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"So what are you guys doing for summer break?"
Ino Yamanaka asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
"Sleeping."
Shikamaru Nara yawned.
Between all the combat drills and shadow training lately, he was completely wiped. Summer break? Perfect excuse to catch up on sleep.
"Eating," Choji Akimichi mumbled while munching on chips. Straight to the point.
"Do you guys seriously not have any ambitions?"
Ino stared at them, completely baffled.
"Why would we need that?"
Shikamaru shrugged like a wise old man. "Life's short. The most important thing is enjoying it."
"You're six, not sixty."
Ino deadpanned.
"I'm turning seven in two months," Shikamaru replied, hands behind his head. "And after Kitazawa-sensei's training, I've already had my existential awakening."
"What about you, Ino?"
Choji asked after finishing his chips. "What's your plan for summer?"
"Training!"
Ino pumped her fist with determination.
"Yup. You're addicted. There's no saving you," Shikamaru said, shaking his head at her.
"Addicted? Please. I just wanna beat Sakura for once!"
Ino declared. "I'm making sure she ends up with double the homework this summer!"
"Scary woman,"
Shikamaru muttered under his breath, finally putting the pieces together.
Ino had been training with Sakura—mind techniques vs. medical ninjutsu. Their bet? Loser gets double the homework. But with Sakura's ridiculous talent, Ino lost way more often than she won.
"I'm home. Let's hang out again soon."
Ino waved goodbye and headed off toward the Yamanaka flower shop.
"Later, Choji."
Not long after, Shikamaru reached his own home.
He pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and walked in.
"You're back and didn't even say a word?"
Shikaku looked up when he heard the door open.
"Didn't have the energy," Shikamaru muttered as he dragged himself in.
"You're seriously too lazy to say 'I'm home'?"
Yoshino, his mom, came out of the kitchen with a scowl.
"It's just noon. Why are both of you home?"
Shikamaru quickly changed the subject.
"I wrapped up work early."
Shikaku smiled and held out his hand. "Hand it over."
"Hand over what?"
Shikamaru dropped onto the couch.
Just as he was about to stretch out, he caught his mom's glare—and immediately sat up straight like a soldier.
"Your report card," Shikaku said. "Didn't you have finals today?"
"What's the point?"
Yoshino snorted. "It's probably another sixty."
"Let's not jump to conclusions,"
Shikaku chuckled. "I've got faith in Kitazawa."
"Wait a sec."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "That whole 'threat' vibe from Kitazawa-sensei… was that your idea?"
"What threat?"
Shikaku blinked in confusion.
"Never mind."
Shikamaru pulled out his report card. "Anyway—this summer, no one bothers me!"
"Feeling bold, huh?"
Shikaku looked at the report card—then froze.
"So? How'd he do?"
Yoshino leaned in, pretending not to care—but totally caring.
"First in written, fifth in combat?"
She rubbed her eyes like she'd just walked into a genjutsu.
"Is this actually yours?"
Shikaku asked, stunned.
"Yep," Shikamaru replied casually.
"This can't be real!"
Yoshino gasped. "How the heck did you go from sixties to perfect scores?"
"What's the big deal?"
Shikamaru said, like it was obvious. "I'm a Nara. Being smart comes with the territory."
"Then what were you doing scoring sixties before?"
Yoshino's expression darkened.
"I was still a dumb kid back then."
Shikamaru sat up straighter. "From now on, I'll do whatever you say, Mom!"
"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time."
Yoshino's mood lightened—he did score well, after all.
"But if you learned Shadow Imitation, why'd you only rank fifth in combat?"
"Why do you think?"
Shikamaru's face twitched. "My class is full of freaks."
"Yeah, I've heard."
Shikaku started listing his classmates: Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, and of course, Ino.
"No wonder," Yoshino muttered. "With that lineup, fifth is actually amazing."
