Hiko glanced at Tsunade and smiled.
"Want to come along?"
She did not answer. Instead she asked, puzzled, "Why the public training grounds? If you use your clan's field, elders will guide you, right?"
Skipping a private Uchiha facility to squeeze into a public yard with ordinary shinobi made no sense to her.
"Haah..."
Hiko yawned, wondering why the teacher was late, then said, "I do not like people pointing at me and giving orders. Good enough?"
"Bring me breakfast tomorrow. I want a meat pie."
She dropped that line, sat down, and the teacher walked in.
Bring you a meat pie?
Hiko blinked at her cute profile, baffled. The Senju elders were clearly pressing her to stay away from him, and this girl had him packing her breakfast.
If only he knew her true thought. She simply wanted to sleep longer. Clan lectures went in one ear and out the other.
Ancient grudges? Boring. She was willful, and for now she would stay that way.
Fine. It was only a meat pie. If she wanted one, she could have it.
Poor Jiraiya earned a fresh slap that day. Even the teacher sent him to the infirmary.
"Uchiha Hiko!"
After class, Hiko headed for the training grounds as usual and worked until night fell. When he returned, an uninvited guest waited inside.
"Captain."
Hiko frowned. He was not in the Police Force. Why was the captain here? Had he done something to attract the clan's upper ranks? He had not even shown his Sharingan.
"Hm."
From above, the captain looked him over with cool satisfaction. Children usually shrank from him. Hiko stayed calm, neither timid nor rude.
Not bad, the man thought.
"Your recent performance is good. The Great Elder asked me to tell you this: the Uchiha stand behind you. Do not fear interference from other clans. Also, you are approved to enter the shrine and select two jutsu as a reward."
"Make good use of it. Go when you have time."
He delivered the message and left without chatter.
Hiko watched him go. After a long moment, the corner of his mouth twitched with a thin, mocking smile.
You think I am stupid?
So the clan wanted him to "take" Tsunade. What a plan. They would even "back" him. Lovely calculation. He would not play the fool. He would, however, take the prize of two jutsu.
Where was this support earlier?
It was obvious. They wanted to needle the Senju. On the surface, the clans were cordial. In private, they still fought. If two children from the rival houses "got close," the fallout would be ugly.
Now they "supported" him. As if he were five and blind.
Judging by Tsunade's reactions, her elders were warning her away. If he chased her anyway and stirred a scandal, she would take the blame. Women always paid in these games.
What a calculation.
If that gossip ignited, the Uchiha would laugh.
Look at the mighty Senju. Your little princess was won by one of ours. How far you have fallen.
The Senju would rage. Even if the Uchiha shielded Hiko, his life would get rough. Targeting, pressure, maybe even ambushes.
The village looked peaceful, but if you offended both great houses and had no strength, you would die the moment you left the gates.
"Tsunade... interesting. You want to use me as a tool? Pay first."
Two scrolls were stingy. He snorted and shelved the matter. He would take the benefit, keep a polite distance, and if asked, say Tsunade was hard to approach and he was "working on it."
No one expected results in a day or two. The old Uchiha had patience.
Once I have real power, you will sit up straight.
He ate, bathed, and refined chakra. His reserves grew by the day. Training left him tired and scraped, but one night's sleep erased it all. That was the potion at work.
"Great Elder... I will return this favor in time."
At dawn he studied his reflection. The scarlet Sharingan flashed in his eyes. Outside his room, he never used it. He would grow quietly until his moment came. The Uchiha could give him a platform, but they would also try to use him.
There was another target who might notice him -- the village's highest seat. But catching the Third Hokage's eye without overexposing himself would be hard. Attention was only a platform. The climb in the middle was all thorns.
He packed his breakfast. And Tsunade's meat pie. Then shouldered his bag for the academy. Free jutsu were still jutsu. He needed them. Waiting to grind mission credits after graduation would take forever.
Was his chakra enough to cast anything yet...
He drifted in thought. Without a teacher, he was guessing. The scrolls would answer soon enough.
Lost in his head, he reached the classroom late. Most students were already in their seats. Aside from Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, everyone else blurred together to him.
"YAWN..."
Tsunade lay face down, dozing as she waited for her pie. She had slept in on purpose. Hiko set the packet on her desk.
She did not stand on ceremony. She bit in at once, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them said a word.
MUNCH MUNCH.
The smell filled the room. Heads turned. Where did Hiko buy that? They had never seen it.
Jiraiya, in the front row, stared so hard he almost drooled. Pride and fear of Tsunade barely kept him from begging. His strained, hold-it-in face nearly made Hiko laugh. It was only a meat pie.
"Mmf... good. So good."
To Tsunade, Hiko was at least a friend. Not love at first sight, not enemies-to-lovers. She was five. If someone was not annoying and felt nice to be around, they were a friend. Simple.
Children did not plot like adults.
"Tsk. Slow down. No one is stealing it."
Hiko watched her transform from yawning to lively in a heartbeat. A crumb clung to the corner of her mouth. Without thinking, he reached out and brushed it away.
A simple gesture. In the storm of rumors outside, it looked like a spark to dry grass.