I'm what... two weeks late on this chapter? My teachers have a way of syncing up important assignments so that I get swamped at one point during the semester. Kinda suck, but what can you do? I'm gonna try to get caught back up after finals. We'll see how that works out.

"Glad to see you could all make it on such short notice," the Hokage said pleasantly as he entered the meeting room, "Shikaku-san, please explain why we have called this meeting."

The eyes of five clan heads, three village elders, and the Hokage turned on the lazy jonin-commander.

He grumbled a moment about old men dumping off work on him as he pulled a large scroll from under the table. He unrolled for every one to see a large map of their country with a few surrounding areas.

"We've had a couple of mission requests come in involving a small group of islands to the south of us," Shikaku droned out, "One was from a bridge builder a few days ago, and the other we received anonymously by messenger hawk."

"Do the mission requests conflict with one another?" Koharu asked as soon as he was done.

"No," Sarutobi answered for Shikaku, "But the information provided for each mission tells a different story for the area, the Land of Waves."

"How so?" Homura voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"Our first request came from an architect by the name of Tazuna," Shikaku informed them, "He wants a team of shinobi to protect him and his bridge while he constructs it. He's worried about bandits and thugs."

"We were about to assign a genin team to him when the second request came in," the Hokage took over, "The message detailed the operations of a man name Gato and requested we disrupt them."

"What seems to be the issue, then?" Tsume asked grumpily. It was a well known she hated these meetings.

"According to the anonymous letter, Gato is a shipping magnate with a strangle hold on Wave's economy," Shikaku answered, "Tazuna-san is building a bridge to the mainland..."

"Which will topple the monopoly," Inoichi finished for his long-time friend, "Tazuna-san isn't just worried about bandits, then. This Gato wants him dead."

"We came to the same conclusion," the Hokage agreed, "I had an ANBU team nearby that was wrapping up a mission, so I had them look in on the situation there. They just got in last night, and they've submitted their official report. Danzo-san?"

Danzo flipped open a folder in front of him and thumbed through a few pages, "Here we are. 'Average citizens living in destitution. Thugs, presumably employed by Gato, keep the peace and strong-arm anyone who speaks out against the businessman. Severe unrest. Possible uprising soon.'"

"Their primary mission was time sensitive, so they didn't have more than a day," the Hokage explained after Danzo was done, "What they did see painted a far grimmer picture than Tazuna-san, and confirmed the unknown messenger's words."

"So turn Tazuna away," Tsume said with a shrug, "Won't be the first time we sent a dishonest client packing."

"That would be my normal reaction," the Hokage replied with a sigh, "But the Daimyo has once again cut funding to the village."

"A C-rank is hardly going to make up for that," Hiashi piped in with a raised brow.

"But tolls from the only land route to a whole country would," Danzo countered with a smirk.

"We are considering sending a genin team that we think could handle just about anything Gato could send at them," Shikaku explained, "When their jonin-sensei 'learns the truth' he can negotiate a deal that will serve our interests while still protecting the client."

"You're going to hustle a client?" Chouza asked in mild disbelief, "If we weren't shinobi, I'd say that was dirty."

"What team were you considering?" Shiba asked the really important question.

"There are two genin teams designated for heavy combat at this time," the Hokage answered, "Team Gai and Team Seven."

Shiba pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, "Team Gai has proven most capable, but Gai-san is... unique. He has been known to take leave to help those who could not pay mission costs. He may find this task unsavory."

"A good point, Shiba-san," Inoichi agreed with a nod, "That just leaves Kakashi-san's team. The question is: Are they ready? They've only been shinobi for two months now."

"Do we really want to send that thing on such a delicate task?" Chouza asked. No one needed to ask what he meant.

"'That 'thing' is a person you fat bastard," Tsume growled menacingly at the other clan head.

"What did you just call me!?" Chouza stood so quickly his seat flew back into the wall.

"STOP!" their leader shouted. He really didn't want this debate to start again. He fixed angry eyes on the large Akimichi patron, "Chouza-san. Sit. Down. Now."

When a snort of amusement came from Tsume, he turned his smoldering orbs on her, "I'll put you off this council, Tsume-san. I have the power."

