Hinata closed her eyes as her cousin walked around her home complaining as he usually did when he visited.
Her counter was too tall for her. The chair pushed into the dining table would be in her way.
Did she ever open her windows? They would be difficult for her to open at that highest, so did she bother? She should get fresh air in her home now and then.
He should bring her some more soaking salts for her muscles. He should come by to clean her chair more. Was she even able to clean her sheets? How did she get them back on?
It didn't matter the answer she gave. He assumed she was lying for her independence. She wasn't sure what his end goal with all this fussing was. He couldn't tailor the apartment to her perfectly. She wasn't going to move back home, and they both knew that would be worse for her even if he tossed it around like it was an option.
Neji meant well, though, and his complaining did feel like he cared. It was just too much like it always had been. If she was fair, he would have done the same if she had moved out without her chair. He would have fussed just as much just about something else.
"Why do you have so many groceries?" He wondered, looking at the fridge. Which was the opposite of what he said last time. He thought she had too little and she had to explain to him she just hadn't gone shopping yet.
Hinata rolled toward him. "I have lunch with a friend and bring food."
His eyebrows knitted together.
"They can't cook. It's nice to cook for more than just myself." She clarified before he had a chance to be upset.
Neji took a deep breath and closed the door putting his hands on his hips. "I am glad you are seeing friends."
Hinata smiled as she saw the inner turmoil.
Sasuke headed down the hall at his usual time. He heard shouting come down the hall, and at first, he thought to keep out of it, but the closer he got, he realized it was coming from his destination, and he picked up his speed.
He stood in the doorway to see a man bent over Hinata's desk just as he slammed down his hand. "Wait till I speak to your supervisor!" He snapped.
"Please." Hinata barked back in a lower voice. "He will tell you the same thing I have. You're abusing the system."
"Then I'll go higher! I know the Hokage." He jabbed a finger at her.
Sasuke wasn't expecting Hinata to snort. "And waste his time on your grievance instead of the missions that actually matter? Do you think your chores are more important than the safety of the village?"
"You little..." The man started to growl.
"Watch it." Sasuke finally snapped.
The man turned to start on him but stiffed when he recognized him.
"She's on her lunch beat it." Sasuke flicked his head out the door and moved out the doorway.
The man flinched to looked between them and stocked out the door.
Sasuke made a point to close the door. "Did you piss in his breakfast?" He asked as he set their day's drinks on her desk.
Hinata leaned forward and rubbed her temples. "We get a few people who abuse the programs, and when they start getting push back, they can get angry. A few have found their way to make a complaint, but I would say that is the first one I have ever got in person."
"You looked ready to kill him," Sasuke smirked.
"He went through two of my coworkers to get to me. He was about to make the pregnant girl across the hall cry before I shouted over that I was the one handling his documents." Hinata huffed, reaching down to get her lunch bag. "I wanted him to get a little closer to Gentle Fist him into the wall."
"You wouldn't do that to a civilian," Sasuke said knowingly.
Hinata made a face of annoyance and agreement. She wouldn't, but she wanted to.
Naruto frowned at Shikamaru. "Filed a complaint?" Against Hinata? How? That was the last thing he expected in his morning report.
"A handful from the same guy. This has been going on for few weeks. The complaint keeps getting pushed up later because the guy isn't happy about how it has been handled," Shikamura explained, holding up the file.
"He requested an audience with me?" Naruto asked. This was not a matter that he would usually even hear about.
"Hinata asked for me, actually. I believe she is tired of being pulled away from her desk about this matter." Shikamaru explained. "But I thought you would like to hear about it if it becomes this much of a problem for her."
Naruto set his jaw. He really shouldn't interfere. This was Shikamaru's job to handle things that were keeping him away from his job.
"I don't want to impose a position unless I have to, but I will talk to her to see what has been going on." Hinata could handle this on her own. If she didn't ask for him, she likely didn't want him to try to protect her.
"Understood."
Naruto sat back, looking at the list of complaints. He rubbed his temple. This was not going to be pleasant.
Hinata rolled into the room with a sour look on her face.
Naruto stood up and welcomed her. "I just want to know what's been happening."
"I don't think that needs to be your concern, Hokage-sama." Hinata frowned. "You'll be giving him what he wants."
Naruto sighed. "I want to know as your friend."
"Then, as it is an ongoing investigation on me, I should not be speaking to you." Hinata countered.
"Hinata." Naruto scolded.
She sat back, annoyed, folding her hand in front of her.
Naruto held up the stack of paperwork. "This is nearly 50 complaints. Some of them complain of discrimination."
Hinata rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Just tell me what happened from the beginning." Naruto leaned back against the table, crossing his arms.
"He has been submitting requests from menial labor around his property, for the last few years, to my understanding. He is not part of the assistance program and has nothing wrong with his health, so he doesn't qualify for it. With the recent decrease of training nin and the assistance program being of higher priority, I had to start rejecting the majority of his requests." Hinata explained.
Naruto understood. "We have a smaller class this year."
Hinata nodded. "He thinks I am discriminating against him because of my chair," Hinata said slowly to emphasize how ridiculous it sounded.
Naruto made a face. "Ugh."
"My thoughts exactly. I am not even part of the assistance program." Hinata rubbed her face. "And in the spirit of fairness, every slot that appears outside of the assistance program can not go to him just because send in multiple requests at a time."
Naruto nodded. "What options has he been given?"
"I told him he could apply for the assistance program. At first, he resisted but eventually when he did he was rejected. I have told him if he would only submit once a month, I would make sure he got a team for the day. He didn't like that. I told him we could set him up to be extra credit to students to take on in their free time. He wants something more solid." Hinata explained, waving her hand, frustrated. "My coworkers have tried some other options, but he rejects all of them. He's come into our office to shout, and when that didn't work, he went up the chain of command, thinking he was going to get another answer. Honestly, it is hurting him more than helping him because every hour I spend dealing with is another hour I don't have to weed through paperwork, and his request gets pushed further and further down in favor of the people who need the help."
Naruto leaned his head back. He got the problem, but he also had to understand the civilian frustration. She was right, though. This is not something he should be butting into, especially if he was claiming discrimination because it would be seen as favoritism or further discrimination on his part.
"I asked Shikamaru for help because we were going to end up with him in a few weeks anyway, this man has made it clear he is not going to stop until he gets what he wants, and right now, he wants my job." Hinata sighed.
Naruto looked confused.
"He just filed a request for my dismissal from my position for discrimination." She explained. "I think it's because he found out my supervisor didn't care that I talked back at him."
Naruto groaned. "That is stupid."
Hinata gave a nod of an agreement. "If he succeeded, I will have to take you up on one of your offers."
"You do actually like your job, don't you." Naruto realized.
"Yes, I do. There isn't usually a lot of this nonsense."