SS026

"Close your eyes..." said Seikun, pouring several buckets of warm water over Hanabi's head to rinse her hair and body. He couldn't help thinking there was something wrong with Hiashi's head for allowing his daughter to live with and casually be cared for by a boy he had barely known for a year, but as Seikun had no intention of harming or taking advantage of the youngest member of the Hyuga, he couldn't say the man's judgment was completely flawed.

"Okay. Time to get in the bath," said Seikun, rising to his feet with a short white towel wrapped around his waist. Such measures were meaningless against a Hyuga's Byakugan, but as it made him feel more comfortable, he insisted on wearing one.

Having no such inhibitions, Hanabi made her way over to the oversized tub in her birthday suit, using Chakra on the soles of her feet to prevent herself from slipping. Seikun made himself comfortable a short distance from where she entered, but it ultimately didn't matter as Hanabi moved over to sit next to him, asking, "Is big brother feeling a little better now?"

"A little..." confirmed Seikun, forcing a faint smile as he gently caressed Hanabi's head. Then, as she nestled a little closer, he set his arm on the bath's edge and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling.

Following a brief, reflective silence, Hanabi surprised Seikun by poutily remarking, "I don't like what big brother is becoming...you're supposed to be cool and someone who works harder than anyone else. If we were to fight right now, I feel like you would just roll over and let me win..."

"Me being cool was just an act..." responded Seikun, closing his eyes as he asserted, "In reality, I'm full of insecurities. It's probably-"

Before Seikun could finish denigrating himself, Hanabi jabbed him in one of the Tenketsu under his ribs, sending a jolt of pain through his body as she shouted, "Big brother is cool! It doesn't matter if you were putting on an act! Everyone looks up to big brother and tries harder because of him, so don't say bad things about yourself!"

"You shouldn't prod people's Tenketsu just to make a point, Hanabi..." said Seikun, a wry smile adorning his face as she countered, "Why not? It's not like it works on you..."

With Seikun's Chakra saturating his entire body, not just his Tenketsu and Chakra pathways, he was uniquely resistant to most of the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams and Gentle Fist techniques. He wasn't completely immune, as there was no such thing, but if someone intended to seal his Tenketsu, they would need to expend several times the usual amount. Enough that it made more sense for them to use something like the Chakra Scalpel Jutsu or another technique designed to wound, not disable...

"Still..." muttered Seikun, shaking his head as he said, "It's a bad habit to get into..."

As if she had intentionally gotten Seikun to chastise her, Hanabi promptly countered, "And what about you, big brother? Is what you've been doing these past few days a good habit to get into...?"

"..."

Turning his head to meet Hanabi's gaze, finding the young Hyuga staring at him with an intense, disapproving pout, Seikun resisted the urge to try and excuse his actions. Instead, his smile became wrier as he conceded, "Definitely not..."

"Then, until you fix your bad habit, I won't fix mine..." contended Hanabi, punctuating her words with several light pokes to Seikun's rib cage. They didn't hurt much, around the same level as grazing an electric fence, but it was remarkably annoying to be subjected to several.

"I get it. You can stop now..." said Seikun, his smile cramping and his right eye twitching as he resisted the urge to smack the back of Hanabi's hand or flick the center of her forehead.

"If you do, then once we're finished taking a bath, you should hurry to the Academy," said Hanabi, sporting a half-lidded expression as she retracted her finger and reminded, "Tomorrow is your end-of-term exam. If you skip it to be held back on purpose, you'll make elder sister sad and many other people disappointed..."

Though he was tempted to argue that he would never be made to repeat a year with his current grades, Seikun ultimately nodded, tilted his head back, and responded, "I'll go..." in a receding tone. He knew he had to go sooner or later, so with Hanabi making it clear she was prepared to pester him until he relented, Seikun slowly resolved himself to rip the bandaid off and let the healing process begin...

Coming completely out of left field, Hanabi surprised Seikun considerably by firmly asserting, "Elder sister was right...big brother needs someone to look after him and tell him what to do. Is it because you grew up without a mommy? I did too, you know."

'I almost forgot how harsh children can be...' thought Seikun, exhaling a dry chuckle. He knew Hanabi didn't mean anything by her words, but that didn't make them any less jarring. As for her accusation...he was ashamed to admit it, but she wasn't wrong. Even in his previous life, he had a habit of fully immersing himself in his work and hobbies. Because of that, many of the girls he dated were either bossy or motherly, allowing him to focus on his interests and simply go with the flow whenever they made plans or wanted to spend time together...

'Simpler times...' mused Seikun, a faint, nostalgic smile adorning his lips as he jokingly replied, "That's why I told you I wasn't cool. I may act mature, but deep down, I'm just a big, lonely baby..."

Resuming her poking, Hanabi puffed her cheeks and poutily retorted, "You're not a big baby. Big brother is a cool person who can talk to my father without getting scared. No one else can do that, so stop saying you're not cool. It makes me angry..."

"I can see that..." responded Seikun, his cramped smile and eye twitch returning with a vengeance. Then, as they had already been soaking a decent amount of time, he added, "Now, hurry up and count to thirty so we can get out. I'm already pretty late as is..."

