A/N (17/5/15): To xenocanaan and SM3LLY:
Thank you so much for reviewing! Hehe one of the Hyuugas was definitely going to be in the team - there needed to be at least one canon character in everything, haha.
SM3LLY - that actually was my very first impulse when I was coming up with when Shikon was going to be born (decided on 6 years before Tsume) and saw the twins having the same age. But I thought about it for a bit, and it didn't really 'fit' in a sense... It wouldn't really be a good idea to put the twins on the same team; prior commitments and all that. It's actually kinda the same IRL too - siblings and spouses would be separated if they worked for the same company.
I really really appreciated your reviews :D thank you to those who followed and favourited as well!
Chapter 2
Team
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Her name was Marian.
I've never told you anything about her before, have I? Kinda feel like talking about it.
… It's a weird name isn't it? Marian. Ma-ri-a-n. Though to be fair, everything I remember is very weird.
Hm? Eavesdroppers? Huh, I didn't really think about that.
But you're right. Of course you are.
… Say Ginko, how do you feel about learning a new language?
"I."
"Waroo…"
"I."
"Waah- …"
"I."
"Wa —wawa – woo…" Ginko trailed off in a whine as Shikon let out a choked laugh, before succumbing to a fit of uncontrollable giggles as the silver hound pounced on her. Ginko playfully gnawed on the hem of her partner's jacket, basking in the sound of her unrestrained laughter even they tumbled around together.
Shikon herself was attempting to smother her laughter but miserably failing as Ginko tackled her again. Her eyes betrayed her mirth though, even as she clapped her hands over her twitching lips to stop the undignified giggles. It wasn't even the 'beautiful, bell-like' laugh she would hear about from those stories with the lovable protagonist. Shikon's laugh was rather weird sounding, jittery and dotted with snorts; the kind of laugh that other people would laugh at when they heard it. Maybe that was why Ginko kept insisting that she smile more often.
Ginko's voice was turning out to be incredibly pleasing to the ear, especially in comparison to her partner's gruff tone. Once the dog was proficient enough in human tongue, her words would appear rather soft-spoken and mild. It was exactly how a kindly mother should sound.
Inuzuka dogs, despite their advanced comprehension, weren't exactly born with the ability of human speech. Contrary to popular belief, they technically weren't even the same species as the ninken in the summons realm. No, they were more of watered down descendants. They lacked the more 'human' features that the ninken possessed, such as natural vocalisation or the odd bipedal canine, though they kept the same level of intelligence. It was, arguably, a small price to pay for being free of a summons contract.
Not that the Inuzuka would ever admit that aloud, though; the Hatake clan would have a field day.
It was, however, possible for the hound to learn to speak with a human voice through the artful application of chakra on their vocal chords. Generally, only the fully mature dogs would attempt to pick up the skill, as their chords would change shape as they grew older, thus they would have to keep re-training in order to find the new positioning of chakra that would make it work. It took many months to get it right, but it was like learning to ride a bicycle – difficult to lose once grasped. It wasn't commonly practised within the clan due to the amount of effort needed and the fact that partners would innately understand each other.
Another reason was perhaps how embarrassing it was.
Ginko whined again, and Shikon forced herself to calm down so they could continue. This inane, groundless fun would unfortunately have to decrease once Shikon graduated from the academy and became a full-time shinobi, so they were taking advantage of it as much as they could.
Something inside of her rebelled at how inappropriately she was behaving, but Shikon pushed it aside.
They were alone.
No one was watching except the now-familiar oak tree, a familiar witness to their shenanigans.
It was nice.
Numbly, Shikon wondered how much longer it would last.
Someone tapped a code in Konohian Morse on her shoulder during the last period of school.
When Shikon faked a yawn to lean back and look at the perpetrator, she caught a glimpse of Byakugan eyes. Thumping her chair back down loudly, she grumbled and planted her palm on her cheek, no longer concentrating on the lesson.
Ginko turned to look at her partner after sending a glance at Hiashi, head tilted inquisitively.
