DAY 17
Shikamaru stepped through the gates of his clan's compound. He dragged his feet. It was too early, but he wanted to see if he could catch Hikari alone at the Training Grounds. He hadn't talked to her in a while. He sighed. It was just his luck to have a best friend who liked to arrive early to everything. What a drag.
Someone dropped from the tree right in front of him. His hands tore out of his pockets and he extended his arms to the sides to keep his balance. When he finally stood steady again, he glared at the figure. Hikari took one look at his face, threw back her head, and laughed.
"Troublesome," he grumbled.
That only made her laugh harder. She doubled over. He huffed and started walking. He made it about five strides before a weight settled on his back. He rocked forwards, but steadied quickly. Hikari wrapped her legs around his waist. She kept herself high enough that he wouldn't struggle too much with her weight. From the corner of his eye, he could see her grin.
When he didn't lift his hands to support her legs, she let herself start to slide off. But he hadn't been his friend for so long without knowing how to carry her, especially in a simple piggyback ride. He caught her and hefted her up a little. Still...
"What a drag," he sighed.
Hikari looped her arms around his neck.
"So," she announced. "Kakashi-sensei came to the compound yesterday."
Shocked, he went to turn his face towards her. Her lips brushed his cheek. He dropped her legs, face burning. At the same time, she let go of his shoulders and leaned back, startled.
The weight on his back was gone. He could feel mortification rising up in him. If the guards could see them from their station, they were going to laugh themselves to death.
He turned around. Hikari was on her back, staring at the morning sky. A breath huffed out of her.
"Ow."
He peered down at her.
"Sorry!"
"Sorry!"
They both blurted out at the same time.
Silence. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. His friend covered her red face with her hands. He wanted to curse himself. Two days ago, he hadn't expected Hikari to actually let him put the cream with their teams watching. Even if he hadn't meant for this to happen, this had probably pushed her too -
Her hand shot up. He blinked but took it and hefted her to her feet.
"Sorry. I let go. It's my fault," she offered. She linked her arm through his and started walking again.
Shikamaru hadn't expected this, but he wasn't a genius for nothing. If he had miscalculated a moment ago, then maybe...
"My fault, too." He let her hand slide down his forearm and linked his fingers through hers. He ignored her wide eyes and blush. "So, your sensei went to your compound?" He held his breath.
He released it only when she squeezed his hand and started telling him her news.
Hikari gripped Shikamaru's hand a bit tighter before letting go and joining Sasuke. Her teammate glanced up and nodded. She smiled back.
"We should warm up without getting exhausted."
"Hn. You think Kakashi will train us?"
"Yeah."
"He'll still be late."
She laughed. "Yes."
Naruto joined them warming up even before the rest of Team 10 arrived.
"Naruto-san, do you ever get tired?" Hikari asked as they jogged around the grounds.
"I guess so?"
Hikari traded glances with Sasuke. That wasn't a yes.
"Do your shadow clones tire you out?"
"No?"
"Do you think we could train with them today?" she breathed deeply as she pumped her arms. "While we wait for Kakashi-sensei?"
"Sure!"
They were trying to find out the limits to Naruto's shadow clones, and failing.
"How long can you hold them?"
"Until they get dispelled," Naruto was confused. "You saw them. They can take some damage, but if you hit them hard enough or often enough, they poof out."
That wasn't what Hikari was asking. But it told her that, unless the clone was hurt, it could last indefinitely.
"Can they do jutsus, dobe?"
The blond hesitated.
"You could ask a clone to henge itself," Hikari offered.
"Yeah, look at this!" Naruto stood up, eager to show them something. Once both him and a clone were in front of his teammates, they both made the Ram seal. "Sexy Technique!"
A burst of smoke cleared. Before them stood two beautiful, naked, blonde women. Clouds hid their chest and the area between their legs.
"Dobe!"
Naruto took in Sasuke's expression. Realization dawned upon him. He glanced worriedly at his almost completely covered, female teammate.
She blinked. "So, your clones can do jutsus! Great, you even changed the gender. Is the no-clothes a choice, or are clothes not copied?"
Sasuke turned to stare at her. Naruto dispelled the technique.
"You're not mad?"
"We asked you to henge yourself." She regarded her teammates. Why are they looking at me like that? "Oh, you're talking about the naked part. I think it's ingenious, actually. Takes advantage of the viewer's weaknesses. I don't think it'll work against most kunoichi, though."
