5 Chapter 5

The seconds tick on in silence. Kurenai is certain the pompous man is weighing his options against his disinterest against his public image. That's exactly the position Kurenai wanted to back him in. If she's truly too far gone and he's given up on her than her request shouldn't matter. And should he deny her request, it's more clear than ever how much contempt he holds for her. Furthermore, the Hyūga's image could not possibly appear weak. The Hyūga are too proud to accept any outside assistance with one of their members, much less the heiress. She's fortunate that's not an issue here since Kurenai is already her assigned sensei.

The tense silence seems to stretch on forever until Hiashi finally addresses her. "You play a dangerous game Yūhi-san. Your attitude towards me is not as well hidden as you believe, not from my eyes; for no one can see better than the Hyūga. Regardless of your childish beliefs, you have a duty as her sensei. If it is professional prerogative that Hinata needs supplementary lessons, I will allow you to take a vested interest in her growth. As the head of this great clan and her father, I am not so proud that I would deny my daughter additional aid, no matter how misplaced it may be. However, if I see no significant form of improvement by the end of the Chūnin exams, Hanabi will succeed her as heiress."

He didn't have to say the rest for Kurenai to understand what's at stake. The Hyūga clan needs only one heir. Like Hizashi before her, born only seconds after Hiashi, Hinata too will be branded with the clan's cursed seal, despite being born of the main family branch, a fate no better than slavery by many accounts.

"You paint a lofty picture of my daughter," the man continued almost snidely. "Let it not be said that I did not give you the opportunity to realize such passionate claims."

It would be an undue waste to challenge the time stipulation, but she won't simply take such a concession lying down. She's never been the type to roll over and show her belly; not since her father. No, for her students, she'd slit the man's throat without hesitation. With just as much tenacity as she's demonstrated thus far, Kurenai continues, "to further aid her progress, I request she stay with me in my home. It is a simple three bedroom home in the Shinobi District with all the amenities necessary for training."

Almost with a tooth-grinding growl, he responds, "you may house her for the week at your own expense. As for the weekends, unless she is training or on a mission, she stays with her clan."

Kurenai promptly bows, the cool steel of her forehead protector touching the back of her hands placed firmly on the floor. "Thank you for your time and consideration, Hyūga-dono."

CHŌJI

Waiting patiently behind a wood bean within the large traditional home of the Akimichi clan, Chōji watches his mother speaking with Nara Yoshino-san by the doorway. Spying on the two woman laugh with such gusto every few minutes was a bitter reminder of how much he wanted that kind of friendship, not that Shikamaru wasn't great. The Nara heir was like the brother he always wanted, and if their parents were anything to go by, they always will be. It made Chōji glad to know that he would have a best friend in Shikamaru for life.

It's the third member of their newly formed cell he's hoping will emulate the friendship and partnership their parents seem to effortlessly have. So far, Yamanaka Ino's been demanding, vain, and just shy of outright abusive towards her teammates, and while he agrees with her that Asuma-sensei's smoking is bad for them, he certainly does not care if Uchiha-kun would think her skin is splotchy and sickly because of it. Shikamaru explained that's just how girls are but, Chōji's seen how their parents interact, so that can't always be the case.

He'd spent a whole night making Welcome-to-The-Team dango, three different flavored sticks for each of them. Asuma-sensei and Shikamaru accepted theirs gratefully, not quite as happily as he would've preferred, but certainly much better than Ino, who flat out rejected his gesture, yelling at him about her strict diet and how Uchiha-kun wouldn't appreciate a… fat… girl. He knew she didn't mean to call him fat, but it didn't hurt any less than when other kids said it. In fact, now that they were teammates, it easily dashed his hopes of forming the type of bond their parents easily share.

Even Chōji can see how pretty Ino is, and her figure is more feminine than the other girls, so he couldn't see how a few sticks of dango could really hurt. Watching the mothers in front of him conversing joyfully, he wondered if that could happen soon between himself, Shikamaru, and Ino. His mother suddenly lets out a boisterous laugh and hops on dexterous toes toward the product room connected to their large red-brick kitchen.

Chōji follows her down the clean halls of their large house and can't help but ask his mother, "Okaa-san, what does Yoshino-san want? Is it about the celebration barbecue?"

His mother slightly tilts her head towards him as she continues to walk forward, answering, "no sweetie, that won't be until this weekend. Yoshi-chan just needed to pick up a pill is all."

Walking through the large brick kitchen, feeling the wall of heat before a single step was taken, Chōji generously asks, "do you need any help? I can carry it for Yoshino-san."

"That's sweet of you to offer, but she'll be fine," his mother happily tells him, a bit of pride slipping in her tone.

"Shikamaru never needs anything," Chōji points out.

"Not too unlike his father that one," she answers as she moves to the safe in the product room. Chōji never really took note of the safe, nor was he ever curious of the contents within.

When his mother opened the steel security box, she watches his mother pull out a pill, unlike the three colored pills he's familiar with. It was slightly larger than even the red pill, but he couldn't help asking his mother, "why is it blue? I've never seen that pill before."

Closing the safe, and spinning the levers until it clicked, his mother stands at her full height. Eying the blue pill cautiously, she hums like she does when she's considering her words. The Akimichi clan aren't like the Nara clan. They have a much less elegant way with words and can sometimes take a moment to gather their thoughts.

"Ahh, well, this is a special pill, so ninja boys and girls can be... friendly with each other," she answers as she picks up the pace on her way back. "Don't worry your beautiful little head about it. I'll, uh, have your father speak to you about it later, okay sweetie?"

Chōji watched her scurry off, all the while thinking, questioning really, the possible existence of a 'friendship pill?' Chōji wondered about such a pill and the secrecy behind it long and hard. Clearly, this was a clan secret, after all, why keep it in a safe if it wasn't? But for his clan to need an actual friendship pill, can only mean it's harder for his clan to make friends than others. So difficult in fact, they needed a special chakra pill for it. Chōji would not take this responsibility lightly. He loved his parents and would never want to disappoint them. Without even being told, he knows he'll keep this secret for them and the clan, because, despite the teasing, shaming, and hazing, he was proud to be an Akimichi. With designs slowly forming in his mind, he looks for a post-lunch, pre-dinner snack, as he considers the details of how this might help his newly formed team.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. As I said it's kind of like my practice story and I only have 3 chapters, so, after I've edited the other chapters, I'll post those. If there's enough positive buzz, I'll keep going after that.

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