Let's start this from the beginning

Grand Assembly

- Part 1 -

"Foreigners"

III

"Psst! Stop making such a ruckus! Do you want them to notice us?"

"What are you talking about? Don't you see how far we're away from them? How could they possibly hear us from inside the building? If anything, we should get closer so that we can actually hear what they say!"

"Are you crazy?! They will notice us for sure, and I don't want to be punished by Sensei again! What if–"

"Don't you dare start your pessimistic whining again!"

"But Karui–"

Hinata shared a look with both her teammates that was amused and exasperated in equal measure. As they had quickly found out in the last twenty minutes, the odd behaviour these Kumo-nin had demonstrated when they first met them didn't seem to be a one-time thing, but rather the norm. There were of course many strange shinobi in Konoha as well, so it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise that foreigners were the same, but it still caught her off-guard to watch the boy, Omoi, get unreasonably depressed over something random while his teammate, Karui, berated him for it whenever it happened.

Kurisu-san might have had the right idea, she thought with an inward sigh, finding herself actually envying the third Genin from Kumogakure they had met a little bit earlier. Going home or getting something to eat somewhere else would have been much less nerve-wracking...

Their group of five, consisting of Hinata, her two teammates, and Karui and Omoi, was currently crouching behind a hedge on the opposite side of the road from the restaurant their teams' respective teachers had entered together a minute ago. Officially, both their teams had been dismissed and sent on their way not long after the two adults had appeared in their midst to stop their argument, but as was to be expected, none of them had been very eager to just let them be when it became clear that the two planned to "catch up" with each other over lunch once they were gone.

Well, other than Kurisu, that was. Where Omoi, Karui, Shino, and Kiba had demonstrated impressive inter-village cooperation in immediately agreeing to team up to spy on their teachers, the other kunoichi had merely scoffed and called them idiots before setting off, not interested in joining them in the slightest.

Hinata had found herself somewhere in the middle of these two groups: on one hand, she was curious about what Itachi-sensei would have to talk about with that foreign kunoichi, but on the other hand, she also was an advocate of not doing to others what she wouldn't like being done to her, and as she didn't think she would enjoy being spied on during a private conversation, doing just that to her sensei didn't sit quite right with her.

She really was very curious, however, and someone had to watch over her teammates to make sure they wouldn't cause too much trouble, so she ultimately reasoned she might as well join them.

Not that we are likely to overhear anything they don't allow us to overhear anyway, mind you, she thought while continuing to listen with one ear as her companions discussed the merits of trying to get closer to their targets. Not unless…

The other four of their group might have to get close to find out what their sensei were talking about, but as a Hyūga, Hinata wasn't that limited. The Byakugan was a very useful tool to spy on people, and combined with her ability to read lips, it meant she could spy on them even from their position behind the hedge.

So when she subtly fell a bit further back from her still-arguing companions to activate her Kekkei Genkai unnoticed a moment later without saying a word to inform them of her intentions, well, they would never have to know, now would they?

After all, there was no reason to intrude on Itachi-sensei's privacy more than absolutely necessary.

"These students of yours certainly are lively, especially the Inuzuka."

Itachi inclined his head in agreement, lips tucked upwards in amusement as he threw a sideway glance through the window to his left to where the five Genin were currently trying and failing to hide from them. "I dare say, the same goes for yours."

Yugito snorted before leaning back in her seat, one arm casually thrown over the back of the bench on her side of the booth they were sitting in. "Fair enough, although it was your students who at one point seemed only one step away from attacking the mine, not the other way around. What kind of impression would it have made for some Konoha-nin to attack invited guests, I wonder?"

"Almost starting a fight is not the same as actually attacking someone," Itachi replied easily enough. "Speaking of impressions, however, I wonder what people might think when they hear that a foreign shinobi not only declared their love for one of my students but also mentioned the possibility of eloping with her. Last I heard, defecting from one's village for any reason was rather frowned upon."

The 'especially when the foreign shinobi in question hails from the village that tried to kidnap the involved girl a decade earlier'–part went unsaid, but Itachi was confident Yugito would get the implication anyway.

However, if she did, she certainly didn't show it. "It's no secret that boys tend to act silly in the presence of pretty girls at that age. I'm sure people will recognize that Omoi's behaviour was nothing but an overzealous display of the foolishness of youth." Then, her smile grew wider and catlike, making her fittingly resemble the Bijū sealed within her. "It's interesting that you know of that declaration, though. I was under the impression you only arrived after I did. Don't tell me you were spying on your own team in case they were causing trouble? One has to wonder whether you trust them at all."

