The review system is acting up on the website again. A part of me wants to move this fic to archive of our own and continue it there but I don't want to honestly. Too much of a hassle. Hayate is losing in the poll by like one point, I keep hoping he'll win because there's not enough love for him. If I had waited to make the poll now it would've been Hayate winning. But still, that's life yeah. Also the Sasuke Vs Naruto fight is basically Anakin vs Obi-wan except Anakin is the one who has the high ground.

19

Hayate had just been minding his own business when something slammed into him from behind. Arms wrapped around his middle and the fact that they were clad in dusty blue cloth let him know immediately who it wasn't and stopped him from throwing them. He looked behind him to see Yuzuki. She had her face hidden in his back, and he wondered just what she went through with Genma.

"Remember how I called you an Oni?" She asked him, not even looking up at him.

"I do," He confirmed.

"You aren't half as bad as Genma," She informed him.

Just what the hell did Genma put her through? She looked up at him and he noted the senbon. He was starting to think letting her leave with him for a month was the worst idea he had ever had. He was better off leaving her with Anko. He brought a hand up and placed it on her head, damn the odd position it put him in.

"What'd he do?" He asked.

"I made her practice the Hiraishin for an entire day," Genma answered and Yuzuki gripped onto Hayate even tighter, "She almost ran here to get away."

Judging by the expression on the man's face, he was amused by her actions. She glared at him from her position around Hayate and the jonin sighed. She did look a bit pale compared to how she usually was. How many times did she drop from chakra exhaustion only to be woken up to continue the next day? She reached out with his senses and raised a brow. Genma had her deepen her reserves until it was close to theirs. He had prepared her for war by getting them that full.

"What are you doing back so early?" Hayate asked them.

"I wanted her to be here a day before to get a spar in with you," Genma told him, "Also, restaurant food was starting to get to both of us."

"You can let me go now," Hayate informed Yuzuki in an amused tone.

"Right, sorry," She apologized, quickly releasing him, and putting her hands into her pockets.

"You still have no style, Yuzuki," Ino's voice rang out and the two jonin let the preteen go and greet her cousin.

"You know me, no fashionable bone in my body," She admitted, "I think I go for comfort over anything."

"Every girl needs a little black dress." Ino winked.

"She doesn't," Genma said as he walked up, "She can't date until she's thirty."

Genma watched as Yuzuki slowly turned to him with a small smile. The glint in her eyes showed exactly what she thought of that proclamation. She was well beyond thirty, even if she was letting that life go. He smiled back at her and that promised a harsh training segment.

"I'm still crotch level," She informed him in a sweet tone, "I'm going to use that for as long as I can."

"Hearing that without context sounds really weird, Yuzuki." Ino informed her.

"She once informed me that she'd fight by hitting people in the crotch with her juken," Genma explained.

"This is why no one says anything to you," Hayate informed him.

Genma smirked at that and looked to the side. Ino got a wave from Yuzuki before the other girl was pulled away. Whatever training she was going to do seemed important. There would be plenty of time to mess with her after the exams.

"Let's see what you learned," Hayate said, "This will be a two on one spar."

"Right," Yuzuki nodded.

"Begin."

His eyes widened as she seemed to flicker out of existence. She hadn't done the shunshin, so a genjutsu. He easily dispersed it and stepped out of the way of a juken strike to the shoulder. He grabbed her wrist and she twisted in his grip to dodge Genma's attack. She brought a leg down on his head and he substituted himself.

She tossed something behind her and vanished just as Genma brought a kunai down. She knew that she wasn't going to win against the two of them, but holding her own against them was good enough for her. She brought her hands together for an auditory genjutsu and took their hearing away. Genma smirked at the sensation of pure silence. It wasn't until he heard something that he was bothered.

Was that footsteps?

He brought his hands together to cancel the genjutsu but paused when he had to dodge a hit from Hayate. Oh, he loved his kid. She had layered her genjutsu to have them fight against one another. Hayate brought his hand up and canceled the genjutsu just as a juken to his back hit him.

