"I can do this," Hinata whispered to herself, staring at the rotting door that loomed before her. "I can… I'm brave…" She pushed it open, fighting herself not to wince at the creaking hinges and multitude of roaches and rats that scattered to avoid the sudden emergence of light. She had nothing to be afraid of, after all… Her teammates had already gone in ahead of her, and she'd have already known with her byakugan if something was amiss. Foolproof, or so she told herself.
So she told herself each time each time she stepped on a floorboard that creaked, and each time the house groaned.
I'm brave. I'm brave. I'm brave, like Kiba and Shino! Brave like Neji! And like… Naruto!
The notion comforted her.
This old mansion wasn't so bad, after all! Sure, a bit damp, dark, and excessively moldy, but it was probably relatively attractive at some point in time. The furniture couldn't have been that color all its life, right?
Skrrrrrrrch.
Hinata "eep" -ed and, despite herself, inched halfway behind an antique cabinet before she remembered that she was a ninja now, and ninja don't try to hide at the smallest things!
What would Naruto do?
Hinata gathered her wits and activated her bloodline limit. There… it was only a tree branch scraping the outside of the house, near the upper floor! She deactivated her byakugan and sighed.
"Hey Hinata! Find anything yet?… Hinata?"
I rue how I support the ridiculous number of Naruto fictions here. It's a love-hate thing.
Kiba blinked and stared at his teammate's unconscious physique sprawled out in the hallway floor, though he could've sworn she was standing upright just a moment ago. He guessed he'd really startled her.