A strange new life. [Naruto]

[Diametric]

Could also be that Orochimaru gave Danzo information about his experimentations on Hinata and now Danzo leaked that to the village. Maybe by the elders.

Click to shrink...

Possibly. The way he said "probably due to council meddling" makes me think that the council was "supposed" to know the info (I.e. he or Yamato told them) and then they meddled and leaked it to the Hyugas.

But you're right, it's possible that the "council meddling" was finding out the info from Danzo/Orochimaru

 

[okashihime]

Why does her being a clone really matter when she was doing her job...for quite a while.

Click to shrink...

For the village, not so much, aside from the obvious question: If she's a clone, is there more of her out there?

For the Hyuga, they are using this as an excuse to say she a product of "stolen" the bloodline/bloodlimit, as well as a reason to control/dispose of her. Which is a jar of pickled carrots.

 

[okashihime]

So Yamato leaked the contents of the lab? He was the only other one there after all. If he only told the Hokage, that's fair enough, but that'd mean the Hokage leaked it instead. Either way, one of her supposed allies has let her enemies know this secret of hers

Click to shrink...

There are many possibilities.

Kakashi translated the message to Shikaku, who filed it away as classified info in the intelligence department.

There's Hayase,
There's Sai,
There's Yamato,
There's Danzo,
Maybe Orochimaru (if he's still alive)

Or maybe, a unknown agent?

 

[Diametric]

There are many possibilities.

Kakashi translated the message to Shikaku, who filed it away as classified info in the intelligence department.

There's Hayase,
There's Sai,
There's Yamato,
There's Danzo,
Maybe Orochimaru (if he's still alive)

Or maybe, a unknown agent?

Click to shrink...

Maybe I remembered wrong, didn't Hinata seal the lab stuff away in a seal that needed her chakra and then burn / blow up everything else? And then not tell any of the details to Sai or Hayase?

My impression was that only Hinata and Yamato knew about the Hinata clones, and had tacitly agreed to not tell about it

 

[Edifier]

Could also be that Orochimaru gave Danzo information about his experimentations on Hinata and now Danzo leaked that to the village. Maybe by the elders.

Click to shrink...

Sai told Root, Root told Danzo, Danzo told council. I think.
Hyuga knew from the very start, so I'd guess Danzo also knew. But like revealing this information is akin to vengeance and putting a hindered in her way.

Why does her being a clone really matter when she was doing her job...for quite a while.

Click to shrink...

It doesn't, not really. She's still her, always has been her. Always have been Hinata. The only Hinata they knew was the clone Hinata. Clones all the way down.
But like making it public that she is a clone is akin to saying she is alien, a monster, un-natural, like not human like the shadow clone jutsu, she is other. The dissonance is emotional.

Maybe I remembered wrong, didn't Hinata seal the lab stuff away in a seal that needed her chakra and then burn / blow up everything else? And then not tell any of the details to Sai or Hayase?

My impression was that only Hinata and Yamato knew about the Hinata clones, and had tacitly agreed to not tell about it

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the clone stuff was also in the vault they cracked or Sai managed to scout the clone lab out while Hinata was asleep and the like. And I'd guess Danzo knew from the very start, helping cover up why the Hyuga hated Hinata in the first place. So it might be just him being pissed that the storage seals are keyed to her, a lil bit of vengence.
I could see Danzo wanting a clone army of little emotionless Hinatas. Or other root agents with other bloodlines.

Then again, maybe I am too tunnel visioning onto Danzo.

 

[okashihime]

Maybe I remembered wrong, didn't Hinata seal the lab stuff away in a seal that needed her chakra and then burn / blow up everything else? And then not tell any of the details to Sai or Hayase?

My impression was that only Hinata and Yamato knew about the Hinata clones, and had tacitly agreed to not tell about it

Click to shrink...

They sent a report back to Kohoha. It was "light" on details (Sai was the one who sent the report back through this ink constructs).
They also met with intelligence officers at the border, where Yamato made another report.

Yamato made a full report once he was back at Konoha.

Not saying this was the "only" things that happenend. Some more stuff on the background, but Hinata isn't aware of all the pieces moving.

 

[okashihime]

My impression was that only Hinata and Yamato knew about the Hinata clones, and had tacitly agreed to not tell about it

Click to shrink...

Reading your question a second time, this one here is interesting:

Yamato agreed to let Hinata make a copy of the data for herself, before turning it in to the intelligence department. Their plan was to delay for a "couple of days" until Hinata could copy the information.
They did agree to not tell Hayase and Sai about the clones.

 

[Diametric]

They sent a report back to Kohoha. It was "light" on details (Sai was the one who sent the report back through this ink constructs).
They also met with intelligence officers at the border, where Yamato made another report.

Yamato made a full report once he was back at Konoha.

Not saying this was the "only" things that happenend. Some more stuff on the background, but Hinata isn't aware of all the pieces moving.

Click to shrink...

Reading your question a second time, this one here is interesting:

Yamato agreed to let Hinata make a copy of the data for herself, before turning it in to the intelligence department. Their plan was to delay for a "couple of days" until Hinata could copy the information.
They did agree to not tell Hayase and Sai about the clones.

Click to shrink...

Right, I remember now. I was thinking that they had agreed to not tell about the lab at all, rather than delay it so she could make copies for herself. I had it mixed up because they weren't telling Sai and Hayase.

And I somehow missed that they had met with actual Konoha agents rather than just sending messages through Sai, so I thought that Yamato would've just given his report to the Hokage without any middlemen to intercept/log the info.

This sequence of events is much more reasonable that I had thought.

That's what I get for assuming my reading comprehension and memory are good enough to be trusted lol

 

[okashihime]

I exchanged glances with my clone. Hug-chan scowled.

I signed a message. She scowled even more.

We were still in training field three. At this point, I don't think Hug-chan needed to be here. She could go out and do something else, like visiting the grocer to buy ingredients for a baking session.

Hug-chan shook her head. Her fingers flashed a very uncouth message.

I blinked, surprised. Was she… jealous? It wouldn't be, would it?

I don't know what I had expected when I came to look for Ino. Maybe we'd have a happy reunion, she'd tell me all the gossip I missed. Maybe she'd punch me for getting captured. That one felt like a real possibility. According to Naruto, Ino was hella pissed with me.

You know what I hadn't expected?

For Ino to cry until she fell asleep. What had she been doing?

So here we were. My clone and I were sitting side by side, holding a sleeping Ino.

I wanted my clone to bug off— I mean, go buy ingredients. Hug-chan didn't want to leave, and I couldn't just disperse her. Ino was leaning on her too. If I did, Ino would wake up.

Difficult scenario.

I glared at Hug-chan, jerking my head toward the exit. Go away already.

Hug-chan flipped me the finger.

Our silent argument didn't last for long. I felt it before I saw it. Chakra presences that made no sense at all. It was like a huge bonfire, filled with countless small ones. I was still trying to puzzle the situation when the newcomers entered the training field.

Two shinobi from Konoha. One, I knew; the other, I could guess who it was.

The first one wore dark round sunglasses and a sea-green jacket with a high, upturned collar, dark, bushy, brown hair. My friend, Shino, even though it had been a while since I last talked with him. We drifted apart after I was assigned to team seven, instead of team eight.

