Fifty Shades of Gennin

"No, not like that! Come on, it's simple. I'll go over it one more time."

Hinata stared at Naruto, bemused, holding a brush in her hand. A half-dozen sheets of paper were spread across the desk in front of her, each covered in ink splotches and webs of characters. It fit right in with the room— not much larger than Hinata's quarters at the compound, papers were strewn across the workspace's floor and pinned all over the walls.

But the papers on the desk were different in at least one way. Despite their neat strokes and sharp lines, these characters winded repeatedly into each other in jumbled, inert messes.

"Listen carefully," Naruto said, standing in front of a huge canvas held up by an art easel. He turned to blown-up seals written large across the canvas. 

"The Focal is the center of the array, and it has to be biiig, and really strong, otherwise the whole thing will bend, right? And these? They're the Tendrils. They squiggle around the Focal, like a bowl of noodles dumped over somebody's head, which would be such a waste of ramen. The important thing is that you have to be nice to them. The Focal is big and strong and won't get his feelings hurt, but the Focals are sensitive. They cry easily. So coddle them, maybe take them out for ice cream once in a while. Make sense?"

Hinata's eye twitched. 

She had listened to this for an hour already. And everytime she asked for clarification, she made the mistake of believing it was the moment Naruto would suddenly say something that made a little bit of sense. Then he'd go off about the sensitive feelings of a bunch of ink splotches.

By now she'd learned just to shut up and go with it. The less her teacher talked, the less confused she'd be. If she was going to make any progress it would be through trial and error, nothing else.

Shifting a blank paper in front of her, Hinata dipped her brush in fresh ink and began to write.

The goal was to create a basic storage seal. The simplest kind, fit only to store a single kunai or perhaps a field ration. It should've been easy. Privately, Hinata believed it would've been if she had a sane teacher.

As her brush scraped quietly against the paper, Naruto kneeled and clung to the edge of the table. Only his fingers and the upper half of his face were visible. Every few seconds he would wince or flinch. Hinata grinded her teeth.

She would've cut a shocking sight to those that knew her right now. Her simple dark shirt had the sleeves rolled up. Ink splatters stood out against the pale skin of her arms, while her fingers were almost coated. Her hair was pinned back in a ponytail. She would be damned if, after all this time, a successful attempt was ruined because a strand of hair got in the way.

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened, and he ducked under the table. That really should've been all the warning Hinata needed.

With a noise like an Akimichi slipping in the shower, Hinata's paper exploded in a flash of orange and black.

She dropped her brush, coughing and trying futilely to wipe soot away from her eyes with even sootier fingers. Her hair felt seared to her head. When her vision cleared, she stared down at a still-smoking table and the charred remnants of an hour's worth of failed attempts.

"Congratulations!"

Naruto popped back into view, infuriatingly clean. Hinata wanted to pluck out his pearly grinning teeth one at a time.

"You made your first seal!" he announced happily.

Hinata blew a crispy strand of hair out of her face.

"It was supposed to be a storage seal," she said.

He shrugged.

"And it came out as an exploding tag instead! Still your first!"

Hinata stared at him. She really, all the way to her core, couldn't tell if he was making fun of her.

"Whenever I'm working on something new, I count every explosion as a badge of honor! A seal isn't worth completing if you don't combust doing it, that's what I say!"

Hinata sighed. He wasn't making fun of her.

He was just an idiot.

O-O-O

Hinata stared at the thin piece of wood in her hands, turning it over in endless circles. The veins around her eyes bulged. Her Byakugan allowed her to see in the dark, but even with her eyes she could barely spot the minuscule kanji painted onto the object's lining.

"Fascinating," she murmured. "Is that… It almost looks like the storage Focal he showed me. But how does it…"

A female voice cleared their throat. Hinata jumped, jolting back to the moment.

Naruto's teaching hadn't become any clearer after three lessons, leading Hinata to look for extracurriculars. People had a habit of looking straight past seals they were used to seeing, especially shinobi. But Hinata was pushing herself to break that habit. Every time she saw seals, she stopped and studied them, seeing if she could decipher even a small part of their function. She did it to a poor branch Hyuuga's forehead. She stopped in the middle of Tenten's shop to stare at the exploding tag section. And she even did it now, deep beneath Konoha's surface at the entrance to the Den.

