From the prompt: 6. Hinata AND Hanabi grow up with 3 dads. Neji learns intimidating stuff from Uncle Ibiki, who definitely did not choke when he was called that. Hinata learns fuinjutsu from Daddy Genma, and Hanabi gets Papa Ibiki's summoning jutsu.
These moments take place during different moments of the lives of Genma and his chickadees.
Hope y'all enjoy!
~..~..~
Chapter 3: Growing Pains
One day, Genma figured out that he had spent too much time around young Hinata and Neji. Partially, though, this was all Ibiki's fault- because Ibiki was the guy that always bought him the delicious coffee.
He witnessed, to his horror, how a seven-year-old Neji walked out of his kitchen during one early Sunday morning with a ceramic mug clasped tightly between his small, pale hands. The top of it was steaming ever so slightly, wisps of white air dancing and twirling before eventually dissipating completely.
Hinata followed after her cousin with a mug of her own, but there were no clear signs to indicate that the liquid within was as hot as Neji's.
For a second, Genma contemplated laying back down on his couch and closing his eyes to avoid having to face any sort of reality wherein he had to be exposed to what kind of insanity the Hyuuga cousins were up to.
But he decided that he needed to be a somewhat positive figure in the children's lives and forced himself up and away from the couch, walking towards both children.
Once they were close enough, Genma's nose was hit by the unmistakable smell wafting from both of the mugs and his kitchen.
"Hinata, Neji," he called, crouching down so he could look them both straight in the eyes.
Both children looked to him with wide, pale eyes- there was no guilt within those eyes, just curiosity.
"Yes, Genma-nii-san?" Neji hummed before raising the mug to his face and blowing softly on it.
Hinata blinked at him for a few seconds before copying her cousin and brought her own cup up to her face but took a drink from it. Her reaction was immediate, adorable, and Genma couldn't help but smile at the way her lips pursed and her eyes screwed shut.
"What are you two doing drinking coffee?"
Hinata's shoulders pulled up tight until they were just about up against her ears and soon she was shaking her head quickly, opening up her mouth and gasping loudly as she stuck her tongue out.
Neji turned to look at his cousin with widened and confused eyes, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.
"You don't like it?" he asked her, immediately having his question answered when Hinata shook her head wildly.
The liquid within her own cup sloshed out due to her violent actions and Genma sighed internally at the cleanup he would have to do to keep the floor from staining.
"Bitter!" Hinata gasped out, her eyes finally opening up to stare in disbelief at him. Genma stared back at her, his own head cocked somewhat in confusion. What was she up to?
"H-how can you drink this?"
Ah.
An understandable question, really.
Genma leaned over to her and plucked the cup out of her hands, receiving no true resistance from her end.
"It's an adult drink for a reason, Hinata. You're too young to even be thinking of it." After he had said this, he turned to Neji and leveled him with what he hoped to be a disinterested look on his face. "You can try it and see how bad it is."
The Hyuuga kids had stayed over to sleep so that Hiashi would only have to look after Hanabi and her budding education. Genma had not expected that having allowed them to stay over would wind up with them trying coffee.
Now that he thought about it… how had they even gotten the coffee maker to work?
Neji's eyes narrowed, an uncharacteristic spark of defiance consuming his eyes, and then he took a quick sip of his drink.
Genma stared on in horror when, after one moment was spent in absolute stillness as he processed the taste, Neji gulped a large serving down and just about choked on coffee.
What was he even going to tell Hiashi?
~/~
Hiashi offered green tea to the children one day- which was a tea with caffeine- and then Genma figured out that while Hyuuga were intelligent, they weren't flawless.
~/~
Genma had been asked to attend Hanabi's first parent-teacher meeting conference. It had been no surprise to find out that Hiashi had not been able to make it because the guy was always busy, but it had been surprising that he had been asked to attend before any other Hyuuga clan member.
Because he went to this conference, Genma learned a lot about the young girl that had taken a shine to Iwashi.
First of all, she had proclaimed that Iwashi Tatami was basically her retainer and if anyone messed with her, they would have a tokubetsu jounin to deal with.