The other one was like an older version of Shino. The man had dark glasses with a single tassel hanging down from one side, even spikier black hair and a mustache, and he wore a collared outfit and carried a gourd on his back. Part of the chakra I felt from him also was inside that gourd. Was that Shino's dad?

The chakra I was sensing now made sense. Back in the academy, Shino's chakra felt like anyone else. After expanding my range, was I also getting better definition? It made me super icky, knowing that swarming chakra inside him was just that, a swarm of insects. I held in a shudder.

Both looked at the scene: me, my clone, and the sleeping Ino. They didn't approach but didn't leave either.

Hug-chan looked my way, leered.

I ground my teeth. Fine. Have it your way.

Carefully, I disentangled from Ino and got up. I wasn't about to let these two wake Best Girl Ino up.

With a temporary comms board and writing supplies in hand, I cast one last longing look at Ino, glared at Hug-chan, then went to meet the duo. We didn't speak. I waved both to follow me and guided them until we were far from the training field. If things somehow turned sour, I didn't want any of them near Ino.

Once we were far enough, I wrote words.

"Hello, Shino; how have you been?"

"Hello, Hinata-san," Shino said, looked at the other shinobi. "This is Aburame Shibi, my father and head of the Aburame clan."

I waved at the jonin.

He gave me a curt nod.

I had no idea what was going on. Wrote more words. "Is there something I can help you with?"

It might have come more brusque than I liked, but these two were intruding on my Ino time. It just wasn't fair.

"You stink," Shino said.

I scowled, sniffed beneath my arms, sniffed again when I felt no smell.

Shibi coughed, looked at Shino, and then at me. "Hello, Hinata-san. Please don't mind my son. What he meant to say is that you've been marked by pheromones."

"And it's stinking up the whole village," Shino added.

It was the damned bees, wasn't it? I fucking knew it would be trouble. Why, oh, why. Those damned badgers. Was this a new blood feud now? Danzo, council, Hyuga, and now the Aburame clan?

"Which one was it?" Shino asked.

I tilted my head. Wrote words. "Which one what?"

"Which insect marked you?"

"Fucking killer bees that would put grown-up Akamaru to shame," I said out loud instead of writing.

Shibi's hand reached into his jacket, pulled out a small spray bottle, tossed it my way.

"This will help eliminate the scent."

Shino looked like he wanted to say something, but a faint buzz from his father, one I felt inside my bones, held him back. The clan head turned to me.

"I'd like to invite you to the Aburame compound. There are things we'd like to discuss with you."

I looked at the spray bottle and the two insect shinobi. Under both gazes, I sprayed myself with the thing. It didn't smell like anything at all, but I caught Shino's small twitch and the agitated movements from the small swarm of chakra inside his body.

"I just returned to the village," I wrote to both of them. "I don't know how things are, but maybe next week?"

Shibi nodded, gave me a small smile.

"I'll send Shino to guide you to our compound. Would dinner be alright?"

A bit speechless at the turn this took, I nodded at the duo.

"Use the spray again in two hours," Shino said, before bowing and leaving. His dad gave me a curt bow and left as well.

That was weird as heck. What did they want? Maybe they wanted to meet the bees? I'm guessing that meeting a hive of killer bees is like Xmas arriving early for an insect-based clan?

I looked for a while longer in the duo's direction, then shrugged. I would deal with this later. It was just another thing to pile on. The council hearing in two weeks, the Hyuga problem looming in the horizon, and now dinner at the Aburame in a week.

It was good that they left. I pushed it all out of my mind. It was time to get back to my Ino time, and no one would get in my way again. I turned and moved back to the training field.

With each step closer, my mood sank.

I dashed forward, not caring about making noise anymore. I arrived at the training field like a clap of thunder. It was empty. Where once was a sleeping beauty and a traitorous clone, now there was only a scribbled message in the dirt.

Grocer. BGIWS, BTYFS.

I scowled. Torn between wanting to strangle Hug-chan or maybe hug her. I could decide that later. Now I had to go and bake sweets. Ino wanted them, after all.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter wed.

Proofreader: Bestests of cakes, CakeEight.



I've finished writing 8.15. Still debating on the ending of that one. It is something I had planned for a while, but now I keep having doubts about that particular situation.

Patreon is updated to 8.14. I've also started to look for artists for a new cover and image commissions. For now, I have requested to chibi images from Hinata and Ino. I got the wip and I think they look good. I'll post then once I receive the final version.

Discord: Link

 

[Petrox]

The Aburame could negotiate with the bees or communicate with them. That would give a supply to her summons too.

 

[Pixulior]

The Aburame could negotiate with the bees or communicate with them. That would give a supply to her summons too.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure the Aburame hate bees, aren't they enemies with that bee ninja clan from Iwa?

 

[Petrox]

Pretty sure the Aburame hate bees, aren't they enemies with that bee ninja clan from Iwa?

Click to shrink...

What better way to make them jelly with a much bigger swarm of bees at their control?

 

[Edifier]

Pretty sure the Aburame hate bees, aren't they enemies with that bee ninja clan from Iwa?

Click to shrink...

I think these bees are somewhere in land of fire, I assume the snake caves are also in land of fire which use to be the badgers land. Implying the bees and badgers are also close to the land of fire.
Then again, the badgers and bees may be at the border to the land of stone, or in the country between them.
Like badgers and their caves were within the land of fire, but the snakes pushed them out towards Iwa. The silver lining is that now they are closer to a source of honey.

 

[Anna Nomaly]

Grocer. Best Girl Ino Wants Sweets. Buy Them Your Fucking Self.

Perhaps?

 

[okashihime]

Grocer. Best Girl Ino Wants Sweets. Buy Them Your Fucking Self.

Perhaps?

Click to shrink...

xD
Almost, not so harsh the second part.

Bring To Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Or it can be your version, if you think the clone was that pissed.

 

[Pixulior]

I think these bees are somewhere in land of fire, I assume the snake caves are also in land of fire which use to be the badgers land. Implying the bees and badgers are also close to the land of fire.
Then again, the badgers and bees may be at the border to the land of stone, or in the country between them.
Like badgers and their caves were within the land of fire, but the snakes pushed them out towards Iwa. The silver lining is that now they are closer to a source of honey.

Click to shrink...

Not talking about the ninja bees, but the bee ninjas.

 

[okashihime]

Hug-chan watched the Original leave the training field with the visitors. Ino stirred and mumbled, hands gripping the clone's clothing and pulling closer.

"Ah, I'm dreaming."

The clone looked at the blonde's face. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she didn't look at all there. Ino looked worse than Hinata had ever seen before. It wasn't just the bags under her eyes; her clothes were unkempt, the bandages on her hands flecked with blood, and most alarming of all, she wore no makeup.

In the years since Ino learned about it in the Kunoichi classes, this was the first time she'd seen the girl without.

Ino nuzzled her face against the clone's shoulder.

"I want to go home."

That was easy enough. The clone didn't mind taking the sleeping girl home. It was a good idea even. Put her in bed where she could rest properly. It was a shame the original wasn't here right now, but that was life.

"I want cupcakes."

Another line that sent her heart racing. Best girl Ino wanted sweets. That decided things even more.