As much as she hated the meetings, her clan couldn't afford to lose their seat. She kept her peace.

"Kakashi-san has expressed a growing confidence in his team in his weekly reports," Shikaku explained after things had calmed, "He feels they are ready for a C-rank."

"This isn't really a C-rank, though," Hiashi countered, "A man like Gato most likely has the resources to hire his own shinobi."

"It's not likely he has, though," Shikaku countered, "Suna is loathe to send their shinobi into such foreign terrain. Iwa and Kumo would need to pass close enough to Fire for us to catch wind of them. Kiri is still caught up in a civil war. That just leaves the lesser villages, most of which we have spies in."

"That leaves nukenin as a possibility," Inoichi mused, "Though many of them are wary of taking jobs against villages."

"Kakashi-san should be able to handle just about any contingencies anyway," Tsume came out of her brooding from the reprimand.

"That leaves the other mission," the Hokage said, "What should we do about it?"

"How did our anonymous client expect to pay us?" Shiba asked reasonably.

"By dead drop," Shikaku answered, "The ANBU team retrieved the first half of the payment during their detour."

"So the client is good for the money," Tsume smirked, "Send Stripes, old man."

"His team would be suited to the request," the Hokage allowed, "I'm not sure I'm ready to risk such an unique kekkei-genkai, though."

"Kekkei-genkai?" Tsume and Hiashi asked together.

"I realize the two of you were absent from the meeting discussing team assignment, but do you not look over the new shinobi files?" the Hokage rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm surprised with you, Tsume-san, but I expected you to be more dilligent, Hiashi-san."

Tsume didn't have the decency to look sheepish, and Hiashi was far too studious to do so either.

"Sakibou Osamu has an unusual bloodline allowing him to sense and manipulate emotions," the Hokage explained, "It's in the files I sent to you just after the last graduation."

"The dogs!" Tsume slapped the table and began to laugh, "I've been wracking my brain for weeks trying to figure out how he's been controlling the dogs."

"It would explain his predilection for genjutsu as well," Hiashi added.

"Why not send them?" Homura asked, "You've no problem sending our only sharingan wielders on a dangerous mission."

"Sasuke-kun has yet to manifest his dojutsu," Inoichi countered for the Hokage, "There have been lines in that clan that never manifest it."

"They are shinobi," Shikaku sighed tiredly, "We can't just hold them here to keep them safe. The sharingan has proven to manifest under duress, and the kononkyou is untested."

"Very well," the Hokage caved, "I will send Team Five. The two teams can back each other up if it becomes necessary. If there is nothing else to discuss, we can end here."

No one offered anything else, and soon they were all off.

"Hiashi," Tsume wrapped an arm around the Hyuuga patron's, "Walk with me a bit. I'd like to talk to you about something."

XxXxXxX

"So we're going to hustle a client?" Kakashi asked blandly, "Are we sure this isn't going to turn out badly?"

He and Hiroto were standing in the Hokage's office with Shikaku and their leader. The jonin-commander had just finished explaining what they wanted Team Seven to do.

"I figure there's about a one in ten chance," Shikaku told him honestly.

The cyclops shrugged, "Alright. My team should be able to handle this without too much trouble."

"That's a far cry from your report on them from last month," the Hokage smirked at him.

"We've improved," Kakashi replied simply.

"We?" Shikaku echoed speculatively, but the silver-haired man seemed disinclined to answer the open ended question.

"I can't let them think I have too much confidence in them, though," Kakashi said instead, "I'm just now getting Sasuke's pride under control."

The Hokage sighed, "I can have a proper mission scroll written up for tomorrow. We need to put on a bit of a show for Tazuna-san anyway."

"Excellent," Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Am I here because I'm Naruto's guardian, or do I have some role to play in all of this?" Hiroto finally asked. He was impatient to get back and see how his team was handling the new sparring rules, or lack thereof.

"Your team actually has a separate, but connected mission," Sarutobi informed him, "You'll be in Wave disrupting Gato's operations."

"Not only is the village getting paid for it," Shikaku took over, "It will split his resources between two threats to him."

"Why not a pair of chunin?" Hiroto asked with curiosity, "They would be less conspicuous."