Second of all, she was doing exceedingly well in her classes and was proving to be a somewhat troublesome student due to becoming bored rather easily in class- they would have to come up with ways to keep her invested in classes she deemed too easy.
Third and last of all… most importantly of all…
Genma had never had to deal with an Academy teacher looking at him with such confusion.
"It truly is a good work of art, Shiranui-san." the kunoichi's glasses glinted softly in the artificial light of the classroom, obscuring her eyes from him. "But you can understand why it is necessary to speak with Hanabi and explain to her some of the intricacies of clan members and friendships outside of the clan."
Genma nodded quietly, too busy feeling guilty for having accidentally messed up Hanabi's perceptions on relationships so horribly to think up of reasons why what the kunoichi was saying wasn't necessarily bad.
The students had been tasked with painting their families during art class. It was normal for the children from clans to paint their nuclear family along with some important extra-members.
It was not normal for a student to paint three main parental figures- all clad in Hyuuga style kimono in different colors- behind their own likeness.
Beside Hanabi's painted self, Genma could tell that the crouching figure with dramatic armor and a large Konoha village symbol on the chest of the armor was Iwashi, her supposed protector. On Iwashi's other side, both Hinata and Neji had been painted in what Genma guessed were supposed to be offensive stances.
Genma didn't know what was worse- the fact that Hanabi had painted him, Ibiki, and Hiashi as father figures in her life (even having gone as far as to label them 'my fathers') or the fact that this whole scene looked as if it took place in front of his apartment, rather than in the Hyuuga compound.
"I will speak with her."
~/~
Hiashi didn't really seem to mind the painting. He just commented about how smooth the lines were and how well it appeared that Hanabi had mixed the paints to come up with combination colors.
Genma didn't know what the man did to it after he handed it over, but he guessed that maybe it was for the best that he didn't know.
(Hiashi has it displayed in personal room, in the office that no one is allowed to enter without his permission, where he can gaze upon his youngest's artistic prowess without worrying about anyone harming it).
~/~
Hinata actually contemplated a career as a medical ninja for T&I, offering support to Ino, for a while. This wouldn't have been an issue… if not for the fact that Tenten convinced her to try out medical ninjutsu on Kiba after she finished interrogating him to find out if he had anything to do with her mysteriously broken kunai.
Genma forbid Ibiki from talking to the children about his particular line of work.
(That didn't stop the children from seeking him out to ask about what he did, of course; but at least Genma tried.)
~/~
Neji had been around six years old when he had first started calling Genma by the title 'Genma-nii-san'. It didn't happen often, but Ibiki had heard it a few times; specifically, during moments in which the young Hyuuga had been very tired and had not been focused on keeping any appearances of propriety alive.
For the last few years, Ibiki had been exposed more and more to the children of the Hyuuga clan head. At first, it had been because of Ino's ties to him. But then they had begun to seek him out while with Genma, which, he admitted, was one of the reasons why his friendship with Genma strengthened and evolved.
Previously, they had mostly just been co-workers. Now, though, they would share a cup of coffee during some mornings and even walk to work together.
He was man enough to admit that the children had given them a good excuse to talk more. Luckily, though, they had enough interests in common that they didn't need the children to hold a conversation.
Genma had the bad habit of running himself to the ground to keep others pleased. Ibiki could appreciate the quality because it wasn't common to find someone so keen on helping others. But he could also see that it was one of Shiranui's greatest flaws because it meant that there were times he went without food or sleep just to make sure the kids were alright.
Today was one of those days in which Genma should have really known better than to indulge the children absolutely.
Luckily for him, Ino and Neji had sought him out at his home before they had gone to meet up with Genma and the rest of their friends so that he could offer some adult backup.
Knowing that the children also had a habit of running themselves into the ground, before Ibiki had gone to the park to meet up with Genma and his charges, he had fetched Kakashi, Raidou, and some of the younger shinobi that enjoyed hanging around Shiranui. It hadn't even taken any convincing to get them to come along; just the promise of a fun day hanging out with the children and Genma was enough to have gotten them all moving.
Ibiki knew that Genma appreciated his involvement now that the older shinobi had aided him in returning the kids to their proper homes.