Hug-chan got up, taking care not to jostle the drowsy girl too much. The clone adjusted Ino so the blonde's front rested against her back, and Ino's arms were draped over the shoulders. Ino's head nestled near Hug-chan's neck. Her hours of carrying Karin around gave her the know-how needed to keep Ino comfortable and stable. Before she left, she scribbled an abridged note for the original.

Grocer. BGIWS. BTYFS.

That should be more than enough. Once Original-chan had the sweets, dropping by the Yamanaka flower shop would be easy.

The clone took one last look at the training field, made sure she wasn't leaving anything behind, then left.

She didn't run, or take to the highways; no intense movement or jumping. Hug-chan Express would do her best to deliver a comfortable travel experience to her sleeping passenger. Bump and jolt free.

The walk gave Hug-chan time to think about things. Maybe it was the perspective of being a clone, but her thoughts weren't on the growing list of the original's problems. No, what concerned the clone was feelings.

Feelings or obsession?

It was difficult to tell them apart. She'd been so obsessed with the characters in the show, and so consumed with wishing to meet them that, now that she did, she wasn't sure if her feelings were real or some form of idol worship.

God knows she already did that a lot in the form of fangirling.

There was this happy feeling building in her gut, knowing that Ino cared enough to be in this state because Hinata went missing. Was it selfish to feel happy at her friends' suffering?

The original never considered a relationship at all. For all her bluster and obsession, romance had never seriously crossed her mind. Too young, she'd mostly dismiss. There are horrors in the future, can't worry about feeling right now. Every time a hint of that came up, justifications popped left and right.

When not caring about the many horrors of the future, the clone really wanted to cuddle and snog and go on dates. She even suspected Ino might not be totally against it. Maybe not in a romantic sense yet, but Hug-chan could dream.

The concept of same-sex relationships might not even exist here, with clans pushing for their children to find a good match and continue the clan's bloodline. It might even be frowned upon or outlawed. Hinata never even heard about gay couples in all her years around.

Hug-chan's steps led her to the flower shop. She pulled the door open, then stepped inside. One of the workers was on the counter. He looked startled when Hug-chan stepped inside carrying a sleeping Ino, but a quick gesture ensured he didn't cause a fuss.

It wasn't the first time she'd been here, so Hug-chan walked inside, past the storefront, and into the Yamanaka residence. The house was quiet and still.

The clone adjusted her steps and walked toward Ino's bedroom. Once there, she laid the blonde on the bed, removed her shoes, unwrapped the bandages from her hands. Hoping Ino would forgive the intrusion, she searched the blonde's room for cleaning supplies and a first aid kit.

Back at the bed, she cleaned and re-wrapped the hands. She noticed a shift in Ino's breathing. Maybe it was the stinging cleaning agent or the strong alcohol scent. Ino's eyes were open and looking at the clone's face.

"You're really back." Ino whispered.

Hug-chan smiled. Nodded. She finished tying up the bandages, put the first aid kit away. Under Ino's intense stare, she made sure the blonde was tucked in and comfortable, even bringing over the sheets.

Tucked in and comfortable, Ino spoke again.

"Are you leaving?"

Hug-chan shook her head. She was a clone; there was nowhere she needed to be. Taking care of Ino was more important than worrying about all the other problems.

Ino's hand sneaked from beneath the sheets and pulled Hug-chan into the bed, too. Ino hugged the clone, hiding her face against the clone's chest.

"Promise you won't disappear again."

"I promise." Hug-chan husked out. She wrapped her arms around Ino. It didn't take long until the blonde was asleep again.

Now, alone with her thoughts, the clone had even more time to think.

Could she promise it? At that moment, the clone knew even the original wouldn't hesitate to make that promise. That also highlighted another issue that bothered every created clone, which the original was keen on ignoring.

If the original ever wanted a real relationship, she had to be honest. About her past, about the knowledge, about her plans.

Hug-chan wasn't about to spill the beans, even if she thought that would be the best course of action, but she imprinted enough reaction on her mind just to make sure the Original knew that she had to address this sooner rather than later.

To truly be friends with Ino, and hopefully something more, Original-chan needed to be honest. It wasn't fair to the other girl to keep to herself all the secrets that could cause many problems in the future.

 

[Diametric]

Please don't spill the beans about her past life and future knowledge, it ruins 99% of stories that do it

 

[okashihime]

I took one of the bags from the shelf and compared it with the one in my basket. The shop lady said good things about this flour, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to abandon my tried and true supplier. I put one small bag in with the other things. I guess experimenting wouldn't hurt.

What else did I need? I went over the list in my mind. Baking powder?

I rummaged through the items I had already collected, found it.

Sugar, then?

I looked inside the basket again: Granulated, brown, powdered, and honey. No, I had what I needed already.

What about flavorings? Vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom, dried fruits, nuts, and even chocolate. I found everything already. That was enough. I would need to order more, but that would be later.

Doing grocery shopping and worrying about ingredients wasn't how I imagined the rest of my day. Not that I had anything planned before meeting Ino. I didn't know how she would react. After meeting her, I got a new mission. S-Tier Mission: Cuddle with Best Girl Ino until she woke up.

That mission went into the drain when the Aburame clan decided to pay a visit—and died an even worse death when Hug-chan took Ino back to the Yamanaka residence. No, I wasn't jelly of my clone. No, I wasn't bitter either.

…

And yes, I knew I would experience everything when she unpopped. But I mean, I wanted to cuddle with Ino-chan, too. I wanted it so bad.

I couldn't even blame my clone. I'd have done the same had she gone to meet the Aburames instead. I planned to do the same if she had gone to meet the Aburames. I guess I have only myself to blame here.

But now that I no longer had the Ino excuse, thoughts kept coming.

The first problem: A lack of Tsunade.

The slug princess was my hope of getting the seal under control. In the past weeks, the amount I managed to suppress kept worsening. The more I used my chakra, the faster the suppression deteriorated.

I had been confident that if she couldn't help me, she'd be at least able to point me in the right direction. Now, I needed to decide whether I wanted to trust Shisui or not.

Along the same lines, my promise now reared its head. My meddling thwarted Rock Lee's chance of recovery. I wasn't going to leave him without help. Maybe I could convince Shisui to send me after Tsunade? I still needed to extract what happened from Naruto, but without Orochimaru to push Tsunade with the promise of bringing her loved ones back, she wanted nothing with Konoha.

But before I could leave the village, two problems needed to be addressed.

The council: Shisui's intervention was enough to push them back for now.

The two codgers of the council had somehow managed to entrench themselves in every pie available. Merchants, trading partners, noble families, and even a few allied minor villages. They controlled or influenced most of the village's non-military infrastructure by this point.

That was enough to put a lot of pressure on the Hokage position.

I suspected they had been preparing for years, waiting until the third was out of the picture. I also suspected they might be just figureheads for a third party, someone who loved to dwell in darkness and shady deals.

That man spent decades building spy networks, implanting sleeper agents, and pushing things from behind the scenes. Not even the other great villages escaped his meddling. Why would his "exile" from Konoha change anything? It just meant he didn't need to worry about appearances anymore.

Danzo had a hard-on hatred for the Uchiha. Would he leave the clan's political power intact? I doubt it.

Shisui had military power, and I'm sure he could just genjutsu his way into winning. And while the Uchiha clan was powerful, they might face years of entrenched schemes and bureaucratic manipulations.

