Hinata sighed.
It had been a week since they got to the hospital, and she'd spent the last four days going over the mission with Kagane-san from Psych. Luckily not a Yamanaka, which had made her relax somewhat, but Kagane-san was still quite stern and determined to make Hinata get to the bottom of her feelings about the mission when she came to the hospital for their sessions.
A part of her hated to admit it, because a voice in her head not unlike her Father's told her it was the same as admitting weakness, but she felt a little bit better after every session.
On the fifth day of their hospital stay, Shino had finally woken up. He'd been shaken and even quieter than before, and without his glasses, it was undeniable how scared he looked. How young.
When the nurse was done checking Shino's vitals, Kurenai had stood from her bed, perched herself on the chair by Shino's bedside, and slapped a seal on the floor between them.
She'd spent almost an hour talking to Shino, though whatever the seal was, it seemed to be what Kagane-san used for her conversations with Hinata, because it muffled the sounds of Kurenai and Shino's conversation until Hinata couldn't have made out the individual words if she'd tried.
Afterwards, Shino had seemed…if not settled, then at least calmer, though he still didn't speak once Kurenai peeled the seal off and returned to her own bed.
"Man," Kiba sighed, collapsing back against the pillows two days later, moments after his own shrink had left their hospital room, "what a mess."
Kurenai had been discharged earlier that morning, and from the grim expression on their sensei's face and the disgruntled complaining of the nurse that had discharged her, Hinata had the suspicion that instead of home, Kurenai's next stop was going to be Psych. Probably for longer than just a passing visit.
Hinata…didn't envy her.
"Never thought we'd get so injured so fast." Kiba huffed, when neither Hinata nor Shino rushed to comment on his earlier assessment.
"I'm sorry." Hinata sighed, shrinking back slightly against her pillows and trying to focus back on the scroll on genjutsu Kurenai had lent her before she'd left.
She almost missed the way Kiba blinked owlishly at her apology.
"Why're you sorry?" he asked, forever blunt, though he sounded genuinely baffled rather than mean. "S'not like it's your fault."
Hinata smiled, small and unbearably fond, and dropped her chin to hide it, feeling a familiar warm curl of belonging settle in her bones.
At least until Shino spoke.
"In her mind, I think it is." He said quietly, staring woodenly at the ceiling, not reacting in the slightest when Kiba startled and turned to him, eyebrows raised incredulously. "We only got our first C-Rank because we could water-walk."
And we only learnt that because of her, went unsaid, but Hinata knew even Kiba heard it.
Hinata froze, trying desperately to remind herself of Kurenai and Kagane-san's assurances that it wasn't her fault, that bad missions happened, that her pushing her teammates to develop new skills faster would only benefit them in the long run-!
"That's dumb." Kiba blurted, snapping Hinata out of her spiral as his words made her choke on a laugh, startling her just as much as him. "I mean-!" he tried to backpedal, cheeks tinging pink with embarrassment, and Shino sighed.
"As always, your skill at expressing yourself astounds me." Shino mused dryly, a trace of the sarcasm Hinata hadn't heard since she'd last spoken with her Shino in his voice, and her next giggle caught in her throat, blocked by the lump that had formed there at the realisation.
"Lay off, man." Kiba grumbled after shooting Hinata a concerned look, turning to shoot Shino the stink-eye. "Just 'cause we're injured don't mean I won't kick your ass."
"I'm terrified." Shino drawled, not looking away from the ceiling. "Truly."
Kiba bared his teeth, but unlike the first few weeks, it wasn't antagonistic. More…simply teasing, and something in Hinata relaxed.
"Hey, Hinata." Kiba called next, and she obligingly lifted her eyes from the scroll she was reading, though she hadn't registered a single word from the text over the last few minutes. "It's honestly not your fault. Also, since we're gonna be stuck here for at least another few days, can you…teach me somethin' for chakra control?"
Hinata blinked, completely thrown by the question. Not the content, because she'd paid attention when Kiba had voiced wanting to take over the clinic, but that he'd asked her.
"I mean, uh, you were messin' with a pebble or something in our first week, right?" Kiba continued, apparently taking her momentary shock as confusion. "I asked Hana-nee and she said that was chakra control, so, uh, could you show me how to do that?"
"…Of course." She managed after a beat, and she could see how Kiba relaxed. "T-though you'll have to build up to a pebble. I recommend starting with something l-lighter, like a button o-or a piece of string."
