Teacher's Pride
Summary: Tsunade orders Hinata on an A-class mission - teach Kakashi how to be diplomatic.
Disclaimer: I believe in the impossible so that means that someday I shall own Naruto...unfortunately that day is not today...probably not tomorrow either...so I don't own Naruto.
A/N: I did this one shot for September's DateMe competition. Enjoy!
Hinata ran towards the Hokage tower with a piece of paper, which her cousin had given her, clenched tightly in her fist. As she raced by some of her friends, smiling at some, she thought on what she could be needed for with such urgency. All that was written in the note she was given was that she was needed immediately by Tsunade.
She thought that it was most likely to be a mission, or maybe Tsunade needed help in the hospital and everyone else was busy, or maybe she needed the Byuukagan for something. Whatever it was she knew she needed to get there as fast as she could; Tsunade didn't like to be kept waiting.
Coming to a halt outside the Tower, Hinata took a breath to calm herself and walked up the stairs to the Hokage's room. Knocking upon the door, she heard a booming voice telling her to come in. Quickly stepping into the room the Hyuuga fought the compulsion to look down to the floor as she was greeted by a very annoyed Tsunade.
"What took you so long Hinata?"
The Hokage sat behind her desk with her elbows on table and her fingers steepled underneath her chin. She looked the young Hyuuga woman up and down, assessing her.
"Don't worry about it," Tsunade continued on before Hinata could explain herself, "your charge is late as well. Though if he knows what's good for him he'll be here soon."
"Charge?" The young woman asked, nervously grabbing the hem of her jacket, "Is this why you sent for me?"
The heiress was at ends with herself, she had applied for a teaching role at the Academy now that she was older but her father had quickly vetoed that idea and she had never heard anything about it since. Surely she would have heard about it if she was to be teaching any Genin.
Tsunade nodded her head, "Yes, you will be teaching one student."
Hinata's eyes widened, one student, that didn't make sense. It couldn't be for the training of the Byuukagan, all Hyuuga's with the ability were taught in the compound so others could never learn their techniques and even if it was, Neji or Hanabi were far better choices for teachers and they were both currently home. This must be something that only she could do.
But she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what that could be.
When Tsunade turned her attention away from Hinata to rummage through her desk, the Hyuuga knew that she shouldn't ask any more questions. Instead she stood in the corner awaiting her new student imagining what he would be like. She wondered if he would be a Genin that she had already met or maybe a new child that needed a leg up before they went to the Academy, whoever they were she would help them as much as she could. She might even be able to keep teaching if she showed herself to be able enough.
Lost in her thoughts, Hinata still had the presence of mind to sense an extra person in the room and subtly shifted into a defensive stance. Ever since Kabuto had come in dressed as ANBU and had, she had learnt later, healed her, she didn't trust many shinobi that she did not recognise, especially with the Hokage in the room.
Hinata was reassured though, when Tsunade lifted her hand in greeting to the shadow in the corner of the room.
The blonde woman lifted her head and looked at Hinata, "At ease, Hyuuga, it's only your charge."
Hinata almost stumbled at those words, 'charge'? What young boy could move so undetected and exude such an aura of confidence? This could only mean one thing.
"Hinata, I'm sure you've met, but I'd like to formally introduce you to your new student," Her charge walked out of the shadows and grinned beneath his mask, "Hatake Kakashi."
"Yo."
~~~~*~~~~
Kakashi? She was teaching Kakashi? What were they going to do play cat's cradle? Maybe she was going to teach him how to work a loom, or better yet, maybe lessons in awkwardness which, let's face it, she was an expert in.
Her mouth remained shut though, as these thoughts ran through her mind, and she could only gape at the Jounin.
It started to get awkward and Hinata couldn't help but think that she was giving him a great first lesson.
Tsunade cleared her throat and Hinata turned to her stiffly, managing to tear her eyes away from the legendary Copy-Nin.
"You have met before right?"
Hinata simply nodded, completely untrusting of her voice and the stutter that came out at the worst of times.
Silence reigned for a few more moments as Kakashi ruffled the back of his hair, Tsunade looked for sake and Hinata stared back at Kakashi.
Blinking away from her daze she opened her mouth to say something, when that didn't work she cleared her throat and managed to speak up, "I'm teaching Kakashi?"
The Jounin was the one to speak up first, "Hai Hinata-san, I will be your willing student for the next few days or weeks, however long you deem necessary."
Tsunade snorted and mumbled underneath her breath while she went back to rummaging through her desk, "You weren't nearly so acquiescent until you found out who the teacher was."
Kakashi glared at Tsunade and slyly glanced at Hinata to see if she had heard the softly spoken words but the young woman was too caught up in her tumultuous thoughts to hear anything not spoken directly to her.
