The next day was Kakashi-sensei's birthday. To surprise him, everyone let him believe they had forgotten it. They spent the morning studying the new ninjutsu and creating genjutsu, at their request, so they wouldn't have to go home and shower before going to the restaurant. Kakashi-sensei accepted, probably a bit puzzled.
"Naruto, start pretending," Sasuke said to him with a mental nudge.
"Understood. Pfff! I'm starving," his brother groaned, throwing his pen into the grass and lying down. "I could eat a huge bowl of ramen right now!"
"Ramen? I'm more in the mood for Akimichi's food," she said.
"Me too."
"Eh... well, I guess eating at Chouji's isn't so bad," Naruto wiped away drool, his stomach growling genuinely, much to Sasuke's disbelief.
"Why don't we call it a day?" Kakashi-sensei interjected. "We can go to the restaurant. My treat."
"Really!?"
They gathered their things and headed towards the village. Naruto kept Kakashi-sensei distracted with his usual chatter while Seina and Sasuke joined in to keep their teacher's attention diverted. When they arrived, Seina discreetly signaled one of the employees who was in on the surprise. She could tell when Kakashi-sensei started to suspect something was up, as they were led to a private room instead of dining in the main restaurant area. But before he could ask, Naruto flung the door open. At a glance, Seina recognized several familiar faces, including other jonin sensei, Tenzou, and Yugao.
"YOSH KAKASHI! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Guy-sensei shouted as soon as the door opened.
"SURPRISE!" several voices exclaimed.
Seina saw the clearly surprised face of Kakashi-sensei as he received congratulations, handshakes, pats on the back, and what seemed to be a painful hug from his "eternal rival." She closed the door behind them and nudged him towards the head of the table, where seats were left open for the four of them. Seina sat to his left with Sasuke on her left and Naruto across from them, to Kakashi-sensei right side.
"It's been a while since we all ate together," another jonin said. He was the referee for the chunin exam finals, Shiranui if she remembered correctly. "How have you been, Kakashi?"
"Surprisingly well," he replied, to the amazement of some. "And you all?"
Seina, Naruto, and Sasuke listened silently as most of the jonins, and probably a few ANBU, caught up. It was obvious from the conversation that Kakashi-sensei hadn't socialized much with people his age in a while, so she was glad they could give him this. Meanwhile, she looked at the menu to decide what to order. When the waiter came to take their orders, Kakashi-sensei leaned towards her.
"This is your doing, isn't it?" he asked in a low voice.
"What makes you think that?" she asked, suppressing a smile.
"I almost fell for your act that you were starving," he rolled his eyes with a laugh, "and here I thought I'd be paying..."
"Kakashi was going to pay!?" exclaimed a man with dark hair and sunglasses sitting to Naruto's right.
"I don't believe it!"
"Clearly, it's not Kakashi!"
Seina and Naruto laughed at the jonin getting teased while Sasuke smirked at hearing the jabs against their teacher. It was strange and fun to see how he interacted with his academy friends and peers. After all, Kakashi-sensei was only 24 years old. Who would've thought?
"Hey! Lately, Kakashi-sensei arrives less and less late!" Naruto defended him with a laugh. "Now he's only 15 minutes late."
"Impossible!"
"Naruto's right," she nodded. "He even takes out his porn book less often in public."
"Seina!" Kakashi-sensei exclaimed with a defeated groan, blushing. "What did I tell you about talking about that in public?"
"But you're with your friends!" she defended herself, stifling a laugh.
Kakashi-sensei's friends started laughing at his face and how Sasuke nodded seriously at Naruto and her words. She saw more than one wiping away a few tears of laughter. A couple of waiters entered with the food and drinks, calming the atmosphere again, and she took the opportunity to give Kakashi-sensei a reconciliatory nudge. It was clear that Naruto and she were teasing him to lighten the mood. After all, the porn book wasn't a secret but a harmless quirk of their teacher.
"So, you're Kakashi's team," another jonin with brown hair and dark eyes, and a distinctive diagonal scar on his face, smiled at them. "I'm Raido. Nice to meet you."
"You probably know me already, I'm Genma."
The others introduced themselves in turn, smiling, and they nodded respectfully, to their teacher's pleased expression.
"I never thought Kakashi would take on a single genin team. Imagine my surprise when I had to be your referee!" Genma said to them. Then he looked at Kakashi. "I was impressed with them. You've taught them well."
"It's mostly their own merit."