"Don't underestimate the speed with which gossip spreads through Konoha," he said dryly, well aware that Yugito would be able to look right through that blatant misdirection but also knowing that she had no real way of proving that he wasn't telling the truth and therefore simply didn't bother to come up with something more convincing. "Besides, didn't one of your students mention that you intended to seek out the hot springs? It's interesting how you managed to show up where you did, considering the hot springs are on the complete opposite side of the village. One could almost come to believe you lied to them and then secretly followed after them because you didn't trust your own team to behave on foreign soil."

"Yes, many people would probably come to such a conclusion, incorrect as it may be," Yugito said with a careless wave of her hand, evidently no more bothered by his accusation as he had been by hers moments earlier. "The truth is much less interesting, I'm afraid. I really did want to check out the hot springs, you see, but I unfortunately got lost on the way. It was mere coincidence that I stumbled into our teams when I did."

Almost against his will, Itachi found himself genuinely amused by her reply. Just like he had done earlier, she didn't even try to sound convincing when she fed him that obvious lie, well-aware that it was a reasonable enough excuse and that he had no way of actually proving that it was anything but the truth and therefore wouldn't be in a position to openly doubt her.

For a few seconds, the two of them remained silent. Then…

"It's good to see that you didn't grow up into a boring person."

Just so slightly, to the point where even Itachi, who had observed her closely from the moment they both had put a stop to the confrontation between their teams, barely managed to notice it, Yugito's relaxed posture became a bit more sincere. It was probably as relaxed as she would ever be in a hidden village that was not her own, and in return, Itachi allowed himself to visibly relax as much as he would ever dare to in the presence of a foreign kunoichi. "Did you think I would?"

Say about his life whatever you want, but it certainly wasn't boring.

"Not necessarily, no, but bloody child prodigies like yourself tend to burn out young." She gave him a very obvious once-over. "From the looks of it, you seem to be healthy enough, and your mind is clearly as sharp as ever. I assumed as much when I saw you had a Genin team of your own considering Konoha seems to have a problem with assigning them to any of the more unhinged Jōnin, but it's nice to see proof of it myself."

"I'm glad you approve," he replied wryly. "And now that you have your proof, what do you plan to do next?"

She shrugged as if she hadn't thought that far yet; Itachi didn't buy it for a single second. "Who knows? I suppose we will have to wait and see, don't we?" Then, her lips morphed into a small smirk. "For now, I will content myself with seeing how well my team will do during the exams compared to yours."

Itachi allowed his own expression to mirror hers while deliberately channelling some of the haughtiness his clan was known for on his face. "I hope you won't be too disappointed by the results, then."

He wasn't usually the kind of person that got carried away by things like competitions, but interestingly enough, he found that he actually did feel competitive when it was about his team instead of himself.

Yugito, in turn, seemed very much like a competitive person in general from the little he knew about her, and if the look in her eyes was anything to go by, that sentiment clearly extended to her students as well. "Allow me to throw those words right back at you," she said, her voice a mix of anticipation and amusement. "I admittedly didn't plan to take any students of my own, but once I took them under my wings, I made damn sure to train them right. If there is even the slightest opening, they will take your brats out of the exams faster than they can say Chūnin."

Rather than arguing, Itachi merely inclined his head in silent acceptance. The results would speak for themselves soon enough, so there was really no point in arguing over it now. Instead, he focused on something else she had said:

"If you didn't plan on taking students, how come you now have an entire team of them?"

At that question, Yugito snorted, and Itachi was somewhat surprised to realize that the look in her eyes when she answered was one he recognized as one he had seen in his own reflection before. "Raikage-sama insisted for some reason." Then, her voice softened almost imperceptibly when she added, "I can't say I was impressed by the idea at first, but they have grown on me since."

That explains it, he thought. While he hadn't exactly been against it when the Sandaime told him to take on a Genin team, he hadn't really been convinced of the idea at first either. Only later, when he saw how talented Shino, Kiba, and Hinata were and how much he was learning himself just by teaching them, did he realize what a great opportunity this whole experience was for him.

"What about you? I doubt it's normal for Jōnin instructors to be as young as you unless there is a shortage of capable shinobi, which isn't something Konoha struggles with as far as I know."

With his realization about the similarities between them fresh in mind, it wasn't hard for him to decide how to reply to that.

