Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
.
Memories Of Others
Chapter 20
Practice Of A Genin
.
Jiraiya looked up as Naruto, Hinata and one of Naruto's clones flashed into existence.
"Hey, Ero-sennin!" Naruto called and Jiraiya bit back a groan. "We're ready for lesson two!"
"Just show me the first lesson. Both hands. One at a time, then together." Jiraiya said, handing over some water balloons and both genin stared at him.
"I… We haven't practiced that…" Naruto finally admitted and Jiraiya shrugged.
"Then until you get it done, I won't teach you the next stage." He said, pulling out a scroll and unsealing the familiar box of balloons. "Get practicing."
Naruto sighed and turned to Hinata, who responded by hugging him as he created the by-now-familiar clones. Jiraiya smirked and turned to stroll away.
"I'll be back tomorrow, show me then." He called over his shoulder.
"You just want to peep at the hot springs!" Naruto yelled at the Sannin and laughter was his only answer as Jiraiya vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Dammit." Naruto groaned. "Alright, two of my clones prepare some snacks to tide us over, the rest of us, let's start practicing!"
.
"Kakashi." Jiraiya said in greeting as he strolled onto training ground seven.
"Jiraiya-san." Kakashi nodded back. "Been training Naruto?"
"And his girlfriend." Jiraiya confirmed. "Hyuuga Hinata. You know that she and Naruto can share memories? She used her Byakugan to examine first stage of the Rasengan, then gave Naruto the memories of what it looked like. They managed to get the basic form in under five hours. I've left them learning how to do it with either hand, or both at the same time."
Kakashi nodded, then turned to look at the trio of bruised and battered genin who were approaching.
"Tora… captured." Sasuke ground out as he rubbed at the thick bands on his wrists. "Bloody demon-spawn."
"I got to use the mystical palm technique on them." Sakura smiled crookedly. "I'm getting good at that… probably a good thing with Ino learning how to use poisons."
"Very good. Remind me to give you some scrolls on analyzing poisons and synthesizing antidotes." Kakashi smiled. "I'd like you to meet the sensei of my sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin."
Jiraiya smiled at them and Tobio gaped in recognition.
"You're the one who writes the books Kakashi-sensei reads!"
"What?!" Sakura snarled, her fists clenching. "You write that smut? DIE!"
Jiraiya blinked in surprise, just long enough for Sakura to deliver an uppercut that launched him high into the air. As he vanished over the trees, Kakashi gave his female genin a wary look as he covertly pocketed his book.
"He deserved it." Sakura said defensively. "Not only is it smut, it's badly written smut."
"How do you know that?" Tobio asked and Sakura blushed.
.
"Bloody hell." Jiraiya groaned as he pulled himself out of his landing crater. "Girl hits almost as hard as Tsunade-hime did at that age."
Standing up, he brushed the dirt off his clothes, then glanced in the direction of the distant training field.
"Wonder what would happen if she trained under Tsunade-hime?" He mused to himself, then he shook his head. "Nah, she said she wasn't coming back. Thank the Kamis. I don't want to know how scary she would be if Tsunade-hime trained her."
.
.
Hiashi appeared in the middle of the living area in a flash of light and his gaze snapped across to where Naruto and Hinata were slumped on the couch, Hinata resting her head on Naruto's shoulder while his cheek rested on her head.
"They collapsed after they spent all day working on the first stage exercise." The clone washing the dishes reported. "I sent three clones to bring you here, they obviously decided that speed was of the essence."
"They did." Hiashi agreed as he looked round. "Are you the only clone left?"
"Yep, and I've only got enough chakra for maybe another half hour or so." The clone replied. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't trust Boss with the Hiraishin when he's this tired."
Hiashi nodded, then walked up the stairs, vanishing into the bedroom area for a moment before reappearing.
"Why the large bed?"
"Boss' dad's." The clone shrugged. "Boss didn't see the need to replace it, just buy some new sheets and a mattress for the frame."
Hiashi nodded as he descended and walked over to the sleeping duo.
"Is there a spare futon?"
"Yep, several." The clone said. "In fact, that sofa and the other two are futons. So, the princess gets the bed and boss gets a futon? I'll set it up now."
