DAY 10
"Lord Third," Hatake Kakashi tried again. "I think there's something wrong. Even the Nara heir looked concerned"
"Yes, Kakashi. I heard you. Regardless, we can't do anything about it. Especially if you don't know for sure."
"I don't want this new trainer anywhere near her."
"It's not your decision to make, Kakashi." The Sandaime said gently.
DAY 11
"Shikaku-sama, there's a kyokuba-dan member approaching our gates."
Shikaku cursed as he strode to the entrance. Was something wrong? He'd given Hikari's letter to a jounin he trusted yesterday. The girl had assured him that Tanaka wouldn't do anything worse than his training sessions.
"Have they said anything?" he questioned the Nara guard.
"No, but it looks like they're carrying a child."
Sure enough, as the figure came closer, they could see that the woman was carrying a small child. A small Nara. Shikaku's gaze sharpened, but the woman didn't seem worried. He relaxed. The kyokuba-dan valued children and were kind to them. In fact, this reminded him of Hikari's father carrying Shikamaru back, the first time those two had met.
She came to a stop in front of him and gave him a small curtsy, careful not to jostle her sleeping charge. "Nara-dono."
She offered the child out. Shikaku took him into his arms with far less care. Naras were heavy sleepers. He glanced down at the five-year-old.
"He tired himself out," she offered.
"Thank you for bringing him back to us."
She nodded. "I'm Abe Toshiko, expert at tumbling."
He bowed his head. "Nara Shikaku."
"I know," she gave him a sharp but not unkind smile. "Your boy was curious. He made a few friends at our compound, and we let him see some disciplines."
"That was gracious of you, Abe-san"
"Was it? Your boy's new friends are learning tumbling. Hikari-chan said your kids are normally less energetic than ours."
At that, Shikaku had to smile. He figured Nara kids were most definitively calmer than any of the kyokuba-dan. She smiled back at him, softer as she regarded the child.
"He was content to watch today. Still, kids will be kids. He'll eventually want to try it out, too."
Shikaku cocked his head. Was that why children weren't allowed back?
"Tomorrow, I'm giving them a lesson. Your kid is welcome." Shikaku blinked, stunned. They had never offered this before. "We don't allow small children to tumble without a supervisor. As I said, I'll be there, but you don't know me. An escort may accompany him."
"Anyone?" Shikaku asked.
"As long as they are of your clan," she allowed. Shikaku wanted to ask what they wanted in exchange, but couldn't find a polite way to do it. She seemed to read his mind. "Hikari-chan has vouched for the Naras. She reached out, and you answered. The change between our clans has begun. We do not resist change, Nara-dono. Our hime wants us to welcome you. I do not see why we can't start with these children. They had fun today."
Shikaku's eyes gleamed. Seemed like Hikari worked fast.
Abe's eyes turned mischievous. "Let us see if you still think us gracious, Nara-dono, when your kids start cartwheeling everywhere and you have to make sure they don't break their necks."
"Troublesome," he grumbled.
The woman's laugh was sharp as she turned away.
He watched her go, a grin tugging at his lips. Yes, things had started to change.
DAY 12
"Stop moving," Hikari glared at her blonde friend.
"Sorry."
Hikari put another coat on her friend's nails.
"I like this color. Which one is it?"
Hikari checked the bottle. "'Un-bee-lievable'. It's supposed to turn from this yellow-gold to amber if it comes into contact with datura."
"I can't believe you traded for these."
"They were expensive because we won't be going there again for quite some time, but I think they can be very useful. And they're pretty."
They shared a grin. "I would never have thought civilians have this stuff."
"Hmm. Wind civilians. Shinobi like poison there, and it trickled down to the civilians into drugs. This nail polishes are to check for calming toxins and other stuff that can be used against women."
Ino nodded. "What am I putting on yours?"
"'Can't be beet'. This one checks for opium poppy and turns from beet red to russet."
"What do you think the boys are doing on their rest day?"