Kiba nodded attentively, and before long, Hinata found herself quietly coaching him through a modified leaf-sticking exercise, biting back a smile when Kiba eyed her and Shino briefly, as if waiting for them to protest, then ripped off the button from his pillowcase. It was almost cute, that he hesitated before such a small act of vandalism considering the profession they were training for, and Hinata had to once again remind herself that Kiba was twelve. They're twelve.
"Hinata." Shino murmured some time later, when Kiba was well and truly immersed in his chakra exercise.
Hinata turned away from trying to make her own button go above her elbow, and found Shino already looking at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
"I'm…sorry." He said after a beat, and Hinata stilled, not sure she'd heard correctly. "In our spar, that first week, I…didn't listen. I didn't realise how helpless being without chakra could feel for you."
"I- thank you, Shino." She smiled, biting back the instinctive 'it's okay'. Kagane-san should be proud. "I'm sorry for destroying your colony."
Shino's lip quirked, not quite amused, but a much more positive reaction than she was expecting from him at this stage.
"Tou-san said it was a lesson." He said quietly, turning his gaze back to the ceiling. "A study in arrogance and preconceptions."
"Your father sounds wise." Hinata replied, for lack of anything else to say.
"He is." Shino agreed, and his smile turned a touch more genuine, almost fond. Then he seemed to steel himself, before he asked; "When I'm discharged, would you be…willing to help me with my taijutsu?"
Hinata blinked again, absently wondering whether Kiba and Shino had agreed on some sort of pact to blindside her.
"I'd be honoured, Shino." She told him honestly, dropping her eyes back to the scroll in her lap, content with the silence that fell around them afterwards.
Three days later, she was woken up by what sounded like an excited cheer, followed immediately by angry shushing.
"Ssh! Idiot! I had to smuggle him in, do you want the nurses to take him away?!"
Hinata cracked her eyes open and pushed herself into a slightly more sat-up position, squinting blearily first at the window, then at the commotion. She was surprised to find that the sun had well and truly risen, and a quick glance at the wall clock showed that it was much closer to nine than the early morning she'd suspected based on how groggy she felt.
"Kiba. Hana-san." She managed hoarsely, clearing her throat immediately after, embarrassed at the state of her voice. "Good morning."
Hana turned away from Kiba – whose attention was firmly on Akamaru, the ninken puppy happily licking his face, and ah, yes, that made more sense – and blinked at Hinata, then smiled.
"Hinata-chan!" She greeted happily, then grimaced, eyeing Hinata apologetically. "Sorry, was that too familiar? And I'm sorry if you got in trouble because of me before."
"N-no, no, it's fine." Hinata hastened to reassure, then frowned, not sure what the older girl was referring to.
Until she remembered their first meeting in this timeline.
Ah.
"It wasn't because of you, don't worry." She assured the girl, feeling touched that she'd remembered their first interaction.
"Glad to hear it." Hana smiled, then laughed at Kiba's disgruntled squawk when Akamaru burrowed under his pyjama top.
"Wait, wait," Kiba ordered, seemingly giving up on trying to extract Akamaru from under his shirt, eyeing his sister oddly, "you two know each other?"
"We've met." Hana replied glibly, shooting Kiba an imperious look, though Hinata could tell it was teasing. Then, Hana reached out and ruffled Kiba's hair, making an even bigger mess of the bird's nest that was already on his head. "Mom's mad at you, by the way. It's been three months, puppy."
"I toldya to stop calling me that!" Kiba whined, all but pouting at Hana, then seemingly registered the rest of her words. "Wait, what- why?!"
Hana rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically, and Akamaru also whoofed something that sounded almost amused from under Kiba's shirt. "You ever planning to introduce your team to us, doofus?"
Kiba blinked, then stared first at Hinata, who met his gaze evenly, curious what Kiba would do, then turned to Shino, who still seemed to be asleep. Then-
"Ah, crap."
Hana laughed.
"Damn right." She shot back, then turned to Hinata, shooting her an entertained smile, which Hinata mirrored, albeit smaller. "Hinata-chan, as soon as the three of you are officially discharged, we'd like it if you and Shino could come for dinner. I'd hoped my idiot brother would have enough sense to invite you himself, but it seems I'd hoped for too much."
"I'd love to, Hana-san." She replied honestly, because dinner at the Inuzuka house had been one of her favourite post-mission traditions, once upon a time.
