Seeing the Moon [EDITED ✔️]

III. Two-Faced ✔️

They didn't notice her absence but they did notice her return. It was the middle of the day when Hinata nonchalantly strolled into the classroom interrupting Iruka's lecture. Everyone eyed the newcomer, all feeling something different about her yet she still looked relatively the same. Hinata wore her usual outfit except her jacket was left unzipped, exposing her developing breasts. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and wrapped across her head was a black bandana.

"Gomen, sensei, for interrupting you," she said in her usual gentle manner, however, the look in her eyes was anything but gentle.

Iruka swallowed and gave a swift nod. "It's alright, Hinata-sa-hime. Please take your seat and I would like to speak with you after class."

The girl nodded, trailing up the aisle to the far back where Kiba sat alone with Akamaru atop his head. The boy watched her from the corner of his eye, unable to rid himself of the uneasy feeling that suddenly overtook him.

"Hey, Hinata?" Her eyes slowly glided over to meet his. "You wanna get mochi after school and head back to my place?"

"Sorry, Kiba-kun," she replied, "I'm busy."

The Inuzuka was taken aback by the response he'd gotten. Hinata had never turned down mochi before; it was her favorite snack. Every so often the two of them would head to the civilian market area and grab a bag of mochi before heading back to his compound for the remainder of the evening. Hinata usually slept over on those days, which Kiba liked considering he was one of few who knew of Hinata's sleeping problem. He would even go as far as to say he considered them friends, best friends.

He blinked at her with furrowed brows. "Are you sure? If your pops is being demanding again you know it's no trouble to my folks. Hana and mom love having you around."

She quickly hid her grimace with her accustomed false dame smile. "I'm alright, Kiba-kun. Tou-san has...given me my space. I just have other obligations at the moment."

The dog boy nodded, the uncertainty he was feeling apparent to the girl. "If you say so. Rain check, I guess." Moments passed when realization hit the boy. This was the most Hinata had ever spoken to him in a public setting. Not only that, she hadn't stuttered once.

After class, Hinata stayed back until the very last person left. Iruka beckoned her to his desk where he sat. "Hinata-sama," he started, "you have been absent from class for an entire month. I fear you will fall behind if we do not do something about this. Now, I am aware of the...circumstances for your absence, however, I do not want this to negatively impact you. You are one of my top students academic wise."

The young Hyuuga head sighed softly whilst wrapping her arms around herself. "G-gomen, sensei," her bottom lip trembled.

He quickly waved his hands in a frenzy. "N-no need to apologize, Hinata-sama! I only want the best for you. Your plate is full with the reconstruction of your clan and at such a young age while you're still an academy student. What I am trying to say is that you need to learn to prioritize."

Hinata sucked in a breath and exhaled through her nostrils, willing the tears away. "Prioritize?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes, prioritize. I am sure that your new duties as clan head will keep you away from class some days so you need to take the initiative. Ensure you won't fall behind by doing work in advance. That way, you won't be penalized for late work and you're on par with your peers."

She asked, "What do you propose I do now? I'm so far behind everyone."

"Get a tutor. And I have just the person in mind. Ino."

"I-Ino-chan?" the girl exclaimed.

Iruka smirked knowingly. "Surprising, isn't it? Although she doesn't act like it, Ino is another one of my top ranking students. The two of you are actually on par with each other, which means you'll have no problem understanding concepts on her level. I would've assigned Sakura the job but she's already tutoring Kiba and Naruto."