Hey guys!

I hope everyone has remained safe in these perilous times. Here in Brazil things aren't looking very good, but thank god, I and my family haven't caught anything.

I have to admit my original plans for this section weren't quite like this. Lots of things got cut/changed along the way, and I think most of it was for the better. I do have some grievances with this chapter's direction, however, but the last few months have been pretty chaotic so this is the best I could do. Home Office proved to be… much harder than expected. But that period is finally waning as of July, fortunately I managed to push this in time.

The many reviews I got proved very helpful in giving me motivation! Particularly in April where I seriously considered quitting my job… so thanks again, everybody! Last chapter was very well received, with a whopping 40 reviews! That's more reviews than the previous 3 chapters had combined… so an extra thanks to those that shared their thoughts and feelings, you guys rock! 3

Welp. It's time we wrap up this portion of the arc so we can move on to the more familiar tournament segment!

The Chunin Exams arc

Chapter 28: The Sun at Last (v1.0)

After arriving in the central tower, Hinata and her friends were immediately brought to an infirmary, where a couple of medic-nins took care of their accumulated wounds and bruises. For her and Shikamaru it had been over quickly, as he had not sustained any major injuries and Kabuto had healed hers already. Naruto and Sasuke's situations were a little more complicated, but Hinata was not given time to fret over the boys as the kind Hyuuga ANBU who rescued them earlier returned with a worrying message.

After quickly answering a few questions the medic-nins had about how the boys fell unconscious, Hinata and Shikamaru were led to separate rooms only a few doors away.

Hinata had to admit, after the strong impression he had made during the first exam, she had not looked forward to a 1-on-1 talk with Ibiki Morino.

…Yet despite the man's intimidating aura, he treated her with surprising gentleness, prodding her for information without pressing her, and giving her time to gather her memories and work out her words. Even though she was alone with him, she felt surprisingly comfortable.

It was almost like talking with Shino.

'I suppose he isn't the head of the T&I department for nothing. He must have trained to get information out of all sorts of people, even people like me,' she mused while Ibiki had paused to go over all what he had jotted down on a notebook while they had been talking.

Hinata took that moment to look over the room they were in, but there wasn't much to see. It was small, with just a table, two chairs they were using, a shelf with some medical tools, and a hospital bed by the room's lone window. Not a place one would normally use for questioning witnesses, but it seemed to be the best they had available. The area was a training ground after all, not a jail.

"I see," Ibiki eventually said. "Young lady, I suppose we are finished here. Do you have anything to add? Even if it doesn't seem important, every detail could help."

"Um… n-no, I don't think so," she shook her head.

That was a lie.

She had not shared Shikamaru's theories about Kabuto, as she was still unsure if his appearance had been truly connected with Orochimaru's appearance. She wasn't willing to put the person who indirectly saved her life in danger with a possibly false accusation. If Shikamaru was willing, that'd be on him, and he would be able to explain himself better than she could anyway.

The only other thing she left out was that she knew what Naruto's original seal was all about, only saying that there seemed to be two seals. This was just because, in retrospect, Naruto had never told her if she could speak about him being the Kyuubi jinchuuriki to other adults who were also aware of the secret.

It was probably allowed, she figured, but surviving that horrible test just to force Ibiki to kill her for mentioning that secret? That would be such a pathetic way to die! She wasn't risking it!

It didn't help that Ibiki had been very clear that she was not to talk about that part of the story with anyone else, even to those that might have seen it. She just hoped she had feigned surprise convincingly enough… but her interrogation came to an end without the topic surfacing again.

"Then I thank you for your collaboration. You can wait outside for when my clone wraps things up with your friend," he offered her a small smile, which she awkwardly returned. "Do you have any questions, perhaps?"

Hinata paused.

"Well… I-I was wondering, about the exams. W-What will happen to us now?"

"Hmm." Ibiki leaned back against his chair. "At this point, I hold no power over whether you pass or not. But if you'll permit me to guess, I believe neither Anko nor Hokage-sama would allow for you and your friends to lose this chance after all you endured. That Orochimaru infiltrated the exams was not your fault, if anything you all deserve compensation. Regardless, you nine decided to tackle the test as one, and I've been told you had three pairs of scrolls, which would allow all teams to pass."

'Huh… three pairs?' she frowned. Had her fellow Hyuuga rummaged through their backpacks? She could remember Orochimaru dropping a scroll, and the Sound team left one behind as they fled as well, but not the final scroll. 'I guess Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun managed to get a second scroll before we met up, then.'

"It would be fairly trivial to find the entrance to this place with all the scouting abilities you had available," Ibiki continued, "so while I can't speak in an official capacity, I'm sure all of you will be given a chance to proceed as if you passed the exam normally."

Hinata placed a hand over her heart and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Heh," Ibiki grunted. "Now go on. Your friend should be done in a couple more minutes, and I'm sure our men will bring back your other friends soon enough. There's a chunin outside that'll give directions to the cafeteria and the dorms. It hasn't been a full day but I'm sure you miss having real food over those shitty ration bars, don't you?"

Her hand fell to her stomach, who upon finally being noticed growled a bit as if it was offended.

She wasn't really hungry, but she sure was craving for real food.

"Okay then. Um, t-thanks again," she rose from her chair and bowed. "I just hope what I saw can be of some use…"

To her surprise, Ibiki barked a laugh. "Some use? You saw exactly what Orochimaru did to your friend! This will be key information to our investigation and his safety, Hinata Hyuuga."

'Oh. That… does sound important, doesn't it?'

"From your account, Orochimaru's mere aura was overwhelming, but even though you were in no condition to fight you chose to force your body to stand up and went to aid your friends. It was because you risked your life that you managed to witness something crucial. You did more than enough, in my opinion."

He then smirked at her.

"It is clear to me that you truly understood the lesson I imparted to your peers when my test ended."

Hinata considered his words carefully before speaking up. "About… gathering information, you mean?"

"Exactly," his smirk broadened. "And I imagine that having to go through those ordeals without having access to the Byakugan only made the message clearer, no?"

Hinata nodded instantly. Being incapable of scouting with her eyes in such a dangerous situation, and finally regaining them just in time to predict and counter the murderous Sound team's tactics… the importance of gathering information had never been more explicit to her before.

She just hoped to never experience that kind of situation again.

"You should be proud of yourself, girl. Because I most certainly am. My test, unfortunately, is rather easy to trivialize with the Byakugan, including the tenth question. Yet I can see that you did deserve to pass, and may be more deserving of a promotion than I thought as well."

"Um, t-thank you, sir," Hinata managed to stutter out through her blush, and shook her head slightly. "I-I'm not sure I'm ready but…"

That one careless comment changed Ibiki's mood immediately.

"You aren't? Then what are you doing here?

Her blush vanished, and she froze under the pressure of Ibiki's cold eyes.

"Actually, no. I understand that you are part of Hokage-sama's attempt to reform our teaching methods and that entering the exams was mandatory. However, you've come far enough already. If you feel you aren't ready then give up."

Hinata gulped. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, but mercifully Ibiki's expression softened a bit.

"Young lady, I don't mean to come off as harsh. I'm sure you've been taught about this in the academy, but I must stress that a promotion means commanding squads, and there are few abilities more useful to a squad leader than the Byakugan. Having such a tool causes a bias when it comes to chunin promotions."

Hinata's eyes widened.

"I… I knew we Hyuuga tend to get promoted earlier than most. But I thought that was because of our fighting prowess!"

Ibiki shook his head. "The strongest fighter is not always the wisest leader. In these exams, we are looking for those with the qualities of a leader... or the tools to become one. Unfortunately, having the potential to lead doesn't always plays out as we hope. I can tell you are a modest girl, but I can also tell you were genuine about being unsure."

She hesitated, but nodded. Ibiki could read her like a book, it was futile to deny it.

"Nobody knows if they are truly ready until life puts us to the test. Yet, nobody knows you better than yourself," he pointed at her. "I'm sure all I've been saying right now is sounding weird to you, based how I acted at the end of my test. But judging from what you told me just now, about the second test, I can tell your friends matter a lot to you."

She nodded once again.

The tenth question… she hadn't even considered giving up, because of Naruto and his blank answer sheet. But Hinata knew that even if it was a stranger instead of Naruto, she would have persevered anyway due to how exploitable that test was for her, just like Ibiki said. The tenth question posed no threat to a Byakugan-user.

"This final part, Hinata Hyuuga, will have you fighting for no one else's sake but yours. So use the time you have before the exams continue to think carefully before proceeding. You should have at least half a day, if not the entire time limit of the test."

Finally, he motioned toward the door.

"I hope you come to the right decision. Good luck, and thank you for your testimony."

Hinata knew better than to trust her mouth then. She bowed again, and left silently.

A few minutes later, Hinata found herself in a quaint little dining hall with a few tables and chairs. Nobody was around, yet she picked one table in the very back of the room to sit down with her food tray. Rice, fish, vegetables… nothing fancy, but still good.

Yet she didn't savor the food as much as she wanted, for Ibiki's words bounced inside her head as she ate.

"Then what are you doing here?"

If she had been asked this before the test began, three easy answers would have come to mind, immediately:

She was there to help her teammates. But as Ibiki said, the test would be individual from that point forward. There was nothing more she could do for Kiba and Shino, arguably she was better off quitting so she could help them train and ensure their promotions.

She was there because the Hokage's project practically demanded it. But after Orochimaru's interference, how valid would this test be to gauge the project's effectiveness? It likely didn't serve much of a purpose anymore, but regardless, they did have the scrolls and the means to complete the test successfully just as long as the teams met up again.

