Six am came too soon and Malkeru dragged himself through his house getting ready, he barely made it to the training field on time. Kurenai and Hinata were already waiting for him, doing some light sparring.
"One more minute and you would have been late." Malkeru yawned.
"Ya, I know. I haven't been getting good sleep the past few days and today came really quickly...forgive me sensei!"
"Ya, ya. What do you know about genjutsu?" Hinata took a seat and watched all this unfold.
"Uhm, just the basics really. Genjutsu are techniques that are employed in the same fashion as ninjutsu, requiring chakra and hand seals. However, the primary difference between the two is that the effects of genjutsu are illusory; instead of attacking the victim's body, like taijutsu or ninjutsu, genjutsu techniques manipulate the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses. Usually the users creates fake pain or trauma in the brain, as the body believes it's real. However, there have been cases of pleasant genjutsu." Kurenai smiled.
"Correct. You know more than I thought you would, this makes my job much easier." Kurenai made a few hand signs and looked at Malkeru again. "Do you feel any difference?" Malkeru stared at her, blinking.
"Uh, no, shoul-" Malkeru felt a hand on his back, but when he looked behind him, nothing was there. "I'm in a genjutsu right now, aren't I?"
"Correct. Now imagine that hand was a kunai, you'd be dead. Kai!" Kurenai released the jutsu, appearing behind Malkeru. "You're lucky to have me training with you, I was friends with Itachi for a while before he..well before things changed. Itachi was the true master of genjutsu, never even needing his hands."
"Not needing his hands? How is that possible?" Hinata had spoken up from her perch on the training post. Kurenai pointed at Malkeru.
"By using the Sharingan."
"How does the Sharingan affect genjutsu?" Malkeru asked
"Quite simply, all the Sharingan is, is genjutsu. Your ability to copy your enemy's movements, to perceive them before even they do, it's basically genjutsu."
"What? I'm sorry Kurenai, I don't quite get it."
"Understandable, I didn't at first either. They way Itachi explained it to me, was that the sharingan put the user under a form of hypnosis. This hypnosis allows the Sharingan user to suggest movements to them. When this gets advanced enough, you can even control it, telling them what to do. Kakashi is the only one I know who is capable of it, and only on very weak minded opponents."
"So..basically, I've been doing genjutsu this whole time?"
"Yes and no. All the Sharingan allows you to do is see inside of your enemies mind, when you truly understand genjutsu you can use this link to employ genjutsu without even using hand signs or deception."
"So..how are we going to do this?"
"You're going to fight me, of course." Malkeru was confused.
"Fight? Sensei, I don't see how a battle will help me learn genjutsu."
"Well, if you want, I could teach you some basic genjutsu, that would be no problem. But, if you want an ability that no one else in that competition will have, listen to what I tell you. Your eyes are probably your greatest asset in this competition. Besides for a few shinobi in the leaf, no one knows you have them. You're an Inuzuka after all, why would they believe for a second you possess the kekkei genkei of the Uchiha? While fighting me, I am going to use genjutsu on you. The quicker you can realize what I've done, the quicker you can release yourself. When you've become completely immune to genjutsu, we'll move to the next step." A smile crept to Malkeru's face.
"Alright then, SHARINGAN!" Malkeru charged in, throwing a jab at Kurenai. As a jounin, nothing Malkeru did against her really mattered, she dodged it all. Malkeru kept fighting as Hinata and Kurenai watched him from the sidelines.
"So..when do you think he's going to realize he was never released from your genjutsu?" Hinata laughed at her friend.
"Probably around noon." Kurenai wasn't half wrong, Malkeru released around 11:52am and released himself. "What made you realize?"
"I had suspicions about 25 minutes ago when you still hadn't tired out. I confirmed it when I used Raikiri four times without dying."
"Good but..don't risk your life to confirm it. What if it hadn't been a genjutsu?"
"Well, then I would have gotten incredibly tired after the first. I was in no danger."
"Smart. Alright, break for lunch. I'll be back in twenty minutes to continue." Malkeru and Hinata ate together and talked nearly the whole twenty minutes. Apparently Hinata and Kurenai would spar while Malkeru was trapped in the genjutsu. The training continued for around two weeks, Malkeru slowly getting better and better. He was able to realize her genjutsu nearly immediately. Once he was at this step, he would spend half of his day working genjutsu with Kurenai, and the other half working Taijutsu and Ninjutsu with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Sometimes at the same time, the three on one's were to train Malkeru's perception and power with his Sharingan, and he quite enjoyed them. July twenty-third, however was different. Malkeru arrived at the training ground at the usual time, instead of just Hinata and Kurenai, Kiba was there too.