"Asked to meet us after class," Shikon mumbled in English. The hound was picking up the language quickly, even if she lacked the skill to speak it yet.
"Mmm…" was what she simply replied. Ginko could keep a human voice well now, but enunciation was another matter they were working on.
Junichi-sensei sent the Inuzuka scion a glare, but continued lecturing the barely-paying-attention class about tactics in enemy territory.
Shikon stared at the wall-mounted clock and willed it to move faster, curious at what the other heir wanted.
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They bolted out of the classroom together, leaping up to the roof of the school. Shikon was perched on the safety ledge, Ginko at her feet, when Hiashi Hyuuga strolled through the door like a sane person.
Nishiki Sarutobi appeared in a flash-bang of smoke, coughing up ash in the failed shunshin. Shikon snorted aloud at the display, feeling that the result was rather justified for the wannabe show-off.
Shunshin no jutsu wasn't really taught to those under genin, and she knew for a fact that Nishiki's Replacement technique, the step below Body Flicker, was subpar.
… that meant that the Sarutobi heir was calling in 'favours'.
Oblivious to her train of thought, Nishiki turned to the other two-plus-one, brandishing a file with an impish grin. He paused slightly at Hiashi's long-suffering look and Shikon's degrading one.
"Sorry about that," he said, almost as an afterthought. "But guess what I have here~?"
Hiashi shifted in the corner of Shikon's eye. "...That's the restricted class ranking," he said, the slightest tinge of unease made apparent.
Her eyes widened. The students' ranking was made public, of course, but the details were left out. The chuunin teachers kept a separate document containing the more sensitive information. "How the heck did you get that?"
Nishiki's smile turned slightly bland. "I asked.
"Anyway," he continued quickly before the others could voice their displeasure, waving the file. "With the most recent rankings, we can actually determine our team matchup…"
"So what?" Shikon growled. Ginko stood, hackles raised due to her partner's tone. Absently running a hand soothingly through Ginko's fur to calm her, Shikon scowled at Nishiki. She could put two and two together just fine. "If you dislike the matchup, just go to your Father. No need to get our permission."
Nishiki's eyebrows rose at her aggression. "No, no; you're getting it wrong…" He tossed the file over to Hiashi, and raised his palms placatingly. "I was thinking that we could get… something like a head start."
The Hyuuga had caught the file with ease, and was flipping through it. At the Sarutobi's last statement, white eyes gazed at him with an unreadable look.
Nishiki took that as a cue to continue. "With the recent midcourse exam, you guys are out of the running for rookie of the year - " He sidestepped the file that was thrown back at his head. "So… you're not qualified for that 'traditional' team that dad insists on making - jeeze, just because it worked once doesn't mean it'll keep working…" Nishiki sighed to himself. "Dunno why either of you would want to be teamed up with a dead-weight though."
"Get with the point, Sarutobi." Shikon grimaced at the reminder that Kyouko Uchiha had recently attained the top spot for herself. It was going to be very difficult - nigh impossible - to claim it back in such short time before graduation.
"I personally wasn't aiming for that spot," Hiashi hummed. "Though we did know that one of us - either my brother or I - would be paired with Inuzuka-san. Collaborative tracker teams seems to be gaining popularity."
"Aha!" Nishiki exclaimed triumphantly when his knowledge one-upped that Hyuuga's. "Here's the thing - we're not going to be a tracker team."
Shikon digested that for a moment and then groaned. "This team is doomed."
Ginko was lost. She nudged her partner for an explanation.
"Politics. This bloody team was set up for politics." Shikon sighed tiredly. "It didn't really connect before, but the three of us are heirs. We've been put together in the hopes that we 'cultivate relationships and ties' or some bullcrap like that."
A small smile played on Hiashi's lips at her disgruntlement. "I thought it was rather obvious, Inuzuka-san. The three of us together makes for a rather stacked team already."
"Oh damn - this means we won't get any of the good missions now, doesn't it?" Shikon buried her face in her hands.
Nishiki patted her shoulder sympathetically. "We probably won't. Gotta keep the heirs safe and alive now, don't we?"
