Chapter 11.

Tomorrow was an important day for Kakashi, and that was why he was spending all of today in preparation.

Preparation. It seemed it was all he's been doing these past weeks.

It was a week since Hageshi's trial with the past seven days passing in a blur. The reason being Danzou's yet another brilliant scheme to push one of his useless laws. Today was the last day for him to prepare his case, before he had to go to Konoha Ninja Academy for negotiations.

"Kakashi," Danzou told him on the next day after the trial. "As you know, the academy administration is determined to oppose my every recommendation regarding the students' education. They are persistent in their defiance, and in their pride, they fail to see the benefits of the reforms I am suggesting."

Of course, his recommendations were totally ridiculous. For instance, who in the world would like the academy to be relocated to the outskirts of Konoha? Konoha ninja academy had always been in the historical center of Konoha, at the very base of the Hokage Mountain, and shared the very same building with the Hokage himself. It was a clever, if not a little idealistic decision by Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, to allow the impressionable youth grasp what it meant to be a shinobi from their own Kage's example. Kakashi didn't know what possessed Lord Second when he founded the Academy, whether it was another act of shrewdness or an indulgence of momentary tenderness on his part, but the Academy grounds were designed to be joint with Hokage's workplace. That way, the students got to meet their leader regularly, and the Hokage got to supervise their progress. Kakashi could imagine Tobirama curse his decision a thousand times over as the sound of dozens of kids concentrated right under your window could grate on one's nerves. Danzou did not give a reason for that particular recommendation, but Kakashi was willing to bet that it had to do with kids annoying him with their constant noise.

Another of Danzou's ingenious suggestions was to make the Academy into a boarding school, which was reasonable, considering that orphans could benefit from living at their school rather than come back to their orphanages every day, where no one understood them because they are ninjas anyway. However, Danzou took his idea up a notch, suggesting that living at the Academy should be compulsory for every child enrolled. That obviously was met with heavy resistance not only from the school personnel, but the parents as well. One can only wonder what was on their Hokage's mind when he thought separating all those old and noble clans' children from their families would be a good idea. Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, and many others weren't happy with this proposal. And that is not to mention regular parents, who wouldn't like to be separated from their children.

Needless to say, Kakashi was not particularly popular among Konoha parents and clans, seeing as it was him that was tasked with negotiations. Danzou liked to use him as a lightning rod to divert people's anger from himself. Kakashi relayed Danzou's laws, being a public image for Konoha government and bearing the hatred that would undoubtedly rise each time another ridiculous act was passed. In a rare occurrence that their initiative was met with public approval, Danzou was sure to take all the credit, the bastard.

There were many more plans for the Academy from Danzou, but they were at their bud, far from getting any significant attention from their ambicious Hokage yet. Kakashi shuddered at the tought of his Academy being turned into a Root training facility ten years into Danzou's rule. He had to make sure none of Danzou's "education reforms" came to fruition.

He spent the whole week brainstorming ideas, forming convoluted plans and contingencies, and contingencies for contingencies, but he was yet to find the most optimal outcome that would satisfy every party involved. So deep in thought he was that he didn't notice his wife entering the study in her usual pastime.

"How is your work?" she said, putting a tray of tea on the desk, startling him. "You seem troubled," she explained when he thanked her for the tea and snacks.

"It's just that I am at a dead end here," Kakashi found himself telling her, absently noting how all the biscuits on the plate were of his favorite flavor. Instead of taking a book and sitting at her corner as usual, Hinata pulled the chair closer to his desk and sat attentively, urging him to continue.

"Danzou wants me to convince everyone to agree to moving the Academy, and make it a compulsory boarding school," he said, sighing tiredly.

"Why does he want you to convince anyone?" she asked. "Couldn't he just force them to comply?"

"He could, but it would be a poor move from his part. Academy matters were traditionally governed by its administration, and the Academy itself is historically placed beside the Hokage office. Not to mention our reputation is far from favorable. It is better if they do it out of their own volition," he explained.

Konoha Academy was one of the things that made the village's clans cooperate together. Being a place of common heritage, it united all the clans as no matter the background, virtually every shinobi had to make their first steps in the ninja world through Academy. Hinata could understand everybody's dissatisfaction with Danzou's indifference to such a symbolic place.

