Sasuke was quickly caught up by an enthusiastic Naruto and quietly concerned Sakura. Our next move was suggested by, surprisingly, Shino.

"We should consolidate resources and create a home base. Why? Because it would make attempts on clan heirs and those with kekkei genkai exceedingly more difficult."

Naruto was nearly buzzing out of his skin, "A sleepover! Ne, ne, ne, Asuka! Toss me some sealing scrolls! We can grab the bunks from all the rooms and poof them into one!"

I tossed a few scrolls his way, watching him hand them off to various clones even as Neji protested, "I didn't agree to this!"

Tenten socked him none too gently in the shoulder, "The team voted and you were outnumbered. It's for your own good."

"I didn't see a vote!"

"Didn't have to, Lee went with Naruto-kun to put bunks in seals."

I rolled my eyes but turned to Shikamaru, willing to put aside his previous questioning for the rest of ever if he'd let me. "I'm guessing Ino-chan is going to-"

I couldn't even finish the sentence before Ino appeared and was shaking him by the lapel, "We're joining the home base! For safety! And Sasuke-kun!"

With that she whirled away, flouncing over to Sakura and chatting a mile-a-minute about what could be tea or poison. I wasn't able to differentiate which topic it was before a heavy sigh drew me back to Shikamaru. I couldn't help but laugh a little,

"You know if you pretend to be startled and throw her, just once, she'll probably stop."

"If I throw her even once I'll never hear the end of it. Some asshole told her that if a guy is mean to a girl it means he likes her."

I wrinkled my nose, "I've heard that as well. Always thought it was a lead into accepting abusive relationships."

"That's what I told her!" He scowled at my surprised expression, "Just because I complain about women doesn't mean-"

Whatever it didn't mean didn't get to be said because Shino appeared at my shoulder, the startling buzz of kikaichu causing me to take a sharp step to the side.

"Asuka-san, you are currently monitoring the chakra in the tower, yes?"

"I am."

"Could you tell me the location of my kikaichu?"

Unsure if it was a test or if something had gone very wrong I closed my eyes halfway to concentrate better, humming. "Well, I refuse to count how many are in this room, it would take all day. Three in this hallway, seventeen spread throughout the East wing, six in the North, twenty in the West, there are four following-"

"That will do." He tilted his head slightly as I opened my eyes, continuing after a second of thought. "I have never met a sensor who could feel kikaichu once they left the host. Is it a special technique? Why? Because if so it must be created by you and not a family technique."

Shikamaru tensed almost imperceptibly beside me but I shrugged it off, he was being blunt, not purposefully cruel. "Not a technique, per se. Just something that always was, for me, that I worked on later."

"Inborn talent. Rare for a civilian orphan."

"Maybe, have we asked all of them?"

He didn't get a chance to respond to that nonsense before Naruto burst back into the room, followed by Lee, both brandishing a sealing scroll each.

"Asuka! We need a place to set up a home base!"

Sai pushed through the crowd, motioning to the door, "I have scouted an ideal area already." He turned to me, rattling off a grid coordinate relative to us. "Is it still unoccupied?"

I nodded, "Though there is a Kusa team on the far end of the hall from there that we may need to keep an eye on."

Sai just nodded, leading Naruto and Lee out of the room. I hoped he would curb their enthusiasm with 'base' building, but he was just emotionally stunted enough that it would do him good to fold in the end. It was a riot of color and sound, getting everyone's things together and moved to the 'base'. The bunks were set up in groups so that the individual squads could stay together, Team Seven was placed in the middle since Sasuke was the prime target. The rest of the squads filled in easily, Team Ten placed at the back right corner, the bunks casting enough shadows across the room to give Shikamaru dominion over the entire place if he needed it. Team Eight settled near the door on the right, with Team Guy near the door on the left. The back left corner was settled by my own team, though I handed Ichiyo my bags to throw on a bunk while I got out ink and a brush.

I ignored the scuffling for territory behind me, placing ink directly on the walls, walking up them and onto the ceiling as needed. Character after character flowed, seal interlocking with seal. It was much more temporary than the seals on any of our apartments, but it would do well in this situation. After about an hour I dropped down near my things, stretching, and announcing into the sudden silence my appearance had caused,

"Well, it's not my best work but it'll do. Naruto, mind handling activation?"

