Motivation

Chapter Six

Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto; these are his paints. Some tinting is borrowed from Rumiko Takahashi. The easel is mine, but that is all. No disrespect is intended with the posting of this story.

Notes: Moving on. Ranma in all of his incarnations is a background character, mostly. He may get one cool fight much, much later, but I don't want his presence to be a disruptive one, really (which is hard to pull off, considering, well, him). Still -- is anyone really worthy of replacing Iruka?

Becoming a genin had not been what Ino expected. So far, pretty much every expectation she'd actually had was overturned.

Given a choice of teachers, she thought she liked Kurenai best -- Asuma seemed okay, if a bit lazy, and she already knew the basics of what he was teaching everyone else. As for Kakashi, well ... the only good thing about him was the fact that he'd called her Sasuke's girlfriend!

Okay, yeah, there was a conditional to that -- but damn it all, she was going to cling to something positive. Shikamaru had pretty much gotten to be the leader of the group ... well, at least, Sasuke agreed to let him be in charge. So she'd really expected more of him, and after the stunt he'd pulled locking down her and Sakura in Senzo's, she was annoyed with him enough.

Follow that up with that dumb training exercise that he and Naruto had cooked up....

At least Sasuke had been there. As it was, she was getting really sick of Shikamaru being right all the time.

Still, she wasn't stupid herself. If Shikamaru had figured something out ... well, he should be able to come up with some plan to make another day of both Sakura and Kakashi survivable. That thought in mind, she tried to subtly prod her father into visiting Shikamaru's -- they were friends after all.

If there was one thing she didn't like about her father, it was the fact that she couldn't sneak a damn thing by him.

So, she'd started a conversation, opening up with a comment about how she was finding the teamwork exercises interesting.

He blinked at her for a quiet minute, and then answered that he'd give her the window of opportunity she was looking for, but that she'd have to spend more time working on her jutsu anyway.

She'd reluctantly agreed, even though she was personally starting to think it wasn't dependable enough for her recent activities. Or maybe there was just something weird about trying to possess kage bunshin, instead of real people? Well, at least her father had promised to help her work on some sensing ability related to the clan art -- that sounded a hell of a lot less likely to leave her stuck with teammates that just let her fall down when she sent her mind into an enemy.

Stupid Shino.

Stupid....

Ugh.

Which brought her to the unpleasant moment, prepared, but not truly thrilled to execute the plan she'd begged from Shikamaru. Naruto sat cross-legged on the railing of the bridge where they were supposed to meet Kakashi. He nodded at her in greeting but said nothing, seeming to sink into some grim distracting thought. At least, she thought he looked pretty unhappy. An elderly, balding man in dull blue robes leaned on his cane and stared across the river a dozen yards away, on the other side of the bridge; there was no sign of either Sakura of their teacher.

She studied the other golden-haired figure for a moment, not bothering to be subtle about it -- but he didn't notice, still lost in his own distractions. Not Sasuke's deeply insightful contemplations about his dreams of restoring his clan. Naruto was probably thinking of something stupid.

If she were as good as her father, she wouldn't have to guess, and could just skim it off his mind. Seeing as that was significantly beyond her ability, she asked him, "What's got you so bothered?"

He shook himself, blinking, then shrugged, looking up at the mostly clear sky. "Just this dream I have every night," he mumbled. Then he shook his head again. "I don't want to think about it-- Oh, hey--" He brightened, turning his attention to her. "You know the trick for not thinking about stuff, right? Maybe that'll help!"

"Maybe," Ino allowed, giving him a cautious smile.

She glanced to one side as Sakura approached warily, nodding at Naruto grudgingly in recognition.

Ino steeled herself -- she could do this. Sure ... Naruto had embarrassed Sasuke through trickery, and he was kind of a nuisance ... but it would be worth it to bother Sakura. And, hell, maybe get some kind of ally against Kakashi.

Naruto smiled brightly at Sakura. "Good morning, Sakura-chan!" he said cheerfully. Then his eyes widened at some thought, and he almost overbalanced from where he sat. He adjusted his position, both palms flat on the railing below him as he set his toes nearby, crouched over almost as though he was ready to pounce, his face lighting up with hope. "Hey, hey! Sakura-chan, since we're on a team, why don't we go on a date after we finish today's training?"

"Why don't you go on a date with Ino?" she countered.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" the blonde agreed before Naruto could protest -- or stick his foot in his mouth.

Sakura blinked, staring at Ino and too stunned to follow-up. The blond boy blinked as well, turning to look at her in surprise and confusion.

"We're going to be on the same team, right?" she asked, giving Naruto a friendly smile. "Just like you said earlier!"

He worked his jaw for a moment, then nodded, still trying to puzzle her out.

"Well -- it's not like a romantic date, but that's a good chance to learn more about each other, isn't it? And, say, we can look at it like training for what to do on a real date!"

He managed another blink. Sakura shook her head as though to dispel a strange illusion and gave her a very hard stare.

"I mean ... I don't know you very well personally, but Sakura's been rejecting you for years, right? Wouldn't you rather be teammates with someone who was willing to at least go on one date with you?"

"U...uh," he mumbled, looking between Ino and Sakura hesitantly.

"Y...yeah, go for it, Naruto," Sakura encouraged, shaking her head again. "Really -- I'd love it if you two would leave me alone!"

Perfect.

Naruto looked stunned, and nearly overbalanced off the railing again at that, his face showing hurt before he tried to mask it. Even the elderly man on the other side of the bridge glanced towards her with a frown. "Well-- W...well.... O...okay, Ino...."

"Call me Ino-chan!" she chirped at him brightly. Holy crap this was easier than she had expected! Sakura had pretty much walked right into it!

"Uh ... okay, Ino-chan." He nodded at that, offering her a timid, confused smile.

"Great!" she cheered. "So, as soon as training is over and we all finish our group meeting, right?"

"Alright-- Okay, you know what? No, this is just--" Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Ino, why are you screwing with Naruto like that? I don't really care, but you're just toying with him -- why are you being such a bitch?"

"Me?" Ino asked, fighting down her anger at the insult. She gave a sniff and remembered the arguments that Shikamaru had given her. "As it so happens, I have a jutsu that leaves me very vulnerable. Is it so wrong that I want to be friendly to Naruto, so that when we're in a fight, he'll maybe think about trying to take care of me? I think the one who's been shutting him down for so long is the real--"

"H...hey," Naruto protested, frowning. "Uh, we should all be a team, right? I mean ... I saw what happened yesterday in the forest when you tried it. But, why weren't you trying to be nice to Shino-kun? He could have helped you out, too."

That, Ino had not been expecting. Okay ... so, Naruto remembered everything his bunshin saw. That was important to know. "W...well," she fumbled briefly, "y...you see.... What happened yesterday is why I thought I should be on better terms with my teammates this time around!"

"But ... Sakura-chan is your teammate too," Naruto pressed, looking confounded.

Damn! Shikamaru's script had nothing for this! She plowed on, not wanting to give up -- to have no defenses or aid at all against Kakashi. "You have to take these things one step at a time, right? I mean ... it's easier to turn a stranger into a friend than it is to turn an enemy into an ally, isn't it?"

"I ... I guess," he began, before Kakashi materialized from almost nowhere, pushing Naruto in the chest with one palm while the swirling leaves and chakra smoke from his appearance were still heralding his arrival.

Ino and Sakura both yelped, jumping back into defensive positions as Naruto allowed an anguished wail to escape, plunging into the river with a mighty crash. The old man's feet shifted and he nearly stumbled over his cane as he flinched away. Both girls turned to stare at Kakashi, who spun around and watched Naruto's splashing, flailing antics as the current pushed him beneath the bridge.

"Real ninja don't get distracted by romance!" Kakashi called cheerfully.

"Help!" the blond gasped between flailing grabs at the sky, borne swiftly downstream. "I can't swim!" At that, he waved franticly and slipped beneath the surface of the river.

Ino and Sakura hesitated, uncertain, and Kakashi stared at the form of Naruto as it drifted away. "Hmm," the legendary copy bastard mused thoughtfully, as Naruto suddenly stilled, bobbing in the river motionlessly. "That was well done, Naruto."

"Like a real ninja?" he asked caustically, as the Naruto in the water puffed into chakra smoke, and the elderly man with a cane dropped his henge to reveal Naruto.

Whoa.

Okay -- that--

That was actually somewhat smooth -- especially for Naruto.

"Exactly like that!" Kakashi cheered, grabbing the boy and flinging him towards the river anyway.

Screaming something incomprehensible, the boy summoned a bunshin mid-fall, trying to use it's momentum to hurl himself away, to the shore. Ino rubbed her eyes as the copy -- she thought, anyway, arced upwards, and then used kawarimi to replace itself with Naruto. A lucky tumble allowed the boy to cling to a tree-branch in passing. Right up until it broke with a resounding crack, and Naruto fell, swearing promises of vengeance as he slammed into a larger branch, further down, then made another copy -- using the kawarimi trick to again to tumble a very short distance into a shrub.

"Yes!" Naruto exalted, pumping one fist as he staggered to a halt, mostly unharmed.