"I don't really know my teammates that well. Chouji-kun and Shikamaru are probably hanging out." Hikari shrugged. She hoped Naruto and Sasuke were resting. The last few days had been disappointing. Maybe after a relaxing day, they'd come back and try harder. She was starting to doubt that Kakashi-sensei would ever arrive on time or take an interest in teaching them anything.
"Or still sleeping."
"Or sleeping," Hikari agreed. "They don't know what they're missing."
"True. So, should we pick a movie?"
DAY 13
Hikari went the Training Grounds with new determination. They were a team. She could extend her trust to them first.
"Good morning, Sasuke-san," she greeted.
"Hn."
"I was thinking we could do something different today, the three of us."
He turned to her in question.
"I could teach Naruto and you a throw. You'd throw me up into the air, high enough that I could do about three somersaults, and then catch me. After we get it to that point, we can modify it so I throw something at our opponents. People don't usually expect to be attacked from above. We can get to a point where only one catches me. The other one could finish up our attack from ground level."
His eyes gleamed through the explanation, and he nodded. "It could be a good move. We won't always be in Konoha, surrounded by trees."
Hikari nodded with a smile. They waited for Team 10 and Naruto to arrive.
"Naruto-san, do you want to try something?"
As she explained, Naruto got more and more interested. "We can even get some clones to throw you!"
She grinned. "That'd be a great tactic!"
Hikari paused. She had proposed a double toe pitch because she didn't trust them enough to try a single one. Even if one of them failed to catch her, the other could still do the job. Perhaps she had to extend more trust to them? Even Aimi had done single toe pitchs. No. I'm not comfortable with that. Maybe it's unfair to them, but I don't know how to trust them yet. Baby steps.
Yesterday, she'd gone to some of her friends who'd learned the move as a base and gotten careful instructions.
"So, you stand side by side, facing me. Your hands are in front of you, and you'll each grab one of my feet. My hands will be on your shoulders," she started explaining. She gestured towards Naruto, and he cupped his hands in front of him. "Don't link your hands. They should be one on top of the other. And I need to be able to step on it, so squat down a bit. Yes, like that. Now, for the hand that's grabbing my foot, your index finger has to be underneath my heel. Your fingers cup the outside of my foot, and your thumb the inside. Perfect. Put your other hand beneath the other."
Naruto looked up at her, silently asking if that was alright.
"Yeah, your other hand is your support. It just needs to be comfortable to you." He nodded and moved it a bit. She smiled at him. "I think that's about right. Can you stand back a bit so I can try it with Sasuke-san?"
Naruto moved to the side, and Sasuke squatted in front of her. He had been listening, and didn't make the same mistakes as Naruto. She still adjusted him a bit, but it was done much quicker. He shot Naruto a smug look. Hikari ignored them. As long as they caught her, they could shoot each other all the nasty looks they wanted.
"We'll try it first without me in the air. I'll push down hard on your shoulders and stand on both of your hands for a moment. You will come up from your squat, with your hands at chest-level. Please don't move them and stay side by side, or I'll fall."
"Don't worry, Hikari! I won't let you fall, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned at her, so wide his eyes closed. She smiled back, pleased. Sasuke grunted in agreement and moved into position. Naruto joined him.
Before moving her hands to their shoulders, she added "When I tell you to, release your hands, but don't move. You need to extend your arms out in front of you and catch one of my arms, both hands on one of my biceps. I'll come down pretty hard. To absorb my momentum, we'll all flex our knees until I regain my balance." She waited for their nods.
She counted off and pushed down on their shoulders. They all stood up. It was a bit wobbly, but it was a good start. She told them so, and they let her back down. Sasuke hadn't expected her to actually let them hold up her weight, so he rocked before steadying her. Naruto snickered. Hikari didn't say anything. She could have put more effort into not leaning on them this time, but she hadn't. The second they progressed to actually letting her fly, they would have to absorb her whole weight.
"Let's try it again."
When she was satisfied, they progressed to simple flying. They still tried to outdo one another, but Hikari actually thought this move could work for them. They were competitive with each other, but they were being careful with her. Their grips were tight but not bruising. And if they were competitive over who could catch her best, she wouldn't be complaining. She'd seen this move with about four somersaults. As shinobi, they could get her even higher.