"Dattebayo!"

He jumped up, slapping the center of the seal. He'd gotten very good at recognizing the pieces of it, I'd been using him as a battery for years. Light spread across the room until it filled every line of ink. From there it slithered inwards until it was concentrated into a single glowing symbol on the center of the ceiling, directly over where Team Seven were camped out. That glow dimmed too and I nodded,

"Alright, we are locked down. Those of us who were inside when it sealed may come and go as they please. Anyone else is going to need a seal key to get in or there will be…consequences."

Ino eyed the now black symbol on the ceiling, "What kind of consequences?"

I shrugged, "Depends on their intentions, how hard they're trying to get in, and if they give up after the warning shot. The first thing is a small electric shock, they keep going it gets worse. If they come in with the initial intent to kill then it'll probably liquefy their insides on contact."

Naruto laughed at her expression, "You should see the stuff on our apartments!"

Ichiyo huffed, "I have! Inoichi-sama won't approve to have her come do my place because she's a genin."

Ino made a face, still eyeing the ceiling, "I'll have a word with him, this is loads better than what we have."

Sai spoke up, likely to cover for the gobsmacked look on our teammate's face.

"Ichiyo, is this where we tell Genma-sensei that Asuka has been doing more sealing without eating?"

Ichiyo snapped out of his surprise immediately, an unholy little smile appearing on his face, "It might be. When did you last eat, Asuka?"

I expertly ignored their attempts at evil, "It does seem close to mealtime. Do we have volunteers to raid whatever kitchen this place has?"

The ensuing argument neatly sidestepped my teammate's attempts at blackmail, ending in Choji ordering an army of Naruto's to march out the door. A snide comment from Neji, that I didn't catch, resulted in Ino nearly frothing at the mouth. Sakura intercepted her, whispering in her ear. Whatever it was caused a sickening grin to form on the blonde's face. Ichiyo and I shivered in tandem, taking a step back and retreating to our respective bunks.

I muttered under my breath, "May the gods have mercy on that Hyuuga's soul, because she sure as shit won't."

There was an almost violent snort of laughter from Shikamaru, though he smothered it immediately at a glance from Ino. Various conversations broke out around the room, the squads intermingling and socializing. I gathered up a bit more ink and paper, dropping down off the top bunk, landing in front of where Sai was drawing something.

"I'm going to go give Kakashi-sensei a seal key, just in case the seal with Sasuke has problems I can't handle."

"Do you anticipate it might?"

"No. The chances are less than 0.001% and getting lower the further we get from the initial sealing. But one, I don't like taking chances. And two, it's never going to hurt to give access to S-rank backup, and unlike the other sensei he is much less likely to give a fuck what we get up to on our own."

After a seconds pause, he nodded, "Please do not take long, you tend to get caught up arguing with Kakashi-sensei over seals. Ichiyo is correct, you have not eaten or slept in quite a while and have done multiple high-level techniques. Half an hour, any longer and I'm sending Naruto after you."

I scowled but nodded, a quick shunshin sending me into the hallway. I tucked my chakra down deep, taking to the shadowed ceilings to avoid detection from the various foreign shinobi dotted around the tower. It didn't take long to find Kakashi, slumped and walking sedately down an empty corridor. I let my chakra loosen slightly into conceivable range as I got closer, dropping down to approach from the ground. The moment my chakra was perceivable his visible eye snapped up from his book to fix on me, novel tucked away immediately.

"I saw that you moved Sasuke, is everything alright?"

"Yes, all the Konoha rookie genin plus Gai-sensei's team have consolidated into a single room for security purposes. I sealed it to hell and back, I'm here to give you a seal key, geared to you. Is that alright?"

I held up the ink and paper, waiting until he nodded before stepping closer.

"I don't have long, Sai gave me a time limit, apparently I like to argue with you."

"Mah, you do."

"What? No, I don't!" He raised an eyebrow and I couldn't have stopped the flush if I tried, scowling down at the key as I sketched it out swiftly, "Well, in that case, I apologize for my impertinence. Blood here please."

