Still Waters Are Deep 7

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their legal owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Summary: Follow the life of Senju Senshōhseki, daughter of the late Second Hokage. Read as the shy, reserved girl transforms into a quiet, self-assured leader on the battlefields of the Second Shinobi World War. However, behind the pretty facade, the Senju princess hides an incredible secret. Reincarnation!MOD

Beta: EmptySurface

~ Chapter Seven ~

Senshōhseki got ready as quickly as hardly ever before. She rushed through her morning toilette, after meditating, and practically shoveled the same old gruel into her mouth, before running out of the house with a shout of "Goodbye, I'm running a bit late!" over her shoulder. Hopping as she put on her ninja sandals as quickly as possible, the nine-year-old sprinted out of the compound and down the dirt road, to the community training grounds.

As she skittered to a halt in the training ground of yesterday's talk, she spotted a disgruntled-looking Uchiha-san. Although that seemed to be his default expression, which thus didn't have to mean much of anything. Takano-san was practicing a trick that involved ninja-wire and a handful of kunai in some form. He looked up from his exercise, greeting Senshōhseki with a polite nod upon arrival.

"You weren't lurking around that prodigy, were you?" Uchiha-san questioned grumpily. "'cause if you're ever late to team training because of fangirling..."

"I am not a stupid fangirl!" Senshōhseki retorted, highly offended.

"What prodigy are you talking about?" Takano-san asked, to break the sudden, awkward silence that had ensued a moment after her uncharacteristic outburst.

Uchiha-san shrugged. "Hatake Sakumo."

Senshōhseki frowned deeply, still very insulted by the accusation. "I don't even know who that is. Why is he so important?"

"Because he graduated two years ago, aged nine."

In reply, Senshōhseki simply shrugged. "So? He graduated three years after my sister's entire team graduated. Age-wise." She refrained from pointing out that she had also gained her own headband at nine. If he had not listened before, during their introductions, she figured, he wouldn't right then either.

"Your sister graduated at six?" Takano-san interrupted the brewing argument and pissing contest between his younger teammates before it could evolve into something more serious.

Both younger children shrugged, nodding yes.

"Wow. She must be really good, then, huh?"

Uchiha-san snorted. "Tsunade-hime is the granddaughter of Shodaime-sama. She would have been graduated anyway, regardless of skill."

Senshōhseki glared at him. "She earned it!"

Uchiha-san shrugged, not caring. "It doesn't change the facts – she would have been graduated anyway. The Council doesn't want her to become a kunoichi, or at least the majority doesn't. At least she sensibly chose to become a medic." Unlike you.

"She's the best damn medic they have ever seen!" Senshōhseki blurted out, truly angry about his flat, uncaring tone and the unsaid implications. It was the first time she cussed openly. Maybe Makoto-chan's vicious temper tantrums were rubbing off on her.

"Of course the examiners would tell her that."

Reigning in her rising temper, the nine-year-old continued to glare darkly at her new, unbelievably arrogant teammate.

Takano-san, at least, kept out of the argument taking place, realizing that he could not comment either way. After all, he had no clue what her sister was actually capable of and did not know her at all. Aside from the odd day Tsunade-hime had come to escort her little sister home.

To this scene, their sensei arrived. He took one look at the positively sparking eyes of his kunoichi, another at the self-satisfied smirk on his Uchiha student's face and sighed audibly. "Run five rounds around the village. If you're not back in twenty minutes, it's an extra round for every minute you're late. For all of you! Get to work!"

Obediently, Senshōhseki began to jog, grateful for the opportunity to work off her anger. She really didn't want to be kicked out of the Shinobi Corps, not on her first day as a "real" kunoichi.

Her temper was too easily riled whenever someone insulted her family or friends, she knew that. Therefore, Senshōhseki would meditate later, to determine what to do in response. She couldn't just accept the casual insults and continued grudge her teammate seemed to cling to because of an incident that had occurred years ago.

Uchiha-san could not insult her sister or another person important to her, not again. That was not what teammates did. At least, according to the self-same sister Uchiha-san had just implied was not up to par. With Jiraiya.

It was not exactly what she would have called an auspicious start to their career as Team Nine.

After an exhausting morning training their endurance and refining their accuracy with thrown weapons, the newly-appointed Team Nine reported to the mission desk. Nara-sensei meandered along behind them, shoulders slouched and hands in his pocket. He looked like nothing could bore him more than their company.

A Chūnin aide sat behind the desk, as did Hokage-sama.