"Why do you say 'our' reputation, when it is clearly Danzou who is pulling all the strings?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, it is me who is getting the brunt of people's resentment, and I am part of Konoha's government, so…" Kakashi trailed off. He did not understand why it bothered his wife but judging from her shaking her head he could see she disagreed.

"Others may not know the truth, but you know it," she told him firmly. "And I know it, so you can stop associating yourself with that man when you are with me."

He hadn't thought about it like that. What others thought about him was a fact. He was with Danzou. However, what he thought about himself was true as well. She was right. At least in his head he could stop pretending and draw a clear line between himself and his Hokage. And Hinata thought he wasn't enemy, too. He turned to look at her and saw her smiling at him. She must have noticed the realization in his eyes. It was oddly liberating to talk with someone who clearly separated Danzou from him. People started using his and their Hokage's names interchangeably long ago, and he was long used to it. However, Hinata reminded him that he was his own person, that he was still on the side opposite to Danzou. She believed in him even when he himself started to show signs of giving up. It made him feel ashamed. He knew that he wasn't on Danzou's side, of course, but it seemed he didn't tell it himself enough to feel like it. With Hinata, he felt like he was genuinely on the side of good, and not deceiving himself by playing a spy.

"Thanks," he told his wife sincerely. She nodded, still smiling, and turned to leave when he stopped her. "Hinata, wait," he called lamely. "I thought maybe you could help me with this problem." With those words Copy Nin gestured on the pile of documentation on his desk, as if to say that he couldn't allow getting stuck on the Academy business since he had a lot more work to do on top of that.

Lavender eyes lit up, and his wife sat back opposite to him, all ears.

"You see, I am trying to think how I could stop those stupid reforms, but one way or another my plans would lead to trouble. Obviously, there can be no compromise, at least regarding Academy's reformation into a boarding facility. I also suspect that Danzou might try to enforce his idea anyway, and all I can do is stall as much as possible," he looked helplessly at Hinata, praying she had some insight on the matter.

She hummed and went into thinking, it looked like. Kakashi couldn't help but notice how her brows creased slightly when she concentrated. It was oddly interesting to observe. Finally, after a lengthy silence she spoke.

"You cannot convince Danzou of your idea. Why not make Danzou think that your idea is his idea, so that he doesn't need any convincing?" she suggested thoughtfully.

Kakashi's face was deadpan. He remained like that for what felt like very long, and Hinata started to think he thought her an idiot. She was about to laugh away her suggestion in dismissal, when he chuckled, slapping his forehead.

"How did I not think of it myself?!" he exclaimed. He chuckled again. "Thanks, Hinata," he said, giving her such an elated look that made her feel funny inside.

The expression in Kakashi's eyes made her feel like she did something amazing, when in reality all she did was make a suggestion even she thought was too vague and sounded silly. Kakashi, however, seemed to disagree.

"I was focusing too much on the case itself, when I should have been focusing on Danzou instead," he admitted after finally taking a generous sip of his tea. "If I cannot change the reform itself, because Danzou won't accept any changes, I need to make him reject the reforms completely. That would be far more effective than trying to do any damage control."

"But if you can't convince him to make any adjustments, how are you going to convince him to dismiss the whole initiative?" Hinata asked, perplexed.

"Simple," he smiled. "Danzou is an opportunist. The moment he believes his cause is no longer beneficial or less beneficial than the other he switches sides. All I need to do is create such an opportunity for him, so he willingly changes his side in this argument."

"I am sure you'll figure it out," his wife reassured, stretching across the desk and patting him on the shoulder. "I'm afraid I am not able to give any advice further than that," she said, turning to leave.

"Yeah, you are right. Thanks anyway," she heard him absently dismiss.

She felt a giggle bubble up inside. No matter how smart, Kakashi had a long way to go in terms of social skills. She could imagine many to find his bluntness rude, but to her it was adorable. He hardly dished out any praise and is always sure to be the first to inform you of your mistake. To her, it only showed that he cared. She always appreciated honesty, never liking when people shielded her because of her supposed gentle nature. Even her own teammates were guilty of this. But Kakashi never shielded her from her shortcomings, he always told her where she did bad, and where she could have done better. Every training with him these past days was like a torture session, but she'd come out a better person by the end of it. She almost wished for something to happen so that she could test her skills in practice.

For Kakashi, she wished good luck and left him to formulate whatever plan he had in mind, glad that she was able to help.