On the other hand, Shisui had a penchant for diplomacy and vying for peace. Did this play a part in why he was selected as the Hokage? Someone who wouldn't jump to violence when presented with years of carefully curated obstructions?

I also needed to gather my allies to resist their influence. Shisui did hint that the Uchiha clan might be willing to help, but that would be best discussed with the clan's head, Itachi.

I wanted to get rid of those old codgers. Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

No, that was a bad turn of phrase. I don't think killing them would help my case. This would be a battle won with words. It was a damn shame I had no words.

The question was, what allies did I have? I was a social outcast.

Then there was the Hyuga. The clan head, my father, was also marshaling allies, the council included, to take me out of the picture. Hiashi was convinced I wasn't his daughter but an impostor taking her place.

…

That hurt, even if he wasn't entirely wrong. I wasn't just Hinata anymore, but I still was Hinata. I had her feelings and memories tempered by memories of another world and life.

Ah, yes, butter. I knew I was forgetting something.

I walked past an oba-san and her little boy; a few more steps further, I picked the butter. I think I was set. Now, to pay and return home.

Having my stuff stolen was also a big blow to my plans. All the research documents I gathered hadn't been found at the prison. My only hope now was that the new chakra-locking measures I added to my seals held. I didn't want to deal with an army of Hinata clones in a few years.

"Miss?"

The cashier's voice interrupted my musings. I looked at the man, nodded, and placed the basket in front of him.

He calculated the price. I paid, then left.

I coated my feet in chakra and walked up the walls until I was at the highway; it was time to go home and bake.

Maybe Jiraiya could help? The sannin didn't strike me as someone dependable, but Naruto seemed fond of the old man. From what I remembered, Jiraiya wasn't willing to get involved in political matters, but if not with the council, maybe with the seals?

Head full of thoughts and possibilities, I arrived at my apartment.

There were more people there besides Karin. Maybe I should have expected that. Today was a day to put my social tolerance to the test.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hinata-chan!"

A mop of pink hair glomped on me as soon as I entered. I held my arms out so my grocer didn't hit Sakura-chan. From between her hugs, I cast a glance at the second visitor. The bags fell from my trembling fingers.

In my living room, sitting on my couch, no one other than Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast, The Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf: Rock Lee in the flesh.

"Watch out!" Rock Lee cried out.

Sakura let go of me and tried to pick up my bags. It slipped through her fingers, fell, and caused a huge mess.

More details filtered in.

Rock Lee wore his iconic green leotard, orange leg warmers, and red forehead protector as a belt. His hands were covered in bandages, and crutches were propped against the couch.

Karin was also in the room. After almost a month of forced proximity with the redhead, it was easy to pick on her habits. She kept sneaking glances— when she thought no one was looking — at Rock Lee's stomach, no, not stomach, his navel. She was totally checking out his chakra, wasn't she?

I could see it. I could even make a good guess about what was happening. Karin wasn't someone to be attracted by appearance but by chakra. How would Rock Lee's chakra feel to her?

A smile crept into my face. I was totally in favor. Karin and Rock Lee's ship? Heck yeah! The Beautiful Green Beast Got game!

Then I caught a second glance—this time toward Sakura.

Oh my. Karin was on fire!

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.

Proofreader: Cakeeight.

 

[okashihime]

From the kitchen counter, where I worked preparing the baking dough, I heard Karin recounting the events from when we met to the two visitors.

To hear Karin tell it, I fought and overpowered an army of ninjas. I mean, her tale wasn't wrong. I did fight a fair number of enemies, but most of the fight was done by Assassination-chan to distract the opposition and let us flee. Even so, my clone mostly did hit-and-run tactics, which resulted in much chasing around and much less killing. Assassination-chan, despite her dramatic name, hadn't killed more than four, and those were mostly the weaker ones.

Once jonins joined the fray, she was relegated to more fleeing than fighting.

Still, the audience seemed captivated. Rock Lee's eyes shone with enthusiasm at the recounting, while Sakura looked parts scared, parts relieved, parts interested.

But while I kneaded the dough, there was one question that kept nagging me.

Why was Rock Lee here?

Not that I was against him being here. No, I was giddy in a way I hadn't been since academy graduation and my assignment with Kakashi-sensei. Rock Lee, in my living room. The barely suppressed snicker from Sakura was enough to tell me I wasn't able to suppress all the excitement, or dancing.

I mean. I might have fangirled– just a little – once the surprise had its time to settle in. It was Rock Lee, gawdamnit. He was cool. Can you blame me?

That even led to a whole conversation in which Sakura-chan gleefully spilled some of my less-than-savvy early-years incidents. Ugh, it was embarrassing yet nice.

Sakura, I could guess why she was here. Naruto, or maybe someone else, might have told her the news that I was back. I was pretty good friends with the tsuntsun, and it was normal she'd want to visit after I went missing. That still didn't explain Rock Lee. And from the way the two talked to each other, this didn't look like a new development.

Hadn't Ino, not so long ago, told me Sakura had left flowers for Rock Lee and visited him a few times? Was there more to this? Had Sakura finally let go of her Emosuke obsession? Again, at the risk of allowing Fangirl-sama to take over too much, Rock Lee was cool. I'd even go for him if I had any interest in boys.

Yeah, he might look silly and maybe could do with a better haircut and maybe trimming his eyebrows, but those were just details that— Gah, stop. Deep breaths, control the Fangirl, don't let her control you.

I divided the dough in small bits and placed them on the cupcake molds. Once I had distributed all the dough, I put the molds in the oven. It was a waiting game now. In the living room, Karin was now going over how I 'saved' her from the badgers. She conveniently left out I was the reason she was in danger with the badgers in the first place. I cleaned my hands in the apron, took a jar of juice, some cups, returned to the living room. I had visitors, and I was going to do my best to be a good host.

---

"These are so good." Karin moaned after taking yet another bite of her cupcake.

Pressed for time and opportunity, I went with simple flavors. I did have to hide a batch of the cupcakes, however. By the rate they just disappeared between the three teens, if I hadn't, Ino's sweets would have been devoured before I could leave the house.

At some point, I had taken an older version of my comms board from my room and strapped it to my arm. That got me an interested glance from Karin when the board popped out of the seal. It reminded me that even though we shared a lot of time together, fuinjutsu was never discussed.

The weeks walk underground had given me plenty of time to think and design changes to my seals. Something I'd have to start working on soonish.

I gave her a nod and a smile, she gave me another in return.

I wrote my question.

"How are you faring, Rock Lee?" I cast a glance at the crutches.

The mood soured a little. Sakura's smile dropped. Rock Lee's smile was slightly brittle, but he still sounded cheerful when answering.

"This is nothing!" He boasted. "This small injury won't get in my way of becoming a splendid ninja!"

Two things I noticed, or maybe three. Rock Lee didn't seem to be even a little bit doubtful about that declaration despite what should have been horrible news from the doctors. Sakura looked at Rock Lee with a gaze full of something I couldn't place. Karin did blush a bit, looking at both Sakura and Rock Lee.

I wished the redhead all the best of luck. She was in for a rough journey.

"But Hinata-san," Rock Lee said after a brief silence. "There's one thing I never understood. Why did you almost kill Neji? Isn't he also a Hyuga?"

