Interlude: Points of View

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in dread. He took a breath and tried, not for the first time, to think of what his own Sensei would have done in this situation.

His student, who was quickly becoming known as The Second Professor had gone to bed. A quick check had revealed that he was actually asleep. Like a rock, actually. Which was good, as Daisuke's ability to eavesdrop was surprising, given his lack of ability in infiltration.

This isn't my old team, Kakashi thought tiredly. I don't know what to do.

He was frustrated with them. Their dynamic, from Nichiren's exasperation with both of his teammates, to Hisako's duel feelings of affection and bitterness toward Daisuke…to Daisuke. Just everything that was Daisuke.

But he was also proud of them. When they got ambushed, Hisako and Nichiren wasted no time in acting. Nichiren dropped a smoke bomb and went into the ground. Hisako moved under cover of smoke to kill not one, but two of the enemy nin. Nichiren's skill with Ninja-wire was growing, and he managed to tie the remaining three down for Kakashi to deal with. Then he learned that Daisuke had killed an A-rank Target in the Bingo Book while they were gone.

He was sure that Daisuke knew an A-rank was coming and set the battle up himself. Daisuke said that he didn't and Kakashi at least knew that Daisuke was a terrible liar. Given what they learned earlier that day; of what he saw in the house, he wouldn't have been shocked if he had manipulated circumstances to fight him, simply to protect his precious people.

Kakashi rubbed his visible eye and he could feel the weight of his responsibility on his shoulders.

Daisuke was equal parts awe inspiring and terror inducing. His ability to just invent new jutsu on the fly made the Sharingan obsolete. He could, and would persevere on any mission until it was complete, no matter what injuries he sustained. Then he'd be right back up the next day to do it all over again.

What would he do if his limited pool of precious people got hurt? Kakashi's gut said that he would hunt those responsible to the ends of the world. And then keep going if need be.

But knowing that still made this current situation impossible.

Hisako's duality concerning Daisuke had come to a head. Daisuke, in a…thoroughly remarkable show of maturity, shut down Hisako's crush. Not because he didn't like her back, but because of his own inability to function in any kind of relationship.

That didn't change the fact that Hisako needed to be talked too. Especially since he could hear her sobs from the other side of the door.

Kakashi sighed. This mission had not been kind to her. He brought a hand up and hesitantly rapped his knuckles on the door.

A gasp in surprise, the sound of moving sheets and the door slowly opened. Hisako looked tired. Very tired and her eyes were very red. Though she stood up straight, trying to look as if nothing was wrong. "Oh. Sensei."

"Hisako-chan," Kakashi eye-smiled. "I think we need to talk."

"O-Okay," Hisako said, slowly opening the door.

Kakashi walked inside. The sheets on the bed were a mess, and there were twin damp-spots on the pillow. "So…I overheard you and Daisuke talking."

Hisako's frame deflated almost instantly. "I guessed."

"It's going to be okay," Kakashi stated.

"No," Hisako's tears threatened to start pouring again. "No it's not."

"Yes, it is," Kakashi insisted. "He didn't say he wasn't interested in you. He just said he wanted to wait until his social problems were…taken care of."

The existence of an end to Daisuke's constant social mishandlings was of great relief to both himself and the Hokage. He only mentioned it briefly, but it was easily one of the most important parts of that particular conversation.

"But he didn't say he was interested in me either," Hisako grouched. "With power like his, he'll get clan heiresses throwing themselves at him and he'll forget all about me."

And so the duality is further explained…she's jealous in both senses of the word, Kakashi thought with a tired frown beneath his mask. "Well, Hisako? I hate to break it to you, but…you're both twelve."

"Yeah? So what?" Hisako folded her arms and glared at the floor. "Why does that matter, Sensei?"

"Daisuke shut you down because he's incapable of functioning in a relationship," Kakashi explained. "The thing is, he's right. Even if he didn't have social problems, he wouldn't be able to function. And neither would you."

Hisako blinked, dropped her arms. "What do you mean?"