When they moved on to somersaults and were still going on strong, she taught them how to catch her between them safely. Naruto and Sasuke weren't happy about having to grip one another on the shoulder on one side and the wrist on the other. She explained that this way, they could experiment on the throws and height. She explained how there were no cables, no ropes, nothing but them to stop her fall. She stressed the fact that they needed to catch her or she'd be really, truly hurt. They stopped complaining.
Team 10 was taking a break, content to watch Team 7. Ino thought it was actually quite beautiful, how the throw was coming along. Chouji was glad that Hikari's team was finally working together. Shikamaru was wary. Naruto and Sasuke had done well, especially when trying to gain enough height to add another somersault. And Hikari was very good at knowing how many she could do. Still, sometimes they didn't manage to catch her seated in their arms and had to scramble not to drop her. His best friend had shot him reassuring looks, and he knew it was common for a new skill to be unsteady. However, he couldn't shake his uneasy feelings. He had drawn Asuma's attention to their increasing bickering, but he'd just looked at him, amused, and dismissed his worries. Shikamaru frowned. Naruto was his friend, but he wasn't blind to the way the blond lost all common sense around Sasuke.
By now, they were up to quite a bit of height. Shikamaru watched them throw Hikari, and saw her spins.
"I'll catch her myself, teme!"
Naruto pushed Sasuke out of the way.
"Get off, dobe. As if you could!" Sasuke pushed Naruto back.
His friend reached the peak of her trajectory and started coming down. Her teammates hadn't noticed. Shikamaru cursed as he came to his feet. There were no shadows he could use.
"Kakashi-sensei, CATCH HER!" he shouted at the shinobi approaching.
The silver-haired jounin moved, so fast Shikamaru couldn't track him. By the time his eyes adjusted, Hikari was in her sensei's arms. Shikamaru breathed out.
Kakashi put her on her feet. Shikamaru moved to flank her, ready to support her if she needed it. Ino stood, shaking with rage and glaring daggers at both boys. Sasuke and Naruto's faces were ashen.
"Maa, what's going on here?"
Hikari remained silent. Her features were neutral, even as she moved closer to him. Shikamaru's hand twitched towards her, but he stopped himself. Her teammates had broken her trust. If she didn't invite him to, he wouldn't touch her. Not in public when she was already feeling so vulnerable.
When his genin didn't speak up, Kakashi turned to Asuma.
"They spent the morning practicing a throw. In the last one, the boys were too busy arguing about who could catch her alone to actually catch her."
Kakashi eyed the two genin.
"Hikari, I'm so sorry!" Naruto burst out.
Hikari didn't turn towards him. She remained unmoved, as if the blond hadn't said anything.
"Right, and why were you practicing a throw?"
"You're not going to say anything, Kakashi-sensei?" Hikari asked pleasantly. Shikamaru purposefully didn't tense. A lot depended on the answer. Best not to give away its importance.
"Maa, you're not actually hurt, Hikari." The jounin eye-smiled at her.
Shikamaru could see the moment his friend's face closed off completely. He could feel himself bristling. Her sensei hadn't even reprimanded Sasuke and Naruto. And Shikamaru knew, he knew, how much trouble they'd be in if the same had happened in the kyokuba-dan. Hikari wouldn't tolerate this insult, not from her sensei and not from her teammates.
She nodded sharply as she regarded her sensei in the eye. "I thought that today, we could learn something." unlike usually went unspoken. "I taught my teammates a double toe pitch. I told them the risks, and they agreed to catch me. I chose that throw thinking that, even if one of them failed as a base, the other one wouldn't. I was wrong," everything was said very politely, no inflection in her voice.
Sasuke and Naruto flinched. Naruto looked to be on the verge of crying.
"Maa, maybe you should have stuck with what I told you to do."
No one said anything. Shikamaru was furious. This wasn't Hikari's fault.
The silence stretched on.
