Stirring slightly, she made a few soft noises, too early. Too early to wake up and deal with people. Way too early to put up with the antics of the general populace. She didn’t even want to open her eyes, the bed, it was just entirely too comfortable. Like a trap. The bed was a trap for her, a trap to ensnare her in the world of dreams and laziness. Laziness was a bad, or rather unattractive trait for a woman such as herself. Rolling over to her right side, she grabbed for the thing closest to her, a pillow, and proceeded to pull it in close to herself, cuddling the fluffy pillow as if it would show her the same affection back. She was sleepy, and her bed was warm and soft and she didn’t want to move... Too early, she couldn’t even hear the sounds of birds chirping yet, which made her doubt that the sun, was up, let alone Yuudai.

Letting her body relax into the bed, she enjoyed the soft feeling of the blanket over her bare skin. What she was wearing currently? Just light pink bikini cut panties. No bra, no shirt or pants. Nope. Last night when she had laid down, she had dressed in clothes, but she had gotten too hot during the night and said fuck it before stripping. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see her nude form anyway, she was under a large comforter and she highly doubted that Yuudai was going to walk into the room in the middle of the night and insist on her getting up, walking around and conversing with him. She was tired, and she knew that he had been tired as well last night, hell, they had been travelling for about a week straight anyway, they both needed the rest. Brushing the barely semi coherent thoughts from her drowsy mind, she fell back into the embrace of sweet peaceful sleep.

Birds. Birds. She could hear birds chirping. Chirping leaking through into her brain, seeping through the cracks of her consciousness and into her dreams. Damn birds. Waking her up. Groaning softly, she kicked her feet in a somewhat childish manner. Waking up. She did not want to do this at all. What was this thing called waking up? What type of sorcery was it? Who needed to wake up? Fuck waking up. She needed to thought. The night before, she had scheduled for a doctor’s appointment, no need to fill out paperwork, she had talked to the hospital in the Hidden Cloud Village and had her medical files transferred over to Kiri’s hospital. Sluggishly opening her eyes, she tossed the comforter back when she stretched, somewhat regretting the choice to forgo the covers when the cold air kissed her skin, causing it to tighten up with goosebumps. She instantly covered what she could of her bare chest with her arms. Cold. Colder than she wanted it to be where it was cold.

Sighing softly, she sat up and got out of the bed with the speed of a turtle climbing a mountain. Dropping her panties, she walked across the room and grabbed her towel before heading to the guest bathroom and proceeding to take a shower. She was sleepy, letting her head lean against the wall as she attempted to turn the shower on, after a moment, she succeeded, turning a nice lukewarm shower on. The feeling of the water on her skin made her shudder slightly, it was slightly cool compared to her current body temperature, and her skin was already tightened up. Sighing softly, she made the shower warmer; a relaxing warm, not hot. Reaching for her washcloth, she leaned against the tiled wall, slothishly running the now soapy rag up her side, over her chest and arms, closing her eyes with pleasure from the rough fabric on her soft skin. She washed from foot to head, taking her tie and making sure to get everywhere on her body clean. From washing her body she began to wash her hair, a long and arduous process. From root to tip she lathered her hair up, letting it sit in the massive amount of hair she had before trying her best to rinse it all out before adding conditioner into her hair, letting it sit while she stood zombie-like under the water prior to washing the conditioner out as well. Ringing her hair out, and shaking as much water as she could off, she turned to water off, grabbed her towel and tried to dry off.

From the bathroom to her bedroom she went, still dragging her feet somewhat. Sleeeeeeeepy. She wanted sleeeep. Blinking several times, she yawned, arms stretching up and back arching  out of instinct while her towel fell to the ground. Looking down at said runaway towel, she stared at it in a blank unphased manner. Fuck you too towel. Fuck you too. She thought to herself. From this, she stepped out of the towel and proceeded to get dressed. putting simple clothes on; a black, somewhat lacy bra, a short sleeved black t-shirt, lacy black panties, and long flowy black pants. Slipping on her boots, she walked back into the bathroom so she could brush her teeth. After going about that oral business, she would leave from the house and make her way to the hospital for a hormone test and a normal check-up to makes sure that she was still recovering from the coma correctly.

It was lovely day outside today, the cool mist was hanging lazily in the air, the sunlight bright but not hot, the slight breeze gracing her face with the gentleness of a lover’s touch. She truly enjoyed days like this, where it was comfortable instead of sticky and humid outside. The weather was why she took her sweet time walking to the hospital. She knew she wouldn’t be late, she had woken up early enough to make sure that she would not run late. As she predicted, she did indeed arrive to the receptionary area on time.

The clear fibreglass doors of the hospital automatically slid open on their own rails, allowing her to simply walk in. Glancing around she blankly looked around at the sight of the white and light blue floor tiles, white walls and ceilings and tall sunny windows. The hospital smelt starkly clean, almost burning her nose in the switch from warm outside air to cold clean hospital air. She walked up to the receptionist. "Hello, how may I help you today ma'am?" The young brunette asked politely. She was dressed in soft pink scrubs, chocolate brown hair short in a flaring pixie cut. Her light face was dappled with light brown freckles across her cheekbones and nose. On her straight nose black rimmed glasses set for her amber eyes to see out of.

"I'm here for an appointment. I'm certain that Kumogakure's hospital has transferred my information and appointment time?"

"Name?"

"Haruto, Himitsu."

"Ah, yes. Hormone test and full check up correct? The doctor will call you back shortly. For now just have a seat in one of those waiting chairs over there." The receptionist said as she stood up from her seat, pointing over her desk to a group of dark blue chairs in the waiting area. Himitsu smiled, nodding before turning and taking a seat. The chair's cushion was soft, comfortable fabric for a hospital waiting chair. She just sat there, no thoughts really crossing her mind. She wasn't feeling that much anxiety, her thoughts were not racing. If it was, it would simply be. She didn't have to worry, not after what Yuudai had said to her the day before. She didn't feel as scared anymore, because with what he had said, she knew that she wouldn't be cast out and left to care for herself and the child alone, if she was pregnant. It was comforting to know that she wasn't going to be alone, as that had been one of her largest fears as of recent.

"Himitsu Haruto?" A female voice called, snapping Himitsu from her bothersome disturbance of daydreaming. She stood up, turning to look for the person who called her name, it was raven haired woman wearing dark blue scrubs. Stepping closer Himitsu smiled softly at her, the lady's eyes were a pretty green colour behind blue rimmed glasses that laid against alabaster pale skin. The lady was narrow faced, her features sharp but at the same time kindly. "If you'll just follow me back, we're going to draw some blood today and do a complete checkup to make sure that you have been recovering correctly.."

With that she followed the nurse down a white hallway, passing several rooms before turning right then left. She pushed a pale blue curtain aside to reveal a desk like station, it had two chairs, a tray that held a sterilised needle, butterfly tube and three tubes that were about two centimetres in diameter. "Just have a seat. I'm sure you've had blood work done before right?"

"Yes of course." The blonde said as she planted her rump in the grey plastic chair. The nurse withdrew a blue stretchy tourniquet, wrapping it around Himi's left arm, tying it before pulling the cover of the needle off. She sat there calmly, without moving as the needle pierced the flesh of her inner elbow. Of course the nurse had cleaned the area prior to sticking her.

And faster than she knew it the nurse was removing the needle from her arm, disposing of it and the butterfly, putting a piece of gauze and band-aide on the entry point, and writing something down on the little stickers of the blood tubes. "Okay, just follow me back and I'll show you to the room." The black haired woman said as she stood up, placing the tubes into a special holder and exiting out of the station. Himitsu followed suit. Her arm felt a little cold and numb, but that was normal after getting blood taken.

She was lead down a hallway and sat in a quiet little room and told that in about fifteen minutes the doctor would be with her. And she sat there in silence for about fifteen minutes, mind wandering from planning what she was going to eat when she got back to the house to music she had heard recently. Hmm, what type of music did she even like anyway? She tended to frown upon rougher, angrier sounding songs. And she also disliked sharp sounding things... So what did that leave her with? Natural sounds? Like the sounds of rain, thunder and wind? Also the sounds of string instruments, she found violin and cellos to sound beauti--

A knock came at the door before a short dirty blonde lady walked in, glasses on and hair pulled back into a short ponytail. “Hello,  I am Doctor Yamamora, I have the results of your blood work, but first I’m going to do the check up.”