Except for Naruto, they were all top-tier clan prodigies. And Naruto—well, being the son of the Fourth Hokage, he wasn't some nobody either.
"Still, gotta say—hiring Kitazawa was a great move," Yoshino nodded, clearly satisfied.
"Credit goes to the Hokage," Shikaku smiled. "He's the one who recommended him. I wouldn't have thought of it on my own."
"…Huh?"
Shikamaru's face froze.
The Third Hokage was the one behind all this?
He'd actually admired that old man, and now it turns out he's the one who threw Shikamaru under the homework bus?
"Well, no matter what, we're keeping Kitazawa as your tutor next term," Yoshino declared.
The Nara clan made good money selling herbs, and compared to Shikamaru's improvement, money wasn't an issue.
"Of course," Shikaku agreed.
"…"
Shikamaru opened his mouth but stopped.
He could complain—but what if that just made them call Kitazawa tomorrow and start summer lessons early?
Forget it. He'd enjoy the moment and let Future Shikamaru deal with the consequences.
Trust in your future self, right?
…
"Rice balls~ they're all rice balls~"
Hinata Hyuga hummed her silly little rice ball song—then changed the lyrics mid-tune:
"Sensei, Kitazawa-sensei is the best!"
She stopped singing only once she reached the Hyuga compound.
She was a lot braver than she used to be, but she still followed the clan's rules.
Hinata stepped quietly into the courtyard, looked around—no sign of Hiashi.
The Uchiha clan ran Konoha's police force, so their leader Fugaku had to work.
But the Hyuga didn't oversee any village departments—and thanks to concerns about the Byakugan leaking, the main branch mostly stayed home unless there was a war.
He's probably in the study.
Hinata was going to head to her room, but suddenly remembered something and turned toward the study instead.
She raised her hand and knocked.
"Come in."
Hiashi's voice answered.
"Father."
Hinata stepped in and knelt across from him.
"Back already?"
Hiashi nodded slightly. "How were your exams?"
Ever since Hinata awakened her Byakugan, his attitude had done a 180.
"Third place," she answered.
"Only third?"
Hiashi was surprised.
From his perspective, since Hinata had already mastered the first few strikes of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, she should've been destroying the field.
"First and second were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha," Hinata said a bit sheepishly.
"I'm still behind them."
Uzumaki and Uchiha…
Hiashi got it immediately.
Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son and a Jinchūriki.
Sasuke was the son of the Uchiha Clan Head and younger brother of the infamous prodigy, Itachi.
No shame in losing to them.
"You've got talent, but you haven't trained long. Don't get discouraged—train more this summer. Next term, you might beat them."
Hiashi encouraged her. The Hyuga name carried just as much weight. She only lost because she awakened her potential too late.
"Mm-hmm,"
Hinata nodded. "With Kitazawa-sensei's help, I'll catch up."
"He's not even Hyuga. What does he know about Gentle Fist?"
Hiashi chuckled. Kids these days.
"I think he really gets it," Hinata said seriously, thinking back on his guidance.
"Starting tomorrow, stay home. I'll train you personally in the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
Hiashi dropped the subject of Kitazawa entirely.
"I… I have Kitazawa-sensei's summer training during the day,"
Hinata hesitated, then rejected the idea outright.
"What?"
Hiashi frowned. "What good is training with an outsider? I don't approve."
"I'm going anyway!"
Hinata blurted, looking him straight in the eye.
Hiashi blinked.
Was this… the first time she'd ever stood up to him?
Hinata's heart was pounding, but she didn't back down. She had to go.
"I promised Kitazawa-sensei. I won't break my word."
She took a deep breath.
"You taught me to keep my promises."
Hiashi went silent.
Truthfully, he was proud—his daughter was finally acting like a future clan head.
But rebelling… over an outsider? That felt weird.
"Fine. You can go."
Hiashi finally said.
"But if your Gentle Fist progress suffers, the training stops immediately."
~~~
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