"Great!" Hana grinned, punching Kiba's shoulder lightly, then turned towards the door. "I gotta run – courier mission – so take care, and don't let Kiba do anything stupid!"
"Oi!" Kiba crowed, but Hana was already out the door, though they could hear her laughter down the corridor.
"Sorry for that." Kiba apologised awkwardly, turning to Hinata, but she shook her head, still smiling.
"Your sister seems lovely, Kiba." She told him honestly, watching amusedly as the pink tint returned to his cheeks and Akamaru snuffled.
Kiba mumbled something vaguely affirmative and shot her a grateful look, and Hinata felt their first tentative overtures at friendship and camaraderie solidify into something more. Something like last time.
A week later, their peaceful, predictable routine – Kiba working on his chakra control, Shino learning katas from a scroll Asuma had found for him, and Hinata learning more genjutsu – was interrupted by the door to their hospital room almost slamming open.
"Sensei, these intel gathering exercises are getting tedious, can't you-?"
Hinata blinked at Shikamaru, watching somewhat bemusedly as the Nara cut himself off mid-word, taking in their hospital room with sharp eyes, though he was undeniably surprised once he noticed its occupants. His gaze landed on Asuma, the only one not in a hospital bed, perched instead on the one comfortable chair available in the room, and the man was watching Shikamaru right back, eyebrow raised.
Kurenai had been coming in to see them at least twice a day since she'd been discharged from Psych four days previous, but she'd needed to 'run an errand' today, so she'd passed the questionable honour of watching over them on to Asuma.
"You wanted something, Shikamaru?" Asuma prompted idly when Shikamaru looked like he'd forgotten that he was in the middle of speaking when he'd come in, and Shikamaru's eyes snapped away from Kiba's cast and focused back on his teacher.
"Ino was being annoying and kept asking what could've made you cancel training on such short notice." Shikamaru drawled, closing the door behind himself and leaning back against it, frowning at Asuma. "Wouldn't stop nagging until we agreed to look for you."
"Man, I'd get smacked if I talked about Hinata like that." Kiba mused from his hospital bed, shooting Shikamaru a not-particularly-friendly look, and his words drew a sigh from Asuma.
At the mention of her name, though, Shikamaru turned to her, visibly took in her lack of obvious bandages or casts, and his frown deepened.
"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly, gaze flickering from her face to the scroll in her lap curiously. "You don't look injured."
Kiba laughed suddenly, though his attention was on Shino when he next spoke, completely ignoring Shikamaru.
"And you shit on me for my ability to express myself." He grinned at the Aburame, sharp canines on clear display, and he was still adamantly ignoring Shikamaru.
"That's true." Shino agreed, and he glanced away from his scroll to eye Kiba evenly. "When I'm sure it's not the drugs speaking, I might even apologise." He mused, drawing a snort from Kiba.
Shikamaru made an odd noise, something between curiosity and indignation, and Shino turned to him, his expression perfectly blank and measured. "That was rude of you, Nara-san."
Hinata watched as Shikamaru's shoulders went up infinitesimally at the rebuke, his posture turning defensive, his mouth twisting down at the corners. He glanced at Asuma, as if to see whether the man would disagree or come to his aid, but Asuma merely met his gaze, seemingly content to see where this interaction would go.
Shikamaru then surprised her by turning to her, eyebrow raised, and Hinata realised that he was waiting for her thoughts, too.
"It was rather presumptuous." She said quietly, and when she saw how Shikamaru's frown deepened, she added by way of explanation, "Not all injuries or disabilities are visible, Shikamaru-san."
Shikamaru's scowl faded slightly, becoming more contemplative. He eyed her briefly, then walked up to the end of her bed, taking a moment to study the clipboard attached to it. Hinata felt a flicker of irritation at the invasion of privacy, not sure whether she was bothered by the fact that he didn't ask her for permission or that he didn't simply take her word for it, but she tamped down on it when Shikamaru's eyes widened the more he read.
When he was done, he let her clipboard go and glanced up at her, an odd expression in his eyes as he studied her.
Hinata stayed silent, waiting to see what Shikamaru would do. After a few seconds, the teen cleared his throat and turned to Asuma. "Is training definitely cancelled?"
When Asuma nodded, explaining briefly that Kurenai had asked him to watch over her team, Shikamaru turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, though at least he didn't slam the door that time.
Hinata had been content to settle back into her pillows and her reading, amused and a little wry at the realisation that no matter the timeline, her teammates would always dislike the Nara heir.
