Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Diplomacy ❯ The Ways of the Crane ( Chapter 6 )

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The next morning found Hanabi unable to visit Chie with Hinata. Not because of Chie or Saruwatari, but because of their father. Hanabi had forgotten that Hyuga Hiashi had her scheduled for training, and Hanabi wouldn’t dare try to skip it. Nor did she wish to, she told Hinata, as the day’s training consisted of learning to see Tenketsu, the points on the human body that are to the body’s Chakra system as pressure points were to the physical body.

Hinata was surprised, as Hanabi was younger than she when she had begun. Even Neji had just mastered it by the time of the Chûnin Exam. Both he and Hinata had been working at it for a while beforehand, as well. That made it likely Hanabi wouldn’t progress very far very quickly. Still, Hinata wished her little sister luck and went on her own way.

Hinata had considered what to do this second day with Chie, if she wished to go out. And go out Chie would. Hinata had grasped enough of Chie’s personality to gather she was the type who didn’t like to stay in one place given the choice. However, where to take Chie and what to do presented some problems. While Chie was a guest of Konoha, the village council saw no reason to restrict her to only her borrowed apartment. However, she was still a kuno’ichi from a foreign village. One whom, regardless of her actual objectives, would remember and take back home with her any secrets she might uncover regarding Konoha’s community and ways.

That in mind, Hinata’s plans for the most part had to be cleared with her superiors before she could do anything. The tour had been easy. It’s given to nearly all foreign visitors to Konoha, ninja or civilian. From there, things got tricky. But finally Hinata came up on an idea that Saruwatari had approved whole-heartedly. Hinata would take Chie through a small trek through the fields and forests outside the village. Hinata thought Chie might enjoy a nature walk, and little was kept in the area Hinata was to go that Chie shouldn’t see. In fact, some areas were actually used during Chûnin Exams, so Chie’s seeing them wasn’t a problem at all.

That thought reminded Hinata, as she knocked on Chie’s door, to ask her superiors what was done for visiting ninja when those examinations were held. At first there was no answer. Hinata checked the time and wondered if she’d gotten here too early and Chie was still asleep. She knocked again, this time receiving a “come in” in response. Hinata opened the door and walked in. As she removed her sandals she took a look and gave a sudden gasp of fright. In the center of the room was a chair, tipped over so that its legs were sticking out and up. This wouldn’t have frightened Hinata were it not for the fact that standing on top of that chair, balancing herself on one of the chair’s legs with only one of her legs, was Chie.

Worse yet, Hinata’s gasp had surprised Chie and she began losing her balance. Before Hinata could move however, Chie managed a leap off of the chair, landing on her right hand and balancing herself as she tipped forward to get back on her two feet. When she and Hinata’s faces met, Hinata noticed Chie wasn’t happy.

“What was that?!” Chie demanded, “You nearly made me fall!”

“S-Sorry!” Hinata stammered, “I-I just s-saw you standing on the chair a-and…”

“You got worried. I see. Forget it…” Chie said, waving her hand dismissively. Then blushed a bit herself, “Sorry I blew up at ya.”

“I-It’s okay…” Hinata replied, “But that was dangerous! What were you doing?”

“Training.” Chie said simply, “It’s part of my morning routine. And I never slip in my routine if I can help it. Tea?”

Hinata nodded and accepted a cup Chie had poured and offered.

“So just what kind of training was that?”

“Tsuru-Nindô.” Chie answered, “The Crane Ninja Way. It’s the tradition of my mother’s family, passed down the generations. I guess it’s kinda like your eyes, but not genetic.”

Hinata nodded. Along with the Hyuga, there were other clans who passed down abilities and techniques.

“Tsuru-Nindô is predicated on one simple principle. Balance. Balance in all things, physical, mental, and emotional. My standing on one leg is a traditional stance for our Taijutsu styles. My mother once told me that those who have truly mastered Tsuru-Nindô could battle small armies without ever balancing themselves on more than one limb at any given time.”

“Wow.” Hinata exclaimed, “So your standing on the chair was-”

“-to help strengthen my balance. Yeah. Keep it, and myself, steady. So, what’s planned today.”

“If it’s okay with you, I know some places in the forests in the village that are rather interesting.”

“A nature walk? Sounds good to me.” Chie said, “Just let me go change.”

She stood up and gestured at her origami-printed pajamas before going to the bathroom to change into more appropriate clothes. Hinata finished her tea, ate some crackers she sincerely hoped weren’t all Chie had eaten that morning, and waited.

“This place is called the Forest of… um… Death.” Hinata explained as they approached a large, fenced-in forest, “This is where the second portion of my Chûnin Exam was held.”

“Deadly creatures of all varieties inside?” Chie asked. Hinata nodded.

“Had to be tough.”

“Not as much as you’d think.” Hinata said, “M-My teammates and I were able to complete our objective within the forest and reach our final goal fairly quickly. So we weren’t in there for long…”

“But you didn’t pass the exam yourself?”

Hinata shook her head, “They held preliminaries before the final test. Only one of my teammates got through, but he wasn’t promoted.”

The Forest of Death was only one of the various locations Hinata had brought Chie to. Among others were basic training grounds for some of the village’s ninja and the memorial stone bearing the names of those who died in the line of duty. Chie had shown some interest in this, mentioning to Hinata that her mother had been placed on a similar memorial in Kiri.

“We Mist Ninja aren’t a sentimental crowd.” She had said, “But we do believe in acknowledging those who give their lives.”

After paying her respects, Chie asked Hinata what was next. Hinata explained the next destination she had in mind was a clearing in the forests.

“It’s about fifty meters north of here.” Hinata said.