She was there because of the situation with her clan. A good performance was crucial to buy more time for her father, sister, and even herself. However, who in their right mind would blame her for giving up after surviving an encounter with an S-ranked ninja? Sure, she didn't exactly interact with him, but nothing her father couldn't spin in their favor anyway.

"This final part, Hinata Hyuuga, will have you fighting for no one else's sake but yours."

She frowned.

The dining hall's doors swung open with a loud creak, followed by a familiar exasperated sigh.

"Shikamaru-kun!"

"Hey."

The Nara carried a tray like her own, and went to sit across from her so his back faced the door.

"Did you really have to choose a table so far away from the entrance?" he asked while splitting his chopsticks.

"Yes," she shot back, forcing her face and tone to remain neutral… at the cost of her mind being more caustic. 'I don't remember forcing you to sit with me. Or asking to.'

She kept her head down and focused on her food… or at least she tried to until Shikamaru's noises and movements caught her attention.

Or more precisely, the lack of thereof. The boy had taken a pretty small portion of food and a glass of water, but he was just picking and poking at it with his chopsticks instead of eating.

His face was scrunched up, and Hinata began to worry.

"Tsk."

He pushed his tray away to the side and almost let his head crash against the table, if not for his arms cushioning them.

Hinata just watched, confused.

"If you want it, help yourself," came out his muffled voice. "I don't even know why I grabbed this food… I can't eat when I'm like this.

She frowned.

"Like this, how?"

"Angry. Upset. I don't know," he said with another long sigh.

"Shikamaru-kun, did something happen…?"

"The interrogation you mean? Nah. I told him all I saw, and the stuff I thought of. But that's not it."

He raised his head, and Hinata was taken aback by the troubled expression he wore.

"That… that was way too close."

She looked down at her almost empty plate.

"It was, wasn't it? But… we're okay now, right?"

"Yeah, because you were there with me."

She dropped her chopsticks.

"M-me?"

"Yeah. When Sasuke woke up, my technique broke off almost the moment it touched him. And against those Sound guys that came right after… if you hadn't returned the moment you did, I'd have died."

Hinata frowned.

This conversation, his wording… she knew where this was going.

"Shikamaru-kun." She hesitated for a moment, but her hand reached out to one of his. "Can you listen to me for a second?"

He was caught off-guard by her gesture, and she continued before he could object.

"You were the one to get me out of that rubble. Then later, even if it was just by a bit, you gave me the opening I needed to stop Sasuke-kun. You kept those genin from the Sound split off so I could fight one at a time… I couldn't have done this without you either, Shikamaru-kun. I'd have died in that rubble."

He managed to give her a weak smile, yet it didn't last long. His gaze fell.

"Thanks. I guess. But… Hinata, I know what I did. We came out of it okay, that's… not really the problem."

She let go of his hand without realizing it as her expression morphed to curiosity.

"Maybe there was a little more I could've done, but the thing is, it was just a little. If that sound team attacked all at once or if anything else had gone wrong, it would have been over."

Even though Shikamaru wasn't looking at her, Hinata looked away.

She, for one moment, had thought she knew what was going on. That Shikamaru had felt inadequate and incapable like she felt whenever she did a major blunder. That familiar, accursed feeling that haunted her so deeply.

It wasn't quite the same thing.

In the end, some part of her was painfully aware that she was capable of more. That if she had reacted just a bit fast, had been just a bit smarter, paid just a bit more attention… victory would have been in reach when it mattered the most.

'But he's not like me. He's not looking at his potential… he's looking at his limits.'

It was just one word, but… I could have done more, was very, very different from I couldn't have done more, she realized.

"What you did out there was really impressive, you know that?"

Confused, Hinata met his gaze. "Um… what?"

"The way you pushed yourself to do what was needed. I can tell how difficult it was for you just from the way you screamed. Even though it must have hurt like hell you still fought with me against Kabuto's teammates. In your place, I'm not sure I'd have that determination. It… was impressive, to be honest."

Hinata felt a blush creeping up on her and looked away. "T-Thank you…"

In retrospect, she couldn't believe she had actually managed things as well as smoothly did at that moment. Especially when it came to stopping Sasuke, as the technique she used was one she hadn't trained a lot with.

Maybe Shikamaru thought it was skill, but Hinata felt it was a fluke. More luck than anything else.

…That's what it all had come down to, in the end.

Luck. That neither of them were more injured by the cave-in, that Kabuto decided to heal her despite whatever his true goals might have been, that the Sound team didn't take their mission as seriously as they could. Possibly even that Sasuke woke up when he did.

'I can't blame him from feeling this way, I suppose,' she frowned.

Her eyes drifted to Shikamaru, who was shaking his head silently.

"I always knew I was better as a tactician than as a fighter, but so what if I'm good with plans when I don't even have the chance to make them?"

Her frown deepened.

Perhaps some harshness was in order.

"Then start taking this more seriously."

Shikamaru paused, and his eyes met hers, now wide from the unusual bite in her words. Hinata had the urge to hide and apologize, but stomped it down and kept their gazes locked.

"I know it's not easy. I know it takes time and effort… a lot of effort. But… I think that if there's one thing this whole experience taught us is that there's no room to play around anymore."

Slowly, he nodded at her. "Yeah. This isn't the academy anymore. It's the real deal."

"Yes. And Shikamaru-kun… the only reason I managed to fight through my pain as much as I did, was because our friends were in danger. That was what was pushing me forward. I… I'm not sure I would have managed if it was just my life at stake, to be honest. But Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun depended on me too, and you were counting on me."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me to do it for our friends? Are you talking about the Will of Fire?"

"…You could say that," she muttered, deflating a bit. She was just speaking from heart. "Well. We never really talked much, but I don't think you care a lot about what we do. About getting money, or fame, or becoming stronger, or the village itself. R-Right?"

He groaned. "All that stuff always felt way too troublesome for me… not that I want the village to die out or anything like that, mind you."

"But you're still here, aren't you?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "Yeah, and you know why. Because of our clans it's not like we have a choice. We can't quit this shit."

She knew that very well.

"We can't. But now that we are here, this isn't just about us. I… I'm sorry if I'm not being very clear but—"

"No, I think I get your point. Our lives aren't just ours anymore… our teammates depend on us. Our clients too." He then earned back against his chair, sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess that even though our teachers talked about that stuff over and over during the academy, I never really understood it until now."

It wasn't easy to face the reality of their profession, let alone accept it. 'Maybe I'd not have seen it either, if not for what happened on our first C-rank.'

With a silent sigh of her own, Hinata returned to her food, while Shikamaru still didn't touch his.

He waited until she was done before speaking again.

"You know, I'm not really that good with taijutsu."

"I… uh… I guess?"

She hoped that wasn't rude.

Well, it was not that Shikamaru was bad at it. He was just average. Otherwise he'd have been slated for the same extra Taijutsu classes she, Naruto and Chouji had begun to take. He didn't have any fundamental problems like the other two boys, but… he had been an easy fight for her the few times they had sparred.

"How'd you feel about training with me when this is all over?"

She had to pause and play his words inside her mind again to make sure she heard right

"M-Me? B-But why?"

"Because I know my strengths. I'm good with tactics, plans… I can outsmart people. But when we're caught off-guard like we were? Back against Kabuto's teammates, the stretchy guy didn't get too close because he knew I was a Nara. The Sound guys, at least the two I fought were mid-range fighters. Things won't always align like that for me."

Hinata nodded, but the confusion must have remained in her face because he quickly explained more.

"I'm asking you because you're probably the best option. Lee and Gai-sensei are too… overwhelming. I can't handle them for long, kinda like Naruto but way worse."

Her eyes went wide. 'That explains why he's friendly to Naruto-kun but didn't hang out with him all that much…'

"I'm not sure Sasuke would accept if I asked him," he continued, "and I'm not sure I can really learn from any of them just yet, either. I'd get demolished before I could even blink. And I barely ever talked to Tenten… so out of everyone that's left, you're the best at taijutsu. Way better than me, but not enough that I can't keep up."

"Oh."

That seemed perfectly logical, if Hinata were to be honest.

She just… kinda didn't want to do it.

"I know it sounds like a drag, but I think I could help you out too," he said, stunning her once more. "I heard you talking with Chouji once about how difficult you found Asuma-sensei's lessons about tactics."

Hinata looked down, resisting the urge to sigh. Asuma's tactic lessons were the most frustrating part of the Hokage's project, at least for her. He often had the genin go through simulations of specific kinds of missions, giving them scenarios and obstacles for them to overcome in pure theory. Once the kids found an answer, he'd use clones or separate the kids into teams to show how well their choices would hold up in reality. Afterward he'd sit with them and explain where they went right, where they went wrong—there was always something—and debate with them about how to improve their plans.

When it was time to give ideas, she often had nothing to speak up, yet the times Asuma had specifically asked for her input and went with her ideas… it usually worked out well in the end. But mainly because the Byakugan let her see and try to fix problems earlier than most people could. She felt she was more reacting and adapting than planning anything, which was just missing the point of the exercises.

But Hinata already understood what Shikamaru was offering.

"I... I'm not very good at these things," she confessed.

"Well, I am. And I know something that can help hone your skills even though it's not really—"

The cafeteria's door burst open, slamming against the wall.

"Yo, Chouji!"

Hinata's heart almost leaped out of her throat.