"What am I to teach him?" Hinata looked nervously at the man in question before turning back to her Hokage, "Surely he should be the one teaching me?"
Having found a bottle of sake, Tsunade took out three glasses and poured three shots into them before downing all of them.
Hinata was sincerely regretful to see them all go.
"I need to send a diplomat to Suna." Tsunade answered her and then shrugged her shoulders, "Well that's not strictly true, I'm supposed to be going to Suna to organise things with the Kazekage but," she sighed and leant back in her chair, "I don't want to. Instead I'm sending the next best thing, best thing being Kakashi."
Hinata nodded her head, finally something she understood, she had first hand dealing with all of these motions, her father insisting on her being present in all dealings so that she could learn the right protocols and policies to implement when she was head of the Hyuuga.
She could also understand why Tsunade wouldn't want to go.
It was incredibly tedious.
"Unfortunately," Tsunade continued on as she lifted her legs onto the table as she nursed a bottle of sake in her lap, "Kakashi doesn't know the first thing about the proper manners or things to say to a group of elders and I can't teach him because I don't have a clue either. I'm a Hokage and can get away with it, Kakashi can't."
It was becoming much clearer why she was needed.
"So Hinata, I've classified this as an A class mission as it depends on how well you teach Kakashi that will ensure further good relations with Suna."
'A-class?' Thought Hinata, 'Surely it's just because she's incredibly inebriated, there's no real reason to classify it as such is there?'
"I need you to teach Kakashi how to walk the walk and talk the talk and how to do it well. I don't want half-baked performances, I want the real thing. Do you understand?"
Hinata nodded.
"Do you accept?"
Hinata nodded again.
"Good," Tsunade didn't even look up to make sure of the Hyuuga's affirmative nod and continued speaking, "I've acquired one of the classrooms in the Academy because I do not want the Hyuuga or anyone else to get wind of what you are both doing. Do you both understand?"
Kakashi and Hinata bobbed their heads.
"Classes start today, meaning after this. You are to meet once a day at least, at ten in the morning, no exceptions."
She turned to Kakashi, her eyes and manner brooked no dissension, "No exceptions, I don't care if you had to carry an old woman up a hill or if the new Icha Icha is being sold." Kakashi grimaced but nodded and hung his head.
Tsunade turned to Hinata with the same look, "No exceptions for you either, it means nothing to me and nothing to this mission if your father suddenly turns around and wants to spend quality time with you or if Naruto actually looks around enough and ask you out."
The Hyuuga blushed considerably and looked a little disheartened as she barely nodded her acceptance as well.
"No exceptions."
Her voice rang out within the room and the two Konoha nin nodded for the last time.
Happy with her two shinobi's apparent cooperation, Tsunade flicked her hand in the air, "You are dismissed, good luck to the both of you."
Kakashi turned from Tsunade and opened the door for Hinata. Still completely disoriented by what had happened in such a small amount of time, Hinata stiffly made her way out the door, thanking Kakashi as she went, ever mindful of her manners.
The Copy-Nin couldn't help but grin as he watched his new sensei walk down the hall in a daze. Who knew that going back to school could have such promise to be so much fun?
~~~~*~~~~
It wasn't till the third day that things started to get interesting. The young Hyuuga woman had finally started to feel, it not at ease, then at least a little used to her new student – although there were some idiosyncrasies that she wasn't completely comfortable with yet.
"Hinata-sensei"
His address to her being one of them.
"Please, Kakashi-san," Hinata blushed, unused to the way he spoke to her, "don't call me that."
Kakashi feigned a look of utter bewilderment as he sat at a child's desk, looking up at Hinata, his voice drenched with innocence.
"But we've talked about this Hinata-sensei," Hinata flinched, "It's the proper way to speak to you." He leant back in his chair, balancing on two legs as he put his hands behind his head. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching me how to act like a diplomat?" He asked, "Shouldn't everything be a part of my training?"
Hinata knew that he was smiling that frustratingly cocky grin that he always wore, when he thought he had bested her, under his mask, and she all but seethed inside.
These last few days had been nothing but agony for the shy heiress. She never felt the authority that Kakashi liked to bestow upon her so casually in every lesson, and found that her directions and assignments were always delivered as a question and usually had a 'please' at the end of them, it felt that she was giving the lessons to hersef sometimes. And she knew, she knew, that Kakashi was smart, one of the smartest shinobi she had ever met but he constantly asked for his work to be looked over and always asked for another example on how to hold his body right.
This, of course, made Hinata feel incredibly uncomfortable as Kakashi made it so that they were in close proximity at all times. And always with that damn annoying, cocky smile!