Asuma clapped his hands. "Well, we've been here all morning. Let's go have lunch. My treat."
Shikamaru didn't even bother trying to be discrete as he put himself between Hikari and the rest of her team. Ino came to stand on her other side, with Chouji bringing up the rear with Asuma-sensei. On their way to the restaurant, Naruto kept trying and failing to catch Hikari's eyes.
Ino tensed when the waitress seated them. Shikamaru gave the restaurant a glance over and saw pink hair. He exchanged a look with Chouji. Today, Hikari wouldn't take any of Haruno's comments well.
"Sasuke-kun!" The girl exclaimed as she made her way over to them. She bowed her head to their senseis. "Ino-pig," she greeted nastily, "Hikari-san."
"Billboard Brow," Ino said without heat. Shikamaru thought the rivalry had come to an end. During their week working with Team 7, Ino had started losing the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at Sasuke. Today's disaster probably killed it. Sasuke hadn't said anything, or tried to apologize. Ino wouldn't accept that. On top of it, Sakura wasn't on a team led by a jounin, and Ino had Hikari. There was no reason to keep their relationship going or to try to salvage it.
"Haruno-san," Hikari nodded.
"Naruto," she sniffed.
"Sakura-chan!"
The pink-haired girl looked like she wanted to hit Naruto, but turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, you made it into a team! You're so cool! I'm training at the Konoha Hospital." She smiled sweetly.
"That's awesome, Sakura-chan! You're awesome, dattebayo!"
"I wasn't talking to you, YOU IDIOT!" Haruno Sakura lifted her arm, fist clenched, and swung.
The seat next to Shikamaru was suddenly empty. Hikari gripped Sakura's wrist from behind her.
"You don't get to hit my teammate, Haruno-san," she calmly informed the girl.
"Hikari-san! Let me go!" The girl struggled.
Shikamaru's friend brought over her other hand to Sakura's throat, neko-te pressed to her pulse point.
"Ino and I have been training in poisons. Tricky little things, you know? Some of them... just a scratch can bring down a full-grown shinobi. I doubt you could heal it with what you've learned."
Sakura stilled.
"Hikari! Why are you being so mean to Sakura-chan?" Naruto demanded.
She didn't even turn to look at him, hadn't bothered to do so since they left the Training Grounds.
"Do we understand each other, Haruno-san?"
The girl started to nod, and then remembered the fingernail pressed against her throat. She stuttered out a yes.
"Good afternoon, then," Hikari dismissed her. The girl turned and left, not even glancing at Sasuke. Hikari regained her seat.
Naruto brought his fist down in front of Hikari. "Why did you threaten her? She wasn't doing anything to you!"
The two jounin stared at him, incredulous. The girl had swung at him, and he was defending her?
"Did I threaten her? I thought I was being polite. She told us what she'd been doing. I did the same," came the mild reply.
Naruto opened his mouth but Shikamaru interrupted him. "The fingernail isn't poisoned, Naruto. At worst, she'd had gotten scratched. No more." But that only seemed to anger Naruto even more.
"So you lied?! What is it with you lying all the time? Are you even capable of telling the truth?"
"Naruto-san, I told nothing but truths to Haruno-san. Ino and I have been training in poisons. Some poisons can bring down shinobi. I do doubt she has covered them yet. Where is the lie?"
Naruto seemed to struggle with the concept. "You lied and you know it!" He pointed at her.
Hikari still wasn't looking at him. She hummed, disinterestedly. Under the table, Shikamaru pressed his thigh to hers. If he knew his friend, she'd try again to make this team work. She'd tried working together, she'd tried trusting them, now she'd try to explain herself to them.
"You're a LIAR!"
She finally looked at him, no warmth in her hazel eyes. "Then that's your truth, Naruto-san."
"My truth? What does that even mean?"
"To you, I'm a liar. Does that mean I am one?"
"What?"
She smiled gently. "Does being a liar mean you can't be honest?"
"Of course it does!"
Hikari continued smiling. She reached over and asked her sensei, "May I?"
