Errands and snowball fights [open!]

[puppypile]

Who: Hana and anyone
When: January 12th
Where: Training fields, then various parts of Konoha

Hana was dressed much more warmly than usual, her arms and legs fully covered and flak jacket zipped all the way up. She leapt from treetop to treetop, the Haimaru brothers trailing after her. Most of the training fields showed evidence of already being used that day. When she finally found what she was looking for, Hana laughed gleefully and dove for the ground, rolling and hopping back to her feet in the training field full of previously untouched snow. Mikai and Haru landed to either side of her, but Baishi, coming down last, tackled Hana to the ground again, licking her with a wet tongue.

She flung him off, laughing again, and quickly gathered a couple of snowballs before returning to standing. This snow was much too nice to waste on spars with weapons. Her dogs' thick fur kept them warm. They panted happily as all three of them began circling her.

Hana wouldn't say no to company, on her side or as an opponent.

--

After a stop at home to get dry clothes, it was Hana's turn to spend her afternoon off errand-running, since Tsume's usual victim was otherwise occupied. A visit to the Hokage's office, a trip to the Academy to drop off lunch for Kiba, and assorted other small tasks took her all over Konoha.

Hana was too friendly to be the ideal errand runner. She'd gladly stop to visit with anyone she ran into along the way.

Comments

[thebestuchiha]

It wasn't often one of the Inuzuka popped by for anything that wasn't a mission, so when this one did he immediately flashed her a smile and set down the paperwork he'd been looking through. "Hana-san. How are you?"

He wasn't unobservant enough to think the clan as a whole wanted to be called by their family name all the time. It's not like they were Hyuuga.

[senseiofthesea]

Kiba was busy breaking up a dispute in the classroom, which Iruka had deliberately left him to navigate, they'd never learn if he always did things for him, and he'd come outside to start setting up targets for throwing practice in the meantime. It meant that he was in a position of pleasant surprise when Hana strolled up, and he gave her a smile.

"Hana-san! What brings you to the Academy today? I promise Kiba-kun has been behaving."

[puppypile]

Hana chuckled at that. "Good to know. Otherwise he wouldn't get a treat." She held up the package she bore, clearly a bento. Hana always chose very carefully who she'd make dog jokes around. Iruka was nice and non-judgmental, making him safe for it. Konoha's stuffier residents tended to throw such silly comments back in her face later.

"Whichever of us has the day off usually gets strong-armed into running errands for Mom, so lunch delivery is my job today."

[puppypile]

Hana shifted very slightly, ruefully aware that she was telegraphing her discomfort to any shinobi, especially one as skilled as the hokage. A ninja was trained to be observant, and awkward shifting was a dead giveaway. She smiled slightly as she answered Obito. "Well enough, thanks, Obito-sama. And you?"

She offered his given name in exchange for the courtesy of using hers rather than Inuzuka-ing her to death. No one should be Inuzuka-san except Tsume at this point, as far as Hana was concerned. There were too many of them to bother with constant use of clan names.

Pleasantries let her put off asking for advice a minute longer. She'd take the reprieve, however much she usually disliked small-talk. As long as they didn't spend forever talking about the weather, she'd be good.

[thebestuchiha]

"Not looking forward to a trip to Kiri later this month." He leaned both elbows on his desk, shifting his weight forward to examine her. "But well enough. What brings you to me?"

[senseiofthesea]

"And with him at the Academy lately it's been you more than him recently?" He gave her a wry smile and shook his head. "I'll make sure to give him a day so he can run errands for Tsume-sama next week sometime. He can handle helping the kids with flower arranging when he gets back."

The wry smile grew into one just a touch deeper and more impish before smoothing out into something more serene. "Would you like to take him his lunch yourself? I left him to break up a brawl."

[puppypile]

A warm weight against the side of her leg had Hana smiling down gratefully at Haru before she returned her gaze to Obito and answered, "I know I've been taking fewer missions lately and devoting more time to the veterinary clinic. I'd like to shift my hours back to a heavier mission load."

A pause, and then, "I'm old enough that I'm concerned about village opinion of my clan if I don't make at least special jounin soon, if not full jounin. I'd also really appreciate advice on where I should focus my training to work toward that."

[puppypile]

Hana didn't know what was funniest. The idea of Kiba doing flower arranging, the fact that Iruka was offering to help her out at Kiba's expense, or being invited to witness Kiba dealing with Academy mayhem. For a moment, she just laughed, doubled over and unable to address anything Iruka had said.

When she finally got herself under control, she managed a straight face, mirroring his calm smile. "Of course. He never leaves my lunch at the desk. It's only fair that I return the favor."

The false tranquility didn't last long, though, and Hana grinned toothily at Iruka as she asked with no pretense of innocence, "What other interesting things have you had my brother doing here?" This could be a very entertaining errand.

[senseiofthesea]

He waved a hand with an air that made it seem like nothing important. "He's been doing this and that. Hs last task before this one was giving a broad overview on what kind of distractions were unexpected. I had to remind him about Naruto's jutsu as he seemed to conveniently forget."

He shook his head, smile never fading. "He seemed flustered."