"Good morning," Sandaime-sama greeted with a kind smile in their direction. Everyone repeated the greeting back at him, all bowing with the appropriate degree of politeness.

"Hokage-sama, we have come to ask for a D-Rank-mission. Is there anything in particular that would fit our team?" Nara-sensei dutifully drawled out.

Sandaime-sama rifled through the scrolls marked as D-Rank. "Well, we have a mission to catch Tora II, another mission to weed a garden for the Takano-family, and cleaning the river of the driftwood from the last storm."

Nara-sensei let his eyes roam over his three students. Then, the older man sighed. "We'll take the weeding mission."

Takano-san wilted noticeably, but refrained from complaining out loud. Apparently, he did not appreciate having to work for his own Family. Or maybe it had to do with working on something while his brothers could watch?

Either way, the three Genin followed after their sensei, ready to do what they had been commissioned for.

Takano-san lived in a medium-sized compound in the merchant district. His family was largely civilian, which was why they were not recognized as a clan of Konoha. Officially, they were a Family. Team Nine was greeted by the civilian equivalent of a shinobi clan's Lady, Takano Amiko. Her two eldest sons were also home, due to not wishing for their mother to be exposed to the shinobi on her own.

"Welcome to the Takano Compound. Please, do come in," the older Takano-san greeted the team warmly.

Everyone followed her polite words, leaving their sandals in their hands. Then, they trudged after her to the other side of the house, where they could see surprisingly vast fields of herbs. Senshōhseki smiled to herself. She liked the smell of some of the herbs, which were of a very good quality.

"This is our herb garden," Amiko-san explained, perhaps a little unnecessarily. She wore the rich silks of a well-off merchant's wife. Her dark-brown, gray-streaked hair was swept up in a complicated knot and her warm, brown eyes sought out her son repeatedly.

Nara-sensei nodded politely at her. "Team, your task is to identify and dispose of all the weeds. If you are not certain of one or the other plant, ask your teammates for clarification. If, and only if, you all cannot figure it out, you may consult me. Get to it!"

Senshōhseki quickly took one of the woven baskets, ready to do her part of the job. Uchiha-san and Takano-san both followed her example. Uchiha-san was at a clear disadvantage. He had never been required to learn the herbs from the weeds, so the two others decided to stick close by his side.

Nara-sensei was watching their dynamics with eagle eyes. "For every herb you pull instead of a weed, you will be required to run around the village once again. All of you."

The three Genin gulped simultaneously. Memories of his favorite enticements to speed them up kept swimming before their wide eyes, before they snapped themselves out of it.

"Yes, sir!"

Satisfied, their teacher lounged on the ground, back propped up against the outer house wall.

As the Genin worked, they stuck close together. Uchiha-san didn't ask for help, but both Senshōhseki and Takano-san made it a point to talk loud enough about the respective weed they had just pulled and what made it so different in appearance from a herb.

Around the time the team had worked through half the fields, they heard a muffled thwack from the direction of the house. Amiko-san and her sons, Akaro and Ginro, watched the Genin on mission. Akaro was frowning at his mother who was in the process of re-storing her fan in her sleeve.

Senshōhseki could feel the glare of both men directed at her, although she didn't understand what exactly had set them off. Nevertheless, she had an idea. Mainly thanks to her long years in the Academy.

"That's Senju-hime to you, Akaro. She is a princess, the heiress of honorable Nidaime-sama and his late wife. If I hear you employ such language in the presence of a lady again, you will find yourself in very hot water. I am still your mother, young man!" Amiko-san reprimanded her eldest son loudly.

Both Takano-san and Senshōhseki blushed hotly.

Having her suspicions confirmed, the nine-year-old turned away from her teammates. Ostensibly, to pick a few more herbs. In reality, she did not wish to grant the older male the satisfaction of knowing how much his no doubt malicious insinuations hurt and angered her. Her parents were honorable people! Both sets. She would not stand to let outsiders besmirch their name.

Especially if those outsiders did not actually know them, personally.

Neither of her teammates said anything, but Uchiha-san appeared slightly less grumpy to her and Takano-san insisted on carrying her full basket back to the house.

Senshōhseki thanked him quietly, but smiled and told him she was strong enough "to carry her own basket".

Over the following days, Team Nine established a new routine. They would train together in the mornings, focusing mostly on team tactics and drills and basic endurance, while completing D-Rank missions in the afternoon.

Nara-sensei also gave each of them individual drills and exercises, to be practiced at home. Senshōhseki received mostly tasks involving her developing knowledge of herbalism, such as what antidote to use on what poison in a hurry and where they grew naturally. He also gave her scrolls to study with fictional battle situations, which she was supposed to offer solutions for.

