As promised Hina-chan had arrived at her house early that morning. Early enough that Haruka hadn't actually had time to brush out her bed head. Hina-chan came and sat down on Haruka's bed, and then gestured to the ground in front of her. Haruka nods and takes a seat on the ground, her head resting against Hina-chan's thighs. The taller girl gently pulls up Haruka's red locks, and grabs the brush she gave the redhead so long ago. She notes the similarity in the bangs sticking up to the ones she saw last night.
That's enough to get her thinking. Does the other girl channel the strange energy in her sleep? If the only real requirement is she sits still and thinks about nature, then do dreams of nature work as well?
She puts those thoughts aside as she starts to brush the girl's hair. It's so soft, she knows Haru-chan only bothers to take care of it because she likes it and that always makes her heart flutter. Honestly Haru-chan is just so cute sometimes, more like all the time, and her blushes, rare as they are, are just the most adorable thing in the world. They always make it so Hinata wants to just cuddle her girlfriend for hours. Though she also wanted to do that when the older girl won her spars, or would excitedly point at something new, or would play with her little sister, or when she looked at her with those deep golden eyes that just seemed to sparkle and then flashed her with that bright smile that's only for her. She had it bad.
Hina-chan had stopped brushing for some reason, so Haruka tilts her head back until she's staring right into Hina-chan's white eyes. That seemed to be enough to snap the other girl out of it so Haruka brought her head back down. Still Haruka was curious, "What'cha thinkin' about?"
"You, and how much I love you." Haruka leans back at that, a content smile on her face. It felt good to have someone who would shower her with love when the rest of the world seems to want to consume her in hate. She couldn't have asked for a better girlfriend, of course she didn't ask to begin with, but she's not complaining. If Hina-chan hadn't taken the initiative back then it would have taken Haruka forever to realize her own feelings. She always has been bad with that stuff.
"You know I just realized the villagers won't be allowed to hurt me anymore."
Hinata practically growls, though her brushing remains gentle. She'd never take her frustration out on the other girl. "They never should have been allowed to hurt you in the first place… Why did you never try and leave the village?"
"By the time I realized, or rather you made me aware, what they'd been doing was wrong I already had reasons to stay. I would rather stay in the village with you then leave by myself, even if it means the villagers would abuse me."
"Even knowing our leader sacrificed you for a supposed greater good?" Hinata had figured that out when she realized Anbu were always assigned to watch Haru-chan, but they would always consistently wait to help her until after injury. According to Haru-chan, one time she heard them say not to intervene until she had already been injured a bit, Haru-chan had assumed they didn't like her. Hinata knew better, the Anbu were nothing if not good at keeping their emotions out of work, they would protect any other citizen with brutal efficiency, they seemed to avoid protecting Haruka with that same brutal efficiency. Hinata had made the truth of it clear to Haru-chan for her own safety.
"I can't forgive him for sacrificing me without my permission or my parents." She had no idea who her parents were, and didn't care that much, but she did know that whenever she asked the Hokage about her parents he would get a guilty look across his face and then deflect the question. She figured it's because they didn't want her to be treated like this and he knew that but did it anyway. She wondered if he had them killed for going against the Hokage.
The two girls only knew two things about Haruka's parents, the first was that her mother was named Kushina. They had figured that out after so many people had called Haruka by the woman's name after seeing her for the first time. The other was that one of her parents was an Uzumaki. The only orphans that had last names in the village were those whose parents were publicly known, the ones who were unknown just never received a last name. So the fact that Haruka's last name is Uzumaki means one of her parents had to be a member of the extinct clan of red heads (A trait that only furthered their suspicions).
It's why Hinata got Haru-chan the Uzumaki swirl on a lot of her gifts. She wanted the other girl to feel like she had a real connection to her family. Haru-chan may claim she doesn't care about her family that much, but she knows that the redhead appreciates what Hinata was doing for her.
"There, all done with your hair, now where did you put the senbon?" Haruka gestures to her nightstand. The senbon were still in their box but the lid was open for viewing. Hina-chan reached over and grabbed both.