"Because your team needs experience," Shikaku explained, "And you have a habit of bringing teams back alive and well."

"Shikaku-san!" Hiroto gasped sarcastically, "That sounded dangerously close to trust."

"You've had plenty of opportunities to screw us over," Shikaku replied, a look of tired exasperation on his face, "I can't argue with hard evidence."

"I won't send them if you don't think they are ready, Hiroto-san," the Hokage got them back on subject.

"They are," the plain man replied with confidence, "We can leave as early as tomorrow morning."

"Do so, then," the old man replied with a nod, handing him a small scroll, "And good luck... to all of you."

The two jonin saluted and left.

XxXxXxX

"What's this about, Tsume-san?" Hiashi made a vain attempt to extricate his arm from his childhood friend.

"Can't I just catch up with an old friend?" Tsume asked innocently. The wolfish grin she had killed the effect.

"There is always another motive with you," Hiahsi smirked, "Is it about Osamu-san?"

"Yea, actually," her smile fell away, "Heard he was all chummy with Hinata-chan. What do you know about him?"

"He is talented with genjutsu, has a feline familiar, and an overprotective aneue that can command an army of cats," Hiashi offered.

"Have you met her?" Tsume pressed.

"Not as of yet," Hiashi looked at his peer, "Why?"

"Damn..." Tsume bit her thumb in frustration, "I was hoping you could introduce me."

"It's not like you to stand on tradition or courtesy," Hashi raised a brow.

"If they're who I think they are," Tsume furrowed her brow, "The Inuzuka owe them."

"Owe them how?" Hiashi's voice held a hint of worry, "I was considering developing an alliance with them. I don't want to be caught in a political feud."

She barked out some laughter, "Nothing like that. What's your interest in them? You usually don't bother with small families."

"Families with kekkei-genkai tend to become clans," Hiashi answered, "Also, it would irk Otou-sama to no end."

Tsume snorted, "You act all studious, but you're still the spiteful little shit I remember."

"And you're still the uncouth bitch," Hiashi answered with a completely straight face.

Tsume spent the rest of the walk laughing.

XxXxXxX

Hotaka crept carefully through the brush and trees. He'd made the mistake of giving up visual contact on Masaru, and he didn't doubt the trap specialist wouldn't capitalize. Hotaka knew for a fact that Masaru could deploy a single trigger trap a minute. It had been five since the crazy bastard had tossed a charged explosive tag at him to get away.

Their Sensei had determined that Hotaka was advanced enough in taijutsu that anyone sparring with him was free to make use of whatever resources they had. Hotaka was free to do so as well, but he was so specialized that his other skills were sub-par. He supposed the idea was for him to branch out.

A brief gleam in the afternoon sunlight filtering down through the canopy caught his eye. He froze instantly, a foot still in the air, and looked around carefully. Sure enough, there was trip wire a step ahead of him. He eyed it, wondering if Masaru was getting sloppy or if there were other better hidden triggers. Hotaka moved his foot back to its last position and crouched down.

With his new angle, he could see a spider web of wires ahead of him. He picked up a nearby rock and tossed it into the web. He heard a faint click, letting him know that he had triggered something. A gut feeling, maybe caused by his long term friendship with the devious trapper, told him to jump back. As he did so, a net snapped up from the ground, dragged up by unseen counter-weights. He very nearly cleared the snare, but his foot got tangled and he was snapped upward by the quickly rising ropes.

Instead of trying to get out immediately, Hotaka pointed his arm at a nearby tree trunk and launched his bracer's blade into it. Thanking Tenten silently for the high-tensile strength of the wire, he yanked himself toward the tree just in time to avoid an upward swing of Masaru's staff.

"Damn!" the large teen cursed.

Hotaka reached the apex of his swing and began to fall back towards Masaru who was waiting with his staff ready. Hotaka quickly activated the reel in his bracer to take up the slack and tugged again. The mechanism inside began to make a whining noise as it tried to bring the embedded blade closer to him, and the wire, strong as it was, finally gave out under the stress with a loud twang. He swung back towards his larger teammate, but his desperate maneuver had saved him from a mild concussion.

