Torune was…out of his depth.
When Neko had told him that Shino was in the hospital, Torune had snuck away as soon as he'd been able to, the desperate need to check on Shino's wellbeing outweighing his conditioning and fear of punishment. But when he'd arrived, it had been to find that Shino had already discharged himself, against doctor's orders, at that, so Torune had had no choice but to make for the Aburame Compound, letting his rinkaichu guide him through the Compound that had once been his home.
Yet no sooner had his feet touched the ledge outside of Shino's window did his whole body lock up, the sensation not unlike the time he'd ended up on the wrong end of the Nara Shadow Possession. Before he could have fallen back and off the ledge, though, a hand had reached out and dragged him into the room, and the fact that his rinkaichu hadn't reacted aggressively had told him all he needed to know about who the hand had belonged to.
And as he had tumbled into the room, his body still frozen, he had noticed for the first time that Shino wasn' teammates had been in the room too, the Inuzuka staring at Torune like he expected him to break whatever was holding him still at any second, while the Hyuuga had been so blank-faced she could've fit right in among ROOT agents, no mask needed, her chakra perfectly hollow to match.
But it had been Shino who had held most of Torune's attention, the boy who had been as close as brother looking at him like he was seeing a ghost, his eyes wide without his glasses to hide them, mouth slightly agape.
Torune had strained against whatever technique had been restraining him, feeling his finger twitch as the bonds gave the slightest bit, though no sooner had the movement registered did he feel a senbon embed itself in his forearm, the Inuzuka throwing him an apologetic grin, sharp canines on full display.
"Sorry." The teen had offered with a shrug, not sounding very sorry at all, still watching Torune's every move. "Paralytic. Precaution, y'know."
"I'm going to- get someone." The Hyuuga had murmured, barely moving her lips as she spoke, and then she was twisting, opening the door and slipping out, almost catching the white nindog that Torune somehow hadn't noticed before with the door as the ninken had followed after her.
Left with only Shino and the Inuzuka in the room, Torune had wondered what fate awaited him, caught and paralysed on the floor of his old childhood bedroom. He watched the exchange between Shino and his teammate with rapt attention, noticing all the ways the two were communicating beyond just the words they were using.
"Do you want me to give you two space?" The Inuzuka had inquired, tilting his head inquisitively, body angled towards Shino for all that most of his attention was still visibly on Torune.
"No." Shino had replied, voice softer than Torune had expected, and he felt his worry jump when Shino had sat heavily on his desk chair, looking almost like his knees had given out on him as he'd uttered a weak; "I was right."
"Yeah, you were." The Inuzuka had confirmed, but there had been no pride nor resentment in the statement. If anything, he'd soundedworried, a notion that was only confirmed when he'd then proceeded to ask; "Are you happy?"
"I…don't know." Shino had replied, his eyes on Torune, drinking him in greedily, like he was worried that Torune would disappear the moment he looked away. When their gazes had caught, Shino had smiled, a small, wobbly thing, and managed a hoarse, "I'm glad you're alive, nii-san."
Torune hadn't been able to reply, his tongue feeling like lead in his mouth and his jaw clenched so tight he couldn't have wrenched it open even if he had been in control of his body, but Shino hadn't looked like he'd expected a reply.
"Who do you think Hinata's gone to get?" The Inuzuka had asked after a few minutes of silence had passed, having settled on the edge of Shino's bed and not even pretending like he didn't still see Torune as athreat.
"Probably the Nara Head." Shino had replied, also never once looking away from Torune, but the weight behindhisgaze was much different to the Inuzuka's, and Torune had wanted to shift uncomfortably.
Being looked at like a threat was much easier to process than the expression of-adoration?concern?awe? that filled Shino's eyes.
"Good guess." A voice had announced from the corridor, and the door to Shino's room cracked open, a tall man with two scars on his eyebrow and messy, shoulder-length hair stepping into the room. "What do you need?"
"Nara-sama." Shino had greeted, getting to his feet, putting his people-mask on so fast Torune had almost missed the brief panic in his eyes at the sudden interruption. "This is my brother, Torune."
"I'm familiar." The Nara had drawled, eyeing Torune evenly, then repeating his earlier question, though he still sounded remarkably calm, all things considered. "What do you need fromme?"
"Where's Hinata?" The Inuzuka had interrupted, hand on the head of the ninken that had left with the Hyuuga, a frown creasing his brows. The frown didn't fade with the Nara's cryptic reply of 'safe', but the Inuzuka had subsided, allowing Shino to take back the reins of the conversation.
"I don't want him to go back." Shino had said, almost pleading with the Nara Head, though Torune hadn't been surewhy."I'm not- he shouldn't have ever- can you keep him out of there?"
"I can do everything in my power to make sure he doesn't have to go back." The Nara Head had replied, gaze flickering to Torune, and it was only in that moment that Torune had only then understood who and what they had been talking about. "But first, I will need your brother's help."
"So Inowasright." The Inuzuka had murmured out of nowhere, eyes narrowed on the Nara, expression thoughtful and distantly amused. "You were planning something."
"You don't sound surprised." The Nara had replied, expression perfectly bland, though it likely hadn't escaped the Inuzuka's notice that the man had neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.
And the teen had shrugged, a sharp grin tugging at his lips as he scratched behind his nindog's ears and offered an idle; "Ino is right more often than people give her credit for." that even to Torune's ears was riddled with double-meanings.
"That she is." The Nara had agreed, eyeing the Inuzuka measuredly, before he'd turned his attention back to Shino. "Aburame-kun. I'll need to take your brother away from here. Will you let me?"
"To where? T ?" Shino had asked, worry thick in his voice, but the Nara had shaken his head, gaze never leaving Torune.