Karin looked at Rock Lee and then at me, trying to understand what the boy had said. Then her eyes widened, and a hand covered her mouth. I gave her a slight shake of the head. Wrote words with my threads in a way I knew only Karin would be able to read. "I'll explain later, promise."

To Rock Lee, I did have to consider things before writing my answer.

Why did my clone almost kill Neji? Maybe I could blame it on my clones being a bit wild and somewhat out of control, but that wasn't the real reason. The question here was, do I want to tell them the truth? Whatever I said here might go back to the Hyuga.

I asked a question before answering.

"Ino-chan told me Hyuga Neji sought me out in the forest. Why?"

Lee read my words, tilted his head. Scrunched his bushy brows. "He never told us."

I erased my words, wrote others. Decided I wasn't going to lie. "He looked at me like he wanted to kill me. I had to disabuse him of that notion."

"He wouldn't!" Rock Lee said, agitated. "You're the daughter of the clan leader."

"Am I?" I wrote back. Rock Lee opened his mouth, maybe to argue, but I cut him off. "My name is Hinata, I don't have a surname." I rasped out. Left the implications of that for them to decide.

The room sunk into silence. Karin looked at me like she was seeing me for the first time. Sakura had tears in her eyes for some reason. Lee looked troubled. I got up from the couch, went back to the kitchen to check the second batch of pastries. Maybe to flee from the awkward mood as well.

Not that I managed to flee for long. A knock at my apartment's door forced me out of the kitchen into the awkwardness of the living room. On the other side was a bundle of chakra that had changed in the almost two months I was away, but it was still inherently recognizable.

I opened the door.

There on the other side was Sasuke, wearing the traditional Uchiha attire, looking at me.

There was this moment of silence, like he didn't know what to say or why he was even here. I blame the awkward mood from the talk earlier making me overly emotional. Or maybe it was just teenage hormones messing with my head.

I crossed the distance and hugged Sasuke, something I never thought I would do again. I was glad he hadn't fled or something silly like that.

Man, I was a horrible mess if seeing Emosuke made me this happy.

 

[okashihime]

I pulled away from the hug with Sakuke, looking at him like it was the first time I was seeing him: still dark and brooding, but I couldn't deny his boyish charm. Those good looks that belonged on a boy's band. I could even imagine it. Sasuke playing the guitar, giving that cold look to the horde of fan girls.


I felt a blush creep on my cheeks. Oh, that was bad.


Was this the new normal now? No more Best Girl Ino? It was time for Best Boy Sakuke?

---

Ok, ok, that's lame. I apologize. Didn't have time to write a proper april's fool chapter. Life has been hectic. But hey! The chibis I commissioned are done! Created by Kimi.


I hope you enjoy it!

Hinata

Ino

 

[okashihime]

"Is he your boyfriend?"

I scowled, looked at Karin like she'd grown a second head. How did all the awkwardness in the living room give her the impression I had anything going on with Sasuke? Was it the hug? It was the hug, wasn't it?

We were in the kitchen preparing more refreshments and pastries. No, I was here fleeing from the embarrassing. Karin had followed me to ask horror inducing questions.

The redhead walked to my side, bumped shoulders with me. "That Hyuga girl?" She whispered.

I looked at her, confused. What was she talking about? Then, memory hit me. That day in the forest, soon after we escaped. Hadn't she asked something similar? I nodded, then shrugged. Threads wrote my message. "It was a long time ago."

"What happened?"

My hands stopped, shoulders slumped. I didn't want to talk about it, at least not now. "Later?"

Karin looked at the words I wrote, nodded. She gave me a sort of one-arm hug that I leaned into. Couldn't this day just end? I needed time to breathe, to recharge, to untangle my thoughts before I drowned in all these interactions. I wasn't myself right now, and people kept pushing me into social situations I had no defense against.

I took a deep breath. I was a badass strong kunoichi. I could survive some emotional torture. I just needed to endure a while longer before I could flee, go meet Best Girl Ino. Maybe I'd have some peace and quiet there. Maybe snuggling a cute blondie.

Ugh, I hated feeling this vulnerable and needy. I felt like a stranger inside my own mind.

"Are you alright?" Karin whispered.

I nodded, wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. It was time to face the worst kind of battle.

The living room was a mix of moody silence and cringe tension.

On one side sat Dark and Brooding, casting signature brooding looks at Konoha's Green Beautiful Beast. On another, the Handsome Devil alternated between looking at Sasuke, Sakura, and the kitchen where I had fled.

Maybe worse was Sakura, who sat between the two. She didn't know what to do with herself and her hands, like she'd been caught snogging her best friend's boyfriend behind the shed. It made no sense at all.

With one glance, I knew that if I didn't do anything, everyone would suffer the cringe until a bomb exploded and put us all out of our misery. I placed the new round of pastries and juice on the table, then pulled chairs for me and Karin.

I popped my board, wrote words. "How have you been Sasuke-kun?" That was a safe enough question to start things.

Emosuke looked at my board and the room as if the other's presence was an issue. Ugh, what was his deal now? Why was he always so hard to deal with? Maybe something showed on my face, or maybe he finally noticed the unusually long silence since I asked my question.

"Training with Itachi," Sasuke said, then added. "Doing boring D-rank missions inside the village since Kakashi, you, and Naruto were busy."

Huh, well, that was a normal answer?

"What happened?" Sasuke asked before I could do anything else. "The only thing I've been told is that you went missing in action."

I was guessing this wouldn't be the first or last time I would repeat this story, so I wrote words.

"Well, it all started when I was promoted to chunin." I showed the board.

"You're a chunin?" "You were promoted?" "You never told me that!"

Sakura, Lee, and Karin all spoke at the same time. Yeah, this was going to take a while.

---

After the recounting started, things went much smoother than expected. Even Karin, who had participated in most of the journey, seemed interested in reading my side of events. I did skip a few things.

I told them about the chimera we fought but skipped the clones. I also told them about the research data being stolen, but I didn't elaborate on my plan to steal it myself before it was stolen.

"Flying Thunder God? The Yondaime jutsu?" Rock Lee gasped.

After much peer pressure and against my best judgment, I created the wood beacon. "Black Thunder!" I protested, but no one paid attention.

The kunai passed from hand to hand like it was a shiny new toy or something.

"Can you do it?" He asked, eyes shining in anticipation.

I hated that I couldn't do what he asked. I shook my head. A bit of red touching my ears.

"Why?" It was Sasuke this time.

"It's not complete," I wrote, then wrote more. "When I use it, it just takes me, not my earthly possessions."

There was a moment of silence before Karin gasped.

"That's why you were naked?"

I scowled. Really, Karin? She was doing this on purpose, wasn't she?

"What?" "What are you talking about?"

The redhead did look a bit sheepish, bombarded by questions.

"Well, when Hinata-chan escaped from her cell, she wasn't wearing anything at all. She killed a bunch of shinobi and then just walked back inside the cells like it was the most normal thing in the world. I just thought she liked to fight naked or something."

I facepalmed. Sakura looked horrified. Rock Lee's eyes shone. He looked inspired for some reason. Worst of all was Sasuke's barely there blush. Oh, please, spare me.

