Quick note before the chapter:

First, I'd like to do a shameless plug for my friend's blog. He's trying to build his audience and writers need to help each other out. So if you enjoy movie/TV reviews that are intelligent, funny, and personable, definitely go check out Emerald City Cinema. www . theemeraldcitycinema . wordpress . com (without spaces, of course.)

Second, I've been working on a lot of original work, which is one of the reason's for the longer gap between postings. I'm hoping to get back to at least one a month. I'm also planning on getting my own blog up and running, which I'll talk more about next chapter as it's all in the works at the moment. With that, I've been considering starting a account, but am fairly unfamiliar with it. If anyone has experience, either giving or receiving, I'd love to hear what you think.

Thanks for indulging my slight aside, now, on to the chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

There were certain places that no matter how quiet or empty they were always conveyed an atmosphere of busy activity. Hospitals were one of those places. Few people milled about and the only staff Hinata could see as she walked in was the receptionist at her counter, but even so, she could feel the movement behind the scenes: nurses and med-nins attending to patients; orderlies stocking rooms; janitors cleaning, making sure the building is safe and sterile.

The receptionist smiled as she looked up from her work. "How may I help you?"

Hinata set the covered basket on the counter and returned the smile. "Hatake Kakashi's room, please."

"Just a moment." The woman flipped through her lists of names, finger scrolling down to keep her place. "Hatake Kakashi . . . here he is. Hokage-sama has him ordered on bed rest, so you won't be able to stay long."

"I understand."

Hinata collected her basket as the woman waved over a young orderly, and she followed him through the maze of halls and doors to Kakashi's room. Thanking him, she knocked lightly; no need to bother him if he was sleeping. A noise somewhere between a yawn and a "Yes" responded.

"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said, opening the door and offering him a little wave. "I hope you're feeling better. Neji-niisan told me about Suna. Well, as much as he could."

Kakashi was sitting up in his bed, a very odd image given his state of dress. A pair of loose pants were visible at his waist, darkening the white blanket above them, but nothing covered him from the waist up except for his half mask from neck to nose. Hinata had to wonder if Naruto or Sakura had ever even seen Kakashi's face unmasked. She might ask next time she saw them.

"It's easier to recuperate without Gai nearby."

"I imagine so." Hinata's smiled faltered. Neji's told her about the return trip, too. His face had struggled to decide if he was more disgusted or amused by it. No doubt looking back on it made it funnier than it was at the time.

Kakashi's head tilted to better eye the basket hanging by her leg. "For me?"

"Ah, yes." Hinata brought the basket to the bedside and untied the cloth covering. Inside was an assortment of fruits and a couple of bentos she had the kitchen make. "Shino-kun and Kiba-kun aren't very obedient patients, so I've gotten in the habit of bringing people food when they're hurt. It keeps them happy for a while."

Kakashi grinned behind the mask. "I'm not in a hurry to leave, but I won't refuse good food. Thank you."

"I wanted to get you a new book so you'd have something to read, but when I asked what books were like Jiraiya-sama's, the bookstore owner said I shouldn't be reading that and wouldn't help me."

"People don't have good taste in literature," Kakashi replied without a hint of irony.

Hinata laughed. "I suppose not."

Kakashi set the basket on the nightstand beside him and leaned back against the wall. "With Naruto back, I'm afraid I won't have much time to help you anymore."

"I understand. I'm thankful for everything you've taught me. It's helped considerably." She still had a long way to go, but she was in a better place to move forward on her own now.

"There is one more technique I'd like to teach you. My chakra hasn't fully recovered, but I don't need to demonstrate this one."

He had her curiosity. Hinata pulled the nearby chair over to the bed and waited for him to explain.

"I had intended to pass this down to Naruto, Sakura, or Sasuke, but given that, for good or for bad, my team ended up learning under the legendary Sannin, I found myself with no one to teach this to. But, with your team's reputation, it seems appropriate for you to have it." Kakashi demonstrated the hand seals for her. "You have the suppression seals on? Use about a sixth of your current chakra, then, and you'll need one more thing."