I held out the seal and he dropped blood from an index finger into the center area, I wondered when he'd made the cut even as the seal lit up and then faded. I handed it to him,

"There you go. Ticket inside, just for you."

"Are the other sensei next? Kurenai isn't in the tower at the moment."

"I'm aware. And no. Just you."

I had shunshined out of sight, charka already tamped down to nothing when I realized he probably had follow-up questions on that. Oh well, he knew where I'd be and he had access if he truly cared. A flex from the seal on the room caused me to quicken my pace exponentially, arriving to see Team Ten in the hallway gathered around their sensei, who was laying on the floor, holding his head. Seeing me Ino pointed down at him,

"Can you check over Asuma-sensei? He's a victim of your seal work."

I rolled my eyes at her but stepped forwards, careful not to get too close to a relatively unknown and injured jounin. "He's fine, he just tried the door twice." I glanced down at him, "I don't recommend that, Asuma-sensei."

He groaned, "I gathered. Why all the security? And where the hell did it come from? Genma write that up for you, kid?"

Shikamaru shot a look my way that I couldn't decipher but I just shrugged, "It's a little of this, a little of that."

Choji interjected, "Asuka put it up! Orochimaru is trying to steal Sasuke or something, and we won't let him!"

Asuma sat up, shooting Choji a sharp look, "Where did you hear that?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Relax, sensei. It's only us who know, and we're tightening defenses as it is. We're not going to run around telling random Genin about it."

Asuma made some motion out of my sight, likely to indicate me, and Shikamaru's face did something funny. Before he could respond I turned to Choji, "Did you guys get supplies for food?"

Choji lit up, "Yeah! There were a lot of ingredients, I think Naruto is still trying to rig the vote in favor of ramen though. You might want to cast yours while you can."

I scowled, "The problem isn't Naruto, it's going to be Sasuke. That fucker is going to have us eating raw tomatoes, I just know it."

I pushed through, the door opening easily under my hand, Ino following, "Sasuke-kun wouldn't do that to us!"

I shot her a look, "He'd live off the things if I let him."

We were welcomed by chaos. Hinata was sitting on a seemingly unconscious Kiba, Ichiyo looked ready to fistfight Sakura, and Tenten was attempting to strangle Sasuke of all people. I let out a loud whistle, causing the little gremlins to pause. They really went all Lord of the Flies the moment I was gone, huh?

"What the fuck, guys? Sai, where are we at on the vote?"

He glanced down at the paper in his hands, "There is no majority, mostly just everyone voting for their own entries."

I sighed, "Re-do. Squads, pick one food each among yourselves to put forwards for the overall vote. Submission is due in ten minutes. If you're late you're disqualified." I saw Neji's mouth move to open and kept going, "If you object and refuse to participate then you can eat protein rations." I didn't hear his teeth click shut, but it must have been a close thing. I turned back to the doorway, noting Asuma standing just outside it, eyeing us warily. His eyes snapped to me, sensing my attention.

"You gonna let me in, kid?"

"Kakashi-sensei has the only seal key." How lovely to be able to lie without lying.

"Ah, Kakashi's work, I should have known. Well, don't let me keep you kids from dinner."

I didn't have the energy to roll my eyes, instead snapping the door shut and making my way over to Sai. He was using a chakra technique to remove the ink from the paper, banishing the useless votes back into an inkwell. I sighed, "The money that technique could save me."

Sai turned back, "You don't know it?"

"No? I assumed it was one of yours."

"Ah, it is not. I have the jutsu scroll somewhere."

"Ooooh, let me borrow it for a day and you can have that water clone scroll I lifted off those Kiri idiots."

"This seems skewed in my favor."

"Not a reason to turn down a good deal, Sai."

"I am suspicious, but I accept your terms."

The conversation over I had no choice but to turn to where Shikamaru was staring. I raised an eyebrow, but he just raised one right back. Suppressing another sigh (I had really reached my limit for the day), I walked over to where he was standing, at the point where his squad's area met mine.

He spoke without prompting, "I think I see what you mean."

"Do you?"

"I didn't even think to look for something like it before, but…Asuma-sensei didn't even entertain the idea that your work was your own. Not even when Ino and Choji said so."