Tenten stood beside her, arms crossed and her own weasel mask affixed over her face.

"Are you done staring at your mask?" she asked. "If so, put it on. I'd like to be fucked."

Blushing, Hinata quickly donned the mouse mask and followed her friend inside. It wasn't like she'd been making progress anyway. There were worlds of difference between basic arrays and whatever identity suppressor the masks worked off of. Reading it was like trying to learn the Hiraishin as your first ninjutsu.

The main room was less crowded than usual. A large fishbowl-like glass sat on a foldout table, filled with the chakra papers that helped visitors understand their own desires. If they'd been left out like that, then perhaps Oni had the night off.

Hinata and Tenten each grabbed a slip. Hinata barely paid attention as hers turned the usual purple. Unlike the last time they'd been there, Tenten's went yellow.

From the snippets Hinata pieced together, red was for those that wanted to be in control. Yellow was the opposite. It was for people looking to be controlled. And purple was for the strange ones like her that only wanted to watch… or ones that were eager for others to watch them.

"Huh," Tenten hummed, sounding mildly surprised by her own result. "I guess I'll be looking for a red tonight."

Yellows and reds were usually paired together. They scratched each other's itches naturally, so it only made sense. Some simply entered conjoined rooms and took their chances, but others looked for a good partner beforehand. It was half of what this central space was for: mingling and allowing for chance meetings.

Tenten started toward the largest crowd, only to stop quickly. A woman had appeared from nowhere in a sheer dress and red mask, her arm draped across Tenten's shoulders.

Hinata felt like rubbing her eyes. First Naruto, and now Oni had moved faster than her eyes could see. She'd like to say it was because she let her guard down, but she honestly wasn't sure.

"Yellow, huh?" said the woman. She flashed her own slip in Tenten's face— bright red. "What a startling coincidence."

"Oni!" Hinata greeted. She liked the older woman, who ran her favorite spot on earth and always treated her kindly enough. "I didn't think you were here tonight."

"What, because of the table?" Hinata got the feeling Oni was smirking at her. "I'm not on duty. Tonight, it's all pleasure."

"Pleasure, you say?" Tenten muttered, all too aware of the contact between the two of them. Her eyes dipped to the red slip, then to the barely-covered breasts hovering next to her.

"Interested?" Oni asked.

Hinata had known that her friend didn't always limit her lovers to men. Her affinity for tools went further than the battlefield, extending all the way to the bedroom, something which left her rather uncaring about the default equipment partner's came with if you understood Hinata's meaning. If Tenten wanted penetration she would have it, one way or another. At least that was what she had ranted to Hinata once when she was a few bottles too deep in the sake.

"I could be persuaded," Tenten told Oni carefully.

"Then I'd best get started." 

Oni's arm slid from Tenten's shoulder, grasping her in a headlock and pulling her toward a door. Tenten stumbled after her, seemingly stunned by the faceful of cleavage she was getting. Before they disappeared, Oni called over her shoulder, "Second door from the left, Mouse! Have a good night!"

Hinata didn't wait around to watch them any longer. Tenten could have her fun. Hinata needed some of her own.

She navigated the doors and rooms quickly. Before she knew it she was in her robe, stepping into Fox's room once more.

And what do you know? He was ready for her.

A naked woman lay curled at the corner of the bed. She watched Fox with sharp eyes, her chin resting on crossed arms and her knees tucked against her stomach. Hinata didn't like the way this woman looked at her. She couldn't shake the feeling she was sizing up the distance between them, pondering how quickly she could close the gap should a reason arise. Hinata was sure it was done reflexively. If anything, that frightened her more.

The woman had a three-whiskered mask with a triangular nose in the center and two pointed ears. Her body was lithe and flexible. Hinata gave her pale skin a onceover before looking toward Fox.

He was equally naked, but didn't seem so keen on relaxing. He grunted and cursed quietly, yanking ropes that had been rigged to the ceiling. He seemed to be trying to get them in some semblance of a formation, but all Hinata could see was a jumbled mess.

Finally, Fox took notice of her.

"Mouse!" he greeted. "We've got Cat with us tonight. I, uh, hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable."

The lounging woman looked at Hinata. Behind her mask, Hinata offered a nod.

"I'm not an actual mouse you know," she told him.

She just hoped Cat realized that too. She wasn't quite sure, to tell the truth.

