As class is wrapping up, Naruto walks over to Sakura.

"Dang, your clones look so good! Now I'm really glad I'm gonna be training with you: I still haven't worked my head around it."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure I can help you figure it out!

It's a bit tricky at first, but with a bit of practice, I'll bet we can get it to click into place for you."

Yay! Glorious cooperation! Teamwork!

(Sable is a big believer in people helping each other and being stronger together.)

"Wow, yeah, that sounds great!"

Naruto begins to lead his new friend out of the classroom, taking her to where he thinks Hinata's first class should be.

"I don't usually see Hinata until lunch, but I know she's in Iruka-sensei's class in the mornings, so she should be this way."

They walk down the hallway, passing by other students also leaving their classrooms, before arriving at a class which appears to be letting out slightly late, its students only just now starting to leave the room.

Towards the back of the classroom, Sakura can see a small dark-haired girl with pale blank eyes.

Nervous again, but no, it's okay. They've got this. Unused classroom again? Or do they not have enough gap between classes and need to just schedule meeting up somewhere on lunch?

No, it forcibly stops fretting and overthinking. Sakura's got this.

She sure hopes she does!

Best to just get it done with as soon as possible: If she can see the Hyuuga girl Hinata, then Hinata can see her, and that means it's probably too late for second thoughts anyways.

Sakura does her best to stride confidently to the back of the room, past the other students and straight to Hinata, with Naruto trailing in her wake.

"Hi. I'm a friend of Naruto's. Sorry this is sudden, but I need to talk to you outside—now."

This is that girl Naruto has a crush on, Sakura Haruno. Is she interested in Naruto now? Oh no.

She ducks her head nervously. "H-Hello, Haruno-san. Yes, we can go outside."

Oh good, maybe this won't be so difficult after all!

Sakura grabs Hinata's hand and hustles her out of the classroom, down the hall, and into another unused classroom.

She closes the door to the empty classroom the moment they're all inside, and turns to face Hinata, unintentionally standing between her and the door.

"Phew, okay. Sorry for rushing you like this, but I really didn't have a choice. You were going to find out soon whether I told you or not."

"I know I don't exactly have a lot of leverage here, but I have to ask you to promise, before I say anything, that you won't tell anyone else about it. Is that something you can do?"

Oh dear that's... Why could she want to keep this secret? Oh no. What should she do? Is this a threat to Naruto-sama?

Oh. The next question is obvious.

"D-does Naruto-sama already know about this?"

What does she mean? Of course she told Naruto.

"He does. I thought you'd be more willing to talk to me if I was with him."

"Y-yes, you were right." A slow breath, then a hesitant nod. "I can keep this secret."

"Perfect!"

"I mean, I'm glad I can trust you!"

"Right. So.

I guess I could just tell you to look, but this is probably better with an explanation first."

"Yesterday, I met someone from another world. She had been transformed into some sort of… creature.

I… made a stupid decision, which wound her up… attached to me."

"She's been really great, and I'm actually really glad to have her bonded to me, but we both agree that there is no way the village would react well to finding out about her."

"We're both pretty sure that any Hyuuga with the Byakugan who's paying enough attention would notice her immediately, so we had to talk to you as early as possible to explain it, and then hope that you can help us keep her hidden."

Sable quietly makes another mental note, but otherwise gives Sakura an encouraging mental hug. Also it's pretty happy that she likes it and is glad to have it. It's pretty glad to have her, too.

"Transformed into a c-creature? What kind? Why wouldn't the village r-react well?"

"I'm not sure if I have the words for it. An… ink… symbiote?"

{Is there a better description of what you are?}