Zabuza looked up from his work and frowned. "So, another Swordsman approaches."
"What's wrong, Father?" Haku asked as she brought in a tea kettle and a couple of cups. "Is Mist coming for us?"
"..." Zabuza closed his eyes and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "... No, not a Mist ninja. A rogue... must be Hoshigaki Kisame and Samehada." He picked up his sword and clipped it to the sheath on his back.
"Will you go face him?" Haku asked as she put the tea down and picked up her senbon pouch.
"Not alone, that's for sure. There's a reason I was only a rank-A rogue while he is a rank-S, and it's not because of our skills," he replied. "Go get Kakashi and Saito. I'm going to get Gai; with this guy it's best to go fully prepared."
…
"Kisame?" Saito asked as he shared a glance with Jiraiya, who nodded and disappeared. Turning back to Haku, he said, "Alright, go get Kakashi as he asked you to." His eyes activated as he leaped off.
When Haku disappeared, Shikamaru looked at Hinata and Naruto. "Either of you recognize that name?"
"Nope," Naruto replied, while Hinata shook her head.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "Let's go." He then turned and ran off to where Saito had been headed, with Hinata and Naruto trailing behind, as confused as they usually were by him.
…
"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as Sasuke and his teammates arrived.
"And miss an epic battle between our teachers and an S-rank rogue? Not on your life," Sasuke replied. "What about you three? I figured I'd see you too, Naruto, but Shikamaru?" He turned to the pineapple-head. "I can't get that lazy attitude of yours out of my head. I'd have figured you would be using this as a chance to go cloud-watching."
"And miss learning about a dangerous criminal who is threatening the safety of the village? After last time? No, thank you," Shikamaru replied. "Hinata, what do you see?"
Hinata scanned the area with her Byakugan. "I see three sources coming from behind; Team Gai, by the looks of it. Our sensei is up ahead, facing off against three huge sources of chakra, and the other teachers are coming in quickly."
"Alright. Everyone, remember to lower your chakra signature so they can't sense you," Shikamaru said, referring to the training they had been enduring for the several days designed to hide a ninja from other ninjas. "Three sources? Hinata, didn't Haku say two were coming?"
"I can't tell what the third source is. It might not even be human, for all I can tell," Hinata replied.
"That's because you're not focusing, Lady Hinata," Neji said as he and his team appeared behind them. With his own Byakugan, he was staring out into the distance at the people ahead. "Your assumption, however, is correct. It's a container for chakra; it kind of reminds me of Gaara's gourd, but it's uniquely different from that." Seeing that the others were coming, the twelve genin hid in the trees and watched from the distance.
…
Further away, Saito's eyes bored into Itachi's neck while Kisame and Zabuza glared murderously at each other. "I heard the rumors, but to think the 'Silent Killer' actually went soft," Kisame taunted, laughing ominously. "It turned out for the best, though. I had wanted to face you in actual combat."
"It would hardly be a good test of my skill," Zabuza replied. "You know the only thing that makes you special is your sword, while I can function perfectly without mine, but you wouldn't know since you left after receiving Samehada from the previous master."
Kisame snorted in response. "Ha! My Water jutsu has gotten ten times better since then, given how much chakra I can use now. I bet all you know regarding your jutsu is your Water Dragon, Hidden Mist, and Water Clone!"
"The number of jutsu doesn't matter, though I imagine our Sharingan-using partners would disagree." A thick mist began to cover the field and Zabuza quickly disappeared from their view. "It's all in the use..."
Itachi frowned as he looked around in the mist. 'Strange... my Sharingan is as limited in this fog as a normal person's eyes are.' Seeing a shadow, he threw a kunai at it but heard a 'thunk' as it landed in a tree, and he gritted his teeth as he walked away from Zabuza and Kisame, trying to sense the presence of Kakashi and the others.
"Itachi... is this the real you, or a mere Shadow Clone?" Kakashi, who had not revealed his Sharingan, asked as he circled around the rogue.
"What is it to you, 'Sharingan' Kakashi? Or should I say, 'Thief' Kakashi?" Itachi retorted. "Obito must be rolling in his grave, seeing you as you are now. With that Sharingan you should have already been at least nominated as Hokage, and yet I hear you've stooped to teaching genin."
"And I enjoy it now far more than even being your replacement in ANBU, Itachi," Kakashi replied. "In fact, the team I am teaching now, which is the first team I've actually passed, is being prepared specifically to face you in combat."