Then, he surprised her when he came back a little over an hour after he left, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a plastic bag clutched in another, and a wooden box under his arm.
"Here," he offered, giving the bag – the contents of which Hinata suspected to be snacks by the rustling – to Shino, "from Chouji."
Then, he grabbed the empty vase from Kiba's bedside, filled it with some water from the Inuzuka's pitcher much to Kiba's visible annoyance, and threw the flowers into the vase.
And he proceeded to surprise Hinata again by carrying the flowers to her bedside.
"From Ino." He said by way of explanation, and then finally laid the wooden box on her bed, meeting her eyes at last. "Do you play shogi?"
Hinata nodded, though- "I haven't played in a while." she felt the need to point out.
She was unsure where this was going, but Shikamaru just smiled, suddenly looking almost boyish with the pleased slant to his mouth, and then carefully patted the blanket by her feet, raising an eyebrow. When she nodded again, reckoning she knew what he was asking, he let go of the shogi set and clambered onto the end of the bed, leaving a full metre between her feet and where he sat.
And then, looking the most unsure of himself since he walked in, he hesitated before actually opening the box, as if something only just occurred to him. "…Do you want to play?"
And Hinata, amused despite herself, smiled softly.
"I do." When Shikamaru busied himself with taking out and setting up the board, Hinata finally put the pieces together and realised what this fumbling display was likely about. Stifling a sigh, she shook her head and glanced at Shikamaru briefly, feeling warm, though also more than a little exasperated.
Taking care to keep her voice quiet enough that neither Shino nor Kiba would overhear, she added, "Apology accepted, Shikamaru-san."
She politely didn't comment on the way Shikamaru froze at her words, then smiled, small but genuine, and began to quickly explain the rules. Hinata took as deep a breath as she could without it rattling in her chest and relaxed as well.
This might be fun.
"I'm pretty sure I left you with three kids." Kurenai grunted right after she fell into a seat next to Asuma and smacked the Intel seal down, muting their conversation for genin ears.
"One of them is mine." Asuma revealed, looking long-suffering as he watched his student play with Hinata. "Dunno whose the other one is."
They both quietly watched the nameless, dark-haired, mask-covered teen watch Shino sleep. His eyes and forehead were covered by a black cloth mask, the glasses built into the reinforced fabric, and Kurenai could barely sense his chakra, much less gleam anything from it or his posture. The teen must've felt them looking though, because his shoulders tensed minutely, and then he was gone, out through the open window without so much as a seal or some smoke to betray him.
"You never said your Hyuuga is good at strategy." Asuma mused after a few seconds, when both of them unanimously decided against commenting on the unknown shinobi's abrupt departure. He looked like an Aburame; that said everything they needed to know.
Kurenai blinked tiredly, turning to eye Asuma blankly. "She is?"
Asuma sighed, exasperated, flicking her a look.
"I distinctly recall telling you that Shikamaru's a genius even on the backdrop of his Clan." He told her dryly, meeting her gaze with a small grin playing around his lips. "I usually lose after about an hour. They've been at it for over two."
Kurenai hummed, turning back to her – ironically enough – most troublesome student. Hinata looked calm and at peace, an interesting contrast to the frown on Shikamaru's face as he glared at the board. Kurenai doubted he would actually lose, but judging by the fact that Asuma had repeatedly bemoaned his student's arrogance, she was willing to bet the kid hadn't actually expected to find a challenge in the girl.
"You pissed off the Hyuuga yet?" Asuma asked idly after another few seconds, and Kurenai snorted.
"Not yet." She denied, glancing at Asuma from the corner of her eye and seeing the moment the man noticed her expression by how he stilled. "Hunted down my kids' Academy teachers, though. Only one of them even noticed Hinata's CPTSD or Kiba's learning difficulties. The others just said 'shy' and 'stupid', in not so many words, obviously."
"Are they still alive?" Asuma asked flatly, and Kurenai grinned, aware that it showed too many teeth to count as a smile.
"Alive, sure, though I'm not sure if 'well'." She divulged, cracking her neck absently. "I might have dropped a note with Iwana-sensei about their complete lack of special awareness and professionalism."
Asuma groaned, though he sounded entertained when he mumbled 'those poor bastards'.
"Alright, let's leave the kids to it." Kurenai decided, pushing to her feet to stretch properly. She'd ran around a lot today, and her thigh was adamant on reminding her of the fact that it had had a sword stuck through it a fortnight ago. "I need a drink. And let's grab Kakashi, too. Judging by the gossip in HQ, he probably needs one too."