She went through all the normal things, stand on a scale, get her height measured, her throat looked at, ears checked, nose checked. Everything was going normally until the doctor shone the bright light into Himitsu’s left eye, causing Himi to close her eye and flinch away slightly.  The doctor lowered the light and looked at the blonde, confusion on her face. “Was the light too bright?”

“No, I’m blind, doctor. I didn’t see a light. I don’t know why I flinched.” Her response was greeted with silence and the sound of a pencil scribbling on paper. She heard Dr. Yamamora take a breath in before she started. “Haruto-san, you say that you are blind, but since you’ve awoken from your coma, all of our checkup results show that you can see. You follow my face and respond to my expressions and your pupils dilate normally. The same report shows on your file from Kumo’s checkups.”

“... But... If I could see, then I would see colour and what things look like, but all I see is black. I can’t see.” The doctor looked at her with a blank stare before saying, “Alright, believe what you want...” She then mumbled something about psychosomatic blindness. Himi knew what that was, it was where one psychologically tricked themselves into believing that they were paralysed or disabled in someway, and these “disabilities” tended to come from emotional or mental causes. Well... Speaking of the things that had happened to her during the course of her life thus far? Pretty stressful and emotionally scarring. Childhood abuse, bullying and being struck by lightning and having to live with the fact that she felt useless due to her blindness? Yes, that did qualify as stressful, even if she had lived with these self destructive thoughts for so long that they ceased to be stressful or meaningful to her. ”The results. What were they?” She ventured to ask.

“Positive.”

For a second, or rather, a moment, Himitsu didn’t know how exactly to reply. She was relieved that she had an answer and wasn’t just standing around wondering and worrying. It was one less question occupying her mind. ... But she already had a lot going through her mind. Blind, she wasn’t blind? She wasn’t blind and she was pregnant. She had not expected the doctors visit to go like this. Though, she could almost scoff at the doc telling her that she could see. If she could see, then she would be able to, right? Opening her mouth Himitsu spoke softly, “Oh.” That was the only thing that left her throat as it really sunk in.

Pregnant. She was going to be a mother. Questions, even more of them flooded into her head. Would the baby be a boy or a girl? What would the child look like? What would her and Yuudai decide to name it? How would he feel, she already knew that he was going to help her out, but how would it affect the relationship they had? Was he just wanting to know her more because she was pregnant? She didn’t want him to feel trapped by her, she didn’t want him to advance the relationship simply because of the baby. These were the things that were floating through her skull when she enter back into the house. Closing the door behind herself she called out in her normal soft voice. “... Yuudai?”

His morning started off like any other, though with thoughts that lingered in his mind about various aspects of his own life. He remembered the exact details of his conversation with Himitsu yesterday and what she had planned to do so today. He had given her direction yesterday, when she asked about the contact information for the hospital in Kirigakure no Sato, in order to book and get to the appointment she had set up; for a check-up and for the possibility of finding out if she was... Shaking his head, he opened his eyes, his vision directed towards the window that covered the curtains, the sunlight peaking through the small gap between the windowsill and the curtains. It was morning, that much he could easily tell. For the time? He really didn't care too much, he'd be lingering around his house the entire day, seeing as he had no reason to go out. Maybe he'd go to the backyard and practice his katas. Letting out a short, small groan, Yuudai sat straight up,rotating his body so that his feet would hit the soft flooring, bringing a different feeling than being wrapped in a blanket. His hazy eyes scanned towards his nightstand, looking at the clock to figure out what the time was. 7:56 am. Maybe a quick shower was in order right now, then he'd be out in the open backyard to practice his katas.

Pushing himself off of the bed with both hands, clad in only his pajamas at the time, Yuudai lazily headed towards the bathroom to perform his daily rituals. He'd grab a change of clothes once he was done showering, thus stepping right in to the lightened atmosphere of the bathroom. Taking a shower, drying off, brushing his teeth, setting his hair in the usual ponytail, other menial tasks and exiting the bathroom took him roughly 30 minutes, though he never bothered timing himself when it came to such things. He knew he may have to take another shower later in the day, depending on the intensity of training he'd be taking up. Walking back to his room, the room connected to his own bathroom, a towel covering his lower body, Yuudai went straight to his closet, searching for his fighting kimono that he wore mainly in the privacy of his own home, or when the occasion called for such wear. After a few seconds of hunting for the clothing, he found it and swiftly got dressed. Making his way to the door that would lead him to the hallway, he grabbed his regular katana, as he'd be using that for practice.

Knowing that he wouldn't need to inform Himitsu about where he'd be, seeing as how she'd probably be leaving eventually. He'd probably just end up spending the majority of the morning in the backyard if anything. Practice and meditation. He probably would lose track of time and by then, Himitsu would probably have returned with the news of what would be true, and what would be not.

Time continued to pass, time he wasn't paying much attention to. For the majority of the time, Yuudai stood in the middle of the yard, practicing katas with his katana. It wasn't too difficult of a task, though with the warmth of the morning's weather along with the less than strenuous activities Yuudai was going through, he barely let out a sweat. How much time had passed?  He couldn't tell, though the sun was further up in the sky, indicating it was nearing noon, eventually. Allowing his senses to pick up, he noticed another person enter the compound, most likely Himitsu that anyone else. Speaking of anyone else... he would need to visit his mother either today or tomorrow to let her know of his return. Getting off the ground, Yuudai gathered his now resheathed katana and walked back in to the house, knowing that Himitsu would most likely want to speak about the potential situation that could alter their future. "I'm here. So, I suppose you want to talk about the results?"

It took a moment, but she heard soft steps of Yuudai as he walked through the house towards her. She walked into the house more, it felt cool compared to outside, but that was to be expected of the home, seeing as it was where Yuudai stayed. She greeted him with a smile and listening to his words, she nodded. She just hoped that he wouldn't be one to faint or something ridiculous like that. She actually didn't quite understand why some men stereotypically fainted when told that they were going to be a father. What? Did they not expect to be able to get a lady pregnant? Was there some sort of doubt about their fertility or something? Maybe it was just her, but she didn't think that she would ever understand why men did that.

"Well, I went to the doctor today, and found out two things, one of which was actually very unexpected, and I quite frankly don't believe it. But anyways, I got my blood tested, and the result came back as positive."  Her last sentence had been spoken tentatively, almost as if she was nervous about the subject, even if she wasn't. After a moment's pause, she would continue on to speak about the other thing, the less expected thing that she had found out during her trip to the doctor's office, or rather, hospital. "The doctor also told me that I'm... I'm not blind? She said that I am a psychosomatic blind, meaning I only think that I'm blind. Which, in my own opinion, is hard to conceive. I mean, my whole life I've been told I was blind, and even now, I can't see you... "

She paused for a second, taking a deep breath before she started off on a tangent... The audacity of that doctor, Himi felt that the woman had been trying to make fun of her with that. How could she be blind all of her life, then wake up from a coma and suddenly be able to see? Miracles didn't exist in her book at all. Everything to her was some sort of medical science or science. She had stopped believing in childish fantasies and dreams when her father died. After her father's death, she had started being mistreated and hurt even more than before, in school and at home. It was at that point in her life that she had developed a trait called, "learned helplessness". It's when she stopped trying to help herself out of situations, believing it all to be hopeless. She had been hurt to the point where she just lie there and accept her abuse without really reacting. Glancing up at Yuudai, she waited for his response.

Two pieces of news? He was only expecting one, along with a checkup to see how she was faring from waking up some odd weeks ago. Yuudai ran his right hand through his hair before he completely heard Himitsu's words. Midway through the stroke, he froze, stilled. The result was positive. That would mean... Where would he be in the life of the child? What about Himitsu? What would his mother say once she heard? Rather, what if word spread through the village, that would surely bring about negative rumours from gossip-mongers. He didn't need to dwell on those thoughts for the time being, he'd have a lot of time to think about it, about what would be done about the entire circumstances surrounding the purple-haired man and the now pregnant lady standing before him. The silence in the air was heavy, or at least it felt that way to Yuudai. He knew this could all be plausible, he had more than enough time to contemplate, but rather, the sudden news that he was going to be a father was making him draw a blank. Then, he heard her continue on, likely stating the second piece of news she had received.