A heartbeat later, the rustling branches of the bush behind him sported an explosive tag. Another blink after that, he was launched headlong into the river by the explosion, howling in rage for the brief flight before crashing into the water with a mighty splash.

"Notice how he survived much longer than usual," Kakashi said brightly, nodding at the girls, causing both to jolt and then freeze in terror as he clapped a companionable hand on each girl's shoulder. "That's firm proof of his commitment to improve! I expect a very good show from the pair of you, as well -- especially since Ino-chan has started bridging the gaps in your teamwork. That means today's training is going to be extra strenuous!"

Ino felt her stomach abruptly lurch straight through her feet, the bridge, the water, and probably Naruto's thick skull, wherever he was down there. Oh, crap -- her only good ally was beneath the water! She cautiously ran away from Kakashi to the railing, trying to keep one eye on the teacher, and also see whatever was going on down there.

The usually placid flow was boiling, writhing furls and sprays of water surging higher, the river swelling whole feet upwards as she watched, tingeing orange--

Shit -- what the hell was Naruto doing?

Whatever it was, Sakura yelped and ran, breaking past Ino in a flash. Not wanting to remain on the bridge alone with Kakashi, the blonde swiftly turned to follow. Then the river exploded, disgorging copies of Naruto by the hundreds, all of them flinging kunai, shuriken, throwing wire, smoke bombs, notebooks, were those frog-shaped wallets? What the hell--

The massive crowd of bunshin -- the real one had to be in there somewhere surged damply around Ino and Sakura, keeping them hemmed together as they rushed out of the grounds. Kakashi actually sounded faintly annoyed when he made a 'tsk' noise from above them, on a nearby rooftop. "Is that really the best you can do?" he asked, doubtfully.

"Hell, no!" half of the bunshin cried out as one, before: "Henge!"

And then there were no Naruto bunshin there. Instead, it was an army of Ino and Sakura.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly, and he seemed about to open his mouth to speak behind his mask before a flash of orange emerged-- That must be the real Naruto, Ino surmised, a little intimidated by so much Sakura around her.

That was just an unhealthy amount of pink.

"It'll be no trouble helping you, Ino-chan. This guy hates me so much, he'll go real easy on you and Sakura-chan," Naruto groused. "If he can figure it out!"

"Is it hate that makes me think you need to be the best ninja you can be?" Kakashi mused. "I suppose I'll have to ask Asuma-sensei to give you another lecture on the Will of Fire! A much longer one, too."

"Yeah, that pretty much proves it," Naruto grumbled. Then he suddenly puffed into chakra smoke, and all of the Sakura and Ino bunshin raised their hands, calling out, "Kawarimi!"

Ino lurched much more jarringly than when Kakashi pulled that trick -- and a Sakura put one arm around her back, half dragging her as she whispered, "Play along -- don't get really mad," before raising her voice and saying, snappily, "Sasuke is the coolest genin ever! It's great that he doesn't need any friends!"

"That's the dumbest thing--" Ino snapped, before cutting herself off. Damn, she was going to have to match Naruto in stupidity to fool Kakashi-- "Yes, he's the best ever and you shouldn't have him, because you have such a huge forehead!"

"My forehead is cute and attractive!" Sakura asserted, even as dozens -- possibly hundreds of other Sakura/Ino duos scattered in the direction of training ground seventeen, all of them blathering simlarly inane things.

"Don't worry," another Sakura in the crowd said in confidence to the Ino next to her, "I won't let anyone know you're the real Naruto!"

The Sakura and Ino in that pair suddenly puffed into chakra smoke -- a pair of senbon sticking out of the street to explain why. "Real ninja really should be a bit more subtle than that with their decoys," Kakashi scolded mildly, standing in front of an ANBU with a bear mask on another roof, his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed the children -- his posture suggested disapproval that his mask didn't show.

"Now, there are severe penalties for disruptive training exercises within city limits," Kakashi warned cheerfully.

"And a real ninja would be prepared to be attacked even within the safety of their own homes," another nearby Sakura snapped.

"Shit," another Ino swore, before raising her hands. Then she suddenly cried out, "Kawarimi!"

Another annoying lurch later, they'd all shuffled around. Okay -- wow. Naruto had some tactic. She was going to have a migraine, but he was a more protective partner so far than Sa-- kura.

Sakura was a terrible partner in comparison, yeah. At least Naruto wasn't all bad, even if he'd had to cheat to take on Sasuke.

"His senbon just vanished!" an Ino cried out in annoyance. "That means this isn't the real Kakashi -- he's a bunshin!"

"Then all of us are in danger!" another Ino yelped. "Break for the training ground, nonstop!" That Ino paused, shooting the Kakashi bunshin a dirty look. She then managed to deflect a senbon and blow a raspberry before being dispersed by a kunai. Ino, all of the Sakura bunshin, and all of the Ino bunshin tensed.

"Well, making more bunshin will give you away," Kakashi said cheerfully, "if you're really here! Won't this be a learning experience!"

One hand rose, filled with the glittering tips of dozens of senbon.

"I don't usually bother to tell my students about myself," he added, in an aside, "but out of respect that you've decided to really take this seriously -- you should know that I used to be in ANBU. So I won't be killing any of you." Then he paused, his visible eye suggesting a smile before he concluded, "Of course, since I am dispersing kage bunshin, you should know that I plan to make it hurt. Don't fail your teammates now!"

All of the Sakura and Ino present turn and ran like hell, charging away from a storm of senbon, some pausing to throw kunai back at the jounin or drop smoke-bombs.

A slowly building burn began in her side, and she realized that she was probably in for a lot less suffering than usual, against Kakashi.

Aw, crud -- this meant she owed Shikamaru!

That part totally sucked--

Another disorienting kawarimi surge, and she found herself stumbling as the bunshin that had replaced her was pierced by three senbon--

Okay, okay -- no time to get distracted, even with Naruto's help!

Sakura had to admit, as irritating as he usually was, Naruto's smokescreen of bunshin under henge was insanely effective -- throw in the fact that he'd improved his kawarimi a lot.... Not really perfectly, though. Her chakra manipulation was a hell of a lot more refined than his; she found after the third time, once she felt the initial tug of his chakra that she could start to initiate her own kawarimi. His immediately seemed to accept and take her guidance, and she snapped instantly into the new location with alarmingly small effort.

She'd been proud once that in a good ten minute fight she could pull off seven or eight kawarimi, if she didn't wipe herself out. Kakashi had demonstrated that she might on occasion need more than that in a minute. And now, Naruto surprised her with this amazing utility that let her stretch that to easily a dozen times in a minute -- and though she was sure it would make her vision grow dim and her head spin, she knew if she had to, she could do it a dozen more times!

Or -- she could just save all of her chakra and let him move her. Slower, and she almost always had to check her balance afterwards. But no real effort.

Once they reached the training ground and the remaining few hundred Ino and Sakura bunshin joined them, opposed by no less than nine Kakashi bunshin.

So, this training session was still liable to especially suck.

She really wanted to be able to be annoyed with him, but Ino was making her look bitchy, and then he'd helped watch over her anyway.

So, fine -- he was a decent teammate when he wasn't whining about Sasuke. She managed to use his cover to face Kakashi, deflecting senbon frequently and firing the occasional calculated shot back.

Oh, some day she'd have explosive tags and give him a surprise -- oh yes she would!

W...where had that thought-- Never mind.

Anyway, she was a dutiful kunoichi, so she practiced her precision shots; Naruto was surprisingly reliable with bunshin willing to swap her out at any given moment. Right up until it was nearly time for lunch, and Kakashi locked the real Naruto up by striking no less than fourteen specific points along his joints -- and across his back.

He tumbled face-down, and would have slammed into the earth if a nearby bunshin -- disguised as her hadn't snapped, "You moron! You got hit-- So useless!" and then dived, catching him before he fell.

A nearby Ino immediately used Kawarimi to replace her -- and then another shuffled Sakura herself away. She found herself dragged deep inside a hedge, where an anxious Ino crouched over the completely paralyzed boy, looking at her worriedly. "D...do you know how to fix this?" the maybe-Ino asked.

"Yeah," Sakura said, frowning. She'd read about it, anyway. Now, which series of points did Kakashi hit anyway? There were different sets, and some needed the needles to be removed very carefully.

"Are you the real Ino?" Sakura asked in a very quiet whisper, not looking up.

"According to the book I read, that's real crummy asset management," the bunshin replied, shaking her head--

Damn but his henge had gotten good! That was alarming! She was seriously going to have to start pushing herself -- he was carrying the entire battle against Kakashi by himself!

Well, not anymore. "Clean gauze from the first aid-kit," she ordered, still keeping her voice as low as possible, handing her pack to the bunshin. "Double-up half and stuff it into his mouth so he can bite down on it -- then give me the other half in small bits."

Then, because from everything she knew it would do the least damage if she messed it up, she started at his arms, annoyed that his clothing obscured precisely where he'd been pierced. Grasping the senbon, she gently drew the needles out, frowning with the worrisome realization -- these hadn't vanished on their own.