I just hummed, knowing he wasn't done. After a few seconds, he continued,

"I just don't understand why you didn't try to correct him."

"Because in my experience jounin either don't believe me or really don't like being contradicted."

He shot me a concerned look. I returned a sharp smile, quoting, "It's just a sparring match, genin."

I'd learned my lesson, and learned it hard, from one of Sonada Nonami's compatriots. The memory wasn't allowed to fully form, Sai standing and announcing the options for dinner. I broke away to set my own vote, scowling down at it after a second. I rounded on Team Seven,

"You fucks, you can't submit something I would have to cook without asking me!"

There was no remorse, not even from Sakura. Sasuke shrugged,

"Would you rather I take it back and put tomatoes?"

I scowled at him before logging my vote, marching off to a corner to set up an area we could actually cook in. After the first few seals, Choji appeared beside me,

"What's this one do?"

"Absorbs the smoke from the cookfire. It can actually be transferred to paper afterward. I like to save it up to release later as a smoke bomb that smells delicious."

Choji's eyes lit up. "You can make barbeque-scented smoke bombs?"

"I mean, yeah? I can make anything scented smoke bombs."

I didn't even get to make my off-color 'human barbeque scented' joke before Choji was asking more questions about seal applications. After a few rapid-fire questions, that I didn't even get a chance to answer, I held up a hand, bemused,

"Choji, if you give me a concept then I can probably figure it out. Or in the end, tell you it isn't possible. After the exams we can get together over it, you can give me a list, and I'll give you some BBQ smoke bombs."

He looked euphoric, though I was saved from his response by Sai appearing at my elbow. "The winner is a mild curry. Since it was the option put forth by Team Seven, it's their job to cook."

Naruto didn't have the decency to look concerned. "Asuka's been an honorary member from the start."

I didn't bother to argue, grabbing ingredients, setting some aside for Akamaru, and glaring at Genin. "Fuck it, you'll just poison us. Kitchen rules apply."

Naruto nodded sagely before turning to the rest of the Genin present.

"That means we need to stay out of her way!"

I rolled my eyes but snagged Choji before he could leave.

"Would you like to help? I'll share my recipe."

He nodded, eagerly, "Of course! Do you use more cooking seals?"

"A few. I'll explain what they do, but you'll understand if I don't stop and explain how?"

At his enthusiastic agreement, we started. It took almost two hours, but the seals and Choji's assistance cut the time and effort down substantially. I spent most of the simmer time rambling about spices and various recipes I made for the boys as we were growing up, with small interjections or arguments from Choji at various points. It was slightly surreal, to have someone to talk about cooking with. The last person I'd had this with had been Mikoto, and our cooking styles differed enough that mostly it was trading recipes for those differing styles rather than overall conversation. Well, there was the bitching about getting Sasuke and Naruto to eat appropriate vegetables that weren't Sasuke's tomatoes and getting Itachi to eat anything other than sweets. Choji was very knowledgeable about food, not surprising considering it was his clan's main export. What was surprising was how he genuinely cared about the things I had to say and my recipes. Even Sasuke or Naruto would tune me out after a while. It was a strange experience, I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

When it came time to serve the food Choji assisted in that as well, even helping me disappear from the crowd at the end with a smile.

"I understand. Sometimes when mom cooks for a lot of people she just wants to take her shoes off and eat in peace."

Chakra reduced to nothing and a light genjutsu no one would think to look for meant that I had that peace while eating on top of my bunk, surveying the chaos below me. I was also able to watch as Sai drew up a watch schedule and posted it on the wall. I was proud of the way he handled the arguments, settling things diplomatically with only a few conflicts caused by his lack of socialization. I did note that I wasn't on watch until the following day. Probably for the best, but I still felt a hint of frustration. I could have handled keeping watch from now until the start of the preliminaries. That no one else knew existed. Right, don't mention those, they aren't real yet.

Sleep came easily, with so many familiar and trusted chakra signatures clustered together. But that just meant that the moment an unfamiliar signature got close I was wide awake. It took barely a thought before I was out of bed and stalking towards the nin on watch. Hinata. I stepped up beside her, noting her active Byakugan.