"You're both twelve," Kakashi replied. "You're both still growing. Still learning and developing. Neither of you would really understand a relationship if you got into one. That, and if things went south in that relationship, it would ruin any teamwork we have and break the team apart. I think Daisuke, as oblivious as he is, understands that part at least."

"Well…what if things don't go south?" Hisako asked with a frown.

"It's a relationship. Things always go south," Kakashi shrugged. "It's mostly a question of whether it can survive the plummet."

Hisako sat on the bed with a sigh. Tears were streaking down her face again. "Thanks, Sensei."

Come on, Kakashi! At least try to make your cute little Genin feel better! Kakashi thought to himself in Minato's voice. "Well, a relationship is about putting others needs in front of your own."

"Daisuke said that too," Hisako said flatly.

"He's right," I think. "So the fact that he's trying to spare you from additional heartache and drama means he does care about you. A lot, actually."

"Really?" Hisako asked with a hopeful look that swiftly morphed into pessimism. "Not like I care about him, though."

"He doesn't know if he does," Kakashi replied. "He said so himself. He might like you. I don't see why he wouldn't."

Hisako started to sniff but a smile was growing on her face. "You really mean that?"

"I do," Kakashi nodded. "You were one of the first friends he ever had, have known him for years, have tried to help him conquer his biggest weakness and stuck by him the whole way."

"But when he fixes his social problems," Hisako frowned. "How do I know he won't just pick another girl?"

"Because," Kakashi started. "You stuck with him. You heard him today, how we are the only people that haven't turned our backs on him once we didn't need to be around him. Even when he's swimming in fans, he'll know who his real friends are."

That he brought it up that little fact in the context of the house was a little disturbing, Kakashi thought. Was he expecting us to abandon him to his fate because he was bad at socializing?

"You really think so?" Hisako asked.

"Yes. I truly do," Kakashi nodded. "Just be sure that when he does fix his problems, make sure you've graduated to Chunin first? That way you're being put on different teams and things won't crash and burn."

"Thanks, Sensei," Hisako smiled, wiping her eyes clear. "I feel better."

"Good," Kakashi nodded, standing up. "Get some rest, we've got quite a trip ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yes Sensei," Hisako said. "Good night."

"Good night," Kakashi said, slowly closing the door. I think that went well. But then, I'm not very good at talking to people myself.

The Hyuuga were, all in all, having an exciting day. On the one hand, one of their own had been kidnapped and nearly been sold to another village. On the other, this had been stopped and their missing branch member had been recovered.

The method was extraordinary, and the results were spectacular.

Hiashi, in particular, was watching patiently for the seals to be removed, first from the box, then the captive. He stood in the doorway, his shadow being cast by the setting sun across the Hyuuga and Konoha Fuinjutsu experts. They were no Jiraiya of the Sannin, but their level of experience was acceptable enough.

Since their return the previous afternoon, they had been hard at work. Hyobe, the poor fool inside, was still sleeping, looking fairly malnourished and there were scars along his abdomen where shuriken had dug themselves in, but had been removed.

Hyobe had in fact been missing for nearly a month prior to yesterday. He had gone on a C-rank with a couple of his fellow Chunin to the border of Sand, only for him and his friends to end up disappeared. Since Hyobe was in this state, it was fairly safe to assume the other two were dead.

Hiashi seriously doubted that the branch member had fallen into this as a result of incompetence. They were able to capture him, treat any wounds he had, had a Fuinjutsu expert prepare a complicated prison, most likely in advance, and then ship him to Kusa for an auction which both Earth and Lightning needed to be made aware of. In advance.

This was planned. This had been planned for quite a while.

Hiashi turned to the guards stationed at the door. "The clan elders are meeting in five minutes. If they succeed in getting him out, ensure he's kept safe and that he's given proper medical care. We've barely snatched him from the jaws of our enemies, we don't want to lose him now."

"Yes Hiashi-sama," The guards, Anbu who were also Hyuuga, bowed and Hiashi turned and left them.