When it was finally the day Kakashi had to meet with the Academy's board, Hinata found herself more and more nervous with each passing minute. Her husband left two hours ago, and from what she gathered, he was late. Perhaps that was part of his plan, but Hinata still questioned whether it was a good idea to antagonize everyone further by making them wait. He assured her everything was going to be alright, but she couldn't help but worry. She reasoned that part of her nervousness was due to Kakashi following her advice in the matter, so she would feel responsible if whatever he'd had cooked up failed. The anxiety was gnawing on her. Deciding that some fresh air would help, she put on her coat and went for a walk.

Konoha climate was fairly mild, and even now, in the beginning of December, it was yet to snow. Hinata walked along a familiar route, meeting neighbors and vendors whose shops she frequented. They always greeted her warmly, but since she married Kakashi their faces acquired an expression of sympathy everytime they were looking at her. She also noticed more and more people talk badly of Kakashi himself. Even her friends, when they hung out, let themselves to put her husband down. Her friends she could handle, one nasty look was usually enough for them to shut up. It were the strangers' stares and whispers that grated on her nerves. "It's not like that!" she wanted to yell. She wanted to hold them by their shoulders and shake them, telling them that Kakashi was a good man, didn't they see? That he was still a hero. She wanted to tell everyone how amazing he was and how everyone was wrong about him. But everytime she opened her mouth to correct them, every time she wanted to retort on their whispers of sympathy, she thought about how it would affect what Kakashi was doing. If he was cautious enough to hide the truth from even his friends, then could she really go around defending him? What if she was being watched, and the enemy could figure out Kakashi's intention through her? It was that worry that prevented her from speaking. Instead, she smiled and laughed, showing them that there was no reason for them to pity her, no reason to think that her husband is mistreating his wife.

Aside from the rumors that he was abusing her, there were many others. Fueled by truth and not, they pretty much destroyed Kakashi's reputation among civilians and many shinobi. Ninja were more loyal to him; the reputation of the great Copy Ninja was hard to ruin. From those who were shinobi the ones who didn't know him that well were most likely to believe the rumors. She spoke with Yugao, Yamato and many other Kakashi's friends, and found that they went on as if nothing happened. Obviously, the topic was uncomfortable for them, but not once did they show any doubt as to Kakashi's character. What she saw in their eyes was disappointment. Like when your child did something wrong, but you continued loving them, despite their actions. They stuck with him since he was a kid, so she hoped they would continue doing so despite the circumstances. When this whole business is finished, she was sure they could all laugh about it one day.

Hinata wandered aimlessly for what felt like quite some time, before noticing with little humor where exactly her legs decided to bring her to.

Konoha Shinobi Academy.

She considered going back, surely Kakashi will not appreciate her barging in the middle of his job, but the commotion outside at the Academy grounds attracted her attention.

Kakashi stood in the yard, listening to a litany of insults. By now he began to half-jokingly doubt whether he should be so glad that he managed to agitate everyone. He was glad, however, that he managed to pull the board of directors outside. Sitting in a closed space of their office would make it difficult to get Danzou's attention. Now, Academy staff, angry parents and even some students were surrounding him, shouting at him in indignation. So far so good, he thought, looking up at the sky, noting with the corner of his eye that Hokage's office window was right above them. Apparently, someone took his motion as an indication that he wasn't paying any attention, for he felt being poked harshly in the chest. He turned his head back to see a fuming Iruka.

"Kakashi-san, are you even listening?"

"Maa, sorry, Iruka-sensei," he gave him a fake smile. "I just got tired of listening to people's whining."

Despite Kakashi being especially annoying today, Iruka held himself well, the chest poke being the only action that broke his decency so far. He hoped someone else would take the bait, and surely, some Inuzuka grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around angrily.

"The fuck do you think you are?"

Leave it to Inuzuka to instigate a fight. A fight right now would be unnecessary, though. Kakashi only needed for people to get angrier, not violent. And the best way to make an Inuzuka angrier without provoking them is to ignore them.

"I am serious, though," he started to shout, "do you people have anything constructive to say about our recommendations or you are going to continue insulting me?"

His response made the crowd still for a moment, before they processed his words and the yard erupted in a roar of fury. Iruka and Academy council, to their credit, kept their composure; they continued observing the situation, no doubt happy to let him know just what people thought of his initiative. Kakashi suspected it was due to years of having to deal with obnoxious students and sometimes their equally obnoxious parents. Iruka, curse his rational nature, managed to calm people down enough to make them speak one by one.