He had to curse Genma for teaching her genjutsu. He landed on the ground and let out a harsh sounding breath. Yuzuki wanted to check on him but ducked a hit from Genma. Her tachi came out and she blocked a swipe to the head from a kunai. Her tanto did as well when another came towards her stomach.

"Stealth is your real skill," Genma complimented her, "I didn't think you'd get Hayate down."

She didn't respond and she stopped holding the kunai near her stomach back. She used his own momentum against him as she jumped over him to dodge. Hayate watched an all out taijutsu battle between the two. He had to cover his face at one point due to a crater being formed by Yuzuki. Just when did she perfect that jutsu?

Genma still won in the end, a senbon to the knee was enough to take her down. He sat on her back and held a kunai to her head. She was breathing so hard he could hear it from his spot on the ground. Just what had changed during that month? It was like she had gone on a soul-searching journey and figured something out.

"Now we can go get food," Genma said as he got off her back.

"Let me unblock his tenketsu points," She huffed as she got off the floor and onto her feet.

He gave her a wave as he went to see where she had thrown the three-pronged kunai. Hayate was welcomed to a hand on his back and a quick pulse of chakra. He felt his own fill his system before he rolled over. He needed a few seconds to completely digest what he had just learned. With a month of hard training she had grown so much.

"Are you okay?" She asked him and he met her eyes at that.

They were warm, and showed genuine concern. He brought a hand up and gently pat her head. She gave him a look at that before a relieved smile appeared on her face. It seemed as though she had been more worried about him then she let on. She knew that he could take care of himself, but she couldn't help but worry. He had been in the hospital the last time she saw him.

"I'm not made of glass you know," He informed her.

"Last time I saw you, you were in the hospital," She informed him and she ran a hand through her lose hair, "It's hard not to worry after that being the last time I saw you."

He didn't think she cared about him that much, then again she did hit him in the head when he asked that favor. She held a hand out to him and he accepted it. She easily pulled him to his feet, and he noticed the dead tired expression that slowly appeared on her face. She needed sleep.

"Nice area to toss this to," Genma said as he emerged from the nearby trees, tossing the kunai towards her, "It allowed you to survey us and cast those genjutsu."

"A little bit of stealth never killed anybody," She informed him as she caught her kunai with a finger, "Well, it actually did, but I digress."

It went into her kunai pouch and the group went to the market to get something to fill the fridge in Yuzuki's home. Hayate decided to stay the night, though Genma called the guest room, and she'd have to find the futon so he'd have somewhere to sleep. He watched as she found what she needed to make saba misoni for dinner, and some ground up beef for dinner after the exam was over.

"What happened when you were training?" He finally asked.

"I realized that Sakura might've been right about me," She quietly admitted as she looked at the produce and used her nose to find the freshest ones.

He paused in his actions of reaching for a package of dried bonito and stared at her. She had said that in such a nonchalant way. He grabbed the package and placed it into her basket before gently removing it from her grasp. She looked at him in surprise before grabbing the mushrooms and seasonings she needed. He stayed close to her while they finished the shopping, with Genma appearing with different items to add. He had brought drinks and snacks.

"You making a spectators lunch?" Yuzuki asked him in amusement.

"Well, we have to eat as well," He teased, "Plus, they might come in handy."

"Ah."

Hayate wondered about that. Just how deadly were chips going to be against enemy nin? Well, very if they hit the eyes. He had a feeling that the two had trained so much over stealth attacks that he needed to watch his back when he trained against his female student. He looked down at her as Genma left them once again to get celebratory sake, and she grabbed some heavy cream to make some ice cream. He wondered if it was going to be matcha flavored, she had some powder at her home. He was excited to have some of her cooking.

"Thank you come again," The cashier told them before they left the store.

Storage scrolls, she knew how to create storage seals. They really dove headfirst into training during that month. He rubbed the back of his head in a slightly sheepish manner before looking towards the two next to him. Genma was talking about how he wanted his kid to wipe the floor with the competition of the chuunin exams.

"Stop trying to get me killed goddamn it!" She hissed at him as she jabbed him in the side.