The moment they had learned that a Hyuuga had been discovered, captured and bound for an auction, there had almost been an uproar. The Hokage insisted that Hiashi come to Takayama, to Hiashi's immediate approval. Now that they had returned, a meeting was almost overdue.

Hiashi moved through the compound, quieter than a ghost. Branch and Main house members bowed as he passed on the way to the meeting hall. He approached the door and didn't even need to stop before it slid open. The clan elders were already inside and they all went quiet at Hiashi's entrance. He took his seat at the head. "Let us begin."

Hiashi took a breath. "Hyobe has been successfully recovered. He was captured and was going to be auctioned to either Earth or Lightning before his rescue. Efforts to release him from his prison are ongoing but he will be released. The Hokage is currently leading an inquiry into the warehouse and will provide us with the opportunity to execute Morita Seiho, the mastermind of this plot."

Everyone was quiet, but Hiashi could tell that each of them approved. It was in their faces, the way their noses and mouths twitched. Their eyes, typical of Hyuuga, were very still.

"Hiashi-sama," Yasutoki, an elder whose hair had long since greyed. "Do we know how the branch member was captured?"

"Not at this time," Hiashi answered. "Yasutoki-san, I'm afraid we will have to wait until Hyobe has been released and properly treated. However, due to the circumstances of his captivity, I am convinced that this has been planned for a long time. Longer than he was in captivity, at least."

"This Morita Seiho was a corporate liaison to Konoha?" Toin was another elder. Younger than most, his face was still wrinkled, contrasting with his pitch-black hair. "The Village appears to have failed in its analysis of those we do business with."

"I have ensured that the Hokage knows the displeasure of the Clan in no uncertain terms during our journey to Takayama," Hiashi replied. "Nonetheless, the branch member has been recovered and we can lodge an official complaint when he returns following his investigation. He has promised to deliver Morita to us for punishment and after that, I move that we consider the matter satisfactorily dealt with."

There were nods of assent. There was nothing else to debate; should the Hokage fail to deliver his promise of retribution to those who wronged the Hyuuga, then the matter would be reopened. As it stood, there was very little to actually talk about. Well, except for one little thing.

"Hiashi-sama," Yasutoki began. "How did the Hokage find the branch member?"

Hiashi resisted the urge to sigh. "I'm assuming everyone is aware of Shimoda Daisuke?"

"The Genin who defeated one of our more skilled branch members with nothing but Taijutsu," Toin replied with a sniff of disdain. "Apparently can invent jutsu from whole cloth, has perfect chakra control and can heal from any injury with sleep. Does he have a connection?"

"This doesn't leave the room," Hiashi ordered. When he received their unanimous assent, he continued. "I was informed that Shimoda's bloodline extends to some form of premonition. He knew there was something to find and found it…and killed A-Rank homeless nin Mori Kazu to defend it."

The room was silent.

Then there was the uproar.

Hiashi had a headache. He didn't reach up and massage his temples as they debated the news that a Genin had done what almost none had done before, no matter how much he might have wanted to do so. As it stood, he did wish that his wife was still alive to vent his misery to later.

Eventually, he had enough and spiked the room with just enough killing intent to get everyone's attention. And make the younger members break out in a sliver of cold sweat, though there wasn't much Hiashi could do about that.

"Naturally, we must do what we can to both repay his valor and make him an ally of the Hyuuga clan," Hiashi stated, eyes narrowing. "Before you start, the Hokage implicitly reminded all of us that he's only twelve. From what I've heard tale of, he is the most socially incompetent human being to grace Konoha. So traditional methods of wooing and gifting will most likely be lost on him."

"Then how do we ally him?" Kichi, another elder, her eyes shut and her white hair done up in twin buns. "If the significance of social gestures is lost on him and gifting will not work, what do we do? What does he value?"

"That I do not know," Hiashi replied, the same question having been irking him in the back of his mind. "But in order to ally him, we must find what that is and give it to him."