"So, my brother is finally a genin," Itachi noted, not being able to help the smile appearing on his face. "How is he?"
"Eager to meet you," Kakashi replied.
Itachi frowned and his voice held a tint of sadness as he said, "I see..."
"He wants to be the first to welcome you back to the Leaf," Kakashi added. "He said, 'I want to be there to smack some sense into him.' Of course, he knows the team isn't strong enough yet. Think you can use that Tsukiyomi trick on him so you two can do some catchup?"
"How do you know about the Mangekyo Sharingan's abilities?" Itachi asked, the shock ringing clear in his voice.
"Madara wasn't as thorough in his destruction of the Uchiha estate as he probably thinks he was," Kakashi answered.
"Ah... Master Jiraiya is still on the ball. That is good to know," Itachi said. "Where is my brother?"
"With Naruto behind us a fair distance, but promise you won't harm either of them," Kakashi replied. "Sasuke and Naruto are like brothers, which is good given both their pasts, and they'll defend the other to the death, as they've already proven twice now."
"I promise," Itachi said as he began walking out of the mist. As he passed Kakashi, he whispered, "I know who Madara is masquerading as in the Red Dawn, but I can't touch him yet. I need more time to develop my own skills. Somehow he's untouchable, and that is the skill that enables him to be in the Red Dawn as he is right now."
"I'll talk to Master Jiraiya," Kakashi whispered back.
Elsewhere in the mist, Kisame had drawn Samehada and was swinging it wildly into the mist. "I'll absorb all this chakra and send it back at you a hundredfold! Fear my power!"
"It is not your power, and I'll bet Samehada doesn't appreciate you assuming its power is yours to claim," Zabuza intoned from everywhere at once. "Kobukiri Houcho is its own power, and I help it as much as it helps me, which is one more thing you will probably never understand."
Further away, the mist began to spread and engulfed the genin, who began to split apart into their teams and try to escape the mist. Sasuke activated his eyes, but found that his vision was not enhanced, so he deactivated them. "Just like Kakashi-sensei... Ino, Shino, stay alert. Zabuza is on our side, but we don't know if that Kisame guy knows how to move around in the mist like he can."
"Right!" they whispered. Ino pulled out a kunai and kept it at the ready, while Shino pulled out his broadsword. His insects had already spread out into the mist and tagged each person, so the different buzzing noise that they gave off (only those of the Aburame family really understand how this works) alerted Shino to everyone's locations. One was buzzing very rapidly, warning Shino to stay away. Just as Shino began to circle around the threat, he felt a pulse from that direction and felt himself drawing closer to it. His zanbatou began to get heavier in his hands as he got closer to it, which he found odd because he knew he had not been worn out yet.
Sasuke kept walking, warily keeping his Phoenix Flower jutsu ready to use. Suddenly he ran into something and stumbled back. Staring up at it, he realized too late who he collided with as red eyes met his.
"My brother... it is good to see you again," Itachi said. Sasuke looked around at the desolate wasteland around him, completely alone aside from a single person standing in front of him. "Sasuke, I know you have a lot of questions, and I probably can't answer all of them, but you need to know what was going on behind your back."
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke replied, ecstatic to see his brother once more. "You're finally home! We can clear your name, and we can live together again and rebuild the Uchiha family!"
"It does matter, Sasuke," Itachi replied sternly. "Listen. Do you remember how Father used to be, especially a year before the incident?"
Sasuke nodded. "Thanks to Ino's dad, yes. Father was very strict- well, stricter than normal- and very distant from all of us. I remember you two getting into a lot of verbal fights, too. Does this have to do with the massacre?"
"Yes. You see," Itachi replied, "Father and most of the other men in the Uchiha home were planning a revolt against the Leaf Village. Our ancestor Madara was apparently behind that, as that was his big idea back when Senju Hashirama became Hokage."
"I remember that from our Academy lessons. Lord Senju defeated Madara and solidified his right to become the First Hokage, and after that battle Madara disappeared. No one has seen him since," Sasuke recited.
"That's because he's always had a different disguise, each time he's appeared in a different place. He's learned some forbidden space-time jutsu that allows him to avoid the effects of any physical attack or ninjutsu, and the Sharingan allows him to see through any genjutsu. Through this jutsu, I fear, he has come close to being immortal and is using Red Dawn to achieve his own ends, which I am uncertain of," Itachi said. "What I do know is this: I need to be able to stop him, and to do that I need to figure out the secrets of the Sharingan. Being a rogue has allowed me to do this and keep tabs on Madara at the same time. I cannot return home yet."