Meanwhile, Mito-bā-sama continued her Fuuinjutsu training. Senshōhseki now could draw her own storage scrolls, which was quite useful. (Although she had liked setting off her exploding tags much more.)

Tsunade-nee-sama was fully inducted into the ranks of the village's medic-nin and, at fifteen years of age, had already attained the rank of a respectable surgeon. She still had to have someone look over her shoulder, for formality's sake and only for a period of six months following her official induction, but it was quite apparent to everyone that she had inherited her honorable grandfather's talent in healing others.

Aside from Fuuinjutsu and team training, Senshōhseki religiously practiced her Kenjutsu and refined he chakra control further. The finer her control, the better she could sense other people's signatures. The more she refined her Sensor-senses, the easier it felt to identify certain clan-members from others. Such as the Aburame, or the Uchiha, for example.

However, her talent was very mild compared to what, according to her uncle's stories, her birth father could sense with minimal effort.

Nara-sensei continued to evade questions regarding his private life. Team Nine had yet to meet his family, although Senshōhseki had already been introduced to Nara Hanako-sama.

Kin-okā-sama had quietly confirmed the existence of a recently born daughter, named Shikae, so they at least knew why they had to wait irritatingly long on some mornings for their sensei to make his appearance. Others, he showed up with rings around and bags under his eyes and was discouragingly grumpy. Which almost always translated into extra-rounds for the Genin.

One of their more memorable missions consisted of babysitting for an unmarried kunoichi who had been taken off the active mission roaster for a reason the Genin were not told. Apparently, Hokage-sama had conscripted Hotaru-san's services for kunoichi lessons at the Academy, to help subsidize her income. The woman had one son, a very energetic toddler of three years. He had black hair, sandy-brown eyes, and a never-ending supply of physical energy.

Also he. Chattered. The. Entire. Time.

Loudly.

It was chaos. As soon as Hotaru-san left the cramped apartment, Nara-sensei pretty much left them to their fate.

Noticing that the coast was clear, little Shoichi-chan divested himself of his clothing in no time at all, running around the apartment in his birthday suit, and screeching and or squealing. Loudly. Especially, whenever one of the Genin attempted to catch him to put his clothes back on.

Nara-sensei simply smirked at their helplessness, which signified nothing good to either of them.

Thankfully, Uchiha-san had the presence of mind to secure the door to the building's hallway, so that little Shoichi-chan could not escape the apartment. Which would have been horrendous.

Three hours later, the living room was in shambles, the kitchen 'decorated' by an upended pitcher of water, the child's bedroom buried under plushy animals, and the bathroom looked like an exploding tag had gone off on the toothpaste.

Shoichi-chan was still naked.

Takano-san finally managed to catch him, with some assistance from both his teammates. "That was not nice, Shoichi-chan," he told the child sternly. It sounded oddly like his fed-up mother reprimanding Akaro. "You will be sitting in that corner, not making a peep, and think about your actions. In five minutes, I will ask you why you should apologize."

Stunned, Senshōhseki and Uchiha-san followed their otherwise so unassuming teammate to the corner he had chosen. Surprisingly, Shoichi-chan allowed Takano-san to dress him and strap him down to the chair.

They separated to quickly and efficiently clean up the mess their client's son had made.

Shoichi-chan apologized and behaved for the rest of the day, too intimidated by Takano-san to act up again.

When Hotaru-san returned home, she praised them for having managed to get the little boy to sleep on time and that the apartment still looked to be in one piece. "You have been the best babysitters by far! I will definitely commission your team again!"

With an extra batch of anko mochi, they were released from their duties.

Shortly thereafter, Team Nine regrouped in "their" clearing. Nara-sensei sat in front of his students.

"What have you learned today?"

"Not to give cute little kids the benefit of doubt?" Senshōhseki almost blurted out sarcastically, but managed to hold her tongue at the last moment.

Takano-san muttered tiredly: "Time-Out is a very effective weapon against overexcited toddlers and I know why Mother used it so liberally when I was little."

This droll response, of course, garnered an amused quirk of their teacher's lips and a snort from Uchiha-san.

"That too. What else?" Nara-sensei questioned patiently.

"Working together helps catch naked toddlers and keeps their privates private?" Senshōhseki ventured to suggest in a deadpan manner.

Again, the males snorted audibly. Takano-san even grinned unashamedly at her sarcastic remark.

