36. The shy Hyuga

A while later everyone said their piece and left Tomoka alone. The doctor had said that she would need to remain there for the day just in case. Nagi had scolded her after hugging her. In the end Tomoka was left alone to do whatever.  

‘That was so exhausting I think I will go back to sleep’ 

[I don’t think you will be able to, look] 

At the door to her room stood a serious looking man. By his side a beautiful and frail looking woman held a kid no older than Tomoka in her arms. All three of them had one thing that made Tomoka instantly recognize them, or rather, their clan. Their irises were purplish white with no pupil. 

“Greetings, my name is Hiashi Hyuga. Thank you for saving my daughter” The serious looking man gave Tomoka a slight bow. However, his actions looked stiff and forced. Looking closely Tomoka was able to figure out why. The woman next to Hiashi had a no-nonsense aura about her.  

“I am Himari Hyuga, thank you for saving little Hinata” Like her husband Himari gave her thanks and a small bow. However, unlike her husband her actions were fluid and heartfelt. 

“I-I um, I am Hinata Hyuga, t-thank you for saving me” Like her parents Hinata bowed towards Tomoka, unlike them though her bow was quite deep. 

Not being able to control herself after seeing the overabundant cuteness flowing from Hinata, Tomoka stood up on her bed and approached the shy kid. A moment later she was patting Hinata’s head with a soft smile. 

“It’s fine, I did what I felt was right” Now that Tomoka had managed to calm all the inner turmoil she had felt, she was glad that she did what she did. 

“E-even so, you got hurt because of m-me” Hinata's cheeks were a bit flushed from embarrassment. She felt responsible for Tomoka’s injuries, even though she hadn’t seen them. Hinata was sure that Tomoka got hurt, otherwise why would she be in a hospital?

“It was nothing, I am completely fine, see?” Saying that, Tomoka jumped off the bed onto the cold floor. Jumping a few times while moving her arms, Tomoka was trying her best to prove to Hinata that she was fine. 

Since Tomoka was now on the floor, Himari placed Hinata on the floor as well. Hinata timidly approached Tomoka while looking her all over to see if she was really alright. After a while she couldn’t find anything wrong with Tomoka so she gave up. 

Seeing Hinata act like that woke the cheeky side of Tomoka so she decided to mess with Hinata a bit for fun. A few plans flew through her mind before settling on one that she was sure would be pretty fun. 

“You know, this situation reminds me of those fairy tale stories. A knight in shiny armor saving the princess. Normally the princess rewards the knight with a kiss on the cheek” Saying that Tomoka placed a finger on her cheek as if thinking while half turning. 

Looking at Hinata from the corner of her eye Tomoka saw how her cheeks turned a bright red as she began to stutter. Chuckling a little she decided to continue teasing the poor girl. Tomoka was having way too much fun at the moment. 

“Oh in some of them they would even marry and have a happy family together” With that Hinata became so red she looked like a ripe tomato and Tomoka could have sworn she saw steam being released from her face.  

“Oh well, those are fairy tales anyway, how about we become friends instead?!” Tomoka had her fill of messing with Hinata so she decided to give the poor girl a break. In reality, she did want to be friends with Hinata. The girl is cute and kind hearted, Tomoka couldn’t think of a reason for not becoming her friend.

“Friend?” Hinata asked and Tomoka saw a bit of disappointment from the girl. However, it had come and gone so quickly she thought it had been her imagination. 

“You really want to be my f-friend?” Hinata was having a hard time believing that Tomoka wanted to be her friend. She felt inadequate compared to Tomoka and so she felt that Tomoka wouldn’t want someone like her to be her friend. 

“Yeah, I actually don’t have many friends so I would love it if you became my friend” Even though Tomoka looked confident and outgoing she was nervous and afraid of rejection. Having Nozomi had helped a lot with her socializing skills and social nervousness but that didn’t mean she was fully cured just yet. 

“I-In that case, l-let's be friends” Saying that with a shy nod Hinata felt very happy. She had finally made her very first friend.       

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