Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Diplomacy ❯ Crack-Up ( Chapter 4 )

     The day was coming to an end. As was Hinata’s patience.

     After ramen, Hinata had offered Chie a tour of the village. It wasn’t anything fancy. In fact, she had given it many times before. It was a routine tour given to potential clients while they stayed in the village to hire Konoha-nin for whatever task they would need. Such tours were among Hinata’s first solo assignments for the diplomatic corps. She had had some major difficulty at first, her reluctance in social situations making itself known despite what improvement she’d made by that time. Once she had managed to memorize the entire route and all the information the tour entailed, giving it had become much easier, even fun at times.

     Still, as Hinata gave the tour this particular time, Chie had constantly interrupted with question after question. Most of them weren’t even sensible questions. It was mostly a series of silly question after silly question. There had been so many that, along with what she’d observed of Chie’s personality, Hinata was absolutely positive Chie was, for whatever reason, intentionally trying to get her goat. The only reason Hinata could come up with was that her charge was trying to test her chaperone in some way. Hinata was determined to not let Chie get to her. However, Chie was equally determined to get to Hinata and was currently using her latest tactic to irritate her.

     “Why do you blush so much whenever I call you ‘Phantom?’” Chie asked seriously. She had quickly picked up on Hinata doing that whenever Chie used that nickname, especially when she did so in public.

     “I’m sorry, Chie-san.” Hinata replied, “I just find it a little embarrassing.”

     “Oh… ;” Chie answered, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you with the nickname. It’s just something I do when I wanna be friends with someone.

     “Well then,” Chie continued as she suddenly became very thoughtful, “Maybe we should come up with something better.”

     “W-Wait!” stammered Hinata, who didn’t want a nickname at all, “Th-That’s no-”

     “We could try shortening it!” Chie interrupted, “Phantom… Phantom… ah! We could call you ‘Tom.’ Or maybe ‘Phanni.’” Chie quickly chose when she saw the horrified expression on Hinata’s face, which only worsened with the second suggestion.

     “Oh, come on. That one’s cute.”

     Chie only pressed harder when Hinata didn’t respond.

     “Phanni? Answer me. Don’t you think ‘Phanni’s’ cute Phanni?”

     Even someone as quiet and patient as Hyuga Hinata had her breaking point. And Chie had quite simply pushed Hinata to hers. She just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

     “Will you please cut that out?!” Hinata suddenly shouted. Then suddenly clamped her hands over her mouth, “Oh, Chie-san! I’m so sorry!”

     Chie only stood there, mouth hanging open and shocked expression in her eyes. Hinata was suddenly very nervous. She hadn’t gone too far, had she? She wasn’t all too relieved when Chie actually started laughing.

     “You are something else!” she said as she wiped away tears, “I put all that effort I can getting under your skin; and not only do you last ‘til almost sundown, you’re still polite when you finally crack! You’re apologizing too! My own mother could never put up with me that well!”

     Hinata stood there, unsure of how to react. Was Chie making fun of her or was she paying the girl a compliment?

     “I’m sorry, Pha… I mean, Hinata.” Chie said when she finally calmed down, “Whenever I make new friends I always try to see just how far I can go before they get mad. I figure it’s better to learn the other’s limit right away than do it accidentally somewhere down the line.”

     “Th-that’s all right, Chie-san.” Hinata said, feeling a faint blush cross her cheeks at being called a “friend.” She didn’t really have many aside from her teammates and Naruto.

     “But… c-could you please n-not… um…” Hinata stammered, trying to put it delicately.

     “Annoy the hell out of you?” Chie asked.

     Hinata nodded.

     “Not a problem.” Chie said before putting her hand over her heart, “I swear that I will never go out of my way to get on your nerves… deliberately.”

     “That will be fine.” Hinata replied with a smile.

     “One thing though…” Chie said, “… Can I still call you Phantom?”

     Hinata, after a second of thought, gave a reluctant nod.

     As the sun began to set, Hinata and Chie decided to call it a night. Hinata would take Chie home before going to the Diplomatic offices to offer her report on Chie and the day’s events. Considering the embarrassment she’d had today, she wasn’t looking forward to it, but duty was duty.

     Fortunately, since Chie’s goal had been to see just how far she could push Hinata, she was no longer going out of her way to be a pain. Now that she knew Hinata’s limit, she was keeping herself toned down and avoiding going too far. They chatted on the way back about various things. While most of the day had been spent with Chie getting Hinata to talk about herself, Hinata was now learning about her new friend. Chie had begun telling her about her Chûnin Exam a year and a half prior, approximately a year before Hinata’s first shot at it.

     “I was one of only two people who got promoted that exam.” Chie said, a slight air of bragging entering her voice, “I remember the day we were first notified. My mother was just beaming with pride.”

     Hinata, trained to be more sensitive to body language, suddenly saw a flicker of emotion go over Chie’s face. It was only for a moment it seemed as though a moment of sadness crossed by her friend’s features. Chie also began to clutch her right hand around a canteen she had tied to a small strap that went around her torso.

     “Chie-san…” Hinata asked tentatively, “Your mother… is she…?”

     “Yeah.̶ 1; Chie answered, guessing Hinata’s question, “She was killed recently. That’s the main reason I’m here. I want to try and learn about the man who did it.”

     “Why would coming to Konoha help?” Hinata asked.

     “There are only two things I know of my mother’s killer.” Chie responded, “One, he is a Nuke-nin of this village. And two-”

     Before Chie could respond, Hinata suddenly tensed up and assumed a fighting pose. Hinata had noticed something wrong with the scenery and, seeing with her Byakugan a potential threat, acted immediately. Unsure of the exact situation, Hinata opted for a non-lethal attack to be safe. She reached into a pouch she carried next to her shuriken pouch. She extracted from it a handful of leaves and cast them into the air. As they fluttered before her and a slightly confused Chie, Hinata began weaving the proper ninjutsu signs to activate one of her recently acquired techniques. A power she’d learned as one of the forest.

     “Konoha no Shuriken no Jutsu!” Hinata whispered lightly as she hit the last sign of the sequence. The leaves in front of Hinata suddenly began to glow and, with blinding speed, shot forward at a large stone that was sitting just by the road. However, as the leaves hit and embedded themselves into the rock, it suddenly flew into the air and, from underneath it emerged a very startled little girl.

     “Hanabi?!” Hinata asked in surprise. She next breathed a sigh of relief as she realized there was no danger. She looked to Chie though, and realized she wasn’t reacting as well. She was standing there, her gaze shifting from Hinata and Hanabi’s faces, both of which had the blood vessels of the head bulging out with the use of the Byakugan. Hinata didn’t believe she was scared, but for some reason the sight of the two Hyuga girls with their Kekkei Genkai activated was affecting her strongly.

     What Hinata didn’t realize was the second detail Chie knew of her mother’s killer. The first was that he was a Missing Ninja of Konoha. The second was that he was a user of Dôjutsu. Ninja arts performed by the eyes.