As luck would have it, the person taking care of him was none other than Hinata, with whom he had just established a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. While enjoying this sweet care, he also tasted a sliver of bitterness from having "lost all his dignity."
Over the past few days, Hinata seemed to have had some kind of seal undone; she was no longer that shy little girl who blushed at the mere sound of her own voice and fainted at the drop of a hat. She had grown bold, proactive, and occasionally even carried a hint of mischievous, low-key black-bellied playfulness.
For instance, she would take a picture of him drooling while he slept, or snap a close-up of him frowning as he drank his medicine, under the fine-sounding excuse of "adding some interesting material to our future memories."
"Don't worry, Toru-kun," Hinata said, as if seeing right through his thoughts. She leaned in, her warm breath brushing against his ear. "These photos, only I can see them."
The young girl's fragrant breath made Toru Kujyo's heart skip a beat, and the lecture he had originally intended to give got stuck in his throat. So be it; dark history was dark history. Being documented by his girlfriend wasn't shameful.
"My eyes feel much better," Toru Kujyo changed the subject. He could sense that within those "temporarily dead" Tenseigan, a new power was slowly and steadily brewing. "This excessive consumption wasn't entirely a bad thing. I can feel my pupil power breaking and then rebuilding; perhaps... it's about to usher in a new evolution."
"Evolution?" Concern filled Hinata's tone.
"Mmh, unlocking even greater power."
Just as they were speaking, a faint chakra fluctuation came from the base entrance.
Hinata immediately stood up, activated her Byakugan, and after taking a quick look, made