The real Kakashi probably knew which Naruto was the real one! Somehow! Why else wouldn't he just make more kage-bunshin and use their dispersing weapons?

Well, okay, he could be some kind of sadist that she'd repay in spades some unexpected moment with explosive tags of her own--

Ahem.

But he knew what he was doing, beyond a doubt. No point risking their cover until the senbon were withdrawn from the boy, though.

He grunted as his teeth clamped down on the gauze. If Kakashi didn't know where they were, then the precaution were probably overkill. But being blown up and warned that real ninja would have played it safe did not appeal.

So he stayed as quiet as possible as she dabbed at the injuries -- not accomplishing much through his clothes. Still, she did manage to remove all of the pins, and he sat up gratefully with a sigh of relief, stretching his limbs out without disturbing any of the surrounding branches. She tried to pull his coat back a bit to look at his injuries -- and he didn't resist, just trying to give her a goofy smile, but she couldn't spot any wounds, other than what she thought were smaller scratches, or maybe insect bites.

Eh, fine -- Naruto was probably okay. Now, time to move.

He seemed to have the same idea, making a familiar hand seal, creating another group of hundreds of bunshin outside of the bush, and then fished a whistle from his pocket, blowing it long and loud. She felt herself grabbed by another of Naruto's kawarimi -- she was starting to recognize his chakra -- and assisted it, snapping far away from him over a series of hops, vanishing in the orange swarm. Very shortly they divided into Ino and Sakura look-alikes, charging in all directions as the Ino near her wobbled wildly, groaning.

Sakura grabbed her as the blonde stumbled. Wait -- was this the real Ino? From what Naruto said, that sounded unlikely. But he'd kept ... well ... her nearby....

Then again, tactically -- if she were considered a medic, that might make sense. "What's going on?" she asked in a whisper.

"B...bunshin reporting in," she groaned, shaking her head.

So, actually Naruto then, she realized, moving to support the wobbling girl. Another Ino and Sakura dashed in, but paused, seeing her already helping the ... Naruto in henge. Not Ino. Man that was a good henge.

"Boss?" they whispered in tandem.

"Keep watch," she-- He, Sakura reminded herself. He ordered the bunshin and they nodded dutifully before vanishing.

Damn.... What kinds of books had he been reading? She'd need to catch up, evidently. After a few minutes of quiet breathing, he nodded, seeming satisfied with what he'd learned. "I need to do this again," he explained. "The bunshin that are currently out don't know what I just figured out."

Sakura nodded understanding as Naruto made the same hand seal. This time, the crowd was all Ino, until half of them turned into copies of herself.

Another flickering series of kawarimi -- and suddenly, he'd gotten a lot less clumsy at that -- they were behind another shrub, far away. Explosions began to rock the distant forest, evidently Kakashi growing irritated with Naruto's tactic. The whistle blew again.

Another surging trip through the forest, and it was starting to become unreasonable how much Naruto was doing. "You should have your bunshin echo the whistle blow next time," she noted to the next Ino she found herself next to, not knowing if she was talking to him -- or a copy. It would reach him eventually, she was pretty sure. Unless it was the real Ino?

On a whim she reached out and groped the other Ino's chest -- mostly because she was annoyed with the quality of--

Oh, oh shit. That was really Ino!

She pulled her hand back as though burned, feeling her face heat up as she blushed. Oh, fuck. She'd never live this down!

"S...Sakura-chan," Ino said, blinking, looking confused. "W...what was that for?"

"I.... I thought you were Naruto in henge!" she hissed.

Ino blinked several times. "I ... am," she answered, confused -- releasing the henge and turning back into Naruto -- this one with a flat chest, she realized, unable to stop herself from probing.

She really had to stop doing that.

Sakura felt her mouth drop open. "Not possible," she refused, shaking her head. "Henge is.... You don't...." Okay, never mind that it shouldn't be possible, come to think of it. Naruto had sent literal armies of decoys out just to distract Kakashi. Why not have him use some sort of more ... substantial version of henge? She'd read of other ninja on occasion becoming so good at techniques.

Mostly ... well ... legendary ninja. And frequently for strangely permanent--

She wasn't sure she wanted to give Naruto that much credit, but ... why the hell not? Come to think of it, Naruto's inner pervert, and his 'research' into the 'sexy' technique.... He might have some sort of weird kekkai genkai he hadn't figured out, or just had some weird knack. Whatever -- that could be a huge asset in infiltration, if he could be a bit more subtle and clever about it.

No way he was remotely a legendary ninja, though.

"That's a pretty rare level of henge," she finally decided, while he waited anxiously. "You must have seriously practiced -- when did you find the time?"

"I remember what every bunshin does," he said simply. "I'm getting like ... a few minutes of practice every second or so, thanks to Bastard-sensei."

"Holy crap," she allowed. That was one hell of a jutsu! She could see why it was on a forbidden scroll.

Naruto offered a proud smile before raising his hands and shifting back to Ino in a cloud of chakra smoke. "Pretty cool, huh?" Naruto asked confidently.

Oh, hell yeah. "If you even think of turning into me and trying to do something naughty with my body, I will end you," she promised him, nodding agreement.

A simultaneously interested -- and then horrified expression flashed over 'Ino's' face.

"What's Ino doing right now?" she wondered, changing the subject.

Naruto frowned. "Not sure," he confessed. "Whatever bunshin are with her haven't dispersed."

Alright -- enough being surprised by Naruto's ability. "Okay, you're probably just as bad at wasting chakra with your bunshin as you are with your kawarimi, aren't you?" she asked.

Naruto blinked, frowning. "Yeah," he allowed, shrugging. "I guess. I mean, I got plenty of chakra, right?"

"You could still be a lot better at it -- I could feel it when we were doing kawarimi together."

"Yeah," Naruto admitted, nodding. "I started to notice that, too. It got annoying, so I started doing it your way -- which, I guess is a bit easier...."

That's the point," she said patiently. "Don't just keep doing it -- get better at it, right?" And, naturally ... if she could find a hundred mistakes in what he did -- well, she'd never have to make those mistakes. And if he had so many bunshin he could reveal all the ways to do something wrong, she'd figure the right way out in his wake -- no problem.

Also, there was no way in hell she was going to let that blonde bimbo win!

She was ahead of Ino as it was -- the real Naruto was hanging out with her, despite the fact that he knew it was a risk.

So she could suck on that! Haha--

Anyway.

"So," she said patiently, "let's talk about how your bunshin work, huh? I bet you haven't really thought about how they talk to each other, have you?"

"No," he admitted.

"This really explains why they ended up so predictable," she mused, shaking her head. "Well, we'll figure that out," she decided, already forming plans -- hah, what was stupid Ino-pig going to offer? Being an air-headed fainting pretty-girl? She'd show her!

"So, let's look back to the training exercise yesterday," she began, already thinking of how easy the guards had been to pass. "Now, how did you have them set to talk to one-another? What sort of system did you use?"

Naruto looked embarrassed. "I kind of.... Well, I read those books, but some of it I kind of.... You know, it's hard to soak up!"

She fought down a surge of relief, managing to keep her smile unchanging. Good -- Naruto hadn't become ridiculously different since ... well.... Okay, Iruka dying -- that should have a strong effect.

And she'd said something bad about Naruto then -- ugh, hopefully being himself, he'd forget. Hey, he'd asked her out already! So, that shouldn't be any kind of problem -- excellent. Good -- perfect, even. She just needed to get him to stop pestering her for dates, and it could be workable!

With Naruto's help, she'd be a way better kunoichi than Ino!

Kurenai was a very quiet, soothing teacher. Hinata was guiltily glad she'd been stuck at home, and gotten a chance to rest adequately. Otherwise, she was certain she would have fallen asleep during the teacher's lessons ... she wouldn't want to, but.... Well....

Sasuke and Kiba both dutifully did the leaf exercise along with her for a few minutes, and then it was time to learn how to walk up trees. The kind, red-eyed teacher scanned across the group and explained the premise of the exercise, and how often they would be able to benefit from it as ninja. After that, she showed them how it was done, and told them to practice.

Hinata had immediately marched to the top of her tree. Sasuke and Kiba stared at her from the ground in consternation, Akamaru releasing a confused whimper from where he was practicing on the leaf exercise by his partner's feet.

She felt bad immediately. "D...did I do something wrong?" she asked fretfully.

"I...it's," Kurenai began, before trailing off uncertainly. "Ah ... you know, it's quite impressive -- it's fairly rare for someone your age to know how to walk on trees already!"

Hinata had no idea what to make of that. It was unusual to learn it? But ... when she was seven, she'd had to! Her father had been disappointed in her, too -- it had taken nearly five days of constant practice to learn that -- followed immediately by a week of water walking practice.

"O...oh," she said, having no other idea of what to do with her time.

Sasuke snorted and ran at the tree, intending to replicate the feat. He made it up three steps or so -- and then flipped over backwards, landing upright and scowling. Shaking his head, he ran again, making a fourth step -- then his foot slipped. He kicked off with his other foot and landed upright again, and Kiba pumped one fist, nodding in determination.