"And how did you pass Kakashi's test?" Asuma-sensei asked. "From what I've heard, no team has ever managed to take those bells from him."
Seina and Naruto burst into laughter at the memory while Kakashi-sensei bowed his head, embarrassed, and Sasuke smirked again. That was enough to pique the curiosity of all his friends. Naruto opened his mouth to eagerly tell the story, but the jonin immediately covered his mouth with a hand, to the amazement and amusement of the other ninjas.
"Oh! This sounds good!" Raido laughed.
"Basically… -Hmp!" she started, but was silenced as well.
"We used the ending of his newly published porn book," Sasuke cut in. "Since he didn't want to know the ending, he closed his eyes and covered his ears."
"..."
There was a moment of dead silence at Sasuke's words. It lasted barely three seconds before everyone burst into laughter at the mortified face of the elite ninja, former anbu of Konoha. She saw Guy-sensei crying on the floor, exaggeratedly, at hearing how his rival was defeated in such a ridiculous manner. He wasn't the only one crying with laughter.
"I can't believe it!" Aoba laughed, clutching his side.
They watched as most were too busy laughing to talk, much to Kakashi-sensei's horror. Eventually, he sighed and began to smile as well. Seina knew he wasn't really embarrassed about what happened, despite preferring to keep it a secret. She had the impression that, deep down, he cared a bit about his reputation as a "cool" and "serene" person.
"Yes, I must admit they beat me unfairly. They even changed the clock's time!" he sighed with a smile, explaining indignantly what had happened. That was enough to make those who had calmed down cry with laughter again. "I knew that exam was taking too long."
"I see you're all quite the match," Kurenai-sensei smiled at them. "Only you could have a genin team as trollish as you."
"HEY!" Naruto shouted. "It's not our fault Kaka-sensei lacks imagination!"
"Kaka-sensei!?"
Seina and Sasuke nodded, much to the amusement of the other jonin. Kakashi-sensei sighed again but accepted the laughter at his expense. They started eating and chatted about various things. It was clear that Kakashi-sensei's friends were trying to connect with them, his team, explaining all sorts of things about their teacher without delving too deeply into sad memories.
Naruto had no trouble at all striking up conversations with everyone, just as she did thanks to her experience, but Sasuke remained mostly on the sidelines, preferring to listen and smile when he found something amusing. That afternoon, she saw Kakashi-sensei as never before and wondered why he didn't meet up with his colleagues more often. Perhaps such interactions drained him? She didn't know, but she was satisfied to have organized something like this with her teammates.
When dessert arrived, a huge birthday cake, they began to give him the gifts they had bought. It was clear he hadn't expected it, but she saw how he quickly recovered from the surprise. He accepted the packages from his colleagues, which turned out to be ninja gear, books, a scroll with a newly discovered jutsu from a mission, and even deluxe food for his ninken. The last to give their gifts were them, his team, and she realized the others had done it on purpose.
"Hn," Sasuke said with his usual dryness.
Kakashi-sensei unwrapped the gift. She saw that Sasuke had given him a liquor recommended by Asuma, but judging by the bottle, it seemed aged, as if it had been stored for years. She sensed Sasuke's somewhat embarrassed thoughts that it looked old because it was old. It was one of the bottles his father kept in his old house. Seina looked at him in amazement because, despite having asked one of Kakashi-sensei's friends for help, he had given it a personal touch by giving something valuable to him.
She saw the jonin examining the bottle carefully, realizing the same thing. Fortunately, Sasuke's expression was enough for him not to ask in front of everyone if he had taken it from where he imagined. He carefully stored it in his bag.
"Thank you very much, Sasuke. I'll save it for a special occasion."
"Take this, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto almost threw the package at him, excited to see his face, diverting attention from Sasuke on purpose.
"A limited edition!" Kakashi-sensei said, flipping through the pages. "And signed! Thanks, Naruto."
"Kakashi and his Icha Icha," she heard Kurenai-sensei murmur.
"Hey! I like them too!" Anko scolded her, to the other woman's astonishment.
Seina grabbed her package. It wasn't the real gift since she didn't want to explain where she had gotten it, nor did it fit in the restaurant, and she didn't want to take away a surprise advantage from Kakashi-sensei. She handed her teacher an invisibility bracelet and a note as a "voucher" so he would know he had another gift to redeem in secret. She saw him read the note first, raising an eyebrow with curiosity, then opened the padded box containing the fine silver bracelet.
"Wow, Kakashi!" whistled more than one, looking at the two of them with amusement. She rolled her eyes with a playful exhalation.