It's masterful, is what it is. So many of the performances in the kyokuba-dan took advantage of drawing the gaze into the body and its movements. Most people look where you want them to look. His jutsu is a wonderful diversion tactic because it's so unexpected.
Ino came striding from the trees' shade. "Hikari! You can't mean that. It objectifies women!"
She turned to her friend. "No? The viewer objectifies women. Naruto-san is taking advantage of that. Maybe those stupid enough to fall for it will learn not to." Like negative reinforcement.
Ino appeared thoughtful. "I thought you'd be mad."
"He isn't harming anyone. He undresses himself, or his clones. No one's consent is being violated." She turned to Naruto. "Naruto-san, you can't turn into someone real and then perform the jutsu with their bodies. That would make me mad."
Naruto put his hands up. "I promise, Hikari!"
"So? Can you make them with clothes? What about someone who doesn't resemble you?"
"Yes, dattebayo!"
When their sensei arrived, Hikari repressed the urge to giggle. She saw the silver-haired shinobi blink as he took in the two sets of Sasukes and Hikaris and no Naruto.
"What are you doing?"
One set turned to him and responded in unison. "We're playing mirror! I imitate Sasuke's and Hikari's movements, so my clones can look like them."
"That's... smart, actually."
The set made up of Narutos grinned up at Kakashi. Hikari warily took one step towards her sensei. It was disturbing, seeing Naruto's wide grin on Sasuke's impassive face. The jounin shinobi recovered faster than her.
"Today you're going to be working together, the three of you. How do you think you can fight together? What should you work on?"
The three of them looked at each other. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look and nodded. Sasuke took a step forward. "We should incorporate what we do best," he started. "Speed and taijutsu, for Hikari and I. Clones and stamina, for Naruto. Fire and other ninjutsu. And..." he trailed off.
Naruto turned to Hikari. "We think we can do something unexpected with throws. Sasuke has great aim, you're really precise and fight best at close combat, and I can spam clones to act as throwers."
Hikari cocked her head to the side. "You've talked about this." They're not even insulting one another.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "The day Kakashi-sensei put us through conditioning." Right, I'd left them to it to get something to eat. And they were considerably better yesterday, at the orchard.
"So... speed, aim, and persistence?" Hikari asked her teammates.
"It could be something you build upon, as you learn more," Kakashi chimed in.
"... and throws," Hikari mumbled. It made sense, actually. She doubted they thought of Sasuke as a flyer, so that left them both as bases. After they threw her, they could attack full front as the heavy-hitters they were. It also meant their team could shorten the distance in seconds, and attack through it. All of them worked best from mid to close combat. They could also potentially get her behind their adversaries. She sighed. She'd have to work on aiming as she was moving.
"Kunoichi aren't usually close-range fighters, so it'd take them by surprise," Sasuke added.
She nodded distractedly.
"So?" Naruto asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"I think it's solid," she offered.
Naruto grinned wide and threw his arms in the air. Sasuke smirked.
Kakashi clapped.
"It'd mean a lot of training, for all of you. Hikari, you'd have to continue learning to fight with the neko-te and get faster. I haven't seen your aim, but you'll have to get it to be impeccable. Naruto, you need to learn to use your clones and get your taijutsu sharp. Your clones can only overwhelm an opponent if they know what they're doing. Sasuke, you'd have it harder than the others." The three genin looked up at him. "Hikari and Naruto will probably end up separated. Especially if he'll be doing most of the throwing. You'll need to be able to fight with them both and read the fight to know where you're needed. And all of you would need to learn throws. It'd mean learning how to trust and be trusted," he warned.
Hikari looked at Naruto, and then at Sasuke. She nodded, determined. Like she said, it was a solid plan. She was actually surprised they'd come up with it and actually agreed on something.
They nodded back.
"Alright, then. Let's get started," Kakashi eye-smiled at them.
DAY 18
"Today is the last day our teams will train together," Asuma told them. "So, we have something planned out for you."
"What a drag," Hikari's friend mumbled from beside her. Ino elbowed him from the other side.
"Together with Team 8, we're going to be putting you through a small competition. The three teams will have to complete the same task, and we'll grade you from best execution to poorest."
"What task?!" Naruto asked, bouncing in place.
"Each team will get their turn retrieving a scroll with their team's number. The scrolls will be placed in a secured room inside of a bar."
"That's all?" Sasuke asked.
"That's it. Come on, let's go meet Team 8 and your sensei." Asuma smiled at them.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru added.