"Right!" he barked, nodding with dogged determination -- and immediately trying to follow suit. He found a more sloped trunk, one he could easily lope up three steps before it began to straighten, and he'd need to use his chakra. He made it up only two steps further than that, but still managed to flip to safety, just like Sasuke.

"Very good!" Kurenai encouraged, applauding the boys' enthusiasm. "Hinata, why don't you come down here?" the teacher suggested. "Since you already know this exercise very well ... why don't we work on some kunoichi training?"

"Oh ... alright," she agreed. Hopefully not more dreadful flower-arranging. She'd already been trained in that by her family -- and then a much clumsier version in the academy. She'd have to do the polite thing and learn the new form anyway, she supposed.

She allowed some of her chakra control to slip, causing her sandals to slide down the trunk of the tree at a reasonable clip, twisting when required to avoid branches -- both of the boys broke off their practice to stare, Sasuke's brows furrowing in annoyance before he snorted and redoubled his efforts, and Kiba just watching, his eyebrows raising.

"Okay, this exercise just got a hell of a lot more interesting," he panted, recovering his breath from his last attempt and then shucking his jacket with an eager grin.

Hinata wished both of them luck, which Kiba accepted with a determinedly enthusiastic growl, and Sasuke with a neutral grunt.

Shortly, they were out of casual earshot, and Kurenai turned to her with a smile. "So, tell me," she said, shaking her head. "Why were you so worn out at practice yesterday? That seemed unlike you."

"Ah ... w...well," she hesitated, uncomfortable. "I ... pushed myself too hard training with Naruto-kun," she offered. "A...and after that, my father insisted to see me show ... well, some proof that I was in good hands."

Kurenai blinked, her red eyes flashing for a moment. "Oh?" she mused. "Could you explain that a little more?"

"W...we sparred, and at the end, he said that ... um ... h...he said that I'd improved enough, but I should ... not be so weak and ... you know...." She trailed off -- it was already obvious she exhausted herself.

"I...is that all?" Kurenai asked, looking strangely bothered.

She thought for a moment and admitted, "I haven't.... My father insists on spending more time sparring with me, now, since I need to improve so badly -- so I haven't been able to meet Naruto in the morning and have breakfast with him lately."

Kurenai's look of confusion deepened. "L...let's explore that a little more too?" she asked, her smile looking strangely forced.

Hinata heaved a tiny sigh -- why was this important? It was just a normal thing between friends -- Naruto had agreed to that himself! She explained what had been going on:

"Naruto-kun has ... well, money is ... without family.... I meet him in the m...mornings before practice and we have breakfast t...together! T...then we talk about...." She shrugged, realizing that suddenly -- she didn't really know how well Kurenai liked Naruto. Better not to give anything important away. "Training, and what we're l...learning," she offered.

Oh ... oh, dear -- she'd probably given her fib away with that stutter. She really needed to practice this!

"That sounds ... alright," Kurenai allowed uncertainly. Then she shook her head. "Is Naruto's financial situation that bad? I hadn't heard anything about this!"

"W...well, he's getting by," she managed. "S...so, we go and shop t...together to save money." Then she shook her head. "B...but I guess I won't be able to do it every day, since I have to practice at home more.... I r...really have a long way to go to be a good kunoichi."

Kurenai looked for a moment as though a kage bunshin had dispersed, giving her a sudden and fiercely unpleasant memory. "Ah ... Hinata-chan -- you're already an amazing kunoichi!" she said, shaking her head to dismiss the unwanted thought. "You-- How can you think that you're a poor kunoichi, if Sasuke and Kiba haven't learned the tree climbing exercise yet, while you have?"

"Okay," she agreed. "T...that's a lot like what Naruto-kun said!" Maybe that meant it was worth listening to, as well?

Kurenai worked her jaw for a moment, then smiled. "Yes-- Good!"

"U...um ... so, what's ... the kunoichi training?" she wondered.

"Ah -- do you know how to walk on water?"

She nodded wordlessly.

Kurenai didn't seem very surprised this time. "Okay. Well! In that case ... you must promise me that you won't show this to anyone else yet -- they need to pace themselves, after all! So, are you familiar with shunshin?"

She nodded her head. "I know what it does," she explains. "B...but I can't ... do it...."

Kurenai nodded, glancing at the boys. "Okay," she said, concentrating for a moment. She made some hand-seals and turned towards the boys, then there was a flash and--

Disoriented, she brought a hand to her head; she was standing beneath a different tree, near a lake. Kurenai was with her, and when she activated her kekkai genkai, she realized they weren't far away from the boys. She also noted the genjutsu making it look like they were still there (looking especially transparent to a byakugan eye), while Kurenai nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, you will promise, right? No one else is ready for this yet -- not until they master bunshin, henge, and kawarimi!"

"Okay," Hinata agreed. She would absolutely let no one know what she was learning -- except Naruto. He'd been so excited at the prospect of learning shunshin, how could she not? "I swear, Kurenai-sensei!" No one but Naruto-kun would hear about this from her!

Kurenai looked satisfied. "Remember," she warned, "I'm only teaching you this because you're such a capable kunoichi!"

Hinata felt her face warm. "R...really?" she asked, smiling uncertainly.

"Absolutely," the red-eyed woman confirmed. "Now, activate your kekkai genkai and watch me closely, okay?"

Hinata nodded, raising her hands in the familiar seal and activating the full force of her family's power. Kurenai's chakra and tenketsu sprang into sharp focus, and her field of vision stretched, expanding around her in what was almost a complete sphere. She naturally shifted her orientation around enough to compensate for that blind-spot -- any remotely worthwhile Hyuuga would.

She wondered idly if that made other people think that Hyuuga were fidgetey.

That thought was dismissed as she watched the flows of energy -- the very dimly observable traces of chakra swirling through Kurenai's significantly brighter hara, shaped through her hand-seal, brought down low near the source of chakra and then released. Okay, she thought, trying to analyze what she'd seen. Kurenai had sent out a very, very fast probe of some sort of chakra to a point-- No, she was going to need to see that again.

"I...I'm sorry, Sensei!" she blurted immediately, remembering to actually politely turn her face to the woman. "I didn't ... I didn't get it!"

"But-- Hinata-chan," Kurenai sighed from only a few paces away. "I haven't even really shown you the hand-seal! I just wanted you to see the jutsu in motion once before we began!"

"I...." Hinata swallowed, ducking her head. "O...oh...."

"Here; watch, it's just the ram seal," Kurenai said warmly, drawing closer and offering her a bright smile. "See?" She shaped the sign before her, giving Hinata plenty of time to absorb it, and the flow of chakra through Kurenai. "After you learn that simple application, we'll work on practicing it until you can do it one handed -- and from there, if you like, you can keep working at it until you can do it without any seal at all!

"In fact, there was once a shinobi of Konoha who was so good at it they called him 'Shunshin no Shisui'! His skill at using this jutsu offensively was nearly unparalleled." She paused, suggesting she could say more about him, but then shook her head. Hinata suspected that whatever she offered next was a slight divergence. "He was so skilled, he didn't need to make any movements at all -- it seemed almost as though he could teleport at will! You may not reach his legendary skill, but as you might imagine -- this is a very useful tool for any ninja's arsenal, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded eagerly. She would absolutely learn this jutsu! Naruto would be so pleased! "Yes, Sensei!" she cried cheerfully. "Please, teach me!"

Shino had been somewhat impressed with Sasuke's performance in the training exercise that Naruto and Shikamaru had conducted together -- insofar as combat effectiveness, at least. All the same, as Naruto had been quick to exploit -- the Uchiha boy had gotten overconfident. He'd learned early on that Naruto's bunshin could be dispersed by inflicting minimal damage, so he could just use the weakest, widest possible wave of fire. That was typically pretty effective, too.

The bug-user was growing increasingly wary of him, though. Sasuke would be responsible in front of the teachers -- and he was unlikely to do anything to jeopardize the group's success. Still, Naruto was Shino's friend -- like Shikamaru. Naruto was still leaving himself vulnerable in some ways, and so Shino intended to do his best to watch over the blond boy's weak spots.

It would be good practice for ANBU later, he'd already decided. It wasn't too hard to maintain kikaichu on him. They only lasted a few hours, but he found he could send a few dozen at once. They could nest in his coat, and were so small that Naruto missed them. In the meantime ... even though it hadn't really been discussed he'd finally gotten his insects to the point they could leave improved pheromone messages that would persist for later retrieval.

There was the possibility of someone with unusually sharp perception noticing them ... Kiba seemed a possible candidate, and perhaps Hinata. Shino was significantly more aware of Naruto's limitations and potential than Hinata's. So, this had prompted the self-imposed mission to learn more about the girl; a background check, as it was.

Ostensibly, they should have been investigating Naruto's kekkai genkai -- if that's what it was. The book Sakura mentioned had been in the library index, but much to the librarian's frustration, it was nowhere to be found. The attendant then simply shrugged and declared it a loss, suggesting that a new one would be ordered in a few months -- but maybe he could find one in town.

He was becoming reasonably certain that there were none in town after checking five shops.