The jounin likely wanted to see where this was going, Shikamaru mused. Kakashi nodded. She took his book. The shinobi tensed, but his friend didn't open it. Instead, she put it on the table, between her and Naruto.
"What is this, Naruto-san?"
"It's porn. What does that have to do with anything?!"
"I didn't mean what genre of literature. It's a story, correct?"
"Yeah."
"It's a lie, then."
"What?"
"A narrative. Fiction. Lies. Both you and the author know the author is lying. And yet, we read them. We encourage children to read since they're young. If they're just lies, why do we do it, Naruto-san?"
Naruto got angrier. "It's just a book!"
"We do it because, through lies, fiction tells truths. Narratives teach us the ultimate truth about ourselves. They talk about humanity. They teach children empathy. So, you can call me a liar, and that's a truth. Someone else can say that I am a truth-teller, and that's another truth."
"There is only ONE truth."
Hikari looked at her teammate. She pressed her leg against Shikamaru's, hip to ankle, before turning to Asuma. "Asuma-sensei, I thank you for the offer, but I'm not hungry. If you'll excuse me?"
The bearded man nodded to her.
She turned to Naruto. "You don't like what I'm saying, and you never listen to what I have to say. If you ignore me again, if you forget everything I say, Naruto-san, at least ponder this. If a liar tells you they lie, what does that make them?"
With that, she was gone.
"Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.
"If a liar tells you they lie, what does that make them?" Ino repeated, puzzled.
"Troublesome. It's a paradox. The logical answer is that if they are, in fact, a liar, then by declaring themselves to be one, they told the truth. Which makes them a liar, since they called themselves a liar. It's circular reasoning. If, on the other hand, the one who says it isn't a liar, then they just lied and the cycle begins again."
Chouji was silent, turning it over in his head.
Ino's gaze was sharp. "You said it was an answer, the logical one. What's her answer, then?"
The jounins' gazes sharpened. The Nara heir smirked. "Troublesome."
The Yamanaka bared her teeth in a smile. "She's my friend, too," she pointed out.
"Her answer is her own."
"What do you think she'd answer, though?" Chouji asked.
Shikamaru looked around the table. Naruto and Sasuke just stared at them, baffled by the third member of their team. Shikamaru didn't let himself look at them for long. He was still too angry at them. At Kakashi, too. Kakashi, who hadn't yet reached for his book. In fact, he was trying and failing to seem disinterested. Asuma, however, wasn't bothering to hide his scrutiny. He was plain out staring at his genin.
"I think she'd approach it through our perspective to reality," he offered. Chouji looked lost, so he added. "Things change. What is true right now can become a lie, as easily as a lie can become truth."
"We ebb and flow," Ino mused.
"She once said something similar to me. I was worried, and she told me not to worry until I had to," Chouji offered.
Shikamaru had heard the phrase from Hikari's mother. She was talking about love. She said that life ebbed and flowed, that time and other stuff could bring waves that swept people away, but love brought them back to shore. Huh, maybe she was trying to tell him something. He stilled. He'd have to think about what else she'd told him.
"So, Hikari thinks we have to change as things shift around us, and to trust in our foundations?" Chouji asked.
Shikamaru shrugged. He wouldn't explain Hikari to anyone, not even Chouji.
"What about someone who tells what he believes is truth, but it's false?" Ino asked. Her father, as T&I's head, would know all about it.
"Then he's being honest, but telling a lie," Asuma-sensei offered.
Ino nodded slowly.
Shikamaru wasn't surprised when, on his way home, he felt someone at his back. He slowed down. Hikari caught up to him.
"I know teamwork is important, but my team sucks!"
He grimaced. He had never liked Sasuke, and Naruto really was a bad match for Hikari. He was straightforward. She was 'whatever suits best' with a dash of subterfuge. And they both knew she was most upset about her sensei's reaction.
"I've been dropped loads of time, but never because they didn't even try," she said, offended. "I taught them a throw five-year-olds can do. Five-year-olds, Shika!"