He was carrying both Neji and Hinata; Iwashi was straggling somewhat behind him as he carried Hanabi, who was absolutely knocked out.
Beside his left ear, he heard Neji yawn.
Hinata's hands tightened their grip on his coat as she shifted somewhat in his grip, probably attempting to become more comfortable.
"Un…cle… Biki…"
There weren't many things that surprised him anymore. He had lived a long and harsh life, after all.
He was accustomed to continue moving forward, even when something stunned him absolutely.
Because of this, his steps never faltered after he heard Neji's soft murmuring. But his heart certainly squeezed and his eyes widened.
"Teach me that," a heavy yawn interrupted the slurred words, but Neji was eventually able to finish with, "S'mmoning juts…"
He… had never been called Uncle before.
With his bro-no.
He was never supposed to have even acquired such a title.
But… somehow… Neji had decided him worthy.
He would speak with Shiranui later on to see how he could go about teaching the young boy about his particular brand of ninjutsu.
~/~
"Please, Farmer man!"
Genma quirked an eyebrow at the crowd of genin that were currently invading the Haruno home.
Hinata and Hidan visited often enough, so it wasn't all that surprising to see them here. But what they were asking for, along with Haku of all people… was a complete surprise.
"Fuuinjutsu?" he repeated the name of the type of jutsu they had mentioned, "Why're you interested in that?"
"It's interesting." Hinata shrugged and Genma pursed his lips at the much too simple answer.
There was more to this that she wasn't telling him.
"Please teach us, Shiranui-san." Haku quickly said, "This is a ninja art I've been intrigued by for quite some time, but Zabuza has no subtlety."
That was very true.
Genma sighed softly and turned his eyes onto Hidan.
The young male's eyes widened for a moment before he offered a small smile, "Yeah. It's interesting."
Genma's eyes narrowed and Hidan's shoulders raised just a little before he looked down at the ground- without a doubt, there was more to this story.
But… well… maybe it would be a good thing to teach these three about this particular kind of ninja art?
"Alright."
~/~
"But he deserved to be tortured. Not only did he steal Konohamaru's goggles, he also lied and said that Udon had stolen them. I was tired of hearing his baseless accusations, so I wanted to make him speak only the truth."
Ibiki sighed softly as he looked at Hanabi's hardened eyes.
There was no doubt about it- this truly was Hiashi Hyuuga's daughter. The stoicism she was displaying must have been genetic.
For a moment, he frowned.
What was he supposed to tell her? How was he going to convince her that she couldn't be turning such summons on children?
Hanabi was unlike any of Genma's other children. She had the makings of a true member of his Torture and Interrogation Squad. Her pride was somewhat concerning, but there was an amount of empathy for those she cared about that let him know she wasn't cold, she was selective.
Trying to flat out stop her from using the summoning jutsu would probably wind up with her testing it out on others she considered to be wrongdoers... and that could end up with someone getting completely hurt.
As Ibiki contemplated possible actions, he remembered an old memory.
Genma, when Neji and Hinata had both tried coffee for the first time, had allowed them to taste it to see how bad it was.
Even though this plan of action had initially failed with Neji, after explaining the effects of the drink to Neji as if he were a proper adult, the boy had agreed to not try the drink until he was older.
Neji and Hanabi were very much alike...
Maybe if he talked to Hanabi as if she were an adult, she'd take his words seriously.
"There are many dangers to my kinds of jutsu, Hanabi." he shifted somewhat on his knees, only to find her shifting her head slightly to the side. "Not only can you seriously harm the people you trap, you can hurt yourself."
"Hm." Hanabi's eyes narrowed for a few seconds, appearing to think hard about his words, and then she pointed out, "If you were to teach me how to not abuse of them, then there would be no danger."
Ibiki stopped himself short from sighing heavily.
"As long as you promise to not attempt to use any of my jutsu without supervision until you're promoted to genin, then I believe we can work out a deal."
Hanabi's smile was a bright, proud one.
..~..~..
Hope y'all liked! The next chapter will definitely be a jump forward in time to see some of the dynamics between these three as something official.
Please review!