They'd somewhat strained Hinata's loyalty anyway, so he tried to monitor her, learn more about her and see if she would tell Naruto what Shikamaru and Shino had suggested. That would probably actually be fine -- but it would reveal more about Hinata's nature.

She really did seem trustworthy so far though, more than just fond of Naruto, as he'd discovered.

He'd just gotten to the point where he could send small groups of kikaichu to actually survive and breed independently. For a few days at most, before reporting back. Much longer and they'd die off. A handful of generations at best, but potentially priceless for gathering information. He would preserve the most successful, being sure to especially encourage any that showed promise of bringing back more details than just generalities to breed superior partner insects.

That would be a truly precious find. He was confident that some day soon, as long as he kept searching for those positive traits ... he'd find them. Others in his clan had frequently developed such kikaichu.

So, the plan had been to utilize his partner insects to do Naruto a small favor, and also cultivate new attributes and strengths at the same time. To even out the balance, he'd intended to employ the same process he did with his own coat; he'd long ago had his kikaichu integrate many of the features of moths, silkworms, and various spiders. As a result, they could eat the torn, ruined cloth, and then weave back new replacement thread, almost seamlessly.

It certainly helped against the wear Kakashi put on Shino's clothing, anyway.

That was standard Aburame training, though; all of his clothes were kikaichu-made, and were even before he could make his own. It wasn't by coincidence that Aburame who retired from the idea of becoming shinobi after ... synchronizing with their partners frequently became tailors. His father, in point of fact, wore the beads of mastery at the craft, hanging from his own dark glasses. Shino wasn't that good himself, but he thought he could at least do a fair job.

He felt that would be a reasonable compromise. It wasn't that he wanted to spy on Naruto, as much as he felt it would be advantageous to understand things about his circumstances that he ... really ... might not notice on his own. Like the fact that his coat was getting mended.

And he couldn't imagine that Shikamaru would mind ample warning if Naruto seemed to be lured into some sort of ambush. That thought in mind, while he was ... 'bugging', he supposed, the other members of his current team -- and Asuma, who seemed just as unaware, he spent special focus on his experimental new temporarily independent kikaichu. He wouldn't be sending them anywhere until he met with Naruto again, so that gave him time to prepare -- since 'meditation' was almost completely pointless.

No offense to Asuma.

Information was power, after all. But mostly, he wanted them to try and preserve the orange. Like some bold insects, Naruto wore a bright color -- then again, considering his hair and relatively distinctive eyes, he had more than one bright color. Also, like most of those insects, Naruto would badly poison any predator that tried to eat him.

Considering that he was working on his henge, he could also probably make real stealth an option at almost a moment's notice, but Shino wasn't certain Naruto would ever really be that kind of ninja.

So, for the time being ... orange it was.

Anko pursed her lips, considering the end-of-day reports her bunshin were sending in. One of them -- under henge as Naruto -- returned to her apartment roof as she sat there, cross-legged, handing over a handful of dango on skewers before sticking one hand out, demanding real money. Well ... yeah, Kakashi would probably get all ticked off if she let that fall onto Naruto.

Her bunshin realized that, too, so swiped some ryo from her hand while she was counting it, then ran off, cackling like the blond boy on a pranking spree.

Good enough, she supposed.

A heartbeat later, she almost choked on her dango when an ANBU arrived via shunshin, staring down at her with a bear-mask. Oh -- the same one ... that had been with Kakashi earlier. Huh.

"Uh," she said, somewhat belatedly. "Dango, ANBU-san?" She held out a skewer.

The ANBU may have blinked behind the mask. "Hmm," he mused, tonelessly. He did, after a moment, take a skewer with an entirely unreadable nod. Then he produced a scroll from a pouch that was far too small to contain it, remarking with a jutsu-veiled voice, "It only seems right in the balance."

She accepted the scroll dutifully. What, some summons from the Hokage?

The bear masked stranger vanished as abruptly as he arrived, and Anko shrugged, leisurely opening the scroll. Annoying -- one of those summoning thingamajigs.

Some stored item, but probably not a heavy one. She rolled it back up and re-organized her remaining food, scarfing one whole skewer's worth -- no need to be ladylike without anyone watching -- before vaulting back to the door of her apartment and stepping inside. Once there she tossed the scroll on the table and threw herself onto the couch, leaning forward and activating the seal with a pulse of chakra. A small stack of papers -- about six of them -- popped out of the array.

She frowned picking them up and skimming through them.

Her eyes widened as she saw -- spelled out with ANBU clarity -- a summary of the life of Kakashi's father.

Oh, shit, she remembered that from before.... Well, damn. That was somewhat alarming. Why the hell had some random ANBU decided she should have....

"'In the balance'?" she asked herself aloud, her voice slipping towards an indignant screech. Oh, that unforgivable asshole -- he'd yanked her ANBU file! The ANBU in question had then--

Oh, that one-eyed bastard was going to pay! She was going to put some venomous serpents down his pants the next time she managed to get him into her bed!

She had just started to work herself up into a good, really destructively frothing rage, when she heard a knock on the door of her apartment. Oh, yes, Kakashi! Time for justice!

The papers were stowed with minimal difficulty in her miniskirt. There was a reason she'd chosen that particular length and a hidden sleeve that could hold a few sheets of densely recorded information for infiltration missions. She spent a heartbeat trying to get herself ready -- to look her most vapid and hungry.

That-- That-- Oh, he was going to suffer for that! The jerk couldn't even ask her?!

"Hey, hotness," she said brightly, wrenching open the door and grinning, letting her jacket flare wide for--

Kurenai.

Damn it!

The red eyed woman blinked, looking completely unimpressed. "Is this a bad time?" she drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"I-- No," Anko snarled. "I'm just-- It's--"

Immediately Kurenai raised her other eyebrow. "Alright," she said, shaking her head slightly, "why don't we discuss this over some tea?"

"And what if I don't want to do this frilly feelings bullshit?" Anko grumbled.

Kurenai showed a warm smile. "Would you like a few minutes of narakumi?" she asked sweetly. "Or perhaps significantly longer, before we can get to the important part?"

"Oh, you love seeing me when I'm down," Anko snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"With your attitude, yes, I do," the red-eyed woman said, somewhat smugly. "All the same -- I will help you; it would be pathetic for our genin to band together and overcome their issues, and then not do the same. Why not have a nice little heart-to-heart and talk things out, productively, like good girls? The kind that men dismiss, and so are easier to surprise?"

Anko closed her mouth so abruptly that her teeth clicked.

Huh.

Even the Chibikage would say to agree with that.

Once she was sure she wouldn't swear, she hissed, "I love tea!"

Kurenai's grin grew exceptionally pleased. "There; we have something in common already! We can both be extremely bitchy and hide it behind a polite mask!"

Anko was so surprised she snorted in laughter at that, then scowling that her defenses were breached. "I don't want Kakashi or anyone else to walk in while I vent," she grumbled. "If that's what you're going to le-- make me do."

"Kakashi specifically?" the red-eyed woman asked, stepping into Anko's apartment and closing the door, heading to the kitchenette. Shortly, she'd started a kettle, and then dumped chakra into some extensive genjutsu that she promised would shroud even sound.

That was actually pretty smooth, and Anko had to admit, the only way she'd let herself be coerced into spilling what had pissed her off. Plus, as Kurenai had demonstrated, she could bare her fangs when she had to. That was respectable. She wasn't all coddling nicey-niceness.

"This side of you is a bit more of a turn-on," she told Kurenai, studying her for a reaction as the other kunoichi was pouring tea.

She didn't react beyond an amused snort, except to comment, "Oh, you tell everyone who threatens you that."

"T...that's ... only mostly true," Anko protested half-heartedly, before growling, reaching back into her miniskirt.

Kurenai began to look alarmed, and for a moment, the special jounin was strongly tempted to.... But no, scaring Kurenai might just piss her off. And that would detract from just how much feminine outrage she was pretty confident she could scare up against Kakashi.

"An ANBU with a bear mask dropped this off," she explained, handing the papers she'd only halfway read through to Kurenai. Hissing, she added, in an ominous, angry voice, "He said this was 'in the balance' -- implying that Kakashi-- Well!" She huffed at that, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kurenai's eyebrows rose, and she skimmed the papers before her. "Kakashi's father," she noted, skimming through the first half. "And ... ah -- oh, this is the mission where.... His eye...."

Wait, what? That was in there? Oh, this was juicy!

She instantly slipped to Kurenai's side, reading along with her. Maybe she was going to get some sweet revenge after all! Only.... That was one hell of a report; the yondaime himself was there that night ... and then Kakashi had broken his father's blade the same evening?

This was going to take a detailed re-reading later.

Still.... Before she spilled anything to the jounin, she needed to figure out what to hand out, and what to hold back. No way in hell she wasn't going to dig, thinking Anko was more vulnerable pissed off.

"Anyway," she said, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to keep going as she had -- to show Kurenai a woman who was hurt, someone she could probably sympathize with.

Seriously -- the woman had issues, projecting onto Hinata like that. The Hyuuga girl was damn near thriving in her situation, all things considered.