Psychosomatic blindness? It could be a plausible theory, though he had assumed she was born blind due to the way she acted, as if was so accustomed to the lack of sight that it was just as natural to her. But, the doctor stating such a fact, he couldn't really know which was true. There were often cases of misdiagnosis for individuals, though none to frequent, though this certainly could entail as such. Then again, it could be 100% true, and Himitsu would be able to see. Being able to see the village, the sky, the weather, the words inside of a book, and the faces of people that resided in Kirigakure. She'd be able to see the citizens of the village, his face, and of the child to come. He continued to remain silent, absorbing the two pieces of information she had received from the hospital just roughly an hour ago. As much as it shocked him, he had a feeling that the turmoil inside of Himitsu's mind was greater than his.

Stepping forward, lightly, towards Himitsu, he spoke after he finished his steps, the tone of his voice clearly displaying himself being distracted by the recent events, "Oh..... Well, that certainly was unexpected." He would pause again, running his right hand through his hair once more. He really didn't know how to approach this. The issue of the pregnancy was always one that was on his mind, and likely hers as well, since the first moments. Yet, the recent development of Himitsu potentially not being blind was the one he was clearly lost about on how to comment on it. Would she want to see? "I guess you are right, but at the same time, the doctor could also be right as well. It could have been a misdiagnosis, but it also could be correct at the same time. It's entirely up to you how you want to deal with it." He wouldn't comment much further on that piece of news unless he was asked. "I've already given you my word that I'll be there to help." He was going to be a part of his child's life, he knew that much for a fact, as Yuudai had his mind set on it from the first time worry arose. As for Himitsu's situation with her visual impairment, Yuudai would be willing to help, though he doubted he'd be of much assistance compared to professionals in the field.

She listened to him speak, he sounded so calm when he talked to her, calm about the doctor's news of her being pregnant, about how she might not even be blind. How could he be so calm? He didn't even understand how it made her feel, suddenly being told that everything she had been abused for was all in her head, that all the other tests and results had been false, all of it in error. She didn't understand, she couldn't cope with that, she refused to believe. Why her?

The pregnancy she was less stressed about. She had been raised to be a good mother, she knew how to take care of her body when she was pregnant, and how to take care of and raise a child so well, it was almost like second nature to her, some menial task almost, even when it wasn't. She had been raised to be a housewife, so the thought of becoming a mother, and having a child of her own didn't really bother her all that much.

She felt Yuudai step closer to her, now he was only about two steps from her. So close, he was so close to her that she could reach out and touch him easily. Touch something, someone... That's how she had to cope with this impairment of senses, this deformity. It was how she knew she was still alive, how she was still there. Her own little way of staying grounded to a reality that she had never been able to see. Isolated and alone, that had been how she had felt her entire life. To her, the only things that had ever existed had been whatever she could touch and physically feel. Her world had been one of desolation and pain to say the very least. For the longest time, that had been the only feelings she knew; self loathing, disappointment, pain and loneliness. Whenever she had tried to reach out and make friends, she had been shoved back into the dirt, beaten back into the ground by the kids in her class. Different. It was because she was born different from all the others.

It was the same in her home. She was beaten, neglected and abused because she lacked her clan's kekkei genkai, and born a blind female. A curse, that was how she was viewed by her parents. An unwanted, mistaken smudge in the clan's bloodline. Unfit to be wed off, unfit to have a child, unfit to be seen by the public, unfit to be paid any attention. Because she was blind. She was viewed as a defective, broken child, and she was treated as such. When she wasn't being ignored, she was getting hurt by her mother, threatened and starved. So many scars from her mother, one from herself. One scar on her left forearm that she had inflicted on herself, it ran from her wrist, down the belly of her forearm before veering off into an ugly, jagged cut, a scar that dwindled in visibility now, with all this time passed.

She had been young, maybe nine years old. Her father had died nearly a year ago, and everything had been going through the same nightly routine. Something wrong. Her mother always found something wrong with whatever chores Himitsu had been given; and she was always drug out of her room and beaten for it. Ceramic plates broken on her fragile body, clothes cut up and bloody. She was laying on the ground, head pounding, nose and mouth bleeding, mixing with the small pool of spit on the wooden floor. Slowly, she pushed herself up off of the floor, body trembling with the pain and fear of being hit yet again.

With a weak arm, she grabbed for a piece of a broken plate in her right hand. Sitting up, she struggled to her feet, everything was painful, everything hurt, shards of glass still stuck in her flesh, the smaller ones like thousands of painful hot needles; the larger shards had an indescribable feel, the pain burned in a cold way, aching and tingling, each movement of her tortured frame made her face twist in agony. Finally standing, though not steadily, she threw a sad glance at her mother, "If you want me gone, I'll end it." She said, stabbing the sharp glass into her wrist and dragging it down her forearm, fully intent on cutting an artery open and offing herself. She could feel the writhing burning of the pain, pain like tongues of fire lapping up her arm, so hot she couldn't feel the heat of her dark red blood as it welled up from the wound and ran down the sides of her arm; but she could hear the wet sounds as it pattered against the floor, staining it for certain.

Her mouth was in the form of a silent scream, she felt like she was slipping away, out of consciousness from the pain. But she had only been able to get halfway down her forearm before her mother let out a scream and yanked her left arm, causing the glass to cut to the outer side of her left forearm, shallower than the first part of the wound. Tackled to the ground, her mother then ripped the glass from Himitsu's hand. She felt herself flicker, consciousness fading before the welcoming silence enveloped her. But prior to the silence, she had heard a few words, something about how she should've tried to kill herself outside, so she wouldn't make a mess... But that didn't matter now... She was going to die, and she was glad. The pain, the sorrow, agony and abuse. All of it would be gone, she wouldn't have to live in fear and pain anymore. She could finally rest. A sweet escape from the battered shell that was her body. No one would miss her. No one would care. She doubted that her mother would even give her a tue funeral or a proper burial for that matter. Without an ounce of regret or sorrow, she let her blind eyes close, and her breath from her lungs...

But she was still standing here today. For some reason, her mother had gotten her healed before she could die from bleeding out. Her attempt had been in vain, and instead of abuse, she was treated with pure avoidance for several weeks. No words spoken to her. All of this pain and agony. All. Because. She. Was. Blind.


And if the doctor was correct, all for nothing.


But here was this man standing in front of her, telling her, reaffirming to her, that he would stay true to his word and help her. What did that mean to her? What was she? What was she becoming? She was scared. She at one point had viewed death as a strange sort of release from the bitter prison that had been her life, she had felt herself slipping, slipping away, slipping into a dark place where she had no purpose, where she was a ghost. A shell. Where she was nothing. Worthless, just like her mother had called her. Was she worthless? What did Yuudai think of her? A burden. He probably viewed her as a burden. She was worthless. Nothing but a brood, an empty shell that was barely worthy of being a bearer for the next generation. Why hadn't he just left her? Why had he offered to bring her back to the Hidden Mist Village? Why was he letting her stay in his home? It was easy for her to assume that he was doing it out of kindness, but it was also easy for her to think that he pitied her, just like many others before him.

Was he doing this out of bitter responsibility? He had previously said that he wasn't, but it was easy for a human to lie, after all, humans are dishonest creatures, creatures out to hurt and destroy. Would he turn against her too, just like the others? Would he view her with disdain because of all of this? What was she? What was she worth? Was she even worth taking up precious oxygen and water? All of these thoughts conspired in a brief moment, and in that brief moment, her composer changed from the somewhat impassive, slightly miffed expression, to something that appeared much more fragile. She was fragile. Fragile, constantly on the edge of breaking.

All of this stress, this worry, this pain. Mentally, she was a weak, and it was starting to show on the surface as well. Her full lips pursed with sadness before turning into a soft frown, corners of her lips pulling down as she tried to hold back this physical reaction. Her eyebrows came in, pinching together and raising up ever so slightly as tears fell from her periwinkle eyes. She couldn't take it any more. She couldn't pretend to be strong any more. She felt like a disappointment to say the least, and she was confused as well. Everything was confusing and erratic.