"Hokage tower."
Seemingly mollified, Shino had paused, gaze flickering over to Torune like he simply couldn't force himself to look away for longer than a second or two at a time, then asked; "Can I come?"
At that, the Nara had finally hesitated, though his expression remained perfectly even.
"You can come, but you will not be allowed to stay." He had allowed, glancing between Shino and the Inuzuka. "Neither of you."
"That's fine. I just- don't want to leave Torune alone." Shino had admitted, and Torune had felt something in his chest warm at the words, though he hadn't been surewhy.
"I understand." The Nara Head had allowed, something almost like a smile curling at the corner of his lips before he turned to Torune. "Ready?"
And when Torune had failed to reply, whatever trap he'd been caught in combined with the paralytic rendering him incapable of speech, or even nodding, the Nara had frowned. "Did you douse him with something?"
"A mild paralytic." The Inuzuka had replied absently, then seemed to notice the Nara's raised eyebrow and raised his hands defensively. "Only when it looked like Hinata's seal wouldn't hold!"
"…Alright." The Nara had allowed, then turned to address Torune directly. "As you're paralysed, I will attach my shadow to you to allow you to walk to our notfight it. It might be late, but we do not want to attract unnecessary attention."
And so Torune had found himself being marched out of his childhood bedroom, his brother, an Inuzuka, and the Nara Clan Head at his side.
But it was only when he was curled up in the side room of the Hokage's office, listening to Shino catch him up on all the non-classified things that had happened in his life since Torune had left him did the full implications of his situation fully hit him.
There was a chakra barrier separating him from the rest of the room's occupants, crafted by Jiraiya of the Sannin himself. Shino, his Inuzuka teammate, and the Toad Sage were next to him, while the Nara and Yamanaka Heads and the Godaime were a few metres away, separated by a silencing seal as they seemingly debated Torune's fate.
Yet, with his cheek resting on the wall, his legs tucked under him, and a thin blanket that had been hurriedly provided for him tucked around his shoulders, Torune felt more comfortable and at-ease than he'd felt inyears. The paralytic had mostly worn off by the time they'd made it to the Hokage's office, and Shino's voice was familiar, its cadence soothing, and the buzz of his kikaichu like a song Torune hadn't realised he'd been missing.
It hadn't been too difficult to imagine what someone like Nara Shikaku might need from him.
Just as it had hardly taken him longer than a few seconds to realise that the mission didn't matter. As long as Shino would be safe and Torune would be allowed to be with him, his answer would always beyes.
"The timing is almost too convenient." Tsunade observed, her tone idle but the frown on her brow betraying that the comment was anything but.
"They didn't know the plan." Shikaku replied on a sigh, having an inkling as to where the Godaime was going with her words.
"Maybe not the plan, but Aburame-kun had known you were doingsomethingagainst Shimura after you'd dragged him along to spy on the man." Inoichi muttered, and Shikaku nearly rolled his eyes, not liking the accusation.
"I'm with Inoichi on this one." Tsunade cut in before Shikaku could snap back at his friend, her eyes on the one-sided exchange between Shibi's sons. "Aburame are tricky."
"Regardless." Shikaku allowed, not to sure how to feel about the Godaime implying that she thought a fourteen-year-old had somehow planned to capture his brotherspecificallyto help them take down Danzo. "Torune is willing to cooperate. If we can get Yamato out of ROOT and briefed, we could have the files from Shimura's office in the next few days."
Tsunade eyed him sharply at that, clearly noticing the word Shikaku had used.
"What did you promise him? The ROOT kid?"in exchange for his cooperationwent unsaid, but Shikaku didn't need to be Inoichi to hear it.
"That his brother will not be involved in what goes down." He replied honestly, since that had been Torune's only stipulation in the brief exchange Shikaku had managed to have with the boy one-on-one.
"And how do you plan to keep him out?" Tsunade pressed, and Shikaku sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
"Ino and Chouji are preparing for the Chunin Exams in Iwa. So is Kakashi's team." He explained, perhaps needlessly, since Inoichi and Tsunade were more than aware of that fact, with their respective positions. "Get all the Rookies together, let the genin train against the chunin. It's good practice for the Exams and a fun challenge to distract them, plus you have three jounin watching over the kids at any given time."
And a small battalion of verified ANBU,Shikaku thought but kept to himself, since the discovery that there were ROOT plants in the ANBU ranks was still a sore subject for the Godaime.
"That…might just work." Tsunade muttered, then frowned at him, glancing briefly at the kids on the other side of the room. "Where's the Hyuuga?"
Shikaku absently mused that it was rather comical that Tsunade didn't bother clarifyingwhichHyuuga she was asking him about.
"At mine." he replied easily, rolling his neck. "With orders to stayputtill I get back."
"And you trust she'll listen?" Tsunade inquired, eyebrow hitching up and an unreadable look in her eyes, but Shikaku didn't hesitate: "Yes."
"Alright." The Senju finally allowed, still staring at him oddly before she shook herself off. "Let's get Hatake in here in the morning. The Aburame can stay with Jiraiya – can you two escort Yuhi's brats to their respective Compounds? We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
And somehow, between the late-night visit, involving Team Eight in at least three Village secrets, and realising that he owed Hinatatwofavours now, Shikaku had ended up with a nearly foolproof plan of action for getting the last piece of evidence they needed to finally move against Danzo.
Funny how things worked, sometimes.
When Hinata opened her eyes, she couldn't quite tell what had woken her. She was warm, comfortable, oddly well-rested, and the clouds she could glimpse through the thin curtains meant that it hadn't been the sun that had roused her. Then, she caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned, suddenly wide-awake, only to see Yoshino smiling fondly at her from the kitchen, a bowl and whisk in hand.
