An Extra SceneShinobi Isekai 1 Year Anniversary Special

Hanako stood with her father and her sensei as they saw the Raikage and his people out of the village. Though there were a lot of glares exchanged, it went off without much issue. She was glad to see them go. Having too many variables running around was entirely too stressful, even if they were technically her allies, now.

"Mah, that's a relief," Kakashi said as he fell into a slouch, the hem of his new 'comfy Hokage cloak' brushing against the ground. "Those guys were so annoying."

Shikaku mirrored her father's body language, looking very much like his son as he scratched at the back of his neck. "You weren't even the one dealing with them."

"That's how annoying they were."

They went back and forth like that as they walked through the village, Hanako trailing behind them. Her father becoming Hokage had its uses, but it was also completely unexpected. She'd finally had the time to sit down and process everything that had happened since losing her arm, and she wasn't sure she liked the way things were going. Kakashi would have become Hokage eventually, but now, without Tsunade in office, she wasn't sure how to move forward.

Plus, going to all these events as 'the Hokage's daughter' was really annoying. She had other, more important things to do with her time. Like conspire with Shikamaru and Sakura. It was hard to meet with them or her other friends even after leaving the hospital. Kakashi wasn't letting her out of his sight and, while the affection was endearing, it was starting to smother her. She needed to speak with the others who shared her, now largely questionable, knowledge of the future. The whole point of letting them in on her secret was having more minds looking at the same problem. Smart minds. Not like hers.

Shame rolled through her as she thought about the way she behaved during the fight with Kimimaro—along with no small amount of fear. Once again, she had to face the chilling possibility that she was a parasite in Yachiru's body and the original was coming back. What would happen to her, then? If her mind was compromised—as her near death experience proved it clearly was—then maybe she shouldn't be trusted with the planning process. Especially now that she knew—.

Wait. This wasn't the way back to the Hokage's office.

She stopped in her tracks, wheels turning audibly in her head as she tried to find a reason for Kakashi and Shikaku to bring her to a training field.

"What's going on?" She finally asked.

Neither man answered her and the ever present knot of frustration in her belly grew.

"I don't know why everyone thinks it's a good idea to keep secrets from me," she growled out, patience at an end. "But I would think it obvious by now that it doesn't have the best results."

That got their attention. Kakashi looked almost guilty, but Shikaku glared down at his student with a force that almost had her apologizing on reflex.

"Jiraiya may have dropped the issue of your little stunt in T&I, but I haven't. Not to mention how you knew about top secret information regarding S class missing nin."

"You gave it to me, though?"

He raised one thin brow. "Did I?"

"You gave me the dossiers of all Konoha missing nin, remember?" She was very glad to have this excuse. "You wanted me to analyze them and their last known locations to try and predict where they might show up next."

"I did," he admitted, the corners of his lips curling up into a smug smile that was way too much like Shikamaru for her taste. "But I deliberately removed Itachi Uchiha from that pile. Given your relationship with his brother, it would have been improper to have you looking over his file."

"Given my relationship with his brother, I didn't necessarily need his file to know about him."

She and her sensei held each other's gazes for a long, tense moment. His chakra—lightning, but not as wild as her father's—brushed against hers and she forced her own to remain calm even as her hackles started to rise. The Jounin Commander looked away first, scoffing.

"You'll run out of excuses eventually, brat."

That's what she was afraid of.

"So? What are we doing here?"

The two adults exchanged a glance. Shikaku seemed to lose whatever battle they had and he sighed as Kakashi continued toward the tree line on the edge of the training ground. Left alone with her sensei for the first time in what felt like forever, Hanako waited to hear his explanation. She wasn't sure what, but something had changed inside her. Her patience and temper were oddly short and she couldn't bring herself to act like a child, anymore. She was tempted to blame it on the curse mark that sat in the crook of her elbow, and it may very well be the cause, but she knew there was another contributing factor.

Hanako was tired. Exhausted, really. There was a deep seeded fatigue in her bones that threatened to drag her down with every step she took. She wanted to curl up with Momiji and take a centuries long nap. Maybe, when she woke up, the world would be saved and she could just live a normal life, again.

It was a foolish idea, she knew. The last time her life was normal, her name was Bethany.

"Your father and I have been talking," Shikaku began ominously. "And we realized that we may have made a mistake letting you graduate early."

Her only response was to raise a single eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I know, you told us so." Her sensei smiled ruefully down at her. "We should have listened. Hopefully, it's not too late to save your—what did you call it back then?—social development."

