SS005
As lunch was followed by two hours of history or math, allowing students a chance to digest their food, Seikun waited until he and Hinata had taken their seats to speak to her, asking, "You okay...?" in a hushed tone.
"I wasn't hurt or anything..." responded Hinata, avoiding looking directly at Seikun as she hung her head, pressing the tips of her fingers together as she revealed, "But the Academy called my father. He said he wants to speak with you this afternoon..."
"Did he seem angry...?" asked Seikun, less afraid of the meeting than the motivation behind it.
Shaking her head, Hinata adopted a faint smile and assured, "I don't think so. He didn't smile, but I think he was happy when he saw the picture you drew of my mother. He took it with him when he left..."
"It would be interesting if he framed it..." remarked Seikun, exhaling a faint chuckle as he prepared his math text and practice book. The latter had all the problems he was expected to be able to solve by the end-of-term exam, and since it was mostly elementary-level arithmetic, he had already filled out most of the pages.
Stealing a glance at Seikun's practice book from the corner of her eye, Hinata blinked a few times before questioning, "Are you good at math and studying, Seikun...?"
"Not really," confessed Seikun, flipping to page 73 of the hundred-page practice book as he explained, "But stuff like this is easy, and by getting it out of the way early, I don't have to worry about it later on..."
Catching Seikun a little off guard, the boy seated to his left, a somewhat plain, brown-haired, brown-eyed youth named Kazuo Yogi, asked, "Think I could look at your notes? I'm not that good at math."
Resisting his initial impulse to tell the kid to mind his own business, Seikun shook his head and calmly replied, "You don't get good at it by looking for shortcuts and relying on others. I can help by explaining things you don't understand, but I won't let you copy my work..."
"I bet you'd let Hinata copy it..." grumbled Yogi, snorting and rolling his eyes before leaning forward and resting his left cheek on the knuckles of his left hand.
'Maybe if she actually needed it...' thought Seikun, looking away from Yogi to find Hinata wrapping up her own preparations for class. He wasn't sure how much she had filled out in advance, but when she opened her much newer practice book, wrapped in a pink, rabbit-themed book cover, all the problems for that day had already been solved.
Noticing Seikun's gaze, Hinata offered a faint, somewhat bashful smile but didn't say anything. Their math teacher had already arrived, so they would need to wait until the end of the period or that afternoon's kunai handling practice before they could speak freely.
Responding with a nod of his own, Seikun followed Hinata's example and decided to focus on the lesson. It was beyond boring, but as there was a chance that Hinata's father would request reports on him in the future, he didn't want to give the man free ammunition to use against him...
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"Ha...! Ha...! Ha...!" repeated Seikun, his mind and body practically on auto-pilot as he and the other children performed the basic kata taught by the Academy. In essence, they were forced to alternate between six stances while executing various kunai/knife techniques with both hands. It was exceptionally boring, but since most civilian-born children had no idea how to wield and fight with a kunai, it was an important part of their foundation as Ninja.
Fortunately, as it was his third time repeating the lessons, combined with nearly six years of experience as a Genin, Seikun's basic stance and form were far beyond the level expected of a first-year student. As a result, he received looks and nods of approval from each of the Chuunin designated to watch over the training, including Iruka.
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"Alright, that's enough for today! Gather around!" shouted Iruka, dropping his whistle and waiting for everyone to assemble before adopting a broad smile and expressing, "Good work today, everyone. You are now one step further in your journey to becoming Ninja both your family and the village can count on. That journey may be a bit longer for some of you, but if you apply yourself to your studies and training, each and every one of you has the potential to become a great Ninja."
"And I'll be the greatest Ninja of them all...!" exclaimed Naruto, pointing to himself with his thumb and causing Seikun to briefly grimace as he loudly added, "Believe it...!"
"You can believe I'll keep you after class if you have another outburst like that," warned Iruka, frowning in disapproval. He had talked with the Third Hokage the previous afternoon, but while he was prepared to give Naruto the benefit of the doubt, he wouldn't abide the young Jinchuriki doing as he pleased. Ninja society was exceptionally structured and hierarchal, so if Naruto couldn't obey orders or conduct himself properly, he wouldn't be permitted to graduate.
"S-Sorry, Mr. Umino..." responded Naruto, visibly deflating as he exhaled a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. This earned him a few laughs or, more accurately, snickering from the surrounding students, but as it fulfilled his desire for attention, Naruto beamed regardless.
"Ugh...why is he smiling like that? So creepy..." remarked a girl with short pigtails, whispering the words to an unsuspecting Ino. Unfortunately, she wasn't nearly as discreet as she believed herself to be. As a result, Iruka promptly and fairly made an example of her as well...
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While most of their classmates returned home or split off into groups to play at a nearby park, Seikun and Hinata remained back at the Academy. Her father, Hyuga Hiashi, had come to pick her up with three others from the Hyuga Clan, but before they departed, he asked to speak with Seikun in a room typically reserved for parent-teacher conferences.