Before Masaru could line up another strike on his wildly oscillating friend, Hotaka was suddenly falling free. In a display of amazing strength and agility, the lanky teen not only reoriented his body to land on his feet, but also managed to land two light jabs into Masaru's left shoulder. The blows unbalanced the large boy, and Hotaka dropped low and swept his legs from under him.

"Give," Masaru panted out from below his opponent.

"You should've had me a few times there," Hotaka's breathing came easier, but he was still winded from the fifteen minute spar, "You're getting better."

"Good job you three," their Sensei leapt from a nearby tree.

"Three?" the two boys asked at the same time.

In answer to their question, Osamu landed next to Hiroto bow in hand and quiver noticeably empty. Yancha wasn't far behind.

"Did I not mention this was a three way spar?" the jonin grinned wide, "Osamu would have won if he had more arrows. As it is, you won, Hotaka."

"Did Osamu even do anything?" Masaru asked seriously.

"Let's see," the small boy made a show of thinking, "I set off your mini-mines early with some arrows to warn Hotaka about them. Disguising the sound and sight of a moving arrow is not easy."

"That was you!?" the large boy cried, "I thought I'd made a bad batch."

"I also drew your attention to where Hotaka was hiding after the first exchange," Osamu smiled.

"Man..." the boy in question groaned, "I could have ended it then if he had just come a little closer."

"I tripped the net trap after Hotaka missed every wire with that rock," the small boy went on, "Then I used my last five arrows to slice the net up enough to free you. Too bad Sensei only let me use ten."

"So how did you almost win?" Masaru sat up finally.

"If I could keep you fighting for a full twenty minutes, I won," Osamu explained, "Sensei wanted me to work on manipulating a battlefield."

"You did a good job," Hiroto praised, "All of you. Though, the two of you should probably work on your situational awareness."

He let them grumble a few moments before clapping his hands and smiling big, "Good news! We have a mission."

"I thought you said we'd only be doing a couple of D-ranks a week," Masaru practically whined.

"I did say that," Hiroto agreed with a smirk, "For the next couple of months, at least, you won't be doing any, though."

He let them puzzle over that when, somewhat out of character for the oblivious teen, Hotaka hit on the answer, "A C-rank! Our first C-rank!"

"That's right," their Sensei confirmed.

He had to wait a full five minutes for the excited boys to calm down.

"I want you to pack at least two weeks of clothing, and make sure you're stocked for at least two months on supplies," he ordered, "We won't be able to get more where we're going."

They all nodded eagerly.

"Masaru," he faced the boy directly, "We need explosives... ones that can be used in water."

The grin that spread across the boom-happy shinobi's face made Hiroto shudder slightly, "Sure thing, Sensei."

XxXxXxX

Hotaka peeked into the shop nervously. He had been here a few times on his own, and every time, Shuji had looked at him with such cold hatred he'd wanted to run for his life. Then Tenten would throw something sharp at her father, and he would run for his life.

"He's not home right now," Tenten's bemused voice drifted over the various implements of death, "You can come in Hota-kun."

He sighed in relief and entered the shop, "I wish he would just tell me what I did wrong so I could fix it."

"It's not anything anybody can fix," Tenten told him seriously, "And even if it was, he has no right to take out his anger on you."

"I may not have done anything originally," he allowed, "But I am straining your relationship with Shuji-san. That's not right."

"You aren't straining anything," Tenten's brow furrowed in anger, "He's the one holding a grudge. I tried to find out what happened exactly, but all he'll say is that Mayu-sensei was responsible for Kaa-san's death."

"I'm sorry if that's true," Hotaka rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably, "I know what it's like to grow up with only one parent."

She waved off the subject, "You didn't come here to discuss my family issues. What did you need?"

He held up the blade that had detached from the bracer. There was still a length of frayed wire hanging from it, "I used it 'outside its prescribed parameters' according to Masaru."

She chuckled at the quote, "That's why I sold it to you; so you could find new ways to make use of it. A weapon without secondary uses isn't good for a shinobi. Hand it here."

He slipped off the broken bracer and set the whole mess on the counter. Tenten began pulling out small precision tools from various pockets and working on it.