Ino grinned, Chouji chewed, and Hikari's thoughts whirled.
Hikari took hold of Sasuke's armband and Naruto's sleeve and tugged lightly. They turned towards her. She gestured to the side with her head. They followed her a bit way off the other teams. Their sensei glanced at them but let them be.
"We can't walk in there without a plan. This test isn't designed with us in mind."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked her.
"It's a mix of recon, stealth, and retrieval mission. Team 10 is great at recon and Team 8 at stealth. We... are not meant for any of the three. We're a combat team because of you two."
"So, it's rigged?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.
"Not necessarily. I think Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei designed it, and Kakashi-sensei... didn't object. It's likely not meant to be unfair."
Naruto tugged at his hair. "We're going to lose!"
"It's going to be more difficult for us. That doesn't mean we can't do it right. Now, I'm the most skilled at this type of mission. Are you willing to listen to me?"
She waited. This was the deciding factor. She could come up with a solid plan, but if they weren't going to listen, then all the planning in Five Nations wouldn't help. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, and then at her.
Sasuke nodded.
"We won't lose, dattebayo!"
She smiled. "So, here's what I think we can do."
"Naruto, where's Hikari?" Shikamaru drawled.
'Hikari' turned towards him and stuttered out, "What do you mean, Shikamaru? I mean, Shika! I'm here!"
"Troublesome. Hikari doesn't move like that, and she definitively doesn't speak like that. Where is she?"
The figure in front of Shikamaru deflated, "This is her plan! Don't ruin it, Shikamaru!"
"Her plan?"
"Yes, dattebayo!"
He nodded and scanned the room. They were seated at a very long table, with the wall at their backs. In front of them were the rest of the customers. Among civilians, Shikamaru could see three shinobi who didn't bother to remain inconspicuous. He recognized a couple of them, so probably jounin. He was sure they had come not only to see the new genin, but also to poke fun at their senseis. At their left and the room's end stretched a huge stage. Behind it laid the room they had had to get into. His team had been the first one up, and they had done rather well.
His gaze sharpened on the dancers. On one dancer in particular. She was wearing crimson from head to toe. The harem pants and top were paired with a face veil that covered the dancer's face from the nose down. A crown rested on top of her head, and veils stretched from it to both of her hands, tied at the middle fingers. The dance had progressed from slow and graceful movements and rotations of the wrists to wider and sharper motions. As the song rose, the dancers made flowing, sinuous lines and continued to speed up with the drums. Each strike was punctuated with a sharp turn of the head. Between the percussions, the dancers slowed, creating texture and depth.
Ino smacked his arm. "Stop staring, Shikamaru! It's rude!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes but blushed. Ino thought he was staring at her movements. He had to admit, they were entrancing. Which was why he didn't know how the others hadn't noticed the clone or Hikari on stage. There was no mistaking that sort of liquid grace.
Team 8 returned to the table. They had done alright up until Kiba had attracted too much attention. Hinata had been too shy and stuttered too much to pull it away fast. Shino and his kikaichus had gotten the job done. For his part, Kiba had recovered and was able to get himself and Hinata off the hook.
The jounins announced that it was time for Team 7 to get their scroll. Then, they headed off to join the other three shinobi at their table. Shikamaru watched as Naruto and his clones floundered for a moment, before making themselves huddle together, "planning". He cringed. Naruto wasn't the best of actors.
The music came to an end. The dancers exited the stage, heading to the room the scroll was in. One of the escorts unlocked all the bolts and gestured them in. He smirked. This was just like Hikari. Why do the work when you can get someone else to do it for you? The jounins thought Team 7 would force their way in. They didn't know his best friend. There would be no need for a fight. Hikari had made them invite her in.
As Shikamaru mused that his team wouldn't come out as the winner, a small brawl broke out between two men. It quickly escalated, and security was called over. He straightened in his seat. Was this when Hikari would make her move? He focused on the backstage room. Sure enough, there was a commotion and the guards moved to search the dancers. He narrowed his eyes, but the dancer in crimson calmly allowed one of the guards to search her pockets and efficiently pat her down. The guards exchanged some words, and then the manager, a woman, was called over. She gestured the dancers over for a more intrusive search. The girl in crimson was annoyed but not alarmed. Shikamaru relaxed and smiled. Seemed like his friend had pulled it off.
