Subclinical Manifestation

13

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ol·fac·to·ry nerve

each of the first pair of cranial nerves, transmitting impulses to the brain from the smell receptors in the mucous membrane of the nose

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For the umpteenth time, Hinata looked over her reflection on the mirror to (re)evaluate her appearance from head to toe. There seemed to be something wrong about it. Her short hair was down and she couldn't really do much about it. Some hairpins maybe? Or... maybe not. She had applied very subtle glowy pinkish make up, and had she been not too self-conscious about everything, it matched perfectly with her dusty pink floral wrap dress that extended to her knees.

Was this too much?

If before she never bat an eye on how she looked in front of Sasuke, now she desperately wanted to look pretty in front of him. But maybe she was trying too hard and she was anxious that it would show. Sakura was pretty and she didn't even look like she was trying at all...

Shaking her head exaggeratedly, she curled her fingers into fists.

No. I have no time to be self-conscious now. Not now.

Not ever.

But why am I trying so hard?

Wandering about her reflection on the mirror, her eyes settled on her lips. The memory from yesterday flowed inside her mind obstacle-free. How she realized he was leaning toward her. And how for the first time she let her instinct take the lead, finally giving in to her feelings and realizing the choice was hers to make. Then they kissed...

....She didn't know how to respond after the... the... kiss. She quick-scanned something she needed to do to divert her thoughts and found the perfect alibi; arranging the petals then rearranging them again. While distractedly doing so, she waited for him to explain whatever he needed to explain. The kiss surely had changed something about them. Everything about them. But Sasuke was only sitting stiffly on her side. He didn't even ask her if she wanted them to take a step ahead. He hadn't even been clear enough about his intention. (All she needed was some verbal reassurances). He just kissed her.

She waited even until her work was done multiple times that it might look suspiscious had he been not distracted himself, and needed to be pressed immediately. But hearing nothing from him minutes after minutes, she mentally screamed. So he was going to be silent about it then? Was the kiss even genuine? Was he joking with her right now?

It must have been her patience giving up (despite knowing herself to be patient almost all the time), or Sasuke was just utterly frustrating and... dare she say...a coward.

Next thing she knew, she did ask him for a date.

After mustering all the composure that had left within her not to sound too apprehensive and nervous when asking him, she did.

A tremble or two might have escaped though. And he just "hn"-ed her.

He couldn't be serious, could he?

She was the one denying the whole thing and now she was the one to ask him for a date. Some resolution she had.

Giving a whole last look to her appearance, she reached for her bottle of perfume. Pushing a spray or two to her whole body, she frowned as the bottle turned out giving its last content. This particular perfume had been her favored selection since high school and she never changed her preference since. She loved the scent of roses; it is refreshing in a delicate way and somehow enticing. Her physical and vibes lacked confidence, playing with scents to make her somehow confident was the thing she excelled at. Giving a final sigh, shouldering her bag, and still holding the mauve tinted bottle while doing so, she exited her room then.