Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
The Trouble with Journals
"Hinata-san, would you like to spar with me today?" Neji asked politely, when he passed by Hinata in the corridor. The other teenager paused, in thought. "Well, since I'm done with training with Kurenai yesterday, and Shino and Kiba are on a double-mission, I think I'll be able to. Thank you, Neji-nii-san."
Hanabi smirked, watching the whole scene with her eyes. It had always been like this, ever since the chuunin exams. But it made a nice change, and it was better than Hinata stuttering all the time. In fact, Hanabi and Hinata had begun to create a friendship or kinship of sorts. They'd go to the ramen bar across the street every fridays, and just talk.
But, Hanabi thought, I wish they'd stop being formal. And there was only one thing to do it. She resumed her listening-in on their conversation.
"What time, Hinata-san?"
"Whatever time you feel appropriate, Neji-nii-san." Hinata smiled.
"How about we meet in an hour, at training ground seven?" Neji clasped his hands, and Hanabi saw her sister flinch for a microsecond. She smirked again.
"Umm," Hinata paused, "I think I'll be ready by then."
They both went out to get breakfast. As Hanabi watched them go, she immediately put her plan into action.
Hyuuga Hiashi looked at his watch sternly for the fifth time today. It wasn't like Hanabi to miss her training. He told all three of them, Hinata, Neji and Hanabi about their separate training times, and he was sure that they'd arrive.
Clutching at his long fading hair, he was soon lost in his thoughts.
The door creaked open and Hanabi crept into the Cadet Branch hallway. Activating her Byakugan, she saw that almost everyone was asleep, except for a few cooks and servants. Sensing the all-clear, she ran swiftly down the hallway to Neji's room.
"Ok, Hanabi, we need something incriminating... something that'll provoke reaction..." Hanabi opened the second-last door on the right.
What she saw shocked her beyond belief. All the myths about how clean her cousin's room were instantly dispelled. Scrolls were littered across the floor, piles of clothes and books were strewn across his bed, and his drawers were closed haphazardly, spilling some of its contents. The door behind her closed with a bang, startling her.
"Incriminating evidence... incriminating...aha!" Hanabi exclaimed, as she sifted through a pile of books. She had found it. Propping herself up on Neji's "bed" (more like a mattress with clothes on it) she opened the book.
The title of this particular book was: Neji's Personal Journal.
As Hanabi paused at the front page, a smirk formed on her face. "personal... what a pansy." And with that, she began to read.
*ACHOO!* A huge sneeze echoed across the training grounds, causing Hinata to win, once again.
"Neji-nii-san..." she said, panting. "You better get that cold checked up on, or it'll get worse." Neji wiped his nose on his sleeve. "You're right, Hinata-san. Let's just get this training over with, so we can have some ramen-"
"NO!!!" Hinata interrupted, shaking her head violently. Neji raised one dark eyebrow at her. "I've had too much... too many... Naruto keeps on giving me some... ack!"
If she had said that sentence to anyone else, they might have laughed until there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, this was Neji, and the only subtle change anyone could see would be that his singular eyebrow went even further up his forehead.
"You're right, Neji-nii-san. Let's just get this over with. Then we'll worry about food." Hinata went back into her Hyuuga stance.
"WUAHAHAHAHAHAH*cough*HAHAHAHA*coughcough*HAAAaaaa...." Hanabi collapsed on the bed, squirming with laughter. An occasional servant or cook would open the door, but when they saw Hanabi, they immediately knew that she was causing trouble. They all knew Hanabi was the number one prankster in the Hyuuga compound, and whatever she was planning wasn't good.
"who...who would write... THAT??" Hanabi said incredulously. She got up, carrying Neji's Personal Journal under the crook of her arm.
"Hirazu!" Hiashi roared, sending a cascade of books falling off from their pristine shelves.
A harried-looking old servant came into the room. "Yes, Hiashi-sama?" He said, scratching his white-haired head.
"Get that daughter of mine!" he commanded, before plopping himself on his leather mahogany chair. He began writing ferociously on a scroll.
The servant paused before opening the door. "Hiashi-sama?"
"WHAT!!?!" Hiashi said furiously.
"Wh-which... daughter?!?" The servant quaked under Hiashi's cold stare.
When he spoke, it was in a cold voice. "Hanabi."
The servant sprinted out of the room.
*ACHOO!* Hanabi sneezed as she put on her jacket and rain boots. It had begun to rain, and Hanabi wondered if Neji or Hinata brought rainjackets. She ran across the Hyuuga garden, pausing to say a quick prayer to her mother's tombstone.
After slamming the door to the main branch hallway, she took off her muddy boots and shook off her jacket, handing each to Hirazu, the servant Hiashi sent to find her.
"Hey, Hanabi-san! Hanabi-san! HANABI-SAN!" the servant called out her name desperately, holding a dripping jacket and soggy boots, which were trailing bits of mud everywhere.
"Can't talk now, Hirazu! I'm on a mission!" Hanabi yelled back.
Hirazu sighed, "I'm sure it's a big mission, but Hiashi-sama insisted that you join him for training!" Hanabi turned a corner, and Hirazu trailed after her.
"I can't! Just stall Chi-Chue(1) for me please!" Hanabi said, her feet slipping and she struggled back up. "I'll save you some yams for supper after!" she said, bribing him. He stopped to catch his breath, as he saw Hanabi get smaller and smaller.
"Perfect. Just perfect."
Hanabi grinned as she ran down the hallway. She knew Hirazu couldn't refuse once she bribed him with yams. It was his favourite food after all.