Hatake Kakashi fought the urge to rub his eyes as he answered Genma, keeping a milli-fraction of his attention on his genin. When Asuma had started babbling about Kurenai and her team, he hadn't paid attention to him. He should have. Even after going through their conversation, he didn't see when, exactly, he'd agreed to this. After yesterday's progress, he had intended to build up his cute little genin slowly. Instead, they'd lose, Naruto and Sasuke would blame one another, and they'd be back to square cero.
Their teamwork was already dissolving. The three of them had been acting odd since he'd let them out of his sight. And right now, they were squabbling with each other and trying to come up with a plan. From what he could see from the corner of his eye, even Hikari was uncharacteristically uncooperative. And the other two were nearing the point of a fist fight. He sighed. He'd thought the boys had somewhat bonded over Hikari's place in their team. They were going to lose, and he'd have to endure endless teasing from both Genma and Raidou. He pouted. Hayate was the only nice one of the bunch.
He was debating over whether he would have to get up and interfere, get them to do something - anything - when a fight broke out between two civilians. He frowned as he looked at them. Those weren't civilians. In fact, they felt a lot like... He took a deep breath in, scenting the air. Yes, those were Naruto's clones. His eye narrowed and his head shot back to his genin. Sasuke's and Naruto's movements nearly mirrored one another. Hikari's were brusque and sharp. Naruto suddenly straightened and moved to intercept two figures. Kakashi's head snapped back as the three approached the jounin table.
A dancer dressed in crimson that smelled like his kunoichi, a guard with Sasuke's smirk, and Naruto were coming over. He stood up, grinning behind his mask, and stretched his hand out, palm open. He'd play his part. The guard puffed out. His black-haired genin stood in his place, smug, as he handed over their scroll.
"Great job," Kakashi eye-smiled at them. He reached over and put a hand on Hikari's head, above the crown. He could only see her eyes with the veil, but they gleamed with pride. At his left, Kurenai and Asuma spluttered. Kakashi shot them a look, preening. He lingered on Kurenai. Now his kunoichi did look like him, with half of her face covered. He resisted the urge to coo at his student.
The rest of the genin came over to their senseis.
"Hey! How did you do that!?" The Inuzuka exclaimed.
Naruto and Sasuke turned towards their female teammate. Hazel eyes sought out his. When he didn't say anything, his kunoichi remained silent. He nearly burst out laughing. So good of his little genin to bring him into their game.
"Maa, Hikari, tell them."
She gave a short bow to the jounin and turned to the Inuzuka. She opened her mouth and -
"Troublesome, Kiba. They clearly disguised themselves to get in and grab the scroll. Naruto posed as them and created a distraction," came from the Nara.
"Hikari's the dancer you kept staring at, Shikamaru!" The Yamanaka exclaimed, delighted.
Her teammate spluttered and blushed. Naruto looked at his friend as if he had never seen him before. Sasuke plain out glared at him. And Hikari... the silver-haired jounin didn't know whether to face-palm or delight over her obliviousness. From what he'd seen, the two gravitated around each other, attuned to the other's movements. Still, his kunoichi was a baby genin. His eye narrowed on the Nara. He wasn't opposed to the boy having to work towards it. It'd be good for him to have to put in some kind of effort. And it was hilarious to watch.
"You figured it out then, Shika?" Came the girl's innocent question.
"Yeah, whatever. Naruto doesn't move like you," the Nara recovered admirably.
Hikari turned to the blond.
"You move weird, dattebayo!"
"It's fine, Naruto-san. We only practiced for a brief moment. And you fooled everyone else," the girl smiled reassuringly, taking no offense. Her teammate relaxed, no longer defensive.
"We were never seated with Sasuke-san and Hikari-san. Why? Because we would have noticed the switch," the Aburame added.
"So, you planned everything?" Asuma asked the brunette.
"Not how you're thinking," his kunoichi took care with her words. Asuma waited. "I didn't know every step, the way Shikamaru does. We only knew Kurenai-sensei and you had planned the test, and the location was a bar. We assumed the room would have people coming in and out, to make it more difficult for your teams." Kakashi nodded. If the room was empty, it'd be too easy with the Aburame's kikaichus, the Byakugan, Ino's mind control, and the shadow possession jutsus. "I was to disguise myself as someone who could go into the room - a waitress or a musician, for example. Sasuke-san would henge into someone who could remain close enough to help me - like a manager, or host. Naruto-san had to keep up clones as us, create a distraction, and get the timing right."