She let herself step forward, closing the distance between herself and Yuudai. Without otherwise touching him, she would let her head rest on his left shoulder. If he didn't move away or otherwise tell her to stop touching him, she would let out a soft, shaking sob before letting her arms slip around his sides in a loose hug. Without lifting her head, she would then speak in an unsteady voice, quiet sobs hiccuping to interject in between her words, "Yuu-dai, I- I- I'm s-so s-s-sorr-ry... I-I-I n-know that Imma burden a-and... I-I'm ja-ust so cu-confu-used..." She let her voice tail off as she would softly nussle her face into his shoulder a bit more.

It was just a matter of mere moments before anything happened. There was silence since he spoke, as he could tell she was lost in thought. What exactly was she thinking of? The news about her not being blind? Was it really that upsetting for her? Or was there more to it than just what was on the surface. Was there past incidents that occurred due to her blindness? Thinking about it, as she was lost in her own stupor, Yuudai began to imagine what her actually upbringing was like, though he clearly wouldn't be able to tell. He could recall that the Haruto family was one of the wealthier ones in Kirigakure, thus the way she would be raised was clearly differing from his own. Was their family one that favoured male children and only viewed females as breeding tools? Or were both genders placed upon equal footing, given equal opportunities? Or was it something completely different?

Maybe she was thinking along completely different lines. Maybe she thought he was unfit to be in the life of a child he assisted in creating. Maybe he was worthless to her. Or, was she thinking he was just taking care of her due to the situation they had created for themselves? Even if he had mentioned that he didn't want to help her out due to responsibility, but rather because of doing it for the sake of wanting to help out. He clearly wanted to know where her mind was, but at the same moment, he knew she'd share whatever she was thinking when she felt like it, if she felt like it.

His attention was once again on her face, as he noticed traces of tears begin to fall down, her lips tilted in a frown, clearly displaying that something unpleasant had occurred in her mental processes. She had taken a step forward, towards Yuudai, with her head moving forward, colliding gently with his left shoulder. Yuudai wasn't taken aback, he barely even moved. He knew, that after seeing her tears, moving away from her clearly wouldn't solve anything. If anything, given the way he was raised, he needed to comfort her, so at least she could calm down, think properly. He heard a muffled sob and felt two arms snake around him, lightly hugging him. Himitsu's voice, clearly displaying the emotions she felt, tugged at him. With her snuggling closer to his body, he knew he could only do so much with  the limited experience he had with comforting individuals. The tug, it pulled him to wrap his arms around her, which would make him pull her closer towards him, his right arm snaking around, going up and gently resting at the top of her back, tangled in her hair. His left arm remained at the small of her back, moving in a smooth circular motion. Yuudai would lean his head downwards, so that it was just hovering above hers, as he would begin to speak in a small, quiet, yet confident, voice. "It'll be fine. Everything will work out, trust me. There is just a lot happening at once, probably more than I can imagine. Just let it out, whatever you have bottled up, I'll be here to listen, to support, and to comfort. For now, I think you should get some rest, or at least lay down for a while." He would calmly wait for her to lift her head back up, no matter how long it took, to see if she would agree or disagree with his offer to rest. If she would agree, he would wait a few more moments, seeing if she had anything that she needed, to voice out.

He wanted to help out, in anyway he could, but this was entirely new to him. Yuudai was either usually by himself, dealing with whatever problems he had on his own time, or talking to his mother about trivial matters, discussions that would take his mind off of things. Yet, this was entirely different. Himitsu wasn't his mother, though maybe they shared some similar personality traits. He hadn't known Himitsu for years, or even a single year, but rather, less than a month. What could he possibly offer her? He doubted she had someone else to talk to, considering what he found out about her past, and where she was sleeping for the past five years. Maybe, he could reach out and try, something he hadn't done for anyone else. Something that was entirely new to his being. He had fallen in to routines over his life, going with the more familiar options. There was also something different, maybe he was getting drawn to her? Though, considering he spent an entire week travelling with her, and the time in Kumogakure, he probably spent more time with her than other individuals he was acquainted with. Maybe, he could figure out what it was over time.

She could feel his gentle touch, how he let his right hand at the top of her back, resting in her hair, and his left hand at the small of her back, holding her closer as he spoke to her. Close, he was so close to her. She could feel his left hand making a small circle movement, she could feel the air from his breath as it brushed through her hair and over her scalp. So close... It felt so comforting. She could smell his scent, how he smelled like a cold day, but at the same time she could tell that he had been outside, doing something. He smelt like nature in a way. He smelled good, comforting to her confused mind. "It'll be fine." How do you know it will be fine? How could he know? "Everything will work out, trust me." Trust him? How could he promise something so fleeting, and then ask for her trust? She trusted him enough to stay in the same house as him, but... what other way could she trust him? He had yet to hurt her, and he seemed nice enough, true enough to his words... But the others... The others before him and seemed nice as well, they had seemed truthful enough as well. "There is just a lot happening at once, probably more than I can imagine. Just let it out, whatever you have bottled up, I'll be here to listen, to support, and to comfort. For now, I think you should get some rest, or at least lay down for a while."

She felt her fingers curl in a little, holding him just a bit tighter. There was a lot happening, but... How could she just let it out? How would he react to knowing that she was abused as a child? Bullied in school. How would he act if he knew the stories behind her scar? Would he treat her differently? Would he make fun of her too? She didn't want to come off as high maintenance. She didn't want to dump too much onto his plate at once, after all, she was already pregnant with his child, he had gotten fatherhood thrust onto him so suddenly... To be honest, she didn't understand how he could be so calm and caring towards her after the events that had conspired between them those few weeks ago. Let it out he had said. Just... Let out the things that were bottled up, secrets held so closely though all of these years, secrets that put her in a dark place. How could he help her with this? How was he supposed to comfort her? How could anyone else know of and understand what she had been through?

Still sobbing, though now she was a bit quieter, she spoke. "I... I w-was... All of the-these scars... Ma-my mom..." She didn't know how to put the sentence together all that well. This wasn't a topic she talked about a lot, she didn't even like thinking about it a lot. "I d-da-don't want t-to think that i-it was all for no-nothing..." She probably wasn't making all that much sense to him at the moment, seeing as he wasn't in her head, and that he couldn't follow her thought pattern. Taking a moment, she let herself calm down some, taking deep breaths. After a few moments she was calm enough to speak clearly, though her voice was still somewhat strained and soft. "I was... I was treated like a misfortune by my parents. My father ignored my presence, and when he died, my mother became very... She became... She became abusive. Every night, Yuudai... She hurt me until I would stop trying to move.... An... And at school, the students... They hurt me as well, said my bruises were from me being too stupid to see, said I ran into things... They would move things around in the classroom and watch me fall, just to laugh..."

Swallowing, she turned her head, and nuzzled into the side of his neck softly. "I... I just... All of that pain and loneliness was because I've been told that I was blind by all the doctors before... All of the suffering... I don't want to believe that it all happened for nothing... I don't... I don't wanna think that..." She said quietly, as if thinking it was painful. After a moment of her sniffling, and standing there in silence, she spoke, "I don't want to be alone anymore..."

The sudden grip on his arm, tightened ever so slightly as Himitsu would curl her fingers, making it slightly more difficult for him to escape the grasp, though he had no intentions of backing away. Ignoring this issue, ignoring her tears, wouldn't do him, nor her, any good. He wanted to comfort her. That was the urge he was getting. To not let her go. She seemed so fragile in these moments, while the rest of the time he had spent with her, she seemed to have everything together, seemingly not worried about a single thing. Though now, he was clearly confused on what to do, thus acting on instincts alone, something he had rarely ever done in the past. Besides, if he spent his time thinking about what to do, he'd probably just be standing there all day, not doing a single thing for her.

