despite the stinging comment projected onto her and her apparent ' nagging ’, the hyuga knew to remain grounded with her words, even when face to face with to such insolence, stranger or not. her intentions were not meant to deter the weapon-nin’s feelings from being honest and placed upon a newcomer like mugen. no, in truth, she was naturally protective of her—perhaps one could see them as sisterly, in a sense.
to her, tenten was seen as that of an older sibling when it came right now to it. she was not only a close friend and superior to the heiress, but would forever remain neji’s close comrade; a friend whom he cherished all the same, and would no doubt protect her, no matter what. perhaps it was instinctive to keep her within close range, considering the situation. of course, mugen’s attitude when it came to considering her feelings and the lack of understanding where she was coming from had certainly rubbed the young kunoichi the wrong way.
alas—she could not change his unruly ways. not that she wished to, if truthful.
if anything, all hinata wanted was tenten to be happy.
was she? would she be truly safe within his care?
biting her tongue back, porcelain features softened some. to cause conflict with the man who—apparently ensured—her friend’s safety wasn’t a goal, nor even an attempt. so, with a soft breath passing between her lips, hinata merely scanned the sharp angles of sun baked scowls for a brief moment. he had guts and took risks—and certainly, it didn’t seem like much could get through his path, nor his main objective in protecting the weapon-nin.
not that she needed it, of course.
&once again, she uttered a quiet sigh; voice, softer than before.
“ .. if you can guarantee that—— ..
then, i suppose i shouldn’t let myself worry too much. ”
a pause is taken, lips pursing for a moment.
“ ——tenten-san. she’s .. very precious to me, mugen-kun.
i just .. want to see her smile more. we’ve .. lost a lot in our youth. ”
「∞」; He always knew that this gal was quiet -- that bothered him as well, since it took effort to strain and hear her, and indeed Mugen was an incredibly lazy man if it suited him. But he concealed those thoughts as well for ultimately, they were of little consequence. Had he a less defiant nature, he perhaps wouldn't have minded at all, but it was that very defiance that defined him, he made certain of it. Thusly, Hinata's persisted words served for a further source of dull irritation, represented upon rough and tan visage by the thin scowl he sported. He wasn't impressed by her earnest pleas.
Mugen understood that the people here had a deeply entwined history with each other. From what little he knew, these people had all grown up together, fought together, and even died together. They were close -- he got the message all on his own.
Similarly, he understood that he was absolutely none of that, nothing like them. Loose, immoral, blusterous, and an adamant mystery. He hadn't faced war like them, he hadn't grown up with them or even in any similar culture. And frankly, he liked it that way, being able to put everyone at arm's length and keeping them there. With that, there was control over his own destiny -- such as his decision to try this dating scene with TenTen. And though a good deal went unspoken between them due to the man's constant air of nonchalance, they had reached a series of mutual silent agreements.
He would leave in due time.
Automatically his promise to Hinata was null and void.
But he had made that guarantee partly to silence her, and because he knew it would have been the practical response. To say instead 'it just won't end well' would have immediately showered the wrath of all of TenTen's closest friends and honestly, what a mess.
As for simple domestic disputes they were bound to fall in to, he didn't particularly care. In an ideal world, the protectiveness over his girlfriend would cease here with this discussion, and they would be allowed the independence they needed to continue to develop and further their relationship. He knew in the least that was how things worked as far as relationships went.
Mugen kept his air of nonchalance to counterbalance Hinata's mood. Further defiance
"Damn, quit gettin' all dramatic on me. She'll be fine. Her face might hurt from all the smilin' and shit or somethin'."