Sasuke crossed his arms. Naruto beamed. Kakashi was impressed. It was a simple plan because they had so little information. But it gave everyone a clear role and objective while remaining flexible.
"How did you get the scroll? It was locked," Ino inquired. That had given her team some trouble.
"I know how to pick locks with bobby pins. I can teach you, if you want," Hikari offered easily. Kakashi patted her head. He was enjoying this too much, but his team had done well.
"And when the guards searched the dancers?" Kurenai asked.
"I passed the scroll over to Sasuke-san."
Sasuke's lip pulled back on one side, obviously pleased with his team's success.
"Well, you nine can go back to your table and order some food. You all did well, so tomorrow you have a day off. We'll tell you the ranking and what you can improve on after we eat." Asuma smiled at the genin.
"Kakashi," Genma said around his senbon. "When you said one of your genin was a Sakasu, you didn't mention you meant Sakasu of the kyokuba-dan."
He turned to the other jounin, surprised. "You've interacted with them?"
Genma hummed but answered, "I've escorted some of their troupes to their destinations. How did its heiress end up in your team, when she'd do great at infiltration?"
Kakashi knew what Genma wasn't saying. Hikari could be great at assassination. It was a thought that had crossed his mind more than once. The girl's masks, her ability to convey just about anything with language, yes. But more importantly, the way she was greeted at her compound by the children - so bright, so happy - when only a few hours ago she'd been courteous - but nothing else - towards their client. That sort of thinking, that ability to see people as 'mine' and 'not mine' was something to keep an eye on. After all, it was his ability to see people like that and the loss of his pack that made him Anbu Captain. Not wanting to dwell on it - if he had anything to do with it, his cute little genin would never end in Anbu - he pulled his attention back to the jounins.
"I didn't think twice about her," Raidou commented. "She wasn't nervous, and she didn't stumble when they searched her."
Kakashi shifted, uncomfortable. "Her taijutsu is good. And even if she doesn't know it, she's the glue in the team."
The boys had pulled together when, after they'd let her fall and she was not at her best, she hadn't complained. We've failed her once already, her teammates and I. And she's still willing to give us her best. She still believes we can be a good team. We'll all try build that team.
Instead of saying any of that, he told his friends. "Not as brash as Naruto or as closed off as Sasuke. She's not direct competition. But she's determined."
"You want her in your team because she's willing to put in the work," Hayate pointed out.
Kakashi nodded. "The others will put it in, too. If only because she is."
"Be careful, Kakashi. They have different rules from ours," Genma warned him. He cocked his head, waiting. If the senbon-wielder had spent some time with the kyokuba-dan, he could have some insight. His friend sighed. "Have you noticed anything? Maybe about physical contact?"
"She doesn't have an issue with it? She let her teammates throw her and spar with her."
"Outside of training," Genma rolled his eyes.
Kakashi thought about it, but he couldn't see it. Sure, the kid had ducked out of his way once, but she had been mad at him. At her compound, she'd hesitated before letting him pull her up, but he thought it was because she was distrustful of his promise.
"She lets Shikamaru and Ino touch her, no problem." Asuma helped him out.
"Skin on skin?"
"Ino... I don't know. I wasn't paying attention. But Shikamaru for sure."
Genma's eyebrows rose. "Perhaps the Nara's crush isn't as hopeless as it looked," he mused. They all grinned, remembering the Yamanaka heiress throwing the boy to the wolves. Genma turned to Kakashi. "Your kunoichi hasn't blinked an eye to the couple going at each other over there," he gestured with his head. Kakashi knew what he was talking about. The two had been trying to eat each other's faces for a while. "From what I understand, sensuality, nudity, and sexuality don't face them. But intimacy is another story."
Kakashi wasn't convinced, but he was willing to listen. He trusted Genma. He was even inclined to trust him about Hikari. They both had the same calm confidence and bearing. And Genma was a superb assassin. More importantly, one who hadn't been in Anbu.
"Asuma, Kurenai, you're right in front of her," Genma called them but remained facing Kakashi. His voice turned lightly mocking. "Gaze into each other's eyes or something."
They shot him a dirty look but were curious enough to be game. Kakashi focused on his kunoichi, so he didn't see what they'd done. But he saw her reaction. He saw her blush fire red before she somehow willed it away. He saw how she turned away, giving her full attention to her conversation. Saw how she pulled on Naruto's sleeve, to get him to not look at Kurenai and Asuma. As if she was trying to give them privacy. How odd. He knew for sure that Asuma and Kurenai hadn't done anything, had probably not even touched.