"You can try it on if you want," she said, then looked at those who had laughed and winked at them. "I think I'll sell the next ones if you're interested."
"Are you sure?" asked Kakashi-sensei, recalling the conversation they had yesterday. She nodded decisively. "All right."
He placed it on his left arm and activated it with a drop of blood. To the astonishment of the other ninjas of his rank, Kakashi-sensei seemed to disappear before them. This was enough to calm everyone down. She saw them trying to perceive him and dispel a nonexistent genjutsu with a smile on her lips. After a few minutes, Kakashi-sensei deactivated the bracelet.
"What was that?"
"He wasn't there!"
"An invisibility bracelet," she responded, showing the one she wore as well. "Fuinjutsu."
"Are you saying you managed to eliminate someone's presence with fuinjutsu and a simple blood-activated bracelet?" asked Genma incredulously, his eyes shining like a child in a toy store. "I want one."
"Hold on!" Kakashi-sensei called everyone's attention. "First, I need to speak with Tsunade-sama. I hope you can wait until then."
"You have our word, Kakashi!" assured Guy-sensei, raising his thumb and downplaying the matter.
The ninjas nodded, suddenly falling silent at his words, but continued to look speculatively at both the bracelet and her. The three jonin senseis who had visited Kakashi-sensei's house, in particular, looked at her with curiosity. Apparently, they had begun to "realize" that perhaps it wasn't a genjutsu but fuinjutsu. She didn't care what they believed. No matter how much they tried to replicate it, they wouldn't be able to perform the spell.
A few hours later, they said their goodbyes and left the restaurant. They walked slowly toward the house, talking about the gifts they had given Kakashi-sensei. When they arrived, Seina could hardly contain her excitement. She wanted to see his reaction upon seeing his real gift.
"Is it now that I should exchange my voucher?" the jonin asked jokingly, waving the piece of paper.
"Come. It's this way."
They all went up to his study. Naruto and Sasuke had seen the gift but didn't want to miss Kakashi-sensei's reaction when he saw it for the first time in its expanded state. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow when she gestured for him to go down the ladder from the suitcase. They walked outside the house to one of the habitats. She could perceive the cerberus before seeing it.
"It's right there, behind that rock," she said with a wide grin.
"Should I fear for my life?"
"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! Don't be a coward!" Naruto shouted. Seina pushed him from behind.
She knew the moment he saw it by his surprised breath. No wonder. In its real form, the cerberus stood over seven meters tall. Adding the three heads and its dark appearance, it could be quite intimidating. Seina whistled, catching the dog's attention, and it walked toward them without making a sound thanks to the appropriate runes.
"What kind of... beast is this?" Kakashi-sensei asked.
"I thought an invocation like ours might be useful to you," she said, pulling out a scroll where she had written everything it could do and handed it to him. "Here. You'll find information on all the jutsus it can perform."
Kakashi-sensei took the scroll as if it were made of glass, glancing sideways at the cerberus, which was sitting at his feet. Even without stretching, it was bigger than the entire house.
"First, we need to activate it with your blood and, from that moment, you should be able to summon and use it as an extension of yourself. It's strange and fascinating, you'll see."
She showed him where to place his blood but then let him learn on his own what it meant to be connected to such an animal. From her own experience, he must have been feeling through the cerberus as if it were an additional limb. Naruto, Sasuke, and Seina watched with smiles as Kakashi-sensei mounted the enormous dog and disappeared into the middle of the mountain inside the suitcase.
"Let's go. I don't think he'll reappear for a while," Sasuke said with a yawn.
They left the suitcase, leaving the exit door open.
"What do you want to do?" Naruto asked. "We could train in the garden for a while."
"I think I'll stay here in my study. I want to create a schedule for everything I want to do and investigate."
"Don't you ever get tired of studying, nee-chan?"
"It's not studying if you're interested," she rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to take a bath in the pool," Sasuke declared, leaving the study.
"Hey! Wait! I'm coming too!"
Seina waved them off, sitting without looking at how they left at her large desk. She hadn't lied when she said she wanted to organize her days a bit.
To begin with, she had her hospital studies, which also included potions. With Kakashi-sensei, she had her general training and also the development of genjutsus. Additionally, she wanted to test her theory of genjutsus and brain manipulation. Not to mention, she had to start the suitcases for Naruto and Sasuke, as well as the construction of their invocations and the magical ninja store. She also needed to think about what to buy for Naruto's birthday in less than a month and wanted to modify the guest floor, which, at this point, was no longer for guests. She wanted to add a bathroom to Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei's rooms and, if possible, a study for each of them, as well as relocate the armory to the first floor.