Things went on like that for a while longer, with Karin always trying to inject some levity into the situation, even though most of the time, it was at the cost of saying something I had done that, in hindsight, was embarrassing as hell.

I did notice that yes, it was on purpose. Was she trying to distract me? I mean, it was working. Being embarrassed was way better than emotionally traumatized. I guess I could let her off the hook just this once.

---

My pastries were almost depleted, and the living room was a mess. Sakura and Rock Lee had already left, and Karin somehow had made herself scarce inside my three-room apartment. How she managed that was a mystery. That left me with Emosuke, who had wanted to say something for a while but couldn't seem to find the words.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" I asked gently.

It was selfish of me, but I wanted him gone. I enjoyed seeing him, and the afternoon of talking was nice, good even, but I still had an Ino to appease and sweets to deliver. Between Sasuke and Ino, there was no need to even guess.

"Mom wanted me to invite you for dinner," he said, finally.

I tilted my head. As far as I know, this was the first time Sasuke invited someone to visit his house.

Was this why he'd been acting so strange? I could even guess why the Uchiha were inviting me for dinner.

Shisui had said Itachi wanted to talk regarding all that political fallout. I wasn't sure why a noble shinobi family like the Uchiha would wish to support an outcast like me. And I was curious about how things were going for the Uchiha with all the changes from how canon things were supposed to go.

I nodded, wrote words. "Should we invite Naruto and Kakashi-sensei as well? Make it a team seven thing?"

Sasuke looked at the words, then shrugged. "That's fine. I think Mom wants to talk with you after dinner."

Not Itachi? He was, what, fifteen? He might be acting as clan head, but maybe Mikoto was pulling the strings. That was a real possibility. I didn't know Mikoto's character. My sole interaction with her was that one meeting at the hospital.

"Three days from now?"

Sasuke nodded. There was this brief moment of silence when I thought he might say or do something else, but he got up.

"Meet here at sunset?" He asked.

I nodded, wrote more. "I'll invite Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke nodded again. I walked him to the door, waved him goodbye. Somehow, Karin reappeared between me walking him to the door and waving him off. From where, I had no idea. I took one look at her, the gleam in her eyes, the barely contained smirk.

"Nope!" I said. Ran out of the apartment, closed the door behind me. I had sweets to deliver. Karin could hold in whatever that was for a little while longer.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.

Proofreader: CakeEight

 

[okashihime]

I landed in front of the flower shop. Before going in, I made sure I was presentable. Rebellious strands of hair went behind the ear, shirt smoothed over, cupcake crumbles dusted off. Ready, I pushed the door open and walked in.

The Receptionist-san blinked, like he was surprised to see me here. I gave him a nod, then hurried inside before he could say anything.

Walking into someone's home uninvited wasn't exactly polite, but I was already here — kind of. Circumstances made fuzzy with clones and all.

The place was quiet.

I crossed the living room, looked at the picture frames on the wall and photos of a young Ino and her family. I walked up the stairs and, without knocking, pulled the door open.

Hug-chan was in bed, hugging a sleeping Ino. There was this tiny spark of jealousy that I quickly squashed. It was dumb and not the time. My clone tried to disentangle herself, but sleeping Ino wasn't keen on letting go. My clone signed a message.

I followed her suggestion, lay on the other side of Ino, and hugged her. It didn't take long until Ino turned around, releasing my clone and holding me instead. Hug-chan took the chance to make her escape, not before hugging Ino one last time.

Once she was up and about, she signed a few more messages and unpopped herself without fanfare.

I was inundated with a whole afternoon of thoughts, ruminations, memories, and sensations. It was… a lot.

I scowled at the ideas from her. Telling people secrets was how things stopped being secrets. But she wasn't wrong. Obsession or not, I liked Ino, and I did want to get closer to her. It wasn't fair to involve her further and keep her in the dark.

The real question now was: did I want to involve Ino?

Honestly, no. Not because I didn't trust her, but because I didn't want to endanger her. That was such a patronizing sentiment that I even wanted to slap myself. It was how I felt, however.

Could I push all this on Ino? Was it even fair? I've been doing my best to enjoy my life, but my time was running out. This most recent brush with death only highlighted that this wasn't a world where things always worked out in the end.

A chakra bundle entered the house. It made a beeline to Ino's room. I watched the door open.

The Yamanaka matriarch — whose name I still didn't know — stood in the doorway, watching us. She looked regal and collected.

Now, I know. How could I not know Ino's mom's name? Well, Ino never introduced her mother and never called her anything other than mom. I wasn't around for any family reunion, so there's no way I might have overheard Inoichi. I wasn't going to ask the mind ninja his wife's name or even Ino her mom's name. That was just weird. A label slotted into my mind. Yamanaka Mother. That was good enough until I learned the woman's moniker.

Our eyes met. She gave me a nod. Pulled the door close.

Was that approval? Or maybe she just didn't want to wake up Ino? At times like this, I did envy Karin's ability to know how others were feeling based on their chakra. That was such a nice thing to have, privacy be damned. It would make social encounters manageable for me, especially with all the social hardships to come.

Shisui said I should gather allies. Maybe the Yamanaka clan? I didn't have that much contact with Ino's parents, but I think they didn't dislike me. At least, I hoped they didn't.

Who else could I call upon?

"…"

Kakashi-sensei? He was famous, and I also think he might be somewhat fond of me. Or maybe I was projecting. Yamato, maybe?

I had the inkling that I should have done more to build connections instead of training to be a good shinobi because, unless I reached Madara levels of absurdness, I might lose the battle to politics.

Or I could flee. There was always that possibility. Just harder now that they also knew about my new jutsu.

Ino stirred, rubbed her face against mine. It was almost like a cat. I even imagined the purring.

"Hinata-chan?" she mumbled.

I threaded my fingers through her hair. It felt nice. "Hello, beautiful," I husked out. I blamed the clone for putting all those ideas in my head.

Ino stared at me from ten centimeters away. Her crystalline blue orbs were intense. "What happened?"

For the third time that day, I told the story. But this time, I didn't censor the details. I spoke in low, hoarse whispers, trying to lower the hurt in my throat, but also unwilling to get up from the bed to write down my explanation. It might have been a spur of the moment, but I didn't keep anything from Ino.

I told her about the labs, about the clones, about my breakdown.

Ino's face changed when I recounted the betrayal. She cried, then I cried when I told her about the prison and escaping. Like me, she didn't have a good impression of the badgers, even if Kumoko was still cute, in an 'I'll kill you' kinda way.

When the recounting was done, maybe an hour later, we were still in bed, still hugging.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment of silence.

I shook my head. There wasn't anything she needed to apologize for. "None of that," I whispered back. Swallowed the blood. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but," she said.

I stopped her again. "I'm back, but I'm still in trouble," I admitted.

"What do you mean?"

More words spilled forth. I told Ino about all the discrimination over the years, and the council wanting me gone or worse. I told her about the Hyuga and the issues with the clan head and the matter of the eye. I told her about Shisui's suggestion, to gather allies, but I had none.

Aside from my past life secrets, I told her everything.

My worries about how Sasuke was behaving. About me not being myself, about other me's trapped in some dungeon being experimented on. I might have become a bit incoherent midway. I wasn't sure.

It all spilled out even when I wanted to keep it all in.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.


