SS021
With Ino being prohibited from having company over, as her grounding wouldn't have been much of a punishment otherwise, Seikun and Sakura spent more time alone, but only during their usual morning training. In the afternoons, Seikun studied the scrolls entrusted to him by Hiashi, but the more he learned about them, the more exasperated he became.
"Heaven and Earth Unity...Milk Root Activation...Core Expansion...Pubic Bone Relaxation...half of these massages are essentially just foreplay..." lamented Seikun. He could kind of understand why a clan like the Hyuga might have developed such techniques, as noble clans took perpetuating their bloodline very seriously, but his brain failed to understand why such methods were being shared with him. Various possibilities appeared in his mind, but he dismissed most of them on principle...
Fortunately, while the techniques were dubious, they provided quite a bit of insight into the nature of Chakra, its influence on the body, and how to both block and unlock its flow. The only downside was that the scrolls he had been provided were exclusive to females. Both men and women had the same number of Tenketsu, but as humans were a sexually dimorphic species, their bone structure, the placement of their internal organs, and the locations of their Tenketsu were similar but different enough that if he made a mistake, he could seriously injure or cripple himself...
'Sakura might appreciate this one...' thought Seikun, skimming over the contents of a scroll purported to increase breast size and stimulate milk production. It had a simple diagram depicting a pair of breasts with the pertinent Tenketsu and acupoints, and along with instructions on how to implement the technique, it also detailed how to reverse it.
'If this is legitimate, it should be classified as a Forbidden Technique...' thought Seikun, a wry smile adorning his face as he moved to the last scroll in the collection. Its name was something flashy like 'Foundation Correction Technique,' but, in essence, it was a scroll detailing how to increase or decrease the malleability of a woman's buttocks, leading Seikun to the conclusion that the history and culture of the Hyuga was truly noble and profound...
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Arriving at Ino's house on the morning of their return to the Academy, Seikun found her seated outside, her arms resting on her knees and a sullen look adorning her face. She perked up when she saw him, but it was apparent that being grounded for ten days had been rough on her, especially as she had never been punished.
"You're late," said Ino, wrapping her arms around Seikun and squeezing him tightly before pulling back to reveal, "I've been waiting for, like, two hours. Even if you weren't planning to train, you should have dropped by to let me know."
"Consider this my apology..." said Seikun, extricating himself from Ino's arms and retrieving a small, cloth-covered jewelry box from his pocket. The Ino before him wasn't nearly as vain and beauty-obsessed as her counterpart, but like most young girls, she had a keen interest in fashion and jewelry.
"Isn't it a bit early for you to be proposing...?" joked Ino, but her slightly shaky fingers and tone made it clear she was as trepidatious as she was excited.
"I am well aware..." responded Seikun, adopting a smile that caused Ino to roll her eyes and pop open the box. What she found within was a pair of green tourmaline earrings, matching the color of the hairpins she often and was currently wearing.
"It appears your head isn't completely filled with stone..." muttered Ino, deftly removing her current, ring-shaped earrings to don her brand new pair immediately. As she did, she glanced at Seikun from the corner of her eye, asking, "You got something for Sakura as well, right?"
"Two things, actually," revealed Seikun, pulling out a ribbon and a metallic, hand-carved bookmark engraved with cherry blossoms. It was difficult to compare the two items against a pair of earrings, but as Sakura wasn't all that fond of jewelry, not even having her ears pierced, Seikun hoped they would suffice.
"Not the worst choices..." affirmed Ino, nodding. Then, framing her ears with her hands and flaring her earlobes with her thumbs, she smiled and asked, "Well, how do they look?"
"I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't think they would suit you..." said Seikun.
"Minus three gazillion points..." responded Ino, lowering her hands and crossing her arms with a half-lidded, disapproving look. Seikun initially just shrugged off the negative valuation, but the moment he shook his head, a habit he had developed when dealing with Ino's demands, she abruptly stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. Ordinarily, it was he who was required to do the kissing, so he instinctively raised his hand to the spot Ino's lips had touched as the culprit in question beat a hasty retreat, shouting, "Stay here...!" as she fled into the interior of her family's flower shop with the tips of her ears glowing red...
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As could be expected after what occurred over the break, the atmosphere in Seikun's classroom had a palpable tension to it. Everyone did their best to behave normally, but whenever someone new arrived at the classroom, the gazes of nearly everyone within would shift to see who it was.
"Do the two of you think Sasuke will show up today...?" asked Sakura, her voice low and her hair sporting her brand new ribbon, fixed to resemble a pair of tiny, rabbit-like ears.
"After what happened...I wouldn't be surprised if he took the rest of the year off..." responded Ino, her voice equally low and a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes. Were it not for Seikun's approachability, she was almost certain she would have aimed for Sasuke. Now that he had lost nearly everything, a small part of her wished she could comfort him.
"He'll be here..." affirmed Seikun, confident in his assertion as Sasuke had returned without incident the previous time he experienced this sequence of events. The specifics of the UCM had changed, but he couldn't think of a reason to prevent Sasuke's return this time and not the last.
