Gently smoothing Ino's hair, Hikari withdrew his hand and stepped back.
"I made a mistake, and you forgave me. That matter is settled now."
"Now, it's time for the three of you to face your punishment."
Shikamaru: 'I knew it! This guy would never be that nice!'
Chōji: 'When can we eat barbecue? I'm so hungry!'
Ino: 'He changes his attitude way too fast!'
Looking at the bewildered trio, Kamizuki Hikari gave a mischievous smile.
'They pulled me from my laid-back duties for this exhausting task. If I don't train you all properly, how can I live up to your parents "good intentions"?'
"You three didn't follow my instructions for the mission. Originally, I was planning to run you through intense drills to make up for it. But considering you're still kids, and skipping lunch isn't good for your health, I've decided..."
"Senpai, we're not kids anymore!" Ino complained again.
Even though they were about to be punished, thinking back to how gently Hikari had coaxed her just now, Ino found him not as terrible as she'd thought.
"Oh? If you're not kids anymore, then no lunch! Let's start afternoon training right away!"
Ino: 'Is this guy even human?!'
Who knew how much inner turmoil she was suffering at that moment?
"Senpai, we are kids! We're still growing, after all!" Shikamaru quickly cut in, stopping Ino before she could make things worse. He really didn't want to lose his lunch.
Glancing at Chōji, whose eyes were practically red with hunger, Shikamaru shuddered. Who knows what he'd do if he didn't get to eat?
"Really? I'm not so sure..." Hikari smiled brightly.
But no matter how charming his smile was, Ino could only see it as a shameless, villainous grin.
"Yes, Senpai! We're still kids! Please, let us have lunch!" Chōji pleaded, his gaze boring into Ino.
Under that pressure, Ino shrank back.
She had a feeling that if she objected, the bonds of the new Ino-Shika-Chō trio might just snap then and there.
Talk about fragile friendship!
"Alright, since you've admitted you're still kids, your punishment is this: head into the Forest of Death and bring me back one wild boar or five wild rabbits. Off you go, kids!"
Ino opened her mouth to ask something but was quickly dragged away by Shikamaru. "Senpai, wait here, we'll be back soon."
"Don't keep me waiting. You've got one hour. Fail, and face the consequences!"
"Got it! Mission accepted!" Shikamaru shouted, then bolted off with Ino and Chōji.
He wasn't about to let Ino keep talking—who knows if they'd even get dinner at this rate.
This teacher is a demon...
Once they entered the Forest of Death, Shikamaru finally let go of them.
After checking his own condition, he asked, "Can you two still feel your stamina draining faster than usual?"
Ino and Chōji focused for a moment, then shook their heads.
"Thought so!" Shikamaru's eyes lit up with realization.
Chōji, meanwhile, was already scanning the area for rabbits or boars.
Ino, not particularly affected by hunger, frowned at Shikamaru's excitement. "Thought what? It's just us here. Can you stop being so cryptic for once?"
Shikamaru explained, "I've been wondering—was our earlier exhaustion just our imagination, or did Hikari-senpai use some technique on us? Now I'm sure—he's not nearly as incapable as he pretends to be."
"And? What does that have to do with us?" Ino wasn't particularly interested. "We're training in our clan's secret techniques. Hikari-senpai is still young—it's not like he can teach us much about them. Instead of overthinking, let's focus on catching those rabbits or boars. Look at Chōji—he's about to start chewing bark!"
Shikamaru, already used to Ino's lack of insight, kept his thoughts to himself, planning to discuss it with his dad, Nara Shikaku, later.
"This is the edge of the Forest of Death. Small animals are rare here. From what I've read, wild boars are deeper in, and rabbits won't appear until at least a kilometer further."
"Let's hurry! I can't wait to take all the rabbits back and eat them!" Chōji's bloodshot eyes locked onto Shikamaru, the sheer desperation in his gaze making the latter take an involuntary step back.
[Nara Shikamaru: Never face a starving Akimichi clan member. You never know what terrifying thing they might do!]
"Let's go."
...
While the trio was off chasing rabbits, Kamizuki Hikari was back under the shade of a tree, enjoying the sunny weather and birdsong.
That is, until a silver-haired, dead-fish-eyed visitor ruined his peace.
"Hey, Hikari. I feel like you're thinking something rude about me, aren't you?" Hatake Kakashi said, his bored gaze fixed on the relaxed Kamizuki Hikari.
"Kakashi-senpai, you're usually so busy with Team 7. What brings you here? Wait... are you here to take over Team 10? Got it, I'll leave right away!"
"Whoa, hold on. I've got no such ambitions!" Kakashi quickly stopped Hikari before he could get up.
"I just came to use the restroom. Saw you here, figured I'd say hi."
'Passing by? From the training grounds all the way over here just to pee? Kakashi, you're something else.'
Though Kamizuki Hikari grumbled internally, he didn't call Kakashi out. "Ah, I see. Hope I didn't delay anything important, then."
"Nah, it's fine. Naruto's training with Jiraiya-sama now, and Sakura's with Tsunade-sama. The only one left with me is Sasuke, and he's so diligent he doesn't even need supervision right now." Kakashi casually plopped down next to Hikari, reached for his waist pouch, and—of course—pulled out his little orange book.
"So, Hikari... you've been pretty free lately, huh?"
"Free? I'm swamped. Guarding the Hokage's office, training these three brats from Team 10—twenty-four hours a day isn't even enough. I barely have time to rest. It's exhausting!"
If Hikari had at least a drop of sweat on his forehead, a slightly darker tan, or if he'd even bothered to stand up and step into the sunlight, Kakashi might have believed him.
His eye twitched, but Kakashi cut straight to the point.
"Hikari, I heard Jiraiya-sama's releasing a new book soon. Got any... plans regarding that?" Naturally, Kakashi hoped that if Hikari drew some "illustrations" just for him, he'd be forever grateful.
"Jiraiya-sama's holding a new book launch? If that's the case, I'll definitely show my support." Hikari side-eyed Kakashi, seeing right through him. Not falling for it.
'I've already made it in life. You want me to write and draw lewd stuff again? Dream on.'
'My greatest ambition now is to laze around and wait for death.'
'Hell yeah!'
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