"You see them?"

It was a redundant question, but she answered anyway.

"Yes. Three Kusa-nin."

I hummed in acknowledgment, settling in with legs crossed on the floor beside her.

"You're the one on watch. My abilities are at your disposal. I'll let you know when or if one decides to attempt to breach the sealing."

After a tense moment, she nodded, shoulders relaxing as we fell into the easy interaction involved among nin when rank and hierarchy were explicitly established. No way for social anxiety to creep in when the rules were so exact and explicitly known by all parties. The silence wasn't as strained as I had thought it would be. Hinata was more focused on the job at hand than any sort of past non-interactions we'd had. My respect for her grew a little bit, and I closed my eyes, delving more into the chakra systems of the foreign nin pacing outside our door. Doing so meant I felt more of those in the room as well, noting that a few of our number were awake. Most were in a half-awake state, but Kiba was closest to alert. After a few moments, a tiny chakra signature approached us, and Kiba faded back into sleep.

I forcefully beat back the habits the Uchiha nin-cats had built in me, keeping my hands away from the nin-dog as he approached. Hinata noticed him immediately, of course,

"Akamaru, are you joining us?"

The nin-dog gave an exaggerated nod, sitting between the two of us, staring at the ceiling, nose working overtime. After a few more minutes of the Kusa-nin just pacing and examining the door I broke. The treats for nin-animals were the same across most species, especially cats and dogs. I mostly carried the old treats with me as a form of nostalgia, or remembrance for that one ginger bastard, though they came in handy on dog-walking missions. I pulled a treat out, handing it to Akamaru, who snapped it up immediately. Even with the Byakugan activated Hinata still turned to face me.

I could feel the blush spreading up my entire being, "Sorry! I just really love dogs? I always gave one to the nin-cats, I can't discriminate against Akamaru!"

Akamaru settled slightly closer to me, making a huffing noise, though Hinata tilted her head. "Nin-cats? There are nin-cats?"

Sorrow hit me like a freight train. Of course, no one would know. Outsiders stayed away from the compound because of propaganda. No one but Sasuke, Naruto, and I had truly recent memories of the compound before its end. Even the clan heads would have held meetings in neutral territory. Akamaru bumped his nose against my hand, letting out a small sound. Right, dogs could smell shit like sadness, right?

"Sorry, I forgot…the Uchiha held the cat contract." Hinata didn't visibly stiffen, she was too much of a clan heir for that, but I still felt her attention on me, even as she faced away. "I've been to the Inuzuka compound for D-ranks to walk the dogs, those are my favorite, actually. But, you know how the dogs are just…everywhere?"

She nodded, and I continued, "The Uchiha were like that, with their cats. They'd rub against legs for treats, trip a thief, laze in the sun…a few months before…well. A few months Before, the Konoha Council of Elders decreed that the presence of the cats in the compound was unnerving to visitors. That the cats were a danger. The council forbade them to be there."

Akamaru crawled a slight bit closer and I swept my fingers through his fur, in the manner that had melted dogs on the farm in my past life. It worked here as well. I watched his leg twitch slightly as I continued,

"No one understood the decision. I don't understand it. I knew nin-cat from regular, and looking back…I was there, you know? When it happened. I maintain that had the nin animals been there…no attacker would have stood a chance."

I handed Akamaru another treat, running my fingers through his fur as we all 'watched' the Kusa-nin on the other side of the wall. After a few minutes, Hinata spoke up,

"What the council did to the cats…do you think…they may do that to the Inuzuka dogs?"

My heart broke slightly, at the pleading concern in her voice.

"No. I don't." I desperately wanted to out the blatant propaganda that had ended the Uchiha in the end, to out it and air it for the world to see. But this wasn't the time. "The Uchiha were very politically isolated. I doubt any of their 'allies' even knew of this decision. Should the same thing happen to the Inuzuka…well. For one, Sasuke and I have the rank now to cause some anarchy. We saw how it played out once. Never again."

Hinata nodded, accepting this, pale eyes following the Kusa-nin. I made a split-second decision.

"Do you wish to wait them out? Or should we have fun with them?"

I was expecting her to demur. That is not what I got.

/

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