"How exactly did this happen?" she asked after popping off the housing for the bracer's mechanical elements, "The winder in here has had it."

"Sensei stepped up the challenge on our spars," Hotaka began to explain, "We're allowed to use whatever we have at our disposal. Masaru got me partially caught in a net trap. I had to improvise to dodge his attacks."

"You used it as a grapnel?" she asked as she worked to replace the damaged components, "That's a great idea."

"Yea," he confirmed, "The winder gave out pretty quick, so I was tugging on the wire to pull me. It snapped after a few good swings."

She nodded in understanding, "I'll replace the wire with a different material... Tou-san is a genius with alloys. Give me the other bracer."

He complied eagerly, "What about the winders?"

She shook her head, "Can't do anything to improve them now. I'll have to come up with a whole new design. Maybe Natsumi-san has some sturdier parts."

"I've been wondering about that," Hotaka mused as she continued her work, "You know Natsumi-san, but hadn't met Masaru until recently..."

"I don't know her all that well," Tenten explained, "Tou-san isn't too happy about being stuck as one of her business associates, but she imports most of the rare metals he needs. From what I gather, she was a friend to both him and Mayu-sensei when Kaa-san died. Natsumi-san took Mayu-sensei's side."

"Ugh," Hotaka's head fell, "Talk about a mess. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," she closed up his bracers, "I don't want any part of Tou-san's grudges. Mayu-sensei taught me a lot at the academy, and I respect Natsumi-san for her business sense. Tou-san doesn't want to tell me the whole story either."

"Maybe he just wants to protect you," Hotaka offered helpfully.

"He needs to stop, then," she replied, annoyed, "I'll work on a way to improve the winders for you."

Hotaka got the impression that Tenten was now in a bad mood. He figured there wasn't much he could do to improve it, so he said his farewells and departed. He just hoped she would resolve her issues with her father soon.

XxXxXxX

"Kaa-san," Masaru shouted through the house as soon as he entered, "I need explosives."

"The hell for?" she shouted back from her workshop, "Last time I let you play with chemical explosives I nearly ended up with another bum leg!"

He had to suppress a laugh as he entered the shop. His mother had some sort of optical device strapped to her head with assorted magnification lenses. Some unfathomable contraption was sitting half finished in front of her. The whole device was the size of his thumb nail, which explained why he could see the strands of muscle that made up her irises when she looked up at him.

"My mini-mines were a great idea," he defended himself.

She removed her optics and gave him a wry grin, "Didn't say they weren't. So what do you need chemical explosives from me for? You know how to make tags... or your own bombs."

"I don't know how to make anything that will survive contact with water," he countered, "It's for my first C-rank."

"Oh ho," she ruffled his hair, "My boy's gonna go out and make the Hibaku name feared all over again is he?"

"It's just a sabotage mission..." he frowned and she followed suit when she realized what her words had called up in his mind.

"Listen, Masaru," she put her hands on his shoulders, "Don't shy away from killing. Sparing an enemy could mean your life."

"I know..." he replied unhappily, "Does it ever get easier?"

"Faster than I'd like to admit," she told him with a weary sigh, "My hands are soaked with the blood of hundreds... I'm not sure when it stopped bothering me."

"Sensei told me to be careful when that happens," Masaru furrowed his brow in confusion.

"It's a small step from there to start enjoying the act," she said sagely, "I was headed in that direction. I would have retired after your birth regardless of the aneurism because of that."

Masaru was speechless. He'd always assumed the aneurism his birth had triggered was what ended his mother's career.

"I still feel the urge from time to time," her eyes were looking miles away now, "Have to remind myself that killing isn't my business anymore."

"K-kaa-san?" Masaru ventured nervously.

She focused back on her son, "You've chosen a bloody path, Masaru. Careful you don't slip and bathe yourself in it."

He nodded mutely.

"I'll have some explosives ready by morning," she patted him on the cheek, "Go get your pack ready and we'll head over to Ren-chan's. I'm sure Mayu will want to make you boys a big dinner."

XxXxXxX

"Hinata-sama is currently training," the guard repeated like an automaton.

"I just want to say bye!" Osamu threw up his hands in frustration, "I'm gonna be gone for at least two months."