Hinata twists the other girl's hair up into a twisted ponytail, then coils the hair to make it a roll, leaving a space between the hair and her head. She pinches the roll and tucks the end of the redhead's hair into the space. Afterwards Hinata inserts the senbon at the top right of the roll pausing and then speaking at this point. "Stay still now, I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay." With that Hinata continues and carefully brings the senbon forward until the tip is pressing against Haru-chan's scalp. Then slowly and gently she brings it down until the direction of the senbon is reserved. Then she pushes through the rest of the roll of hair. She gently releases it and smiles as the hair is held in place. She repeats the process with the second senbon only this time it's at the top left. The two senbon create a cross, also known as a saltire, holding the redhead's long hair in place. The roll of hair is tightly secured above her shoulders and only bounces, never coming free. Hinata nods, seeing that the senbon worked as intended.
Haruka feeling Hina-chan finish with her hair stands and turns towards the other girl. "Thanks a lot for helping me out Hina-chan." Haruka had only managed to learn so much from that but she had learned how to make the roll, and with some practice she could get it down.
"So ready to go visit Ayame for your sash?" Haruka shakes her head no.
"I've gotta get dressed first Hina-chan."
Hinata hadn't been thinking about it but now that she's looking she realizes her girlfriend was only wearing a loose t-shirt, and short pajama shorts. Hinata can't help but look at her girlfriend's thighs and nod appreciatively. The other girl trained her legs a lot and it showed. Not to say the other parts are bad, Haru-chan has amazing abs too and a generally great body. Hinata always felt she was in for a treat when Haru-chan wore a crop top while training on weekends together.
Hinata shook herself from those thoughts and said, "I'll let you change then." With that she steps out of the room. Hinata would love to see her girlfriend naked, she had fantasized about that image more than a few times, but she didn't want to push the girl. The other girl probably would be embarrassed but would say she doesn't mind. It was something Hinata had realized a few months into their relationship. Haru-chan didn't understand pacing, nor did she know how to properly express when something makes her uncomfortable, so it was up to Hinata to watch for the redheads reactions and try not push her out of her comfort zone. She loved the redhead and couldn't bring herself to abuse the redhead's trust and naivety.
Haruka stepped out a few minutes later, in her usual ensemble only with a spare sash on at the moment, this one is red. She'd switch it out once she got the black one with her forehead protector from Ayame-nee. She quickly heads into the kitchen and gets them both a quick breakfast. Haruka makes a few omelets and gets out some rice and chicken she made the night before. She took some time to make Hina-chan a few pieces of cinnamon toast, not having the time or skill yet to make the cinnamon rolls her girlfriend loves. The two girls eat the breakfast the redhead prepared and then set out for the Ichiraku house.
They arrive a few minutes later. With a few quick raps on the door they stand and wait. It only takes a few seconds for the door to fly open and for Haruka to be scooped up into a hug by the civilian girl.
"I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, I'm so proud of you!" She had come so far from the starving and almost emotionally dead little girl. While she still lacked common sense to a concerning degree, the girl had truly flourished in the past few years.
Haruka was blushing and trying to break free, which is surprisingly hard to do without hurting the older girl. It's her own fault, she had chosen to leave her weights in storage seals today, just in case she needed them off for something, like if for example her sensei gave them a surprise test or something. If she had been wearing them the other girl wouldn't have been able to scoop her off the ground though.
Hinata watches amused, her mother did the same thing to Haru-chan a lot and unlike Ayame she was strong enough to do so even with the girls weights on. Haru-chan only hated it because she thinks it makes people think she needs protecting. Hinata still hadn't gotten it through to Haruka that it's okay for others to protect her just as she protects them. She had only grudgingly accepted Hinata because she didn't want to insult the white eyed girl and her own effort to grow strong. She can also freely admit that Hinata is the better fighter of the two, even if the redhead is the faster and physically stronger one.
Ayame finally lets Haruka go and gives her the finished sash. "Come on in, I'll help tie it around you." Haruka nods and is quickly shuffled inside by Ayame. She unties the red sash she had brought from the house and ties the black sash, also known as Obi, around her waist. Haruka heads back out and asks Hinata. "So how do I look?"
"Like a real ninja." Haruka smiles and nods.
"Great! Ready to head to the academy?" Hina-chan nods and Haruka turns towards Ayame-nee, "I'll talk to you tonight Nee-chan." The civilian waves the two kunoichi off.