"He must have read my file," she huffed, wincing internally at the realization she couldn't prove that.

"ANBU isn't in the habit of handing things out like-- Oh.... His own teammate...."

"Yeah? Well-- Ooh! Well, that explains some of his attitude," Anko agreed, distracted by the text.

"So, tell me," Kurenai said in a friendly voice, lowering the paper at the end of the summary and turning to face the special jounin. "What are you concerned about that he'd be finding in your file? You wouldn't be worked up if it weren't something...."

Damn. She was right, though.... "Alright," she allowed, sighing. "You could probably figure this out yourself if you dug in the right places." Sure, whatever -- build up some sympathy, then wriggle out of that part of the explanation -- leave it behind like an old skin and maneuver the conversation back to Kakashi. "It's not really even a C rank secret."

Sure, give a kid like Naruto the benefit of an S rank secret -- which Anko still wasn't privy to, beyond Asuma mentioning in passing that it existed, and that was the end of her explanation on his seal. She privately wished the Chibikage and his minions a lot of luck researching Naruto's kekkai genkai; there really were a lot of unanswered questions about his chakra levels.

Plus, if Kurenai hadn't bothered asking around, well, she could really surprise the red-eyed woman.

Or ... she'd ... use some brilliant genjutsu, like her reputation said she might. Hell, Anko could be in the middle of that right at the moment.

Ugh -- hopefully the red eyed woman was more warm-hearted than that.

Fine; playing up this angle wasn't so bad.

Heaving a sigh, she explained, "So ... when I was younger, I actually trained under a legendary ninja. H...he was my sensei, and I was ... his favorite student. Or so I thought." She shrugged her shoulders, incidentally letting her heavy coat fall to the floor -- the collar would cover her neck, after all. She turned her back to Kurenai and raised one hand, indicating the cursed seal on the back of her neck.

"This is Orochimaru's kiss," she said by way of explanation. After a momentary pause, she added, "I had just turned thirteen." The first day she'd ever had her.... Well, anyway; there was a good possibility that was one of the factors that had allowed her to survive the damning procedure, stepping through a sudden, unexpected door from child to woman.

She was the only survivor of that attempt, as it so happened.

She turned back, shrugging again as one foot snagged the edge of her coat and kicked it up, into her hands reach before pulling it on. "The jerk could have asked," she growled, uncomfortable to realize she wasn't sure if she was grousing about the monstrous teacher she had vowed to one day kill ... or the man that had found that out behind her back.

"Well," Kurenai said after a moment, her face surprisingly unreadable, "you said this information wasn't precisely secret. Being honest ... neither is most of the information here. Kakashi doesn't quite hide the fact that he's the 'legendary copy ninja', you know. Any enemy he'd take seriously would already know, and he's aware. Still, some of these specifics.... So, showing him that you're pissed off about this is really going to give away the upper hand."

Anko's mouth dropped open, slightly stunned that Kurenai's analysis was already oriented to subtle manipulation. Oh, damn. She was one of those sweet cuddly types that would get into place and wrap her coils around-- What had Anko gotten herself into?

Kurenai's smile widened fractionally, as though seeing Anko's realization written in her eyes. "Hmm," she mused, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anko, let me tell you something honestly; I'm troubled by the fact that there aren't more strong female ninja. Tsunade is one example, but look where she went -- retired out sight. I hear she doesn't even wear a Konoha headband.

"Is that the best example we can have for the children? A female ninja that gives up and evidently turns to drinking at the first sign of trouble?" Kurenai asked, shaking her head softly. "And, being honest, since I don't know her, it's possible that her reasons for doing that are related to your past. We may actually have a common enemy in that thanks to him, what should have been two powerful kunoichi instead spend a lot of time acting silly instead of really applying themselves.

"But then ... as a master of deception, it isn't like I don't get that you can accomplish much more by being careful about the exterior you show. It is to much to hope that some day, one of the kunoichi we teach steps into the role of legendary ninja?" Then her eyes narrowed. "And at that ... what have you been hiding from us?"

If it weren't for the fact that it would actually require a jutsu -- or a somewhat painful stretch -- Anko would have strongly considered dislocating her jaw to dangle even lower in surprise. "W...what ... do you think I've been hiding?" she asked, unable to keep the faintest tone of anxiety from her voice.

The other woman detected it without pause, her eyes narrowing.

Okay -- time for a frantic bait-and-switch:

In a panic, she blurted out, "I saw Naruto and Sasuke pick a fight on their day off -- all of the other genin watched!"

Kurenai's eyebrows rose again.

"Naruto won -- he was surprisingly clever about it," she babbled, letting herself sink to the level of awareness she used for infiltration, when she had to try and explain or pass herself off. "I didn't think.... W...well, he didn't even hurt Sasuke; see, he jumped into Sasuke's fireball -- toughed out the burn, then created bunshin outside of the damaging area, right? And, and then he held Sasuke at kunai-point and made him surrender. Even Sasuke admitted that he lost fairly!"

After her Chibikage had pointed it out to everyone, anyway.

Kurenai's reaction was a mystery, lost within--

Oh, shit. Was this whole thing, even the ANBU paperwork, some nightmarish genjutsu effect from Kurenai? She discretely ran one hand through her hair, giving herself a shallow stab in one palm with her hairpin. The treatment she gave it stung, but wasn't really a poison, so shortly her hand burned with pain, and would for an hour or so.

Nothing about her surroundings changed when she tried to worm out of any illusion, but she wasn't about to give Kurenai the satisfaction of dropping kai right in front of her. Hell, if she were that desperate, she might as well just break a finger.

"I see," the red eyed woman said after a moment, thoughtfully. "I shouldn't be surprised you'd cover that up...."

"I thought we were going to tear apart Kakashi," Anko mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why on earth would you let him off that easily?" Kurenai wondered, looking mildly puzzled.

Anko blinked again, suddenly regretting how much her hand stung as she dropped it back to her side. "What?"

"Mmm," Kurenai returned, shaking her head as though to dismiss some distraction. "I think you would do best to hold it silently over his head for a time. Never mind for the moment," she said. "Just keep yourself in the mindset of infiltration; we can talk about this after we discuss our students."

The special jounin gave a nod at that without hesitation. She was pretending to be cowed by the older woman, was all. She wasn't really terrified.

Just pretending.

Just like she was with Kakashi....

Seated in what he was rapidly defining as his favorite place in the apartment -- as much as one could like the heart of such a woman's lair -- Asuma allowed himself to enter fire meditation. His thoughts all were stacked neatly, then burned away, leaving his mind an empty, clear void. He descended through the layers of his psyche, delving for the very recent, fresh memories of that day.

From there, he studied his surroundings. There was Kakashi, leaning against a wall and seemingly indifferent. There, both women sharing the couch in Anko's apartment. Asuma didn't know why Anko had volunteered her own living space for the meeting area, but at least the front room was civilized. No clutter on the floor, no decorations on ... well ... any surface.

It was conducive towards meditation, or some other kind of strict focus.

Kakashi quickly seemed to grow bored, pulling a book from his pocket.

"Gotten to chapter sixteen yet?" Anko asked, almost immediately.

"Truly," Kakashi answered without hesitation, "your analysis of this chapter was correct; I am re-reading it for the third time to absorb all of the ... subtle nuance, the deep ... insight. Amazing, moving stuff. Quite powerful."

Asuma glanced at the 'Adults Only!' warning on the back, and quickly dismissed the remark as rare sarcasm from the white-haired jounin.

"Uh," Anko answered, frowning slightly.

"Anyway," Asuma interrupted, shaking his head slightly, observing from within the clarity of fire; burning away the impure details and leaving a refined awareness behind.

"For my students today; Shino is using my lessons as a chance to pretend he is paying attention, while I believe his focus is going to his own, different inner workings. In the same way that Kiba's awareness is partially entangled with his partner's, so is Shino's.

"I believe the time still benefits him, though. Shikamaru seems to be willing to put forth the effort and Choji is more interested in mental exercise than physical."

"That sounds promising," Kurenai remarked, nodding. "Now; before we get to either Naruto or Sasuke, Anko has something to share with us," Kurenai noted, glancing at the younger woman expectantly.

The special jounin scowled, and then related the story of a fight between the two genin, while no other teachers had been around.

An obvious risk of them getting together to train on their own, Asuma thought, before that idea flicked into the flames as well. "Knowing that," Asuma said slowly, "as much as we should avoid making things too easy for our students, I think Sasuke might do better without being in a team with Naruto for a brief while."

"As easy as that will be to pull off while keeping Ino and Sakura together," Kakashi put in, closing his book and pocketing it in a pouch. "My students for today were ... quite impressive, actually." From there, he related a story about Naruto's utilization of bunshin, and his increasing deviance at applying them. To say nothing of his henge being very hard to spot.

Kakashi finally concluded, "And he's applying himself to improving kawarimi, as I'd hoped the light combat exercises would show them. Since Naruto has trouble pacing himself, and was liable to wear himself out -- I broke combat exercise in favor of debate for the post-lunch segment."

Anko gave a grudgingly approving nod at that. "Almost no enemy is going to be so poor at kawarimi they can't resist, or produce their own first," she warned.