[thebestuchiha]

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment after she said that, straightening up some in his chair. In many ways, this was a relief to him. "Tactical combat is something you're exceedingly good at, and your clan jutsu I understand you to be rather skilled at. If you have any elemental affinities, seeing if those are usable to be integrated into your talents would not be amiss, and making sure that you can lead those not attached to your clan and keep control of them is another point that you should make sure you have well in hand."

He paused, seeming to taste his words before saying them, making sure they were what he wished them to be. "Being a Jounin is about being the pinnacle of what your skills are. Start with your weaknesses and then continue past them." He realized he'd gotten... flowery and looked slightly chagrined about it. Too late now.

[puppypile]

"It's always fun getting Kiba flustered," Hana agreed with a nod of her head, noting the continued smile. "And unexpected distractions are more effective than the usual predictable sort."

Still grinning, Hana admitted that in spite of her willingness to enjoy her brother's embarrassing situations, "I suppose I had it easy, since I've always worked with our clan kids rather than Academy students. No one to poke fun at me or set me disagreeable tasks besides my mother." Iruka would know well enough just how much trouble Inuzuka children could be, but Hana had also grown up as one. She had a distinct advantage when it came to handling her own clan. Plus, it was always a smaller group than a full Academy class. Less potential for chaos, if only slightly.

[puppypile]

"Had to be good at clan jutsu. That and the veterinary skill were really all I needed for my own clan. They couldn't care less about rank. You should've seen the look on Kiba's face when I mentioned other clans wouldn't look kindly on a chunin heir." It had been both entertaining and gratifying, seeing her brother's outrage on her behalf. "I'll look into combining elemental attacks with clan jutsu."

Hana grinned, still a little more slowly and hesitantly than her typical easy smile, at the mention of leading others. "I tend to be better with kids than adults who aren't Inuzuka. They're usually less subtle." She made a face. Hana knew her weak points when it came to interpersonal relations. She was straightforward to a fault sometimes, whether as a leader, friend, or enemy. It worked perfectly for her clan. Not so much for people who had grown up differently, as was evident in the occasional friction within the veterinary clinic. That friction often got worse when her clan members visited, predictably enough. "I'd really like a team of genin if I do eventually make jounin."

"Start with my weaknesses as in cataloging them so I'm aware, or as in improving each of them as much as possible before leaving them be?" she asked, looking for clarification on Obito's last point.

[senseiofthesea]

"Oh, I don't know. Thee's more arguments and disputes, but I think I have the better end of it. I don't know what I'd do if everyone was the same kind of personality. Sometimes having Aburame or Hyuuga kids in the mix can temper things." He paused, then cast a wry glance toward the indoors. "Though I'm not so sure about my Sarutobis and Uchiha sometimes."

[abileunaspada]

Was that...

"Hana?" Adela asked, blinking as she hadn't really seen the older girl since... God, she thought it was since May! Recently she'd been thinking about how the Inuzuka girl had been doing, considering that she'd been working so much more closely with Kiba. Not that she knew they were siblings, but she always got the impression that the Inuzuka Clan was more like a giant family rather than a formal clan.

Not that she'd dare say that to their faces.

"That is you, isn't it?" A grin tugged at her lips as she looked over the other, approaching as she left the kids to practicing some more basic Taijutsu moves -- things they could do unsupervised, at least for a few moments.

[[OoC: So... Considering that the incident that left Adela half-blinded has happened between her meeting Hana and now, feel free to have Hana notice or not. Not sure if it would be public information within Konoha's shinobi circle or not.]]

[puppypile]

Hana nodded, affection obvious in her voice as well as her face when she asked, "Who else do you know who travels with three of these monsters?" An indignant headbutt to her leg from Baishi and a muttering growl from Mikai came in response to the wordchoice, but Hana just laughed. The three dogs had ganged up on her at the training field that morning, and she'd eaten an awful lot of snow before they headed home to dry off.

The Inuzuka were actually rather stubbornly proud of the fact that their clan was a big family, and that they had family loyalty rather than cold clan politics. Hana wouldn't have found Adela's thought offensive in the least, had she voiced it.

Adela didn't seem the forgetful sort, though, so the request for clarification prompted a furrowed brow and look of consideration. She didn't comment on it, opting for tact for once. See, she could manage it sometimes! "It's good to see you, Adela. A conscript into Academy teaching, or did you volunteer?"

[puppypile]

Hana shook her head, chuckling. "At least they're predictable that way, and they all respect me in between the mischief! Besides, how often do you have to deal with parents? The kids are one thing, but no one ever bothers me about their precious babies' progress or behavior." Progress was easy, usually, when it came to clan techniques and tracking, or silly hand clap games to teach seals to the youngest. She got to train them in their strong suits. And if Hana had behavior problems from any of the clan children, she was expected to manage them herself. No parent would ever come to her about it; it would be a blatant statement that they didn't think she could handle the situation on her own. If she went to them? Well, that would be an admission of failure from someone who was supposed to lead them all later. Hana wouldn't do it unless she needed to.