It was Kiba, smiling like a madman.

"They didn't even wait for us to eat with them! Can you believe that!?"

She heard voices from down the hall, drowned by the horrible sound her chair made against the floor when she pushed away from the table and ran.

Two seconds later she tripped and crashed on the floor.

"Ow!"

She banged her head, again.

"Whoa there, girl!"

Akamaru was far faster than Kiba in coming to her aid, and the next thing she knew the puppy was already licking her face relentlessly.

She began to laugh. "Akamaru-kun! S-Stop it!"

"C'mon boy, let her breathe," Kiba pushed the puppy away and helped her up.

She stared at him, hard, wondering if it was a mirage.

"…Kiba-kun, it's really you?"

"What, you don't recognize my rugged good looks?"

She did! Of course she did! Well, the good looks part was questionable, but he looked whole and healthy and then he began to blur.

"Aw, Hinata… you know I can't handle girls crying…"

"I-I'm sorry!"

Before her vision became useless, she threw herself at him, hugging her friend as tight as she could and relishing on his warmth—the warmth he could only give if he was alive and there, right in front of her!

Once the waterworks started, they couldn't be stopped. It had been pretty bad just with Kiba and Akamaru, but as soon as Shino, Sakura, Ino and Chouji stepped into the room it was game over for Hinata and she was bawling uncontrollably at that point.

She could hear everyone talking among themselves. She couldn't process their words, but she could process the feelings behind them. The happiness and relief she knew everyone in the room shared with her.

At one point someone pried her away from Kiba and she found herself smothered between a red blob and a purple blob, both trembling and crying like she was. At another point, someone calmly guided her unstable self to one of the nearby chairs while something small and full of fur nestled between her feet.

Only after sitting down and being offered some water that she managed to calm herself a little, at least so she could dry some of her tears and restore her eyesight.

Shino came into view, kneeling by her side, while Sakura and Ino stood behind him. She glanced to the side and caught Kiba laughing as he talked with Shikamaru, who apparently gave his lunch away to Chouji.

"Are you feeling better now?" Shino asked.

She nodded with a silly, wide smile. She was feeling better than ever!

"I'm sorry for losing my composure like that… I-I was just so worried about you all!"

"We were worried too, Hinata. Especially after my bugs stopped detecting the one I left with Sasuke."

Her eyes went wide. 'That burst of chakra must've killed it!'

"He's… actually alright though, isn't he?" Sakura asked, and Ino placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The ANBU told us he was in the infirmary with Naruto, and that neither were heavily wounded or anything," the blonde complemented. "So they're fine, forehead! Right, Hinata?"

There was an expectant, pleading glint in Sakura's eyes, and even Ino's, but… as much as she wanted to pacify her friends, could Hinata truly tell them that both Naruto and Sasuke were okay when she didn't know what exactly Orochimaru might have done to them?

She was saved from that dilemma when the dining hall's doors opened once more, revealing two ANBU. One of them was the lion-masked Hyuuga that had saved them.

"Apologies for interrupting your reunion," said the other ANBU, who wore a reptile-like mask. "We know how much you all needed this, after this stressful situation, but we still require your testimony."

"Understood," Shino spoke for the group. "We thank you for allowing us this moment."

The ANBU laughed a bit. "It'd be cruel of us to not allow that. But please, follow me."

Shino and the girls began to walk away. Chouji passed by, waving friendly at her which she eagerly returned, then she felt Kiba's hand on her shoulder for but a second.

"Dang, sorry I—!"

"I was healed, Kiba-kun, it's okay," she abated with a smile.

"Oh, whew," he deflated in relief, then rolled his eyes. "Duh, you even hugged me earlier. Anyway, I'm going! You'll be fine, right?

"Don't worry," she heard Shikamaru approach them. "I'll take care of her. Go on before they yell at you."

"Thanks man! C'mon Akamaru!"

Kiba ran away, and as much as Hinata wanted to cling to his sleeve and ask him and the others to stay with her, she let them go.

She took a big, deep breath and closed her eyes.

'Everyone is fine now, Hinata… it's over.'

Her soul felt so much lighter after that, she almost expected herself to start floating.

"Let's go Hinata." She opened her eyes to see Shikamaru offering her a hand. "Your clansman will show us around."

"Okay…"

Still somewhat dazed, she allowed Shikamaru to help her up and then they followed her fellow Hyuuga in the opposite direction of their other friends. They were led to a place one floor below, the dormitories that were prepared to house the teams that made it before the test ended.

"There is one room for each team, including a bathroom. We prepared some supplies for each of you," the ANBU informed them as they walked, eventually stopping by one door.

"This is your team's room for the time being."

He unlocked the door, gave her a key for it, and let her inside. It was a really small room, with three simple-looking beds and a shelf with the supplies the ANBU spoke off. Propped up against one wall were the backpacks that were used in the test.

"The bathroom is over there," the ANBU pointed at a door further into the room. "Please feel free to rest. Your friends should be done with their questioning soon enough."

"Alright. Thank you," she bowed to the ANBU, who shook his head.

"It was a pleasure. Now," he turned to Shikamaru, "I'll show you to your room."

"Please. I need a bed."

Hinata giggled a bit, closing the door once the two left.

"So do I, Shikamaru-kun."

Having said that, though, she went to examine the supplies by the shelf first. She found everything she'd need to clean herself… but no spare clothes. Which was obvious and understandable, but meant she'd have to stay with the same dusty, dirty, bloody, torn, sweaty clothes she was in for the next few days.

She sighed. Nothing the academy didn't prepare her for, but she hated it all the same. If by some miracle there had been spare clothes, she'd have jumped straight to the bathroom. But as it was, she took off her sandals and let her body fall on the bed.

It paled in comparison to her own, back at her home. She loved and cherished it all the same.

She couldn't sleep just yet though!

"I need to stay awake for when Shino-kun and Kiba-kun come back," Hinata told herself. She was eager to catch up with her teammates… but she made a critical mistake.

Her eyes closed for a mere second, and she blacked out instantly.

Konoha, like all the hidden villages, was full of secrets… yet few secrets were as well guarded as the existence of an underground facility, very, very deep below its bustling, busy streets.

As such, the silence all around Danzo Shimura's office—his true office—was deafening. The perfect environment to get some work done, to read in peace. To think, to prepare, to plan. And even to train, as much as age was making that much more painfully difficult.

But that day, Danzo was there to sharpen his mind rather than his body.

'Interesting… so despite all the power granted by his bijuu, Yagura still fell to those rebels.'

He had to admit, that wasn't what he had expected to read when he received a report from his agent stationed in the Land of Water after he returned to the ROOT headquarters. The odds had been almost unfairly skewed toward Yagura winning the civil war, and yet…

'Perhaps this is a mere reflex of his overreliance on Gatou. Even a jinchuuriki's army can fall when under siege without supplies. But this Mei Terumi could pose a threat in the future, if she was strong enough to defeat him. I must assess if—'

His thoughts halted as he felt a shadow move outside the room.

"Danzo-sama. He's here, alone."

The old man shook his head. 'Meanwhile, some things remain as predictable as ever,' he thought.

"Allow him to enter."

It would take several minutes before he met with his visitor, considering how far the entrances back in the surface were from the central area of the facility where Danzo dwelled. He took the time to put away that report, and prepare some tea for them both.

He then sat back and waited.

Before long, his door opened.

"Hmm… is that tea I smell? How gracious of you, Danzo."

He watched, as neutrally as possible, as Orochimaru confidently strode into his office to sit across him, as if nothing in the room could possibly pose a threat… neither the guards hidden in the shadows nor Danzo himself.

Though Danzo's features remained carefully stoic, on the inside his disgust was immeasurable.

"Despite our differences, if there's one thing Hiruzen has managed to convince me over time is that business is better done over tea," he said, pouring it in two cups.

"Hmph. Business." Orochimaru's yellow eyes glinted dangerously as he examined the liquid. "Then I assume this isn't an attempt to drug or poison me, yes?"

Danzo didn't dignify that with an answer.

"Ah. A pity. If there's anyone that could introduce me to some poison I'm not already immune to, it would've been you."

Orochimaru drank from his cup eagerly, and it took all of Danzo's control not to scowl as he observed the man.

Because he looked not a day older than when they last met. Too many years had passed for that to make sense.

He filed that information to investigate later.

"Let's get to the point, Orochimaru. I've been informed about your infiltration during the chunin exams. What is your intention?"

"I expected no less," came the reply, with a soft, mocking chuckle. "But how I entered here, and what I did in that quaint little exam my former student crafted for those genin… neither of these things are relevant right now."

"Is that so?"

Danzo quickly let go of his disappointment. That Orochimaru hadn't been detected by anyone was of massive relevance to him. To the village. But he couldn't press on that point anymore.

"Indeed. Now, the reason I came here today, as you might have expected, is to propose an alliance. I know, perhaps more than anyone else, how you covet my dear sensei's position. The Hokage's hat."

"And what could you, a lone missing-nin, possibly offer to help me in that regard?" Danzo asked while raising his cup.

"Ah, then as I predicted, while the village's roots reach far and wide, they don't reach everywhere."

Not even Orochimaru's mocking words and venomous smile could ruin the taste of his tea, but they came far too close for Danzo's liking.

"I'm far from the lone missing-nin you described. Tell me, what do you truly know about Otogakure? I assume it isn't much."

This time, Danzo's eyes narrowed.

'So I was right… an opportunity has presented itself.'