There was a silence as the Elder's all attempted to figure out a solution to the problem.

"Money won't work, he undoubtedly still has some from the 'House' fiasco," Yasutoki frowned. "Have we learned anything else about that debacle?"

"No and I will not tolerate baseless rumors," Hiashi glared at the Elder. "As was previously stated, we will be cautious and examine Konoha more closely for possible danger and root out other infiltration efforts. But we will avoid baseless speculation until more concrete details are available."

The house had scared everyone old enough to know about it. The investigation, which had full support from each clan had been extraordinarily extensive – and turned up almost nothing. The house, the monster that apparently resided in its basement, it's owner's shinobi training, had apparently appeared out of nowhere.

Each clan had started circling the wagons a little bit. It was only through the Hokage's leadership and actual transparency during the investigation that prevented paranoia from engulfing the village and splitting it into a million pieces. It helped that the Shinobi had apparently used techniques no other clan possessed, leaving no obvious targets to lay the blame.

The transparency, checked by the Hyuuga agents throughout Konoha's bureaucracy and assuredly checked by the other clans, was rare in this world. That it was appreciated was putting it lightly.

"I am sorry, Hiashi-sama," Yasutoki bowed in his seat. "I did not mean to solicit false rumors."

"You are forgiven, Yasutoki-san," Hiashi gave him a curt nod. "Now, we need to find what Daisuke values and reward him with it. We will instruct Neji, since he has met him before, to find out what this is and try to make it possible for him to find out. We will have the ear of the Hokage more than usual due to Hyobe's kidnapping for the near future, I do not want to waste it."

The elder's agreed with this plan of action, nodding with various degrees of deference. After that, the docket was cleared and then was Hiashi's favorite part of any meeting.

"Dismissed," Hiashi said, standing up and striding through the door first, as was his right as clan leader.

He walked through the clan holding, like a ghost and…there was his daughter, Hinata. Her head was down, looking at the floor, looking more depressed than usual with each passing day. He wished, beyond all else, that she would grow some form of backbone. As it stood, it was aggravating to see his eldest daughter afraid of her own shadow, not to mention utterly depressing.

A thought, just a little crazy but plausible enough to be explored, crossed his mind just a second after he called her name. "Hinata."

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the address. She gulped and turned to face Hiashi with a low bow. "Yes, Father?"

"Have you met Shimoda Daisuke before?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata looked perturbed. "Yes. Once."

Hiashi barely withheld his smile that the hunch he had proved correct. "I see. What do you know about him?"

She started to stammer and push her fingers together.

"I told you not to do that," Hiashi raised his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Father," Her hands became glued to her sides. "I…I know that he's friends with Uzumaki Naruto."

Hiashi nearly blinked. "Friends with…Uzumaki."

"Y-yes Father," She confirmed with a nod.

"I see," Hiashi replied with a frown. "That's interesting. Do you know why?"

"I think they both were raised in the same orphanage?" Hinata frowned, her hands twitching to come forward to do the finger-pointing-thing.

Hiashi could tell this bundle of nerves was going to melt as soon as he walked out of eye-sight, and it saddened him. But the information was quite valuable. "I see. Thank you, Hinata."

That stopped her short. "Y-your welcome, Father?"

But he had already walked past her, her gratitude registering peripherally in his mind because the rest of it was busy.

In the mind of Hyuuga Hiashi, a plan was starting to form.

Sarutobi Hiruzen settled into his chair, both creaking and groaning as he relaxed. The investigation of the warehouse itself had been…fruitful. There were several boxes of weapons which were illegal to ship by order of the Daimyo, each sent by Seiho. The manager of the warehouse was a complete suck-up, wanting to go further in the company and proved to be a valuable accomplice.

Someone so spineless was easy to scare and they got all the information he could provide. Apparently Seiho, the dirty wretch, had been smuggling weapons and things to the enemies of Konoha for years. Seiho's superiors will be quick to distance themselves from him simply because it would hurt their own prospects, undoubtedly. All that remained was to send the appropriate messages to the Daimyo and to Seiho's immediate superior and wait for the response.