Though she maintained a slight pout, Hanabi closed her eyes, pinched her nose, and allowed herself to sink into the tub, holding her breath beneath its surface. Once she was finished and they were out of the bath, Seikun helped to dry her hair but told her to get dressed before helping her brush it. It didn't matter too much, but he would rather not have to deal with the reflection of a naked five-year-old intently observing his every action with a near-unblinking gaze while he was trying to focus...

As mesmerizing as the Byakugan could be, especially when it was pure, the ability of some Hyugas to go upwards of half an hour without blinking was something straight out of a horror movie...

...

..

.

Since he didn't want to interrupt class by showing up midway through it, Seikun arrived at the Academy while everyone else was at lunch. There, he sought out Iruka in the teacher's lounge to apologize for his absences. He fully expected to be scolded in turn, but instead of chastising him for cutting class, Iruka surprised Seikun by ruffling his hair and expressing his relief to have him back.

Following that somewhat embarrassing but warm encounter, Seikun went to his empty classroom. The atmosphere within felt strangely oppressive, but as he had already shown up, Seikun ignored it and walked up the aisle to his desk. He wasn't too surprised to find Ino's and Sakura's book bags when he reached it, but since they were the only two present, he couldn't help wondering if they had kept his seat empty and, if so, why.

'They're not planning to veto me breaking up with them, are they?' Seikun asked himself, his brain producing static and a cold sweat breaking across his body as he could easily imagine Ino attempting to convince him it was absurd to break up after a single fight. After all, she even had proof of him regretting his decision, as he wouldn't have skipped class otherwise...

'This is why putting things off is never good...' sighed Seikun, deflating like a balloon. At the same time, however, a small part of him was...relieved by the notion things might return to what they were. He still believed it would be better if they held off on dating for a few years, but if he had to choose between tolerating Ino's antics for three years and the possibility of never being with her and Sakura...Seikun had come to realize he would infinitely prefer the former...

'I'm such an idiot...' thought Seikun, but before he could descend too far into self-deprecation, the door to the classroom opened, followed by the appearance of Ino, Sakura, and the person who had informed them of his arrival, Hinata.

"So, you finally decided to show up instead of hiding in your room like a coward?" asked Ino, crossing her arms and sporting an understandably annoyed look.

"Ino..." whispered Sakura, her tone low and disapproving, but if she were being completely honest, she was even more upset than Ino. After all, as far as she was concerned, she hadn't done a single thing to warrant being dumped. Was she annoyed that Hinata was staying at Seikun's house? Of course. But since he was so resistant to doing things with them, she knew the probability of Seikun doing anything behind their back, while not zero, was very near it.

"What?" asked Ino, meeting Sakura's expression with a severe pout. "This jerk just spent the past six days moping around at home while the rest of us had no choice but to come to the Academy and pretend like everything was hunky dory. Someone has to call him out for being selfish..."

"You're right," affirmed Seikun, drawing the trio's attention as he added, "I was being selfish. And, for that, I'm sorry..."

Seeing Seikun close his eyes and hang his head, Ino felt a little apologetic but maintained her frown as she responded, "We don't want your apology, Seikun. We came because we needed to talk."

Nodding in understanding, Seikun softly affirmed, "I'm listening..." with an earnest, prepared expression.

"First off, let us confirm something..." said Ino, maintaining her hold over the conversation's flow as she asked, "You like us, right?"

"I do..." muttered Seikun.

"But you also believe we shouldn't be dating at our age," appended Ino. "That's why, even though Sakura didn't really do anything, you broke up with her at the same time you broke up with me. Am I wrong?"

"You're not..." confirmed Seikun. "But I also wasn't thinking clearly at the time..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." groaned Ino, holding her head with her right hand as she knew precisely why Seikun wasn't thinking clearly. It was the first time she had slugged someone that hard, and since it was the person she liked, she had felt like an idiot ever since.

"But that's not important right now...!" exclaimed Ino, lowering her hand and staring at Seikun as she asserted, "What's important is that you like us and that we like you. But since you're not ready for a relationship, we decided to go back to being your friends. I don't care if we can't hug or kiss for a few years. I can't train and study properly if you're not there to keep me on track..."

"I would also like to train and study together..." said Hinata, adopting her characteristically faint smile as she divulged, "It's just not as fun without you..."

"You were supposed to go last, Hinata..." complained Sakura, but as the damage had already been done, she followed Ino's example by stepping forward and shouting, "I really like you, Seikun!" before settling down a bit and explaining, "Some of the things you do really frustrate me, but you're the only boy I can speak to who doesn't make me feel like I'm losing brain cells. So, even if it's just as friends, please continue studying with me and helping me learn even more..."

Recovering from a momentary stupor, Seikun asked, "So you're not going to try and pressure me back into a relationship...?"

"Not right now, at least..." conceded Ino, discarding her frown for a smile as she teased, "But all agreements are off once we graduate. Until then...I may try dating someone else—just to see how a normal boy behaves in a relationship. If that makes you feel jealous, just remember that you were the one who was wishy-washy and decided to break up. If another guy whisks me off my feet while you're too busy figuring things out, that's on you, Seikun. I'm a pretty patient girl, despite what you might think, but I can't wait forever..."

"Right..." muttered Seikun, raising his right hand to touch the back of his head. He could have done without Ino remarking that she might play the field, but since things had turned out better than expected, he managed a somewhat cramped smile and replied, "If the three of you will have me...I would be happy to be your friend..."

...

..

.