"Brother, why did Madara kill our family, if he wanted them to revolt against the Leaf and possibly bring it down? And why did he frame you for it?" Sasuke asked.
"I do not know the answer to the first part. Maybe he wanted you to develop your Sharingan how I assume he did, through the fierce anger of an avenger. As for the second part..." Itachi looked sad as he continued, "Well, because he wanted to make it look like I'd gone beyond orders."
"Orders?" Sasuke asked, shocked at this revelation. "Whose orders?"
"Isn't it obvious? I told the Hokage about what Father was planning; there was no way I was going to let the village I love be torn apart in a civil war, especially since Rock is still out for blood and will attack if they see any weakness. The Hokage wanted to assemble ANBU to deal with the traitors in our family, but I felt responsible to take care of it myself, since they were my family," Itachi answered.
"The Third ordered their execution?" Sasuke gasped.
"Yes, to protect the lives of the citizens of the village. Has this not happened before?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke immediately thought back to Naruto's birthday and nodded sadly. "Yes, it did... many civilians were going to try and kill Naruto, but the Hokage protected him by making an example of several among the crowd."
"And so it would have been, if Madara had not found out and gotten there ahead of me. He was the one who killed the innocents of the clan and tried to brainwash you into hunting me down with the purpose of killing me," Itachi said. "Probably so that you could help him bring together all the Tailed Beasts. I don't know how he plans on using them, but I know his ultimate goal is world domination."
"World domination!? No one can have the brain power needed to pull that off, except maybe a Nara," Sasuke objected.
Itachi nodded. "Indeed, but you forget that arrogance runs in our family, especially given how useful in combat the Sharingan is. According to the legends Madara was given the Sharingan as a gift from the Sage of Six Paths, just as the Hyuuga family obtained the Byakugan and other families obtained other types of bloodline limits. The problem with a gift is that it can be seen as having been earned, but the truth is that the Sage thought that the Uchiha family would be strong enough to use the Sharingan justly. Madara doesn't see it that way, so he's out to prove that he deserves everything he lays eyes on."
"How can we stop him, though?" Sasuke asked. "If Lord Senju couldn't kill him, and that was a hundred years ago, then what chance do we even have?"
"The power of teamwork. We all, as those with a vested interest in denying Madara his twisted designs, are united as a team against him, and the role I serve is as a spy. It is a dangerous job, and the truth is that if I cannot find a certain medic then I will die within a few years. Already my sight is slowly dying away, to the point where I can see clearly only through my Sharingan and the world is so blurry otherwise that I cannot even perform basic functions without it. You need to understand what is truly at stake and who your true enemy is, and I hope I have made it clear to you," Itachi answered, the sadness in his voice obvious to the young Sasuke. He then found himself being embraced by said Uchiha, tears running down his cheeks.
"Itachi, I won't let you go! We'll find that medic so that you can live! I promise!" Sasuke declared through his sobs. "Just promise me that you'll be close by and we can get in contact with you, okay?"
"I cannot promise that unless Kisame is killed or captured; I can say that I needed to lay low after escaping so that I could evade the patrols, and then delay the hunt for your friend Naruto because of the strength of the Leaf Village," Itachi said. "This, I could do easily, but they could figure out a way to get to Kisame and find out if I used my Sharingan on him."
"We'll figure out something, but what about stopping Kisame in the first place? We've been in this world forever!" Sasuke asked.
Itachi chuckled as he shook his head. "This is my world; time passes as I see fit, and so far we're up to about twenty minutes out of seventy-two hours, which in the real world passes in the space of three seconds, so we have all the time in the world to catch up and maybe even train. Maybe we can figure out some more secrets to the Sharingan together. Sound like fun?"
"Really!? Let's do it!" And so they began training together to pass the time, Sasuke enjoying every second of it.
Meanwhile, swords were clashing off each other as Kisame did his best to hold off Zabuza's Water Clones. "Stupid coward! Come out and fight like a man!" Kisame shouted into the mist.
