After two full days of rest, Hikaru woke up right on time again—on the day his leave officially ended.
To be honest, the break had been boring.
It wasn't that he couldn't relax. It was that fully letting his guard down didn't really fit someone wearing an ANBU mask.
His spar with Kakashi had been a welcome change of pace, but more importantly, it had patched up the "gap" Kakashi accidentally exposed—along with a few awkward questions tied to Hikaru's own identity.
At least now I don't need to worry about people constantly asking what I've been doing all these years.
Standing in front of the mirror, he washed up while thinking it through.
His background had always had obvious holes—like where he'd gone after leaving the Academy at eight.
Hikaru wasn't Kakashi. He couldn't openly carry the ANBU label around, especially as a Senju descendant. That only made things more sensitive.
But now, those questions had been answered—at least on the surface, even if it wasn't a perfect fix.
Kakashi genuinely seemed unused to calling him by name, so Hikaru simply leaned into it.
If Kakashi called him "Captain," then Hikaru could use that as cover for his "missing years"—make it sound like he'd been deployed nonstop, even serving in the same operational chain as Kakashi at some point.
A quick display of strength in sparring sealed it. It made Kakashi's "Captain" sound believable.
Once his appearance was in order, Hikaru put his mask on again and stepped outside.
Today, he wasn't headed for ANBU headquarters.
He was headed for the Hokage Tower.
He hadn't forgotten: today was the day he would meet the Fourth Hokage.
He'd been waiting for this for two days.
Even if the meeting didn't produce anything "concrete," it would still confirm certain things—and help him judge what came next.
Please let this go well…
With that thought, he entered the Hokage Tower.
Aside from the Hokage Rock itself, the tower was probably Konoha's most symbolic landmark. From a distance it didn't look enormous, but once inside, the scale became obvious.
Office after office after office—this really was the village's power hub.
Even the Administrative Department—one of Konoha's most important organs—was housed here.
And Hikaru knew there was a massive conference room inside the building too, large enough to seat over a hundred people. He'd once pulled security duty there and hadn't forgotten how imposing it was.
He climbed toward the top floor—the Hokage's office.
After a round of checks, he wasn't delayed. Maybe there had been advance notice. Maybe his ANBU status smoothed the path.
Either way, he entered without trouble.
"Hokage-sama."
Hikaru gave a respectful bow to Minato Namikaze, seated behind his desk.
" Hikaru-kun, hello."
Minato looked up with a warm smile.
Hearing about him and seeing him in person were different things. Hikaru had to admit it—the man people called a "little sun" truly did feel like one.
That warmth and ease… Hikaru had never felt anything like it from the Third Hokage.
Which only made it more unfortunate.
"Hokage-sama, please call me Nightingale."
Even while feeling that faint admiration, Hikaru kept himself careful.
"ANBU members shouldn't reveal personal details…"
"Ah—right. Sorry, that's on me."
Minato accepted the mistake instantly, without the slightest sign of pride or defensiveness.
"Then… Nightingale. The main reason I asked to see you today is to properly thank you for everything you've done for Kakashi."
He stood up, looking genuinely sincere—no performance, no empty formality.
"Kakashi is my student… and right now, my only student. As for the others…"
Minato trailed off with a small sigh.
He didn't need to finish. Hikaru understood.
Among Konoha's younger generation, almost no one could be unaware of what Kakashi had endured.
Minato was still young, and he'd spent his life inside Konoha. He didn't have disciples scattered around the world.
His only real students had been the Minato squad.
And now… only Kakashi remained.
And Kakashi's condition before—everyone had seen it.
A boy who looked like a walking corpse.
Cold as winter.
A genius sinking into darkness.
Minato had sent him into ANBU as a last-ditch attempt—bury him in missions so he wouldn't have time to drown in the past, force him to survive by the rules of the mask.
But Minato hadn't expected results this fast.
After Kakashi was placed under Hikaru's command, Kakashi— Hikaru's old classmate—had actually begun to improve him.
Not superficially.
At the root.
Kakashi wasn't "normal" yet, but he was finally moving toward normal again.
"Anyway… thank you, Nightingale."
Minato took a breath, then spoke with quiet conviction.
"If it weren't for you, I honestly don't know what Kakashi would have become."
"You don't need to thank me, Hokage-sama."
Hikaru shook his head, voice humble and steady.
"Kakashi is my former classmate—and my teammate. I didn't want to see him like that. It was simply something I should do."
"I understand. Still…"
Minato smiled.
"I've decided to give you a reward. Kakashi mentioned you want to study sealing techniques, correct?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Hikaru lowered his head politely—while under the mask, a small smile formed.
So it really was going the way he'd hoped.
Minato knowing about sealing wasn't surprising. Kakashi would absolutely have written it in a report.
And if Minato was bringing it up now, then what followed hardly needed guessing.
Still, up to this point, their exchange remained formal and clean—strictly "safe" topics.
Minato hadn't asked about the hidden underground facility at all.
Maybe he assumed Hikaru didn't know more. Maybe he believed it was beyond Hikaru's clearance. Or maybe it simply wasn't the kind of thing you asked directly on a first meeting.
Hikaru didn't mind.
Because he had a strong feeling this wasn't over.
ANBU was one of a Kage's most important levers of power, yet orders rarely came directly from the Fourth.
And even now—despite this being framed as a "personal" meeting—ANBU watchers were still there, "doing their duty."
It was… hard not to read into that.
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