Without removing his mask, Kakashi bit into his thumb hard enough to draw blood and smeared a small amount on Hinata's right hand. Between the hand seals and the blood requirement, there was only one thing this technique could be. Hinata performed as directed and the chakra burst out in a puff of smoke, slowly drifting away to reveal a small, brown pug dressed in shinobi garb sitting on the edge of the bed. It was frighteningly adorable in its own sullen way.

"Kakashi. You're not dead yet. I assume everything ended well in Suna."

Hinata was taken back for a moment. It wasn't that she was surprised that he could talk, after all she'd already known Tsume's companion could, but that was not the voice she expected to come from such a small creature. It sounded more like an old man's voice than something suitable for a pug, ninja or not.

Kakashi nodded. "We recovered the Kazekage, though not without a cost."

"Isn't that always the way it is." The dog lowered its head slightly, as if in sympathy. "But why did you call me out here? You don't look like you're ready for a mission."

"Unfortunately not," Kakashi said, then he motioned to Hinata. "I need you to bring out the contract for Hinata. Hinata, this is Pakkun, one of the eight ninja hounds I summon."

Pakkun craned his thick head back to see her without actually moving. "That's not one of your team."

"No, but Naruto and Sakura have both signed contracts already. Unless you want to try and compete with Gamabunta and Katsuyu."

The little dog groaned. "I don't need the hassle of toads and slugs, but her . . . ?" He sniffed at the air. "I can smell a dog on her already."

"That's Akamaru," Hinata clarified. "My teammate is an Inuzuka; they breed their own dogs."

"Inuzukas." Pakkun groaned again. "Doesn't seem like she needs any more trackers with an Inuzuka on her team."

While it was a bit insulting to be rejected by a dog, Hinata understood his argument. They were already a tracking team, and if Pakkun was any example, Kakashi's summons wasn't made for intense battle.

"Hinata's team is one of the most skilled tracking teams in Konoha, hand-picked by Sandaime himself. With your pack's aid, no one would be better."

Kiba and Shino always boasted to being the best, but hearing it from Kakashi, whose abilities no doubt had him in line for the next Hokage, felt far more impressive. Not even Hinata could deny the swell of pride at his words. It made her want to stop explaining herself whenever she said it; maybe it was actually true after all.

"Besides," Kakashi continued, "the one thing they lack is the kind of speed and stealth your pack offers. Akamaru is too large to go ahead without being seen, and the three of them can only cover so much ground by themselves."

"Hmph." Pakkun turned to face Hinata directly.

The way he looked at her wasn't like Akamaru, who was sentient but still very much a dog at heart. Pakkun's stare felt more like Hyobe's, like she was being assessed by one much older and wiser. For all his bluster earlier though, there was no animosity in his expression. Just curiosity.

"I have one condition," Pakkun said slowly, pausing as his nose sniffed the air. "Can I have your shampoo? Yours smells better than mine, and your hair's much shinier. I can't get my coat that shiny."

There went older and wiser. Kakashi hung his head and sighed, while Hinata struggled to mentally reboot herself back into the conversation. She worked with Kiba and Shino, so you'd think she'd be prepared for whatever came out of anyone's mouth, even a dog's.

Once the cogs were all back in place, Hinata offered a nervous smile. "Sure?"

"All right then," Pakkun said, completely satisfied and hopping onto her lap. Before he turned to face Kakashi's bed again, he pawed at the loose strands of hair hanging over her chest. "Softer, too. Anyway, I'll need you to perform the summoning technique again since Kakashi doesn't look up to it. Don't worry, connect with my chakra and I'll direct what comes."

Hinata did as he asked, tapping into his chakra from his place on her lap. This time a medium-length scroll appeared on the bed from the poof of summoning smoke, and Pakkun jumped off again to begin unrolling it with his head until several empty spaces showed beside the last name written, Kakashi's name.

"Sign here in blood and you'll be able to summon us."