The Hyuuga felt uncharacteristically exasperated with the Copy-Nin whenever he asked for another instruction or asked for her to position him properly because it gave her feelings that she shouldn't have.
Feelings she should, in no way, entertain.
"So what are we learning today Sensei?" The silver haired Jounin asked, interrupting her train of thought for the moment, "I think I need more help with my posturing," He ran a hand through his hair as he affected his most unassuming voice, "Where exactly do I put my hands again?"
Hinata sighed out loud.
'Not again.'
"Kakashi-san, we went through this six times yesterday, I'm more than certain that you know where to put and how to hold your hands."
"Then how about the proper way to dress," the Jounin asked, "I'm not completely sure what goes where."
Hinata felt her whole body grow hot and was more than aware that her blush was covering her whole face. Just the idea of helping the man in front of her dress made Hinata start to crave a bath of ice to cool her hot skin.
"N-no K-Kakashi-san, you would most definitely have an a-attendant for that."
Turning her back to her student, Hinata faced the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk with her trembling fingers, trying to gather together some semblance of control.
In a bid to calm her nerves and to focus her attention away from the shinobi behind her, who she was certain was basking in her awkwardness with a cocky grin beneath his mask, Hinata started to write in formal Japanese the words 'Polite Formal Introductions' on the board.
She heard Kakashi groan out loud behind her as the two chair legs, formally in the air, landed with a thud back on the ground and tried – but failed – to cover a cocky grin of her own.
~~~*~~~
Kakashi was well aware that this was payback for all his teasing a week ago and he did appreciate the fact that the Hyuuga woman could fight back –
"Kakashi-san I'm sure that Suna would be delighted with full control of the Kosh overpass and sublets to all trading routes but I'm more than certain that Tsunade-sama would, in all likelihood, kill you."
- But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Hinata-sensei, please, I'm very confident I can learn this if we could only go outside for a bit. These last few days have been incredibly tedious when all we talk about and train for is diplomacy, I can't learnt like this and I'm sure you would could teach even better if we were in the sun. Surely we can find a way that is beneficial to both of us?"
Hinata stared back wide eyed at the Jounin, "That sounded almost diplomatic Kakashi-san. I'm impressed and surprised."
The Copy-Nin sensed an opening and grabbed it with both hands, all the while careful to adopt the same tone.
"Then surely Hinata-sensei, we could at least take a break for a little bit. To be honest my legs are a bit stiff from sitting at this desk for days on end and I'm sure that you would like to go outside for at least just a moment, if not longer for once."
Hinata considered his words and could see the merit of his proposal.
"Hai Kakashi-san," She turned to look at the clock above her head, "But not yet," She turned her body towards the backboard so she didn't see the pleading expression on the Jounin's face drop into a disappointed pout and then turn quickly into a crafty smile. Hinata kept talking as she reached for the chalk, "You still need to perfect the formal enunciation of farewell to your hosts, elders and the Kazekage himself."
The Hyuuga heiress only managed to scratch a few lines on the board when she felt her student practically materialise behind her.
"Ka-Ka-Kakashi-san...wha-?"
Being so close to the object of his attentions of the better half of this year, the Jounin still wasn't prepared for the feelings that seemed to burn in his stomach. He felt his confident demeanour fall from his face as he leant into the young woman's body. His masked face fell into the crook of her neck and he couldn't stop himself from breathing in her scent. He was very careful not to actually touch her in case she didn't want his attentions but as he was planning on going outside with the kunoichi and not on enacting anything that would keep him there longer, he decided to bend the rules around her but not, no matter how much he wanted to in that moment, break them.
Pulling himself away from her neck, Kakashi moved his arms to either side of the Hyuuga's head, ensuring that she was completely trapped by his body on all sides.
Having better control of himself now that he had made the boundaries clear to himself, Kakashi pushed back into her body, still not touching, and whispered in her ear, "So how should I farewell any people of importance Hinata-sensei?" He asked, drawing out the 's's in the honorific he gave her, his breath moving strands of hair, behind her ear, to cover her extremely red face. Grinning, Kakashi leant as close as he could allow himself and felt a faint tremble run through her body, "What word would be the most apt?"
Hinata had not moved an inch, the chalk was still pressed to the blackboard, her hand turning white with the tight grip she had on it. Her blush was raging all across her body and her mouth was slightly open as she drew in faint breaths. Her mind was racing a thousand miles a second and she couldn't utter a sound. Inside, she groaned at the unfairness of the situation she was in. This was not helping her in anyway, and definitely not helping the bad thoughts that crept into her mind at every moment alone with the Jounin.
Finally, after a few moments of feeling his body so close to hers, she managed to stutter out an answer when Kakashi asked her the same question, his head back in her neck, his lips ghosting over her skin.
