Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Balance ❯ She's Nice ( Chapter 3 )

The hungry members of team 8 walked down the street in their usual manner: Shino with his hands in his pockets, Kiba with Akamaru at his side, and Hinata… well, quietly. She never acted shy around them, Kiba thought. Quiet, but not shy.

 

“Um… Kiba-kun?” Hinata began, noticing they were headed toward a certain Jinchuuriki's favorite ramen shop.

 

“Hm?” he replied.

 

“Um wh-where a-a-are-“

 

“-Where are we going?” Shino interrupted, knowing that he'd sooner have grown a beard than Hinata have finished her sentence.

 

“Huh? Oh, didn't I tell you? We're eating at Ichiraku's.” he said mocking innocence. He wanted Hinata to face her crush already. Honestly, it was getting kind of annoying.

 

I hope Naruto-kun is there… she thought and smiled bashfully.

 

When they had arrived and ordered (Hinata a bit disappointed that Naruto wasn't there) they sat together eating in the usual silence. Kiba slurped loudly, trying to break it, but failed miserably. Looking left and right, he saw his teammates eating very silently; not making a single slurping noise. Kiba was a bit fed up.

 

“It's like I'm eating by myself here! You guys don't talk or slurp or show any signs of life at all! Jeez, say something!”

 

Shino sucked in the remaining noodles. He lifted his napkin, and gently patted his mouth clean. “Something.” He said, placing the napkin next to his empty bowl.

 

“Oh, so you're gonna be a wise guy eh?” Kiba said. He stood and scowled at his hooded friend.

 

Hinata turned away and looked outside the booth. She did this every time her teammates fought; just looked away. Trying to break them up was much too much of a chore, even for the peace-loving, obedient Hinata. Gazing out at the halves of the passer-bys that the flags of the booth didn't cover, she found her hand reaching into her pocket for the emblem. Part of her hoped it was Naruto's, and that she could return it to him and he'd thank her with a kiss and sweep her off her feet into the sunset. She sighed dreamily.

 

Suddenly some brightly colored things crossed her view. She could see them from in between the flags and wondered what they could be. After a watching a bit longer, she saw they were people; people with very colorful hair.

 

Then she saw it.

 

On the forearm of one of the people was a tattoo; of the very emblem she studied so closely! Kiba and Shino stared at her. She was so hooked on the sight of it that she didn't notice Naruto standing right in front of her, leaning close to her face, saying her name.

 

“Hinata!” he said, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked and soon blushed madly at the close proximity her crush was in. Still, she couldn't help but flick her gaze back at the tattoo and its owner. She stood up quickly, avoiding even touching Naruto. In her attempting to run after them, she stumbled on the stool and tripped straight out of the store.

 

“G-gomennasai!” she called, turning on her way toward the tattoo's owner, and a lot of answers.

 

“Will she just pick a guy already?” Shino said watching her run after the bright-haired teens. Kiba elbowed his ribs.

 

“Jealous?” he asked.

 

“Heh, I'd be.” Naruto said. Kiba's gaze flicked to him. “Those are lucky guys. Hinata's nice.” He said, smiling his cheesy, shut-eyed grin while Kiba stared in shock.

 

She would have killed to hear that. Naruto you knuckle-head. He thought.

 

She staggered over behind the three and saw that they all bore head bands, and those strange tattoos on their forearms. When she was just about to run into them, she stopped. What am I doing? What will I say? What if it isn't theirs? Oh, how embarrassing that would be! She thought, and jumped in an alley. Soo enough, they were almost out of sight among the people. She looked in her hand at the metallic insignia. I… I have to return this. What if it IS theirs? They could have vital information about what we saw earlier. She continued to contradict her thoughts, hiding and reemerging, over and over, until they finally began to talk.

 

“Do you really think this guy is going to go along with this? I mean, he's a kage,” A boy with green hair began gesturing as he walked and spoke. He styled his grassy locks like Kakashi-sensei's: windblown, only he had a few strands hanging over his headband. His eyes were dark brown, and he had a lightning shaped scar on his left cheek. His clothes were much like Kabuto's.

 

“The Hokage is a woman.” A girl with her very red hair in a mid-low ponytail corrected blankly. Her headband was a bandana tied at the top of her head, leaving some hair in her face. She wore a fishnet shirt with sleeves up to her elbows and a black vest, dark gray ninja Capri's, and a skirt like Sakura's. Her eyes, a vibrant hazel, looked gentle, yet surprisingly fierce.

 

“Yeah, ok so… wait- WHAT?!” he exclaimed and stopped right in his tracks. “Jeez, what are we coming to?” he mumbled. The girl shot a glare at him and he sweat dropped. “W-well a-anyway, she isn't just going to agree with our `proposition' without making us prove it.”

 

“Well, well Taizo, that's pretty well thought out.” The girl said, seemingly impressed. Another boy smiled. Hinata watched him carefully. He seemed… different from his companions. He acted more reserved, shy even, but he still had a sense of self-confidence that showed through. His hair matched this. It was a soft, light blue that ended at the base of his neck. His bangs were in five curved spikes; three hanging over his forehead and two sticking in the air. He wore a blue fishnet shirt, light brown ninja pants, and a beige scarf-like cloth that wrapped around his shoulders a few times but still left its ends hanging. She was just finishing analyzing him when the red head spoke again.

 

“Don't worry. She'll listen.” She began smirking in a way that sent chills down Hinata's spine. “If she cares about her village at all, she'll listen.”

 

The blue haired boy stared at her the same way Hinata was feeling: confused, and worried. He leaned in and whispered something in the girl's ear. She said something back with a serious look and her gaze shot over her shoulder at a bush behind her. The very bush Hinata was hiding in. Apparently, he knew she was there too; he didn't seem surprised.

 

The girl's right hand rose up to the sheath that was placed across the small of her back. It lay on the hilt of a very dangerous looking sword on her left side. Slowly, she began to slide it out. Hinata's hair stood on end at the sound of its sharpness. She had tried to keep hidden behind the bush so the other girl would forget her, but doing so would mean she wouldn't see whatever attack was headed for her. She completely forgot she had byakugan on her side.

 

Finally, she decided to take a chance. She was going to peek.

 

Come on Hinata, you can do this. She told herself. Slowly she began to rise from the bush so that her eyes could see just over it. When the top was at eye level, she saw the girl standing with the boys where they had been a few moments ago, sword in hand. She squinted, and blinked.

 

And there she was.

 

Her view of the three was suddenly blocked by a person standing before her. She could've sworn she felt her heart skip a beat, because, looking up at the person before her, she saw the red haired girl, looking blankly down at her with the sword on its way to her head.

 

CLANG