"Morning." The woman mouthed when they made eye-contact, then jutted her chin towards the dining table. "Breakfast?"
Hinata just blinked for a second, wondering if she was still somehow dreaming, but a glance to her left explained Yoshino's careful silence. Shikamaru was still in deep sleep on the other end of the sofa, his blanket pulled up to his chin, and the frown that Hinata had gotten used to seeing on his brow nowhere to be seen. One of his hands was sticking out from under the blanket, and it took Hinata a moment to realise that it was lying over her own blanket-covered foot, the pressure so gentle that she hadn't even realised it was there before.
Hinata stared at Shikamaru's hand for a few seconds, her mind completely empty, then sent a panicked glance Yoshino's way, not knowing what to do. But Yoshino just shook her head, looking like she was trying really hard not to laugh, and waved Hinata's concern off, pointing wordlessly to the clock that hung on the wall.
It was past nine in the morning.
Hinata blinked again, trying to make sense of the fact that she had somehow slept a solid, uninterruptednine hourson Shikamaru's sofa,then decided that she would deal with thatlater.
Moving slowly so as not to disturb Shikamaru, she began the process of extricating herself from the blanket, sacrificing grace for efficiency and trying her best to avoid Yoshino's amused gaze.
Shikamaru snuffled when his hand dropped a little once Hinata removed her foot from the blanket, but luckily didn't wake, and Hinata breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
'can I shower?' she signed to Yoshino, needing the detachment that came with signing, not trusting her expression not to betray her every thought in the face of Yoshino's gentle attention.
Yoshino's face softened at that and she nodded, signing back a rapid flurry about towels and toothbrushes and spare clothes that Hinata only half paid attention to, grabbing at the excuse to flee the room with both hands.
She didn't understand this- thisvulnerabilitythat threatened to choke her,but she knew she didn't want to be in the room with Yoshino and Shikamaru until she got herself under control.
The shower managed to steady her somewhat, her skin pink from the near-scalding water, but her hands felt steadier when she ran the towel through her hair, her heart no longer jackrabbiting in her chest. She threw on the set of jounin blues Yoshino must've dropped off when Hinata had been in the shower, taking a moment to roll up her sleeves and the legs of her trousers before she hung up the towels to dry.
She tried to take deep breaths and remind herself that this wasjust had lived here before, interacted with Shikamaru and his parents on a daily basis while recovering from her team's encounter with the Akatsuki; had been all-but ordered by Shikaku to stay at the Nara's house.
There was no reason for her to feel like she'd been-caught,or something of the sort.
Squaring her shoulders, Hinata took a final, steadying breath, and headed back to the kitchen.
"There you are." Shikamaru grumbled the moment he spotted her. He looked a little rumpled, pillow creases on his cheek, his hair out of its usual ponytail and his eyelids still heavy with sleep, but he didn't lookmaddespite what his tone would imply. "Good morning."
"Good morning Shikamaru, Yoshino-san." Hinata returned, stepping fully into the kitchen and turning to Yoshino. "Can I help with anything?"
"I'm almost done, Hinata-chan, you can just sit down and smack my idiot son from me while you're at it." Yoshino returned, her voice still light and cheerful to the point where it took a few seconds for Hinata to register her words, but when she did, she wasn't fully able to bite back the startled giggle that escaped her.
"I literally have not been awake long enough to do something wrong yet." Shikamaru mumbled as Hinata took her seat, giving up and pushing his bowl away to fold his arms on the table and rest his chin on his crossed arms as he addressed Yoshino. "And Hinata's not Ino, she won't raise her hand on me outside of a spar."
"Don't sound so smug about it." Yoshino replied, putting another plate on the table between Shikamaru and Hinata. "Shikaku came by in the morning to say that your team is fine, Hinata-chan, and the situation is being handled, but that he'd prefer for you to not leave the house until he comes back, if that's okay."
"I- yes, of course, i-if you don't mind me being here." Hinata hastened to reply, grateful beyond belief that Yoshino had had the foresight to assure her that Kiba and Shino were fine.
"Of course not!" Yoshino assured her, stepping closer and resting a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder. "You're always welcome here."
Then, she glanced at the clock again and sighed, running her hand through Shikamaru's hair as well and shooting him a fond smile when he tilted his head into the touch. "I've got to run – hospital shift. Be good, and flare your chakra if anything happens."
And so saying, Yoshino headed out the front door, and Hinata didn't think she imagined the pulse of chakra that went through the room the moment the door shut behind her.
Hinata took a moment to just breathe in the silence that fell between her and Shikamaru once Yoshino left, then set about making her breakfast bowl from the assortment of food Yoshino had laid out for them, feeling marginally more settled.
Her and Shikamaru ate in silence, then, in wordless agreement, set about clearing the table, Hinata washing the dishes while Shikamaru transferred the food Yoshino had made them into containers. They worked quietly, Shikamaru switching to drying the dishes Hinata had washed once he was done, and by the time there were no more dishes to wash, Hinata's morning anxiety was but a distant memory.
Once done, they moved wordlessly to the sofa, gathering up the sheets and blankets and putting them back in the linen closet Shikamaru had pulled them from the previous night. Finally, with nothing else to turn their attention to, Shikamaru sighed and settled on the sofa, pointing at the other end and finally meeting Hinata's gaze, though his expression was carefully guarded.
"That conversation we didn't have yesterday." He began, holding Hinata's eyes as she slowly settled on the opposite side of the sofa, the look in his eyes unreadable. "Feel up to having it now?"
Hinata swallowed but nodded, belatedly realising that she hadn't been the only one trying to postpone the inevitable, judging by how stiffly Shikamaru was holding himself.