"They were fighting on who'd get to catch you on their own," he offered. She'd been on the air, so she likely didn't even know what had happened. "Naruto shoved Sasuke out of the way."
"I think that actually makes it worse. Am I even a real person to them or just something else to use in their fights against each other?"
Shikamaru could say nothing to that, and settled on lifting his arm in invitation. She took it, sliding underneath it. He rested his arm on her shoulders. "Do you want to come over? You haven't eaten yet."
"We could go to my home this time," she offered. "I can have lunch there, and we can chill the rest of the day. And eat some chocolate. I think I still have some from Rain."
"You're addicted to that stuff."
"Yes, I am," she agreed easily and with a smile.
He smiled back and let her turn them around. He told himself he wasn't an enabler. Chocolate had serotonin, and his friend needed to cheer up.
DAY 14
Hikari arrived at the training grounds early. She had debated arriving on the dot. In the end, she'd decided that just because the team wasn't trying didn't mean she shouldn't still do her part. She wouldn't put herself on the line again, but she would be polite and work with them.
She beamed as, when she came upon the Training Grounds, she saw Ino already there.
"Hey, Hikari!" her friend greeted her.
She gave the blonde a long hug and whispered a thank you.
"No problem. I thought we could do a stretching and gossip long session."
"Whatever you want, Ino."
"I'm serious. I want to get the oversplit."
"I'll do my best," Hikari promised her.
When Shikamaru reached them, carrying a shogi board, Sasuke was already there. He hadn't approached the girls. Instead he'd chosen a different spot and settled on doing his own routine.
Shikamaru set the board. Hikari finished squaring Ino's hips. Her friend was doing a very slight oversplit, with jackets instead of wooden blocks. Ino waved her off, so she joined her best friend on the other side of the board.
When Asuma joined them, he was surprised to see the genin playing shogi. Normally, no one wanted to play Shikamaru. The boy was a genius, and extremely talented at the game. Anyone who had already played him once knew from the start they were going to lose. Was the girl that good? He went over to them. The girl was studying the board.
"I'm done for, aren't I?" she asked her friend.
He hummed in agreement.
"Since four moves ago? Is that when your trap was set?" She didn't wait for him to answer before asking him. "May I?"
Shikamaru nodded.
The girl reached out and reversed the moves. Asuma's eyebrows rose. For one, the girl was sending back both of their pieces. How good of a memory did she have, to be able to recall her moves and Shikamaru's? For another, he'd never seen that done. Once the game was won, it was over. There were no do-overs. But the girl finished setting the pieces and regarded the game again.
Chouji came over and offered him a chip. Asuma thanked him as he took one.
"They do that," his student told him.
"Oh?"
"Go back to the game and play it again. She'll try to make a different move, and see how far it gets her. Their games can go on for hours."
"So, she actually loses the same game over and over?"
"I asked her once the same thing. Why play a losing game? She told me that as long as Shikamaru was willing to teach her, she'd try to get better."
Asuma remembered how hard yesterday had been for the girl. He decided he could focus on training Chouji today.
Eventually, Kakashi made his appearance, and they all walked over to the Mission Desk. Hikari and Chouji walked in front of Ino and Shikamaru, sharing some grapes. Asuma paid attention, he'd never seen them interact alone.
"I know I'm not as handsome as Shikamaru or Sasuke," Chouji was telling her. Asuma sighed. Someone had probably commented on the Akimichi's weight again.
"No, you're not," the girl agreed. Asuma made to step forward. His genin was sensitive about his appearance. He knew Hikari was most likely still upset over yesterday. Before he could reach them, the kunoichi continued. "You are handsome like you."
Asuma paused. The girl had a way with words, and she didn't seem like the time to take out her frustration on someone else. As a Sarutobi, he knew her family considered language an art form. Maybe she could get through to Chouji. And Ino and Shikamaru weren't making a move to interrupt. They were quiet and listening, but not interrupting. He decided he'd take his cues from them.
"Why would you try to be like someone else? You're beautiful," she said, matter-of-factly.
Chouji spluttered and blushed. "No! I'm not!"