Proofreader: Bestests of cakes, CakeEight.

 

[Edifier]

she has got girl problems. Clone girl.

 

[okashihime]

"How long do you young ladies plan to sleep for?"

I stirred in my bed and pulled the blankets over my face. The room light was on, and I didn't want to wake up. The bed was nice, and the pillow I was holding felt good, warm, and soft.

"Five more minutes, Mom," I muttered.

The pillow moved, groaned, complained. "Moooom, it's too early."

"Don't give me that. It's halfway to lunch already." The stern voice said. "I understand why you want to practice, but that's no excuse to sleep without at least showering or removing your training clothes."

I opened one eye. I wasn't in my room. By the side of the bed, Yamanaka Mother glared at Ino. Her gaze flickered toward me, softened for a moment, before turning stern again.

"And you," she said, then paused. "Welcome back, and thank you for looking after Ino."

Heat crawled up my neck. I nodded, then disentangled my limbs from Ino's. I didn't remember when I fell asleep. At some point, the hug party turned into a cry party and then a sleep party. I felt better, a lot better. I still wasn't fine, I don't think I'd be fine for a long while, but I felt more like myself.

I slipped out of bed while the matriarch still berated Ino, who didn't want to get out of bed. The scene brought a smile to my face. It was also an excellent opportunity to slip out. I needed to come back and talk with Ino again, but right now, I just wanted some time alone to think. I made some impulsive decisions the night before. I now had to live with it.

Silent steps took me toward the door. It didn't work.

"And where do you think you're going?"

I froze. Even without using my name, I knew deep in my gut that the stern woman was talking to me. Woodenly, I turned around, opened my mouth, and closed it. I looked around for my board; I couldn't see it anywhere.

"Well?"

"…Home?" I offered.

The matriarch rolled her eyes. It was slow and deliberate, like she was dealing with a toddler whining that his candy fell down.

"Bathroom with you, and clean this—" her hand moved over her face, the movement like she was afraid of touching something terrible. "Then to the kitchen and set the dishes. Breakfast is already getting cold with you two empresses not wanting to leave bed."

I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again.

The regal woman approached, stopped in front of me. Her eyes bore down on me. Then she kneeled, hugged me. Kissed my forehead.

She got up, returned to Ino's bedside, and resumed her scolding.

I was still stuck frozen, not knowing what to do. What the hell was happening?

Yamanaka Mother turned to me again. "What are you waiting for? Breakfast won't serve itself."

"Yes!" I squeaked. Fled toward the bathroom.

I got to the lavatories and looked at the wall mirror. Eye crust, old dirt, and flecks of blood. Yikes, now I know why. I was surprised the woman braved the mess to kiss my forehead. She was a lot braver than me.

---

Breakfast was strange.

Steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickled veggies with tea. Even after living here for years, this type of traditional spread still took me by surprise. When I was cooking for myself, it often resembled my old world: bread, juice or tea, maybe cake or pancakes.

Inoichi ate and drank his tea in silence. He wished me good morning and gave me a nod as if me being here was an everyday thing. Yamanaka Mother sat regal and imperiously on her chair, surveying her domain. Ino poked the food here and there, but didn't seem keen on eating.

"I wanted cupcakes," I heard her complain.

I rummaged through the things I'd brought yesterday but forgot to hand them over. Under a pair of eyes, I placed the miniature seal on the table. Ino's face lit up. The matriarch looked at me disapprovingly, but said nothing. Inoichi kept drinking his tea.

Out popped the cupcakes I'd baked the day before; the ones I hadn't told anyone about. Cardamom cupcakes with brown butter buttercream, chocolate cupcakes, dried fruits cupcakes.

"Yes!" Ino cheered and almost climbed on top of the table to pick some of the pastries. The matriarch tsked in displeasure but accepted one of each when I presented her with the peace offering.

Inoichi picked one of the dried fruit cupcakes, took a bite.

"A bit too sugary," he said, then took another bite, drank from his bitter green tea after.

---

"What are we going to do about things, Hinata-chan?"

Breakfast had ended a while ago, and I was in the kitchen doing dishes. No one had asked me to do it, and I don't even think they expected me to, but after intruding on their family moment, it was the least I could do to appease my guilty mind.

I popped out my comms board, propped it against the wall. I don't think I even need to hide my threads anymore. I wrote. "We?"

Ino looked startled at the pencil that, for her, was moving on its own. Then she rolled her eyes. "You're not dumb, so don't pretend."

A warm fuzzy feeling started from the pit of my stomach and crept to the tip of my ears. It was a nice feeling. It also felt nice knowing Ino wanted to help, even after all the pile of crap I dumped on her the previous night.

"I dunno," I admitted.

"Right," Ino said after a while. Then she walked to my side, shoulder bumped me and started helping with the dishes.

"We train in the mornings when there's no mission. That's non-negotiable," she said, picking up a dirty ceramic bowl.

I stopped and looked at the blonde.

She didn't look my way, she kept talking. "Tell me everyone you know and have even a passing relationship with. Don't leave anyone out."

I nodded. Wrote slowly while still washing dishes. I wrote about all the ninjas I knew. Ino was also acquainted with most of the people I knew. Then, there were the civilians. I listed the shopkeepers, the ingredients suppliers, the people I met and talked to during my missions, Haku and Zabuza, Lady Shijimi and my trade deal. The old grannies from the GGC, the ramen store owner. Even about Linlin I wrote. Finally, I wrote about the two dinner invitations from the Uchiha and Aburame clans.

Ino listened in silence.

"You'll prepare for the Uchiha and Aburame dinner," Ino said after a moment. She nodded, then continued. "Be on your best behavior and see if they'd be willing to support you against the council."

I nodded.

"Dad owes me a big one," she offered as a side thought. "I'll bug him to convince his Nara and Akimichi clan friends."

"Ino," I whispered.

The blonde stopped, looked my way.

"I haven't told you everything." I mulled on things. "I don't know if I can."

She nodded, wiped her hands on her clothes, and hugged me. "Tell me when you're ready."

I nodded against her shoulder. But deep down, another thought gnawed at me.

This was too good. Everyone was being too nice, treating me like a person. The other shoe was going to drop—I could feel it in my bones. And I wasn't going to like it.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wed.

Proofreader: Awesomest of cakes, CakeEight

 

[Petrox]

What other shoe? Mokuton or that she is possible a clone?

 

[okashihime]

What other shoe? Mokuton or that she is possible a clone?

Click to shrink...

Thank you for reading.

In this case, MC is mostly thinking about how people are treating her right now.
She's not used to being treated nicely, and because of that, she thinks they are buttering her up for something horrible.

 

[okashihime]

I visited the tower before I went home. After a quick hug to Secretary-chan and a dash toward the Hokage's office, I sat before Shisui.

"Thank you for coming, Hinata-san," he said.

I dipped my head.

"Like we assumed, Hiashi wants to talk with you. He's requested a meeting in the Hyuga compound." I gave him a nod. "He wanted to meet today, and I hope you'll forgive me for taking the liberty, but I pushed it to the day after dinner to give you time to rest, at least for a bit."

