Knock! Knock!
"Sensei Mari, we're here!"
Mari Kurisō, clad in pajamas and an apron, wiped her damp hands on her hips and ran to open the door.
At the dining table, Hinami sat drying her silver hair with a towel, fresh from a bath. Beside her sat the small bundle of belongings she had retrieved from the inn.
The door swung open, and three teenagers burst into the room in a flurry of noise.
"The rain is absolutely insane today!"
A yellow-haired boy led the charge. His prominent brow gave his eyes a sharp, energetic look as he shook the water from his hands with a grimace.
"I think it's actually quite nice," a boy in a purple jacket replied calmly. He unfurled a wet umbrella and set it outside to dry, revealing a broad sickle strapped to his back. His handsome features betrayed a flicker of curiosity as he spotted the unknown silver-haired girl at the table.
"Tch! Of course you'd like it, you Water Style user."
"Well, maybe some unlucky soul shouldn't have awakened Fire Style in the Hidden Mist, the village with the most Water Style users in the world," the boy in purple drawled.
"Who are you calling unlucky?!" the yellow-haired boy snapped, instantly bristling.
"You. Who else?"
"Stop it, both of you."
Behind them, a cute girl in a sky-blue form-fitting outfit stepped inside. Her light brown hair was tied into two thick braids. She expertly grabbed both boys by their collars and yanked them apart just as they were about to butt heads.
"Karin, if they keep fighting, maybe we should skip the anesthetic during their next treatment," Mari said with a wink as she set out slippers for her students.
"She never uses anesthetic anyway!" Ouma and Arata Okamura yelled in unison.
"Anesthetics interfere with the precision of Medical Ninjutsu," the girl, Karin Tōyama, explained dismissively. Her large green eyes landed on the blindfolded girl at the table. "Is she our client?"
"Yes. Her name is Hinami," Mari said, turning a frying pan over the stove without looking back. "Our mission is to escort her to Tanzaku Quarters in the Land of Fire. Rank: C."
"My name is Karin Tōyama. Pleased to meet you," Karin said, approaching with a polite smile. The two boys followed, introducing themselves.
Through their chatter, Hinami pieced together their dynamic. Arata (the yellow-haired Fire user), Ouma (the sickle-wielder), and Karin were Academy friends who had been assigned to Mari's squad after graduation: Team 7.
In the Five Great Nations, ninja are strictly forbidden from leaving the village without an official mission. Doing so is considered desertion, punishable as a Rogue Ninja.
Mari's plan was clever. By taking an official escort mission, she could leave the village legally. If anyone questioned her, she could claim she was simply doing her job while simultaneously looking for her brother. To make it airtight, she had taken Hinami to the Mizukage Building earlier that day to officially register the request.
Sizzle...
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of cooking and the sound of popping oil. The three students sat around the table with Hinami. Perhaps because of Hinami's gentle appearance and similar age, the group hit it off quickly.
"Hinami, I heard the Land of Fire is super flashy! Especially Tanzaku Quarters—people say there are so many rich folks that one jutsu could knock down a hundred millionaires. Is that true?" Arata asked, his hyperactive personality taking over.
"Are you an idiot?" Ouma pointed to his own eyes, signaling Arata to remember their client's condition.
Arata froze, his face turning red with realization.
"I'm sorry, Brother Arata," Hinami said softly, tilting her head toward him. "Because of my condition, I rarely left home. I don't know much about the world outside."
Internally, Hinami gave herself a standing ovation. Being "blind" was the perfect shield against questions she couldn't answer.
"I... I'm so sorry..." Arata stammered, riddled with guilt.
Surprisingly, Ouma didn't twist the knife. Instead, he suggested, "Maybe Karin should take a look. She's one of the few medical ninjas in the village. Maybe she can help?"
"It's impossible," Karin said, shaking her head. "Medical ninjutsu can't heal congenital blindness. The optic nerves are likely atrophied—"
"Karin!" Ouma interrupted her clinical lecture, turning to Hinami with an awkward laugh. "Sorry, she gets like this whenever medicine comes up."
"It's alright," Hinami replied. "I'm just grateful you're helping me get home."
Karin, realizing she'd been a bit blunt, tried to fix it. "Er... I mean, I'm just a student. Maybe if someone like the legendary Lady Tsunade saw you, there'd be a chance."
"Lady Tsunade!" Arata's head snapped up.
"You know her?" Karin's eyes lit up like a fangirl. "The Greatest Medical Ninja, one of the Sannin, granddaughter of the God of Shinobi, the Princess of the Land of Fire—you actually know who she is?"
"Uh, no," Arata rubbed the back of his head. "I thought you were talking about that blonde 'cow' from the... uh, books."
Blonde cow? Hinami's mind instantly flashed to a certain manga image. She blurted out, "Brother Arata... are you talking about Make-Out Paradise?"
"GAH! How... how do you know about that?!" Arata jumped, looking like his deepest secret had been exposed.
"What's Make-Out Paradise?" Karin asked curiously.
"I heard the adults talking about it," Hinami said calmly. "I believe it's... er... adult literature."
Adult literature?!
Karin and Ouma instantly turned to Arata with eyes full of pure, unadulterated disdain.
"It's not smut! It's art! Do you understand? ART!" Arata yelled, his face turning a deep shade of crimson.
The disdain from his teammates only intensified.
Watching the three of them bicker, a small smile played on Hinami's lips. She took a slow sip of her barley tea. The warmth of the food, the clatter of the pans, and the noisy laughter reminded her of a simpler time.
If only that disaster had never happened...