Being such an energetic person, it wasn't often that Naruto stopped to admire the skies. That was more Shikamaru's thing. But there was nothing else he could do while he stood still, shirtless, so that Hiruzen could examine his modified seal once more.

The sun was shining brightly from beyond the window, and the sky no longer was bathed in orange like when he first woke up in that infirmary. It was morning again.

'I can't believe I was out for almost an entire day,' he thought with a frown.

After he had finally awakened in an infirmary-like room, Naruto was briefly informed of his circumstances by a nurse and given a few minutes to bathe—he reeked like a corpse thanks to the time he spent within that stupid snake, though his clothes unfortunately still stunk.

Afterward, he was escorted by two ANBU to the office the Hokage was occupying within the tower. It was there that Hiruzen explained everything he could about the Orochimaru incident, fortunately starting with how all his friends were safe and sound.

It was dizzying to think he fought someone of that caliber—someone who could've been a Hokage—and was still alive to tell the tale, however blurry his memories might be. However, thanks to Shino's testimony, they already knew Naruto wouldn't have significant information to share about Orochimaru's actions and intentions, so that didn't impact anything.

The main concern as far as his account went was what happened to his seal.

Fortunately, and much to Hiruzen's surprise, Naruto's memories of his brief chat with the Kyuubi were intact. The old Hokage had been extremely suspicious of the beast's words, as it had very obvious stakes on anything regarding the seal that caged it, yet it had prompted Hiruzen to crouch and ask to give the seal another look.

It's not like they were going to wait for him to wake up to check on the seal, obviously, making that the second time that Hiruzen was looking over his renegade student's handiwork since the exams began. With what time, Naruto didn't know. They weren't in his actual office, but the stacks of paperwork on the room's desk were as intimidating as always.

Eventually, with a deep sigh and a bit of a whimper, Hiruzen straightened himself. "Naruto, do me a favor and enjoy your days to the fullest before back pain starts to plague your life."

The boy chuckled as he dressed himself again, though he put his shirt on backward so his stomach didn't show through his ripped clothes. "Will do. So…?"

Hiruzen went around the table and sat on his chair, across from Naruto. "The Fox's words seem genuine," he admitted. "I didn't understand some parts of the seal at first, but thanks to his words, now I do."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I didn't get a feeling he was lying. But what does this all mean for me?"

"In the long term, nothing. I already sent summons to my most trusted sealmaster, who is currently away in a long-term mission. I believe he will be able to return within a couple days at most to restore your seal to its original form."

"But…?"

"On the short term, as the Fox said, your chakra control should be scrambled. Normally this would actually mean nothing as well, yet we are in the middle of the Chunin Exams. I decided that you and your friends will be given a chance to proceed. It is entirely my fault that you all were assaulted by my stupid student."

Naruto was almost happy at the news. He should've been—he was one step closer to his dream! But as he saw utter defeat gleaming dully in Hiruzen's eyes… Naruto lost all excitement at the news.

It hurt to watch, and Naruto soon couldn't stare any longer.

The old man shook his head and continued.

"I prioritized chasing him down over rescuing you all, because of how dangerous Orochimaru is. This is the least I could do for you nine… but it poses a problem. There are other teams fighting for a chance to be here as well. And depending on how many pass, you might face another trial before the finals are held about a month for now."

"Another trial… you mean more fights?"

"Indeed. You're aware of how the final exam would be like, right?"

"Yup," Naruto bobbed his head. "It's a fighting tournament!"

"Yes. But the more people involved, the longer the tournament will be. If enough teams pass the second exam, we'd need to have an early start right here and now, to reduce the numbers so the tournament doesn't take a full day, among other issues. I will explain this to all the teams better if it comes to that."

"Huh… right. So I'd have to fight someone to really pass."

For once Naruto didn't know how to feel about that notion. Normally he'd eagerly devour a chance to prove himself, especially if it involved a fight!

But if his chakra wasn't working right?

That could be a big problem depending on who he ended up against.

"…Ah whatever," he shot a smirk at Hiruzen. "It wouldn't be fun if getting your hat was that easy, right?"

His plan worked, and he got a chuckle out of the old man. "I suppose some part of it has to be fun. I told you this before, but if you ever get to wear this one day," Hiruzen tapped his Hokage hat, "you'll never know what the word fun means again."

"Oooh, scary. We'll see, old man."

A loud, guttural growl cut their banter short.

"Ah, I've kept you for too long." Hiruzen snapped his finger, and an ANBU emerged from who-knows-where. "Please bring him to his friends. They should be having breakfast at this moment."

"Yes sir. Follow me."

"Well, bye," Naruto waved to Hiruzen. "Try not to drown in paperwork."

"I unfortunately can't make any promises," the Hokage said while lighting his pipe, and Naruto left so he could work in peace.

The ANBU made no conversation as they walked around the tower, but soon Naruto began to hear chatter.

Loud voices. Familiar voices!

He didn't need a guide anymore and before he knew it, Naruto was running down and when he turned a corner… the ANBU overtook him somehow, somewhere, and stood beside one of the doors a small distance away.

"Please go in. They must be waiting for you."

The ANBU opened the door without a sound and then vanished, leaving a scowling Naruto alone.

'Show off!'

A burst of laughter came from the room, making him peek inside it.

Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, and Ino. The only one missing was Sasuke, but thanks to Hiruzen he knew ahead of time that his rival wouldn't be there.

Everyone looked fine and no different than before, besides the ragged clothes and Kiba's coat being missing. His friends were all huddled together on the same table, with food all around them. Well, mainly around Chouji who was devouring an impressive stack of food. The others were all speaking among themselves, but there was one exception.

"Ha, that's my girl!" Kiba laughed over everyone's voices, an. "Kicking ass like a pro!"

Hinata was curled up, hiding her face between her hands. She was shaking her head vigorously.

"Ah, come on Hinata, it's okay to feel pride sometimes!" he patted her on the back, and she finally raised her face to look at him.

She was beet red, seemingly frustrated.

"B-But it was nothing special! I ju—"

A bark cut her off, silencing the table. More barks followed from under the table, then a little ball of fur dashed from there toward the door, finally bringing everyone's eyes to Naruto.

He felt lost for a second.

Curse that ANBU for making him hesitate!

"Uh… hey guys! S'up?" he shrugged, awkwardly.

There was a loud gasp.

"Naruto-kun!"

Hinata rose from her chair in such a hurry she knocked her cup to the ground, but her clumsiness was masked when everyone else uttered his name in shock at his sudden appearance before rushing over to him, leaving her behind.

"Argh, what the hell man, you reek!" Kiba grumbled while pinching, stopping halfway down the hall where Akamaru had also stopped.

Naruto waved his fist angrily at the two. "You try getting swallowed by a snake and see if you come out smelling like a princess, you mutts! And it's just my clothes anyway, I bathed already!"

Sakura was the first to close the distance. "Swallowed by a snake?! So that thing did eat you alive Naruto!?"

She ignored whatever foul stench was hovering around him and began to pat his face, then pinch him as if to see he was real.

"Ow, stop that Sakura-chan! I'm fine, see!"

She didn't listen and kept poking him!

"Oh leave her be, Naruto, she's just worried," Ino laughed at the scene.

Or so he thought until she opened her mouth again.

"I guess that snake was not very fond of the taste of ramen if it spat you out like that!"

The others there began to laugh too, besides Shino, but Naruto frowned at them all anyway—and batted Sakura's hand away.

"You're so funny, you know."

"I know, I know," Ino waved him off with a cheeky smile.

"It was kinda hard to stay in that hole with you smelling like that," Shikamaru commented, also smirking a bit, but then he came closer and gave him a one-armed hug.

Chouji quickly came close and mirrored Shikamaru, patting him on the back. "It's good to have you back!"

"Heh. But come on guys, why the surprise?" he then looked at Shino. "I told you what had happened to me, right?"

Shino adjusted his glasses. "Indeed, but I was confident you'd want to share that story yourself."

That made Naruto laugh heartedly—sometimes Shino surprised him with how nice he could be.

His laugh suddenly ceased when some movement in the center of the room caught his attention.

It was Kiba, who waved his arms around as he discussed something with Hinata who just kept shaking her head.

Then he groaned loudly, went behind her, and shoved her!

She squealed as she tumbled forward.

"Yo Naruto! Ino might be a riot, but you know what's not funny at all? How much you made Hinata here worry about your stinky ass while you were napping!"

"K-Kiba-kun!"

Her voice was so high-pitched it was almost funny.

"Y-You weren't even there!"

"Like he needed to," Ino said, hooking one arm around Hinata and almost dragging her forward, though with far more gentleness than Kiba.

And just like that, Hinata was suddenly just a few feet away from him, blushing and visibly uncomfortable, but also frowning uneasily.

Something about her skittishness amused him, but it vanished in a second when his eye caught sight of a patch of pale skin, easily visible through a dark, stained tear in her coat's shoulder.

"Are you… really okay, Naruto-kun?

"Huh? Oh, of course I am!" He flashed her a bright smile. "After sleeping for so long, who wouldn't?"

His comment earned some groans and giggles from most in the room, but Hinata's frown deepened instead. "A-Are you sure?"

He felt like her question was more meaningful than it appeared, but what it could be was lost to him.

"Ah, well, the old man Hokage himself said I'm fine, you know…"

"Really?" Chouji asked with wide eyes, before realization dawned on him. "Ah, yeah, sometimes I forget you two are close."

"If Hokage-sama himself said that," Shino added, "then I believe there's no cause for concern."