"Hey bro, remember what today is?" Malkeru had completely forgotten, being so entranced with his training. He sighed.
"It's my birthday."
"That's right!" Hinata ran up and gave Malkeru a hug "Happy Birthday Mal!" She didn't even blush this time, it surprised Malkeru a lot.
"T-t-thank you Hinata." Kiba laughed at his brother.
"Now look who's stuttering." Malkeru shot him daggers, which just made him laugh harder. This time Kurenai spoke.
"You're taking today off, absolutely no training. Your muscles need to relax anyway. You've been pushing your body hard." She pulled a parcel from her leg pouch. "Although you weren't assigned to me, I consider you one of my students, so, here." Malkeru took the gift, bowing to his sensei.
"Thank you Kurenai sensei."
"Well, don't just stand there, open it." Malkeru tore at the parcel, smiling when he opened it. "It's a wristband. Just like the one Kiba has."
"I give these to all my students, and anyone I consider a friend. Congratulations, you're an honorary member of team eight."
"Thank you. So much, this means a lot." Hinata was next.
"I didn't really know what to get you, but I finally decided on this. I hope you enjoy it." She gave Malkeru a innocent smile. Malkeru laughed when he opened it. It was a hand made sweatshirt, identical to the one he lost when fighting Haku. "I know how much you loved that sweatshirt, so, I made one to replace it." Malkeru pulled Hinata in for another hug.
"Thank you Hinata, I love it."
"Alright, knock it off you two love birds, here's mine." Kiba handed his brother a parcel as well. He had gotten Malkeru a new Kunai pouch, as his had been damaged in the battle with Haku, and Malkeru had never had a chance to pick another one. He pulled Kiba in for a hug as well.
"Thanks bro, you're the best."
"Ugh, get off me you baka!" Malkeru laughed and released his brother.
"Alright you three, have fun. Be here tomorrow same time to begin the next step." Kurenai disappeared in a puff of smoke, much like Kakashi usually did.
"So bro, what do you wanna do for your birthday?" Malkeru didn't really know, all he knew was he wanted to spend it with the people he had around him.
"Well, first. I'm hungry. Let's get some breakfast, Kiba's treat!" Malkeru raced off towards town, Hinata and Kiba in tow. Malkeru's birthday was great, Kiba actually treated them to breakfast, much to Malkeru's surprise. They ran into Sakura and she gave Malkeru a handmade patch of the Inuzuka clan's symbol for one of his sweatshirts. Malkeru, Hinata and Kiba headed back to the Inuzuka compound and hung out there for the rest of the day. Hana returned home and cooked a large lunch for all of them, Tsume was out on a mission, so she would have to wait to celebrate her son's birthday. Although Kurenai said no training, Malkeru allowed Hinata to practice her Byukugan on him. When day gave way into night Malkeru and Hinata headed out, Kiba decided to stay back and look after Akamaru, he had gotten pretty sick lately. Malkeru and Hinata went into town, looking for something to do.
"Hey Hinata, wanna go to the Hokage statues?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, sometimes, I like to just watch the stars and the best place to do that is from the head of the fourth Hokage." Malkeru smiled, he had never told anyone about him doing this before. He wasn't sure if it was allowed or not to be honest. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."
"O-ok." Hinata smiled as Malkeru dragged her to the top of the statues. It really was a beautiful night, the stars shone brightly among the night sky.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Hinata said, looking at Hinata. "Sometimes, when I wonder about my parents, I would come here and know they were watching me, protecting me."
"I'm sure they are proud of you, wherever they are." Malkeru held back his feelings about his parents, learning that they had kept his brother and not him had given him a worse image of them.
"Ya," He faked a smile "I'm sure they are." Hinata started shivering, and Malkeru noticed. Taking his arm, he pulled Hinata into him, their forms becoming one. Hinata was shocked, but didn't fight it. Malkeru was warm, and helped her warm up herself. Malkeru was surprised when she leaned her head on his chest, he found he quite liked it. 'So, is this happiness?' Malkeru wondered as he sat there, his heart racing in his chest. Hinata and Malkeru sat like that all night, silent in their happiness.