"That's all?" Hinata figured it would have been more complicated than that. Blood summons like these weren't the same as summoning from a scroll.

Kakashi nodded. "Passing a summons down is simple, learning to utilize it properly is the hard part, especially a specialized one like the pack. They are best at tracking, but used properly they can be an asset in battle as well."

Pakkun groaned like an old man with something caught in his throat and look at Hinata. "The others may be, but I stick to tracking. You got that? I'm non-combative."

"Understood." Biting her forefinger hard enough to break skin, Hinata let the blood well up before signing her name next to Kakashi's. Pakkun examined the signature, tilting his head to the side as if confused.

"She's got better handwriting than you," he finally said, eyeing Kakashi, who merely shrugged in reply. Pakkun certainly paid attention to odd details.

While Pakkun went to work rolling the scroll back up, Kakashi turned to Hinata again. "Once things with Naruto are done, I'll show you ways to use them besides tracking, but given recent events, that may not be soon."

What else was going on with Naruto? He hadn't mentioned anything big when he came by, though that was his first day back and plenty had happened since then. Neji didn't mention anything strange about their trip to Suna, but if it was classified, he might not have been able to. For a moment she considered talking to Naruto the next time he was back in Konoha, but that quickly twisted her stomach into a knot she couldn't unravel. They hadn't spoken since that night, and she wasn't sure how Naruto would treat her now that he knew. Part of her was afraid to find out.

Shaking the thoughts off, Hinata smiled. "Of course, I'm simply honored you chose to pass it down to me. I'm sure they'll be," she paused and glanced at Pakkun, "you'll be an enormous asset in the future."

Beside a smug Pakkun, the scroll poofed away. "We're always an asset."

The hospital room door slid open to reveal a young nurse taking in the scene before her: a visitor, a pug, her patient, and a trail of smoke dissipating between the three. She took a slow, deep breath and rubbed her temple in a gentle, circular motion. "Shinobi . . ."

Reclaiming her authority, the nurse began again, though her eyes kept returning to the pug in a blue vest. "I'm afraid that is long enough for . . . visitors. Please finish up so Kakashi-san can rest."

"Of course." Hinata obediently stood and replaced the chair to its previous position. She'd heard enough stories from Sakura about obstinate patients and visitors to respect the nurses' and med-nins' requests. "Kakashi-sensei, thank you again. I hope you recover quickly, and enjoy the food."

"Hinata, one more thing," Kakashi called, waving her back to avoid the nurse at the door from overhearing too much. "A piece of advice, sometimes what you regret most is making the correct choice instead of the right one."

Hinata watched puzzled, searching Kakashi's face for some kind of context to his last statement and finding none. "I don't understand. Does that have something to do with the summoning?"

"No. It's good advice nonetheless." Kakashi grinned that masked expression that said he knew far more than he let on. "Thank you for the basket."

Hinata wondered if even the twins would be able to accurately read Kakashi's meaning. He was an enigma with a smile and a penchant for dirty books. Nodding her acknowledgement, Hinata headed out, still pondering his meaning when a weight plopped onto her shoulder. After years with Akamaru in her team, Hinata recognized the feeling of a dog riding along. She glanced over at the surly pug pawing at her hair.

"Right. I owe you shampoo."

"Don't skimp out, either. I want a new bottle."

She knew Tenten had joked with Neji before about their hair, but after this Hinata needed to find out where they got their shampoo and invest in it. Everyone certainly seemed jealous of Hyuuga hair.

Back at the compound the two guards on duty blinked a couple times as she entered with the wrong dog on her shoulder. Pakkun raised a paw and said, "Yo," as they passed.

"Hinata-sama?" one called hesitantly before she was all the way through the gate.

Not many in the clan would call Hinata a joker or prankster, that was generally left to the twins, but at the slack-jawed expression on their faces, Hinata couldn't resist. The truth without context was too good.

"He's just getting some shampoo."

Whether he was joining in or merely explaining, Pakkun added in a deep, almost menacing voice, "Soft and shiny."

Hinata smirked as she left the baffled guards to wonder.