Turning around a corner, she found Hinata's room. She eagerly opened the door.
And found herself surrounded by books. Millions and millions of books. They were everywhere, underneath lampshades, hiding behind the door, Strewn across the floor in piles, even blocking the window and sitting on the windowsill. I never knew my sister was such a bookworm! Sniggering in delight, she knew she could use this piece of knowledge to her advantage.
But this wasn't good. How was she supposed to find what she was looking for in... this? It was like finding a needle in a haystack. She groaned, and put Neji's Personal Journal on top of her sister's desk.
"Let's call it quits, Hinata-san!" Neji called out from the other side of the training field. "You're doing great! Keep it up!" Hinata knew he was making up for lost time, so she just let him encourage her.
She groaned, back muscles aching. "How do you do it?" she asked weakly. "How do you get so strong?" Neji smirked, and helped his cousin up. "A lot of practice, hard work, and discipline."
"I need to change my clothes." she stated. "Let's go to the compound."
Neji smiled, and together they began their journey back.
"Hirazu, what's your problem?" Hiashi grumbled to himself, getting up from his desk. In all his years as head, he never saw Hirazu so jumpy and uptight. "Must be old age..." he muttered, as he felt his back ache. "Dammit...I'm going to go look for them."
He walked out of his office, only to land flat on his back. "OW! What the-... mud? HIRAZUUU!" Hiashi screeched, but no one came for the mighty Hyuuga lord.
"YES! EUREKA! I. AM. ! TAKE THAT NEJI-BASTARD!" Hanabi chanted around a pile of books in Hinata's room. She finally got what she wanted. In her hands was, Hinata's Diary. She yelped, as a sopping wet Hirazu burst into the room. Clutching the book protectively, she stared like a deer in the headlights.
"Hehe... Hirazu, my bro, my muse... we've always been friends, haven't we?" Hanabi grinned weakly. Hirazu did not return the gaze.
"You have ten seconds to get out of here before I throw you out the window..." he said softly.
"Ten..." Hanabi looked around for Neji's Personal Diary. It was nowhere to be found.
"Nine..."
Hanabi was literally stripping the desk of its pile of books.
"Seven."
"Shit." she muttered under her breath, looking frantically for the journal. Now she was really panicking.
"Four..."
The girl had no choice. It was either one diary or no diary at all. She leapt nimbly out of the room.
Hirazu was too busy counting to realize that she was already gone.
"Chi-Chue! What's happened?" Hinata asked frantically. Both her and Neji had walked in only to find the great warlord sprawled across a wet and muddy hallway.
"Hirazu. Hanabi. training. strangle. them." Hiashi said through gritted teeth. Hinata and Neji exchanged a look which meant, he's finally gone mad.
"Look," Neji said, helping up his uncle. "We'll find Hanabi-san, don't worry, otou-sama."
Hanabi raced down to her room at top-speed, ignoring the fact that it was almost noon and the cooks were making their way to the dining rooms. She narrowly missed getting soup all over her.
"Hanabi-sama! Walk down the hallway!" she got whacked with a wooden spoon by an irate cook. "Gomen."
She ducked around a big platter of turkey and was face-to-face with an angry cousin and sibling. "Shit."
"Hanabi-chan! Don't swear!" Hinata scolded, grabbing her by the arm.
"What your sister said." Neji agreed. Suddenly, to Hanabi's misfortune, Hinata's Diary fell out the crook of her arm. "What's that?" Neji asked, bending over to pick it up.
"IT'S NOTHING!" Hanabi went and picked it up, but ended up colliding into Neji's head. Hinata wasn't fooled though.
"HANABI-CHAN! That's my... you wouldn't...!" Hinata rolled up her sleeves, as Neji's "OW!" of frustration was unheard by the sisters.
"WAAAH!... HINATA-NII-CHAN!" Hanabi wailed, as a flurry of attacks hit her. She ran down the hallway, and turned the corner, into...
...the hallway of mud, where Hiashi was walking down.
And she did the craziest thing: she sprinted down the hallway. All of a sudden, the floor gave way, and Hanabi slid down the hallway, and hit her father, making him fall, and together they collided into an oncoming sea of cooks who were carrying soups and hot dishes.
Dish upon dish fell, and Hiashi was sprayed with oyster soup, while Hanabi was sporting a crab on her head.
To make matters worse, Hinata was chasing after her, and she ran down that hallway. "Oh, shit." Hanabi muttered. Hiashi, unfortunately, heard that.
"Hanabi Hyuuga! AFTER THIS, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU WASH YOUR-" Hiashi's scolding was muffled, as Hinata's foot collided with his mouth.
After a series of outbursts, and a few squeals of protest, Hanabi's punishment was decided. She would spend a whole day of training with Neji that afternoon. Hinata's Diary, unfortunately, was soaked in mud, lobster juice, and oyster soup, and therefore, unreadable. Neji, fortunately, was uninjured during the whole incident, and was able to walk away from the whole scene unscathed. However, Hirazu suffered a mental breakdown when he saw the chaos in the muddy hallway. Hiashi allowed him to resign due to old age and fatigue.
As Hinata walked into her bedroom, she surveyed the scene with disgust. "What Hanabi does for fun is beyond me." She took a pair of clean clothes, and threw the old oyster-smelling ones in her hamper.
That's when she saw Neji's Personal Journal propped up innocently on her desk.
A/N.: This was written in less than an hour, due to boredom. I will re-write it, I just want to be able to say that I did something today!