"I miss Hi-kun," Miyako stated with a sigh as she picked up some rubbish from the river with Takeo and Tsuneo by her side. She frowned as she looked at all the rubbish surrounding her, wondering how so much rubbish could accumulate in one area.
"Yeah, I do too. But it's to be expected, no one in his side of the family had activated the Sharingan for three generations. It's a shock to the clan, and he has to learn how to use it," Takeo stated and Miyako frowned.
It had almost been a month since the day Hisoka had activated his Sharingan, and in that time, his clan had been training him to wield it. The training was so intense that Miyako wasn't allowed to visit due to how tired Hisoka was every day after the training. Because of Hisoka's absence, Team 4 had been forced to not compete in the chūnin exams, which had started this week, and Team 4 had yet to go on a C-rank mission. As such, their days were divided between D-rank missions and training, which was going well for both Takeo – who had mastered the Fire Ball Jutsu and was now learning the Dragon Flame Jutsu – and Miyako, who had mastered the Teleportation Jutsu and was learning Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (which is a genjutsu).
"I talked to Hisoka's parents, and they said that he should be joining us again next week," Tsuneo explained and Miyako grinned as she turned to face her teacher.
"Are you serious? Does that mean we can do C-rank missions?" Miyako questioned in excitement, making Tsuneo sigh.
"I think it would be best to spend a week or two doing D-rank missions as a team first, just to make sure our teamwork is in order. It'll also give me time to test out Hisoka's skills," Tsuneo explained and Miyako deflated, but nodded in understanding, before turning back to her current D-rank mission.
...
Later that week, Team 4 were in their training ground practising their respective jutsus, when Tsuneo – who had stepped out for a bit – arrived with a woman with black hair and grey eyes by his side. The team, consisting of Miyako and Takeo, stopped in their training and walked up to their teacher and the mysterious woman.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet my girlfriend Adachi Aya," Tsuneo stated, gesturing towards the woman. "Aya-chan, this is Fuchigami Takeo and Haruno Miyako. Miyako here is the one I was hoping you would train in wind style when you are both free."
Aya smiled at the two genins. "Hello, it's nice to meet you both."
"You have wind release?" Miyako questioned in excitement and the woman nodded in agreement.
"That's right. Tsuneo-kun here told me about your chakra nature and had asked me to come and teach you some of the jutsus I know when we both have the time," Aya explained and Miyako grinned.
"Oh, that's great! Do you think that you can teach me something once I've mastered my current jutsu? I don't want to start learning a new jutsu until then," Miyako explained and Aya laughed and nodded.
"Of course. I understand your reasoning, too many shinobi lack in power over a jutsu because they try to learn too many too quickly. I'm happy that my new student is serious is happy to take her time," Aya explained and Miyako grinned with pride at the praise from the kind kunoichi.
"I'm glad you two are getting along," Tsuneo stated with a grin. "I had actually brought Aya here to meet you especially Miyako because I know you don't like having a random person train you without meeting them first."
Miyako blushed. "Um... sensei, did you tell her about my... ah, predicament?" Miyako questioned her sensei.
"No, I figured you would tell her yourself if you saw fit. You haven't even told your teammates or even Itachi-san," Tsuneo explained and Aya's grey eyes widened in surprise at the name.
"You know Uchiha Itachi?" Aya questioned in excitement, having heard amazing things about the Uchiha prodigy.
"Know him? He and she are practically crushing on each other," Takeo stated with a smirk as his teammate started to blush. "You see that necklace? He gave it to her as a birthday and a graduation present. A bit much for being just friends, am I right?"
"It no like that! We just friends, and that's all he'll ever see me as," Miyako stated, not even hiding the fact that she was crushing on the older Uchiha big time.
Aya started to laugh. "I don't know, Miyako-chan. It seems like he might like you more than that," Aya stated with a kind smile on her pink-painted lips.
"OK you two, leave the poor girl alone," Tsuneo chuckled. "Anyways, these two need to get back to training. I'll see you tonight for our date?"
"Of course, goodbye you two, it was nice meeting you," Aya agreed, giving Tsuneo a kiss on the cheek before leaving the training field.
"Wow, you're so lucky to have her, Tsuneo-sensei," Miyako stated in awe, making the man blush.
"OK, come on, show me how far you two have gotten."
...
Miyako bit her lower lip as she sat on the ground in the training ground, waiting for her teammates to arrive. It had been a week since she met her new sensei and girlfriend to her current sensei, Adachi Aya. In that time, Miyako worked hard to perfect Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique so she could begin training in wind style jutsus. Today, her and her team would be doing D-rank missions, as Hisoka should also return from his training with his clan.
Miyako was nervous, as she remembered the events leading up to her best friend gaining his Sharingan, and, if it weren't for Itachi, she wouldn't have realised that something akin to jealousy, anger, or even hatred had caused her friends Sharingan awakening.
"Miyako."
Miyako's head shot up in surprise as she looked up at the tall too familiar voice of her best friend. She studied her absent teammate and noticed how different he appeared. He seemed stronger, more serious, and almost... colder. Miyako smiled as she stood up, rushing up to the Uchiha and pulling him into a tight bear-hug.
"Hi-kun! I missed you so much, how was training?" she questioned as the boy just st6ood there stiffly.
"It was fine," he replied in a cool, emotionless voice, making Miyako let go and step back with a frown.
"Hi-kun... is everything alright?" Miyako questioned hesitantly, shivering at the cold look in her best friends' gaze.
"Fine," he replied simply.
"If it's because of what happened when you awakened the Sharingan, I had meant nothing by it," Miyako stated and Hisoka snorted, showing the first sign of emotion since she arrived. "It is because of that? Hi-kun, come on, you know I see Itachi as a friend and not even my best friend. That spot belongs to you."