"Hokage-sama insisted for some reason, and while I wasn't convinced at first, I have to admit that I have come to enjoy being a teacher since."

Judging by the look on her face, Itachi thought she either wanted to laugh or punch him in the face for so blatantly copying her own answer to that question. Not that he thought she had any right to complain, mind you; she had after all done the exact same thing mere minutes earlier.

Fortunately, a waiter arrived with the drinks and menus before she could decide which response would be more appropriate, and it wasn't just any waiter either.

"Oh, it's you."

Yugito's voice was a dry drawl as she said that, but the absolute lack of interest or curiosity in her voice and body language both were evidence in and of itself of just how interested she was in the appearance of the newcomer. The target of her attention, however, barely dignified her with a glance before ignoring her completely in favour of focusing on Itachi.

"Of all the people I expected you to potentially show up here with eventually, I can't say I saw this one coming."

Itachi gave his old friend a small smile, inwardly thinking that this was hardly his fault. He very much doubted anyone could have predicted this turn of events. "I wasn't aware you were expecting me to bring someone here at all."

"Oh, I'm hardly the only one," Yukio chuckled, and it was only because Itachi knew him for many years that he could tell how forced the action actually was. "There's an entire betting pool on who would be the lucky one you take out on a date first. Everyone will be oh so very disappointed to hear about today, I'm sure."

Yugito snorted at that. "A date, huh? I suppose I can see why people would think that." Her face, while not losing its amused tinge, then took on a slightly more thoughtful expression. "I wonder what Raikage-sama will have to say about it when he inevitably hears about this. That will be interesting to explain."

She didn't sound very worried about it, Itachi noted. He didn't feel guilty about arranging things this way, of course, but it was good to know that he didn't cause her any unnecessary problems nevertheless.

He was more than aware of just how much attention he attracted wherever he went, no matter how much he might pretend otherwise. After all, it would be impossible not to notice all the eyes on him even if he wanted to. Unfortunately, that meant he was also very much aware of how unreasonably interested most people seemed to be in his private life, regardless of the fact that it really was none of their business. People were far too noisy for his taste sometimes – and that included even people he was close to like Shisui and Anko.

At times like this, however, their inappropriate curiosity could be used to his advantage.

With how things stood, it was to be expected that the news of him eating lunch with a woman, especially a pretty, foreign kunoichi, would be prime gossip material, and with this being the Narisawa, Konoha's busiest and most popular restaurant, the news was sure to spread fast.

As he had told Yugito earlier, Konoha's gossip mill wasn't to be underestimated.

The rumours would of course be mildly inconvenient for him as well, not the least because there would surely be a lot of people who would approach him later to hear what the heck he had been thinking, but he thought that was better than the alternative. While his and Yugito's team hadn't exactly been fighting in the streets or anything dramatic like that, Shino and Kiba's defensive postures and all the screaming one of Yugito's students had done put together could give people a wrong impression of what was going on, and the last thing Itachi needed was for rumours to spread that his team actually did start a fight with their village's guests.

Wrong as that would be, the rumours could still cause unnecessary drama. His non-existent love life, on the other hand, was apparently an annoyingly common topic around Konoha, so any rumours regarding it would be much easier to dismiss as just another story blown out of proportion by the gossip mill.

Still, Itachi thought a bit resigned, is there really a betting pool on who I might take out for a date?

People seriously needed to find more interesting hobbies.

"Anyway," Yugito continued, eyes focused on Yukio, "it's interesting to see that you work here. Don't tell me I beat you so hard during our fight in the exams back in the day that you decided to give up on being a shinobi altogether and instead decided to become a waiter."

Yukio's face, which until then had been, if not polite, at least carefully neutral, tensed for a second before he managed to get his mimic back under control. "This is my family's establishment. I am to inherit it at some point, so it had always been the plan for me to eventually start working here and learn about the business."

Itachi knew that this wasn't entirely true, of course, but he didn't contradict that claim out loud for obvious reasons.

Yugito raised her hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm not judging, you know. Or trying to insult you, for that matter. There's no shame in working in a restaurant. Not everyone is cut out to be a shinobi, after all."

The lull in the conversation that followed was just a tad too long to be natural, but just when Itachi considered intervening, Yukio apparently decided that the best course of action would be to simply do his job as professionally as possible instead of arguing with Yugito. "A waiter will take your order when you're ready," he said, reverting back to his role as an employee for good.