“Just gotta trek through that forest?” Chie asked. Hinata nodded, and before her head was completely up again Chie had taken off into the forest with a cry of “Race ya!”

“Wait!” Hinata cried out as she gave chase. Chie wasn’t supposed to run off unsupervised. Both Chie and Hinata could get in deep trouble. Granted, she wasn’t out of Hinata’s sight, as Hinata’s Byakugan range was more than enough to keep her in sight. But it was still a serious breaking of rules and, Hinata thought, were Chie with anybody but her, the Mist Kuno’ichi would never have dared attempt this.

Like much of what Chie did, Hinata found herself wondering whether or not she should feel complimented.

As Hinata ran after Chie she activated her Byakugan to keep the other girl in her sight. Hinata was dismayed to learn that Chie had already earned a considerable head start. Hinata jumped into the forest branches, giving chase. Part of her was annoyed at Chie’s thoughtless actions. Another part of Hinata was determined make Chie know that. Finally, to Hinata’s surprise, there was also something within her that simply didn’t want to lose the race.

Lose she would not. Even with Chie’s head start, Hinata noticed the girl doing something that would ensure Hinata could beat her. Chie seemed unfamiliar with forest terrain in general. Not surprising, since the Water country was mostly islands, to Hinata’s knowledge. As a result, Chie, while still moving with good speed, was also taking care to only land on branches that she would be sure to support her. Hinata, however, didn’t need to fear that.

Since returning from the Nimmori, Hinata had developed a new habit. Something she did whenever she felt stressed. Though it had caused worries of her relapsing at first, it was nothing more than a way of relieving her anxiety. That habit was to simply run through the forests. Leaping above the tree tops and through the branches. She had done it fairly often in the past half-year. As a result, Hinata was very familiar with every twig and leaf of Konoha’s forested areas. Particularly this one, as it held particular value to her. As such, she knew full well exactly which branches were strong and which would be unable to support her.

She leapt her way through the woods. Taking hold and jumping again of what were little more than twigs attached to the trunks. This, the Byakugan, and her detailed knowledge of the general terrain allowed her to not only reach Chie’s location but completely pass up the other girl as well. The Byakugan showed Hinata Chie’s wide-eyed face as Hinata burst past her.

Hinata watched Chie as she made her way to their finish line. True to her words about Tsuru-Nindô, Chie was balancing herself on no more than one appendage. Landing on one foot and using that to leap to the next point, grabbing a branch with a hand and swinging herself to her next branch. With the ease with which she made such leaps single-footed, Hinata wondered just how much power Chie’s Taijutsu carried.

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel appeared. Hinata jumped off the final tree and landed in the clearing she had meant to arrive at just moments before Chie emerged from the canopy and landed right beside her. Hinata felt suddenly self conscious when Chie stared at her in astonishment.

“From the forest?” Chie asked.

“Not entirely…” Hinata confessed, “I go through these woods a lot. So I know this area very well. Particularly the tree tops.”

“Then I guess I don’t mind losing… that much.”

The area was just a short distance away from the grounds of the Hyugas’ home. It was a clear field, much like the one they’d started from. Rather than a somber memorial, though, this place contained much happier things. Scattered throughout were large tubes, a short wall littered at the bottom with unusually cute graffiti, climbing bars, and similar objects. One corner of the field was clear, though there was a high fence just at the edge of the area. Chie recognized what this place was meant to be at once.

“I never had anything like this when I was a kid.” she said, staring.

“I used to come to this playground a lot when I was a small.” Hinata said, “It was actually pretty quiet most of the time. It’s quite far out compared to others in the village itself.”

“That why you picked it?”

“Well… partly. This particular play area was and still is a common place for Hyuga children to play when they aren’t training. It’s usually preferred over other places because… well…” Hinata felt more self-conscious, “Small children don’t understand what the Byakugan is… and all blood Hyuga have-”

“You got picked on as a kid?” Chie asked. Hinata nodded.

“Not… not a lot… but yes… So I came here.”

Chie could see that this place meant a lot to Hinata. Hinata looked at all the various equipment to play and climb on with a certain fondness reserved for special memories.

“This is a nice place.” Chie commented.

“I’m glad you like it.” Hinata replied.

The girls took their time at the playground. Chie looked at the various equipment, and climbed up the wall, noticing that a lot of kids had brought pens or paintbrushes and written their names at the top. Chie couldn’t help but point out Hinata’s name was noticeably absent up there. When nostalgia grew old, they sat and chatted about whatever entered their minds. Both Chie and Hinata were having a good time. Better than either of them can remember having had for a while.

When the sun began to set, they decided to head back to Chie’s. Hinata had almost completely forgotten until they were right at Chie’s door that she had something to tell her.

“A festival?” Chie asked, when Hinata had recalled it.

“Yes… I-it’s an annual event in the village. If y-you’re interested at all, S-Saruwatari-san already said that it was all right for you to go.”

“Mmm…” Chie said as she thought to herself, “When is it?”

“Next week.” Hinata replied.

“It’ll depend on how my Dôjutsu research goes, but I think I can do that.”

“Wonderful.” Hinata said, “I’ll see if I can get you a yukata oh… I need to see if mine still fits… And Hanabi will want to see you for certain…”

“We’ll figure it all out.” Chie told her, mostly to prevent Hinata from listing every single thing that needed to be done, “See you tomorrow.”

“Good night.” Hinata said.

As soon as I was sure the door was closed and the girl was gone, I reached into my shirt and pulled out the small transmitter hidden inside.

“Our chance will come next week, during the festival.”

With that one sentence, I cut the connection. With that one sentence, the fate of the Hyuga clan was sealed.