"Naruto's team had their C-Rank recently." Shikamaru said when they were done with the final game, a contemplative look in his eyes.
They'd played three games, and it was now dark outside. Though Hinata hadn't won a single one, she'd had fun, and Shikamaru was a challenge. She reckoned she could have probably won the last game if she'd put in a bit more effort, but she also didn't want Shikamaru to suspect her of anything, much less get curious.
Having a curious genius on her case sounded like asking for trouble.
"Oh?" She asked, stifling a yawn as she glanced briefly at Kiba and Shino, noting absently that both of them were deeply asleep. "I hope it went well."
"They didn't complete it." Shikamaru informed her, watching her oddly. "Their client lied about the rank."
Hinata blinked, trying to work through that.
"They came back?" she asked slowly, unsure whether her time estimate was right and Shikamaru was talking about the infamous Wave mission. Unsure whether she wanted to be right.
"Yeah, yesterday." Shikamaru confirmed, still watching her expression. "Ino said that they ran into two Kiri missing-nin right outside of Konoha. Their sensei pressed the client afterwards and ordered they all come back to the Village when it turned out it wasn't a simple escort. Dropped the client and the missing-nin they managed to capture in T&I."
"Kakashi-sa- um, Hatake-san? Really?" she stumbled over the title, Shikamaru obviously not missing the slip up, though she doubted he knew what caused it. "I didn't think he'd be the type to abandon a mission."
Shikamaru shrugged, absently starting to pack up the board.
"I asked tou-san, and he said it's probably because of your team, in part." He told her, and Hinata stilled. "Bad info isn't supposed to happen this often, and especially not on genin C-Ranks. Your team almost died."
Hinata flinched, not needing the reminder, and she glanced at Kiba and Shino again, needing to reassure herself that they were still fine, still breathing, still alive, but it wasn't enough, Shikamaru's words like a mantra in her head.
Your team almost died.
(your fault, yourfault, yourfault-!)
She could feel her heart rate pick up, beating furiously in her chest, and she was absently glad that she wasn't connected to the heart monitor anymore. Her breath was coming in quicker too, wheezing quietly in her chest, her head felt fuzzy, like she was underwater, while the tips of her fingers had grown numb.
"Hinata? Hey, Hinata!" Shikamaru exclaimed, reaching for her shoulder, (just like the Iwa-nin had-!) and Hinata was reacting before she quite realised what she was doing.
Her hand snapped out, fingers wrapping around Shikamaru's wrist in a bruising grip before his hand could make contact with her skin. She twisted sharply, no doubt painfully, and jabbed her finger into the pressure point on the inner wrist.
Shikamaru's wrist popped in her grip and he hissed, wrenching it out of her hand and staring at her in shock.
"What the hell?!" he demanded, startled and accusative, his other hand cradling his wrist to his chest, his eyes wide.
Hinata stared at him, then at his reddening wrist, and her head was quiet now, though she was still breathing too fast, her wheezing breaths the only sound in the otherwise silent room.
She wasn't sure what she was feeling. She wasn't sure she was feeling anything; her head was weirdly empty.
"I think you should leave now, Shikamaru-san." She murmured, her voice quiet and even, inflectionless.
Shikamaru stared at her for a beat, his eyes flickering over her face, then he slid off the bed and headed for the door wordlessly, leaving his shogi set on her bed without a care and not so much as a glance back at her over his shoulder.
Hinata gave herself another few minutes for her heart to calm down, then slid off the bed too, though she headed for the window instead of the door. Her chakra and her leg were better now; walking down the wall of the hospital wouldn't be a problem.
Firming her resolve, her head still strangely quiet, Hinata did just that and slowly, leisurely, headed to Psych.
Kagane-san should know what to do.
Another fortnight later, they were all officially discharged from the hospital.
In theory, Hinata and Kiba could've been discharged earlier, but Hinata's Psych adventures, plus Kiba's Inuzuka-ness, meant that the nurses preferred to keep them within their line of sight, rather than risk discharging them early and letting them accidentally make the injury worse during the healing process.
Kurenai had led them all to Yakiniku, a treat after living on hospital food for a month, and when they were done, she took them to their training grounds, stopping off by the Inuzuka compound so that Kiba could pick up Akamaru.