Hiruzen quickly loaded his pipe with the strongest tobacco he could and carefully lit it, taking several puffs and enjoying the flavor in his mouth. Now the other thing that was on his mind.

Daisuke.

His...valor and tenacity was starting to scare his sensei and his team. At the rate he tackled impossible problems, it would not be long before he ran at someone that made Itachi look like an absolute ameture with the attitude 'I can take him' for the sole purpose of getting stronger.

The idea of giving him missions to invent jutsu for the village had crossed his mind and, from what Kakashi told him about the accuracy of power spikes and how he gets closer to them, it was getting really, really tempting to do so. Keep him out of danger and away from things that he would run out and accidentally suicide on.

Especially since it would get him closer to solving his social problems, if Daisuke's reported belief of a spike that would fix his social...problems was accurate. Given his premonitions, it probably was. And if the improvement made his social skills mirror his taijutsu skills, he'd be an incredible leader.

Which meant that he might just have a worthy successor after all, if he was willing.

Now he just needed to do everything in his power to keep Danzo as far away from him as possible.

He had suspected Danzo had something to do with the house. That it was connected to Root's old tunnel network set off alarm bells in Hiruzen's head and they were loud. So he had the tunnel network scoured. But no one found anything. A few hidden passages that had been emptied out, looking as if nothing had been there for years. Danzo himself has never mysteriously disappeared where ANBU couldn't track him. The perfect picture of innocence.

This did absolutely nothing to dispel the ill feeling in his gut whenever he thought about it. In fact, it was starting to get worse, though that might have been the paranoia shinobi were famous for.

Hiruzen sighed and got to work at those letters. He called in his secretary and she took them to send by messenger hawk. With that done, he stood.

There was nothing to be done without evidence – Konoha, as much as he hated it sometimes, ran on everyone trusting each other. Arresting someone without evidence ran in contrary to this philosophy and this particular person had a lot of things he could tell the other clans in a 'mutually assured destruction' manner.

That Hiruzen had let Danzo off for the massacre with only the loss of his position would not go over well with the clans.

With a grunt, he stood up. He needed something to take his mind off of his troubles, he had thought about them enough over the past few weeks. He checked the time.

…Young Naruto should be out of class, Hiruzen thought to himself, heading into his private chambers. I wonder if he's getting ramen from Ichiraku's…

In his private chambers was a single table with a crystal ball. Only Hiruzen himself knew how to work it and he could spy on anyone within the village walls with it. He taught his previous successor how to work it but…he ended up with the hat again after the 10th of October.

He channeled his chakra into the ball and…yes, Naruto was getting ramen from the stand.

Naruto was another young one who made him happy. The Fourth's Legacy, Hokage in the making…Hiruzen was sure he'd see great things from him one day. Possibly greater than his friend, who was already making tidal waves in the community.

Hiruzen made it quick to Ichiraku Ramen, moving almost too fast for any to see him until he arrived at the stand's entrance. He moved under the flaps and…there was Naruto. Sitting at his usual spot.

"Hey, Old man!" Naruto greeted him with a wave.

"Naruto-kun," Hiruzen smiled. "I see that you're doing well."

"Oh yeah," Naruto nodded. "I was just making plans for an awesome prank! I mean uh…um, well uh…"

Hiruzen was fighting a smile that was going over his face. And failing. "Naruto, what have I said about pranks?"

Naruto slumped. "Don't do them?"

"That's right," Hiruzen nodded. "So that plan you've cooked up will be going where?"

"Saving it for enemy shinobi when I become Hokage?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Hiruzen laughed, hard, clutching his stomach. "Oh, I needed that. Sure, Naruto. You can pull pranks on the enemy when you become Hokage."

"Awesome!" Naruto gave a thumbs up.

"Hokage-sama," Ichiraku Teuchi gave a polite bow, which Ayame mirrored when she saw the village leader. "I apologize; I didn't hear you come in."

