Saul looked into the man's unconscious mind with uncertainty. It seemed there was nothing to worry about though because the caged bird seal did not seem to have a mind protecting component as the tongue binding seal did. He still, however, didn't make any changes to the man's recent memories. He had not confirmed the technique's results by checking in on the refugees yet, so he had no idea if his methodology was correct. He would not risk using any memory altering technique yet on a Konoha ninja.

Instead he merely observed the man's mind. He watched its inner workings. It was fascinating to watch. Like man seeing a rainbow form for the first time, without any knowledge of how it might come to be. It was curious, unexplored, and new. He wanted to pull on a strand and see if it unraveled. But no, he would not act. Not yet.

Saul exited the man's mind only after he felt signs of the man's consciousness starting to awaken. Hinata's clone had bandaged him up at this point and was sitting there, waiting. The real Hinata had already long gone to sleep at this point. 

"Knock him out again. He's about to wake up."

"En!"

Hinata had no mercy for the Hyuuga. She curled her fingers around the man's chin and sent him back into unconsciousness without a mark on the outside of his body.

Saul re-entered his mind, continuing to watch, to observe, to study. There was an interesting difference between the mind when conscious, and when it was unconscious with Genjutsu. The mind protected itself when it was awake.

Unless the person specifically trusted you and let you in, it would resist any intrusion and keep you within the outer layer of the mind. But the unconscious mind was always unguarded, always shapable.

Saul wondered if there might be a way to break down one's mental defenses while they still remained conscious. It might be a better solution than exhaustively using chakra continuously to break down and supplant new memories. Maybe then he could get the 'conscious' mind to do the work for him. To form its own memories according to suggestion; to change itself willingly. Saul wasn't sure how, however, 

Finally a few hours before dawn, he sighed. He didn't want his exhaustion to carry over to the main body when he awoke, and he also needed the things he learned to be properly internalized and remembered. Thus, he dispelled himself reluctantly. Hinata's clone carried the man outside the house and dumped him casually on the side of the road, before also dispelling herself. 

Ever since the Uchiha had been wiped out, 'law enforcement' in Konoha was almost non-existent for ninja. As long as you had valid reasons and didn't go overboard, fighting between ninja of equal ranks was not only common, but it was also encouraged! It would serve as a whetstone for competitive ninja - acting as a way to encourage growth. 

This could be seen from Naruto and Sasuke's constant fights, fighting Ebisu, etc. They were quite common. Harming villagers however was a big no-no, and by the same token if a ninja of a higher rank made the first move against a lower rank ninja, they'd also be condemned. 

The Hyuuga had been quite arrogant in this case, blatantly sending a Chunin to monitor their activities. Thus Hinata had sufficient reason to start a fight. If they started sending even more people, they'd just complain to Kurenai. Speaking of her actually, today was Yakumo's first day with the team!

Saul looked to Hinata, who lazily clung to him with a smile. They had just finished breakfast, and she was getting her main source of motivation for the day. Cuddling with her beloved Saul-kun.

"Hinata. Let's go meet up with Yakumo. She might not know that we head to the mission office every morning."

Hinata pouted, "Fine... Saul-kun!"

Saul really felt a sense of dissonance. The girl loved to act cute with him, but she was literally a monster! He had always known there was a huge distance between his current strength and hers. However, with the way the girl always clung to him, relying on him constantly, it had inadvertently caused him to underestimate her. Their spar had really put her true capabilities into perspective for him. 

Actually Yakumo too... Saul felt a trace of cold sweat drip down his forehead. If she grew serious, not just him, even all of Konoha would be fucked! Actually, what the hell? Now that he thought about it, he was really the weakest one in Team Eight now! He really had to figure out ways to increase his strength.

*knock knock*

Wearing a pink yukata reminiscent of Kurenai's everyday wear, short sleeves, a ninja sash around her waist, and her classic hair bobbles, Yakumo greeted them at the doorway. She had on her ninja sandals, wore a side pouch containing her tools, and had her right shoulder adorned with her Konoha headband. She was a rose now - still as beautiful as ever but having grown thorns. 