The girl smiled at him. Asuma thought it was a little weak. "Chouji-kun, you should leave lying to those skilled at it." Chouji looked at her, confused. "Your words don't match your actions."
He still looked lost.
She sighed. "Did you think I wouldn't notice that you brought grapes, so I would accept them? I think kindness is beautiful, Chouji-kun. So is winning the respect of intelligent people and the appreciation of people who can see the way your mind works. Letting people lean on your strength is beautiful." She smiled at him.
"Ino and Shikamaru are kind, too."
"We have beautiful friends," she agreed. "The best."
Asuma grinned around his cigarette as the two genin he was walking with went bright red.
In front of them, Chouji and Hikari shared a smile, oblivious to their friends listening in. His genin addressed the kunoichi, "I've seen you at your compound, you know? I think there's beauty in winning the affection of children, too."
She looked at him, startled, and then gave him a wide smile. "Thank you, Chouji-kun." She linked their arms together, careful to not touch skin.
"Naruto is my friend," Chouji told her. "But what he did was wrong. I think it's because he doesn't understand you, and he wanted to be in Sakura-chan's team."
"I think so, too," she swallowed. "But I won't apologize for being who I am. I won't apologize for not being who someone wants me to be." She looked him in the eye. "You shouldn't either."
Chouji nodded and looked thoughtful. They walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way.
Hikari waved at her friends as the two teams separated. She was grateful to Team 10 for putting themselves between her and her teammates, but it couldn't last. Genin teams could be together for years. They needed to learn how to work together. She was pretty sure her life would be in their hands more than once. If they couldn't even do a simple throw... She sighed.
They had gotten another courier mission. Sasuke looked at her as he offered up his sheet. She put hers on top, but didn't move to compare them. Naruto took them, and tried to draw them routes.
"That won't work, dobe. Those two are on opposite sides of the village," Sasuke pointed to two addresses.
"Well, teme, I don't see you doing better!"
Sasuke grumbled, but didn't move to help Naruto.
Naruto peeked at her. She gazed back coolly.
He went back to shuffling the addresses into three lists. The shinobi manning the table looked up as Naruto struggled and no one moved to help him. He glanced at her, likely remembering her asking for the courier bags last time. She nodded to him politely but kept her peace. There would only be two bags, and she didn't want to listen to them fight over who got them. If they didn't ask, she wouldn't volunteer the information.
By the time Naruto handed them their lists, even Kakashi was peeking at them from the top of his book. Hikari accepted hers with a polite thank you and headed off, carrying three packages in her arms. She didn't waddle, but she also didn't make much of an effort into being back as fast as she could.
Her legs ached by the time she was done with her sixth and final loop.
She was the last coming back.
"Maa, Hikari, you sure took your time," Kakashi eye-smiled at her and moved to put a hand on her head.
She was tired and felt awful. Yesterday had been plain hell, and today she had training with Tanaka Sota. She didn't even bother trying to be discrete as she ducked and put some space between her and her sensei. He froze but brushed it off. "I guess little girls don't like their hair touched," he mocked.
She looked at him expectantly. Naruto and Sasuke shuffled at her sides. She didn't turn to look at them. The entire day had gone like this. Sasuke didn't know whether he wanted to say something to her or not. Naruto didn't know whether he should be trying to make it up to her, or if he had a right to remain angry at her for threatening his crush. Hikari just wanted the day done and over.
"We're joining Team 7 for ice-cream." I don't eat ice cream. Especially not on days when I'm training with Tanaka. I can just imagine him criticizing my lines and blaming it on my weight. No thank you.
Instead of saying anything, she followed them. When everyone got on the queue, she excused herself to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water.
Hikari came back. Without a look in her sensei's direction, she took the empty seat between Shikamaru and Sasuke.
"Hikari," Kakashi drawled from behind his book. "Do you have a problem?"
"Do you think I have reason to?" The question was mild. Most would probably brush it off as her meaning 'No, I don't have a problem'. But Kakashi had heard her conversation with Ino. He remembered how well she'd deflected her friend's queries.