"I… guess so," Hinata muttered, but she didn't look convinced which began to bother Naruto. Why was she skirting around whatever she actually wanted to ask?

Before he could confront her he felt Chouji's hand turning him around and leading him outside.

"Come on Naruto! I'm sure you must be super hungry by now!"

He felt his stomach rumbling eagerly, and his previous thoughts vanished.

"Food! Now we're talking! How's the grub around here?"

"Not the best ever, but tasty enough."

Chouji led him to another room where they both picked up large amounts of food—apparently, Chouji also wanted seconds. A few minutes later he was back with his friends sitting beside Sakura… keeping a little distance as to not bother her with his foul smell.

Kiba happened to be across from him. The Inuzuka was smiling cheekily, an expression Naruto knew all too well from their prankster days.

"So Naruto, did anyone tell you what went on while you were asleep?"

He opened his mouth to say no, but the way Hinata hid her face like when he first entered the room drew his attention.

He heard her mumbling in a distressing way. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at that.

"Remember that weird-ass team from Sound?"

"You mean the ones that attacked that guy that was helping us out earlier, Kabuto right?" he asked while wolfing down his meal. "Yeah. I remember."

"Get this: Hinata almost beat those three by herself!"

"What?!"

The girl began shaking her head viciously, then faced Kiba with a bright red blush.

"Kiba-kun, no…! I told you it—"

"Whoa! Seriously Hinata? One of them took that Kabuto out with just one punch!"

"And she knocked him down with just one strike too," Shikamaru added. "Did the same thing to the girl right after."

"Damn! Two strikes, two down! That's so awesome Hinata! I wish I could've seen it!"

Then Hinata did that weird thing where her face became even redder than it already was, even though it didn't seem possible to.

"I-It wasn't like that!"

She then faced Shikamaru.

"T-The only reason I managed to beat them was because I dueled them. If Shikamaru-kun wasn't helping out then that wouldn't have happened."

"Hmm. But you know," Shikamaru pointed at her with a chopstick, "I think that you had a good shot even if they all attacked you at once. The arm cannon guy was slow and fought at range, and unless the girl knew more than genjutsu she couldn't threat a Hyuuga either. The bandage guy was the dangerous one, but we all knew to watch out for him and you figured him out in no time."

"…I…"

Naruto fully expected Hinata to come with some sort of counterpoint again.

"I… guess you could be right," she, instead, relented. "I-I'm not sure if I'd be able to test him as fast as I did, to understand how his technique worked… b-but I think I would have a chance, if their teamwork wasn't good enough."

That was a surprise.

But then again, Hinata was always surprising him.

"Nah, you'd mop the floor with them all easily," Kiba countered, pulling her into a one-armed hug. "Give them a taste of Team 8's awesomeness!"

"But let's not get too overconfident," Shino interjected. "Alone or together, we still have much to improve."

Hinata carefully pried Kiba's arm away. "Shino-kun is right. I'm happy I managed to help out as much as I did back there in the cave, but… what happened before that still stings."

Kiba made an ugly face at that. "Don't remind me about that puppet guy."

"A puppet?" Sakura asked. "Don't tell me you guys fought that team from the Sand?!"

"No, just the makeup guy," Kiba growled.

Naruto scowled, remembering Kankuro's smug smirk. "So you fought that jerk, huh?"

"We lost to him. But luckily Team 10 here bailed us out before his teammates could really corner us."

"Talk about luck," Ino said with a shiver, "because that redhead was ready to kill his teammate even before he knew it was me and not her."

'Damn… that's so messed up,' Naruto thought between bites, frowning as he remembering his one interaction with the boy.

"We really owe you three a lot," Hinata said, focusing on each member of Team 10. "Thinking back, even if we could've won had things been a little different… we wouldn't have a chance once his teammates arrived, or a good escape route."

There was something odd about the way Hinata spoke then, about the look she then shared with Kiba, but Naruto couldn't put a finger on it.

"It just goes to show not every person here is on the same level," Sakura noted. "But I still think it's impressive that you and Shikamaru managed to beat that Sound team with a man disadvantage while having to protect Naruto and Sasuke-kun."

Now Hinata shook her head in disagreement. "No. If there's anyone impressive here, it's you Sakura."

"Huh?"

"Hey… that's right," Kiba perked up. "Sasuke had said you managed to buy some time by putting that woman in a genjutsu… but that woman was actually fucking Orochimaru!"

Naruto almost choked.

He knew Sakura was doing well with illusions but this?

"See forehead, I told you! You should keep working on that!"

Sakura scoffed at her friend instead. "I don't know how impressive that is. I was desperate and threw around a genjutsu my body couldn't even handle in the end. The only reason it went off is because Orochimaru didn't pay any attention to me. He didn't see me as a threat at all—and he was right."

"Right or not, it still worked, didn't it?"

Sakura just looked down at her food, picking at it. "No it didn't. Whatever he wanted to do with Sasuke-kun, he did it anyway."

That killed the mood immediately, leaving the praises Naruto had for Sakura unspoken.

"The way he fought Sasuke-kun, was if he was toying with him. There's no way he actually spent minutes inside the genjutsu, he probably just gave us time because he was amused, or something like that."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Shino interjected. "If he truly didn't see you as a threat, he might have spent more time in the illusion than you believe, simply because the idea of you attempting anything didn't cross his mind."

"Yeah, maybe," Kiba spoke up, "to me, it does sound like he 'rewarded' you two for escaping him, like how stupid cats play with their food. It took too long for him to catch-up…"

That topic made anger bubble up inside Naruto while the others kept chatting. He couldn't remember clearly what Orochimaru said or did that made him so furious at the time, but the feeling still remaining when he thought about it.

He eventually snapped out of it when Shikamaru cut everyone off.

"Hey, you guys never told us how you escaped the cave-in."

"Ugh," Kiba winced, burying his face on his arms. "I don't know if I should be proud or feel like an idiot about that…"

"I say the former," Shino replied. "Your quick thinking saved our lives."

"Yeah but if not for that ANBU, we'd be dead meat… to answer you, Shikamaru, I just did what I do best! I dug a hole into the wall with my Fang over Fang, making a little tunnel."

"A… tunnel? B-But wouldn't that be just as dangerous as standing around while everything was falling?" Hinata asked.

"Which is why I dug diagonally down, so no rocks came crashing on us! I went as fast as I could while Shino threw the others into the hole so they could slide to where I'd be. I kept going down, and down, and down as fast as I could… but then out of a sudden there was no rock to break anymore and I fell to the ground in an empty passageway."

"But apparently," Ino interjected with venom in her voice, "the mutt thought it was a good idea to just linger where he landed like a dumbass."

"I wasn't thinking, okay!?"

"Oh I know you weren't."

"You—!"

"Wait, what happened then?" Naruto cut off their spat.

Shino answered him. "Predictably, everyone also fell in the same spot. As he didn't move, we fell on top of him, starting with Chouji."

'Ouch.'

Now Naruto could see it.

"I came out of that knocked out and with a broken arm," Kiba grumbled. "Meaning I couldn't dig our way back to the surface, so we were stuck navigating a dark-ass maze and trying to avoid some flooded areas."

"We were totally reliant on Shino's bugs to scout ahead," Sakura added. "But because it was super dark, we had to go very slowly."

"Good thing the ANBU that found us knew a way out!" Chouji said happily, now that he had finally emptied his plates.

"So as you can see," Ino continued, "nothing exciting on our end. Just really scary because it was dark and we were split up..."

Guilt soured Naruto's last few bites.

He could've used his clones to scout, to aid in fights, or at least keep everyone together before the cave-in.

But no, he just had to jump at the totally-not-a-genin and get himself knocked out...

"—ruto?"

"Huh?!"

He snapped out of it to find Sakura peering at him with worried eyes.

"I was just asking if you were told anything about Sasuke-kun's condition…"

"Oh… oh! Yeah! The old man told me something!"

His outburst killed all conversations.

"Is he okay?" Chouji asked.

"Uh," Naruto began to scratch his head. "He's not in danger or anything, but whatever Orochimaru did to him is taking a while to fix… he is awake, though. Just not here."

In one way or another, Naruto saw relief crossing everyone's expressions, besides the usual suspect.

"That is quite fortunate," Shino said, instead.

"They didn't tell me when or how long what they are doing is supposed to take. We just have to wait for now."

And if there was one thing that Naruto Uzumaki despised, it was waiting.

Breakfast didn't last much longer than that. The genin continued to share their stories of the second exam so everyone was on the same page, but soon enough they had split up back into their usual teams and left to their own devices.

There wasn't a lot to do in the tower, as Hinata discovered a few hours before. She had woken up early that day, thanks to embarrassingly falling asleep the moment she touched her mattress the previous day. So she had left her teammates to sleep and ended up going outside to explore a bit before breakfast began.

The tower was fairly big but, differently from the ninja clan that inhabited the area before, Konoha didn't have as much use for its space. It was mostly meant to house ninja during long-term training programs after all. That didn't mean Hinata had permission to be walking around everywhere, however. She was limited to explore only two floors, which had the dormitories, the infirmaries, the dining hall, and the kitchen.

She did manage permission to use a bathroom in one of the unoccupied bedrooms, arguing that she wanted to bathe but didn't want to disturb her teammates, which to her surprise worked out. By the time she was done and felt like an actual human being again—dirty clothes aside—her friends were already gathering outside to have breakfast together.

