青い骨の美 - The Beauty of Blue Bones

Chapter 28

Content Warning: Descriptions of self harm and slight gore.

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Summer
Saturday—2:03AM

In hindsight, they should have known that something was up when Hinata didn't inform them that she was ready. Naruto and Sasuke sat on their respective beds, both occupied with something of their liking, patiently waiting for some sort of indication from their female counterpart concerning the still very much dangerous ritual she was doing.

One glance at the clock overhead, and another sigh from Naruto, finally made Sasuke look up from the scroll he was occupied with.

He rested it on his bedside table and stretched. "We should check." He suggested as he stood up and twisted his torso to get rid of the building muscle tension in his back.

"She could have fallen asleep." Naruto said despite the eagerness in his voice as he rolled out of his bed.

"It doesn't hurt to check." Sasuke opened the bedroom door and motioned for him to lead the way. He followed behind Naruto with his hands stuffed into his pockets, a bored look forever imprinted on his face even if he too was a little curious about Hinata's lack of communication.

Knocking on her bedroom door gently, Naruto called out and warned her of their entry before opening the bedroom door. The curse he muttered was just loud enough for Sasuke to hear, the door opening wider for him to see exactly what Naruto laid his eyes on.

"She started without telling us." He approached the candles and blew out the last few that remained lit. He closed her curtains, taking small peeks at Sasuke as he fixed the bedsheets around her body.

"She seems to be doing alright though." Sasuke informed him as he pressed his hand against her forehead to check for a fever. He opened her eyes to see them in their usual rolled back state, and a quick check of her chakra showed its usual disturbed pattern that was quite common at the moment. "This one was quieter."

"She must have been distracted before she went to bed." Naruto used the mirror that had become a common item for him to hold on to to check on Enkai as well. No matter how many times he's seen her, she still made a shiver run down his spine as Sasuke's words of warnings rang through his ears.

"What do you think?"

"About?" He set the mirror down and sat at the opposite end of Hinata's bed.

"Do you want to sleep here or go back to our room?"

Naruto's cheeks turned a little pink as he thought deeply about Sasuke's proposal. He would be very happy to sleep in Hinata's room, he wasn't against the idea actually, except he also knew that they haven't really spoken much about it together. Sure, she did suggest that they keep an eye on her on the first night, but she didn't know that they slept in her room. He imagined that that would be something she would like to know prior to her now common endeavours; so he shared his thoughts with Sasuke.

"Understood."

"If things go crazy, then we can sleep in here like we did last time. We didn't know what to do then, but I think we have a better hand at this now than before."

Sasuke nodded. "Do you want some time alone?"

"Uh, sure. I'll be in bed in five minutes." Naruto gave him a smile, and watched as Sasuke left the room. Turning back to Hinata, he brushed her hair to the side again, and cupped her cheek. "You look pretty when you sleep." He whispered, yet cringed as Kurama muttered in his head about how creepy he sounded. "Sometimes, I feel like a fool for not being there for you sooner. All my vows from before; promising to avenge you, and to protect you, they just fell flat because I didn't know what to do. It didn't come to me instantly, not until now. I didn't mean to say any of that, I'm just thinking."