Yuudai didn't think negatively of her. She had her reasons for this sudden emotional outburst, as she was beginning to explain what happened. Her mother? Scars? He couldn't make sense of the sudden turns in speech, mainly due to now knowing the context, though hopefully thinking it would be explained as she went on. Yuudai's hold on her remained constant, as he would listen to her speak while continuing the rhymically slow motions on the small of her back and his other hand remaining at the top of back, lightly fiddling with her hair. "I d-da-don't want t-to think that i-it was all for no-nothing..." What exactly happened? Did it have to do with the scars or her mother? Or was it both? He noticed deep intakes of breaths, maybe it would help her with explaining everything to him. Or maybe she didn't want to continue further. Though, that was quickly redirected as her strained voice reached out to his ears, drawing him in to listen, hearing about the events of the past that occupied her mind. All the things Himitsu spoke of began to quickly register in Yuudai's mind, trying to draw a mental layout of everything. Her father's ignorance, her mother's abusiveness and the bullying, all of it would add up. He felt her nuzzle closer to himself, so he held her a bit tighter, though not forcibly enough to move her. Did she believe that all resulted from her lack of vision? All of it was for nothing?

"Was it really all for nothing? Our past, our experiences, shape us to be the people we are now. If none of that happened to you, where would you be now? Would you have been different growing up? Done things that the you now wouldn't be proud of? While looking back it may seem like a horrible past, but you can change things for the future. You aren't like the people you spoke about. While it may be only a select few people, the people you help from here on out will be grateful to you, whether they are the elderly, adults, or even children." He tilted his head further down, so he was just hovering strictly above the top of her head. With slow motions, Yuudai tilted his head downward, gently placing his lip on the top her head, giving her a chaste kiss. Lifting his head back up, and looking forward, Yuudai calmly asked Himitsu a question, "Would you like to go lay down?"

She sighed softly, sinking into the embrace a bit more with the comfort of his touch, the movement of his hand traced circles on her lower back, and his other hand played in her hair. It was comforting to feel so close to someone, after what she had gone through today, and in her life in general. For once, she didn't feel so lonely, and it didn't hurt as much. She felt kinda like she had someone, someone that cared about her... And that meant a great deal to her. Everything else had been painfully lonely, or some coma inspired fantasy to fill the void of an empty heart. She felt him hold her a bit tighter, she didn't protest, but simply let herself be held by his strong arms, relaxing a bit as she continued to try to calm herself down more after she was done explaining why she was acting so emotional right now.

Was it all for nothing? She thought the abuse had been all for nothing. She had never made her mother proud, even when she went through the tedious housewife training, and bleaching her hair every few weeks. Because in her family, blonde meant beautiful. Blonde meant Nobility. Blonde meant prestige. Not her. She had been born a redhead, though her father and mother where both blonde... Which made little sense, as well as her mother's drive to make sure that her daughter's hair continued to remain blonde. Should Himi go to a hair salon and get her roots re-dyed? They were likely starting to show again.

Now He was talking about how the past experiences that she had gone through shaped her to be who she was now. If she hadn't been subjected to those things, would she still be the same person? Yes and no. She wouldn't be anywhere near as paranoia or fearful. She wouldn't be anywhere near as untrusting towards others, she wouldn't be as reserved and quiet. But, she would still be a proper lady, she would still be rather unbiased, and courteous to all people. But... She just wouldn't be as broken. Broken. That's how she felt. Like she was some sort of damaged, broken shell. He was telling her that she could change things for the future, and that she wasn't like her mother or father... How she would help people, and make people be better off in life. She hoped what he said would be true, she really did.

She felt him lean his head over the top of the her crown, and slowly, tilt his head downwards. She was expecting him to simply rest his chin on her head while he held her, but, she was greeted with a cool surprise. She felt the coolness of his lips kiss the top of her head in a soothing way, in a way that gave her tingles down her back. Not bad tingles, or sexual tingles... But good, relaxing tingles that made her sigh out calmly. That one little show of affection and comfort meant a lot to her.

She heard him ask if she wanted to go and lie down. Did she want to rest? ... Yes, she did. Stressful, today had been stressful, and she needed a nap, and blankets, and maybe he would stay around until she fell asleep? She hoped that he would... Nodding her head, in a quiet voice, she said, "Yes..." Then she would wait for him to lead her to where ever she was to lie and rest.

He had gotten a quiet reply, one that faintly reached his ears, though with the relative quietness of the rest of the house, and the mysterious absence of Suichi; who he assumed had went to the backyard upon hearing the sobs of the female in front of him, he had heard clearly. Gently, and deliberately, using slow motions, Yuudai would move his hands away from Himitsu's back and weakly grasp both of her wrists his each hand, gently removing them from his person so it'd be easier to navigate through the house. Moving his right hand back up, letting it rest on her shoulder for a few moments, Yuudai would calmly nudge her to turn around, so he could direct her, with his hand rest upon her shoulder, almost as if he was pushing her body closer to his. While Yuudai would have normally taken her to the guest room, the room she was currently occupying, he instead had decided to lead her towards his own room, offering her a different environment, possibly even more comfort.

He would walk behind her though guide her through the hallway; making sure there was nothing that would obstruct their movement, as they would make their way to his room. Yuudai would pause before the door, so that he would be able to open up the door, as walking in to the door would be contradictory to what he was trying to achieve. Once opened, he would the guide the person he had known for just three weeks in to his room, a place where not many had ever entered. He was a private person, thus only having a select few individual ever enter his home, let alone his room. The atmosphere of the room wasn't any different than the rest of the house, it just felt more in tune with Yuudai than anything else, since he was the only person to sleep in this room, to have his own personal touch to the room. Very few items were visibly present, though that wasn't of a concern to Yuudai. There were too many factors adding up that would have normally caused him to have a headache, but he was able to resist one, due to the many times in the past five years he had developed one. Walking towards the bed, with Himitsu by his side, he would wait until she'd lay down on the queen-sized bed. The bed was minimally decorated, just three pillows graced it; two dark grey pillows on each side with a single white one laying on the other two at an angle, the only other things that were present was the navy blue sheets that tucked underneath the pillows and the dark grey blanket that rest on the edge of the bed. After she would lay down, he'd hesitantly drop to the side of the bed, looking at her, before asking her a simple question. "Himitsu, is there anything else you need?"

She felt him slowly remove his arms from around her body, pulling back, she let her own arms fall to her sides, letting her wrists slide into his soft grip. She felt his right hand run back up her arm to rest on her left shoulder, urging her to turn around, while seemingly holding her closer to his own form. Maybe he held her like that because of how fragile she seemed right now... Maybe he really did care, she believed that he cared, she just didn't know to what extent until now.

She let him lead her through the home, down the hallway. She was expecting him to guide her to the guest room, where she has been staying; but she was greeting with a pleasant surprise when he stopped before the end of the hallway and paused to open up the door to his room.

He was going to let her into his room? This was surprising to say the least... She knew his personality well enough to assume that he was probably a private person, even more so than she was, so, him letting her into his room? In her mind it only reinforced the idea that he cared about her even more than she had previously thought. His room, it smelled like the rest of the house, but it smelled like Yuudai even more due to the fact that this was the room that he slept, and likely spent a lot of his time. The room, though it was cold, was comforting to her, the thoughts that he was letting her into one of the most private places of his house, it was great solace to her confused mind.

She felt him stop, and assumed that they were at the bed now. Turning around, she sat on the bed and took her boots off carefully, setting them near the head of the bed on the floor. She would then move to semi-lie on the bed. Looking up at him, she would listen to what he asked, asked her if there was anything else that she needed.

Well... To be honest, she didn't really need anything else to survive necessarily... But, she did want for his company, at least until she fell asleep. Glancing from the foot of the bed, to the floor, then back up at him, she spoke in a quiet voice, "Could we please... Maybe cuddle for a little bit? ... Not the whole time, but at least until I fall asleep?" She asked, half way waiting for rejection... She didn't know if it was too much to ask of him, but she wasn't asking it in a sexual light, so she really saw no true issue with it, unless he was pressed for time and had something else he needed to do.

She would wait for his answer, then proceed to lay her head down on one of the three pillows. She wouldn't pull the covers up yet, as she wasn't cold and didn't see a point in making herself uncomfortably warm.