"Let's not yell, everyone," Iruka shouted in what Kakashi thought was a pretty impressive teacher voice. "If Kakashi-san wants to hear constructive criticism," he looked in his direction irritatedly, "then why don't we give it to him. Again."

Truth is, they had told him numerous times that they won't allow anything to change in their academy. Making them repeat themselves on deaf ears would surely cause more anger.

"Yeah, I don't know who came up with this idea," one parent started, "but clearly they never sent their children to this Academy before. It's got the best location, and–"

"And right under the nose of our Hokage," yelled someone, interrupting the first man. Of course, it was just one of Kakashi's disguised clones. "Rokudaime-sama respects tradition, I doubt he'd approve of you butchering our beloved village's history by moving Academy to some outskirts."

"Yeah," said another clone, before anybody could say anything. "And what about all this boarding school stuff? I can understand if it was optional, but forcing our children to live at school?"

This statement was met with more support than the previous one. Kakashi spied a glance at the window above, noticing a familiar silhouette standing behind the glass. 'Just a little more' he thought.

"This all sounds nice, but the matter has already been finalized," he said. "No one at this point can stop it."

That was another bait, but this time directed at Danzou. The man liked to flaunt his authority, so maybe he would be subconsciously pulled to stop him just to show everyone how powerful he was.

"I don't care what you say, you are not the Academy, and you are not the Hokage. Your words hold no value regarding the matter."

"This is outrageous!" he heard one woman complain. "Mark my words tomorrow everyone will hear about this injustice!"

Kakashi noticed that the crowd had increased considerably since the beginning of their argument. In no time half of the street will gather to the commotion. It was time to deal a final blow.

"If you are going to do it, I am pulling my kid back from the Academy."

"I have no money to pay for the boarding school."

"Yeah, my Izuku-kun will not be going to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere!"

"I will not allow Tenya to attend if that means he is going to live separately."

"Guess Ochako-chan will have to be homeschooled…"

His clones did a fine job initiating a wave of protest, and now seemingly every parent present was threatening to pull their child out of the Academy. Anything was possible if you get someone angry enough. Kakashi had no doubt that many proud clan members would gladly homeschool their kids if it meant to keep them within their clan's influence. The beauty of Konoha shinobi system was that academy attendance was totally flexible. As long as you pass the final exam, you can skip all the classes you want. Kakashi himself was a famous example, completing his studies within just one academic year, when it normally takes several for a student to pass.

Danzou could ignore everything up until this point, but now that there was a threat of losing students he had to intervene. Kakashi looked around, there were at least a hundred people. Danzou would have to be an idiot to miss such an opportunity to improve his image. Indeed, the man appeared as soon as the crowd started showing any signs of unity.

"Kakashi, may I ask, what is the meaning of all this ruckus?" the old man inquired.

Danzou seemed angry, but Kakashi knew on the inside the man was savouring this moment.

"Hokage-sama, sir," he turned and immediately went on his knee.

Now he was just laying it thick.

"Thank God, Hokage-sama," one of his clones addressed Danzou. "We hoped you could resolve the situation."

Their Hokage gave a condescending smile, "I am sure I can help if you tell me what's going on."

"He wants to move the academy!" his clone pointed an accusating finger at him. "And make it a compulsory boarding school!"

"Ah," Danzou said, that stiff smile still plastered on his face. "Kakashi, I thought I made it clear that your suggestions should be made only as recommendations?"

Kakashi let a lost look pass on his face. Better to make him believe he could read him.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama," he bowed, seemingly recovering from shock.

Suddenly, a reporter broke through to them. It was surprising to see such a petite woman shove grown-up ninjas aside to clear her path. The worse the situation the better are the journalists as they say.

"Hokage-sama, do you have anything to say regarding todays situation?" she asked, pointing a microphone to the old bastard.

Danzou smirked, before replying.

"Certainly. I would like to apologize for my colleague's actions. It is inexcusable to impose one's views on others. I warned him before that his ideas regarding our beloved Academy won't be received well, but he still insisted on at least putting a suggestion. All it was supposed to be was a recommendation, we recognize Konoha Academy administration's authority over these matters," he said nodding towards Iruka and other Academy staff. "I urge you to return back to your daily activities. This matter is decided, there will be no changes in the Academy."