She had too many things to do. She needed to create a schedule and delegate tasks that her clones could handle to have more free time. Otherwise, she would go crazy and burn out too soon. So, she created a few clones to continue memorizing the hospital texts and the botany and zoology encyclopedias she had bought. She would ask Mina-senpai for medical books to study the areas of the brain she was interested in manipulating in advance, even though she had considerable knowledge thanks to her psychology studies. It never hurt to expand and review knowledge.
On the other hand, what could she buy for Naruto? The most obvious option was to make him his suitcase and the invocations, but would she have time? That was the crux of the matter. Almost everything would have to be done by her since her clones couldn't use her magic, so it would be a hard and slow job, but she still had 25 days ahead of her. She could try. She noted it down in her diary. She also jotted down several ideas for creating new genjutsus. She couldn't help a sinister smile at the thought of using a genjutsu featuring inferi and a dark lake on Kabuto.
"You're having dark thoughts again. I could feel you even inside the suitcase," Kakashi-sensei said from behind her, climbing the stairs. "Who do you want to kill now?"
"I was thinking about the genjutsus I want to implement," she replied, cutting off her murderous instinct. "On Kabuto, if possible."
"Ah, Kabuto... I don't know if I should pity him," Kakashi-sensei mocked. "Seina. Thank you for the gift, both gifts. I would never have imagined something like that. I assure you I'll use it."
"You're welcome, Kaka-sensei," she joked, using her brother's nickname.
"Not you too," he chuckled. "I've had enough with Naruto. By the way, wait a second. I have something to give you."
He left the study in a whirlwind of leaves and returned in less than a minute. He carried a package wrapped in cloth. He handed it to her, and, intrigued, she took it, realizing by the weight and feel that it seemed to be some kind of weapon. She unwrapped the package and, with a gasp, saw it was her father's famous weapons. She delicately took one in her hand, remembering her father using one of these in Kurama's memories. She looked at Kakashi-sensei, not knowing what to say.
"I wanted to give you something special as a gift for your promotion," he explained, seeing the question on her face. "I wanted to wait until after the exams to ask the Third for them, but unfortunately, he died, so I had to wait for Tsunade-sama to accept the position to claim them."
"Are you saying there are things of my parents that haven't been given to us?" she asked with a hiss.
"I'm afraid not. Your parents didn't live in the Hokage mansion but in a rented house, and it was destroyed in the attack. The only thing that could be saved was what your parents had on them when they died. In your mother's case, nothing since it was her delivery day, in your father's case, his weapons..."
Seina swallowed, hearing that everything belonging to her parents was lost. She had imagined it, but having confirmation was hard to accept. Her gaze returned to her father's personalized kunais. With these weapons, she would be able to teleport as she did when apparating, using fuinjutsu. Just thinking about it gave her countless ideas. She carefully placed the weapons on her desk and picked up her journal. She would also investigate how to make the most of this jutsu and practice her apparation again.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she said sincerely. She set the journal down and gave him a tight hug.
Her teacher hugged her back for a moment. Then she pulled away, remembering Naruto.
"Why give them to me?" she asked, looking at his face.
"And not share them with your brother? For starters, he doesn't have the chakra control necessary for this jutsu and, besides, he already has something from your father."
"The Rasengan."
"Exactly. It's curious, but Naruto resembles your mother much more, while you share more characteristics with your father. Both of them would be proud of you two."
Seina nodded with a smile. She had never stopped to think about whom she resembled more since she didn't know her parents. If Kakashi-sensei, who had been her father's student and apprentice, said so, it must be true. Still, she doubted her father had been a wizard reincarnated as a ninja.
"If I use these kunais, there will be no way to hide who I am..." she thought, realizing the problem.
"True, but after our talk yesterday and seeing how you are hiding your kekkei genkai less and less... are you going to let that stop you?"
"No."
"Then it doesn't make sense to worry about whether they find out or not. You just have to become strong enough so that, even if they know, your father's enemies won't be able to hurt you."
She nodded again. Kakashi-sensei was right. There was no point in worrying prematurely about something that might or might not happen. The only thing she could do now was start using both chakra and her magic in combat. Something she hadn't tried yet since she talked to her team last night about her new determination to stop hiding. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to train with them and show them everything she was capable of. Voldemort had been right about one thing: magic is power, and she was getting closer to showing everyone how true that was.