Up close, Tobio could see just how bad the smaller one had gotten. Dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, a nervous twitch of his top lip, uncombed hair, sloppily thrown on clothes. Hinata looked like the poster child for sleep deprivation.
Shouyou...
Light leaked out under the door frame of dorm number 62. As Hinata took out his key and unlocked the door with a dirt covered hand, he made sure not to let the handle squeak.
Kenma was sitting on the bottom bunk, PSP in hand- a sight that was both familiar and oddly calming.
"Hi." Kenma didn't look up from his game as he mumbled it.
"Did you beat that level yet?"
There was no answer, so Hinata closed the door and dragged his body up to the top bunk. "What's wrong?" The PSP's light illuminated the otherwise black room with manufactured brightness. It gave Hinata a headache.
"How can you tell?" Eyelids barely held open.
A squeak came from the bottom bunk mattress. "I don't know... So what is it?"
A straight forward answer would be too long of a list. Instead, Hinata settled on a partial truth. "Just tired, that's all."
"...Tell me when you're ready."
Hinata never understood how Kenma could read him so easily when he himself didn't understand the emotions running through his body. Or was he just too easy to read? Whatever. No use thinking about that now. He didn't want to be plunged back into that dark abyss of memories and sadness.
Hinata glanced at the clock on the wall. 1:43 AM.
"Goodnight, Shouyou."
The room was pitched into black as Kenma shut off his game, and Hinata felt relief at the thought of not having to stare at a glowing white-blue ceiling.
"Night, Kenma."
***
When Hinata closed his eyes and quieted his mind, he was back in the arboretum. Shimmering glass windows let sunlight stream in. No clouds to be seen- sure to be a nice day.
Shouyou let his legs carry him in a slow race to the farthest end of the garden. There, standing tall and beautiful above him, was the cherry blossom tree. Pink petals illuminated by the sun beams, it looked like it belonged in a whole other world. "Wow," was all he could say.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Little whispers, murmurs, came from somewhere in front of him. "Hello?" It felt unnatural as his voice cut through the silence. It made him feel like a foreigner in his own homeland. There was no answer, and he could barely make out words in between the jumble.
"Why?" That was all he could hear clearly.
Hinata took his eyes off the tree. "Who's there?" He just got laughter, tried to walk around the tree to see who was whispering to him; his legs were stuck in place.
