Bellicism Arc: Check-In

"I still can't believe Kodai left this morning. They're barely genin and they've been on what? One C-Rank." Inoichi prepped the tea, taking a whiff of the floral aroma before he bobbed his head in satisfaction. He poured two cups, passing one to Shikaku.

Shikaku accepted the cup and could see his own reflection in the translucent liquid as the morning sunlight bounced off of it. "That may be the point. They're excitable and have a limited view of the world. It might do them some good."

"But the chunin exams? Why didn't you recommend any of your students if you think it's such a good idea."

Shikaku exhaled and slumped his shoulders. "Because it would likely feed their egos more than teach them humility, even if they ended up hospitalized. They're improving, but they're very much still figuring out what kind of shinobi they want to be. From what Kodai has shared, his team seems to have a better grasp in that department on top of unanimously willing to follow his lead."

"That's true. We took over a field he used for training once, and his students were so eager to listen to him. Mine are just now getting used to working together. I might reward them with a C-Rank soon. It's been a nice break while it's lasted." Inoichi grabbed a pickled plum onigiri and bit into it.

"Teaching is a break to you?" It was times like these that Shikaku didn't understand Inoichi. Teaching fulfilled his sense of duty to the next generation, but he would never label it as a break.

"You know what I mean."

Shikaku did. It was less stressful than the work they had done until that point. It was a reminder of the simpler days. With that in mind, Shikaku still thought being a jonin-sensei was a hassle. "But speaking of the chunin exams, I've heard the Hatake genius, er, the boy, is taking the exams this time. I hear there's a good chance he'll pass."

"Kakashi?"

"That's the name."

Inoichi hummed. "If that's true, he'll be breaking another record. Might be hard to lead missions as a chunin though, skills or not."

Shikaku knew not to judge by age, but many did. Plus, he couldn't stop a few of his own doubts from slip in. Kakashi may have been a prodigy and had taken a lot of missions for experience, but age wasn't nothing. Kakashi may have been excellent at tasks, but he was still growing. He was approaching the age where, in a year or two, he would start to become more introspective. It made him question the validity of his capacity to lead.

"Yuina isn't taking it too?" asked Inoichi.

"The girl? With Orochimaru?" asked Shikaku rhetorically. That kind of news wasn't something that would escape him, though he did question why Inoichi was wondering.

Inoichi wiped a stay piece of rice sticking at the corner of his mouth. "Saw her once at that lab of his. Well, she's probably been keeping herself occupied in other ways. It's only natural she wouldn't be ready."

"I can't imagine Orochimaru hasn't prepared her enough." It was no secret that Orochimaru's expectations of others had increased over the years, and not in the endearing way.

"Well, they're twins, not clones. She may have learned fast, but she may have hit the ceiling of her physical growth." Some things came easier than others. It was only natural that learning wouldn't continue to be a steady slope.

That didn't sit right with Shikaku. It wasn't that he disagreed with the premise, but it was odd. Yuina and Orochimaru introduced a few new substances to the hospital to manage pain. It wasn't like Orochimaru to give people false credit, and therefore Inoichi's supposition that she wasn't ready stemming from a disproportionate workload was plausible. However, they were friends with people who semi-regularly work with mission services and who semi-regularly worked at the gates. Inoichi knew as well as him that she fell within the average mission rates for first-timers.

"Thought I'd find you two here."

"Choza!" Inoichi and Shikaku dropped their things and ran over to their friend who wasn't waddling around with a crutch any longer.

"Thanks you two, but I'm good as new. Choza is a little disappointed that he was hurt on their last mission together before they agreed to take teams, but a year late was better than never. They'd offer to wait with him, but he wouldn't want to inconvenience the admin more than he already had.

"Glad to see you're better," says Shikaku. "Great timing too. You can keep Inoichi here company while I go meet up with my team. I promised them their first C-Rank after all." Shikaku may have told Haruto no to the chunin exams for plenty of reasons, but it was about time to give them a little taste of more traditional missions and order.

"You're just giving them a C-Rank because I mentioned considering it," complains Inoichi.

"You're the one who said you're having fun relaxing."

Choza patted Inoichi's shoulder. "You'll get that experience before me at least."

Inoichi's face whitened. Choza was the one to bring up becoming jonin-sensei and now he would be the last to teach.

Shikaku's lip twitched upwards as he lazily waved for those behind him.

He would make it up to Choza later. A celebratory dinner should suffice. It had been too long even for him. He knew taking on students would keep his life busy, but experiencing it was always a reality he hadn't been prepared for. He still had a bit of time before he met up with his team, but his curiosity was perked and he wanted an answer.

Shikaku navigated himself to a part of town he didn't often visit. He looked at the property of interest. Sakumo and Yuina were playing his favourite game, albeit a little sloppy. A tanto at each of their sides was indicative that they had finished sparring or planned to spar afterwards.

"Shikaku." Sakumo looked over and waved him their way.

"Sakumo. You know how much I like shogi." He gave a plausible reason for his appearance.

"Do you want to play him?" asked Yuina. "I'm still learning. You'd be better competition."

Shikaku took Yuina's offer. Yuina shuffled over to the side of the board and he sat down where she previously was. He looked at the pieces on the board. It hadn't been in her favour. Shikaku was up for a challenge. It may have not been his purpose, but he was always eager for a game. Besides, it would only take a few moves to rectify the board in his favour. A few quick moves, a quick chance satiate his curiosity, and then he would be off.