"Great, great." Fox had already become distracted by his ropes again. Hinata watched as he twisted a knot, his biceps flexing as he drew it tight. Cat's tongue darted over her lips. 

Finally, Fox wiped his mask with the back of his wrist. "That should do it."

Cat rose, sitting up and stretching with her arms above her head, giving Hinata a great view of her very pointy breasts. She crawled to Fox on all-fours, beginning to lap at his flaccid member.

Fox hardened quickly under the attention, but he didn't leave her at it for long. As soon as his cock was ready he grabbed Cat under the armpits, pulling her to her feet. His hands grabbed a good hold on her backside, dragging her close. He let Cat tuck her face into his neck and press against his muscles. At the same time, his length wedged between her legs, rubbing against her sensitive slit. Every slight movement grinded him against her. Cat shivered.

Hinata's eyes caught on her mask. It was fascinating, really, now that she thought about it. She could see the woman's entire body, her straight purple hair and small breasts and athletic frame. The only thing she couldn't see was her face. And yet, with one sliver of wood, Hinata wouldn't be able to recognize her if they met in the street tomorrow. It seemed impossible, but she couldn't deny it was true.

Fox's fingers kneaded the soft skin of Cat's backside. He drew his hips back and then pushed them forward, rubbing his cock forcefully across her crotch.

It seemed incredible to Hinata, really. People were capable of doing this much with seals, bending the way other humans recognized the strangers around them, and yet she couldn't manage a glorified pocket big enough to hold a kunai. She certainly didn't expect to be a master straight away of course, but the gulf still filled her with disbelief.

"Are you doing alright Mouse?"

Hinata jumped. Fox was looking at her, even as his hands continued to grope Cat who huddled against him. He looked genuinely concerned, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why.

"Usually, you're just really into it is all," he said. "But today it feels like you're hardly paying attention."

He spun Cat around as he spoke. Now his cock pushed between her legs from behind, so large that it poked out in the front. His fingers dug into her, methodically prodding her insides.

"I'm sorry!" Hinata offered him a full bow from her seat. "I have been distracted by a problem recently. I will not let it intrude further."

"What kind of problem?"

Hinata paused. "You want to know now?"

"Why not?"

"I do not think your partner would appreciate my distracting you."

"Cat, speak up now if you're upset."

As he spoke Fox dug his fingers aggressively into the woman. It was the most forceful he'd been yet. Cat gasped, her head lolling back against his shoulder, wracked by too much pleasure to form an answer."

"There you go," Fox said.

Hinata wasn't sure that had alleviated her concerns… but her resistance had thoroughly frayed by now. In truth, her stomach was filled with butterflies.

Fox knew her well enough to notice something was on her mind. He cared enough to ask what it was.

Still, as pleasant as it was, the conversation would likely end here.

"I have been struggling with a new technique," she said. "Or, rather, I have not been able to progress in learning something new. I'm afraid my troubles have to do with seals."

She expected him to groan and shake his head. Even among all active ninja, less than five percent could honestly claim an understanding of the obscure art. Its primary application was in tools, and when those tools were purchasable on the market most saw no point in the time or effort to learn the art itself.

What she didn't expect was for Fox to shout, "Ooh! My favorite!"

He actually forgot what he was doing for a second, his fingers going still.

"I did the seals for this whole place!" he said. "These masks? Those were me! And the chakra papers too. And the mask dispenser…"

Hinata gaped under her mask. "You're a master!"

"Ah, you're making me blush." Fox fell back into his groove, resuming his fingering with all the verve of a man in his element. "So what's the struggle? Are you trying to warp time? Design a self-vibrating dildo?"

"No— Wait, that's possible?"

"Probably," Fox said, before adding, "With seals." in the tone of a zealot.

"Well, it's a bit embarrassing to say now, but my problem isn't any of that," Hinata admitted. "I just can't understand how to make a single seal work, even the simplest ones."

"You just have to get a feel for them," Fox said.

"But if I can't get a single one right, there's no way for me to ever understand the feeling I'm looking for!" Hinata complained.

Fox considered this. Her groped Cat absently as he did, one hand rising to her chest. There wasn't much there for him to work with but he did his best.

"What if I showed you," he said.

"Showed me?" Hinata asked.

"I understand what they feel like, right? So if I show you how I see them, with an example, maybe it will help you get started."