"Yes. You chose to pool your resources and cut off his escape route that way. If Joji-kun had not barred the front door, you most certainly would have had to track down and catch Shoichi-chan somewhere in the village. Which would have gotten back to his mother, which would also mean no sweets for you, much less a recommendation from Hotaru-san. If a squad is specifically requested by a client, they usually receive the mission, unless they are unable to attend to their duties," Nara-sensei explained patiently.

"This request signifies that the client was very happy with how you solved your mission and guarantees a second commission. Commissions are what keep you fed and watered, thus having a professional attitude helps you to avoid debts. The better you become, the higher the pay will be per mission."

Which, in turn, means we could choose our own missions. At least on paper, Senshōhseki thought quietly. The metaphoric explosion tag had sparked in her mind.

"Also, as you already know, all of you have talents for different fields. Hayato-kun knows how to survive as a civilian, while Senshōhseki-hime and Joji-kun both have ties to shinobi clans. When you are ready, I will test your chakra's elemental affinities, which should prove somewhat interesting. I am almost certain neither of you have the same element as someone else on our team."

With that, the Genin were dismissed to their individual training.

Their next noteworthy mission was to catch a cat named Tora. It was a black-furred fiend which they came to hate collectively within only five minutes. Those five minutes were sufficient time for the cat to scratch Takano-san, swipe at Senshōhseki's plated armor (which thankfully protected her from claw marks), and tear Uchiha-san's collared shirt.

Nara-sensei just looked on, completely amused by their plight.

They had gone over basic tracking and non-lethal capture tactics the week before, so Senshōhseki should have seen this coming. Somehow, she had not expected their teacher to sink so low though.

"Alright," she muttered, determination written across her every feature. "This has to stop now. Uchiha-san, Takano-san, let's regroup. That cat is too devious to go after without a plan. My sister mentioned in passing that the new Daimyō-sama's wife adores her cats a little too much and they always run off at the first sighting of an escape route. Our target is unlikely to appreciate getting caught and perhaps already experienced in evading capture for a while."

Takano-san and Uchiha-san nodded, huddling closer to their kunoichi teammate.

"So, we bribe the beast?" Takano-san questioned skeptically.

Senshōhseki shrugged. "We can try. There's catnip and fish, but we have to find the cat first. I think the market or the lesser-populated training grounds could be our target's goal. She'd be unlikely to be noticed there and could catch her own food."

Nara-sensei had early on told them to use all their resources. His rather pragmatic motto was "what works, works", although his students maintained that he was just too lazy to get the things he needed from someplace else.

It meant expending energy on extra effort, after all.

"Alright."

Senshōhseki and her teammates pooled their pocket change for a fresh fish and a bundle of catnip. They discussed tactics for a quick, painless (for them) take-down.

Then, Team Nine scoured the village from one end to the other, starting in the market district and working their way out towards the wooden walls in a spiral-pattern.

Two hours later, they got lucky. Senshōhseki sensed the loathsome creature, grinning sweetly.

Takano-san and Uchiha-san readied themselves, fanning out, to cut off any escape routes.

Nara-sensei just watched the proceedings with a smirk.

Senshōhseki hid behind a bush, watching as Tora the cat cleaned her paws as if she was just an innocent little kitty. With narrowed eyes, the nine-year-old focused all of her attention on the target.

Uchiha-san and Takano-san were in position.

Counting down to three, the teammates pounced on the cat. They quickly put her in a wicker-basket, checking to make sure it was the right kitten.

"Black fur with white paws, green eyes, pink nose with black spot," Senshōhseki listed off smilingly. "Perfect."

The boys grinned as well, throwing dark looks at the captured feline.

To butter the animal up, and keep it from destroying the basket the mission desk aide had handed them, Senshōhseki squeezed the fish inside, followed by the catnip.

Self-satisfied, the three Genin turned to their Jōnin-sensei.

"Good job. Your teamwork has been improving. Let's get the troublesome cat back to her mistress," Nara-sensei declared evenly, although his eyes were still glinting with amusement at their antics.

Senshōhseki grinned and carried the basket of occasionally hissing feline back to the Hokage Tower.

They were rather handsomely rewarded by the overjoyed woman who cuddled her poor cat nearly to death. Senshōhseki had to accept a pinched cheek for her "adorableness", but the noblewoman left her alone for the most part.

When Uchiha-san and Takano-san smirked at her plight, the nine-year-old glared warningly at them. They backed off rather quickly after that, remembering that she had an intimidating temper at the last moment.

