"Put me down already..." Saki whines, wriggling around on your shoulder. "People are watching you clown around!"
"Excellent!" you shoot back. "It is only right and proper that I, Mio, be the center of attention!"
"Are you crazy?"
It's such a ridiculous question that you don't even bother to answer. You do toss Saki down on a bench, though, and she groans quietly.
"So, you're going to help me with a thing." you begin, simply. "I need you to take a look at Jounin Maito Gai."
"Wha... from here?" Saki babbles. "Even leaving aside that, that that's spying on a Jounin, I can't!"
"Sure you can." you press.
"No, not won't, I can't!" Saki insists again. "I'm, I'm not super-skilled or talented or highly trained! I'm Branch House. I'm not even a part of the Branch that's, that's set to guard the homestead, or scout, or anything. I'm in the academy because, because that's expected of all Branch Hyuuga, but I'm the kind of branch member that's going to be a housekeeper or cook after the academy!"
"Huh... not what I'd go for, but I guess if that's what you want to do with your life." you note, dubiously.
"Wanting doesn't have anything to do with it!"
"Whatever, whatever you say." you continue, brushing her insistence off like water off a duck's wings. "So, you've got the Byakugan, but you can't... it's a matter of accuracy, or distance?"
Saki's hands come up to cover her mouth, like she's horrified at letting slip that not all Hyuuga can see for miles.
Which is kind of disappointing, but there's always variables in ability to account for.
"How close are we going to need to be, here?" you ask.
"I don't want to spy on a Jounin!" she insists.
"... Close enough that he's going to know you're there, huh." you muse aloud, and a frustrated flush crawls across her face.
"T... Twenty meters." She finally hisses, softly.
... Well, that's not so good. You point at a billboard way down the street.
"What's that say?" you ask.
"I'm not blind outside of that!" she huffs back at you.
That's just how far her Byakugan works, huh?
It's not like she's even crippled in terms of how the clan stuff works. For all that you hear about Hyuuga vision stretching for miles, few of them make much use of that. The famous ones are all known for their Taijutsu. Extremely short-range combat, to the point where all that's absolutely relevant is within a meter or so of the furthest reach of your arm.
"Hm... so we're going to have to get inside of twenty meters." you muse aloud, rubbing your chin.
"Are you crazy?" she repeats herself.
"We're going to have you look at what Gai is doing when he pulls out that sunset-vista trick of his. I'm really interested in it!" you say, not answering her question again. "Doesn't do much, but it's a sealless genjutsu that doesn't release properly... as far as I can tell. Wahaha! The fun I can have with that..."
"I'm a Hyuuga, Genjutsu isn't my thing..." Saki complains again.
"No, that's Taijutsu you're famous for." you agree. "Huh, you guys should love Gai, I'd think. He loves brawling, you love brawling-"
"You know nothing of Taijutsu at all if you can equate the elegant and sophisticated precise nature of Jyuuken with, with the coarse and unrefined approach of Jounin Maito Gai's full-force 'just punch harder' style." Saki snaps.
Whoo, looks like you finally touched a hot button. The grin slowly crawls across your face.
"... I'm not doing it." Saki says, frowning at you.
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun." you cajole.
"It will be a breach of trust between, between active duty ninja and genin candidates, and- stop iiiiit!" Saki complains as you decide to just ignore her whining to grab her and run again.
She thumps her fists against your back as you move, and while it's tiring it's not anywhere near enough for you to drop her...
... Ah, there you are.
Maito Gai is doing a handstand and walking around the small combat ring of a training ground. No. You correct yourself as you draw a little closer. He's not standing on his hands, he's balanced perfectly on just one fingertip of each hand, keeping himself perfectly at a right angle to the ground. He bounces a little and switches fingers with every lap, and he makes those laps at a rapid clip.
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