Yuudai waited a few moments before he received his answer. It was an odd request; cuddling, though it was a simple one that he could easily accomplish. The only problem being the distance he tended to keep away from people, to not let them in. Yet, here he was, allowing Himitsu to lay down on his bed, in his home, which he offered to allow her to stay at. The thought processes running through his brain felt ageless, as if time was just passing by, when in fact it was just mere seconds of silence. He already had done more than just cuddle her previously, he had embraced her just minutes ago. And, considering the frail emotional condition she was currently in, he wanted to stay near her, make sure she was perfectly fine, be sure she would be safe. With a slight nod, one that she wouldn't be able to see, he got back on to his feet with a light grunt of acceptance; though he probably should have taken a shower due to the light sweat he developed, but that would probably seem like a sign of rejection to Himitsu.

With that, Yuudai walked around the bed, towards the other side. He placed his katana down on the floor, removing the sash he wore to keep the sheathe in place, and bent downwards to remove the sandals and tabi he wore, as he hated the feeling of wearing items on his feet when he was in a bed, a personal preference of his. While normally he'd go to bed without he shirt, he decided to keep his kimono in tact, figuring it would not be appropriate for the time being. Lifting his now bare feet off the floor and on to the bed, Yuudai adjusted himself so hat he was facing towards the foot of the bed before allowing his torso to gracefully fall backwards, on to the mattress of the bed. Rolling over on to his right shoulder, allowing his left arm to slowly go forward until it would make contact with Himitsu. With his fingertips, he would nudge her towards him, allowing her to gain control of their position, so that she would be able to achieve the most comfort possible.

She waited for what seemed an hour for his response, then she felt him move and get off of the bed, and her heart sank, mind instantly thinking that he was just going to walk away; but then she heard his light grunt of acceptance, and her heart lifted once more. She had been scared that she had offended him in some sort of way, shape or form. She heard the soft sounds of his footsteps as he walked around the bed, the sounds of him taking his katana off, and the noises of feet sliding out of sandals. She felt as he then sat on the other side of the bed and let himself lean back before he then rolled onto his right side.

She felt his left arm touch her, his fingers nudging her closer to him while she would move to scoot back some, get a little bit closer. Close enough that he could wrap his left arm over her left side in a sort of lazy embrace. Whenever he got himself adjusted and comfortable, she would nuzzle into the pillow a bit, making a soft noise of comfort, before saying a quiet thank you to him. If he did indeed drape his arm over her side, she would move her arm to mimic his, resting above his own arm.

She would feel his cold temperature more so now than she had before, and on top of this she just felt enveloped by him in a good way. The bed smelled like him, the room in general did as well, and then he would likely be holding her close, his scent slightly musky smelling, kinda like the outdoors. He had probably been training while she was gone, seeing as she had heard him put a katana down, and he smelled a bit manly and nature-ish. Sighing softly, she'd let herself sink into the embrace and bed a bit more, taking only a few moments to fall asleep.

A light touch was placed upon his left hand, which automatically assumed was her own. He wasn't paying much attention to her hand, but rather his gaze was directed towards her back, being able to clearly see the entirety of her hair. There seemed to be something off about it, but his attention really did not want to investigate further, as the situation he had placed himself in was different then normal. Being this close, he should have felt wary, wanting to move his body further away, but the closer she got towards him, the more he felt like holding on, securing her in his arms; or in this case her arm. As she nudged herself backwards, closer to his own body, the tighter he wanted his hold, but he held off and instead had his arm loosely draped over her left side, he allowed it to hang over so that it was touching the sheets of the bed on the other side of Himitsu.

Adjusting himself, Yuudai pushed himself a bit closer, his head dropping on to one of the pillows, yet still near Himitsu's head. It seemed that his prior activities, the news thrust in his face, not only of the pregnancy, but the psychosomatic blindness seemed to takes it wear on the Aisu, but he couldn't sleep yet. Not until Himitsu was calm and relaxed. He heard a small noise escape her, interpreting it as she was comfortable. Then, a quiet thank you escaped her, though he doubted he needed to be thanked. In his tiredness, a small comment escaped him, though it didn't register in his brain that he said such a thing. "Anything for you." A few more moments passed by, before he heard her breathing even out, a sign that she had drifted off to sleep. He took in a deep breath through his nose, able to smell the scent coming off of Himitsu. He liked it. Yuudai, nuzzling a bit closer, closed his eyes, knowing he'd be asleep soon, thinking he'd be able to wake up before Himitsu. Taking in another breath, time seemed to be frozen, as if a second took forever, before everything became dark. Enveloped in a state of sleep.

"Anything for you." She had heard his voice say softly, but when he said it, and she had registered what he had said, her mind was already tired, already in sleep mode. She didn't just let it go in one ear and out the other, no, she would remember it, somewhere in her mind. When she had heard him say those three words, she smiled, making a soft humming noise before wiggling a bit closer. He was so close, and everything felt nice... Perfect. It was in this little moment, this sleepy, and happily 'warm' moment, that she decided her mind. She decided that she liked him, liked him more than just someone that she talked to, more than friend wise. She decided in that moment to trust in him, and to believe that he was one of the few good people left on the planet.

He had been nice to her, so very kind towards her, even though he had no need or obligation to act such a way. He had brought her back to her home village, and let her stay in his home. He was going to help her out, and he was comforting her, cuddling her even right now, holding her close to his body. It made her feel... Loved? Accepted? For now she didn't speak, no... She was too tired to speak, too emotionally worn out and drained to even bother with trying to speak...


To say that she wasn't sure how late it was when she woke up was an understatement. Making a few soft noises, she stretched casually, like a cat, before yawning. She had slept well, and now, for the most part, she was over the mental mindfucking she had gone through earlier. Someone else knew about her past. Someone that cared. Someone that she trusted and cared about. If his arm was still draped over her side, which it likely was, she would idly run her hand across his forearm in a distracted but happy way while she waited for him to wake up.

His eyelids were heavy though, that could easily be attributed to the fact he had just regained consciousness from his nap, a nap that he initially never planned to take. His left hand twitched, he could feel it resting off of someone's side. The sudden recollection came to Yuudai instantaneously. He was in his room, taking a nap with Himitsu. How long had they slept for? He honestly did not know, nor cared at this particular moment. Yuudai was comfortable, he barely wanted to move from his current position. The feeling of someone else's body, their body warmth provided a completely different atmosphere than when he usually slept on his own, though with the way he was, he knew he wouldn't just sleep with anybody. Laziness, tiredness, and mental exhaustion still played a minor role, causing Yuudai to snuggle in to the tufts of hair in front of him. He tried to keep his breathing light, making sure he wouldn't disturb the sleeping figure next to him, though that wasn't something he should have been concerned about due to the soft noise he heard escaping her, the stretching of her body pressing against his own. His brain couldn't perceive it as anything but stretching the stiffened body, not that he minded either way. Yuudai was there for her right now, though she had most likely woken before himself.

Yuudai's arm limply rested on the other side of Himitsu, his eyes slowly trailed open, though it took what felt like hours to do so. The comfort of the bed and the new sensation of waking up to somebody was different, welcomed. He once again nuzzled a bit closer, though not entirely sure why. The feeling of someone rubbing his forearm, as if casually pondering away while deliberately making these motions upon his person, Yuudai's lips tugged in to a soft smile. Letting  out a quiet yawn, as if the nuzzling didn't give away him now being awake, he waited a few seconds before he spoke in a tired voice  "How are you feeling now?"

As she lie there, thinking sleepy things to herself, she felt Yuudai move a bit, the soft noise of hair against a pillow tell her that he was likely moving his head a bit. This felt nice, wonderful even. Waking up next to someone in this way. It made her want to coo softly with her contentment. When she had finished stretching, she felt him nuzzle in even closer to her, holding her a little tighter, a little closer to his larger form. She liked it, he made her feel like she was home, in a way... He made her feel like she was protected and cared about, which was something that she had craved her entire life. He gave her happy feelings that she had never felt, these feelings of contentment, she had never experienced this type of peaceful relaxing.