She stared up at him, confused. "What?"

"We're putting you on a team, Hanako."

"What?"

He chuckled and reached out to ruffle her curls. She dodged him, heart pounding in her chest as she seriously considered whether or not to run.

"Come on, brat. Don't look at me like that. You've been doing an awful lot of solo stunts, lately. Do you have any idea how worried you've made us? Your dad and I figured it was our fault for training you to rely on yourself instead of teaching you to rely on others when you need to, so this is our solution. Look on the bright side," he said with a smirk. "At least you're getting a promotion out of it."

Again. "What?"

He winked at her. "You didn't hear that from me, ok? Your dad wanted to surprise you."

Well, it worked.

There was no logical reason for her to be promoted to chunin. Not only had she not contributed to the fight against Orochimaru, but she sustained a potentially crippling injury and was 'kidnapped' and killed. If anything, she had done nothing but prove time and time again how unworthy she was of a promotion. Kakashi was too much. She would need to have a talk with him about abusing his power so soon after acquiring it. Favoring his child was one thing, but this was ridiculous.

"Hey." Her sensei crouched down to look her in the eye, his expression serious. "You deserve this. You might be a troublemaker, but I have to admit you got things done. Kumo signed a treaty that's very beneficial for us and our relationship with the next generation of Suna royalty is solid because of you. I don't have to like your methods to respect your result. That's part of what being a shinobi means, Hanako. We all have our own specializations and together we all contribute to the future of the village. That's the keyword here, brat. Together. I don't get involved in the nonsense happening in T&I most days, but I still know what's going on. You can't run around doing things without letting people in on your plans. You're not Anbu—yet. And, if I know your dad, you won't ever be. Whatever you have planned, there's no reason you can't share it with those of us in positions to help, ok?"

Oh, Shikaku. There were plenty of reasons, a black and white plant man chief among them. She sighed, a piece of her soul leaving her in the process. Shikaku chuckled at her expense.

"Come on. Let's go meet your team."

She trudged along behind him, not at all happy with how things were progressing. If she had a team, then she would have even less freedom to meet with Shikamaru and Sakura.

If she was perfectly honest, it was a little bit of a relief to have a real reason not to think about the future, anymore. Thinking about anything to do with the Akatsuki or, God forbid, Obito, was a legitimate threat to her sanity. What little of it remained, anyway. Maybe, just maybe, she should leave the planning to them. For the sake of her mental health.

Guilt welled up in her, carried by a wave of anxiety, but it was muted and far away. All her emotions were, aside from fatigue. Was fatigue an emotion? It should be. Especially since it overpowered all her other thoughts and feelings as soon as she saw who her father was talking to.

Two men, one taller than the other, stood in the shade of the trees. She'd met one of them before, albeit briefly, but even then his paper white skin and pitch black hair would be hard not to recognize. Sai turned to look at her, his eyes as black and lightless as her own. They closed into a smile, the expression lifeless and insincere. Right. This was years before his initial appearance in Shippuden. He probably had even less experience with people and social cues now than he did then. She let her eyes curl into a picture perfect replica of her father's fake smile. At the very least, she should reward his efforts.

Beside Sai, Yamato—Tenzo? she wasn't sure which name he was using, right now—was speaking to her father. She'd always found his character design a little unnerving, but looking at him now...

He...kind of...looked like her?

Brown hair, large, impossibly dark eyes—were those just standard Senju features?

Well, now she found him unnerving for an entirely new reason.

"Mah, kiddo," her father said with a fake smile of his own. "Come and say hello."

She looked up at Shikaku before moving to stand beside Kakashi. Not Anbu, huh? Her father placed a hand on her head and mussed her already unruly curls.

"Welp, here's my kiddo. You already know Yamato; he'll be your team Captain. Your teammate here is Sai. I expect you to get along with him, ok?"

With any luck, the look she gave him encapsulated all her apathy. He didn't react, though, so it was hard to tell. She turned to her glorified babysitter and gave him the sincerest smile she could muster.

"Hello, Captain Yamato, it's nice to meet you officially."

He coughed into his fist. "Yes. You, as well."

Sai was as pretty as she remembered. Almost too pretty. Ironically, like a painting come to life. It was eerie, but she did her best not to let her discomfort show on her face as she bowed her head to her new senpai. Although she knew he was fundamentally a good person and would one day be an ally she could rely on without question, right now he was Danzo's spy, and that meant she would have to be extra careful about her movements.

Mah, just thinking about it made her tired. When could she take a nap?