They all sat by the stream, Akamaru stretching out in the sunlight, making himself comfortable on Kiba's discarded jacket. Hinata and Shino were still very much advised to avoid strenuous cardiovascular exercise, but it was nice to be out of the hospital and almost back to normal.
"You've been my genin for four months." Kurenai began, looking at each of them fondly, though there was a weight in her gaze now that hadn't been there before, and Hinata regretted. "I'm sorry that a quarter of that time was spent in the hospital."
"Not your fault, sensei." Kiba shot back easily, beating Hinata to the reassurance, and he smiled at Kurenai when she blinked at him, surprised. "I mean, it sucks that it happened, but I don't think any of us blame you."
"…Thank you, Kiba." Kurenai replied, looking a little thrown, but the smile she shot the three of them when Hinata and Shino nodded in confirmation to Kiba's words was genuine.
"My point, however, is that because of that mission, the misinformation that led to it, and your extended hospital stay, I don't particularly care about what the other teams are doing, mission or training-wise." Her smile gained a slightly wry, self-deprecating edge, and Hinata sat up straighter at the change. "You're mine, and I am invested in your wellbeing now, and I will do everything in my power to help you and protect you. And, right now, that means bending some rules."
"Sensei?" Hinata checked, a little worried now, because Kurenai hadn't ever been a stickler for the rules, but neither had she ever outright told them she was going to break them.
"In two months, Konoha is going to be hosting the Chunin Exams." Kurenai told them bluntly, watching them intently. "There are three stages, usually, and one of them is always a combat stage."
Hinata turned away from Kurenai at the small sound that came from Shino at the words, and she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kiba had paled a little beneath his tan.
Kurenai didn't look surprised. In fact, she seemed almost like she'd expected the reaction.
"With a full month of rigorous training, I can get you back to where you were physically before the mission. If you wanted to incorporate the things you were studying in the hospital into your fighting styles, I'd say we'd need another month on top of that." Kurenai paused, meeting each of their gazes. "But only you can get yourselves ready for combat mentally."
"What are you saying, sensei?" Shino asked at last, when Kurenai looked like she didn't plan on elaborating.
"All three members need to sign the liability waiver for the team to be allowed to participate." Kurenai told them seriously, holding out a vaguely familiar piece of paper. "I am not going to tell you if you should or shouldn't take part, that is your decision. If you do decide to participate now, then I will still support you, and do my best to prepare you. But know that these exams happen every five or six months, so there is always next time."
And so saying, she fell silent, wordlessly telling them that it was up to them now.
Hinata glanced from Kiba to Shino and back again, then resumed fiddling with her senbon, twirling it between her fingers. Back at the hospital, Kurenai had called out her tick of twiddling her fingers, and also noticed her habit with the pebble, but instead of discouraging such an obvious nervous tell, she told her to use it to train her dexterity, and offered the senbon as the tool of choice.
So here Hinata was, twirling a senbon needle around her fingers as she waited for her teammates to decide their fate. She knew what she wanted to do, but she also knew that it was very unlikely she would get what she wanted.
And then, Shino spoke.
"Personally, I would prefer to wait until the next round." He said, shocking Hinata and Kiba alike, if the way Kiba was gaping was any indication. "Why? I had not realised how lacking my taijutsu abilities were. I am…uncomfortable with the idea of combat before I work to improve my close-combat."
Hinata blinked, then simply stared. Kiba cocked his head, and Hinata imagined that if he were a dog, his ears would be twitching, and she bit back a smile at the image.
"Never thought I'd say it," Kiba mused, watching Shino intently, then turning to Hinata, seeming almost baffled, "but I agree."
Looking almost surprised at the words, even though they came from his own mouth, Kiba elaborated. "I think I can get at least the Mystical Palm down in the next half-year. I'd feel a helluva lot better knowing that at least one of us can do some basic med-nin jutsu before we face any serious combat again."
As one, Kiba and Shino turned to her, and Hinata smiled, relieved beyond measure, and she wondered whether it showed.
"I'm happy to wait, too." She confessed, meeting her teammates' eyes and smiling shyly. "I would like to work more on my speed and genjutsu. And I think it would benefit us to work more on team formations, so we don't get split up as easily next time."
She didn't miss Kiba's sigh of relief, nor the way the line of Shino's shoulders relaxed at her words.
"So…" Kiba drawled, looking between them with a small, hesitant grin playing on his lips, "All in favour of ditching these exams say aye?"
"A-aye." Hinata giggled, raising the hand not fiddling with a sharp needle to cover her mouth.