"So how exactly do you want to do this?" Hiashi asked, ignoring the gloom coalescing around his female would-be teammate. "And do you have any idea of who our jounin sensei might be?"
"The fact that we're agreeing to stay together now means that we're going to stick with the matchup permanently." Nishiki wiggled his hands, gesturing a kind of 'here'. "Dad probably knows of our meeting already."
Ginko dragged her partner out of her depression. With a nip to her ear, Shikon jumped back into the conversation. "The pool of potential senseis are already rather limited, considering our members."
"So our sensei needs to be from a clan either equal or higher rank than a Sarutobi; that leaves the Shimura and the Senjuu." Hiashi pondered over it.
"Fat chance getting a Senjuu." Nishiki scoffed playfully, watching them work it out. "They're so jealous with their members, I doubt they'd let one go just to be a jounin sensei."
"Maybe a clanless shinobi?"
"... that's a possibility," Shikon conceded. "Not sure if we have many to spare, though, considering -"
She stopped short, but the look on the boys' face said that they understood where she was going.
Tensions between the hidden villages were so high, it was almost palpable among the population.
War was coming.
"Well." Nishiki clapped his hands together, quickly steering away from that line of thought. "That leaves the Shimura." The grin he wore was blinding.
Hiashi impatiently gestured for him to continue. "We know you want to talk, Sarutobi-san. So talk."
Nishiki was bursting at the chance to boast. "As you know, the Sarutobis and the Shimuras go wayy back. So I managed to get a list of the jounin-level shinobi in the clan. I can't really show it to you, but I did go through the whole thing and managed to narrow it down to just a couple."
"When we're an actual team." Shikon interrupted his monologue. "You're keeping us along every step of the way, you got that?"
Nishiki took it in stride. "Yes, ma'am." He mocked a salute. "So, the jounin that are able, available, and haven't taken on a team before..." He ruffled through his file and brought out several sheets of paper. The other two took a look at them and stopped abruptly.
"...How certain are you that this would be our sensei?" Hiashi said slowly.
"Ehh, very much actually." His grin was obliviously innocent.
Most jounin make reputations of themselves through their battle prowess, though it is rather widely known that they were susceptible to certain... 'quirks'. The more famous they were, the more eccentric their personalities would be. The village had the statistics to prove it.
In the children's' scenario, their best choice would be a relatively unknown, but high ranking clan shinobi.
To have a name all of them recognised was slightly worrying.
"This is your fault, Sarutobi."
They started to train together. Shikon had thought about what Nishiki had said the other day, but hadn't been able to come up with any concrete ideas for the boy's motive.
All three of them had the greatest 'head-start' out of each of their classmates. How much further did he want to advance?
She couldn't bring herself to disapprove the council's judgement, though. Shoving the heirs together on the same team would benefit the village the most.
War brought people together.
Through fighting and bloodshed, relationships would be formed.
If the three of them grew more tolerant of each other, the future generation would be less hostile.
Every little thing had a purpose. Every person had a personal motive.
So for Nishiki Sarutobi to approach them...
Shikon watched the way the boy was interacting with Hiashi. She had noticed that the Hokage's son had different masks for every occasion. With the teachers and their other classmates, he was snarky and rude. With strangers and the general populace, he was regal and commanding. With people of interest, people of rank, he was demure and engaging.
With his possible (mostly certain) future teammates, he was friendly and genuine. How genuine he was, Shikon had yet to determine.
But what did he want?
The suspicion, Shikon realised, would not be healthy in their relationship, but she couldn't help it.
The village and her residents was seeking stability, and wishing for strength that came with it. The divide between the clans was as much an obstruction as a reassurance. A version of 'equality' would be their hopeful end result, but the steps the village was willing to take to get there troubled the clans.
It was drilled into Shikon to be distrustful, but she admitted that it wasn't without reason.
... though there wasn't much she could do now apart from rolling with it.
If she received the satisfaction of beating up Nishiki in taijutsu as well, then that was just a bonus.
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Time flew.
It seemed like just the very next day that a shiny new hitai-ate was placed in their hands.