Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind

Grounding

I woke up still hugging Oswald, my new stuffed octopus, in a daze. Coming home after effectively being assaulted physically and emotionally by Sakura, I had wordlessly gone to my room to cry and pass out. I woke up slowly, feeling considerably dazed from some mix of horrific nightmares and my remaining fatigue. I let out a deep sigh as I came to terms with my newfound consciousness.

There were way too many things to think about at the moment. Kiba, Hanabi, Neji, training, the curse, my sanity, it felt like everything was spiraling out of control, and now Sakura was drifting away too. What had happened? Why was she acting like that? Should I have told her earlier? Did she even deserve to know? Did I do something wrong? Or was this situation out of my control?

I was pulled from my early morning mulling as I noticed that something didn't feel quite right. The weight on the bed seemed to be a little displaced. It also felt like the fabric of my shirt was being pulled on slightly.

Slightly rotating my head, I noticed that Hanabi was laying next to me, one hand gently holding my shirt. She was still asleep. I was briefly confused why she was in my bed, but then I remembered that she was eight. She must've had a nightmare or something.

What was more surprising was seeing Neji slumped over at the foot of my bed. I had to suppress the instinctual urge to kick him out of fear, reigning myself in and letting my brain process that I wasn't in danger.

Instead, I settled on nudging him with my foot. He sat bolt upright with a start and looked wildly around before seeing me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked groggily.

"I... was making sure you were okay." He began awkwardly.

"But then you feel asleep." I finished. He nodded, embarrassed.

"G'morning." Hanabi lifted up her head sleepily, her hair an absolute, adorable mess.

"Yes, mija." I rolled over to face her, "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Kind of." she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "You looked really upset when you came home."

"Yeah, you never just come home and go to bed like that." Neji sat cross legged on the bed now, facing us.

"I couldn't sleep because I was worried." Hanabi admitted. I sighed.

"I'm sorry to worry you."

"Are you mad at me?" she asked innocently.

"No, mija, I'm not mad. I don't mind at all actually." I kissed her on the forehead, "It's very sweet of you." I turned to Neji, glaring, "But you really freaked me out for a second there."

"Sorry," he deflated a little, "I was worried as well. I needed to make sure you weren't in any dire condition."

"Well, next time, don't sit at the end of my bed," I sat up, gesturing to him to scoot closer, he nervously moved to me, "If you're going to sleep in here, you might as well just use the bed properly. That couldn't have been good for your neck or shoulders." I began to massage his shoulders, feeling him tense for a moment before relaxing.

"Are you certain that it won't be... awkward?" he muttered, clearly flustered.

"We're siblings. It doesn't matter as long as you don't make it weird." I stated bluntly, "What do we want for breakfast?"

"Rice pudding!" Hanabi cheered. I chuckled.

"Since it's the weekend, I'll allow it." I moved to get out of bed, standing up way too quickly and stumbling, vision going black. Neji grabbed one of my arms.