Nara-sensei just ruffled her wild, spiky locks with somewhat fond amusement.

However, the second most degrading mission their lazy grump of a team-leader forced them to complete included performing mock-fights for a group of visiting lower-tier nobles that had too much money and time on their hands.

First, Senshōhseki was dressed up in an apprentice geisha-costume and ordered to bring her koto to the inn the nobles stayed at. Meanwhile, her teammates got to dress up in servant's uniforms, which were dyed rather garish colors and apparently very itchy.

Senshōhseki hid her weapons under the heavy silks and placed her bladed hair-chopsticks into a seemingly complicated bun. She hated dressing up like this. Horror visions of her playing in front of a crowd of rowdy nobles flashed before her eyes.

Despite losing some of her timidity, she was still very shy. Especially when thrust into an unknown situation (off the training grounds).

Somehow, and she really would like to discover how, Nara-sensei managed to always find a new way to throw her out of her comfort zone.

Team Nine met up again in front of the inn, all dressed up as specified in the contract.

Nara-sensei appeared to be uncharacteristically worried under his bored mask. His chakra was a touch agitated, which told Senshōhseki that something was going on under the lazy front.

"Alright. Senshōhseki-hime, I will stay behind you. Ignore everyone in there and focus on your instrument," their Jōnin-sensei advised sternly. He sounded strangely paternal in that moment. "Boys, you will behave as instructed. The client has given you your own corner. If anything unforeseen does happen, use the closest exit. We'll regroup at the Tower. If you notice that Senshōhseki-hime stops playing, the same rule applies. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck," Nara-sensei told them. Under his breath, he added softly: "You'll need it, no doubt."

They were admitted to the inn's best room, where all the partitions and paper doors had been thrown open to create as much open space as possible. Senshōhseki was quietly instructed to set up in a very exposed corner of the room.

Nara-sensei seemed to have melted into the shadows of the candle-lit room. The boys sent her rather atypical commiserating looks, but had to go backstage for their own part of the work.

Senshōhseki took a deep breath, tuning her koto and preparing herself for a lengthy performance. She had decided to play the pieces she had been practicing for years, so the chances of her messing up decreased.

Give her a kunai and Nara-sensei's favorite endurance training any day, it would leave her less of a nervous wreck than the mere idea of allowing uppity strangers to stare at her while being forced into performing on her instrument for such a big audience. (The nobles were accompanied by a large entourage, consisting mostly of an endless number of servants and retainers.)

Senshōhseki began to play while pretending to ignore the boring gazes directed at her. At least the majority of the audience was distracted by the mock-fights of her teammates.

As the evening wore on, the sake flowed more and more liberally. The gathering consisted mostly of males, with an odd female servant mixed in, which did not bode well for Senshōhseki's peace of mind. After all, Tsunade-nee-sama had empathetically warned her of drunk men and especially running into a large group of them.

This audience could not be deemed a 'group' though, they were a crowd.

A crowd of drunk, increasingly less and less inhibited men.

Thus, as their inhibitions decreased, the leering in her direction increased dramatically.

Senshōhseki was deeply, deeply unsettled. She hated being stared at on a normal day, but being stared at like Makoto-chan would gaze at a particularly scrumptious skewer of Dango...

That was scary as all hell.

However, the nine-year-old hid her trembling fingers, swallowed her nerves, and continued to play on.

Until finally, finally, the client dismissed them. At four in the morning.

After that mission, Senshōhseki was a lot less bothered by the normal stares directed in her direction. Although she stubbornly refused to go near any inn after darkness had set in for an inordinate amount of time.

Her teammates were a lot more vigilant of people staring at her, especially males. And especially when night had set in.

What took the cake in the degradation department was another mission entirely, several months after their actual graduation date.

Each of the children had thought they would not be humiliated further - until they somehow managed to get stuck with a contract to clean the local hot springs.

Senshōhseki bit back the resigned sigh she felt welling up inside of her, wondering what the team would require for such a mission. However, both boys glared heatedly at their team-leader.

Pretending not to enjoy their misery, the Jōnin in question merrily led them to the bathhouses. Nara-sensei was whistling.

It should have been a large, blaring, neon-orange warning sign.

As soon as they had arrived, their client forced them into ugly bodysuits, old, scratchy, orange yukata over that, and forcefully cleaned each of them with a strong water-jutsu. Only then were they allowed to even enter.

Senshōhseki and the boys were also forced to wear a hairnet, as if their humiliation hadn't yet been extensive enough.