"Not only do you make yourself easy to find for even an amateur in this mist, but you also forget that ninja do not fight like 'civilians'," Zabuza muttered as his Water Clones continued their assaults. "We do what is best for the mission, not to fulfill some sense of moral obligation; killing itself is morally wrong, I freely admit that, but someone has to do it, so it might as well be those of us who do not feel tied to such things."
'… Why is my sword getting heavier all of a sudden? This has never happened before!' Kisame thought as he continued to cut through clone after clone. In an instant, however, he got his answer as chakra exploded out from Samehada, knocking Kisame away from itself and standing upright as if stuck in the ground.
At that same time, Shino had to drop his sword as it had gotten too heavy for him to carry any longer. 'Great, Yuugao-sensei will surely have my head... I must have been getting lax in my training.' He went to pick it up again, but a blast of chakra from somewhere hit the large sword and shattered it. 'What!?' He looked around, but saw nothing in the mist.
"Shino..." an unfamiliar voice called out. "My next master, come and find me."
"Who's there?" Shino called out. Suddenly a silhouette appeared in the mist and lunged at him, forcing him to back up while he reflexively began sending out bugs to sap his chakra.
"Aha! Zabuza, if you don't want to play, then let me play with one of your little groupies!" Kisame announced as he began attacking Shino.
Hearing the punches and kicks, Ino rushed to where Shino and Kisame were fighting (or, rather, where Shino was doing his best to block the big fish's fog-impeded assault) and launched a handful of kunai. She knew that Shino was already working on draining Kisame, so she knew to not attempt a body-swap and that he wouldn't be susceptible to anything else given his rank.
Kisame now found himself fighting three opponents at the same time, and while with Samehada that would be a good fight he now found himself being pushed back against by a well-timed offense. "Water-style: Water Wall jutsu!" Jets of water shot up out of the ground and blocked both the kunai and Zabuza's Water Clone as he jumped deeper into the mist to find Itachi and regroup.
"Shino..." the voice called out again as the bug-user finally got a moment to gather himself. "Come, take me and allow me revenge on my former master." Looking around, he somehow managed to follow the 'sound' of the voice until he came upon Samehada, which looked as if it was sticking out of the ground but was rather glued to the ground via chakra. "You've found me. Grasp the hilt and you will be surprised."
Shino reached out slowly, anticipating a trap by Kisame, but found that the sword was not being held and seemed to fit into his hand like a glove. He was surprised even more when he lifted it up and it felt as heavy as a pencil. "What sort of jutsu is this, that can make such a heavy sword weigh so little to the wielder?"
"It is no jutsu, boy," Samehada replied. "I choose who wields me, and those I choose find that they can handle me with little effort, though my enemies will feel the opposite effect. My chakra and yours are linked, as you are a chakra thief like me. Do not worry about your tenants; they shall ever be filled by my stores, which are far greater than even that of my former master. Enough talk, though. We shall feast on shark today!"
Feeling filled with strength, Shino easily hefted the sword onto his shoulder and made his way through the mist to where Kisame was hiding. Elsewhere, Zabuza was beginning to tire and had to drop the Hidden Mist jutsu, so the field was revealed: Kisame encircled by four genin teams and four Leaf jonin. Five Sharingan eyes blazed, keeping Kisame from looking in any direction but down, and he found himself now at the mercy of the new wielder of the Samehada. "Surrender," Shino demanded.
"Grr... Itachi, a little help here- ugh!" Kisame tried to say before being cut by Samehada, who immediately drained the shark-man of almost all his chakra.
"I've been waiting to do that!" Samehada stated, satisfied by his feast. Shino said nothing in return, as it seemed that none of the others heard what the sword had said.
"Shino! How'd you disarm the big fish guy?!" Naruto shouted as he ran up.
Shino turned and looked at Naruto, saying in his usual tone, "I didn't. He dropped it and I picked it up."
"Impossible!" Zabuza gasped, surprised by Shino's statement. "Like Kobukiri Houcho, Samehada is a living sword. Surely it would not choose someone so new in the sword arts..." His sword vibrated and he looked at it questioningly. "Well, I guess it does have the right to choose who it wants, but I was quite a bit older when you chose me."
"Shino, we'll all need to talk about this later," Kakashi interjected, "but first we need to figure out what to do with Kisame and Itachi." He looked over at Itachi, who stood next to Sasuke with a hand on the boy's shoulder, then at Kisame, who was still slumped over. "... I guess that will take longer, though." Shifting his gaze to Saito and Zabuza, he said, "Saito, can you take Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke to the Tower? Zabuza, can you take Kisame to T&I? We need to kill him, but first we need to find out what this guy knows about Red Dawn."