"Yes." She murmured, pulling her legs up and twisting on the sofa so she was facing Shikamaru properly, wondering where to start.
"I'm sorry if I-" she cut herself off, remembering Shikaku's words outside of the hospital, and quickly rephrased, "-I'm sorryforhurting your feelings. I didn't kick you out to be cruel, or because I didn't trust you."
"I know that." Shikamaru replied, blowing out a heavy breath, adding a grudging 'now'at Hinata's raised eyebrow, an echo of their exchange the night before. "I still don't know why youdid,though."
"Because it is dangerous, what I'm planning to do." Hinata told him simply, bluntly, willing Shikamaru to understand. "Even talking about it could- I didn't want you to be complicit, or drag you into something that could bring my Clan after you, if I fail."
Shikamaru looked like he wanted to argue, but Hinata held up a hand, needing to make it clear that her actions had been driven byconcern,not rejection.
"I-I like you, Shikamaru, and I'd like for us to be friends," she explained, wringing her hands as she picked her words, "but there are some things that I can't just-"
"Hold on." Shikamaru cut her off this time, disbelief writ clear on his face. "You don't think that we're friends? That we'vebeenfriends all this time?"
Hinata did a double take, thrown by the question and the implication, a reflexivenoalready on the tip of her tongue.
But then she paused, blinking at Shikamaru, noting that with every second that she was silent, the disbelief on his face started to look more and more likehurt.
"I-I don't…know?" she finally answered, honest and confused, and Shikamaru flinched, then wiped his face clear of the hurt, looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Hinata." He said slowly, his voice even, but Hinata had the oddest impression that he wanted to grab her by the shoulders andshake."You've been at my house so often that you know where the creaky floorboards are."
Hinata blinked, baffled, but Shikamaru wasn't done.
"You have an open invitation to my family dinners. I've talked you down from a panic attack. You were able to talk sense intomeafter that Wave mission whennobody elsecould." Shikamaru shook his head, a humourless chuckle escaping him, expression shuttering. "Hell, I've been putting books I think you might like on the bookshelf in the guest bedroom formonths. And you don't think we'refriends?"
Hearing it like that, Hinata felt her face flush, embarrassment making itself known in the way her stomach roiled, but- "I-I didn't- you never said-?"
"I thought some things are obvious!" Shikamaru exclaimed, throwing his hands up animatedly, and though Hinata flinched at the sudden movement, she was glad that he seemed more exasperated than angry. When Shikamaru lowered his arms, he stretched one of them along the back of the sofa, and Hinata didn't miss the way he balled his hand into a fist, though she was quickly distracted by his next words.
"Who would you say your friends are, then?"
"Kiba and Shino." Hinata answered, not having to think about her answer, about the one blessed constant in her life.
"Those are your teammates." Shikamaru shot back, voice cold, sharp.
"Is Chouji-san not your friend?" Hinata snapped, more defensive than she'd intended, but she didn't like the pitying glint in Shikamaru's eyes that was buried beneath the sharpness.
"Chouji and I were friends before we were teammates, that's different." He explained, tilting his head, then pressed, almost cruelly; "Nobody else? Nobody outside of your team?"
When Hinata remained silent, Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "What about that kunoichi you were sparring with? The scary one? Or Shiranui?"
"They're mentors." Hinata replied quietly, her earlier defensiveness giving way to a burning sort of humiliation.
"Damn. You're ruthless." Shikamaru whistled, but he shook his head when Hinata winced, that oddly cold expression still in place. "For reference,Ithought we were friends since you first came to stay with us after your team's run-in with Sasuke's brother."
Hinata startled, her gaze snapping to Shikamaru's, her eyes wide. "That's-!"
"A really fucking long time?" Shikamaru finished for her, prompting heat to rush to Hinata's face. "Yeah."
And suddenly, Hinata's mind was flashing through all the times her and Shikamaru had spent together, all the times that they had butted heads, that she'd thought the other boy too blunt, too invasive, too careless with his words, Shikamaru's bombshell making her view those instances in a new light.
"So that means- all those times you-!" She stumbled over her words, almost unable to push them out as the full weight of the realisation slammed into her, "-you wereworried."
"When you looked unhappy and I was asking you uncomfortable questions? Yeah, it was because I was worried." Shikamaru laughed then, and though it still wasn't his usual laugh, some of that coldness melted away, an exasperated sort of amusement taking over. "God, if you didn't think we were friends, you must've thought I was anassholefor so long."
When Hinata stayed silent but felt her face burn even hotter, Shikamaru groaned. "You did, didn't you?"
Finally, Hinata gave in, raising her hand and covering her face as much as she could as she stuttered out an embarrassed, "I-I'm sorry-!"
"This- this explains so much, I can't believe I didn't put it together earlier." Shikamaru sighed, rolling his shoulders as he waited for Hinata to recover.
When she finally dropped her hand and dared to meet his gaze, she found Shikamaru smiling, small but genuine.
"So yeah. I'd like to have that conversation we didn't have yesterday, only this time, bear in mind that I'm asking as yourfriend." Shikamaru announced, stressing the word 'friend' in a way that let Hinata know he wasn't about to let this go anytime soon. "And when myfriendsays that they're planning to commit treason against their Clan, Iworry."
Hinata held her breath and Shikamaru's gaze for a few long seconds, considering. Her mind was still reeling with everything that had come out between them in the last ten minutes, but there was also a warmth spreading out from her chest to the tips of her fingers that had nothing to do with embarrassment, buoying her forward.