Hayate let out a low snort at that as they finally reached her house. She huffed angrily and removed her sandals before heading into the kitchen to put everything away. Genma moved to the living room to stay out of the path of her ire, simply because that jab had hurt quite a bit. She had put chakra into that jab

Hayate rolled his eyes at the man and went into the kitchen to try and be of some help. Pale eyes looked at him as he entered before returning to the fridge. She was crouched next to it putting things away in a meticulous fashion that was completely her. That hadn't changed, there was still that part of her that was conditioned to be neat.

"Need any help?" He asked.

"Could you start a pot of tea?"

He nodded and did so. It was domestic as shit, those were typically Genma's words when referring to life in her home, and he welcomed it. Few shinobi allowed their homes to be a peaceful place, they brought their work into the home. A curse brought him out of his thoughts.

"Ah, those are the last of my baby teeth to fall out," She muttered as she brought a towel into her bleeding mouth, "Seriously, I almost swallowed them."

She had something in her hand, and he blinked at the appearance of her canines. Those sometimes were the last to fall out, but to have them fall out so late was strange for someone her age. The fact that she just tossed her teeth was even more so. She loses them and then tosses them into the trash, sounded about right.

"I'll finish putting everything away," he told her as he began to move her out of the kitchen, "You need to stop the bleeding."

She gave him a nod and headed into the living room to find something to do while she had a towel in her mouth. Genma let out a loud snort at the sight of her with a towel in her mouth. The only thing stopping him from making a wise crack about looking like one of her summons was the large book that was in her hand. She knew it too, by the smirk on her face.

"Don't make me tell Hayate your being mean to me," he threatened.

She gave a pause at that and contemplated if he was telling the truth. If he told Hayate, the younger man would be greatly amused while she would be a bit embarrassed. She couldn't believe Genma sometimes. The blackmail that he gathered was crazy, and a bit impressive.

She grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like dick, though it was hard to make out due to the towel. She didn't say anything else as she sat down on the couch and brought her feet up. He watched as she became a small ball on the couch and read the large tome. He read the title and his lips quirked upwards, she had found a sci-fi author that went by the name of Perry. He almost wanted to tell her to start writing books about the movies and tv shows she had watched in her previous life; she'd make a fortune doing so.

She'd probably make more money than Jiraiya, who had created Make out Paradise. That'd be a lot of zeros. He turned towards her and she slowly looked at him. The expression on her face was taken aback when she saw the glint in his eyes.

"Have you ever thought about publishing the stories of the films and shows you used to watch?" He asked her.

"Well yeah, but I figured that it was plagiarism and stealing," She replied with a slight frown, "Something about that didn't sit right with me."

He nodded his understanding and dropped the subject. He grabbed a book from her shelves and immersed himself in some fantasy novel. There was a slight frown on her face as she tried to think back to a story that she knew people would like. The Lord of The Rings, that would be popular. Even in a ninja village that story would be popular. She shook her head and went back to reading about a carriage that traveled through time with it being controlled by a ninja by the name of Haruka. It reminded her of Doctor Who, but was missing the Daleks.

It wasn't her favorite due to the fact she was missing those little creatures. She adored the Daleks, much to Rose's amusement. Her niece had found it hilarious that she only watched the series for the villains that always screamed.

"Still bleeding?" Hayate asked as he brought out the tea.

She felt around her mouth before giving a nod. She was used to the taste of blood; it didn't mean that she liked it. She couldn't believe that she lost her canines at the exact same time, she narrowed her eyes in slight thought. Could it have something to do with the Okami? She removed one of the edges of the towel and put her thumb against her still bleeding gums.

"Wait, what are you-" Genma began to ask.

But the appearance of Yosuke startled the man. The white wolf stared at the jonin with an unimpressed gaze before looking towards Yuzuki. She smiled at the summons and her jumped up to sit with her on the couch.

"What's wrong, pup?" Yosuke asked.

"Her canines fell out at the exact same time," Hayate informed the wolf.

"Oh, that might be due to Lupa-hime," Yosuke told them, "She really likes the pup more than her father, I was supposed to bring an okami that stayed by her side but its still a bit too young."

