003rd saving smile [action]

[selfdoubt]

[Action]

[It's a nice clear day and Hinata wants to take advantage of this. She has been staying in her room for days now (not that it's something she didn't initially choose) and today seems like a good day to be staying outdoors.

Of course, this doesn't mean she's engaging on outdoor activities because the moment one passes by the park, she's peacefully seated on one of the benches reading her book. There's a small smile on her lips as she turns its pages. Whatever it is she's reading, it seems interesting enough for her that any outer distraction flies over her head. Proof of this is that when the gentle wind dances along her tresses, she only tucks one stray strand of hair under her ear in a careful motion while her pearl eyes never left the text of her book.

From where she's seated, sunlight tries to peek through the leaves of the tree behind her, casting playful lazy beams on her serene form. Flipping another page, Hinata uses her pressed flower as a bookmark when the wind picks up.]

Ah-!

[The flower then escapes her grasp as it glides through the wind. She tries to catch it but it proves futile. Now if only someone will be able to find it for her.]

Comments

[avaricious]

You'll have to hurry to get to the ending first. Do you have much longer?

[selfdoubt]

[She looks down at her book and then smiles up at Ling.]

Not much anymore, actually. I- I think I have already arrived at the second to the last chapter.

[avaricious]

Well then, you might just make it after all. So what is it about?

[selfdoubt]

Ah, it's, well... it's about a love story despite social constraints.

[avaricious]

[Whuh oh. This might be hitting close to home.]

What sort of social constraints?

[selfdoubt]

[When she starts telling Ling about the big, her voice turns a little somber.]

The man in the story is very ambitious and for him to realize his dreams, he has to leave the only woman she loves since she is not of noble descent. [The usual guy is rich, girl isn't, they can't be.]

[avaricious]

[... wow. Really, really close to home.]

His dreams must be important, then. Whatever they were, it must be worth sacrificing his own happiness to achieve them.

[selfdoubt]

[That doesn't sit well for her, though.]

But... the poor woman who loves him much more than her own dreams. [That's just unfair.] Are there dreams that are really that important?

[avaricious]

Some dreams are bigger than just people. Love is just one sacrifice that's made to see them made reality.

[selfdoubt]

I see. [What if Naruto's own dream forces him to sacrifice things too? Like, perhaps, what they have right now? Hinata's chest begins to ache. That's probably what she fears for the most now.]

That's... very sad.

1/2

[avaricious]

I suppose it is. [He feels a little distant and conflicted himself. It's so easy to want to forget about ambition in a place like this, but...]

[avaricious]

[He brightens up immediately.]

But I wouldn't worry about it. After all, true love always prevails in the stories. I'm sure the author found a way for everyone to get what they want.

[selfdoubt]

[Hinata gives a small smile at that. So far, she had only read one tragic ending after finishing a lot of these books so that's a good sign.]

Oh, I do hope that's how everything turns out in the end.

[avaricious]

I wouldn't worry about it. Stories are always a lot nicer than the real world.

[selfdoubt]

I... suppose. They are a means of escape, after all. [She glances down at her book.] Even if they are somehow patterned from real events.

[avaricious]

True. Though people's lives don't always have happy endings.

[selfdoubt]

I- I agree. But endings are usually always up to the person telling the story whether they want it to end happily or not.

[avaricious]

That's the good thing about fiction, eh?

[selfdoubt]

I suppose so, yes.

[avaricious]

Well, I won't distract you for too long, Hinata. Just be sure to let me know if it ends on a happy note.

[selfdoubt]

Ah, I'll be sure to, Ling-san. [A soft blush dusts her cheeks.] M- Maybe you'd like to... borrow this book some time for your own convenient read?

[avaricious]

Oh ho, no thanks. I'm not much of a reader, myself. My tutors made me read more than I cared to as it was.

[selfdoubt]

Oh, tutors? [She blinks.]

[avaricious]

Tutors are like teachers. Only more personal.

[selfdoubt]

Ah, I know who tutors are but... why do you have one if I may ask?