"Okay." She murmured, stretching out her own hand along the back of the sofa and tapping her finger against Shikamaru's knuckles. She watched as the tight fist he'd balled his hand into during their conversation loosening slowly and some of the tension left his frame along with a frustrated exhale. Hinata still squeaked when Shikamaru suddenly flipped his hand over and caught her finger, stilling her nervous tapping, but when she glanced up at him, he was already looking back, expression open, expectant, that cold mask from earlier finally fully gone.
Hinata took a deep breath, drawing comfort from that tiny point of contact and the fact that, with the new revelation settling in her bones, the question of what she could tell Shikamaru about her Clan and her plans had answered itself:
everything.
By the time Hinata finally stopped talking, her voice hoarse, the tear tracks on her face long-dried, Shikamaru was fully holding her hand, his grip so tight his knuckles had turned white.
But what struck Shikamaru more than horror at what Hinata had revealed about her Clan, was something that probably shouldn't have been as surprising, if he was honest with himself. And yet…
"You could be a Nara." He found himself saying, his own voice sounding far away.
When Hinata just blinked at him, looking exhausted but more settled than he'd ever seen her, he laughed briefly.
"I don't deserve to be called a genius ifyou'renot." He explained, scratching his cheek with his free hand as he considered the girl before him. "There's foresight, and then there's whatever the fuck you can do. It'sscary, Hinata, how much you cansee,and I don't mean your dojutsu."
Hinata let out a breath through her nose, something that on anyone else might've been a laugh, and shook her head. "It's just situational awareness."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes so hard there was no way Hinata missed it.
"It's not a 'just' anything." He denied, scowling at the Hyuuga. "And I'm not complimenting you, I'm stating facts."
When Hinata stayed silent, clearly not agreeing but at least not arguing anymore, he let the silence settle between them for a few seconds before he dared ask; "Are you really going to fight your grandfather?"
"No." Hinata replied immediately, her hand twitching in his, but not pulling away. "My Father, I could have simply fought. He didn't have as much support within the Clan, which I see now."
Shikamaru wondered when Hinata had gotten good enough that 'fighting a Clan Head' could be preceded by 'simply'. But he didn't have too much time to contemplate before Hinata continued, the words pouring out now that she'd started.
"But my Grandfather's scroll revealed that his power extends beyond Clan grounds." Hinata said, frowning openly, letting Shikamaru see just how much that prospect worried her. "To take the Clan from my Grandfather, I'm going to have to destroy his credibility, his standing in the Village, and throw into question his very suitability for Headship."
"No big deal." Shikamaru muttered sarcastically, drawing a quicksilver smile from Hinata before he pressed, "Have you thought abouthowyou're going to do it?"
Hinata hesitated briefly but offered a quiet; "As publicly as I can."
There was nothing to follow, and Shikamaru realised that Hinata didn't actuallyknowyet how to do what she needed.
"Clan Heads meeting, then." He suggested, aiming for blasé, but when Hinata's gaze snapped to him, he wondered whether he was too transparent.
"I am not a Clan Head." Hinata replied, though a contemplative expression replaced her earlier frown as she met Shikamaru's gaze, once again flawlessly following his thought process and further proving Shikamaru's earlier point.
"No, but the Council of Clans does function like a court in some cases." Shikamaru defended,knowingthat he was right. "If you want to throw your grandfather's suitability for Headship into question, the Council of Clans is the best place to do it legitimately."
Hinata studied him for a beat, expression inscrutable.
"I didn't know you were interested in politics." She commented idly, and Shikamaru snorted.
Of coursethat would be what she would choose to focus on. Even now, with no more secrets and all their respective cards on the table between them, Hinata's penchant for misdirection was still rearing its head, but at least Shikamaru knew it for what it was now.
"I made my dad give me a crash course on Clan customs after that time you nearly broke my wrist." He admitted, not surprised when Hinata winced guiltily, even though that hadn't been his intention.
They lapsed into silence, but it was a thoughtful one this time, both of them content to let it sit between them for a beat, give them a break.
"Hinata." Shikamaru eventually muttered, withdrawing his hand and making Hinata twitch, the girl seemingly having forgotten about the point of contact between them. "Thanks for telling me."
Hinata huffed, that same half-amused, half-exasperated sound, and shook her head.
"Thankyou, Shikamaru." She replied, gaze skipping briefly from his before she visibly forced herself to meet his eyes. "I've never- told anyone before. Not like this, from beginning to end."
"That's way too much to carry around with you." Shikamaru chastised, fully aware that he'd have been getting tension headaches every day if he'd been in Hinata's place. "And I'm pretty sure that if you told your team they would support you."
"Kurenai-sensei is already being scrutinised because of her commitment to us, I don't want to make her situation worse." Hinata denied, frowning openly now as she started picking at a loose thread on one of the coach cushions. "Kiba and Shino are- I love them, but they're- they care for me. They wouldn't want me to put myself in danger like this."
Shikamaru marvelled at how easily some admissions came to Hinata compared to others, but he was more focused on what lay between the lines of Hinata's pretty prose.
"They'd try to stop you, you mean."
Hinata sent him an almostmiffedlook, like she was annoyed at him for calling her out, but eventually offered a half-shrug and a muttered; "Probably."
"But- theyknow." Shikamaru felt the need to check, not willing to take Hinata at her word anymore. He was reluctant to cause the tension in Hinata's shoulders to return or make the girl go back to guarding her every expression, but he needed toknow."Yousaidyou told them."
"About the seal, yes. About the fact that I was planning to make jounin and take over from my Father as soon as I could to get rid of it." Hinata replied, and Shikamaru groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly.
What a drag.
"They know thewhat, but not the how?" he clarified, not sure whether he should count the grudging 'yes' he got in response like a victory when the process of getting it out of the girl had felt like pulling teeth.