Itachi nodded, saying "Agreed. He joined before I did, and he might know about Red Dawn's leader, who I've seen only once. It was from behind, so I didn't so much as get a glimpse of his headband, if he even had one." Glancing at Shino, he chuckled and shook his head. "I have to admit, I'm still somewhat skeptical about 'living swords', but I can't imagine anyone being able to handle that sword. Still, an Aburame is a good choice." Turning around, he walked away with Kakashi and his brother; Naruto trailed behind a bit, studying Itachi intently.
Kakashi then turned to Shino again and asked, "Okay, Shino, explain how you managed to take down an S-ranked criminal."
"I did nothing, sensei," Shino calmly replied. "The only reason Kisame was listed as an S-rank rogue, aside from his large chakra reserves, is apparently because of his sword, the Samehada." Lifting the sword, whose blade was sticking out of its wrappings a bit, he pointed to the scales. "It would seem that this sword was designed not for the regular cutting of a standard bladed weapon, but for crushing and inflicting multiple wounds from just a glancing blow. However, when the sword became a sentient being, it gained a new ability: to absorb chakra. This not only makes it valuable as an offensive weapon, but also as a defensive weapon; you see how large it is, and how easy it is for me to hide behind it, should a jutsu be coming at me. In addition, because it is sentient it can choose its master and give him a distinct advantage against other sword-users: to me, as I imagine Zabuza's sword is to him, the sword weighs next to nothing." To demonstrate this, he lifted the sword over his head with just the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. "Obviously this does give me a great advantage, but I believe I've also inherited a large responsibility. For one thing, Mist is probably going to want their sword back; two, though I am decently proficient in handling a broadsword-type sword I still have a long way to go to mastery."
"That's one of the things I've always liked about you," Kakashi interjected. "You're probably the most mature one in your graduating class. You're right on both accounts, but I have a feeling it will be really bad if we try to separate you from the sword, so we'll progress slowly as things continue."
Samehada began to vibrate and a Water Clone in the shape of Shino appeared next to the genin, also holding the sword. "You are the boy's sensei, correct? I am Samehada. I just want to make sure you understand some things."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but like Zabuza showed no other sign of being surprised, though everyone else did. "Oh? And what might that be?"
"First, there's a reason there are 'seven' swords. There's one sword for each village; two no longer exist, yet the swords live on as proof. They were 'collected' by the Mist to gain an advantage over the other villages, and soon other villages began to pursue different avenues of power. Your village, I've noticed from when my former master spoke with Itachi, was the power of the economy. A smart move in the long run, as you can see from your own history, though this has also made you an attractive target for jealous villages. I originally belonged to this village, and I am glad to have been able to return," Samehada answered. "Next, I wouldn't worry about the possibility of returning to Mist, if I were you, because I can see that I will be well-protected. My new master is young and easily trainable; he will make an excellent swordsman, and given that I can store chakra he can also become a well-rounded ninja. I must ask that you continue to train him to handle a non-sentient sword so that he learns the muscle memory needed to wield me to my full capacity."
"That's a given, Samehada. Our few swordsmen take their training very seriously" Kakashi replied. "Curious... why don't you just wield yourself?"
"You mean, 'since I can make a Clone of myself'?" Samehada laughed as he said, "You know the rule about the Clones; they cannot survive a single hit, mainly because they were not designed that way. Which reminds me, does this village still specialize in 'jutsu crafting', or is the Leaf now so focused on balance that children are not allowed to explore their strengths?"
"Unfortunately, until recently we have been focusing mainly on balance, switching to specialization later. While our job requires it, the Hokage believes that strengths have to be built up, though not ignoring the weaknesses," Kakashi answered.
"I see. My advice: find people with great imagination, and you'll find your jutsu craftsmen," Samehada suggested. "Anyway, putting that aside, you can kill Kisame or brainwash him if you want; given the experiments he went through he's easily susceptible to being manipulated by people like the Yamanaka family, though no one can compare to them in that arena. That's how Kisame ended up leaving the Mist and eventually becoming a part of Red Dawn."
"Do tell," Kakashi said, surprised yet not all that surprised at this revelation.
