Dead. That's what they've decided to refer to it as since 'dream world' didn't seem to cut it. It would be another exhausting, and honestly terrifying experience so her precious roommates allowed her the weekend to recover from the very first incident with no interruptions. She was grateful.

Straightening her back again, twisting her torso until the familiar popping of air bubbles between each bone of her spine was heard, she hunched over again and bit the end of her pen. The book she was occupied with was a simple one, touching base on everything supernatural and beyond. It was mostly just folklore that she was attempting to cross reference as she wrote in her own journal.

Hinata [along with Sasuke] thought it might be a good idea to document everything she remembers, or could find useful, in case she would need it later. It wasn't like she wasn't doing that prior to having them live with her...alright, she didn't think to keep a journal, she just mentally kept a bunch of notes shoved in the metaphorical drawer in her head. Since she was already absolutely terrified of going back to sleep for another unprecedented amount of time, she might as well do something that would help her mentally prepare, so here she was.

There wasn't much written in her notebook; there were hundreds of blank pages, and the ones with writing on them were filled with little scribbles and drawings of things she's seen and remembered from her dreams. It really wasn't much, it didn't feel very helpful so far, but the thought of her getting to the fourth, or even the second last spirit and having a whole book available of her experiences so she didn't suffer in any way was very nice. It was sort of like a guide—a confusing, all-over-the-place, eerie guide that depicted some things she knew she would never show the other two.

Nevertheless, she found it therapeutic to sit there in the quietness of the library, a book and journal in hand as she listened to the wind blowing outside along with the faint presence of all the other tame spirits hanging around her house. This was the most tranquil Hinata has ever felt since she's moved out of Konoha, and she liked it.

Even knowing that she wasn't exactly the only one in her home, whether that was physically or spiritually, it didn't feel stifling to be there.

A slight knock on the door startled her, the pen she had been nibbling on was put down out of embarrassment as she raised her voice slightly to welcome whoever it was. Naruto pushed the library door open with his foot, a tray in his hands filled with a cup of iced tea, a cinnamon roll, and a vase of fresh flowers. His smile was wide, his cheeks a delightful pink and his eyes as sparkly as beautiful blue jewels.

"Hey, you didn't come out for lunch so I assumed that you might want a little snack instead of a full meal." He set the tray down on the edge of the small table near her as he began organizing everything on it. "Sasuke said you haven't left since this morning."

"Oh, what time is it?" She thanked him and took a sip of the iced tea. It felt perfect now that the weather was really warming up. Summer was extremely near with how humid it was getting as of late.