"That's quite alright," Hiruzen replied good naturedly. "I'll take the miso-ebi combination with extra noodles, but less broth."

"Coming right up Hokage-sama," Teuchi bowed again and both he and his daughter hurriedly busied themselves filling this important order.

Hiruzen took a seat next to his surrogate grandson. "So, how has the Academy been?"

"It's been getting a little better," Naruto shrugged. "Iruka-sensei's been tutoring me on and off. I'm…trying to get someone else to help tutor me more regularly, but it's a little soon to ask."

"Who might this be?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto's face went just the lightest shade of pink. "Uh…j-just a someone whose really smart."

"I see," Hiruzen adopted a grin that wouldn't be out of place on a fox. "Is this someone whose really smart a girl?"

"Old man Hokage!" Naruto shouted with his hands on his head. "Not you too!"

"What? I'm just curious," Hiruzen chuckled. Then he mock sniffled. "My little Naruto-kun…oh, they grow up so fast!"

"Old Maaaaaan," Naruto whined.

Hiruzen laughed as Ayame placed a bowl of ramen in front of him. "Here's your ramen, Hokage-sama. Please enjoy!"

"Thank you, Ayame," Hiruzen nodded, grabbing the complementary chopsticks. "You and your father make the best ramen."

Ayame bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"But my real question is, Naruto," Hokage stirred the bowl in front of him. "Why don't you ask Daisuke? I understand you two are close."

Naruto blinked and looked back at his ramen. "Well…uh…I don't know. Isn't he like this superstar shinobi, now?"

"He's been making a few waves, yes," Hiruzen nodded, amused with himself at the understatement. "But that doesn't mean you can't ask him for help."

"Well yeah," Naruto grumbled. "But I don't want to. He didn't need any help to get where he is, how am I going to be Hokage if I can't do the same?"

Hiruzen blinked. "Daisuke also has a bloodline that helps him at basically everything Ninja-related. Comparing yourself to him isn't doing you any favors."

"…yeah, I guess," Naruto stirred his ramen and slurped up a clump of noodles.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hiruzen frowned.

"Old man, be honest with me," Naruto looked up at him. "Do I really have a chance at becoming Hokage?"

"Of course you do," Hiruzen quickly replied. "I know you'll become Hokage someday."

"Someday," Naruto repeated, sounding depressed "Like 'after Daisuke kicks the bucket', someday?"

Hiruzen blinked and frowned.

"I mean, the Hokage has to be the strongest ninja in the village right?" Naruto asked, frowning. "Who do I got to be stronger than in order to become Hokage?"

"...most likely Daisuke," Hiruzen answered, not liking where this was going. "That's not impossible, Naruto."

"I know it's not impossible," Naruto replied, loudly proclaiming his optimism. "I'll train super hard, become stronger than him and become Hokage!"

"Glad to hear it," Hiruzen smiled, glad to know that this was still the same old Naruto.

"But that doesn't mean I need his help to do it," Naruto grumbled, slurping up some more noodles. "No matter how many haunted houses he clears out."

"…what?" Hiruzen blinked.

"Yeah, people are saying that he single handedly cleared out a haunted house and killed a giant monster," Naruto replied. "The stories get more ridiculous every time I hear it."

"Naruto, he didn't kill a giant monster," Hiruzen replied. It was technically true; his teammates were the ones who killed monster. "And he had an elite Jounin Sensei with him, so I wouldn't credit everything to him simply because he has a bloodline."

"An elite Sensei, huh?" Naruto said, looking thoughtful.

"One of our best," Hiruzen nodded. "You might meet him some day."

"That would…explain a lot," Naruto shrugged. Then he sighed in resignation. "Alright, fine. I'll ask him for help."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it," Hiruzen smiled down at the orange-clad blonde. "The Will of Fire means that we are all family. Even as you turn to Daisuke for help, you will eventually be able to help him."

"You really mean that?" Naruto asked, looking unsure.