As this thought crossed his mind, Seikun, and many others were surprised to see Hinata enter the classroom. She typically arrived less than a minute or two before homeroom roll call, so seeing her appear with more than ten minutes to spare was unusual. More significantly, at least to everyone but Seikun, Ino, and Sakura, she was wearing a variation of the outfit she had worn during training. This included blue trousers that terminated midway down her calves, a chain-mesh undershirt, and a black top that exposed a few centimeters of her abdomen. She didn't actually show any skin due to the undershirt's cloth lining, but as it was beige-colored, it was impossible to tell at a glance.
Ignoring the stunned reactions from her other classmates, Hinata looked to where Seikun, Ino, and Sakura were seated, a radiant smile blossoming across her face as she raised her right hand and waved.
"I guess something good happened at the Hyuga Clan...?" speculated Ino, returning Hinata's wave. She felt Hinata was the greatest threat to her and Sakura's happiness, but since Seikun was frustratingly conscientious, she didn't think he would leave or cheat on them.
"Good morning, Seikun, Ino, Sakura," said Hinata, reaching the trio's table and giving them a slight, polite bow.
"Morning," responded Seikun.
"Good morning, Hinata," appended Sakura.
"What's got you in such high spirits...?" asked Ino, her right brow raised in curiosity.
Smiling even more radiantly, Hinata happily revealed, "My father said that, as long as I continue along my current path, my position within the clan is secure. It's all thanks to the three of you."
As they were unaware that Hinata's status was ever in question, Ino and Sakura felt more confused than gratified by the revelation. Seikun, on the other hand, gave a curt, approving nod and said, "Congratulations, Hinata. I hope things continue to go smoothly for you, your sister, and Neji in the future..."
"If it weren't for you, Seikun, I don't know what would have happened..." said Hinata, narrowing her eyes and adopting a notably tender expression as she expressed, "I owe my current happiness to you. So, if there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask..."
"All I did was give you a push..." responded Seikun, shaking his head. "If you hadn't been willing to put in the effort, nothing would have changed. That's how everything, not just training, works..."
Bringing her right hand up to her mouth and giggling with the back of her index finger grazing her lips, Hinata affirmed, "Yes, I suppose you're right. But, even so, I would like to repay you someday. And, if possible, it would make me happy if we could be friends again..."
"Aren't you already friends...?" asked Ino, looking slightly annoyed as she added, "If you're saying you want things to return to how they were, that ship has already set sail, girlie."
"That isn't at all what I was suggesting..." assured Hinata, but while her expression had barely changed, her smile no longer seemed to reach her eyes. Seikun and Sakura could feel the tension between them like static electricity, but before things could exacerbate, the atmosphere within the class underwent a shift as a certain raven-haired youth with a distant look in his obsidian-black eyes entered the classroom...
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THWUMP
Just as it happened the first time Seikun experienced things, Naruto and Sasuke were pitted against one another in the inaugural sparring session heralding the start of their second semester in the Academy. Unlike how he handled spars in the past, however, Sasuke wasted absolutely no time and showed no mercy, ending the match by closing the distance between him and Naruto in an instant, knocking the latter onto his back and getting on top of him with his fist to the young Jinchuriki's face.
"That's enough! The match goes to Uchiha Sasuke...!" announced Iruka, raising his hand. In response, Sasuke got up from Naruto, but instead of offering his fingers for the Seal of Reconciliation, he slipped his hands into his pockets and walked off, ignoring Iruka's instructions to come back and settle things properly.
Changing things up from Seikun's previous experiences, Sasuke directed a look his way as he departed. The amount of anger, confusion, and hurt in his eyes caused Seikun to tense and feel guilty, but since the Uchiha's fate was one of their own making, he managed to appear calm as he gave Sasuke a curt but meaningful nod.
"H-Hey! Get back here! We're not finished...!" shouted Naruto, recovering from the stupor he had fallen into after being defeated and seeing Sasuke staring at him with one of the most intense stares he had ever endured. The only difference was that the loathing in his gaze hadn't been aimed at him but someone else entirely...
Ignoring Naruto and Iruka, Sasuke made his way inside to find a place to sit and think in silence. Hiruzen had given him express permission to cut as many classes as he pleased so long as he could maintain his grades in the upper half of the class. Sasuke had no intention of falling behind, but as he felt remorseful for taking out his anger and frustration on Naruto, he felt he should take a break from sparring against those much weaker than him...
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After explaining things to Ino and Sakura, Seikun kissed their cheeks goodbye and left them to walk home without him. Sasuke had given him several looks throughout the day that implied he wanted to talk, so after seeing the two off, Seikun tracked the young Patriarch of the Uchiha to a grassy section of the Academy's training field, lying on his back with his arms and legs splayed listlessly.
Making his way over without a word, Seikun made himself comfortable on the grass to Sasuke's right. He knew the latter would speak when he was ready, so for the better part of an hour, the two stared up at the gradually dimming sky without exchanging a single word.
"I need to become stronger..." muttered Sasuke, breaking the protracted silence with a whisper that made it difficult to determine if he was talking to Seikun or himself.
"We all need to become stronger..." muttered Seikun, his voice equally as faint but clear as he appended, "But if you're asking for my help, consider it given..."
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