"You want something more with him," Hisoka spat out, glaring at nothing in particular.
"So, what if I do? It's probably just a crush, besides, I'm too young to worry about relationships. I just want my best friend back," Miyako explained and Hisoka sighed before turning to look at her.
He studied his best friend for a while, he often forgot how young each of them was. Of course, after his intense training with the Uchiha Elders and the Clan Head – among others – he found it hard to think of himself as being only eight and Miyako only being seven. He felt like he was much older, and he knew he needed to push aside the thoughts of being with Miyako. At least for now, as they had their whole life ahead of them. Hisoka gave Miyako a small smile.
"Sorry, Mi-chan. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. Will you forgive me?" Hisoka questioned and the girl grinned, tackling him to the ground in a hug.
"Of course, Hi-kun. We're best friends after all."
...
The following months were met with team bonding. In between missions (which now included C-rank missions and regularly leaving the village), and training with Tsuneo and her team, Miyako also trained with Aya. It has been just over a year since the team was formed, and each member of the team was formidable in their own right. With skills that cover all the basics (and also all the elements), the team had even been placed on a couple of B-rank missions.
You would think with all this skill under their belts that by the time the first chūnin exams of the year arrived that at least one of them would've been made chūnin. But that wasn't the case, as they all failed the first, written exam due to their lack of information gathering skills and knowledge.
This is what led to Tsuneo sitting awkwardly on the boulder in the training ground, rubbing the back of his head and blushing as he was being glared at by his student not even a day after the first test. "OK, I admit I sort of overlooked that part of your training."
"You think? We could've beaten any of those genins in battle, hell, we could've survived with no readily available food or water if that was the test. But no, we fail because we can't gather information without being caught! It wouldn't have even been a problem if you had at least taught us stuff outside of jutsus," Miyako snapped, angry at herself for failing as she really wanted to become a chūnin.
"Yeah, I admit my skills for gathering information are very... let's say non-existent. That's why I never taught you anything. I probably should've gotten someone else to teach you that stuff," Tsuneo admitted, still rubbing the back of his head.
"And you only just thought of this, now?" Hisoka questioned in disbelief and Tsuneo shrugged.
Takeo sighed. "OK, I say before we do the chūnin exams again, we get a teacher to teach us some information gathering techniques," Takeo stated, and his teammates nodded in agreement.
"In my defence, there was a fifty-fifty chance that you would need to do something like that in the exams," Tsuneo stated and froze as his students glared at him.
"Tsuneo is a fighter, he's not someone who gathers information, or even does something like assassinations, Aya-sensei is no better," Miyako stated with a hand to her chin.
"I actually take offence to that," Aya, who had been sitting next to her boyfriend the whole times, stated and was promptly ignored by her student, making her huff in annoyance.
"Do you know anyone who could teach us?" Hisoka questioned the woman, and she put a finger to her lips as she thought.
"Hmm, what about Arihiro-kun?" Aya questioned and Tsuneo shook his head frantically.
"Nope, no way. He hits on you too much!" Tsuneo stated and Aya rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Tsuneo, he's your brother, and is part of the jonin's who specialise in information gathering. If anyone could teach these three information gathering skills, it'd be him," Aya explained with a grin.
"Hold up, Tsuneo-sensei has a brother?" Takeo questioned in surprise.
"Yeah. He's my older brother, and a pervert," Tsuneo stated. "I don't talk about him much because of that."
"I don't care if he's a pervert, can he teach us what we need to know?" Miyako questioned and Tsuneo reluctantly nodded. "Great, you can go and get your brother and convince him to train us. We'll be here practising our newest jutsus."
...
Later that day, the three genins were resting after spending the morning training, it was then that they saw three figures in the distance. The trio could make out the forms of Aya and Tsuneo, so they suspected that the third form was Tsuneo's brother. They all stood up, studying the brown-haired, hazel-eyed man who was taller than their jōnin instructor. He gave them all a wide grin as he walked up to them and bowed with a flourish.
"I am Higa Arihiro, older brother to Tsuneo here, it's a pleasure to meet you," the man stated, standing up and grabbing Miyako's hand, giving her a kiss on the back of it.
Miyako just looked at him blankly as she pulled her hand back. "I'm only eight."
"Ah, doesn't mean I shouldn't treat you with respect," Arihiro stated and turned to face his brother and his brothers' girlfriend. "So, this is the team you caused to fail due to their lack of skills at information gathering."
"In my defence, there was a fifty-fifty chance that they would need to do anything of the sort," Tsuneo stated for the second time that day.
"That doesn't matter, what matter is our skills are lacking, and we want someone to teach us them. Aya-sensei told us you were the man for the job," Hisoka stated, looking at Arihiro with a frown. "Was she wrong?"
"Oh no, she was right. I'm among the best in the village when it comes to information gathering, both personal and un-personal," Arihiro stated with a smirk.
"By personal, he means seduction," Aya stated simply, making the three genins blush.
"Oh, come on Aya-chan, you'll make them uncomfortable with me," Arihiro whined.
"Like they're not already," Tsuneo muttered, making Arihiro glare at him.
"Isn't seduction usually a kunoichi's thing?" Takeo wondered out loud, making Arihiro smirk.
"Sometimes, women have the information we need... and other times, men swing for the same team, if you get what I mean," Arihiro stated and the genins eyes widened as they understood what Arihiro was implying. "However, I'm not here to teach you three the fine art of seduction, I'm here to teach you how to gather information without getting close and personal with the enemy. As far as I know, there are no chūnin exams that call for getting close and personal to your enemies to get information."
"You wouldn't also be able to teach us some theory things so if we get a paper test again, we don't have to spend the entire time gathering information, could you?" Hisoka questioned.
"Of course, I can. Now then, let's start with the basic principle of information gathering!"