"You really don't make things easy for yourself." He grumbled, drawing a huff from Hinata, and part of Shikamaru was relieved that the Hyuuga was still letting herself emote freely around him, while another was back to wanting to grab the girl by the shoulders andshake.
"Alright, come on," he announced, choosing the third option and getting up and off the sofa, beckoning Hinata along, "I've been meaning to show you some techniques I've been working on formonths."
Hinata frowned but obligingly pushed to her feet, though she hesitated when Shikamaru made to step out into the back garden.
"Didn't your father say to stay in the house?" she asked, pulling her lower lip between her teeth nervously, but Shikamaru waved her off.
"There are ANBU around the whole Compound. Nothing's gonna happen."
Hinata just stared for a moment, then sighed, the sound almost like a laugh, and gestured for Shikamaru to lead the way.
Riding the high of a conflict averted and a freshly confirmed friendship, Shikamaru wondered how many Clan laws he was going to break with what he planned on showing Hinata.
Then he decided that he didn't reallycare.
(Shikamaru had suspected, after that time in the Nara Forest, that Hinata's understanding of his Clan technique went far beyond what she'd admitted to Shikaku, back when Shikamaru had been training for his fight with Neji.
But it took watching Hinata take exactly five minutes to figure out and free herself from thekage-kubishibarifor that realisation, and its implications, to fully sink in.
And Shikamaru, usually so careful, so unwilling to show his hand, to put his neck on the line, decided to throw caution to the wind and move full speed into the real reason why he'd asked Hinata to the garden.
Because back in the Nara Forest, Hinata had walked through his shadow like it was nothing. And after, she hadn't understood why Shikamaru had been shocked.
Shikamaru himself had been too out of it at the time to give the feat the attention it had deserved, but once he'd spoken to Asuma and taken a few dreaded but needed trips to Psych, he had hardly been able to think of muchelse.
Hinata had been bemused when he asked her to create clones but acquiesced easily, so Shikamaru reckoned she deserved at leastsomeexplanation as to what had been running through his mind since the thought had first crystallised.
"I know we haven't gone on any missions together, but you're the only person I know who can movethroughmy shadow." He told her, briefly stretching his shadow into a circle with the two of them at the centre, an unmistakeable reminder of the forest, before he let the technique drop and followed up with; "Wanna practise?"
He saw the exact moment Hinata understood what he meant and excitement joined the apprehension that had been in her eyes when he'd first suggested going outside. Shikamaru grinned, then didn't bother with any more explanation, once extending the shadow that he'd already attached to Hinata's Water Clones to include the Hyuuga.
"Ready?"
Hinata didn't quite grin back, but there was a glimmer in her eyes that Shikamaru hadn't seen before, and he reckoned that that was as good an answer as any.
He didn't bother asking twice.)
"Are you also seeing what I'm seeing?" Asuma asked flatly, eyes wide as Kurenai's Hyuuga walked up to each of the immobilised genin and mimed slitting their throats, her throwing weapons long-since confiscated, and a firm ban on using Jyuuken issued after she'd accidentally made Chouji vomit until he'd cried.
It had been interesting, getting the summon to Tsunade's office at the crack of dawn, only to be told in no uncertain terms that he was to make sure all the Rookies were seen in a big group together, ideally far from the Hokage tower for as long as possible. Kakashi had sent his ninken to Kurenai and Asuma, then gone to fetch Gai himself, knowing that six in the morning meant that Gai was already up and training, and having long been issued an ultimatum by his pack when it came to bringing them out to interact with the man.
Corralling the kids after that had been easy. Explaining the three-on-two, chunin-versus-genin tournament that Tsunade had instructed he run them through had been more challenging, but he'd entertained himself with adding stipulations, like the genin having to switch out teams every round, and the point system being individual-based, not team.
Watching the genin stumble through the first few rounds had practically been a free comedy show.
And then the Hinata-Shikamaru rotation of the chunin pairs had come about, and Chouji, Sasuke, and Lee had landed the questionable privilege of being the guinea pigs for what sort of combat two combat-repulsed shinobi could produce.
Even Kakashi could admit that the answer hadn't been something he'd expected, but,well.
"If you're referring to the Hyuuga moving through your Nara's shadow like it's water, then yes." he confirmed idly, earning himself a glare from Asuma.
"Whatelsecould I be referring to?" Asuma huffed, then turned to the suspiciously silent Kurenai. "Rei?"
"I… got nothing, Asuma." Kurenai admitted, a frown creasing her brows even as she never once looked away from her student and Shikaku's son. "Sorry."
Which meant two things: one, that not only had the Hyuuga worked out how to break yetanotherNara hidden technique, but, the second, and perhaps more important thing was that Shikaku's son seemed to be fully aware of it andencouragingthe development, even.
As if reading his thoughts, Asuma sighed, already sounding exhausted. "Shikaku's gonna blow a gasket."
"At little Hyuuga-chan countering yet another Clan technique?" Kakashi inquired, tone conversational even as he slanted Asuma an entertained glance, "Or the fact that his son has basically proposed in front of most of their graduating class?"
"You could sound a little less entertained by this mess, youass." Asuma shot back, making Kakashi laugh quietly at his long-suffering tone.
"Giving Shikaku headaches is one of my favourite past-times." He replied, grinning behind his mask, knowing that Asuma and Kurenai were bothfully awareof that fact.
"Clan secrets and headaches aside, the potential of this little trick of theirs is…significant." Kurenai murmured, bringing their attention back to the unexpected Nara-Hyuuga combat unit.
"But do they work well together? As people?" Gai finally piped up, a thoughtful look on his face as he considered Asuma, who sighed.