He turned again towards Genma, more careful now. The shinobi's grin rubbed the victory in. Kakashi let it slide off his skin.
"I'm not sure why. When you ask them anything, they are polite. Extremely so when answering. It's only when you walk away that you realize that they didn't tell you what you wanted to know."
Kakashi nodded and thanked him with an eye-smile. Genma had given him something else to keep an eye on. One more piece to the puzzle that was his kunoichi.
DAY 19
Kakashi sighed. To borrow the phrase from the shadow wielders, being a responsible sensei was troublesome. Still, yesterday had reminded him of the issue, so here he was.
He eye-smiled at the guard. "Nara, is your Clan Head in?"
"Hatake. Yes," she gestured him inside.
He passed through, already knowing where he was going. Yoshino greeted him at the door and led him to a room before excusing herself. His jounin commander was playing his son at shogi. They both turned as they heard the door slide open. Shikamaru made to get up and leave them alone.
"Maa, I'd prefer it if you stayed."
They both regarded him more wearily, but Asuma's genin stayed.
"Kakashi, sit down, please. I assume this is about Hikari-chan?" His jounin commander asked.
Kakashi nodded, and turned to the younger Nara first. "She didn't reject your offer of help. With Tanaka Sota."
"She didn't," he agreed a bit testily. Oh well, I could have been more discrete about having eavesdropped on them. Shikamaru turned to his father. "It was the day before she came here." Kakashi's eye sharpened. So, the girl had reached out. Not to him. Even when he'd forced her hand, she had hardly told him anything. He tried not to feel offended. He was her sensei, but Hikari hadn't known him for long, and he hadn't given her the best impression. Shikamaru continued. "Kakashi-sensei actually went inside the compound and observed one of the training sessions."
Maa, is there anything these kids don't tell each other?
Shikaku nodded, thoughtful. "Kakashi, she didn't say much about the sessions themselves. Hikari-chan only explained the contract and what we could help her with. If you're here, I guess her 'unpleasant' was a gross understatement?"
He forced down the urge to snort. It wasn't funny. But he could see his kunoichi saying that. Probably with a 'words only have power if you give it to them' comment. And she'd be right, up to a point. But she was still a little genin. The comments were constant enough and insidious enough to slide through her defenses. And that was without taking into account that they went hand in hand with physical fatigue. Hikari knew the way Tanaka taught was wrong. She had taken an extra lesson to spare another. But he'd bet she hadn't associated 'verbal abuse' to what was happening.
"She said he had never touched her," the Nara heir's eyes were dark and dangerous.
"Hikari didn't lie to you," Kakashi reassured him. The boy's fists unclenched, but his eyes retained their intensity. "What did she suggest as a solution?"
The genin struggled. Kakashi closed his eye. He couldn't tell the boy that he wouldn't be betraying Hikari. He didn't know what she considered a breach of trust. And his kunoichi hadn't trusted him with this. He glanced at Shikaku from the corner of his eye, but he was letting his son decide.
"How long will her solution take?" He attempted again.
This, his commander answered. "Two weeks maximum from when she asked. So less than five days from now. She'd been dealing with the situation for a month already. I thought a couple of weeks was reasonable."
Kakashi paused. This was the sixth week his genin had been training with that civilian, then. His respect for Hikari grew. He knew people, tough people, who would have a hard time going hours upon hours without even reacting.
"She has a lesson tomorrow," the youngest in the room informed them.
"I'll go with her. If they're twice a week, this will hopefully be the last one," Kakashi decided.
"Dad, no. You didn't see her after the double lesson. Lifting her arms hurt her, even after I gave her the cream."
Kakashi shifted in his seat. He had put her through conditioning without knowing she had needed a Nara anti-inflammatory.
"The Hokage won't let us interfere without evidence. Even with it, it'd be tricky." He shared a miserable look with the older shinobi. He wasn't the first jounin mentor unable to get his genin out of a bad situation. He thought of Gai, and how much he wanted to do for his Huyga student.
Shikaku sighed. "Shikamaru," he waited until his son looked him in the eye. "Kakashi likely can't get into the compound without being accompanied by Hikari-chan. A shinobi Clan Head entering the kyokuba-dan when their leaders are away would not look good. We can't do anything. Now, I thought you had things to do today. Your mother wouldn't want you to laze around on your free day," he dismissed his son.
"Of course, dad," the younger Nara smirked as he stood up.