Rising Sun

Trauma

Naruto sighed, "Its Hinata..." He started to explain what happened earlier that day at the Academy. Tanjiro listened patiently over dinner and sighed as Naruto concluded his tale, "Naruto...it wasn't you that is at fault, so you don't have to feel down. But it isn't any of her faults either, at least not directly,"

Naruto munched on his pickled radish, "Then what was her problem?"

Tanjiro pondered over his words to explain to Naruto in a way the boy can understand, "The Hyuuga...is a very proud clan. I'm sure you have seen the way they carry themselves? They are like nobilities, they have a set way and certain things are just expected of their clan. One of them was pride; pride in their clan, pride in their Taijutsu and pride in their Dojutsu. They are a clan of both nobles and warriors. While Hinata-chan sounds like a sweet girl,"

At Naruto nod, Tanjiro continue, "But there is no sweetness in such a clan. She is...slowly ruined by their expectations. If you still wish to be her friend then you need to be kind and patient. She will need time to break out of her shell. People like her are usually the strongest when they really want to protect someone,"

In Tanjiro's mind was Kanao's smile. She was his wife but they weren't together for long because not long after the war with Muzan she fell really sick. Yet she was his pillar of strength whenever he started doubting his own will after his turn. Kanao's strength was the quiet kind, the type that shines the brightest when someone else was drowning in their own darkness.

Her light was never hers to wield for herself but rather she wield it for others...

From what he can see of this Hinata, she was a lot like Kanao.

But Kanao has a lot of people who taught her that it was okay to be weak. Tanjiro was the one who gave the strength to speak her own mind. He knew then to Hinata, Naruto was her Tanjiro. But unlike Tanjiro, Naruto do not know this. Now, Tanjiro did not approach Kanao with any idea of romance. He was all brotherly with her but that grew into something else.

Not Naruto because Naruto's not him...

Tanjiro suddenly had an idea, "Why don't you continue to approach her? Be her friend and invite her to spar with you like you did today?"

Naruto frowned, "But she won't hit me, 'ttebayo!"

Tanjiro nodded, "Did you ask her why, though?"

"Huh?"

"People never do things without a reason...unless they are mentally ill,"

With that advice still ringing in his ears, Naruto approached Hinata the next day and sat beside her during breaks between classes. He took out his gourd and blow. She was stiff beside him the whole time but soon relaxed when he does nothing else. Naruto knew how to approach wary people; he had been living as one almost all his childhood after all.

He let her relax as he does what he usually does; minding his own business. Soon he could feel that she's all calm. By break time, he asked her, "Do you want to join me for a spar, Hinata?"

She looked uncertain but nodded in agreement. Naruto beamed and her shy face flushed red. As they made their way out, he asked her gently, "Can you tell me why it's hard for you to hit me, Hinata?" Before she could bolt, he grabbed her hand, "I just want to know!"

She looked shocked that he would hold her and Naruto ignored the part of his mind that's screamed that he's touching a girl for the first time in his life...and that she hasn't hit him yet. Hinata stared at him, fear still flickering in her pale eyes that's less and less unnerving or strange the longer Naruto look at her. In the end she pulled him to a lone bench and sat. He dutifully does the same.