Still in Ino's death grip, Ren looked at Hinata, his eyes asking for help but the traitor only gave him an amused look in return.
When Ino finally stopped hugging Ren, she returned to scrutinizing her clone. But of course, despite being a clone, it was still Ino so she would not let attention go unanswered.
"Hello, good lookin'." Ino's clone waved at Ino with a flirty smile and Ino just grinned back.
Deciding that for his own sanity, he should not pay too much attention to their interaction for the moment, Ren turned to Hinata.
"Did you see what Ino had done with her chakra, Hinata?" He asked, hoping that learning this technique would not be too hard for the Hyuga girl. It held an essential place in his plans for her future training and he needed her to be capable of doing it.
Hinata bit her lower lip in an apparent worry, "Yes. But... I have no idea if I will be able to replicate it. The way of molding chakra seems to be quite complicated."
"Here." Ren passed her the scroll with instructions, "Give it time. You will get there." He said and Hinata resolutely nodded while opening the scroll and started reading it with determined eyes.
Ren loved to see her so motivated. Especially since it couldn't be easy to keep her level of determination with somebody like Ino nearby who could just pull off such a complicated technique in five seconds like the cheater she was.
Letting Hinata to her own devices with the scroll, Ren turned back to Ino and froze on the spot when he saw her making out with it. Awkwardly clearing his throat... did not help. Both Inos just released small muffled moans.
"Ino..." Ren reproachfully started, but he really couldn't find words to say so his speech tapered off. Thankfully, the girl and her clone separated when they heard him speak and both gave him a cheeky grin.
"I was just sampling the goods." Ino's clone unashamedly said.
"She is great." Ino nodded, praising herself.
Ren rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Alright Ino. You had your fun. Now dispel your clone, please."
"Aw, must she?" Ino's clone whined. "I'll be a good girl."
"Yes." Ren deadpanned, "Having two of you is a bit much for my romantic heart." He said in a dry tone and the real Ino released a mock gasp of hurt as she put her hand on her heart in an attempt to garner pity.
The clone Ino, however, didn't even try to play the wronged party. She just put her hands on her hips and confidently grinned, "Pshh. My existence brightens your day, hot stuff. Wanna try making out too?" She 'innocently' asked.
Ren turned toward the real Ino with a raised eyebrow and a wide amused smirk and the girl who stood frozen in her spot, still with a hand on her heart, looked like a deer in headlights.
Her clone giggled at her before disappearing in a small puff of smoke.
"Hm. Stupid clone." Ino muttered under her nose, flushing a bit from embarrassment as Ren enjoyed the moment. "Moving on, hehe." She awkwardly tried to laugh it off.
She may act annoying at times. Maybe even teased Ren when she felt particularly bold. But she never ever turned blatantly flirty like her clone had just done and it obviously made the girl feel a bit flustered.
Of course, Hinata couldn't let such a golden opportunity go, "Sasuke would be so jealous." She quipped from the side.
That let Ino regather her wits and she snorted, "Right. And Suna will experience a snowstorm." She rolled her eyes at Hinata, making both the Hyuga girl and Ren give her a weird look.
They both expected a bit more... fangirlish reply.
"Did you get the memory feedback?" Ren asked the blonde girl, changing the topic. They were burning the daylight and as great as it was to see the usually unflappable Ino embarrassed, he still had things to talk about with the girls.
Ino blinked, "Now that you talk about it, yes, I do have..." She scrunched her face, "Wait. Oooh~, getting memories thrown into my mindscape is weird. They are all over the place. Hold on. I need to-" She suddenly took a deep intake of breath and winced as she put a hand on her forehead, "I need to clean my head. This is disturbing."
A few moments later, Ino was still in her mindscape but she started to look more relaxed and Hinata was done reading the scroll and was now fully paying attention.
"Next, I have another seal for you." He moved on.
"Oh, you could have just asked if you wanted to see me naked again, teach." Ino teased despite her unfocused state and Hinata averted her eyes with a small blush.
"I'll just need to see your back this time." Ren said, causing Ino to go 'awww'.
"How intimate." She started and Ren wondered if sorting the memories from her clone was making her drop even the last bits of her usual restraint.
"So, what's the new seal about?" Hinata interrupted with a clear interest in her expression.
Giving her a quick grateful smile, Ren started explaining. "It's a Chakra Storage Seal. It is supposed to drain chakra from your reserves at all times and store it for later use." Both girls looked astonished at that and Ren's smile widened. Unlike the co-operation shadow clones, his seals were something he truly felt proud of, "Just a moderate amount, though. It's not very sizable, to be honest." Alas, he had to admit the shortcomings too.