Seated across from the stern-faced Hiashi, a middle-aged man with long, slicked-back black hair and featureless white eyes, Seikun did his best to appear calm as he silently and patiently waited for the man to explain the purpose of their meeting. In turn, Hiashi was waiting for him to break and ask the reason himself, so the two ended up sitting in complete silence for nearly half an hour.
"Are you not curious to know why I called you here...?" asked Hiashi, his tone as deep and stern as his facial features.
"I am honored by the opportunity..." affirmed Seikun, his voice level as he sat with his back straight and hands on his knees. He also did his best to maintain a firm, determined expression, but it was surprisingly difficult as he grew increasingly weary of the situation.
"I see..." muttered Hiashi, slowly closing his eyes and exhaling an almost imperceptible sigh before opening them, staring directly into Seikun's, and asking, "What is your aim? Do you seek to form a relationship with my clan using my daughter as a proxy?"
"At some point, but that isn't the reason we became friends..." answered Seikun, causing Hiashi's expression to harden as he demanded, "Explain," in a firm tone.
"What is there to explain?" asked Seikun, lowering his gaze slightly as he explained, "I'm sure you know better than anyone how kind Hinata is. I didn't sit next to or approach her. Instead, she approached me of her own accord and tried to comfort me because she believed I was feeling down. I didn't know how to thank her without making things awkward, so I drew her a picture..."
"I see..." repeated Hiashi, his stern expression gaining a hint of conflict as he closed his eyes, followed by another lengthy silence. Seikun suspected he was weighing whether or not to allow him and Hinata to be friends, but while that was certainly the case, there was more to it. Hiashi had looked into his past and knew how hard he worked in preparation for entering the Academy. More significantly, he had been secretly observing Seikun since he approved Hinata's return to class...
"I believe you are an earnest and intelligent young man..." stated Hiashi, causing Seikun to question whether he had heard correctly. Luckily, his shock wasn't readily apparent when Hiashi opened his eyes and added, "I do not believe you would hinder my daughter's education, but if you are to be a true friend to her, there is something I must ask of you..."
Since he wasn't sure how to respond to Hiashi's words, Seikun chose to remain silent and focus on appearing calm and determined. Fortunately, this appeared sufficient as Hiashi gave a curt nod and explained, "As you said, my daughter is kind...too kind. As the next head of the Hyuga Clan, she needs to be strong, both physically and mentally, in order to defend herself and those who will look to her for guidance and leadership. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"You want me to help motivate her to become stronger and overcome her too-gentle nature..." responded Seikun, earning himself an approving nod.
"Succeed in this task, and I will permit you the opportunity to become a Custodian of the Hyuga Clan," stated Hiashi, explaining, "You will not be noble, but as a retainer of one of the Four Great Noble Clans, your status will be above the majority of Konoha's citizenry, and you will not want for wealth or opportunity..."
'This isn't what I had in mind, but I can definitely work with it...' thought Seikun, outwardly closing his eyes, bowing respectfully, and responding, "Thank you for the opportunity..."
Nodding in approval, Hiashi slipped his hands into the sleeves of his dark grey jacket and light grey kimono, remarking, "I do not expect immediate results, but you should ensure my daughter's grades remain within the top five of her class. If I learn you are behaving negligently or aggravating my daughter's...condition, expect there to be consequences..."
"I understand..." responded Seikun, keeping his head bowed until Hiashi permitted him to raise it and ordered him to leave, instructing him to send in Hinata on his way out...
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After working through the previous night, Seikun nearly fell asleep in the bath but managed to stay awake as he reflected on the past three days. He was viewing everything from the lens of him being within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so when things happened that didn't match the expectations he had of his desires, he couldn't help pondering the reason.
'Do I really want to play the part of the Hyuga Clan's dog...?' Seikun asked himself, blowing bubbles with the lower half of his face submerged. In the plan he had drafted for himself, Seikun didn't intend to start distinguishing himself until after the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Now, if he wanted to remain in Hiashi's good graces, he would need to at least pretend he was making an effort, which, in reality, was no different as he still experienced mental and physical exhaustion...
Opening his eyes and tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, Seikun deliberated on the consequences of distancing himself from Hinata. They weren't particularly close yet, and if he spun things sufficiently, he could shift most of the blame to her father and satisfy Hiashi's request. After all, if she learned that her father predicated her having friends on whether or not they could stimulate her growth and maturity, it may give her the push she needed to train and excel on her own.
'That's not the worst idea...' thought Seikun, founding his assumption on the rebelliousness displayed by the actual Hinata. If he played the victim and made it seem like he was being pressured to stay away from her, the odds of her endeavoring to reach the top of their class and then pursuing him weren't zero. And since she would have worked hard to prove herself, her father would have little choice but to accept it...
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