Hakuta walked alongside Ninka with his head hung down as they returned to the rest of their friends. His excursion to Ino had been an absolute failure with how things had turned out with that girl’s father.

“There you are.” When they returned, Iruka was the first one to greet them. She had herself a plate with a slice of cake and talked while she still chewed. “Hakuta, is everything okay? You don’t look so happy.”

“It’s no problem.” He replied, assuring her things were fine. “We were just talking with Ino and her family, that’s all.”

“Family?” Said Rouko. “That doesn’t sound good. I bet her dad must’ve really made sure you knew he hated your kind.”

“That’s not what he did.” He argued back, even though he knew it wasn’t entirely true. “Well, he didn’t direct anything at me at least.” As he talked, Ninka wished she could opine on the situation herself. But telling the truth would be impossible since it involved telling them about Ino and her disguise.

“Eh, don’t worry about those sticks in the mud.” Shiuka tried to cheer him up. “Just because they invited us doesn’t mean we have to worry about them the whole time.” Her attempts were futile as it did little to get him from his rut. Not to mention her reminding him about the invitation made him wonder if their fathers would make them have to see that man again.

“I feel more for Ino than anything.” He said, taking one of the free seats they left for him and Ninka. “She’s my friend and I kind of wanted to be able to see her tonight.”

“Does it really matter that much?” Rouko asked, popping in a piece of shrimp from the long list of foods brought by catering. “You see her almost everyday anyway. It doesn’t really matter where.”

“I have to agree with Hakuta here.” Ninka stood up for his beliefs. “It would’ve been nice if she didn’t have to waste all her time with a bunch of nonsense.”

“I’m surprised you care about her.” Said Shiuka. “But I guess you did see her. Did Ino look sad?”

“Well, wouldn’t you get bored if your daddy made you sit next to him all night just so he could talk business?” Ninka knew she would hate it if her dad made her do that. She had absolutely no clue exactly what that man did for a living, which allowed her to live a rather good life, but it was just a subject she never bothered with.

“Well, my papa’s always telling such exciting stories though.” They had a difference in opinion, but it only served to highlight one major details about all their dads. They all had wildly different professions. “Same goes for Hakuta’s dad.”

“That’s because he’s an idiot.” He responded to her compliment rather poorly. “But he’s made it this far, so clearly he must have an idea of what he’s doing.” Either that or he was the luckiest man alive.

“And speaking of the luckiest man alive.” Just as he was speaking of the man, his father appeared behind him. Shiuka’s and Iruka’s dads stood beside him as well “I hope you’re all enjoying the party.”

“It’s been alright.” Iruka answered his question. “It was a lot of fun to get all dressed up and go, but actually being here is a little…”

“Boring.” Rouko finished her sentence for her. “But I kind of expect it, since this is more for Ino’s dad to bolster his reputation.”

“We are also raising money for charity.” Said Omihiro. “So I think it’s worth it.” He gave a hearty laugh as he gave Hakuta a strong pat on the back. “By the way, I hear you went over and talked to that man. You’ve got some real backbone.”

“It’s not really because of courage…” Hakuta wasn’t certain how to take the compliment. The adults seemed to treat him with a high amount of respect when it came to understanding his power and strictness. Yet at the same time, none of them acted like they feared or worried about him at all. “I just wanted to see Ino.”

“His daughter?” Kankichi was a bit surprised to hear him say this. “Wow, I can’t believe you’ve fallen so hard you’d be willing to face anything just to see her.”

“It has nothing to do with that!” The men’s teasing got him riled up, but their words also reached the other girls. When he brought it up as someone on the outside, it appeared so apparent that no one could believe they hadn’t considered it yet. “What’s wrong with wanting to see someone? It doesn’t mean anything else just because she’s a girl.”

“Speaking of…” Toukou, while still laughing, put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “If you want to see her, we’re about to go discuss with him on things about our last trip. At least you guys don’t have to be so scared if we’re around.”

“But I did just see them…” Hakuta was uncertain for both this reason as well as wondering if he wanted to put himself back into that situation once more. In lowest moment, he felt Ninka’s hand grab his arm, taking his attention from everyone else for one important moment.

“We know you want to.” She whispered to him a cryptic message. From her tone, he could tell what she had just said meant something to her. Her eyes appear so bright, as if tears were formed in them.

“Sure, I’ll go.” He didn’t know what she meant yet, but took her advice and stood back up. “I take it you’re all going?”

“I think I need a break.” Ninka played off what she had just done to him, now taking the boy’s seat. “It already feels like it’s been a long night.”

“I’ll just stay with her.” Rouko, who knew what was going on thanks to her ability to read body language stayed sitting down as she enjoyed the delicious food. “Have fun without us.” Hakuta and the other two girls left with their dads to meet with Kazuhide once again. This time, he hoped would be different.

“Ah, it’s nice to see you gentlemen again.” The politician greeted the adults when they got close. Now that time had passed into the night, most reporters had been satisfied with their line of questioning to leave the man and his family alone. “And I see you’ve brought your kids with you too.”

“Yep, heard you already met my boy.” Toukou laughed. “Hope he didn’t bother you too much.” From the way he watched his father interact, it almost didn’t even seem like they took Kazuhide very seriously. Though he talked to them as he always did with anyone else, they didn’t hold him in as high of a position compared to the reporters or how Hakuta had done so himself.

“While I may not agree with his lifestyle choices, he hasn’t been a bad apple to me.” He replied.

“Wow, he really is direct.” Iruka whispered to him. “No wonder he’s so scary.”

“Anyway, I hope you’ve all been doing well after your recent adventure.” Kazuhide continued on. “While there was that major risk of a troublesome international incident. I have been taking care of things behind the scenes, so there’s no reason to worry.” The more they talked about this trip, the more he wondered what even happened.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Kankichi spoke in a coy manner, as if the topic brought up wasn’t serious at all. “There’s nothing wrong with his boy playing all those video games. They’re all still young, so let them enjoy their youth.”

“Yeah, your hearts always in the right place, but I don’t think this is for the best.”

“It’s just that I believe it’s too addicting to our public.” He countered. “I mean, a lot of people who could make something of themselves waste away doing something that won’t bring them anything. Then by the time they’ve grown, they’re hardly ready for the real world.”

The more he talked, the more Hakuta wondered if he actually felt this way about him. On one hand, it seemed to be the case, but he also had passion about the disappointment of others failing to reach their potential. “I mean, look at my daughter.” He pointed over to Ino. “She’s a very studious young girl. I’m sure if more people were like her, she’d be much stronger as a society.”

This seemed to get her a bit riled up as the girl suddenly stood up. They all stared at her in confusion as she came up with an excuse to leave.

“Sorry, but I just need to use the restroom.” She took a deep breath and walked away from the group with a quick pace.

“Actually, I could use the bathroom too.” Hakuta instantly knew something was up with her. So he excused himself from the others as he awkwardly walked past Ino’s father and followed her out to the hallway.