"One of the ones that Naruto is not on at the moment." Hiashi said as he carefully disentangled his daughter from Naruto's gentle hug and picked her up. "I see no reason to disturb him more than is absolutely required."
The clone set about extending the couch against the front wall into a bed as Hiashi carried his daughter up the stairs and carefully placed her on the near side of the bed, facing away from the stairs. Pausing to give her a smile that he would never show in the Hyuuga Compound (where quite literally anyone could be watching and someone almost always was), he descended to the ground floor just in time to see the clone finish laying the sheets on the downstairs bed.
"You may dispel." Hiashi said and the clone vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Hiashi stepped forwards and gently scooped Naruto up, then paused with a mischievous smirk on his face.
.
.
A knock on the door roused Hiashi from his slumber and he rose from his bed, mentally cursing whoever had interrupted his pleasant dreams at what seemed to be barely past the crack of dawn.
Silently padding to the door, Hiashi flung it open silently and glared at the person on the other side, a glare which almost instantly changed to surprised recognition.
"Hiashi-dono." Maruboshi Kosuke smiled with a formal bow.
"Kosuke-sama." Hiashi responded with an equally formal bow of respect. "I am surprised to see the Eternal Genin deigning to visit the house of my daughter's betrothed."
"I had a free day and confirmed that my Kohai was also free, so I thought I would aid in his training." Kosuke smiled, then his gaze sharpened. "But you already know who his parents were, do you not?"
"I do." Hiashi said, keeping his voice low and Kosuke smiled.
"Then may I suggest that we share a cup of tea? I have with me a most excellent morning blend, the aroma of which should persuade my Kohai and your daughter to awaken and join us."
Hiashi nodded and stepped back,waving for Kosuke to enter Naruto's house.
.
A pleasant aroma drifting through the air teased at Hinata's nose and she clutched tighter at her nice, warm pillow as her mind wavered between the comfort of sleep and waking up to discover what that smell was.
Her pillow let out a small, sleepy grumble and Hinata's eyes flew open as she realized that it wasn't a pillow she was hugging, but Naruto! Releasing her grip on him, Hinata sat up and looked around in surprise, then down at Naruto, who was lying facing away from her, but even from that angle she could see the small smile on his face.
The murmur of conversation caught her attention and she slipped out of bed, noting that she was still clad in her clothes from yesterday, and crept to peer round the chimney, carefully avoiding knocking anything off the shelves. Her father, sat in the dining area and talking to an older man that Hinata vaguely recognised, glanced up, then pointed at the kitchen area. Hinata moved to the top of the stairs and blinked at the sight of two steaming mugs of tea on the counter.
.
"…naruto? Naruto?"
The combination of the delightful aroma, the motion of someone shaking his shoulder and his name being called were enough to wake Naruto up. Yawning, he sat up and stretched, then looked round in confusion.
"Did I sleep-walk?" He asked in befuddlement. "Last thing I remember is from one of my clones who set up a futon for me to sleep in."
"I don't know." Hinata half-whispered. "But my father is downstairs with another person! And they have cups of tea waiting for us!"
Naruto let himself be chivied out of bed and over to the stairs, where he stopped.
"Kosuke-sempai?"
"Naruto-kohai." The old man smiled back. "Hinata-sama. Good morning. I brewed some tea. Please, come and join us. I hope you don't mind the unexpected visit."
"Sempai, you are always welcome here." Naruto smiled as he descended the stairs and scooped up one of the mugs. "Mmmmmm, the Sunrise Ascendant blend."
Hinata took a sip of her own mug and blinked at the complex weaving of hints of fruit and spice that somehow enhanced the flavour of the tea itself.
"Hiashi-sama." Naruto continued. "I… did not wake up where I expected to."
"Yet you were exactly where I knew you were." Hiashi replied and Hinata caught the tiny creasing at the corners of his eyes that showed he was amused. "These futons are very comfortable both as seats and as beds. May I ask where you procured them?"
"Uhhhh, I think it was Sasata's Furniture Supplies." Naruto said as he sat on the chair facing Hiashi and Hinata slid in beside him. "He was doing a three-for-two offer at the time."
Hiashi pulled out a small notebook, made a notation in it and then tucked it back in his kimono.