"Hmm, Naruto's bunshin seem to have an attitude of absolute personal expandability, except when they're trying to play the role of someone else," Kakashi countered. "He might just pull it off -- and in the meantime, the defensive utility....

"I wouldn't admit this to him, but I honestly lost both Ino and Sakura in all of Naruto's bunshin -- by the time I found Sakura, she was administering treatment for some senbon I'd slowed Naruto with. I decided that since they were doing quite well, and it was good teamwork in the face of Ino's strange 'date' request, I'd let them get away with that.

"And even though it seemed a bit suspicious, well, other than to chide them for it taking up valuable focus, I don't have a hand in their romantic issues."

"Excuse me," Kurenai said, somewhat sharply, her eyes narrowing. "Ino -- 'date request'?"

"Some strange idea she had about it improving teamwork," Kakashi said with a shrug. "She told Naruto it wouldn't be romantic -- to consider it training for later 'real' dates."

"Huh," Kurenai allowed, frowning. "That'll be something to keep an eye out for tomorrow, then."

Anko gave a nod at that, raising her eyebrows. "Blondie's just playing with the boy," she judged, uninvited. "Trying to get on his good side to get protection from mean old Kakashi during morning training. Not bad seduction practice, and she's playing pretty smart--"

"She's twelve," Kurenai overrode her suddenly. "I don't care how relatively 'tame' it is, don't you have some worries about what this does to them?"

The special jounin huffed a very brief sigh and bit back whatever she was going to say, shrugging before she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Manipulating people is part of the art of ninja," Asuma determined, allowing the smoke of ideas to escape his meditative focus, filling the void in discussion. "Ino is being responsible -- all things considered."

Kurenai shot him an incredibly sharp look at that.

"And, is sensei jealous for Hinata not getting more of Naruto's attention?" Anko asked with a toothy smirk, her brief restraint not lasting.

Asuma was glad he didn't have to be the one who brought that point to bear; but he swiftly added that thought to the blaze.

On of the red eyed woman's eyebrows twitched a fine distance, but she bit her tongue, ordering her argument before she spoke. "I believe allowing careless relationships at this age between almost any of the students would be a mistake," she explained. "It would be just as disastrous if Sasuke were to suddenly change attitude and decided to encourage Sakura and Ino to compete for his attention. This is a lot of potentially unneeded drama."

"In that case, it is well that this is exposed so you can curb those things before they are an issue," Asuma determined, breaking from his meditation enough to give her a rage-blunting smile of confident encouragement. "You will see them tomorrow, after all. In the meantime ... Hinata, Sasuke, and Kiba?"

"I put Sasuke and Kiba to work climbing trees; the Uchiha boy was doing better at it than Kiba, but unless they spend a lot of personal time on it, they've got a lot of work to go." Kurenai paused, then added, "Hinata already knew the exercise, as well as walking on water."

Asuma nodded, not terribly surprised that a Hyuuga had such ability. Chakra control was what they were all about.

Especially of other people, through their tenketsu.

So being good at the relatively 'easy' exercises was effectively mandatory for any member of the clan, unless they had absolutely no ninja ambition.

"In recognition of that, I'm giving her a head start on shunshin," she added.

Kakashi gave a nod at that; so did Asuma. It seemed reasonable. Kakashi would probably consider it a good improvement to her otherwise sometimes low mobility. With her precision, she'd probably be able to benefit from shunshin quite a bit.

"The others will all be taught soon enough, but...." She shrugged. "I didn't really have anything else set up, since she's ahead of the other students."

"And going to stay that way, with you slipping her extra lessons like that," Anko jibed, shaking her head.

"Thank you," Kurenai said dryly. "I was able to use Hinata's skill at the training exercise to encourage Kiba and Sasuke to emulate her; she was able to gain some measure of confidence, I think, from being the motivation for those two to improve. I'm just worried about the idea that after all of that, she'll be unexpectedly crushed by Naruto and Ino on a ... 'date'!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kakashi said with a shrug.

"How hard has she really fallen for Naruto, anyway?" Anko asked, somewhat doubtfully. "I know dedication, you know ... especially from a girl that age."

She seemed to speak with some authority, shooting a hooded gaze at Kakashi, who straightened up for some reason, the light in his visible eye dimming in concentration.

The fire resumed in Asuma's mind, crackling with clarity and significance. Anko and Kurenai were getting along too well for Anko's venom. Therefore ... Kurenai and the other woman were up to something.

He and Kakashi were out of the loop -- the two possible targets of such a ploy. Asuma checked his conscience and found himself remarkably clear. Hells, he even forked out the ryo to feed his students -- and Kurenai's as well. Not that money wasn't trivial to him, at least at those expense levels; he spent more on tobacco than food in a day.

Not that he'd let Kurenai hear that.

At any rate, his choices were to ignore Kakashi, or help him -- but no way would he go against Kurenai in front of her.

"Kakashi's probably right," Kurenai said, somewhat doubtfully.

Anko shrugged at those words, falling silent again with a speculative glance at Kakashi.

For his part, the copy ninja was thoughtful -- also quiet.

Asuma had spent years around monks, and they would sometimes be more talkative than the sensei group was being.

Sometimes, it was a pain having to be the deep one. Why couldn't he be flighty? Oh, sure, laugh it up -- the meditation expert and former monk was a 'lazy bum'. They could say that all they wanted; a lazy bum would not rack up thirty five million ryo in bounties on his own head in service to the daimyo.

He heaved a very small sigh and fed the bonfire of his meditation with his own affinity; strong winds shoveling power into the blaze, a whirling simoom that tore hungrily through the ideas that had crowded his peripheral clarity.

The abrupt peace he achieved was so profound that all three other ninja turned to look at him. Then, too, it could be that he'd extended his own chakra to lightly commingle with the entirety of the room's air.

Not heavily enough to do much with it, but he reached to the cracks in the door and windows, pulling fresh oxygen in. By the time it reached the almost completely extinguished cigarette, there was enough purified oxygen maintained in the shape that he wanted. The symbol of fire country abruptly ignited -- holding form through elemental shaping alone before Asuma as he concentrated.

Another shift, and much more difficult, he described the leaf of Konoha, and the much easier central whirlpool, that subtle nod to long lost allies....

"You have our attention," Anko allowed, her eyes wide with alarm at the reminder that Sarutobi Asuma was, in fact, the current Hokage's son. "What the hell!"

"Let us focus on the tasks at hand," he said sternly. "Anko, if you make such observations, do you feel that they are worthy of our consideration, or are you merely bored? I can devise any number of exercises for an idle mind; if Naruto is within the scope of my comprehension, do you truly think you exceed that?"

Okay ... far more condescending than he had intended, but the sharp wisdom of the wind cut deeply, especially with the stinging burn of simoom added to the touch. A fiery maelstrom that left ash and the promise of room for new growth in its wake; he couldn't just grab the woman and bear her down that path, any more than he could haul Kakashi along it.

He restrained his temper, the loose chakra flowing back into him as the fire flickered away, and he released the heat, sinking back further, purely into wind meditation.

"You really think so?" she asked, not quite willing to add the full sarcastic lilt to her voice.

"Do you truly wish to find out?" he wondered. No, no matter. "Very well; Anko, discern the truth of this, but you may only make one pronouncement of what you believe it means in a day. What is the wisdom of this koan: 'When you meet the sage of the six paths in the road, you must kill him'?"

Anko opened her mouth immediately, then thought better, confounded. "Wait, what?" she boggled. "I don't-- He would kick your ass! Why would anyone even try that?!"

"Better luck tomorrow," he determined.

A screech of annoyance escaped, before she fixed him with a glare -- and Kakashi saw what had really gone on, shooting a veiled but grateful nod to Asuma for the distraction. "I will beat the crap out of your thinky-puzzle," Anko groused. "Just you wait until tomorrow!"

"Indeed." He turned his attention back to Kurenai, who was giving him her thoughtful look. "Any other news concerning our students?"

"Kiba and Sasuke were surprisingly well behaved, though I sense a certain amount of wariness between them," the red eyed woman allowed.

"Good," Asuma decided. At least they wouldn't have to deal with any romantic 'date' nonsense, he thought in satisfaction

"Though, this all being decided--" Kurenai turned and fixed Asuma with a much more deeply considering gaze. "I would like to speak with you in private concerning something else."

His satisfaction faded....

Hinata was so excited, she could barely restrain herself. She knew she wasn't brilliant at it -- yet -- but she'd managed shunshin, and she was confident that she could teach Naruto, too! She was so eager to surprise him!

But she was a kunoichi, not a little girl; she would restrain herself and tell him properly in their training session that night. With her father's increased attention, she was starting to realize she'd probably only get to have breakfast and nightly training with Naruto every other night....

That was okay, though! That was an increase of very near infinity percent compared to how much time they got to spend together before graduation!

She managed to restrain herself until after everyone had finished grumbling about their training. She was surprised to see that both Sakura and Ino were calmer about it, and looked much less roughed up than usual after a round with Kakashi. Then again, she reminded herself, they'd had Naruto on their team, and he was amazing; the kind of ninja who naturally would some day become Hokage!