"Only one way to find out." He muttered, then raised his voice to be heard by the kids. "Shikamaru! No Clan techniques."
The Nara startled, visibly thrown, then nodded. The Hyuuga, meanwhile, instead of looking at Asuma had turned to regard Kakashi, and Kakashi found himself both amused and offended at the fact that she immediately assumed that this new restriction had beenhisdoing.
"Can we have a strategy break?" the Nara called back, far calmer than his initial reaction would have implied, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes, curious. Their next opponents would be the full form of Team Gai, the genin rotation finally having come back around to the starting teams, so while a strategy break made sense, Kakashi wondered at the motivation behind it.
"You've got two minutes." Asuma replied, and the Hyuuga didn't waste a single second, grabbing Shikamaru's arm and flickering out of hearing range as soon as Asuma was finished speaking.
"Not sure how much they can really do with two minutes, but it's nice of you to allow it." Gai laughed, but his mirth quickly turned to suspicion when Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma remained silent.
"They're already at a numerical disadvantage against my team," Gai continued slowly, eyes intent on Kurenai, his expression serious in a way that Kakashi knew half of the Village didn't think him capable of, "and no amount of genius and last-minute strategy can beat years of familiarity and teamwork."
Privately, Kakashi agreed with Gai.
Just not inthiscase.
Three minutes later, Gai's jaw wasn'tquiteon the floor, but his students were, in various stages of knocked out or winded, while Shikamaru and Hinata stood over them, quietly victorious.
Vicious little monsters,Kakashi thought, distantly amused, almost startling himself when he realised howfondthe observation was.
But it was also true: the decision to hit Lee with a fast-acting paralytic had Hinata's vicious practicality all over it, while Shikamaru matching up with the Hyuuga genius and doubtless reminding them both about their Chunin Exam fightreekedof Shikaku's mind-games. Hinata taking Gai's weapons mistress also capitalised on the Hyuuga's dodging and Shunshin skills, while simultaneously exposing the fact that none of Team Gai was used to fighting ninjutsu users.
All in all, it was over almost embarrassingly quickly for a team that had been genin for over two years, but it said more about the two chunin than it did about the genin's ability.
"I think you have your answer." Kurenai muttered to Gai, seemingly sharing in Kakashi's musings and Kakashi watched as she finally took her eyes off of her student and smiled crookedly.
"Shikaku is still going to be mad." Asuma grumbled, and Kakashi couldn't hold his laughter in anymore, the whole situation almost comical.
"Oh, undoubtedly." He snorted, drawing all his friends' eyes onto him, but Kakashi wasn't about to stop. "His son's just proven that him and Hyuuga-chan could be a future hunter-nin squad in front of half of the Godaime's ANBU guard."
He grinned behind his mask, fully aware that all four of them had kept certain things about their students' skillsawayfrom the ears of the higher-ups, and that this little exercise was almost guaranteed to end with some uncomfortable conversations about hiding skills and overediting mission reports. "Not exactly gonna be able to sweep this one under the rug like we've done the other times."
"Fuckyou, Kakashi." Asuma swore, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and barely twitching at the sarcasticthere-thereshoulder pat he got from Kurenai. "This is all your fault."
And Kakashi shrugged, his grin dimming slightly even though he knew that it was a joke, that Asuma didn't mean it, but at the same time, Asuma wasn't exactlywrong.
He only just managed to quash his reflexive reaction when the little Hyuuga was suddenlythere,sliding into Kurenai's space and curling close for a half-hug that Kurenai was somehowunsurprised by, her own arm settling securely around the girl's shoulders in a move so natural that Kakashi fought a flinch.
"Smart move, eliminating Lee first." Kurenai praised quietly, and Kakashi knew that digging for information wasn't her style, but he couldn't see any other purpose to the comment, particularly when she followed it with a blunt, "Neither you nor Shikamaru are fast enough to keep up with him in open combat."
But instead of getting offended or defensive, the little Hyuuga merely nodded, not pulling away from the hug even as she turned to watch the next fight, and Kakashi felt the need topush.
"You could've kept up with him with the Shunshin." He pointed out, partly to see what the girl would say, and partly because he knew his words to be true. The Hyuuga's usage of the Shunshin waseerilysimilar to Shisui's, and Kakashi had no doubt that with a little bit of fine-tuning, she would be able to develop a similar reputation for it. "What's the real reason for the early KO?"
His question was rewarded with a momentary frown creasing the girl's brow, as if surprised at being caught out, before her expression smoothed out and she shook her head minutely, releasing a silent sigh.
"Lee-san is their opening move." She explained, and Kakashi didn't miss the way Gai stilled at his side. "Tenten-san and Neji-nii-san base their strategy on their opponent's handling of Lee-san's attack."
That was…a very astute summary of a fighting style Gai had spent over a year drilling into his students, Kakashi thought, but the Hyuuga wasn't done.
"They fight well together and cover for each other seamlessly." She continued, as if the praise somehow mitigated the fact that she'd been able to find the pattern in Gai's team's fighting style after seeing them fight together all of three times. "But they're not used to fighting apart. One on one, it was a more even fight."
Kakashi hummed, and at his side, Gai hung his head, huffing a quiet laugh that sounded a little too self-deprecating to Kakashi's ears.
"You and Shikamaru also fight well together." Kakashi mused, drawing a sharp look from Kurenai, but too curious to bite his tongue.
Predictably, the moment the topic of the conversation shifted to her own prowess, the Hyuuga clammed up, smiling tightly at Kakashi and inclining her head demurely, but not acknowledging his words beyond that.