"Saul!" She gave him a hug. "And Hinata," she smiled in a friendly manner. "How are you two? I didn't see you yesterday, Saul-san."

"H-he was busy with me, Yakumo-chan. He can't always make time to visit you, after all."

Hinata! He had remembered praising you for finally becoming more secure regarding Yakumo, and this is how you act after seeing her again?

"Is that so...?" Yakumo said with a calm smile. "Well that's no problem. We'll be seeing each other every day from now on after all. Plus, I really do feel bad for you. After all, the Hyuuga clan... tsk. tsk. They haven't had a new branch clan in ages. Won't you be expected to intermarry?"

And Yakumo! When did you learn to speak like that with a smile? Saul thought she was too innocent and socially inexperienced for that!

Hinata, with an aggrieved expression, started to refute, "Actually, the-"

Nope.

"Hinata. That's enough."

It wouldn't do if his proposal regarding her were exposed too early to Yakumo. Plus, he had already spoken to Hinata about this. He would not tolerate her disobedience.

Yakumo smiled at him happily while Hinata just looked sad and pitiful. He sighed,

"There's no need to argue with one another. Follow me Yakumo, we need to go get a mission from Kurenai sensei." He patted Hinata's back to cheer her up. "Let's go."

Hinata clung to him as he walked, something that made Yakumo visibly uncomfortable, but the girl was not bold enough to attempt something like that in public. She had to maintain decorum after all. So in the end, Hinata still ended up winning the first round despite his interference. He would speak to her again on her behavior later...

Once they arrived at the mission office, they were directed on another D rank mission. Yakumo quickly lost her excitement for it, but that's just how things went. 

The team gathered as a group for training. Hinata was off training hard with all the tips she learned from yesterday, so Saul left a clone with her and decided to go check on Yakumo. 

The woman was practicing throwing Kunai in combination with her vine whip. She seemed to have more control over it now - manipulating it freely after it left her hands. 

"Hey, whatsup?"

Yakumo smiled. "Hey Saul-san."

The man had always greeted her in this way. Receiving it now, she was filled with a faint, familiar happiness. He sat by her, watching her grow the vine. 

"Is this normally how you train?"

"I'm still unfamiliar with it, but I'm learning. My kekkai genkai is quite unique after all."

Saul was debating teaching her his 'frontloading technique'. He had learned to do it from connecting with her Genjutsu world, after all. But he didn't quite trust her. Out of all the people in his life, Yakumo was potentially the most dangerous. She wasn't fully aligned to him either, unlike Hinata. While these kinds of thoughts were running through his head, Yakumo spoke up. 

"Saul-san... Actually, I've been wanting to show my appreciation to you for a while now. I think I have something in mind for just a little bit... Would you like to see?"

"Yeah. Why not."

"Ok. But you have to close your eyes."

Still, the girl was interested in him for now. There was no need to be overly cautious unless she betrayed his trust. Saul closed his eyes. 

It was a few seconds before she told him he could open them again. 

Yakumo now had a yellow tulip threaded in her hair, directly above her right ear. She smiled beautifully, then walked close to Saul. In her hand was a single blooming Red Tulip. She ran her fingers through his hair, threading in the flower. The stem was alive, curling around his hair and keeping itself in place.

"I've figured out how to maintain things I've made with my Genjutsu to last a while longer." She explained softly, "I wanted you to be the first person I showed this to... Do I look pretty?"

Noble, innocent, delicate, and spontaneous, that was Yakumo.

"The flower matches your eyes beautifully."

"If that's the case, then... I'll keep it in bloom, just how you like it~" She blushed.

Author's Note: Alright, all of Team 8 is finally together! I'm having some difficulty writing Yakumo tbh, but I'm planning 1 more C-ranked mission before Chunin exams. Let me know if you have any ideas for the story before then!