She heard Yuudai let out a quiet yawn, letting her know that he was now more awake, and not just in the stages of light sleep. She heard his voice speak, a low, husky, tired voice. So close to her ear, it made her close her eyes and sigh out softly, how his breath tickled her in such a nice way. Rolling her shoulders slowly, she smiled in a soft, sleepy, but true way. He had asked her how she was feeling now, now that she had slept and was being cuddled... How did she feel? Physically, she felt cool, due to his arm being on her side, and her arm resting above that; but emotionally, mentally? She felt warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Speaking slowly, softly, in a voice that was obviously not ready to get up out of bed yet, she said, "I feel... Happier. Warm, and fuzzy on the inside you could say." She would yawn quietly, left hand moving from his forearm to cover her mouth, then moving from her mouth to run through her hair a bit before dropping back down to his hand, giving the appendage a light squeeze of affection.

"You know... Since it's been three weeks, it's heart started beating today." She said, like it wasn't anything surprising. It was true. Twenty-one days, the little tiny baby in her womb? It had a little fragile heartbeat. The thought made her smile. Love, she already felt a love towards the little human growing in her womb. Her baby, her and Yuudai's child. She continued to lay there, happily enjoying the feeling of being 'cherished'... That was, until she felt and heard tummy rumble. Laughing softly, she said, "So, can we have sandwiches for dinner?"

He felt some movement come from her part again, the rolling of her shoulders. His eyes were still staring in to the blondness of her hair. There still seemed something off about it, it didn't seem to natural, but it may have just been his eyes playing tricks upon him. The vision was still bleary, due to the tiredness of his eyes, thus he really couldn't make out minute details at the moment, not that he wanted to since he was comfortable. The light tilt to Himitsu's voice reached his ears once again, the fatigue present in her voice as she spoke out. Happy. That was good. Warm and fuzzy? He was slightly confused, mainly due to not wanting to think at this particular moment, but he nodded his head, a slight meaning to that phrase processing in his mind. Then there was the absence of her arm from his forearm, as to cover the yawn. There was nothing to comment on her statement, as long as Himitsu was feeling better, feeling more at home, not trapped in those negative thoughts.

The next few words to escape her reached his ears, bringing him back to the present. His eyes wide awake, his brain functioning back to it's normal basis. He hadn't forgotten, but rather the news of it all was beginning to finally sink in. Yuudai was going to be a father. His child's heart finally began to start breathing today. A quiet "Oh," escaped him. It wasn't one of defeat, of not wanting to have the child, but of the realization of it's existence. Of having his future altered completely. He would let his left hand, the one that Himitsu had lightly squeezed, be placed upon her stomach; if she didn't show resistance. He knew that he would feel nothing, but rather he wanted to be close to it at the moment, to allow his thoughts to come clearly to him.

Sandwiches? For dinner? Well, he certainly never had them for dinner, though he did have them near the time of dinner as a replacement for said meal. But, was it really considered dinner then? A grunt escaped him. "I suppose we could, though I doubt it's close to dinner right now." His eyes turned towards the window, the sunlight was still there, it seemed to be the afternoon. Maybe it was sometime around 3:00 pm. With his eyes wide open, his focus went back to Himitsu's figure, though being so close to her, he doubted he'd be able to spot anything of significance, besides the red he saw in her hair. Wait... Red in her hair? And blonde? "Why is there red?" His mouth spoke before his brain could process the task of speaking. He wondered if she'd be curious to know what he was speaking of, considering she had never seen colour before.

She heard him emit a quiet "Oh", a sound of realization. Maybe it was still taking time to sink into his head that she was really pregnant, that he was going to really be a father. She felt his arm move a bit, hand moving to rest on her lower belly. His doing that made her smile, even though normally, she would have flinched from something so cold being pressed on her warm stomach. He wouldn't be able to feel anything aside from her tummy rumbling, and aside from that she wouldn't likely being showing until she was at least eleven weeks or more, since this was her first pregnancy. She would move her hand to rest over his.

She heard him say that he doubted it was near dinner time, but he didn't mind. Well... She was hungry, she'd been up since early o'clock this morning, and she hadn't eaten anything all day, like she was used to. She kinda wanted sandwiches right now, but she was comfy. "Sandwiches for a late lunch then?" Moving a bit, she regretted it. Underwire. Stabbing. Uncomfortable. She, for obvious reasons, had not taken her bra off before laying down, and with her busty nature, underwire tended to sit uncomfortably when she slept in a bra. She fidgeted a bit, tugging on it some before giving an annoying sigh. "Sorry Yuudai... My bra, it can get rather uncomfortable when I sleep in it." She would just reach back to undo her bra with her left hand, before working her way out of the prison that it was. Getting it out from under her shirt, she let it drop onto the floor next to her side of the bed. Freedom. A feeling of freedom, to say the least, was brought on by the shedding of the material.

Sighing softly, she heard him ask why there was red. Red? Where? He knew that she couldn't see still, right? Why was he asking her about red? She didn't know what red he was talking about unless he was asking about her roots, which she assumed were showing now. "Oh... Do you mean my roots? I should get those dyed to blonde again, shouldn't I?"

Uncomfortable? He couldn't understand really due to the differences between genders, though he nodded, moving his torso slightly back as Himitsu would begin reaching back, in what he assumed was the removal of the garment beneath her simple, black t-shirt. Yuudai didn't feel like getting up at the moment, thus only moving his upper body backwards, away from her own. There was nothing implied, from his interpretation, just the removal of an uncomfortable piece of clothing she was wearing. Besides, he doubted after the events today, such things would be on her mind, they certainly weren't on his. Yuudai just wanted to relax, not do anything for the time being, though knowing it'd probably just a one off chance for him to forgo anything else. Presumably, there wasn't anything else he needed to accomplish today, such that he could have some freedom.

The comment about her hair somewhat surprised him, though at the same time he could tell from the seconds before when he had noticed the other colour in her hair. So, her roots were of another colour compared to the colour that, he assumed, she dyed her hair, the platinum blonde, almost twinging becoming a silverish-blonde, almost white colour. Shaking his still resting head, he didn't care much for the colour that she chose to dye her tresses, though he much rather prefer her natural appearance, the one she was born with, the one which was natural to her. "No." He didn't want to order her around, thus deciding to reword his statement. "I'd much rather prefer to see the real you. The hair colour you were born with. But, it's your choice in the end." He shifted his body over, his left arm being completely removed from her person, him laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't that he wanted to be away from her presence, but rather adjusting himself to be a bit more comfortable then having all that weight pressed against the right side of his body.

She heard him speak up. Telling her no, not to dye her hair to blonde again, because he wanted to see how she looked naturally, he would prefer to see the real her, what she was born with.

He... He wanted to see her red hair? Really? He would prefer that? But... She didn't really understand. Who liked red hair? Her mother had always said that her red hair was the misfortune and curse that she was showing in a physical way, which is why her mother constantly dyed her hair blonde the entire time she was living under her roof. Blonde. Her mother had also always emphasised the blonde hair colour, calling it the most flawless, the colour that suitors looked for, the colour everyone liked, and went to such lengths as to even dye Himi's eyebrows a light blonde. Himitsu had never argued with her mother over her hair colour, it just was something that always was in her house.

Was red acceptable to society? Would he like her red hair? Even more so than her current blonde colour? But what if he didn't? What if it made him look at her with disgust? She feared that to be honest. She didn't want him to be upset at her because of her hair... Wait, was she seeking his approval? Yes. Why? She didn't even know. Maybe it was because she trusted him, and liked him... She didn't want him to be disappointed in her, no, she wanted a relationship like this with him. One where she could just talk without being scared of being judged or abused for making a small mistake.

She felt him roll over, and almost instinctually, she rolled over, practically cuddling up to his side. Sighing softly, she would let her right hand rest on his chest. Looking up to his face she spoke. "So... you don't think my red hair is a sign of a curse? You actually want me to let it be red?" A hint of confusion showed in her voice as she snuggled to his side. "I mean... That's why my mother dyed it blonde... as well as men only really like blondes from what she told me..."