"That won't be necessary," Yugito said before he could actually turn around and leave, though. "I will have whatever is the most popular dish here. I like the surprise."

To his credit, if Yukio was annoyed by this, he didn't give anything away. "Of course," he said coolly before turning towards Itachi. "I assume you take your usual?"

"I do," he confirmed. "Also, if you could do me a favour? My students seem to have finally found the resolve to try and sneak into the building instead of trying to spy on us from the outside. If you don't mind, please politely remind them that I sent them home, would you?"

That coaxed a genuine chuckle out of Yukio. "Sure, sounds like fun." And with that, he was gone.

Itachi had no doubt that his students would be gone before he could approach them. The odds that Hinata would have been watching them with her Byakugan were quite high, and with her ability to read lips, she surely knew what was coming and would take her teammates with her to escape. The result, specifically them being gone, would be the same regardless, however, so he had no reason to complain.

"Did you really have to do that? I looked forward to seeing how they would try to spy on us."

He ignored her idle comment completely. "It's rather rude and unseemly to push someone in such a manner, don't you think?"

"Don't tell me you Konoha guys are too sensitive to take a joke."

So at least she isn't trying to act as if she doesn't know what I'm talking about. "Most people don't make condescending jokes like this with people they barely know."

"And most people are idiots, so what?" Itachi didn't give any outward reaction to that, but perhaps she was sensing somehow that her reply didn't exactly satisfy him, for Yugito continued, "Besides, for all it's worth, I really wasn't joking when I said that I didn't mean to insult him, or that there is no shame in giving up on being a shinobi and becoming a waiter instead. Ignoring his interaction with me for a moment, he seems content with his chosen profession. That's more than most of us can say, isn't it?"

"Are you saying you're not content with yours?" Yugito was clearly a fairly blunt person, but surely she wouldn't go as far as to openly show discontent with her lot in life in front of a shinobi from a different village. Ignoring the already problematic implications of her, a Jinchūriki, doing such a thing in general, it also didn't fit her insistence towards her students to behave themselves appropriately he had observed earlier.

Judging by the small smirk on her face that said he had asked exactly what she had wanted him to ask, that was apparently indeed not what she had meant.

"I was actually referring to the part where he could follow his chosen profession while neither of us had much of a choice in what occupation we pursue," she said with a shrug and in a tone that was far too casual to be genuine, alluding to their respective roles as Uchiha heir and Jinchūriki respectively. "Why, don't tell me you aren't content with yours?"

Itachi tilted his head and took a moment as if that was an intriguing question that warranted deep consideration before replying, "As I mentioned earlier, I was initially unsure what to think about becoming a teacher, but I can honestly say that I have come to appreciate my position since."

Both of them knew that this wasn't what her question had aimed for, of course, but Yugito gracefully accepted his answer without further prodding.

Unfortunately, the topic she broached next wasn't much better.

"Anyway, speaking with your friend reminded me of something."

Although he didn't show it, Itachi didn't think he liked the almost anticipatory tone of her voice. "Is that so?"

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember? Has no one taught you that it's rather rude and unseemly to forget a mutually agreed-upon date? How is a woman supposed to feel about that, I ask you?"

Ignoring both her theatrics and the fact that she threw his own words from earlier back at him, Itachi focused on trying to figure out what exactly she was speaking about. "Perhaps some more details will help me refresh my memory."

Almost as if she had just been waiting for him to say that, Yugito leaned forward with an eager glint in her eyes.

"You," she said while emphatically pointing her index finger at him, "owe me a fight."

Now, at face value, this wasn't that much of a helpful hint. In fact, it didn't really tell him anything at all. For Itachi, however, it was more than sufficient to explain what she was going on about.

Although he inwardly felt like sighing in resignation, he merely nodded in understanding. "Would I be correct in assuming that this is about our fight during our Chūnin Exams?"

"It is about the end of our fight during our Chūnin Exams, to be precise," she said with a nod, visibly satisfied that he managed to catch on. "I forfeited even though I would still have been able to continue while you were on your last breath, making it a draw instead of the clear win it would have been otherwise. I told you back then that you owe me another fight for that, and now that we finally met again, I plan to cash that favour in sooner rather than later."

Now that she brought it up, he vaguely remembered something like that happening. He hadn't exactly been at his best at the end of the fight, his body aching and his mind foggy from both physical exhaustion and chakra depletion, and his memories from that time were consequently not as clear as he would have liked them to, but her words were definitely familiar.