But she had not been the only one to skip a bath for some sleep, as she found out the moment her team returned to their rooms afterward.

"Guys, I'm gonna hog the bathroom for a while," Kiba said while taking one of the bathing supplies. "I need a shower but I'm also gonna wash up my coat and Akamaru, and that'll take some time. Do you two need to use it first?"

"I do not," Shino said simply, whereas Hinata just shook her head.

"Alright, come on boy!"

Akamaru let out a long, pitiful whine but slowly followed his master anyway, leaving Hinata to giggle a bit while Kiba rolled his eyes at his partner before shutting the door.

Her happiness wavered when she noticed Shino went to sit on one of the beds. It looked immaculately made, unlike hers.

"Looks like I left a bit of mess behind," she muttered while approaching her bed to fix her mistake. It wasn't anywhere as bad as Kiba's, but she couldn't ignore it anymore.

She worked in silence, if not for the sound of the shower running and Kiba's occasional yells at Akamaru to stay still.

'There we go,' she thought, satisfied at her handiwork.

"You seem to have made a full recovery."

"What?" she turned to Shino. "Oh. You mean my shoulder, right?"

"Indeed. You now move normally, with full range of movement. I'm glad that Yakushi-san's healing was efficient."

"So am I… I-I hope I didn't worry you two too much," she said, sitting on her bed.

"Thanks to the kikaichu I left with each of you, I knew you were alive. Naturally, I had my grievances, but I believed nobody would approach that area after those bursts of… intense killing intent and the noises. Whatever happened to Sasuke did cause alarm, but after enough time passed and it was clear he was the only affected, I concluded you had the situation under control."

"I see."

Her mind drifted, then. Sasuke's condition still worried her, but…

That wasn't her only worry.

"You look perturbed."

She jolted.

"If you need to be somewhere else, don't mind me. I appreciate your company, but I also have no issue with solitude."

"…Shino-kun, I'll be right back, okay?"

He simply nodded at her.

The way Shino spoke, she could feel he was at least trying to be comforting, but it only made her guilty when she decided to be selfish.

She needed peace of mind.

Once outside, her feet took her toward a certain room on the other side of the hall, and on her way there she thought about Shino.

'He must have noticed it… but how much does he truly know?'

With the way his bugs worked, Hinata wouldn't be surprised if he had known the truth of Naruto's seal far earlier than she had.

Unfortunately she could not ask anything about it, as he was surely instructed to remain silent just like she did, so she swallowed down her curiosity and halted upon reaching the right door.

She hesitated, but knocked.

"Who is it?"

A girl's voice.

"I-It's Hinata!"

"Oh! Come on in, it's unlocked!"

Hinata walked in and was greeted by a smiling Sakura and a grinning Naruto, whose usual orange jacket was crumpled over one bed revealing the black shirt he wore underneath. They were both standing by the room's shelf, which had a variety of objects like sleeping mats and rope.

She remembered seeing such things in their exam backpacks. Had they been organizing those?

"Hey there, Hinata," Naruto waved at her.

"Um, hello. Sorry for intruding."

"Always with the apologies, what am I going to do with you," Sakura shook her head, amused. "What's up? I'm surprised you're not with catching up with your team right now."

She felt a blush coming up.

"Well… we talked for a bit but I… uh?"

She stared at Naruto, mainly his collar.

"Why is your shirt backward, Naruto-kun?"

"Because of this," he turned around, and she could see some of his bare back from a tear down the middle.

'Ah. Of course,' she thought, remembering the state Naruto had been back in the cavern. That detail had escaped her notice during breakfast, but glancing at the bed, she saw his jacket was similarly torn at the front.

She walked up to the bed that Naruto seemed to be using and stared at the damaged jacket.

At the time she had been so worried that it had never crossed her mind, but…

"Because of the zipper, I can't repair your jacket right now, but I could sew your shirt if you want to. It'd only take a couple minutes!"

"Sew?" Sakura asked. "Did you actually bring that kind of stuff with you for the test, Hinata?"

"Oh no, no," she shook her head. "But I have the materials I'd need in our first-aid kits."

"Huh. I suppose you do," Sakura put a hand on her hip.

"Well, since you're offering," Naruto said, his hands bunching up the hem of his shirt and… "Ow! S-Sakura-chan?!"

Sakura's had one hand clamped over one of Naruto's wrists. Her expression was something between a deadly glare and pure emptiness, contrasting with the simple shock in both Hinata and Naruto's faces.

"Please tell me you weren't about to undress in front of two girls."

Unsure noises escaped Naruto's throat. "But… but how's she supposed to fix my shirt if I'm still wearing it?"

Sakura let go of him, and the way Naruto cradled his hand afterward suggested her grip had been quite fierce.

"I'm not even fazed by this anymore," Sakura grumbled, shaking her head, and then turned to Hinata. "Sorry about this oaf's bad manners, Hinata. It's a work in progress, but you know how he is, right?"

Naruto grunted frustratedly in protest.

"Oh. Oh no, I-I understand," she waved her hands. "I-It was my fault, I should've been clearer."

Naruto regarded her with uncertainty, and she didn't blame him. It was easy to forget how certain things simply went completely over his head.

"So you're not mending my shirt then?"

It was almost cute, if not for the pinkness it left across her cheeks.

"Naruto, forget about the shirt! Hinata didn't even come here for that." Sakura smoothly transitioned from barking at Naruto to smiling brightly at Hinata. "So what can we do for you?"

"…"

That's when it hit her.

'Excellent work, Hinata! You didn't think before doing things! Again!'

She withered from her consciousness's reprimand, and her gaze landed somewhere on the floor away from her friends.

"I… um, I-I was actually wanting to talk with Naruto-kun for a little bit..."

"Oh. Oooh."

Hinata could perfectly picture the subtle change in Sakura's smile from voice alone.

"Sure," Naruto said, "we were organizing all this stuff from the exams but—"

"If now's not a good time we could talk later!" Hinata cut him off, fast and louder than usual. Because of course, what was she thinking barging into people's rooms like that and demanding…

"That stuff can wait, right Naruto?"

"Yeah, I was gonna say that."

Hinata's mouth made a small little O shape.

"Well then," Sakura happily strolled by Hinata. "I'm gonna see if the pig has some juicy gossip to share or something!"

The room's door opened and closed.

She was alone with Naruto.

But the door swung open again!

"Naruto, you better behave while I'm gone, you hear!?"

He faced the girl's glare with indignation.

"What!? I didn't do anything!"

Sakura's expression wavered with glum resignation when she looked at Hinata and bowed slightly. "Sorry in advance… bye now."

The door closed once more.

"Really?" Naruto stomped toward his bed, sitting right over his poor jacket. "I didn't even do anything. Jeez! Sakura-chan goes from happy to mad faster than I can eat ramen sometimes."

Hinata covered her mouth to mask her giggles.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, she means well."

"If you say so… but come on. You wanted to talk about something?"

"I... yes."

Hinata quickly strode to the one bed that appeared to be unused still, and sat down.

"I'm sorry if I sound repetitive, but… I-I wanted to know how you're doing..."

"Yeah, you asked me that at breakfast," he pointed out.

"I did! B-But, you can't talk about your seal to the others, right?"

"Ah, so that's why you still looked worried back then!"

He then scratched his head a little as if to mull over his words, and that single show of hesitation told Hinata she had been right.

Something was wrong.

"Well, for the most part, what I told you before is true. The old man really did say I was fine, but… hey, actually, I was hoping to try this out once I could get away from Sakura-chan for a while, but with you here I can do it too!"

"…?"

Naruto jumped off his bed, going to the middle of the room.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Where once there was one, stood three more Narutos.

"So the old man was right!"

Hinata's eyes darted from the original to the clones, her confusion rising at each glance.

"Um, Naruto-kun? I-I'm sorry but—"

The clone trio popped, leaving a cloud of dust behind each.

Bigger and denser than usual.

"I was trying to make just a single clone, you know?"

Hinata's eyes went wide, and they remained that way while Naruto relayed all the Hokage had shared with him about Orochimaru's seal.

She was left dumbfounded.

"But… but why would Orochimaru—or anyone—want to put a seal like that on you?"

It made no sense! If Orochimaru didn't want a jinchuuriki running around, he could've just killed Naruto!

"Beats me," Naruto shrugged. "The old man had no idea either. But at least it'll go away soon, right?"

She frowned. "Yet if you need to battle in that condition like Hokage-sama said you might need to…"

She had seen it first-hand that Naruto's control—an area he was already weak at—was compromised.

"Hah! If we end up in more fights before the next exam, then I'll just kick ass like usual! I mean, come on, between Zabuza and Orochimaru, fighting some random genin? That'll be too easy!"

His smile was bright and wide. Very bright and wide.

The type that Hinata hated to see plastered across his face.

She hated her own foolishness more, however.

'What am I doing, bringing him down like this? Stupid!'

"But I'll ask around, see if there's someplace in here where I can at least try some of my other jutsu," Naruto kept going, oblivious to her angry thoughts. "I know coming from me it sounds fishy, but I did pay attention to Kakashi-sensei's talk about Wind jutsu, you know? I think I can still do those somehow. It's the Substitution and Transformation that I'll need to work harder on."

She remembered the lessons as well. There were Wind jutsu that relied much more on chakra output than control, and Hinata knew Kakashi had begun training Naruto with that in mind. He'd have to relearn the techniques to a degree, but… it wasn't impossible.

"Um, if... if you wish to, I could help."

"Huh?"