"It's a good game to extend your mind. Many play it for tactical reasons, but any reason is good enough for me." Shikaku saw Yuina's eyebrows scrunch ever so slightly before returning to her neutral expression. He watched Sakumo move the silver general. "Do you disagree?"

Yuina looked at Sakumo before looking back down at the board. "Shogi has its own tactic guides, and requires pattern recognition and an advanced understanding of possibilities to master the game, but some people take the tactical component too literally when applying it to other things."

"Oh?" Shikaku watched Sakumo move a pawn in an attempt to lure him into a trap. "Care to share?"

She hesitated a moment, choosing her words. "It's a game. There are pieces, rules, a set board where each player has a full view of every piece and every action. Everything from starting positions to abilities are manufactured and consistent. Pieces can't leave and new pieces can't enter. It's a poor reflection of reality, but makes for an engaging game."

Shikaku agreed. Some people conflated his interest in the game with work. He did like using shogi as a method to gauge adaptability and foresight, but it wasn't his only measurement. Transferrable skills rather than direction comparisons. As Yuina put it, mental exercises. "That's true." He addressed Sakumo. "I heard your son left for the chunin exams. You must be proud."

Sakumo beamed with pride and Yuina continued to sit still. Acceptance. No jealously. No hatred. No joy. She would have had a month or so to process any feelings, but she either pushed her feelings aside or she hadn't wanted to join. He leaned towards the latter.

How he wished his students would be as calm, though that wasn't a fair comparison. His students still had the new genin jitters.

"You should be proud of your daughter too. I've heard she made medicine that more effectively handles pain than what we had before." Again, she didn't outwardly react. His student, Asa, had gotten some after a training mishap. They had gotten out of hand when trying to prove why they should join the chunin exam. Sufficient to say, it played against their favour.

"Did she now?" Sakumo looked curiously over. The action made Shikaku curious, but Yuina looked off to the side. Shikaku could understand not bragging, but it was odd it hadn't come up at all. "I hope you aren't pushing yourself too hard again."

There was a story there Shikaku wasn't privy to.

"It's thanks to Yamanaka Flowers. It was hard to find the flower I wanted, though it took some convincing that I was serious about the quantity."

Yamanaka Flowers? Had Inoichi known? "The remedy is a flower?" How much space would need to be dedicated to growing those flowers to ensure they had medication?

"Partly, but the flower isn't common around here. They prefer cooler weather. Thankfully, the desired properties can be synthetically replicated, so I made it myself after confirming what was required." It was said with practiced ease.

Sakumo had long caught on what was going on, but allowed the conversation to continue. Shikaku recognized he knew, but didn't mind it. His goal had never been to fool Sakumo.

Shikaku caught the word I, not we. Did she make it herself or was she taking credit? She answered in enough detail and yet he was left wondering more. "I heard Orochimaru negotiated with the hospital."

It was the first big reaction Shikaku got from her, and it was a slouch, and was that a pout? "The staff didn't want to believe me, and offering it to them for free made it worse. I even suggested getting it tested themselves. I asked Orochimaru to talk to them because it's better to get use than hold on to it for spite. It can be anonymous for all it matters."

Too bad Tsunade had left the village. She would have enjoyed a discussion on such a thing. "Sounds frustrating."

"I wouldn't say that," Yuina quickly retracted. "I'm sure they're just following protocols. Who accepts strange drugs from a stranger?"

Shikaku deflated. That was exactly what she tried to do. He moved a pieced which cornered Sakumo's king. "That aside, what should your dad have done to avoid losing?"

"Against niceties…he shouldn't have greeted you," said Yuina.

Shikaku took Sakumo's king amused. Beyond thinking a different move set would have helped Sakumo, it was avoiding a situation that would have led to playing – even though it had been her actions that allowed him to take over. "Thanks for the game." Shikaku stood up and looked down at Yuina. "If you don't have anything planned, could you come with me? There's something I'd like your help with." His curiosity had been scratched, but the itch remained.

Yuina blinked and looked at Sakumo again. That was the second time she looked his way. Neither time did Sakumo give an answer for her or ushered her in a direction under the guise of guidance. That sounded like Sakumo. It was always good to know he was exactly as people described him.

She stood up. "Of course."

They walked through the streets, and she kept up at his side even without knowing their destination. Not even a question of what he wanted her to do.

"Sensei!" Haruto waved.

They finally reached his team.

"Who's that with you?" asked Asa.

Shikaku shoved his hands in his pockets. "This is Yuina. She'll be joining us on our mission." Yuina remained silent. He didn't know for certain, but after a year she probably had teamed up with others before.

"What?" Touma joined in.

"Your choice," said Shikaku. "A C-Rank with Yuina tagging along or another day of D-Ranks."

Haruto quieted down, as he had really been looking forward to doing anything but D-Ranks. If this is what it took, then so be it. It didn't feel good, though.

"She's younger than us! Shouldn't she be at the academy?" argued Asa.

"We're a team," added Touma. "We don't need anyone else."

Yuina said nothing to defend herself. How tiresome. "She's already graduated and has more experience than the three of you combined. I think the experience would be good for you all, but the choice is still yours. C-Rank or D-Rank?" He wasn't going to budge.

Already a genin? Touma didn't want to believe it. "Then so be it. We can do—"

Haruto slapped his hand over Touma's mouth. "We'll take the C-Rank."

"Great. Now up we go." Shikaku gestured to the stairs. Touma and Asa glared, but complied.