"Fairly small estimate for a mission such as yours," a familiar voice behind Osamu caused him to jump.

Osamu turned and bowed to Hiashi while muttering about background auras covering his approach. After he straightened he asked, "You know about my mission?"

"It was discussed at council," Hiashi passed through the gate and made a subtle motion for Osamu to follow, "Normally such things are below our notice, but you are of special interest."

Osamu didn't like the sound of that," Uh... why?"

"Your kekkei-genkai makes you a valuable asset to the village," Hiashi said simply.

"Nee-san is gonna kill me," Osamu groaned, "No one's supposed to know about that."

"In the future I would avoid making such admissions so easily," Hiashi offered as advice, "As for our knowledge, the council is informed of all medically registered kekkei-genkai. You are referred to as a number until you achieve shinobi status."

They passed by the main house and continued on down the path towards a dojo.

"I hadn't looked through the new recruit files until recently," Hiashi continued to explain, "I was somewhat interested to find my eldest had befriended one with such an... unusual ability."

"It comes with its problems," Osamu replied sheepishly.

"Is it a dojutsu?" Hiashi asked. Osamu saw no indications in the mans body language that the question meant anything, but his mellow ochre aura showed that he anticipated the answer greatly.

"Doctor Juro says it's purely chakra based," Osamu chose to be honest with him. He noticed a spike of interest from the Hyuuga patron, but the man said nothing more on the matter.

"Let us see how my children fare in their training," Hiashi said as he slid open the dojo door.

The smell of sweat hit Osamu's nose and he could hear the labored breathing of a pair of people. Down on the mats were Hinata and her sister performing what looked an awful lot like a dance. Despite his lack of knowledge in taijutsu, Osamu began to see who was winning the spar. It was more due to the auras the girls gave off. Hinata's sapphire was wavering with uncertainty and hesitation, while Hanabi's auburn spiritual energy was pulsing with eagerness.

Pretty soon Hinata cried out in pain and dropped to the floor.

"You missed three openings, Hinata. Fifty kata" a harsh voice said immediately. Their grandfather was overseeing their training, "Hanabi, you are still using too much chakra. You will do the tree drill ten times."

"Yes, Ojii-sama," the two girls said in unison.

"Hinata," Hiashi said after she had gotten to her feet causing her to start, "You have a visitor."

"Now is not the time, Hiashi," Hiruka scolded his son, "We still have an hour to go."

"Take a break," the Hyuuga leader ordered his daughters, "I need to have a discussion with Otou-sama about proper respect."

Hiashi pulled his father outside by the elbow leaving Osamu alone with the two girls. Hanabi was glaring at the boy who had humiliated her just a week ago, but he just smiled back.

"Don't worry, Hanabi-chan," he told her in a condescendingly sweet voice, "I won't play any tricks on you today."

She 'hmph'ed and stalked gracefully to the other side of the dojo where she began to practice her forms.

"W-what are y-you doing here?" Hinata asked. Osamu could hear her embarrassment like the crackle of a campfire. He stifled his aura sensing with more chakra than usual. He didn't need it right now, and would be distracting.

"I have my first C-rank," he explained with an easy smile, "Sensei says we'll be gone for a while, so I wanted to say bye."

She smiled slightly," I w-wish you had c-come a little l-later."

"You really shouldn't be embarrassed about your taijutsu," his smile got bigger, "I got beat by Sakura-san during graduation testing after all."

She couldn't suppress a small giggle at that, but the moment was lost when they heard muffled shouting from outside. The words were indistinguishable, but the voices were obviously Hiashi and Hiruka.

"N-not again," Hinata groaned sadly.

"They do that often?" he wasn't aware any Hyuuga besides his doctor even knew how to yell.

"Y-yes," she sighed in resignation, "I'd a-ask you t-to go somewhere else, b-but they're b-blocking the d-door."

"Hiruka-sama seems very strict and... traditional," Osamu said to her in a leading way.

Hinata knew she shouldn't discuss her clan's inner workings with him, but she found her need to confide in someone overwhelming her sense of propriety.