"And how would you do that?"

"Y'know, using something I know that you understand."

Before Hinata could ask what that might be, Fox was lifting Cat.

"Our wonderful volunteer here is going to be the Focal," he said.

"I'm going to be your what?" Cat asked.

Her voice was older than Hinata expected. She was probably in her mid-thirties. She spoke dryly in a way that said she was quite over this little demo. But Fox dropped her slightly, letting his cock tease her entrance again, and her protests cut off in a groan.

"Everything is built around the Focal," he said. "That's why it's like the woman. Without her, you aren't having sex. Without the Focal, you won't have a seal."

He lifted Cat. He slid her legs into the ropes one at a time, drawing the knots tight— one around each ankle, another around each knee. Two more looped under her armpits. Fox didn't hesitate to press her arms behind her back, tying them together and keeping them there.

"These are the Tendrils," he said. "These are extra. Without the Focal, they don't do anything. But without these, complicated seals couldn't exist. They're the kanji you see spiraling away from the center in weird shapes. They're little things that tweak the seal's function. I could fuck the Focal—" he slapped Cat's ass "—without any of this. But with them, it's possible to fuck her exactly the way I want to."

Cat moaned. Trussed up like this she had nowhere to run, not even the ability to flinch away. Unless Hinata was hearing things, she could've sworn the woman began to purr.

"Once both parts are finished, you aren't done," Fox said. "How you put in the chakra matters. Channel too much, too fast, and it'll overload. You have to be methodical. Ease into it."

He gripped his cock and pushed it forward, slowly. Cat was vulnerable. She was trusting him. So he fed his girth into her gradually and consistently. He let her become accustomed to the feeling of him… but he didn't stop until he was all the way in.

"Once you start you have to see it through," he said. "Powering up a grid after stopping in the middle is a nightmare. It's worse than starting over. So keep feeding chakra in until you're sure you're doing the right thing."

His hips moved shockingly slowly. They completely lacked the violence they'd exerted on Snake or Dog in the past. He didn't need to be rough; Cat was sensitive enough to mewl and gasp just from this. If he went harder it would've been counterproductive. It would've overloaded the array.

With a start, Hinata realized it was catching on. Without meaning to, she'd started thinking in seal terminology.

She watched. Fox's body collided gently with Cat. She caught the way Cat's body shifted but only slightly. Instead the force traveled up, making the ropes shake and sway. Her Byakugan activated. 

The Focal was mostly stationary, but it still needed room breath. The Tendrils breathed naturally, but so long as they were tied to the Focal they stayed under control. The entire thing was gradual. This wasn't some violent taijutsu bout. It was a union of equal parts. It was art.

Hinata gasped as inspiration hit her like a wave.

Or maybe that was just because of the way she was fingering herself. It was hard to tell.

…demonstration or not, this was far too hot to treat purely academically.

Her fingers sped up. And unless she was fooling herself, this crazy performance was really helping, because she felt the way Fox was building up. She was able to match his pace exactly.

Cat's head lolled toward the floor as pleasure overcame her neck muscles. Hinata felt herself growing wetter around her fingers. Fox never sped up. Not only would it not have helped, it would've been counterproductive. And Hinata mirrored him. There was only one way to know for certain. The final test was coming up quickly. 

She hit her climax the moment Fox tensed. Cat yowled. Fox pulled out of her at the last moment, allowing a clear shower to rain down from her onto the bed as he dumped his own load across Cat's suspended back.

Hinata caught her breath slowly. And although the others couldn't see it, her lips were warped in a wide grin.

Her timing had been correct. She really felt what Fox did, even if it was just for a moment.

"Did that help?" Fox asked excitedly, looking over at her.

Hinata tried to keep her voice calm.

"...You know, I believe it just might have."

O-O-O

Hinata watched a small kunai pop in and out of existence above her paper. Everytime she fed it chakra the process would repeat. She'd done it three times by now, and was nowhere near satisfied.

From the opposite side of the table, Naruto gaped.

"I expected it to blow up at least three more times before you got it," he muttered. "Oh well."

The fact that he sounded disappointed should have bothered Hinata. She expected a teacher to be at least a bit excited about his student's first success, even one like Naruto.

Fortunately, she was far too happy right now to care. And she had a suspicion it would be a long while before that feeling faded.