NaruHina: Duty

Chapter 14: Kunai

Chapter 14: Kunai

Hinata shivered and rubbed her arms, but she continued scanning with her byakugan as she stood atop her perch on the roof of the hotel.

She felt him climb up the side of the building and joined her a few minutes later.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked, disgruntled.

The night was cold and the clouds were out, which was why Hinata chose tonight to work outside. The absence of light, the complete darkness could at least provide some camouflage for someone who needed the shadows to work.

The city of Isetan was unusually blanketed in a hush, quiet even for this busy town.

"I just wanted to check again, just to make sure one more time."

Naruto sighed, but a glance at him revealed that he'd activated his own sage mode. The orange markings were around his eyes. He took up position behind her, facing in the opposite direction as his head swept slowly from side to side, his range greater than hers.

He was going to intrude on her silence then, joining her in observing the few moving human night owls going about their business.

The problem with the byakugan was the specificity of it. She needed to know exactly what to look for then focus and concentrate on that one thing. He, meanwhile, could do a general sweep with his sage mode to pick up on anything strange.

She envied that about him.

But she envied a lot about him.

She couldn't put an exact name to it, but she wanted to have the same kind of security in his manners, the same ease that he carried with him at all times.

The few days they'd been working together, she'd never seen him lose his temper, look flustered, or feel uncomfortable about anything. He kept up his steady, cheerful attitude, and would often... tease?

Her.

Which always left her silent and stiff and awkward because she just didn't know what he expected from her. So she would answer quietly and honestly, whatever response she felt was appropriate.

But he would only laugh and continue to do it.

Why? was always her first question. Why did he do it? Why did he insist on provoking a reaction out of her?

Hinata knew he wasn't being mean, but it still puzzled her and left her questioning his motives. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? She'd thought she'd made herself clear that she wasn't the friendly type.

But she knew it was all part of being a shinobi, of being part of a team. It was fine—for now, while they were working together. After all, when they were done with this mission, they were going back to Konoha and she probably wasn't going to be with him anymore.

Whatever the reason, though, his constant teasing, his attempts to draw her out rankled, left her discomposed.

She didn't like it because it pulled her out of her serenity, of the quiet calm that she always struggled to maintain when she was around people.

So they stood atop that hotel roof, diligently working for a couple of hours, scanning, searching together for anything that would reveal Isetan's secret, whether somebody here posed a threat to Konoha or not.

Hinata kept silent, felt his steady presence behind her.

And relented.

Maybe he wasn't that bad, after all.

She felt grateful that he'd been there to keep her company for the night, to help her forget the visions that had woken her up before she'd headed up to the roof.