He decided to treat it as an honest question. "I don't. Do you?"
The girl paused for a long moment.
Kakashi tucked away his book and stared her down. "Hikari, answer me. Do you have reasons to have an issue?"
Hikari took her time, choosing her words. "In the kyokuba-dan, it is the student who chooses who to apprentice to."
Kakashi's eyebrow rose. "Would you have chosen differently?" They all heard 'would you have chosen someone other than me?'. The whole table froze.
The girl didn't answer. Instead she continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "Being chosen as a teacher is an honor. We respect those who pass on their skills, but it's an honor and responsibility that can be refused. I thought shinobi did things the other way. The senseis choose, to some extent, their student because they think they are suited to them." Kakashi didn't like where this was going, but she was right. It was, indeed, how it usually worked. Maito Gai had specifically chosen to apprentice Lee. The Sarutobi had an interest in the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.
The kunoichi glanced up and, still with an even and polite tone, said. "I think you didn't choose us, and you don't want to teach us."
Sasuke and Naruto remained silent. Team 10 didn't dare breathe.
Kakashi startled. The girl was right, to a certain extent. He didn't want to teach them. But she was also wrong. He had chosen them. Well, he'd chosen her. Of the three of them, he didn't expect her to say this to him.
"That's..." she couldn't say it was alright. It wasn't. Jounin senseis were supposed to build you up, help you figure out how you could specialize, and give you the skills you'd need to survive in their world. The team was in shambles, and Kakashi clearly didn't care to do anything about it. "It is what it is. What I don't understand is why you don't call in a favor and get us someone who is interested."
Asuma winced. Plenty of people owed Kakashi. In theory, he could do as the girl suggested. In practice, for the same reasons he could not fail this team, he also couldn't hand it off. The thing was, Asuma did think that Kakashi was trying. He was late and tried to hand off his genin's training to him, but he wasn't as disinterested in their progress as he could be.
"Maa, Hikari. I thought you understood that this isn't your compound." Kakashi closed his eye in a simile of a smile. It was a dismissal and a reprimand, both at once.
"Certainly, Kakashi-sensei. I do. I was just answering your question." The girl gave him a mild smile, as if they were discussing the weather. Asuma thought they were both exceptional actors. From afar, anyone would think the conversation had been pleasant and casual.
The genin went back to eating their ice-cream.
"Hikari!" a lavander-haired boy called out.
Kakashi watched as his kunoichi turned. "Arata?"
The boy must be someone close to her, he mused. The girl was extremely formal, still calling her teammates with honorifics. The only ones she addressed casually were Ino and Shikamaru.
The boy reached their table and gave a quick bow to them all before inquiring, "Are you done for today?"
"Yes."
"Good," and then the boy handed his student a package of... dark chocolate?
"Why are you handing me a 'sorry I'm not sorry' gift?" his student asked. Kakashi's eyebrow rose. What the hell kind of gift was that?
"I volunteered you for extra training."
"Oh?" His student tensed subtly. Kakashi paid more attention. He thought back to the conversations he'd overheard and the times when she'd seemed worried to be heading back home. He was sure something was wrong, but his hands were tied. The Hokage hadn't heard him out.
"He wanted to train Jiro. Sorry."
"No, you're not," the kunoichi smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "I'd have done the same if I'd been there, so thank you."
The boy nodded. The girl made quick work of breaking the bar into eight pieces. "Sasuke-san, it's not sweet," she said as she offered a piece to her teammate. Kakashi thought he saw her press her leg against Shikamaru's as she leaned to hand everyone a piece.
She rose, gave a shallow bow, and left.
Kakashi didn't know what to make of the exchange. The table was left in silence.
"You know something, Shikamaru." It was the Yamanaka heiress who accused the Nara heir. He didn't defend himself. "Why was Ishikawa-san here?" the girl pressed.
"Troublesome. He said why."
"Yeah?" She glanced at Shikamaru's clenched fists pointedly. "I'm her friend, too," she reminded him.
The boy nodded but kept his silence.