"This is moronic." Shino quipped, seemingly unable to stop himself, then added a grudging; "But aye."
"I'm proud of you." Kurenai said when they dissolved into snickers, and the admission threw them enough that they stopped as if struck. "I personally happen to think that while courage is the mark of a good shinobi, wisdom and an awareness of one's limits is the mark of a great one."
When the three of them just stared at her, startled and a little embarrassed at the unexpected praise, she added, "And," she hesitated, but barrelled through, shooting them an encouraging smile, "I really think that, if you do everything you've just said, you will fly through the next Chunin Exams without any issues, no matter where they will be held."
"Thank you, sensei." Shino and Hinata chorused, exchanging an – in Hinata's case – amused glance.
Hinata – and the rest of her team too, it seemed – was content with the silence they lapsed into a few seconds later, and absently returned to fiddling with the senbon still in her hold, more to have something to do than because of any nerves this time.
"Oh, I nearly forgot!" Kiba exclaimed suddenly a few minutes later, and the senbon was out of Hinata's hand and in the tree behind Kiba before she even realised she'd thrown it.
"Shit, you're still twitchy!" Kiba merely laughed, having ducked out of the way of the needle just in time. Hinata was relieved, not just because she hadn't hurt him, but also because he didn't seem to have taken any offense at the fact that this was not the first time she'd thrown something at his head as if he were an enemy. "Sorry. Inside voice, I'll try to remember."
"We'll work on that 'twitchiness' of yours too, Hinata, don't think we won't." Kurenai promised her absently, and Hinata nodded gratefully, more than happy to do so. At least until Kurenai added, almost as an aside, "I heard about the Shikamaru incident, too. You're lucky he didn't choose to escalate that."
"Aaaanyway," Kiba drawled when Hinata hung her head, embarrassed and regretful, and his voice drew their attention back to him, "dinner's at my house tonight! I genuinely think my mom will gut me if I don't invite you now that we're out of the hospital, so please come!"
"I don't see why not." Kurenai replied, smiling, making Shino shoot her a betrayed look, though his glasses hid most of it. "Do you need us to bring anything?"
"Nah, it's fine." Kiba waved their teacher off, grinning widely. "Just be by the compound gates in three hours, sensei!"
Then he turned to Hinata and Shino and wrinkled his nose, though he looked apologetic as he added, "And, uh, maybe shower before you come?" At Shino's indignant huff and Hinata's incredulous noise, he reached up and pinched his nose shut, sticking his tongue out at them. "You smell like the hospital. It's icky."
"Icky." Shino parroted, disbelief radiating from his tone and the set of his shoulders, and Hinata could tell he was gearing up to take Kiba down. "Has anyone complained when you came to training smelling like wet mutt?"
The boys dissolved into a grappling match, making Kurenai sigh, while Hinata raised a hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh.
"Hinata." Kurenai called quietly, drawing her attention. The woman was watching her intently, a question in the curve of her brow and concern in her eyes, though she hid it well. "Will you be alright going home? Your Clan would have been notified of your hospital stay but…you can always shower at mine, if you wish, and then we can go to Kiba's together."
Hinata stared at her sensei, wondering what had prompted the question. Ever since their mission, Kurenai has been sharper than she'd ever seen her; more cutting, jagged edges to her words and disposition, and far blunter than Hinata recalled her from her first try at genin life.
Then, what Kurenai was actually offering registered, and she paused, considering. There was undeniable appeal in the possibility of postponing seeing her Father again, not to mention the Elders who would doubtless have something to say about her prolonged hospital stay. Plus, she wasn't sure whether she'd be allowed to leave the compound in time for dinner at Kiba's once she made her presence known back home.
She met Kurenai's gaze, the woman not having looked away from her while she was deliberating her options, and nodded.
"I'd appreciate that a lot, sensei." She murmured, smiling hesitantly at Kurenai. "Thank you."
"Let's leave the boys to it." Kurenai offered, not acknowledging her thanks beyond a small quirk to her lip, then turned on her heel, waiting for Hinata to follow.
Five hours later, Kurenai was dutifully drying the plates while Hana washed them, both of them having ignored Tsume's grumblings that they should 'park their asses down and relax and consider not being such neat-freaks in the future'.
"So," Tsume began, faux-idly, and Kurenai turned her head just enough to see the woman enter the kitchen and lean against the doorframe, the dining area behind her conspicuously empty of preteens, "how's my youngest headache doing?"