"Of course," Hiruzen replied with a nod. "No one can go without help forever. Not even me."

Nichiren watched as the Hokage stepped outside of a ramen stand, talking with an animate, Uzumaki, who bounced around with an orange jumpsuit on. Nichiren raised his eyebrow at that; his parents never wanted him to be around the kid, even if he couldn't understand why. Well, until Naruto spray-painted graffiti all over their stores front door. Made it look like a giant mouth that would eat anyone that entered. At that point, the blonde in the orange jumpsuit was simply a little irritating.

But, the Hokage dined at that ramen stand so it had to be good, right? He was a little hungry. So he entered the stand. Inside was a bar, numerous types of ramen were cooking on the other side. He took a seat in front of the bar, it was just a stool.

A girl, several years older than him with long brown hair and pretty black eyes came out of the back and smiled. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, can I take your order?"

"Yeah, uh…can I just have a bowl of Miso?" Nichiren asked, hand moving unconsciously to push glasses that fit snugly back onto his face.

"Sure," She smiled. "That'll be 50 ryo."

Completing an S-rank had its advantages. He handed her the correct sum. "Thanks. I'm Nakamura Nichiren. What's your name?"

"I'm Ichiraku Ayame," Ayame replied. "My dad owns the stand. I'll be right back with your order, okay?"

"Alright, thanks," Nichiren nodded. His stomach grumbled and…okay, he was more than a little hungry and the smells of ramen wafting in the air made his mouth water.

Several minutes later, Ayame came back with the bowl. "Here you go, enjoy."

"Thanks," Nichiren grabbed a pair of sticks. "Itadakimasu."

Yes, the ramen was good. Really good. In fact, it may have been the best ramen he ever had. His taste buds and stomach were thanking him profusely.

In less than five minutes, he sighed in satisfaction and closed his eyes, leaning on his fist with his elbow propped up on the bar.

I can't believe we had another dangerous mission like that, He thought with a frown. You'd think I'd have until Chunin to get thrown into the wringer like that.

"Something wrong?" Ayame asked, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, no. The ramen was delicious," Nichiren replied with a smile. "Thank you, Ayame-san."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ayame returned the smile. "But if you don't mind me asking…is something bothering you?"

Nichiren blinked. "Not…really. I just got back from a mission is all. It was a little harder than I'd like."

"Ah," She nodded. "I won't ask questions about it, then. Classified, right?"

"I don't think so?" Nichiren replied. "But it's better to be safe, I guess."

Ayame shrugged and started stirring a pot behind the counter, a thoughtful look on her face. "Wait…what cell are you on?"

"Cell 13," Nichiren shrugged. "Why?"

"Taught by Hatake Kakashi?" Ayame frowned.

"Yeah," Nichiren frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Shimoda Daisuke eats here some times," Ayame replied. "I wasn't sure I'd get the chance to meet one of his teammates."

Nichiren groaned.

"Sorry," She frowned. "I didn't know it was such a sore point."

"It's okay," Nichiren frowned. "And it's not. Not really. I…he's just the source of a couple headaches."

"How so?" She asked. The reached over to turn a burner down and stir a couple pots with both hands.

"Uh…" Nichiren blinked.

"I'm listening, don't worry," Ayame replied, looking at him to reinforce the point.

"Well…I haven't been the best friend to him," Nichiren replied with a frown. "He's...not very good at talking to people?"

"I've figured that out," Ayame nodded. "He shared a story how he messed up someone trying to apologize to him with a friend."

Nichiren's head tilted. "Who's this friend?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Ayame replied. "They're really good friends. Came from the same orphanage."

Nichiren gave her a wide-eyed stare. "Uzumaki Naruto is friends with Daisuke?"

"Yeah," Ayame shrugged. "Is that really so shocking?"

"I…I guess not, if they came from the same orphanage," Nichiren replied, still a little stunned. "I just wasn't expecting it. Daisuke's brilliant and weird and Naruto's…loud and a little bit of a trouble maker."

