Painless (A Naruto Fanfiction) [Completed]

Chapter Four: Genjutsu Greeting

“And don’t aggravate the ninjas from the other villages. You might have temper but it will only make things harder. Oh, and if you see a group from-”

“Niisan,” Kazue cut in, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Are you done yet?”

He person in question frowned thoughtfully, cocking his head as he gave the idea a bit of thought. Next to him stood Hikari, her mind focused on the time. She’d agreed to accompany them only because she’d had some free time before she needed to report for duty. Like most around him, she felt uneasy if Hisoka was left to wonder on his own. His mother and father were out on a long-term mission, which left the escorting to her. Something that, much to his annoyance, she always seemed to find room in her schedule to do.

“If I’m not?” Hisoka asked mutinously.

Noriaki had already reached the entrance to the building, his body angled slightly towards the small group as he waited for Kazue to join him. His eyes swept around the area, his mind running over the conversation he’d held with the family elders the night before.

‘It’s not official, so there’s no need for her to know just yet. The Hyuga boy is of no concern, he’s the last person who’d let her know before the time comes.’

Despite their reassurance, he couldn’t help the feeling that it would be in Kazue’s best interests if they could avoid contact with the other team for the time being. At the same time, he was aware of how strange that would seem to the others, who would want to meet up as soon as they could, so that they could visit with each other before the first test began.

“Then I’m leaving you anyways, baka,” Kazue retorted and pulled away from him, causing the arm he’d had draped over her shoulder to fall down to his side.

“Such a cold little sister,” Hisoka whined. “When did you get so mean? I remember when you used to be so shy and the only people you’d talk to were me and Noriaki. Where’d my cute little Kazue-tan go?”

She narrowed her eyes slightly in his direction, then sighed, patting his arm before walking over to join Noriaki. The boy watched her approach him, his own thoughts reflecting on Hisoka’s words.

‘That part of her hasn’t disappeared, Hisoka… she’s just better at suppressing it. ‘

“Good luck, Kazue,” Hikari called after her, grabbing Hisoka’s shirt sleeve. “I’ll make sure this idiot makes it home, so you just focus on the tests. We’ll throw a party to congratulate you when you pass them all!”

Kazue nodded, her teeth biting down on her lip. She didn’t turn around to face them, rather certain Hikari would be able to pick up on how nervous that last statement had made her. She’d said ‘when’, not ‘if’. The sentence had reminded her that in her position, she had to pass. It would reflect poorly on her clan if the future head couldn’t even pass the Chuunin exam. As if hearing her thoughts, Noriaki simply pushed open the door and offered her a calm, expectant expression.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” he commented quietly, then raised his voice. “Come on, Jun’s probably waiting.”

 

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“Listen, this is our kindness.”

Both genin paused in the hall, staring at the scene that met them with similar, studious expressions. What they’d come across was surprising, enough so that neither one of them immediately believed their own eyes. Lee was sprawled on the ground, bracing one hand behind him against the floorboard, holding the other up to his face. Tenten was similarly sprawled on the floor, the culprits being two older genin standing in front of a doorway. What struck Kazue and Noriaki as so strange was the fact that Neji was crouching down next to Lee, who looked as if he had no intentions of standing back up and throwing another punch.