Teammates 2

Konoha, the Hyuga Clan compound, Hinata Hyuga's home.

Hinata Hyuga and her teammate, Kimura Kokomi, had originally planned to stroll around Konoha. But Hinata had no knack for showing someone around and had no idea what to talk about with Kokomi.

In the end, Hinata could only bring Kokomi back to her home to rest until lunchtime, when they would go to Tianyun Hyuga's house to look for him.

Hinata had actually considered visiting Kokomi's home, too. But after asking where she lived, Hinata could not bring herself to ask anything else. Kokomi had calmly replied that she was an orphan in Konoha, and the orphanage was her home.

At home, Hinata was a little more relaxed than she had been outside. She told Kokomi what she knew about Tianyun and introduced herself properly as well.

Kokomi felt rather helpless about her two future teammates. One was the Hyuga Clan's young lady, who went along with whatever she was told, and the other was an eccentric, powerful young master who expected to be waited on.

Both had such bizarre personalities. The more Kokomi thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She felt it would be difficult to complete the mission Lord Danzo had given her.

The two chatted about trivial things in Hinata's room, and before long, it was noon. Hinata stood up and said, "Let's go, Kokomi! We'll wait for Tianyun at his house. He might come home for lunch. If he isn't there, we'll wait a little longer. He'll definitely come home for his afternoon nap."

"Uh, what about us? Neither of us has had lunch yet..." Kokomi asked in confusion.

Hinata took some snacks out of her clothes and handed them to Kokomi. "Let's head over first! If Tianyun's mother is home, we'll have lunch there. If she isn't, we can eat these for now, then go into Konoha together for something to eat this afternoon..."

Kokomi's mouth twitched as she accepted the snacks. More speechless than ever about Hinata and Tianyun, she simply followed Hinata in silence.

Knowing the way well, Hinata led Kokomi to Tianyun's residence. Smoke was rising from the kitchen, and Hinata told Kokomi happily, "Aunt Meicun is home! We'll have lunch to eat today..."

Kokomi was at a loss for words. It was only lunch, yet Hinata was so delighted that one would think she had never had it before. She really was more childish than a child.

Meicun Hyuga's attitude toward Hinata was different from Tianyun's. Meicun genuinely treated Hinata like the clan's young lady, so Hinata liked her even more.

Seeing that Meicun was home, Hinata immediately relaxed. She took Kokomi by the hand and ran to the kitchen doorway.

"Aunt Meicun, I'm here! This is Kimura Kokomi, the new teammate Lord Hokage assigned to Tianyun. We came to see him."

As soon as they reached the kitchen doorway, Hinata eagerly introduced Kokomi and explained why they had come.

Meicun was cooking. After hearing Hinata's explanation, she understood that Hinata and Kokomi were the Genin teammates the Hokage had assigned to her son. Smiling, she welcomed them. "Come in and sit down. Who knows whether that little rascal Tianyun will come back for lunch? Neither of you looks like you've eaten, so stay and have some! He'll definitely come back for his afternoon nap."

Hinata nodded and pulled Kokomi over to the table in the small dining room beside the kitchen. She sat quietly and properly, waiting for Meicun to finish making lunch and bring the food over.

Kokomi sat beside Hinata and could not help asking softly, "Hinata, shouldn't we help Aunt Meicun?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. Aunt Meicun doesn't like being disturbed while she cooks. She says she needs to work hard on improving her cooking so her son Tianyun will stop complaining about how awful it is."

Kokomi was speechless. Hinata was saying that Meicun's food tasted bad, yet she still came here to cadge meals. Kokomi had no idea what kind of stomach Hinata had. Did she actually like strange-tasting food? The more Kokomi thought about it, the stranger Hinata seemed.

With that thought, Kokomi lost all enthusiasm for lunch. She no longer felt like talking to Hinata and simply waited quietly for Meicun to bring the food over so she could see what her cooking was really like.

Ten minutes later, Hinata and Kokomi were eating Meicun's cooking.

Hinata had eaten Meicun's food before and was already used to the taste, so she ate with considerable enjoyment.

It was Kokomi's first time trying it. She frowned after just one bite. No wonder Tianyun doesn't want to eat Meicun's cooking. These dishes really do taste strange. There's either too much or too little of every seasoning. Not a single dish is quite right.

But Kokomi was an elite Genin trained by Shimura Danzō. Naturally, she would not say that Meicun's food tasted bad. She merely maintained a calm expression and ate a little alongside Hinata.

Lunch was soon over. Just as Hinata and Kokomi finished eating, they heard someone approaching the residence outside, humming a song.

"Money, oh money, you're so lovely. One day without you leaves my heart all jittery..."

Meicun listened to the voice outside, then said, "That little brat is back. Only he would sing such a strange song. Go find him, both of you! Leave the cleaning to me..."

"That wouldn't be very nice! Why don't we help you clean up first, Aunt Meicun, and then go find Tianyun..." Kokomi said.

Meicun shook her head with a smile. "You don't know him. Once that little brat lies down to sleep, he won't pay either of you any attention. You might have to wait another two hours before he wakes up and you can talk to him."

"Uh..." Kokomi was utterly speechless. What is wrong with Tianyun? she cursed inwardly.

Hinata knew Tianyun well and understood that Meicun was telling the truth. She took Kokomi by the hand, said goodbye to Meicun, and headed toward the entrance to wait for Tianyun's return.

As Kokomi followed Hinata, she felt increasingly certain that Tianyun would be difficult to get along with. He was nothing like an ordinary child. He seemed more like an adult who liked making all the decisions himself, insisting that everything be done his way.

Thinking again about the mission Lord Danzo had assigned her, Kokomi felt helpless. She doubted she would be able to get the information she wanted from Tianyun. His personality was simply too hard to read.