Everyone had finished paying Senzo, preparing to leave their usual meeting place. As soon as Sasuke was out of the door, already knowing who he would spend his next day with, Ino turned to Naruto and without hesitation said words that -- strangely -- made the entire world shake, nearly tearing apart. How Senzo's didn't collapse at the strain, she would never know.

"Okay, Naruto -- let's get to that date, huh?" the blonde asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nn," Hinata tried desperately, barely able to make a noise louder than the faintest wheeze, unable to complete the boy's name. No--no! Even as her eyes began to water, her kekkai genkai activated, bypassing the shimmering curtain of moisture.

"Training," Naruto answered, nodding.

Hinata's heart gave an unsteady beat at that, uncertain if it was wise to continue further -- but she had to hear. Training? Maybe ... not a date?

"Yeah, exactly," Ino agreed, glancing across the others -- but particularly Sakura. Not Hinata. "We're not really going to date. I mean, me and Naruto?"

At his slightly stung look, Hinata fought back the urge to place the edge of a knife-hand between Ino's vertebrae; that would slow Naruto's ascent to the role of Hokage.

The Yamanaka girl continued, "My hair is a great color, but come on, Naruto, there would be way too much of a good thing!" Then she winked, grabbing his arm.

Suddenly, Hinata found herself fascinated with the various tenketsu within a blond girl's hand. She could probably significantly inconvenience Ino without jeopardizing Naruto's rise to Hokage -- really, it would probably just be the kind of thing she should do as a friend, if there were any chance Ino would try and hurt him. Thinking about it for more then a second, that felt like the only proper thing to do!

"E...er, right," Naruto agreed, frowning slightly, then pulling his hand free as he made a seal -- producing a copy of himself. One of the the two copies of Naruto went to stand by Hinata and dropped a hand to her shoulder without hesitation. "I'm doing real training and practice with Hinata-chan, though."

Hinata had no idea why the furniture in Senzo's kept breaking so easily around them -- probably something to do with Shino's kikaichu -- but no matter.

She was holding one of Naruto's hands and managing not to tremble with too much excitement. The other genin -- especially Ino and Sakura -- were staring at her for some reason. "We're going to train!" she agreed eagerly. Ino blinked slowly, turning a hesitant glance to the bunshin with her, who shrugged. "I'll report what I find out later, Boss," he promised.

"Right," the Naruto that Hinata had grabbed a hold of agreed, rifling through his pockets one-handed and producing some ryo, from a painfully thin frog wallet.

Aw, that was so cute!

The bunshin took the money with a nod.

Sakura blinked, watching the bunshin and Ino leave, the blonde somewhat surprised at the blond's behavior.

"You," the pink-haired girl said slowly. "You can.... You just sent Ino on a date with your jutsu?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, frowning slightly. "Why? Is that bad, or something?"

Sakura shook her head in surprise, explaining, "No, that seems perfectly appropriate to me." Then she looked away, muttering, "That is the world's best ten-foot pole...."

"Well, anyway," Naruto said with a shrug, not seeming to hear as he produced another bunshin to visit with Shikamaru and Shino. "Hinata-chan and I are going to practice taijutsu."

"Aww," Kiba whined, frowning. "I wanted you to come over and practice with me-- Oh, wait! Send a copy of yourself over!"

"It'll break," Naruto said apologetically. "Though, if you like--" He made another bunshin without hesitation. "You can still hang out."

"Kiba's family is pretty cool," the new bunshin agreed. "I think my favorite member is Akamaru!"

"Mine, too!" Kiba yelped with a surprised grin, while the dog in question gave a slightly preening, knowing nod.

Hinata managed to restrain her smile again; everyone wanted a piece of Naruto-kun, but she got the real one. She found the presence of mind to leave another portion of her weekly allowance behind before leaving.

That was fine, then. Still.... The other genin were realizing how wonderful he was. Better to take advantage of her own closeness to him before that changed!

They got to the training ground, and she hesitantly confessed, "U...um, Naruto-kun...." He looked at her expectantly, already surrounded by a circle of six observing bunshin. "A...ah.... W...what about, if, instead of practicing taijutsu, w...we were to work on shunshin?"

His eyes widened in eager expectation. "Yeah!" he cheered. "Yes! Oh -- that would be so sweet! Hinata-chan, I'd be so happy! You'll teach me that?"

"L...let's trade training," she managed, her face going red at the thought. "W...when I finish teaching you this, y...you should sh...show me w...what ... you learn from I...I...Ino," she sputtered out, each syllable becoming more difficult to form until she finally completed it.

"I--" He cut off, looking confused, and she felt mortified for the single heartbeat it took him to explode into a truly happy grin. "Yeah! He cried, grabbing her in a tight hug and spinning around unexpectedly. "I knew you'd come up with some way to let me pay you back for being so awesome!" he gushed.

She felt herself growing faint with happiness. Even when they weren't on the same team she got to spend time with Naruto! Wasn't that nice?

"O...okay, but ... um ... Kurenai-sensei might be upset if she finds out I taught you," Hinata warned. "W...we'll have to be careful."

Naruto nodded slowly, frowning. "Yeah ... and then ... that would mean I couldn't really use it until she taught us.... Aw, man...." Then he brightened. "Oh! What a great prank -- she'll think when it's time to teach me that I'm just an amazing natural!"

"Yes!" Hinata enthused. "Hokage-material, absolutely!" Which, obviously, he was.

"Yeah!"

Some other people might need it to be made more obvious, though.

"Watch closely," she instructed, realizing he wouldn't be able to utilize her kekkai genkai. That would be okay; she could just watch him very, very closely while he practiced.

"Ready!"

The familiar, comforting blaze of his chakra filled her vision, and she shaped the jutsu to flash to a nearby point of their chosen training ground. "It's the seal of the ram," she offered, which he immediately adopted, staring at her avidly. Oh ... Kami ... watching Naruto was one thing, but him watching her-- She felt almost as powerful and amazing as ... well ... Naruto!

She whispered the name of the technique, pouring her chakra into it and altering her course slightly; it was a space-time jutsu, much like kawarimi, so she didn't technically pass through the space adjacent to the boy she was teaching. Her chakra did, a sort of mathematical signature for the incredibly few fractions of an instant where she stopped existing as matter and became energized, crossing the space between the two points of the technique before collapsing back into her own form, her nerves tingling and jangling more loudly than the relatively subtle tug of kawarimi's after-effects.

"So, did you see?" she asked anxiously, turning to look at Naruto as he marveled at the spot where she had been -- and where she was. The bunshin watching it dispersed, reporting back their observations to the blond boy.

"I-- Wow!" he exclaimed, blinking. "I really don't think I got that at all!"

"That's okay," she said confidently, trotting back to his side. "Ah ... s...so, to start, it helps to think about where you are, and then where you want to go, right? Then try and grab the chakra of both through just your hara -- not the seal," she explained. "Once you think you've got the link set up, then you push through; the energy to mass ratio is somewhere around one to seven, compared to kawarimi's relatively more stable, um, one ... to three...." She trailed off, realizing her explanation was going over his head. "U...um.... N...Naruto-kun, this might be easier if.... Er, well-- How are you at math?"

His visage slowly changed to one of utter horror. "You really need good math to be a ninja?" he asked, his voice quavering in minute fear and uncertainty.

She bit her lip. Oh, this was not good! "N...no, I'm.... It's because I'm not much ... good as a kunoichi," she explained quickly. "S...so, I use a lot of, um ... math tricks to make learning new techniques ... easier...." She prepared to flinch away from his reaction at the next part, but: "T...the clan taijutsu ... also has a lot of emphasis on ... mathematical sequences...."

His face became very wan, but he shook his head in determination. "Okay ... well...." He considered things, then sighed and sat down heavily on the training ground's soil. "Damn," he grumbled. "Why does it seem like everything I learned at the Academy wasn't enough to really cover the important stuff about being a ninja?" He didn't quite moan the last part, but she could hear real despair, there.

"Iruka-sensei was trying to teach us all his best, right?" he asked somewhat plaintively.

"Y...yes, absolutely!" she agreed. "A...and he thought you were-- You probably didn't need to use math as a shortcut like me; you're really strong, right?"

"Not really," he sighed. "I'm starting to-- Never mind! You know what? If math is a shortcut, then I sure as hell don't want to deal with the long way!"

Her voice caught in her throat, and she wondered if she had chosen a very poor word combination to try and explain things, just then.

He nodded resolutely. "Okay," he decided. "We'll ... just have to put off shunshin for now if it's a math thing. But that's part of how awesome you really are; you just learned that today?"

She felt her face color, and managed an uncertain nod.

He grinned. "We can still practice taijutsu, right?"

"Yes!" she enthused. "A...and tomorrow, I'll make you breakfast!" she promised.

His grin widened, and another half-dozen bunshin popped into visibility from chakra-smoke around him. "Okay!" he cried out, clenching one fist in resolve before him. "Then after this, we'll go on a date! So don't hold back!"

"I won't!" she swore.