[Thread] And Hospitals [Hinaji, Nejiko]

[hyuuga_hinaji]

The first he heard of Nejiko in the hospital was a few days after returning from a relatively light mission. He came home to find the compound...different somehow. He couldn't place it, but even Enka's happy licks and jumps couldn't take his mind off it. And the only way he could think of to find an answer was to go ask one of the only people

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[weighted_wings]

Her doctor happy to see her eating again. True, she was nowhere near the calorie consumption needed for a shinobi, but she was eating. Yuugao, bless him, still came by with his tasteful food and chocolate pudding. She had stopped leaving him presents of hospital curry a week ago, mostly because she had been eating it herself. It still tasted bad, but she was bound and determined to gain her weight back.

And it was coming back. Leigh was pleased to see it herself, and when Nejiko told her how Yuugao was bringing her food, Leigh decided to join in. Truly, there is nothing in the world like Leigh's cooking. The doctor started getting annoyed when the trays started coming back mostly untouched again, so Nejiko had to explain how she was still managing to put on weight. He, naturally, didn't like it, but as he'd said before, gaining the weight was important and at least this way he could still monitor the weight gain, if not her actual intake. He did ask her who was bringing her food, so that he could at the least give them a

[hyuuga_hinaji]

Hinaji didn't know what he was expecting as he opened the door. Nejiko had never been large--always thin, but pretty. Now, with her face still showing signs of just how gaunt she'd truly been, and her arms looking thinner than normal (and what would that say about the rest of her? What was there to lose?) he wasn't sure what to say. And while he realised it was rude to just stand in her doorway, it still took him a good few seconds to calmly close the door and move over to her bed to sit in the chair

[weighted_wings]

Nejiko expected and accepted the scrutiny. Habit had her metaphorical back against the wall; she disliked others seeing more of her than she liked, especially when it came to her feelings. But this was Hinaji, and Hinaji was...different from the rest.

And the pain of grief really chipped away at her ability to give a damn in front of the people she actually cared about in her distant way. Especially when it was just them, with no spectators.

"Not really," she answered quietly. "But the company is appreciated."

Interesting, that. She normally was the kind to push everyone away save her teammates. Whether the reasoning behind it was apathy or genuine dislike, it didn't matter. She had the few people she was comfortable with, and that suited her fine. But now Tentsuke was --missing, and having someone else around (Sakurai, that one time; Leigh, Yuugao, and now Hinaji) helped. They weren't so much distractions like her visitors had been in the beginning, but rather simply...company.

And if nothing else, maybe she could

[hyuuga_hinaji]

He half expected that answer. Nejiko wasn't really one to rely on others; that she accepted his company was enough. Part of him was still surprised she'd allow him to stay at all.

He settled back in the chair to make himself comfortable. He planned on staying a while, at least until either she kicked him out or the doctors did.

"Are you hungry?" A not-so-subtle hint that he thought she could do with food. There could be no emotional healing without a strengthened body. He knew that all too well. And while the silence was mostly comfortable, he did like to talk with her. The only way they'd ever patch the problems between them would be to get to know one another, and that happened with communication.