Then, the Hyuuga was called away, her Aburame teammate and Shikamaru having managed to beat Ino, Sakura, and Tenten while Kakashi had been distracted, and he watched absently as she Shunshined until she was at the Inuzuka's side and prepared to face Naruto, her cousin, and Chouji.
"What were you digging for?" Kurenai demanded as soon as her student was out of earshot, knowing Kakashi too well by now to be fooled by his bullshit.
And Kakashi tilted his head, wondering if Kurenai had forgotten what he'dalsobeen placed in charge of, while Shikaku was busy with the ROOT problem.
"Her Jounin Skill Evaluation is in two weeks." Kakashi told Kurenai slowly, drawing another twitch from Gai and a quiet whistle from Asuma, while Kurenaistilled."Don't you want her to be aware of her strengths and weaknesses?"
Kurenai had been tense at first, but at his question, she laughed, short and sharp and humourless.
"If Hinata was any more aware of her weaknesses, she would never leave the training grounds." She replied, a haunted look briefly passing through her eyes before she locked it away and squared her shoulders. "But thanks for the reminder about the tight timeline. I gotta go."
And then she flared her chakra in a pattern that seemed intentional but Kakashi didn't recognise, and suddenly, the Hyuuga was right there again, a thin cut standing out starkly against her cheekbone, the first blood anyone had been able to draw on her.
"Sensei?" the girl inquired immediately, and it was only then that Kakashi realised that Kurenai had establishedindividual call patternswith her students.
Like Kakashi had used to do in ANBU, except, instead of faceless Black-Ops operatives, Kurenai had done it with herprecious little kids.
"That favour you asked me for," Kurenai began, all her attention on Hinata, while Asuma stepped in seamlessly to transition the Rookies into a two-on-two-on-two melee to keep the kids from being tempted to eacesdrop, "are you ready?"
Kakashi couldn't help glancing at Kurenai suspiciously at the intentionally vague wording, but the woman's expression was perfectly neutral, though she arched an eyebrow when she caught him looking.
More concerning was the way the little Hyuuga stilled at her sensei's words, then nodded and proceeded to perfectly mirror Kurenai's earlier expression, that practiced blankness falling over her features like a well-worn mask, her chakra settling, her shoulders rolling back, posture resolute. Like she was walking to the gallows, but willingly so.
Not for the first time, Kakashi wondered whether Sarutobi and Umino had made the right decisions when they had assigned the genin teams. Because nobody had hesitated to questionKakashi'ssuitability for the post, but he felt like people had largely overlooked the fact that Kurenai was just as feral as he was, just as selfish to protect what was hers, just as uncaring about what counted as 'reasonable' if it meant giving those she cared about even a hint more of a fighting chance.
He should've seen it in her team's tactile nature, should've caught the subtle, possessive touches for what they were. He should've seen it in their unnatural synchronicity, should've realised that a team that hadn't grown up together the way Ino-Shika-Cho had shouldn't have been as close-knit as Team Eight was. And he definitely should've seen it in the way all three of her students were alarmingly versatile considering the Clans they came from, so much so that an Inuzuka and an Aburame being told not to use their Clan techniques in a spar didn't even register as something to complain about to the boys, because, well.
Why would it?
Their sensei had been raising them on spars withjouninfor over a picked those who would forever have been deprived of the opportunity of leading their own team, had known they, too, would latch on to the kids and give them every trick in their arsenal if it meant they wouldn't end up outliving another student. Had given them mentors and shown them the power of IOUs and opened secret backdoors in the shinobi system for them that Kakashi hadn't even beenawareof until he'd had it thrust in his face by a pissed off Godaime. Had allowedKakashito bumble his way through an informal mentorship born out of a mix of obligation, guilt, and personal curiosity just on the off chance that his knowledge might give her student even a hint more of an edge. Had gone to seek out extra trainingherself,despite already being an established, respected jounin, had given herself over to the worst sort of conditioning Morino Ibiki's mind could conjure, then done it all again with Uzuki's ANBU squad.
People had forgotten that Kurenai was a Clanless kunoichi who had risen to jounin as a genjutsu mistress – she could play the long game better than almost anybody Kakashi knew.
But, perhaps even more concerningly, people had forgotten that Kurenai had been on HyuugaHizashi'steam, had forgotten everything that that fact had made Kurenai into.
A kunoichi whose team had been forced to splinter, one by death, one by exile, and one by being rank-locked, who had nonetheless pushed the limits imposed upon her until people had no choicebutto give her what she rightfully deserved. A woman who had worked at every main organisation in Konohagakure, from Psych to Intel to T , and knew the inner workings of the Village better than anybody ever gave her credit for. A teacher who could teach her students to break people's minds without ever touching them, then reach out and give those same students smiles and praise and warm hugs until they grew to rely on them, onher.
But, most importantly? It made her a student of the man who had come the closest in decades to revolutionising the Hyuuga Clan.
And Kurenai's current student had all of Hizashi's drive and none the restrictions that had been placed upon him by his birth order.
With a start, Kakashi recalled Shikaku's sharp 'The Hyuuga Clan inheritance is set at jounin' back when Kakashi had only wandered into his office on an idle curiosity, and the nameHyuuga Hinatameant nothing more to him than 'Hyuuga heiress' and 'Kurenai's student'. He also remembered that what had prompted Kurenai to grab her Hyuuga and leave had been his reminder about her student's imminent jounin trials.
It could be a coincidence, but the more Kakashi thought about it, the less it seemed like one.
…Fuck.
More than anything, more than the potential fallout, or whatever ethically-dubious ways Kurenai had come up with to finally get her revenge, Kakashi really,reallyhoped that Kurenai knew what she was doing.
Because this time, he was going to keep his mouth firmlyshut.
He owed Kurenai that much.