As soon as the statement left their Hokage's lips, Kakashi's clones started clapping loudly. As it often happens with applause, it took only a few to start a chain reaction. They now stood in the middle of a cheering crowd, clapping and hooting from every side. People congratulated each other for this victory. Less politically adept ones were even thanking Danzou. The bastard was clearly enjoying himself, basking in stolen glory. Kakashi decided it was as good time as any to take his leave, with nobody sparing him a glance any longer in this triumphal mood.

In his relief, he almost missed a spot of his wife's dark blue hair. Hinata was standing just outside the academy, and it looked like she came out from the same place but stopped to wait for him. She noticed him too, waving her hand.

When he came up to her, she gave him a hesitant smile. It almost looked apologetic. However, once again there was this gleam in her eyes that Kakashi couldn't decipher.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"How do you think did it go?" he sighed, returning a tired smile.

They didn't say anything until they passed further. Only after they reached the main road Hinata spoke.

"I'm pretty sure you used clones again."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

His wife chuckled at his half-hearted attempt to play dumb. It still didn't hurt to be more cautious, he thought.

He was sensing for any spies or eavesdroppers for the umpteenth time when he felt somebody grab his arm. His first reaction was to flinch it away, but it registered in his brain that the sudden movement came from his wife. He realized that she was trying to link her arm with his but couldn't stop himself from stiffening. Evidently, it did not go unnoticed.

"Sorry," she said, hastily retracting her arm as if burned.

Kakashi could see that his actions upset Hinata. She was likely just trying to show him support on this exhausting day. Instead of accepting, he made them both feel uncomfortable. He couldn't help his shinobi reflexes, when somebody suddenly touched him it was usually to hurt him. What, did he think Hinata would perform a grappling hold on his arm in the middle of the street? Why was he so bad at being human?

He felt he had to rectify the situation. He weaved his arm around hers, linking both of their arms in what he hoped was the correct way. Was there even a way to mess this up? He'd like to think not. He'd seen Asuma do it with Kurenai enough times to use the memory as a reference.

He turned to Hinata and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Let me guess," she said, tapping her chin with a finger, no sign of her previous dismay, "you thought I was doing something fishy?"

"No. It was just sudden," he easily denied, accompanied by her laugh.

Hinata was glad that Kakashi liked to close his eyes when he smiled. Otherwise he would've noticed her face reddening up when he linked their arms. He was honestly even more hopeless than she felt herself be.

Before, she thought it was hard to read him because he was good at disguising his emotions. It was true for the most part, but to a good face reader like Hinata it usually took much less time to figure out a person with whom she spent so much time. After all, no matter how good an act you put up, it is bound to slip when you have to guard yourself every day for the rest of your life. He was already a guarded man, and the current situation in Konoha only reinforced his mask. She didn't want him to hide even in his own home, even when they just married and she was still wary of him. Nobody should be hiding in their own home, in the company of their own friends. She hoped this Kakashi was different than the Kakashi she knew before their marriage. Or rather, that he was the same Kakashi, but allowed himself to act more genuinely, with no need to hide behind a mask.

"Say, Kakashi," Hinata addressed her companion. He turned his gaze to her, and she continued, "do you feel any different?"

"I… suppose it is nice?" Kakashi replied, unsure what to say.

The woman beside him giggled, a sonorous, merry sound. He did always notice how her laughter was pleasant.

"Not right now," she told him through laughter. "Do you feel any different than let's say, three months ago?"

Kakashi lifted his eyes up to the sky, considering her question. Did he feel any different than months before? He had no health problems whatsoever, no one close to him died, so that was that. Overall, Konoha's situation was not as bad as he expected, thanks to his actions and Danzou being busy with external affairs. Nothing seemed to happen to drastically change his life, except for…

He glanced at Hinata again. The woman was also looking at the sky, and Kakashi felt his heart grow fonder. Something truly awesome must be up there for her expression to be so enchanting.

"I guess…" he started after a long unfocused pause. "I just feel more."

He watched her from the corner of his eye, Hinata kept her gaze on the sky. It was suspiciously gray, clouds of silver dulling the sunlight, but not blocking it nearly as well as they did in this time of year. Winter sure was merciful this season.

"I'm glad," he heard her say, and a soft smile she let loose could brighten this day even if the sun up above failed.

"Me too," he said, and felt her hold on his arm tightening.