"It's not hard to like her," Genma said.

"She does scratch the right area," Yosuke agreed and closed his eyes when she began to scratch him behind the ears.

She had just proved him right. Hayate watched as she contemplated the tea he brought and noticed the slight cringe on her face. She didn't feel like drinking her own blood at the moment. She gave a closed mouth yawn and Yosuke moved closer to her. He could tell she was starting to fall asleep; she was relaxed around the two men to let her body tell her its needs.

The book in her grasp fell to the ground and Genma let out a quiet snort. He had been waiting for her to fall asleep. Hayate pulled down the blanket, which hung on the back of the sofa as decoration, and placed it over her and the summons. Both were sleeping peacefully. He removed her hitai-ate and placed it on the coffee table.

"She's been using so much chakra that her body just keeps shutting down like that," Genma informed him as he closed his book, "At least she'll be well rested for tomorrow."

"How hard did you train her?" Hayate asked.

"A whole month of pure training with small breaks in between," Genma answered, "She also met Tsunade-sama and the woman seemed to become a bit fond of her."

"You let a Sannin beat her?"

"She seemed to crack down hard after the first time."

"What kind of lesson were you trying to teach her?"

"Not to go too far."

Hayate didn't have a response to that, he knew what he was mentioning. She needed the lesson of not allowing an ego to grow out of control. She had grown one out of nowhere and it seemed as though she had been significantly taken down a peg.

"It's hard to see past the face and to the woman trapped inside," Genma commented, "But even she has trouble sometimes, she thinks she's an adult but she's still physically a child."

"How'd you break her from that kind of thinking?" Hayate questioned.

"A giant Okami did, I only told her to let go."

"Giant? How big?"

"Bigger than a house, probably as big as the Kyuubi if not a bit smaller."

"She could summon that?"

Genma gave a nod and Hayate looked towards the sleeping kid with a proud smile. Genma grabbed his tea and went into the kitchen to fix them a small dinner, he was a bit sad they wouldn't get to eat her cooking but she had plenty of ingredients for him to make something small. He went with Onigiri covered in bonito flakes. It was simple and fast.

"I think you've learned quite a bit," Hayate quietly informed the sleeping Yuzuki, "But Lupa-Hime and Genma are right, you need to let go."

He wouldn't blame her, and Genma wouldn't as well. She seemed to grow a bit fitful in her sleep and he brought a hand down to gently rest on her head. She calmed a bit and nuzzled into Yosuke like he was a stuffed animal. The Okami summon didn't seem to care much and simply nuzzled back. It was cute, and he hated that that was his first thought.

"Leave her be, she'll calm down a bit more in her sleep," Genma told him, "She gets fitful and then relaxes."

"She doesn't have nightmares anymore?" He asked in surprise.

"She had one the whole month, and it was enough to keep her up the entire night," Genma answered, "It was apparently about the wonders of childbirth."

"She had a kid?" He blinked.

"No, her brother's kid," Genma clarified, "She was present for her niece being born, apparently the woman took one look at her kid and decided to give up any rights to her."

He couldn't imagine doing that to a child. Children were precious to shinobi, even though they trained them to be weapons from such an early age, and to do something like that was horrible. He couldn't help but think that Hyuuga Tsuki would've done the same thing if she could. Yuna had been more forthcoming with the information about his sister. Truly heartless was how he described her, even as a child she had been. That was why he was worried about his niece following that same path.

When she saved and found his cat, he felt relieved that she wasn't like her mother. She truly was her own person, even if she did struggle trying to figure out who she was. He had wanted her to be happy, something shared by her cousins and himself.

"Let's eat," Genma grinned.

Hayate rolled his eyes at the fact that the subject had been changed. Leave it to Genma to change it as quickly as he did. He followed the taller man into the kitchen and they both ate. There was some saved for Yuzuki when she finally woke up, but they both retired for the night. Genma in the guest room, while he took the comfortable chair that was in the living room.

She only woke up when Yosuke returned to the Okami dimension. She had quickly fallen back asleep afterwards.