Yuudai never expected the added weight to his chest to follow after rolling over; something that was nearly instant as he rolled on to his back, yet it was comforting to know that she was accepting his presence, accepting him being near her. The smaller right hand that rested upon his chest made no difference to Yuudai, though somehow he preferred it being there than the thought of it being absent. Looking slightly downward, he noticed her eyes looking back up at him, reminding him slightly about the news that the doctor had given Himitsu. She always did seem to look to whom she was speaking to, though it may also be a way to hide her blindness, but the real question still remained lingering and unanswered. Was she really blind? That'd need to be discovered eventually, though either way, his opinion of her would remain constant, unchanging. There was no reason for him to think of her differently due to the conditions she faced, nor the colour of her hair as that was the subject of the current time.

She was raised to think that red hair was a sign of a curse? Where did that thought process come from? Himitsu's mother seemed to implant information in the person beside Yuudai, false information at that. A superstition that red hair was a curse? He would never believe it. Slowly, Yuudai's right hand found it's way to her hair, gently trapping it in her tresses, running his hand down the length. He did wonder what it would look on her, red hair that is. While appearances were just appearances, they usually gave off a basis of who the person is. Murmuring lightly, Yuudai would answer her questions, "I don't believe that it's a curse, nor understand why it's considered as such. It's natural. People are born with dark hair, bordering pure black, but that doesn't imply they are full of ill will, does it? I'd like to see your hair in it's natural state, but ultimately, it's for you to decide which you are more comfortable with." Her snuggling closer to him made him let out a small breath, his hand still playing a bit with her hair. "And as far as men preferring blondes, I guess you could say that applies to certain individuals. Everyone has their own preferences, so it cannot be applied to all males. In the end, it's just your appearance that changes, not your personality." He tilted his head slightly, in order to look at her eyes, whether they saw nothing or would be able to see himself. He wondered, if she was in fact psychosomatic blind, he wondered how she'd perceive him based off his appearance alone, doubting it'd change much based on getting to know the basis of each other's personality, but he wanted to know if he appealed towards her.

She felt him play his right hand through her hair, and to that she made a soft, pleased humming noise. She loved it when people played with her hair, or messaged her head. The sensation just made her feel better in general, not necessarily in a sexual way or anything like that, and the cold of his touch only made her scalp tingle in the most pleasant of ways. She would nuzzle into his chest a little while she listened to him quietly answer her questions. She liked his voice, it was nice and quiet, almost soft. Not harsh, like other people's voices could be, or loud. No, his voice was just right.

He didn't believe that it was a curse? He didn't understand why it was considered one? Well... To be honest, she never understood why her mother called her red hair a curse, but no one else's hair such a thing. She knew that it was a natural colour, just as natural as blonde or brown or black was. She knew that people born with dark hair were not full of ill will, at least, they weren't that way because of their hair. He said that he would prefer to see her natural colour, but that it was her choice in the end.

Not all men prefer blondes? But... Blondes were supposed to be perfect, the prettiest, at least, those were the standards in her household. Blondes being prefered, the prefered meat. She didn't like being looked at like she was some steak, like she was some piece of cattle or just some incubator for some man's child. She hated the way she had been looked down upon by the hungry eyes of suitors that had considered her when she was younger, before the fire, before her coma. He said that every person had their own preferences, which she understood, it was a given. She had just never thought of it in that way.

"Well... What hair colour do you prefer?" She asked. She was curious. She wasn't planning on going and dying her hair whatever colour he said that she liked, but if he liked red, and wanted to see her hair red, as it was naturally, then why not just get the blonde dyed to match her roots? Why not just give it a try for once and see how it turns out? Sighing softly, she spoke again, "What are we doing tonight? If you don't have anything planned, we should go out for dinner. You know, so you can show me a few good restaurants in town." She spoke, smile obvious in her voice alone. They should go out and enjoy the day, it was nice outside, in her opinion, a good night to take delight in a good meal and each other's presence. But she also had no issue staying here and having a nice home cooked meal. She just wanted to spend time with the man lying next to her on the bed.

"Well... What hair colour do you prefer?" What colour did he prefer? He never really thought about it before. If asked, he didn't have a real big preference, though something about darker hair colour seemed to intrigue him; red more so, though that was probably due to having naturally dark hair himself. And what of red hair? He certainly didn't dislike it, though he couldn't recall anyone he knew of with that coloured hair. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to see it. Just imagining it, a shade of red on Himitsu, he couldn't come up with a clear image in his head, though it certainly seemed to intrigue him. "Honestly, anything would be fine. But, I guess, I do prefer red." His hand continued to gently comb through her locks, absently just running up and down, having a mind of it's own.

At her suggestion of going out for dinner brought two things to mind. One, their short spurt of conversation about sandwiches, and then the thoughts about going out with Himitsu. It wasn't that he was afraid of people seeing him out with her, but rather due to the gossip that may spread about. He didn't care much for rumours about himself, but if it involved others, he'd rather avoid it. With his status, he knew that word would spread fast, if it came to knowledge, about the status of his relationship with Himitsu. Though, that problem would probably be solved if he informed Himitsu of his status of being a Sannin of the village, just as he did with his status as the clan head. Honestly, he had no idea where they stood with one another, but he knew there was an attraction on his end, something that was hovering in the back of his mind before the news he had recevied today. That news, if it caught on, would probably be sent throughout the village. "I guess we can go out for dinner if you wish to go. Anything in particular you want to eat? Besides sandwiches, of course." A gentle smile tugged at his lips at the slight jest to her earlier suggestion of the simple food for dinner. Once she answered, he decided it would be best to inform her now, rather than later, about his status. "I guess I should inform you now, rather than you finding out later, about my other... status." Pausing, thinking about how to say it, he hoped Himitsu's mind wouldn't wonder off. "Himi," It just rolled off his tongue, "I don't know how to word it properly, so I'll just tell you directly. I'm a Sannin of the village. Would that slightly change her mind about him? Would that cause her to not trust him due to not telling her at an earlier time?

She heard him answer her that he guessed he did prefer red. She smiled. Red it would be then. Tomorrow, she would go and get her hair dyed to match the colour of her roots, including her eyebrows, which had been dyed blonde as well. It made her rather happy that he wanted to see her as she was naturally, that he actually prefered red hair... It made her feel... special in a way. Like she was something that he liked, and somehow that made her feel better about herself. "I guess tomorrow, I'll get my hair dyed to match my roots." She said softly as she felt his hand continue to comb through her long locks, playing with her hair. Well, by now she wanted to purr, her fingers curled just a little bit, a sign that she was enjoying him messing around with her tresses. "I really like it when you play with my hair, it makes me feel more relaxed."

After a moment she heard him speak again, saying that they could go out for dinner if she wanted, then he asked her if there was anything that she specifically had in mind, before making a jest about her craving the sandwiches. She let out a gentle laugh at his playful teasing. "Well... Hmm... Do you know any good steakhouses? I'm feeling a craving for steak tonight, after we have sandwiches for our late lunch, though. My stomach is going to eat my ribs before dinner time comes 'round." She said with a playful smile, snuggling closer to him. Now her chest was pressed against his side, which for her, wasn't uncomfortable at all, though for him it might have been a different story. He was cold, and felt good contrasting how warm she normally was, and she, at times, forgot about her busty-ness.

She heard him speak up again, shortly after her answer, telling her that he would rather let her know of his other status before she found out herself... What did he mean by other status? Village ranking? Relationship status? Status among the public? She quickly ruled out the relationship status, if he was involved with someone else, then he wouldn't have slept with her, right? He wasn't cheating on some other poor soul with her, right? Plus, he had said before that he had a few acquaintances, and she hadn't noticed any others floating about the house. Maybe he meant social status, yeah, that was likely it. She snapped back to attention when she heard him call her by a pet-name as if it was nothing. She felt good, knowing that he was comfortable enough around her to give her a nickname, a pet-name as such. He then informed her that he was a Sannin of the village. Well, to say that it didn't really surprise her all that much was a bit of an understatement.

"Oh, well, I already assumed from the size of your chakra pool and the power of your chakra, that you were a Jounin at the lowest possible rank. You being a Sannin didn't surprise me, but thank you for telling me." She paused for a moment, what could she share about herself, her status? "Would it surprise you if I told you that I am an heir of a princess from long ago? She, and her father, who was a king, is the reason that my family is nobility, and also to reason why my clan had strange customs compared to the newer aged nobility clans."