"I suppose that is fair."

He would really prefer to avoid such a rematch if he was being honest, but he doubted Yugito would accept anything but his agreement. It didn't help that she had genuinely done him a favour by forfeiting their fight either. Technically, there wasn't much she could do if he were to stubbornly insist on not fighting her other than recklessly attacking him, and with the political ramifications such an action would bring with it, she was unlikely to resort to such drastic methods, but there were other things to consider in this situation. After all, with the looming threat of Akatsuki becoming more and more real with each passing day, having a good relationship with a foreign Jinchūriki could eventually become an important asset.

Also, more imminently, fostering good relationships with her could in turn benefit his team. While it was certainly to be expected that their respective students would have some sort of rivalry with each other in the upcoming exams, Itachi thought it most likely that they would want to show up each other during the finals in front of an audience. If he and Yugito, and consequently his team and hers, were on relatively good terms, the odds of them helping out each other to guarantee such a future confrontation should be at least somewhat increased. With how many talented individuals were expected to participate in the exams this year, they couldn't have enough help. Every advantage counted.

And if a small part of him actually looked forward to sparring with someone new that could give him a good challenge, well, there was no reason for anyone to know.

Yugito raised a critical eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to agree to this so easily."

"You did do me a favour. I'm sure you are aware that most people wouldn't have acted as you did, and that many wouldn't have been unhappy if you had used the opportunity to take me out for good." Truthfully, she might even have been celebrated by her village for taking out a child prodigy before he had time to mature. "If a rematch is what you want to repay this debt, then so be it."

"Well, if you put it like that…"

"However, I do have conditions of my own."

It was admittedly amusing how she seemed almost relieved by his comment. He could relate, though; things proceeding too smoothly was generally a great indication of something being very, very wrong. Him having conditions of his own after agreeing to her demand without putting on a fight probably helped to convince her that he was actually honest when he gave his consent to the rematch.

It also made her more willing to listen to and eventually agree to his conditions, which was at least part of the reason Itachi had agreed so quickly in the first place.

She dismissively waved her hand before leaning back into her seat, already more relaxed than she had been mere moments ago. "Name them, then."

"I will choose the time and place of the fight."

The only sign that she was displeased by that was the slight, nearly imperceptible narrowing of her eyes. "Oh? And what do you have in mind?"

"With all the participants, delegates, and guests arriving each day, things are naturally tense at the moment. A fight between two Jōnin from different villages, even if it's merely a friendly one, might make certain parties… nervous. It would be more prudent to conduct our match at a later date."

Yugito hummed, evidently not convinced. "Don't you think you're overthinking this?"

"Usually, you might be right, but this year's exams are a bit different from the others, don't you agree?"

There was a short pause. Then, "And what other time would you propose instead?"

No agreement, but no disagreement either, he thought. That has to be good enough for now. "There will be a month's break between the second and third exams. Since the festivals will be in full swing by then and the teams that didn't advance will have left the village at that point, things should have calmed enough that no one will object to a friendly sparring match."

Furthermore, it would also give him enough time to find a place where they could fight in relative privacy while still staying close enough to potential aid in case this turned out to be a trap. He found that unlikely to be the case, but it was better to be sure than to be sorry.

It technically also depended on her team actually proceeding into the finals, but Itachi knew that this wasn't anything to be worried about.

"Fine," Yugito agreed after a few moments of consideration. "I would prefer to have our rematch sooner, mind you, but after all these years, I suppose I can wait a bit longer." Her lips then twisted into an amused grin, and Itachi knew even before she opened her mouth that whatever she was going to say next would cause him trouble in one way or another. "It's a date, then!"

The booth they were sitting in allowed them relative privacy, having been designed with paranoid shinobi in mind, but even that wasn't enough to avoid being overheard when one raised their voice as she had just done. There was no way no one had heard her exclamation just now.

And on second thought, judging by her expression, that had most definitely been her plan all along.

It's probably too much to ask that this isn't going to make it into the rumour mill as well, isn't it? He might have agreed to this meeting partly because he wanted to distract people from what happened between their students by having them talk about the two of them instead, but feeding the rumour mill more than necessary was never a good idea.

It wasn't the end of the world, but it certainly was annoying.

Thankfully, a waiter arrived with their food just then, giving him something to distract himself with. Everything was better than thinking about what his friends would have to say about this. Shisui is going to have a field day…