At the end of the night and after the dinner at Kenji's house, Sensei walked Misa and I home. We stopped at the Hyuga Compound to drop Misa first, then made our way to the gate of the Nara Compound.
"Thanks for walking me back, Sensei. You didn't have to."
He smirked. "And miss a chance to spend more time with my genin? Unlikely. Have a good night, Kagen." He disappeared in a puff of smoke, a scrambling of leaves fluttering to the ground in his wake.
I snorted at his dramatics and entered the Nara Compound. After so long being a loner, it was nice to have more people to hang out with. I was looking forward to getting together with my team in the future.
X
Ren Hayashi was in a pleasant mood, a rare thing in recent days. The war had been rough on him. Certainly this didn't make him exceptional. It was war. Everyone who had a hand in it and even those left at home, they all came away with scars.
Ren had spent a year in ANBU, trying to find a new place in the world after the loss of his mentor and friends upended his life, but his time there felt empty.
He was doing more of the same thing that had led him to being so depressed: killing. So he'd left. One of his teammates told him to try taking a genin team at his farewell party, and Ren had been surprised to find he really liked the idea.
His little genin were the breath of fresh air he needed. Their determination, their optimistic outlook, their company – it was all helping him heal in a way he didn't know he needed.
Kenji was determined and took to each lesson with ferocity, doing everything he could to catch up to his younger teammates. He had a long way to go before Ren would be comfortable taking him out on missions, but his perseverance would serve him well.
Misa was always so collected, but her mask slipped on occasion, giving Ren a glimpse into her true thoughts. She really enjoyed spending time with her team, be they training or even doing D-ranks.
She didn't have the usual arrogance one would commonly associate with a Hyuga, and Rem believed that to be in no small part due to his third student: Kagen who he was pretty sure Misa had a crush on. Ah, how it was to be young again.
Anyways, Kagen was always so serious, analyzing everything in front of him and plotting out his moves three steps in advance. He needed to paint a fence? He would inspect the area and find the most efficient way of painting it before beginning.
He was told to spar with Kenji? He'd hide in his shadows and analyze his teammate, finding a way to help Kenji improve without immediately beating him or disrespecting him by holding back.
And the less said about his talent with shadows and his Kekkei Tōta, the better it was. He still did not know why the Hokage decided to continue letting him lead this team considering how valuable Kagen was for the village.
But Ren did not mind it. He liked the ever serious expression of Kagen. Ren chuckled. He needed to find a way to get that boy to loosen up. There was more to life than fighting. He didn't want his genin to live the life he'd led. He wanted them to be happy.
Ren walked down the street to his apartment and climbed the steps to reach his unit. When he opened the door, his breath caught.
"Shimura-sama," Ren greeted, falling to one knee and bowing his head at the village elder standing just inside his apartment.
It was thanks to Danzo Shimura that Ren was able to transition out of ANBU and into his position as a genin instructor. He owed the man more than he could easily quantify. "How can I be of service?"
Danzo looked down at him with a sorrow-filled frown. "There is pressure from the other elders and the Hyuga Clan to see your genin promoted to chunin as soon as possible."
Ren felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn't had his genin team for even two months and there were already voices calling for them to be promoted?
"Shimura-sama, they are not ready; they are far from ready." Ren said, staring up at the man pleadingly.
Danzo's face was filled with pained regret as he said, "I know. I am afraid there is little I can do. The support for this decision far outweighs what meager resistance I could front. I was only able to delay them. The Chunin Exams in Iwa, that is the latest they would accept."
Ren felt a chill sliding over his skin, like a blanket of frost on a chilled eve. "Nine months… They would have my genin fight for their lives in Iwa in nine months?" Ren couldn't believe it.
If that was the latest they would accept, that meant Danzo had to convince them not to send his students to Kumo in three months. They wanted to send Konoha's children against fully grown adult ninja with only three months of experience as genin?
Ren wanted to rage at the world, but he forced himself to remain focused. "What can be done, Shimura-sama?"
Danzo shook his head sadly. "The decision has already been made. I am sorry I could not buy you more time, my boy, but you only have nine months to prepare your students."
Ren wanted to scream, but he bowed his head low. "Thank you, Shimura-sama. Thank you for the extra time and for the warning. I will do everything in my power to ensure they are ready when the time comes."
Danzo walked forward and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "No one will be able to prepare them like you can, Ren. There is a reason I fought for you to teach them. If you require any assistance from me, you have but to ask."
"Thank you, Shimura-sama. I will likely take you up on your offer."
Danzo nodded, patting Ren's shoulder as he stepped past him. "Good night, Ren, and good luck." The village elder walked out his door and made his way down the steps leading up to Hiroshi's apartment.
Ren watched the man's back until he was no longer visible, then closed his door.
Ren's pleasant mood was gone. In its place was cold calculation. He needed to ensure his students were ready to face the Chunin Exams in nine months.
He needed to intensify their training. They were too slow. They were too disorganized. They did not have a proper team dynamic yet. All of this and more would have to be rectified.
Ren would not fail his students like he failed his mentor.
---------Author Notes--------
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