"Remember when we learned how to climb trees with chakra?"

He blinked a few times until the memory of her using her Byakugan to help him figure out his control issues seemed to return to him.

"Oh… oh, nonono! Hinata, geez," he said waving her off. "You've already helped me so much lately, I can't ask you to waste more of your time like that."

Hinata wanted to protest. If she was helping a friend, it could never be called a waste of time. Especially when it came to something as important as the Chunin Exams.

She didn't mind helping. She loved to help, actually!

"That stuff could take a while, and if you have that much time off, I'd rather you train, you know? These exams are important! I'd hate to see you fail because I held you back," he confessed, his gaze leaving her own and landing on her shoulder unsubtly. "I already know you had a really rough time, and me being knocked only made things worse for you all."

Her hand covered the hole in her coat. "Naruto-kun, that's… that wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't change what I'm trying to say here."

She avoided his eyes, and a small sigh escaped her.

'He does have a point,' her more logical side reasoned, simply.

'I don't want Naruto-kun to think he's at fault if I fail,' her emotional side spoke, still wounded just by the idea that she could've led her team to failure back in the first test. It was not a pleasant feeling, and she didn't wish that on anyone.

But then what was she to do? Watch him struggle without aiding in any way? Again? Like she had done for years in the academy?

She almost slapped herself.

'No… you're being an idiot!'

This was Naruto she was thinking about. There was no point in fretting over what-ifs when it came to him—somehow, he'd pull through in the end!

She simply had to have faith.

It was if some of the fog clouding her mind and heart lifted, and smiled warmly at her friend.

"Then… I'm sure you will find a way, Naruto-kun."

Right there, she expected him to laugh a bit and say something boisterous and carefree.

Yet he didn't.

He just looked at her as if she had grown a second head and that horrible, familiar feeling of messing up a conversation creeped up on her.

She wasn't given the chance to discover her mistake, for the door suddenly swung open once more.

However, this time the person behind it was…

"Sasuke!"

Hinata jolted from the bed with a gasp.

"…Hey."

Sasuke walked into the room, somewhat awkwardly, glancing around the room while Hinata tried to give him a good look. Nothing seemed out of ordinary… except for the dark skin near his neck.

'The seal is different,' she noted. There was a new pattern surrounding the three black dots.

"Are… you okay?" she managed to ask.

"I'm better now," Sasuke replied. "I don't have a fever anymore, and I was told there shouldn't be other negative effects unless this seal activates."

Hinata felt herself relax from his words. "That's great, Sasuke-kun! Oh, I-I should go get Sakura!" she said, and she almost dashed out of the room if not for Sasuke moving to block her.

"Wait."

She halted, bewildered.

"I remember what happened back in that cavern… somewhat. And I've been told about everything else that went on while I was unconscious. I wanted… to thank you."

Her eyes went wide.

"We really gave her and Shikamaru some trouble, didn't we?" Naruto approached with a laugh.

"Me especially. In particular… when I had woken up."

Hinata felt a cold sensation going down her spine when those images flashed in her mind once more.

"You and Shikamaru were kinda tight-lipped about that..." Naruto muttered, almost accusingly.

Guilty, she lowered her head. Shikamaru had glossed over that part of the story, and Hinata didn't have the heart to elaborate on it. She, honestly, just wanted to forget what she had seen… never mind the physical pain she couldn't divorce from her memories.

It made her shiver.

"Hinata stopped me from doing something really stupid."

Sasuke then looked at his hands, and Hinata could bet he was remembering how Yoroi's neck felt between them.

"When I woke up, that seal was active. I could barely feel my body… but I felt the power flowing through me. It was… incredible."

The awe in Sasuke's voice… Hinata could say without a doubt, that it scared her more than Orochimaru's killing intent ever had. His eyes shone with an intense flame, just like when he briefly alluded to his traitorous brother on the night they traveled to Wave.

That power was tempting him.

"My mind… it was foggy. I could tell there was some other presence leading me on, a voice, but I couldn't hold anything back. It was like I wasn't in full control." He locked his eyes with hers. "I'm thankful that you and Shikamaru stopped me."

The admission shocked her. Was he rejecting that power?

She quickly shook her head. "I-I'm glad, too. We could tell right away your mind was affected."

That crazed, warped gleam in his eyes at the time… it was inhuman.

"Yeah. I was stronger and faster, and it felt good. But that wasn't me anymore."

"That sounds a lot like my seal…"

Hinata froze.

'Oh no.'

Naruto had muttered those words loud enough that it was impossible for Sasuke to not have heard them.

The Uchiha's expression, once forlorn, quickly shifted from confusion to shock, and finally… anger.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

Sasuke's words dripped with danger, and Hinata watched as Naruto's own expressions shifted as he realized his mistake.

"Oh, um, I-I was talking about this!"

He lifted his shirt, exposing the black markings on his stomach.

"Y-You weren't the only one that snake jerk left a mark on, you know," he laughed nervously, letting the shirt drop to cover it once more.

Sasuke's glare was unchanged. "I know."

Naruto's smile fell completely.

She knew then and there, that showing the seal had been the wrong move.

"They told me."

Sasuke began to walk forward. Naruto began to step back, until the wall stopped him.

"And they told me yours was completely different than mine."

Hinata was shaking. Shino and Kiba argued sometimes and she was becoming used to diffuse those… but this was different! Naruto resembled a cornered animal, and Sasuke stalked him like a predator ready to attack.

The tension between them was so thick Hinata wasn't sure a kunai could cut through it.

"Faster, stronger… I can see in your eyes, Naruto. You know what I'm talking about."

Should she do anything? But Naruto had said too much and was caught lying, what could she even do at this point?

They weren't going to come to blows… were they?

"Hinata."

She jolted not expecting Sasuke to address her.

"Naruto and I need to talk. Can you leave us alone?"

Her breath stopped. Sasuke didn't even glance at her, but she caught Naruto's eyes… eyes that always shone defiantly in the face of danger, now were murky with fear.

"…No."

Sasuke's turned, caught off-guard. "No?"

Her hesitation vanished.

"No."

His black eyes narrowed at her, but Hinata felt her own anger building up and channeled it all into the glare her family was infamous for.

"Naruto-kun clearly doesn't want to talk. I'm not leaving."

Hinata could understand Sasuke's frustrations with Naruto. Of course she could! But that was not how they were going to mend this rift that was growing between them.

And ultimately Sasuke was right—they needed to talk. And it definitively wasn't Hinata's place to interfere… she wasn't even part of their team! But Sasuke wanted to force the truth out of Naruto, ready or not, consequences be damned.

She refused to allow that.

And so she stood her ground, staring Sasuke down with zero intention of backing off.

Perhaps Sasuke would have matched or even beaten her in this silent battle of wills, but suddenly a small, pained moan escaped his lip. His posture shook, his eyes closed, and one hand quickly went to where Orochimaru had marked him.

Hinata's mood vanished, replaced by worry. "S-Sasuke-kun, are—!"

"I'm fine!" he replied brusquely, eyes still closed. His breathing suddenly sped up, but before Hinata could press him again the Uchiha simply whirled around and walked away from them.

"This isn't over," the Uchiha promised.

Hinata knew those words weren't meant for her, but his next ones were.

"When I was on my way here, I saw that Team Guy had just arrived. I thought you might want to know that."

"…Thank you," Hinata said, with a small smile. Knowing Lee, Tenten and her cousin Neji were safe was relieving, but also, she felt that Sasuke telling her that might have meant he wasn't upset at her for taking Naruto's side. At least, not upset enough that their budding friendship was in danger of shattering.

The Uchiha's only reply was to close the door, once more leaving her alone with Naruto.

Hinata turned at the sound of Naruto sinking on his bed. His head hung low, just enough that his hair was a blond curtain hiding his eyes.

Before Hinata knew it, she had sat down as well. Not across him like before, but beside him on the same mattress. Their legs were almost touching.

"Naruto-kun… are you—no," she swallowed that. He clearly wasn't okay. "How are you feeling?" she choose to ask instead.

"I'm good," he muttered, unconvincingly. "Sorry you had to see something so uncool like that."

Her head tilted a bit. 'Uncool?'

But she shook her bewilderment off quickly. "You have nothing to apologize for, Naruto-kun! At… at least, not to me."

His head snapped up, and as always, his feelings shone clearly through the shining blue of his eyes.

Shock and betrayal, because he had though Hinata was on his side… but also fear and doubt, at what Hinata was implying.

She really, really wanted to hug him in that moment.

"Naruto-kun… I know you're not ready just yet. I-I know the thought of telling them the truth is scary."

He looked away, scoffing, draining a bit of Hinata's courage. But he didn't deny anything, so she continued.

"Your friendship with Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun is precious to you. I understand that—I feel the same about my own teammates!." She felt herself smile. "I was lonely for so long… before Shino-kun and Kiba-kun I only really had my sister. Our bonds are really, really important to me! A-And, and I get scared all the time that if I do something wrong, I'm going to lose them. So… I mean to say, I know how it feels."

"But that's different," Naruto pointed out. "You're not hiding a stupid, giant monster fox that could blow up the village from Kiba and Shino. And they like you a lot more than Sasuke and Sakura like me."

"I'm not so sure," Hinata countered, drawing his gaze once more. "They just show it in different ways, Naruto-kun. Sakura-chan gets angry sometimes because she worries about you and wants what's best for you, even if she can be rough about it. And Sasuke-kun… is like me. We didn't have friends growing up, so we're still new to this. He doesn't know how to express himself very well, but I think that if he didn't care he wouldn't be so upset over this."