"Hey, I smell something amazing!" Jiraiya called as he opened the door and stepped inside. "Is there any le… Hiashi?"
"Jiraiya." Hiashi stated, then he briefly activated his byakugan. "I trust that you are behaving honorably around my daughter."
Jiraiya nodded almost frantically. "Of course I am! It's not like she's sixteen yet…"
Jiraiya trailed off as he suddenly recognized the other figure who was smirking at him.
"You haven't changed, have you Jira-kun?"
Jiraiya stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "I've obviously missed something. Hello, Kosuke-sempai. What's going on?"
"Nothing of any real note." Hiashi said as Kosuke poured out a fifth cup of tea and passed it to the Toad Sage. With malicious timing, Hiashi waited until Jiraiya took a sip before continuing. "Although Naruto was sleeping with my daughter last night."
The resulting spray was quite spectacular.
As was Hinata's almost luminescent blush.
"Hinata… what's your dad talking about?" Naruto asked in befuddlement.
"Do not worry." Hiashi smirked. "And apropos of nothing, I believe that once I finish this excellent tea, it will be time to see if you can use that tag you gave me…"
.
"So, since I had today free and heard that you did as well, I thought I'd pop over to see how you were doing in your dad's old house and maybe give you some help with training." Kosuke explained as he handed his now-empty cup to one of Naruto's clones to take back inside and Jiraiya gave him a fulminating look.
"How many people know that damn secret? Inside Konoha, I mean."
"Em, me… obviously." Naruto said. "Kosuka-sempai, Hinata-hime, Hiashi-dono, Hiruzen-jiji, you… anyone else?"
"I think Ko-san might." Hinata said thoughtfully. "He seems far more accepting of you than he used to be…"
"Never mind, it can wait." Jiraiya sighed. "So, show me what you… okay, I'm pretty damn impressed."
Hinata smiled shyly as she she shook her hands to dry them, the shreds of rubber that had once been two water balloons fluttering down to the ground. Beside her, Naruto simply held up the rubber fragments.
"Okay, you done good." Jiraiya admitted. "Now, get those clones of yours ready to watch, because at this rate, you'll have finished by tomorrow."
As Hinata and Naruto went through their usual clone-creation routine, Jiraiya unsealed a new box.
"Okay." He said, holding up a rubber ball. "Same basic thing, only more power. Watch closely… and like this!"
The ball shredded in his hand, ripped apart from the inside and several of the Hinatas nodded in understanding.
"Grab the balls and get to work." Jiraiya said, then he paused as Kosuke tapped him on the shoulder. "Sempai?"
"It has been a while since you and I have sparred and I seem to have the day free." Kosuke said with a smile that seemed slightly sinister. "And apropos of nothing, my grand-daughter mentioned hearing… giggling yesterday at the onsen…"
Jiraiya went so white that the red lines below his eyes seemed almost to hover above his face.
"A single spar?" He croaked and Kosuke's smile turned feral.
"No, Jiraiya. I think she mentioned hearing the giggles at least half a dozen times."
Jiraiya managed to pale even further.
.
.
Hiashi stood at the front gate, one eyebrow slightly raised as the figure carrying his daughter approached.
"Kosuke-san." Hiashi said in greeting.
"Hiashi-sama." Kosuka replied. "Please forgive the apparent lack of respect, but I fear that if I bow…"
A glance at Hinata's sleeping form, her head cradled against Kosuke's shoulder, was enough to finish the sentence and Hiashi motioned for Kosuke to enter before gently lifting Hinata out of the old Genin's arms.
"Tokuma, please escort Kosuke-san to my study and have the kitchens send some tea… the good tea. Kosuke-san, I thank you for returning my daughter and ask that once I place her in her bed, you allow me to be your host."
"It would be an honor, Hiashi-dono." Kosuke said with a bow.
.
"Ow."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the sight of a bruised, beaten and battered Jiraiya landing on the floor after painfully hauling himself in through the window.
"Kosuke has a grand-daughter." Jiraiya stated and Hiruzen nodded slowly, connecting the simple statement with what he knew of his old student and the Eternal Genin's approach to those who threatened (or simply annoyed) those he called family.
"I'll summon a med-nin for you."