It was no Tsunade's Yin seal that could store years' worth of chakra. But as they were now, the girls could not make a shadow clone without half-killing themselves and this would help with that problem for seemingly no cost.
"With your current reserves, roughly two days of accumulating the chakra should give you enough to summon one clone for a few hours. It will help speed up your training a lot in the long run."
"That sounds great." Hinata exclaimed and even Ino seemed a bit excited. But it was nothing compared to the bluenette whose future hung on how strong she managed to become in the upcoming two years.
And Ren didn't even introduce the best part yet, "Plus having your reserves constantly drained and never being able to become full will force your chakra network to constantly adjust to the drain as it tries to fill itself up." He finished with a boast in his tone but it just fell flat when Ino opened her mouth.
"Huh? And in words that even this blonde would understand?" She tilted her head and Ren's left eye twitched in annoyance.
"You will get constantly stronger by a very, very, very small amount each day." He grumpily explained, unhappy about having his moment ruined.
"Oh, why didn't you just say so, then?" Ino asked in a 'duh' tone and Hinata giggled at Ren's unamused expression.
"Go do your laps." Ren ordered with a huff, "Hinata's instructor should be here any moment."
"Do we have to? I hate the laps." Ino verbally complained but she dutifully started stretching in preparation for the running.
Ren decided to be mean and smirked at the girl, "Psh. Its existence brightens your day." He threw her earlier words back at her.
Ino stopped in her tracks for a moment, "I hate you." She threw at Ren before resuming her exercise.
"I can live with that." Ren just shrugged. "I would be failing as your ninja instructor if you didn't hate me."
"I don't hate you." Hinata ducked her head and Ren would usually find it endearing but now he simply raised his eyebrow at her in amusement.
"Oh? Do I hear a plea for ten additional laps?"
Needless to say, both girls disappeared in a burst of speed, running away from Ren and toward the pond before he managed to increase the number of their prescribed laps.
"Smart girls." Ren chuckled to himself.
Thirty minutes later, the girls were done with their run and when they approached Ren again, they saw him chatting with a brown-haired woman of average height with hair reaching her shoulders.
She seemed to be in her early twenties and had blue eyes paired with a pretty face. Her Konoha forehead protector was sitting firmly on her head and she wore a standard Konoha flak jacket every chunin had and black pants.
The woman was Riku Hikari, the teacher Ren hired through the mission board to teach Hinata how to properly throw senbon.
"Look at them," Ino whispered to Hinata when she saw Ren and Hikari laugh at something, "they are totally flirting." She bumped her shoulder with her.
"No, they aren't." Hinata rejected the idea with a frown and Ino didn't answer because they reached the two ninjas.
"I am sorry I won't be able to come tomorrow. I have a mission with my team." The girls heard Hikari say and Ino's eyes sparkled as she got an idea. In a typical fashion for her, she instantly decided to act upon it before thinking it over.
"Why don't you two go together?" Ino abruptly asked, surprising all three other people around.
Ren released a considering hum, "Ehm, that... actually sounds nice?"
He was coped in Konoha for three whole months. Well, not really. He took trips to the capital almost every three days. But on paper, he technically stayed in Konoha for all that time.
He glanced at Hikari. Yes. He could go with another vaca-, ahem, another mission.
The Chakra Storage Seal would need a week to settle in the girls' chakra network so they were going to have a break from training anyway.
"Is that fine?" He finally asked the woman.
"Mhm. I'll tell my team. They should be fine with it." Hikari answered with a satisfied smile that rubbed Hinata the wrong way, "I look forward to it."
The two older ninjas started discussing the details when Hinata turned toward Ino, her posture hiding a subtle anger.
"What are you doing, Ino?" She asked the blond girl in a hurried whisper as she poked her in the ribs.
Ino blinked and looked at her, "As good students, shouldn't we at least try to get our teacher a date?"
Of course, she did not expect the woman to actually agree. She had never heard of a team taking in an outsider for a mission before. That was a miscalculation on her part.
Hinata let out a muffled frustrated sound in her throat. She glanced at Hikari who sported a small pink dusting on her cheeks as she chatted with Ren and her mood soured further.
"But... I don't want him to get a date." She sadly mumbled under her nose, causing Ino's eyes to subtly widen as suddenly, a realization hit her.