Naruto's expression fell and doubt seeped in.

He didn't answer her for a what felt like a long time to Hinata. Each second made her feel more anxious, but she waited, patiently, until he eventually spoke.

"Do you… really think so?"

She nodded eagerly, delighted that he was truly listening to her.

"Naruto-kun, I think this conversation needs to happen sooner rather than later. But on your terms, not Sasuke-kun's. Especially now that… well, you let it slip that your seal is similar to his."

He scratched his head. "Bad move, huh?"

Hinata was just about to agree when a thought occurred to her.

"Maybe not! Think, Naruto-kun: you two now have something big in common! You could help each other! And... and Sakura-chan should know about this so she can help you both, or… at least be prepared if something goes wrong. I think she deserves that much, don't you?"

"…Yeah," Naruto agreed, looking a bit ashamed as he heaved a sigh. "She does. And I know she's getting bummed out about our fights too. Dammit…"

"Sakura-chan is trying to keep your team together. And… I don't think the truth will be what will break you three apart. But lies eventually will."

"…"

As Naruto pondered on her words, Hinata rethought her own actions. 'I knew things between him and Sasuke-kun were going bad, but I didn't realize it was like this. I should've talked to Naruto-kun about this much earlier…'

She held back a frustrated sigh. These thoughts wouldn't do her any good—she needed to focus on the present!

"Hinata. So… you really think they won't be mad if I tell them everything?"

"They both will be upset you didn't say anything for so long when they realize it's something so important, but… beyond that, no. I'm sure it will go much better than you think, Naruto-kun," she said, trying to give him an encouraging smile.

"But…"

Naruto trailed off, leaving his objection unfinished.

Fortunately, Hinata felt like she knew what the issue was.

"Naruto-kun, you have to remember that they… no, that we aren't like the other villagers! The adults, they got to see what the Fox did. They felt the effects. But our teammates, and our other friends, none of that means much to us. We have no reason to hate you over it! Not me, not Sakura-chan, not Sasuke-kun… none of us!"

The way his eyes went wide from her words… Hinata felt sadness well up deep inside her. She wasn't reminding him of anything—he had never considered he'd earn anything but hatred if he revealed the truth, even though she had reacted so positively when he told her, in Wave.

'Even back then, he was expecting the worst… he probably won't react well if I suggest he should come clean with everyone else eventually. I should be careful when I suggest it…'

"Okay then."

Naruto shot up from the bed, and faced her. He was smiling. Not his usual larger grin, nor his even bigger fake one.

It was a really small one, almost like her own smiles.

"We'll be pretty busy after today, but before the finals… I'll bring them to Ichiraku and tell them. I promise! Okay?"

Her sadness disappeared, and the only thing she felt was pure glee at getting through him, at finally supporting him in a meaningful way like he had done for her so many times already.

If Naruto promised, then he'd definitively do it! He doesn't go back on his word, after all!

She beamed at him while getting up herself, not noticing how close they were.

"O-Okay then! Do… do you want me to come with you to help explain everything?"

"…It'd be really nice," he said, yet he shook his head. "But I need to do it myself, you know?"

It was then that Hinata, without even thinking, closed her eyes and just did it.

She hugged him.

"Everything will be alright, Naruto-kun."

"Oh. Um…"

Hinata only enjoyed their closeness for about three seconds before her brain caught up with her.

Naruto was warm. And completely rigid.

She was hugging him.

Her very soul froze over as she slowly, mechanically drew back, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"I… I-I'm sorry!"

Then she bolted.

"Hey, Hinata! Wait a—!"

A door slamming shut drowned his words, putting a much-needed barrier between Hinata and him.

In her opinion, of course.

Outside, in the hallway, she pressed her back against the door. Her lungs and heart were on overdrive, and bringing a finger to one cheek confirmed she was blushing madly.

'What're you doing, Hinata!?' her mind screamed at her. 'You two were having such a nice moment but then you just had to ruin it, didn't!? Idiot! Stupid! What kind of friend does that?!'

The worst part, she was so nervous she couldn't move. Naruto was still dangerously close, if he simply opened the door she'd fall on his feet like a sack of potatoes and… she didn't know what to do or say next.

The gods had mercy on her shy, anxious soul, for Naruto didn't give chase.

As she tried to get her breathing under control, she scanned the hallway… but found no witnesses to her embarrassing display.

'I need to go back to my room before anything else happens,' she thought, supporting herself on the walls for her shaky legs threatened to betray her.

All the while, she wondered how she could possibly face Naruto ever again.

Thanks to those childish worries, Hinata never noticed an eye-shaped ball of sand that hung from the ceiling, tracking her every move…

Once Naruto had recovered from Hinata's shocking emergency exit, he replayed those last few moments in his mind.

"That… felt nice," he muttered to himself, gently lowering his body into the bed.

Hugs were a rare commodity for Naruto. Very rare. He could count on one hand the number of times he had been hugged before. He hugged Hiruzen once when the old man allowed him to enroll at the academy. He hugged Iruka once after beating the crap out of Mizuki. He hugged Inari before leaving Wave, crying like a baby the entire time.

All of those, he had initiated. Nobody had hugged him first before!

It wasn't even a true hug thanks to his stupid ass being too surprised to react. But he wished he had. It was so soft and comfy and warm, perhaps because of her bulky fur jacket or… maybe just because she's a girl?

He had never hugged a girl before! Or was it just a Hinata thing? Who knew for sure? ….He didn't! Because she ran away before he could do anything about it!

"Heh, this girl," he felt an amused smile blooming on his lips. "Always being such a weirdo. But… maybe if I…"

Naruto then shook his head, somewhat violently, to get rid of that thought. From the way she ran off, he was sure that was the first and last hug Hinata would ever give him, so no use in wondering about it.

Heck, probably the only time in his life a girl would ever hug him too.

No, he needed to focus. He was no good at planning his words before talking to people, but he needed to say something to his team that very day.

He promised Hinata. He had to hope her trust wasn't misplaced.

…Try as he might, though, his mind soon drifted back to that brief hug.

"That felt really nice…"

A/N:

And cut!

Wait, cut?

...Unfortunately, we didn't reach the prelims like my original plan was, just one scene short of it.

Beyond the opportune ending spot that Hinata gave me—I swear she just bailed on me and Naruto before either of us could do anything!—I feel that this was important for the next chapter's flow. The next scene I have planned happens while the Hokage is explaining the true nature of the exams, which if you remember well, was the last thing that happened before the fights began. It's going to be a much-needed Sasuke PoV too, but…. had that scene been here, we'd begin the next chapter with the first of a non-stop sequence of fights. (And slight spoilers but Sasuke will totally ignore the Hokage's usual spiel, don't worry about me retreading that part)

So saving it for next time felt like the better idea, sorry for those looking forward to that. My characters decided they had issues to resolve before we could move on. While this means one more scene for the next chapter, I really don't think it pushes another scene forward. The ending point for the next chapter should be the same.

I also apologize to a couple reviewers, I remember promising that Orochimaru would get to share his thoughts on the genjutsu Sakura landed on him. But I realized a scene under Danzo's PoV suited my plans much better, so instead I had Sakura herself give her two cents about it.

And speak of the devil! Danzo was not in this arc in canon, as he didn't exist back then. Between that and that final Naruhina moment, I think we have enough material for a nice little review… right? Pretty please?

I do hope to hear from you all again. I just hope I don't need the motivation boost as badly as I needed these last few months… only those of you that write fics themselves know how big of a morale booster reviews can be. So even if it's a simple "I liked this little part here", your words of support are welcome and encouraged. (I don't mind criticism either. It won't feel nice, but knowing where to improve is never a bad thing).

Stay safe, readers!

Guest Review Answers

Guest (March 21st): Yes, the FRONT part. Lol.

Guest 1# (March 22nd): Hinata tends to shine when push comes to shove, doesn't she?

Guest 2# (March 22nd): I knew from the onset that a more genuine approach to Hinata, especially prior to what was her big character development in the exams, would be a difficult road for both me and you all reading this. But I really wanted to depict that Hinata, show how crippling her shyness and anxiety and low self-esteem are, but also show that overcoming these is a gradual process, full of small but very important victories. She's always growing a bit with every chapter. Another of my goals really was, as you put, to humanize her and explore various facets of the character. I enjoy reading about her, but short of lewd stories she's usually this paragon of infinite kindness and that's just not how real people work. For good reasons or bad reasons, we have negative emotions too. Thanks for the compliments!

Piero: Ah... I'd like to think aside from Sakura and Ino, they're just pushing "the ship" because they can see Naruto and Hinata as good friends that can help each other grow. But perhaps some of the earlier, unrevised chapters don't come across like that... ugh. But I'm flattered that the story was entertaining enough that you decided to read it again.

Kaito7777: One could argue that going more toward a jack-of-all-trades route for the genin, by concept, weakens them at their specialist field. The training segments occur mostly off screen, however, so we should just trust that the original teams are still working hard on their own, right? Staying close to canon is a bit of the reason of why Hinata is the way she is, actually, haha. Thanks for the kind words!

AULover: Glad it made sense! Hope this delivered, haha.

Guest (Chapter 22): I'm glad it worked out. I felt that was a super risky move to take two horrible tropes (flashbacks galore, and "cafe" scenes) and mix them up, but my gambit played out as intended and they canceled each other's draw backs. Mwhahaha!