"Well Sensei? How would I bid farewell? What word, do you think, I should say?"
"G-g-goodbye?"
Kakashi was almost sad that she had answered but squashed those feelings down and plastered a fake smile on under his mask.
He quickly jumped to the door and had it half open as he turned around to look questionably at his teacher. Putting his hand to the back of head, mussing his hair, he appeared to the world as an errant child waiting for the bell to ring for the end of class.
"I'm pretty sure I can do that Hinata-sensei, so how about we go outside now?"
Hinata slowly turned around, trying to gather herself and not faint as she looked at the silver haired shinobi. She wasn't completely sure what had just happened so she just mutely nodded her head to him in response to his question.
Kakashi grinned and started to walk out the door but stopped in the doorway looking back over his shoulder to the Hyuuga woman. "Aren't you coming Hinata-sensei?"
Hinata stood in shock, go out with him? That would lead to questions that they weren't able to give the answers to. This mission was supposed to be completely secretive. If they were seen together people would talk.
"Kakashi-san," she started, able to, at last, speak, "I don't think that that would be wise."
Seeing his crinkling eye swap to an up-raised eyebrow, Hinata tried to grasp on to an excuse that would work with him.
"I also have to see if there is anything else that I've yet to teach you."
She turned her back to him, intent on reaching the teacher's desk - she needed to sit down, "Plus I do not want to fail this mission. This is my first A-class," she sighed, "No matter how drunk Tsunade-sama was when she classified it as such."
Her hand was taken suddenly and she was turned around as Kakashi pulled her towards the door, his fingers intertwined with hers and his back greeted her gaze.
"Look," He started, marching her out the door of their classroom and into the hall, "I promise not to fail and to do my best so I won't take no for an answer."
He turned to look at her, stopping just at the doors leading outside and she wondered briefly how they had gotten there so fast but realised that with her hand in his, her mind was completely incapacitated.
"We're going outside"
The Jounin opened the door with a cocky grin and dragged a stumbling Hyuuga out to greet curious glances and the bright sun.
~~~*~~~
Two weeks later, many blushes, a few carefully constructed touches and several awkward questions later, Kakashi was packed, at the gates and ready to go to Suna on time with Hinata passing him a ration pack she had made for him.
To Hinata these two weeks seemed a lot longer than the fourteen days that they consisted of.
It was unbelievable to her that they had gotten through so much in such a short amount of time. Kakashi had been true to his word and had learnt with such speed and alacrity that she felt a little annoyed at the fact that he had hidden his talents from her just to tease her but she also felt very pleased that she was the genius shinobi's teacher. She stood at the gates facing him and knew he would be fine. If this went well, and she knew it would, she might be able to apply a second time at the academy.
Thinking on this Hinata faced Kakashi and could see that he was thinking about their time together as well.
The Copy-Nin had always liked and admired the Hyuuga girl but as she stood before him, about to see him off, he couldn't help but feel more than that. These last two weeks had let him get to know her in ways he might not have been able to otherwise and he had been able to see another side to the young woman that not very many did. For every lesson he had done well - which was every single one - she had allowed them outside to talk, bask in the sun and just relax in each other's company.
It was a good system and it worked.
Tsunade's obvious threat when she had given them a glare and told them 'no exceptions' was seemingly forgotten by the two shinobi simply because there was nowhere else the two would rather be than with each other.
As the sun slowly rose, Hinata couldn't help but feel sad that their relationship would change from teacher and student to acquaintances when Kakashi returned and she caught herself wishing that he didn't have to go just yet. She actively stopped those thoughts and from dwelling too long on her, by now, developed feelings for the Jounin, and she waved and jokingly called out to him.
"Please do well Kakashi-san or I'll wonder if I really am a horrible teacher."
The half smile on her face melted to one of wonder as Kakashi came up to her and spoke some words in her ear before looking into her eyes. They were very close and she could feel his breath trip lightly over her lips as he moved a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her pulse which, she was sure, was beating madly.
He grinned slightly and walked backwards, away from the furiously blushing kunoichi, eager to keep her in his sights till he had to go. He then disappeared with a wave and a promise to be back soon.
Hinata stood at the gates for a moment to gather herself. She just wished he'd get back as soon as he could.
The still blushing young woman walked back to her home, thinking that she could get used to his cocky grin, with his whispered words echoing in her head.
"I'll make you proud Sensei, I'll make you proud."
A/N: I'm about halfway through Forget Me Not and soon to work on Tomorrow so do not fret my lovelies all will be well! I've also got uni stuff due but I love you guys so anything for you!!! I hope you liked this and I hope I win!
Yours,
Jaggarte x