"I'm n-not strong l-like I should b-be," she confessed, "Ojii-sama is j-just trying t-to help m-me."

That wasn't the impression Osamu had gotten from the old man, but he chose to hold his tongue on the matter.

"That's why Otou-sama doesn't train us himself," Hanabi called from the other side of the dojo, "He can't be bothered with Hinata."

Osamu watched hurt, deep enough to blow through the suppression of his sense, spread through his friends aura. Curious to him was the lack of any form of anger. It was a sign that Hinata believed the words herself. He wasn't really sure what to do, but he felt he needed to do something. He was beginning to smell her sadness, the scent of a coming thunderstorm; a sure sign that she was well on her way to a period of severe depression.

"Sorry about this," he finally said before breaking one of Hinata's, and his own, taboos. She did not like to be touched for whatever reason, and he was averse to making physical contact with those who didn't know about his mutations. None of that stopped him from giving her a quick hug.

"W-wha..." was all she could get out.

"I can't tell you how I know," he told her quietly, "but, Hiashi-sama loves you very much."

"B-but..." again she sputtered, unsure of what to do.

He let her go and found her blushing a deep crimson.

"I gotta go," he said to cover his own embarrassment, "I'll see you later."

He walked from the dojo and passed right between the still bickering father and son. Had he been paying more attention to his surroundings he might have caught a few snippets of conversation that would have deepened his already bright red blush.

XxXxXxX

"I suppose I'm to get another lecture about giving you the respect your position is due," Hiruka commented dryly upon getting outside with his son.

"We've done it before," Hiashi turned cold eyes to his father, "We both know how it goes. That's not why I wished to speak with you."

"Go on," years of experience had taught Hiashi to read his unusually blank faced father. He was curious.

"I am going to offer the Sakibou family the friendship of our clan," Hiashi watched with no small amount of spiteful pleasure as tiny cracks formed in Hiruka's calm exterior.

"What?" the one time leader of the Hyuuga asked with deathly calm.

"You heard me, Otou-sama," Hiashi replied calmly, "Unless you are going deaf in your old age."

"Tell me, boy," Hiashi hated it when his father called him that. He made it sound so denigrating, "What could the two of them offer us. This is worse than your alliance with those mongrels."

"The Inuzuka are a powerful clan," despite himself, Hiashi's voice began to rise, "And the Sakibou have the potential to be as such. What have we to lose in such a small gamble?"

"Our reputation, you nitwit," Hiruka's voice was just a tad louder than his son's had been, "You damaged it enough with your 'friendship' with that dog-woman. How far do you plan to drag this clan to spite me?"

"I do what is best for this clan," Hiashi was practically yelling now. No person he knew of could make him lose his calm faster than his own father, "Meanwhile, you damage my children for some twisted sense of tradition."

"I'm trying to make up for the mistakes I made with you," Hiruka yelled back, "They require discipline and strength, yet you allow Hinata to pursue a trivial friendship with this flea-ridden freak."

"That 'flea-ridden freak' has what might be the most powerful kekkei-genkai in Konoha," Hiashi blurted without considering the consequences. He decided the look of bewilderment on Hiruka's face was worth the small slip of informational security.

The old man recovered quickly.

"Perhaps you should offer him one of your children as a wife, then," he suggested snidely, lowering his voice to give the remark more bite, "Hinata is his age, and they seem to get along well enough."

"Perhaps I will," Hiashi smiled at the aghast look he got from his father.

He noticed movement, and realized that the boy in question was currently passing between them with a bright blush. After he was gone, Hiruka began to chuckle darkly.

"Might have to make good on that now, boy."

He turned to walk away, but Hiashi caught his elbow.

"You will no longer be needed for Hinata and Hanabi's training. I will take care of it myself," he nearly growled out, "You will not speak of this conversation to anyone, or I will see to it that the next time you sleep, you do not wake up."

"You dare!?" Hiruka gasped.

"Yes," Hiashi answered coldly, "I won't have you sabotaging my efforts anymore."

Hiruka jerked his arm free, and shuffled off indignantly. Hiashi had caught the hint of fear in his eyes, though. His father wouldn't be getting in his way. At least not for a little while, anyway.

I don't really have much to say here...