"That Sannin guy, Orochimaru, conducted experiments far beyond the reach of the Leaf so that he could be unrestrained by your laws. Let's just say that a young genin from the Mist was captured and transformed into the monster called Kisame by this same guy and a Yamanaka slave," Samehada said. "I imagine he wanted to capture me or one of the other Swords to study us, and that's part of the reason why Orochimaru later joined Red Dawn, but Kisame hated the guy's guts and would often try to kill him. He left later on to focus on building up the Sound village and taking revenge on the Leaf, which more or less catches us up to this point."
"You seem to know a lot about these people," Kakashi noted. "Why does the Red Dawn want Naruto?"
"It's not him they want," Samehada replied. "It's the Tailed Beasts. That's why Kisame was recruited and Zabuza was not; I can absorb more chakra than the entire Aburame family combined, which is vital when you're dealing with a demon made up entirely of chakra. I imagine they wanted to use me to help them beat down the eight Jinchuuriki scattered about all the nations while the blond and the masked moron are searching the Three-tailed Demon."
"Eight? There's eight Jinchuuriki?!" Kakashi exclaimed.
"You didn't think your Hokage came up with the idea to seal a Tailed Beast inside a container, did you? He just did it the smart way. Sand has one, as I'm sure you're aware. Cloud, Rock, and Mist have two each, and the Three-tail is sealed in a non-human container somewhere out there; they haven't found it yet, so they won't make a move until they do find it," Samehada stated.
"If that's so, why did Itachi and Kisame come back here?" Kakashi asked.
"To scope out who in Leaf had the Fox," Samehada replied. "Their orders were mainly to scout, but if they were able to capture the Jinchuuriki then they were to do so. Obviously Itachi had no such desire to do so, but he was chosen because he knew the layout of the village; Kisame because of me." He then turned to Shino. "Boy, I am trusting you to prove yourself worthy of handling me; show me that my ability to read others is not slipping." When Shino reached over and grabbed the hilt of Samehada, the Water Clone dissipated.
"Naturally." Looking back at Ino and the others, Shino said, "I must redouble my training, and my family must hear of the recent developments. I'll be sure to leave out the parts concerning the Uchiha family and Naruto, though they must know of Samehada's true nature." After receiving a nod from Kakashi, Shino turned and left.
Kakashi turned his attention to Ino, Hinata, and Shikamaru, who had been with them the whole time; Team Gai had already left as part of the guard detail regarding Kisame. "I know you can guess the detail that accompanies this previous conversation."
"It's a high-level secret that can't be shared until the information is made public?" Ino asked.
"Correct, Ino. S-rank, obviously, given the sensitive nature of the issue with the Uchiha family," Kakashi replied.
"And what of Naruto?" Shikamaru added. "I can pretty much say with certainty what is up with him, and if it's obvious to me, then perhaps it would be wise to let Naruto know how we feel about him."
"I know your feelings haven't changed, but he cannot know that you know of it, unless either Lord Hokage or Master Jiraiya decides to reveal it," Kakashi said. "He has enough to deal with right now, as you all well know." The four of them sat down to rest for a moment. "Ino, Hinata, have you figured it out too?"
"Given how blunt the sword was, how could we not?" Ino answered. "He's still a great guy, luckily for Hinata here," which made Hinata blush, "and all that this piece does is fit every other piece of the puzzle together. I've never been one for them..." here she glared at Shikamaru, "mainly because he would always solve them before I had the border finished, but I'm glad I got to figure something out, and it was about my friend Naruto." She frowned in thought and continued as if thinking out loud, saying, "I don't know why, but lately I've been thinking more about him. Just something about him- I never noticed before- that feels familiar. It's as if I knew him before even the Academy, or something like that." They all stared at her for a moment, which made her come out of her thoughts and blush as she stammered, "I don't think of him romantically; that's Hinata's job. He just seems more familiar than just as a classmate, that's all."
Kakashi nodded. "It's probably because you've entered his mind once before, when you were younger; that happens a lot to a Yamanaka, from what Inoichi says." He looked over at Hinata. "Hinata, what's your take?"
"He's Naruto, and that's all I care about," Hinata replied. "I care about him, no matter what faults or burdens he carries."
"That's a relief, but I must insist that no one here says anything about today to anyone, is that understood? I'll let you know if or when it's safe," Kakashi said sternly.
"Yes, sensei!" the three replied, and were summarily dismissed.