That was more than fine to me. Now calmer and rested, I did a complete report to the Hokage. I told him most of the details I remembered from the mission. I even admitted why I had burned the clone's corpses. Once I was done with my report, I left. It still felt like Shisui wanted to tell me something else, but he didn't. I bowed to him, hugged and pecked Secretary-chan at the exit, dashed toward home.

I landed in front of my apartment, my head still full of dreadful thoughts and warm feelings bubbling in my chest. It was a bit paradoxical, but that was my current state of being. I wanted to dance, maybe cheer, and I certainly wasn't able to contain the smile.

Nothing had happened between Ino and me except talking, hugging, and hanging out, but man, I felt like the luckiest girl in the whole Narutoverse. Was there something more on Ino's side of things? No idea. I hoped so, though probably not. Despite her outgoing personality, Ino put a lot of importance on her friends. That she also classified me as one of those friends was enough for now.

I didn't mind a spot of friendzone for the moment.

Before I could enter, the door swung open. Karin stood on the other side, wearing some of my day-to-day clothes. At some point, while I was gone, the redhead had even found glasses.

I took one look at her face, the impish smile, the gleam in her eyes.

"Nope!" I declared, spun around, fled.

"Hinata-chan, wait!" Karin called out. But yeah, nope.

I had important things to do—totally justified, completely reasonable things—that just so happened to involve avoiding Karin. Nope, I wasn't fleeing her. I just… remembered I had other stuff to do.

Karin called a few more times but, thankfully, didn't follow.

My destination was a small store that sold a few bobs and ends, and I needed them for this next part of the plan. What plan? Well, training with Best Girl Ino, of course.

I was more than willing to help the blonde get stronger. And I'd do my best to make her stronger. That meant sharing some of my training aids. That also meant a copy of the The Ultimate Variable Weight Distribution System For The Discerning Shinobi. With an extra the, because that was part of the name.

My weight seals were never found, and it had been over a month since I had dedicated effort to my personal training. I needed to get back into weighted exercises and chakra control. And since I was about to make a set of the weight seals for myself, might as well make one for Ino, right?

But I couldn't just slap a collar and goth bracelets on Ino, even if the idea did appeal to me. Ino wouldn't wear something that clashed that much with her sense of aesthetics. And unfortunately, goth phase was over. I liked black; I still wanted some black in my life, but maybe not all black anymore? A few spots of color here and there, maybe pink? I liked pink.

This was the same shop where I got the leather for my old bulky-weight seals, and the owner had a few other materials I could use. My goal? Small wrist and ankle bracelets, a pretty necklace that could be tucked under clothing so it wouldn't get yanked mid-fight.

---

I landed in front of my apartment, my head full of plans for the weight seals and pretty things to gift Ino with. Warm feelings bubbled in my chest. I wanted to dance, maybe cheer, and I couldn't contain the smile. It was going to be great!

Before I could enter, the door swung open. Karin stood on the other side, wearing some of my day-to-day clothes. Her face was placid, emotionless, like she was trying her hardest not to emote anything.

I nodded at the redhead, walked past her, stepped inside. While I was at the store, I also got materials to craft a set of training aids for Karin. I didn't know if she wanted help with training, but if she did, I wouldn't need to go out and buy another set.

Karin followed me deeper into the house.

I went straight to my room, put the materials on the desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out a set of leather working tools, needles, and the other things I had used in my previous work. From the pack I got from the store, I pulled the parts I needed and got to work.

A chair scraped nearby. I looked to the side, saw Karin had sat there, looking at my mess of tools.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

I turned back to the desk; my threads wrote the answer. "Re-creating some of my training aids. Do you want a set as well?"

I heard movement; Karin got closer, looking over my shoulder. "What is it?"

"The Ultimate Variable Weight Distribution System For The Discerning Shinobi." I wrote.

"The what?" She asked.

"…Weight seals to help with training."

"Is that why you're so strong?"

I waved my hands in the usual so-so gesture. "Part of the reason."

"Does it hurt?"

"Only if you abuse it."

Karin sat back, pulled the chair closer. "You didn't tell me you were a fuinjutsu master."

I stopped. Turned and looked at the redhead. "I'm not."

Karin gave me a skeptical look, but just nodded. I turned back to my desk and started working again.

---

Motivated as I was, it didn't take long to remake the seal to be more compact and efficient. I looked at the finished products: three sets of bracelets, three sets of ankle bracelets, and three necklaces. Mine was decorated with black-and-white details, Ino's had purple hints, and Karin's had shades of red. They looked nice, pretty even.

I adjusted the seals so that they could be calibrated by infusing chakra with a touch instead of threads since, as far as I knew, Ino and Karin couldn't manifest threads.

Karin had not left my side for the hours I worked on. I had even forgotten she was there. I picked her set, turned toward her.

"Come closer and stand still," wrote and waved for her to approach.

She did, looking at the stuff in my hand.

I knelt in front of her, and tied the ankle bracelets. Tested the clasping mechanism. Worked like the guy said it would. I got up, clasped the bracelets on her arms. Karin observed without comment. Finally, I walked behind the redhead and tied the necklace around her neck. I popped my threads out. I wasn't sure how strong Karin was. I set the weights on a very low setting. Just fifty kilograms on each.

Karin groaned, bucked over, and I had to catch her to prevent her from falling face first. Err. Well.

I adjusted the seals to twenty kilograms each. That was low enough, right?

"Ow, so heavy." Karin complained, straightening her back. She lifted one leg, then the other. She raised and lowered both arms a few times.

"Am I heavier now?"

I shook my head, wrote words. "The seals just make your muscles think you're carrying that much weight."

"Have you created other things like this?" She asked, looking at the weight seals.

I shrugged. "Better explosions, better storage, still working on the teleport jutsu. A few different types of barriers."

"And you aren't a fuinjutsu master?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"What is this then?" She waved her arms, showing the bracelets.

I tilted my head. Shrugged. "Any one fuinjutsu user could have done the same." I wrote.

Karin opened her mouth, like she wanted to argue, then closed it. "Can you teach me?" She asked instead.

Wasn't the Uzumaki famous for their seals? I wasn't sure I could actually teach her, but I could try. It cost me nothing, really.

"Okay." I wrote, head already full of teaching ideas and training methods. That also reminded me I had to come up with a training schedule for Ino. I don't think she would accept something like hell month, but some of the steps there were good. The meditation helped more than I liked to admit.

Arms sneaked around me from behind, grabbing and keeping me from moving.

"Where did you sleep last night?"

Karin's face was a mix of angry and amused.

"You abandoned me on the second night of living together? I even had to fend off a lot of people looking for you."

Err, really? That's how she wanted to deal with this?

"Right," I wrote, rolled my eyes. "You think I didn't see you checking out Rock Lee and Sakura-chan's chakra?"

Karin squeaked, let go of me. Her face built a pretty shade of burgundy.

Yeah, take that. Two can play this game.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.

Proofreader: CakeEight

 

[Petrox]

I would have asked for a more neutral ground with the Hyuga. She is not one of them so they can't order her.

 

[Anna Nomaly]

I would have asked for a more neutral ground with the Hyuga. She is not one of them so they can't order her.

Click to shrink...

She is still a nobody family-less commoner as compared to one of the founding aristocratic families of the village. She doesn't have the leverage.

Put another way: by the standards of a feudal society she is legitimately LESSER than them, so they are within their perceived rights to do so.