Shooting Straight

Chapter 3

The weeks breezed by much quicker than Arrow had anticipated as he focused almost exclusively on his training and academics. More than often he could be found training near the outskirts of town, away from the more densely populated grounds; occasionally he would see clansmen from the more well-known clans in the village, but it was a rare occurrence. Once or twice, he'd seen the Uchiha- who he'd pegged as having his head in the clouds, training in the far corner of the grounds. Arrow was sure that Sasuke had a distaste for him, although he wasn't sure why seeing as they'd never spoken or been tasked to do an assignment together.

Sometimes, when Ash wasn't busy with missions, Arrow convinced his brother to take him on small trips to Sunagakure; these visits meant everything to the teen who was still struggling to adjust to life outside the desert. His heart still ached as he recalled those who took him in as a lost kid with nowhere to go when Ash had been too young to be appointed guardian; he missed those he grew up with, trained with, and who had been there to make him feel less alone. He'd lost everything when Ash had been transferred to Konoha, dragging Arrow along with him. 

Being new to the village and eager to prove his ability to be of value, Ash took as many missions as he possibly could in order to win the approval of the Hokage. With ease, he'd made friends among the fellow jounin, and he'd adjusted easy enough. Ash connected to his maternal roots and didn't need much convincing to swear fealty to the Hokage, as well as Konohagakure as a whole. However, Arrow was not the same, as his heart still resided deep in the desert sand.

~~~

In the short time he'd been a student at the Konoha Academy, Arrow didn't waste time socializing in groups like he often saw others do; instead, he found friendship in the redheaded Uzumaki and a timid Hyuuga heiress. The three weren't attached at the hip by any means, but would occasionally meet to spar or practice when their downtimes aligned. Hinata, less than confident in her abilities, especially found it helpful to test her skills against the other two, although she never felt completely up to the challenge.

Arrow, despite having to hold back more than he would've liked, did his best to assist Hinata in honing her techniques; Seishi would observe their matches and offer constructive feedback for what needed work, and in the meantime, found evidence that Arrow wasn't being entirely honest about his full capabilities. He didn't press for answers- he knew it wasn't his place, and he would only elicit an aggressive response if he put Arrow in a position that left him feeling threatened, annoyed, or cornered in any way.

Hinata was more than just appreciative of the training she managed to get in when she was with them- Arrow, especially, never pushed her too much and never made her feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable. She noticed he offered a much different side when he was outside of the classroom- when he was training, she found him to be much softer and more peaceful; easily, she could sense that there was more to him than simply meets the eye, but she was unwilling to push, and simply appreciated the level of comfort and understanding that had been established between the two.

~~~

It had almost reached the end of the school year, and Arrow's time spent with Hinata and Seishi had gradually increased to spending most of their lunch periods training together, with Arrow managing to keep the other two motivated, and the steady increase of their grades reflecting that. The shift didn't go unnoticed by Iruka, who contentedly watched from the sidelines with a small smile, metaphorically waving a little cheery flag in support.

Naruto, on the other hand, was much displeased to see his twin spending increasingly more and more time with Arrow; more often than not, he'd find himself eating ramen at the counter alone in their apartment. He'd brought up the issue a handful of times- only to be met with Seishi jumping to Arrow's defence, and an argument sparking that would last for days.