"Well." Kurenai replied, accepting another bowl from Hana. "Seems really committed to improving his chakra control and making the medic programme now."
"Hana can tutor him, since I'm sure his nose will make the hospital worse than T&I." Tsume mused, absently pouring some food into the dog bowl by the counter.
"I was planning to give them time for individual skill work in the next few months anyway." Kurenai offered, shooting Hana a small smile. "Shino and Hinata both have their own projects, too, so it wouldn't be too difficult to fit into our schedules outside of mission work."
Hana blinked, pausing before she handed Kurenai the next plate. "You're not having them participate in the Chunin Exams?"
"I opened it up to them and they chose not to participate." Kurenai replied easily, taking the plate from Hana's lax grip. "I think we're all shaken from the last mission; getting some more mission experience and improving their overall skill level will hopefully benefit them more in the long run than trying their hand at the Exams before they're ready."
"'We're' all shaken?" Tsume echoed, tilting her head at Kurenai. "You counting yourself among them?"
"Oh, definitely." Kurenai huffed, though she didn't elaborate. She's already said more than enough on the matter to her shrink in the week she spent in Psych.
"Alright, last question." Tsume said, watching her idly, her nose twitching. "Any reason your little Hyuuga is wound tighter than Kuromaru on bonfire night?"
"Reason? No." Kurenai sighed, eyes back on the plate she was drying as she frowned. "Theories? Some. None particularly encouraging."
"She's quite personable." Hana offered quietly, turning off the tap and accepting the dishcloth from Kurenai to dry her hands. "For a Hyuuga."
"She's also chock-full of triggers and a startle-reflex that would've put a pebble through Kiba's skull in their first week as a team." Kurenai drawled, accepting the towel back from Hana and hanging it on the cupboard handle, only then finally turning to face Tsume.
"Interesting to have her handle senbon instead of a stress ball, then." Tsume commented dryly. "I know I complain about my brat a lot, but I don't particularly want one of those senbon to hit somewhere actually damaging."
"Ironically, she's actually more careful with the senbon." Kurenai grinned wryly, leaning back against the counter. "I think her brain recognises them more as a weapon than the pebbles and so knows it's not something she should be throwing at her comrades."
Mother and daughter both stared at her for a few seconds, then Tsume snorted.
"All I'm hearing is that you're probably the most mentally stable jounin-sensei in this Village." The woman laughed, and there was something almost approving in her eyes. "Not to mention the most ballsy."
It was Kurenai's turn to snort, and she eyed the older woman dryly. "Thanks."
"Got any plans to get them back on their feet?" Tsume checked, leading her from the kitchen to the sitting room when she realised that all the dishes were washed and dried, while Hana busied herself with making tea.
Kurenai laughed when Tsume threw herself onto the sofa carelessly, unconcerned for all the cushions and dog hair her landing sent up.
"I've got a tea date with Hyuuga Hiashi tomorrow morning." She divulged, settling into the big armchair on the other side of the coffee table with a little more restraint than Tsume and curling her legs under herself.
She smiled, sharp and wry, at Tsume's start of surprise. "Then I'm meeting Aburame Shibi at noon, provided I survive the morning."
"Hiashi's not gonna like that." Tsume warned, and Kuromaru huffed where he'd made himself comfortable on the floor by her feet.
"Don't care." Kurenai shrugged, accepting the mug of tea Hana handed her with a grateful nod. "I've got Psych's reports, and Asuma can corroborate at least half of my accusations despite the fact he's only known the kid a month."
"You've got balls of steel, that's for sure." Tsume mused after a few seconds, and the expression in her eyes was far more contemplative than before. "Want me to call for a D-Rank tomorrow so the kids clean the kennel and walk the pups?"
"You're a godsend, Tsume." Kurenai sighed, letting her eyes slide shut and her head roll back against the headrest.
Tsume laughed, short and sharp and amused.
"I will be very upset if you let Hiashi eat you alive, Yuuhi, you're fun." She shot back, cracking her knuckles absently. "Want something stronger than tea while the night's still young?"
Kurenai let her head loll to the side so she could look at Tsume, only then realising how tired she was, though she still grinned, slow and sly. "Thought you'd never ask."
Tsume's laughter rang out from the kitchen as she left to grab the alcohol, and Kurenai closed her eyes again, relaxing into the armchair.
She should probably be sober for meeting Hiashi tomorrow, but…
Nah.