Apparently, the day before had been a 'family day', allowing parents with babies and toddlers to bathe. (You can imagine that mess without further details, the author believes.)

That was the day the young Senju swore to get revenge.

A soft, angelic smile lit her face as she used her Suiton-jutsus to clean pool after pool, filling buckets with filth for the boys to transport elsewhere. There was a certain glint in her usually warm, red eyes that promised nothing good for whomever she thought of.

Both boys learned not to disturb her fantasizing – er, plotting – early on, unless they wanted to get doused with the filthy bubbles of water that she had extracted from the pools.

Takano-san shivered once they heard the chiming, bell-like giggle from their normally stoic teammate. He exchanged a terrified look with his other teammate. Neither of them would get in-between the target and a girl thirsting for vengeance.

If possible, they would beg to be included in the prank she plotted for their sensei. Poor shmuck.

Four hours later, Senshōhseki finished with the cleansing of the pools, which led them to finish scrubbing the pathway on their hands and knees.

"Senshōhseki-chan," Takano-san tried after a while, voice and eyes begging pathetically. As if he was a child whining for candy.

The girl took one look up from her brush, smirked crookedly and went back to work.

Uchiha-san smirked as well, hoping she would cook up something particularly awful.

When the torture was over - er, their mission was completed to their client's satisfaction, all three Genin were dangerously close to simply falling asleep on their feet. They smelled as sweet as any full army latrine and felt about as disgusting too.

The trio left together, too tired to bicker as they usually would. Both boys noted almost absentmindedly that the kunoichi in their midst attempted to appear particularly pathetic: gemstone eyes glistening with tears, white hair dull and in wild disarray, lips trembling as if she was about to cry.

Their sensei managed to look only slightly uncomfortable whenever he met that utterly defeated visage, but turned away almost immediately whenever she stifled a sniffle.

In the boys' humble opinion, it was a brilliant act. (They knew better than to expect a whiny, crying princess by this point. Their third teammate was about as tough and unmovable as a mountain - just like the boys themselves.)

While they finished up their report at the mission desk, a trio of elder shinobi entered the room. It was Team Hiruzen, all of whom had been promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin a few months previously.

Instantly, the familiar, blonde kunoichi's eyes focused on Senshōhseki, taking in her pathetic appearance, the tears and trembling lips, before she stared hard at their team-leader.

"Seki-chan! What have you done to that cute little girl I left behind?" Jiraiya-san demanded dramatically, having also scrutinized the trio of Genin.

Orochimaru-san said nothing, but seemed intrigued nevertheless. He suddenly seemed to sprout out of thin air next to Senshōhseki, which others would have probably found very creepy. Since they pulled that joint prank, however, the nine-year-old considered him a friendly acquaintance or even a distant friend.

"Bathhouse-duty," Uchiha-san supplied helpfully, glaring disdainfully at his sensei. He had endured all the humiliating missions, from cleaning out the kennels of the Inuzuka to babysitting Shoichi-chan, but this one had really rattled his Uchiha pride.

Abruptly, Tsunade-nee-sama's eyes narrowed further.

"It's okay, Nee-sama," Senshōhseki mumbled softly, still keeping up the beaten puppy image. "Sensei always picks out the missions he thinks suit our talents best."

Slowly, the two male Genin began to really catch onto her plan. Both smirked darkly, never even minding that their teammate was the one to have arranged their revenge.

All three Genin left quite a bit more cheerful than they had been when entering the room assigned to the mission desk.

The last they heard was a threat from Tsunade-nee-sama, who promised to tell Nara-sama's wife all about his cruel mission choices.

As they had the next day off for various reasons, the trio met their team-leader only two days later for morning practice. He was accompanied by a terrifying woman who gently cradled a toddler in her arms. Nara-sensei appeared quite henpecked and harried, but set them to run their usual laps anyway.

During spars, Nara-sama whispered dramatically: "Well played, Senshōhseki-chan, very well played. You are one troublesome girl. Where has the cute little kunoichi I got settled with after her graduation gone?"

A quick smirk flickered over her features before settling back into the politely blank expression the white-haired Senju usually preferred to showcase in public when not on a mission or with friends. "Thank you, Sensei. I've learned from the best."

That's when Nara Hanako-sama burst out laughing, apparently genuinely delighted by their byplay. The brown-haired toddler in her arms muttered a sleepy "troublesome", echoing her poor father.

"You dears have to join us for dinner soon," the older woman decided spontaneously. "And please call me Hanako, Senshōhseki-hime."

It was the start of a beautiful partnership.