Besides, she very strongly suspected that the clan's parents took great amusement from witnessing or hearing about the ingenious ways their children caused trouble for whoever was taking a day's shift training or watching them. Heavens knew Hana did, when she wasn't the one in charge. They'd done their own share of it at one point or another, so they'd earned the laughs. Other clans seemed to have different philosophies on the matter.

[senseiofthesea]

"I send letters to parents all the time. I like to keep them apprised of how their children are coming along, and parents learn quick enough that while I'll listen to their concerns, I'll only act on them if it's what's best for my student." He shook hs head once, sighing. "Can you believe I once had a mother come to me complaining about the kind of snacks I handed out being too fatty? I wanted to shake the woman."

[puppypile]

Hana smiled. That attitude was why she liked an respected Iruka. He had a lot more patience than she did for dealing with people, and excellent judgement with regard to when he should be stubborn. Hana always appreciated well-placed stubbornness. Her immediate response to the anecdote he finished with, though, was an eyeroll, as even the dogs snorted in disdain. "Of course," she half-growled with sarcasm dripping from her voice, "children who're training physically and with chakra all day couldn't possibly burn calories."

Medics, even veterinary medics, had opinions when it came to nutrition. "You should clearly be putting them on diets rather than providing enough nutrients to help make up for what they exert." After a pause, she admitted, "I probably would've shaken her, which I think proves my point about not being so good with the parents."

[abileunaspada]

"Half and half. Hokage-Sama suggested it 'cause I wanted to stay in the village for a while, and I figured it'd be a good thing to do," She nodded, grinning at the dogs near Hana and nodding her regards to them as well. Seemed like they were all doing well since the last time too, which was always good to see.

"S'it okay if I ask why you're here though? Iruka-sensei didn't call in another TA for back-up, did he?" The joke was just a slight jibe -- she and Kiba were handling the job quite well, even with all of the kids acting up and energetic as they had been. It was tiring work, but at least in Adela's eyes it was worth it.

[senseiofthesea]

He gave a low chuckle and inclined his head. "I politely informed her that unless there was an allergy involved, she was no medic to be telling me how to handle my students and snacks. I understand her husband was furious when he came home and found out about her diet plan from her daughter."

[thebestuchiha]

"Both, actually. Take a full assessment of what they are, what you can improve, what you can't, and then take steps toward closing the gaps. No one is expected to be good at everything, but the difference between a Jounin and a Tokebetsu Jounin is very strongly in the specialization If you're not flexible, then you simply can't be a Jounin, usually. I trust you'll be able to figure out more from this? If not, you need only ask."

He spread his hands, then rested them on the desk.

[puppypile]

"Everything alright? I'm surprised to hear you're not running missions, but it looks like you're doing well here." Hana nodded toward the kids practicing taijutsu as Adela greeted her dogs. They always appreciated receiving their own greetings, and Baishi trotted over to Adela to nudge her in the leg. Hana chuckled at the shameless attention seeking. The Haimaru brothers liked Adela.

She laughed again, shaking her head at the question about Iruka. "No, just here to bring my little brother his lunch. Mom conscripted me as errand runner for my day off."

[puppypile]

Hana nodded. She'd figured as much, her already existing tracking and veterinary specializations making her fairly confident of making Tokubetsu Jounin quickly even if Jounin proved more of a struggle. "I can do that." Hana could be flexible. Maybe. That's what she was here for in the first place; she knew she'd been throwing herself too heavily into her specializations for much career advancement unless she broadened her training.

On the note of some of his previous advice, she mused with a small grimace, "My primary affinity is earth, which is the hardest to integrate with Inuzuka techniques. I could maybe get..." she thought for a moment, "a sensing jutsu and increased accuracy out of it. Wind or fire would work well, though. I'll try to develop a second affinity that fits better, see which element comes more easily."

[puppypile]

Hana snorted. "Well, good! I'm glad she has one parent sensible enough to take care of her properly." Even if she didn't, though, it was nice to know that Iruka was as adamant as ever about the well-being of his students. He had been when he was Kiba's teacher too, which had predisposed Hana to like him. The patience and restraint demonstrated by Iruka's politeness were also impressive as usual, and probably much more effective than her own brash remonstrations would be.

Hana's stomach growled. She huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "We never time this right. Kiba's always starving by the time he delivers my lunch, then he stands there with puppydog eyes till I share. And yet I didn't learn from his mistakes." Hanna shrugged and grinned. "Looks like it's my turn to beg a share today!" Beg or bully, whichever works. ...Or she could just leave it and go buy her own lunch, but Hana is enjoying her visit to the Academy. It seems a shame to cut that short, especially when she'll be out of the village more often soon.

[abileunaspada]

"Well, things have just been going wrong too much lately, and... Well, I thought I'd take a break. This isn't exactly as relaxing as I thought, but it's still a good break from the missions."

That was all she wanted to say on it, and she shook her head before she petted Baishi and ruffled his hair. Jeez, they were cute even if they were big. And then the mention of lunch prompted a groan from her, "Man, I'm jealous. Uncle stopped making lunch for me the instant I made Genin, so I have to make my own all the time. Must be nice to enjoy someone else's cooking!"