Nichiren missed the way Ayame's eye twitched in irritation. "He's a good person if you get to know him. Both of them are."

"Well, I know Daisuke's a good guy," Nichiren replied with a shrug. "Maybe I should give Naruto a chance at some point."

"You should," Ayame smiled, hiding her exasperation. "But you were saying something about him not being good at talking to people?"

"Well…I don't know," Nichiren shrugged. "I just have a really hard time understanding him, is all."

Ayame hummed, and moved to another pot, turning up the burner on the stove. A light taste, and she added some powder that Nichiren didn't see the name of. "Well, what do you know about him?"

"Well, now I know he's friends with Naruto," Nichiren recounted. "I know he can recover from any injury with sleep, invent brand new jutsu on the fly-"

"No, no, not what he can do," Ayame clarified. "What do you know about him? As a person?"

"I know he feels emotions, even if he's can't really show it," Nichiren shrugged. "So he's human, at least. He can count the number of friends he has on one hand…hmmm…"

"Why don't you keep thinking about it," Ayame said with a raised eyebrow. "I need to go to the back for some more noodles, be right back."

Is she trying to be some sort of councilor? Nichiren thought with a frown. She does have a point, though. What do I know about Daisuke? Beyond that he thinks of me as one of his precious people, and is fairly protective of us, not much.

Ayame came back with a batch of freshly pressed noodles. Nichiren figured that her father, who owned the stand, was making them in the back. She slid them into one of the pots and put the lid on it.

"…I know that Daisuke considers his team…and Naruto, apparently, his precious people," Nichiren offered after a few minutes. "And that he's willing to go to impossible lengths to protect us."

"That's a start," Ayame nodded. "Anything else?"

Nichiren thought for a moment. "I know that he loves to read fiction. He avoids perverted books, though."

"Good on him," Ayame nodded with a smile. "So you know he cares about you, a lot, and that he loves to read."

"And that he's an orphan…and will randomly do things to try and make things easier for people," Nichiren continued, remembering the super-henge he wore. "So I know that he's not a jerk, but that's still not a lot."

"You'll just need to spend more time around him," Ayame replied, turning the burner up on a stove. "I also know that he's very generous, if that helps at all."

"He's generous," Nichiren repeated. "That's true, he did offer to teach us jutsu…I think this is painting a picture of a good person whose…kind of desperate for friends."

"There you go," Ayame smiled wide. "On the surface, you got a guy who doesn't show much in the way of emotion. Underneath that is someone whose starved for friendship and cares very deeply for the ones he has."

Nichiren blinked. "How do you know so much?"

"Oh, we've been getting a lot of people since the Hokage started dining here on occasion," Ayame answered, sniffing one of the pots she was stirring. "Our elders are always talking about some drama going on in their lives. I've been listening to stories and gossip for years…especially when a Yamanaka gets involved – they usually tend to solve drama pretty quickly when they do."

"Really," Nichiren blinked. "So, you just listen to people's problems and how they solve them?"

"Pretty much," Ayame replied with a grin. "I also ask them questions when I can. I can learn a lot if someone is in a talkative enough mood."

"Huh," Nichiren frowned. "I guess you can go pretty far if you listen well enough, huh?"

"Yup," Ayame, placing both hands on the counter. "So back to your problem."

"What about it?" Nichiren asked. "I think we've figured out I just need to spend more time with him, right?"

"Sure, sure. But it's always nice to have a goal," Ayame nodded with a thoughtful frown. "And what's that phrase I hear from Shinobi from time to time? 'Look beneath the underneath'?"

"That's it, yeah," Nichiren replied. "What does that have to do with Daisuke?"

"Well, first you have a guy who isn't good at communicating, then underneath that is someone who is a pretty good person but is starved for friends," Ayame started, listing off her fingers. Then she pointed out her third finger. "So what's underneath that?"

Nichiren frowned, thinking to himself. He sat up straight, took off his glasses and checked if they were clear before sliding them back on. Looking her straight in the eyes, he said, "That is an excellent question."