They arrived at the village when it was already night. They registered at the entrance and went to the mission department. At that hour, the Hokage would likely not be in her tower unless it was an emergency. They reported that they had completed the mission and handed over the prisoners, who were immediately taken by the interrogation department.
"See you soon, Shino."
"Goodbye!"
"Good night."
Sasuke didn't respond. They walked slowly to their house, feeling the exhaustion after several days of tension due to Orochimaru's threat. When they arrived, they saw that Kakashi-sensei wasn't there. Even so, when they entered the kitchen-dining room, they saw some packages wrapped in gift paper on the table.
"Look, nee-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, running to investigate. "One is for you and one is for me."
"I also have to give you your gifts," Sasuke interrupted. "One moment."
They waited at the table, hungry, for their teammate to come down with a couple of packages. He handed one to Naruto and another to her. As soon as she took the first look, still folded, she knew it was another yukata for the summer festival. She saw Naruto's smile out of the corner of her eye as he examined his dark-colored yukata with silver leaves. Hers was mostly navy blue, almost black, with small and delicate white and violet flowers, matching with a white obi with a violet gradient.
"It's beautiful, Sasuke," she smiled at her friend, who was looking away, embarrassed by the smiles of his brother and her.
"It's true, teme! I didn't know you had such good taste."
She carefully placed it on a chair while picking up the other package. Kakashi-sensei's gift was considerably smaller, but as soon as she opened it, she knew it was probably much more expensive. She stifled a sound of surprise upon seeing the two gold kanzashis, one golden and the other white gold, inside a padded jewelry box. It was clear that the jonin and Sasuke had coordinated because they were hairpins for wearing with a yukata or kimono. The golden one, princess-style, fan-shaped with small dangling gold threads, had the Uzumaki clan symbol engraved on it. The other, white gold, hanging-style, had a rounded, flattened tip with the Namikaze clan symbol on one side and a rose shape on the other. Dangling from the tip, she saw gold threads ending in the silhouette of a bird.
She was stunned to see the jewelry that Kakashi-sensei had bought her. Despite knowing how ornate some kanzashis could be, he had given her something she would have bought for herself. They were elegant and delicate pieces, something she would wear without hesitation. She suppressed a smile, realizing he had figured her out.
"Huh," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow at her gift. "Interesting, and very expensive."
Seina watched Naruto hug the ramen cup plush and the small note from Kakashi-sensei informing him he could eat ramen for free at Ichiraku with teary eyes. The last gift, from Naruto, was a huge basket of various products for her long baths, including bath bombs with mysterious figurines inside!
"By the way. Happy birthday to both of you," Sasuke said, somewhat embarrassed.
"Thanks, Sasuke, and Naru."
"Yeah, thanks, teme. I can't wait to try these prank candies! Thanks, Seina-nee!"
They gathered their things while their clones started making dinner. She didn't know when Kakashi-sensei would return, but she left a plate ready for him just in case. They chatted about what they planned to train now that missions had been reduced since the village was back to full operation. Seina was determined to learn all the jutsus she could, and she had the perfect teacher for it.
She went to take a long bath while leaving a clone to write the mission report. The next morning, she would have to deliver the scroll to Tsunade-sama before going to the hospital for her shift, so she planned to spend the rest of the day relaxing. She fell asleep thinking about Kakashi-sensei's gifts. Knowing what he intended to give Naruto, she never imagined he would buy her a pair of gold hairpins...
The next day, before going to the hospital, she delivered the scroll to Tsunade-sama. She opened it and skimmed through it, stopping abruptly at the mention of Orochimaru. She didn't know exactly which part she was reading, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"You can go to the hospital, Seina. We'll talk later."
She spent the morning distracted among patients. Each day brought her more complex cases. She knew they were giving her these cases to test her and push her to her limits, and she didn't hesitate to accept them. She knew that each person she could heal was a success for her. It was not only good for the hospital's reputation and the village but also for Seina. When she was given her first abdominal hernia to resolve alone that same morning, she knew it was a turning point.
Medical ninjutsu, despite being able to treat many things, still couldn't resolve medical problems where repairing or removing dead tissue wasn't required. For example, if she had to remove a piece of necrotic tissue or something similar, she could do it with a jutsu, but in a hernia where the problem was that an organ or tissue protruded through the muscle wall... That was different. Still, there were patients who couldn't be treated with medical ninjutsu due to the involvement of multiple organs and tissues. If Hayate had more than just his lungs affected, they might not have been able to heal him so quickly. They would have had to operate or treat him intermittently for months.
So, while examining her patient, a civilian, she realized that maybe she could operate on him without opening him up. First, she used the glasses she had invented for Tsunade-sama. She observed the affected area, noting that, fortunately, it was a small hernia that hadn't affected the intestine itself. She expected this due to her diagnostic spell, but it didn't hurt to make sure. The problem was with the muscle wall. She saw it had characteristic scar marks. She took the papers from her diagnostic spell again and started looking for any previous operations. As soon as she found it, she knew what had happened.
"I see you had an appendectomy," she commented. "The muscle around the scar has given way, so the intestine has protruded through that weaker area."
"I see... Are you going to operate on me now?"
"I won't need to open you up," she said with a smile. "I've seen the problem and can treat it without surgery. I'll just put you to sleep so you don't feel any pain, and when you wake up, you'll be ready to go."
"Really?" the man asked, astonished. "I thought I'd have to stay and rest today!"
"If it were a regular operation, yes. Well, let's get started."
She put the patient to sleep and numbed the area. She put on the glasses again and used a spell to push the piece of intestine back in. Then she used medical ninjutsu to close the hole in the abdomen where the intestine had come out. To finish, she reinforced the area by eliminating his internal wound and increasing the thickness of the wall. She re-examined him with the glasses, confirming everything was in place, and then used the diagnostic spell. She left the numbing spell on the hernia area, programming it to dissipate over the next 2-3 days. When she couldn't do anything more for him, she woke him from his induced sleep, healing his headache with a jutsu before he even opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes, blinking a few times. As soon as he saw her and realized he was in the hospital, he lowered his gaze to his abdomen. His patient's frankly astonished face was reward enough. She knew her quick treatment had saved him money, as if he had stayed resting in the hospital during the afternoon, he would have had to pay even more than for the operation.
"Thank you so much, Seina-san," he bowed. "It's incredible. Really."
"You're welcome."
She handed him the discharge papers and went to change. Before she could enter the locker room, a medical ninja approached her with a surprised expression.
"Was that the hernia patient? Why did he leave?"
"He's already treated," she informed him.
"Already? But how is he walking on his own? He should be doubled over from the anesthesia!"
"I didn't have to open him. I just put him to sleep and operated using the glasses."
"What!?" his shout drew the attention of other medical ninjas.
"It wasn't necessary to open him," she shrugged. "His intestine wasn't affected, just his abdominal wall."
She explained repeatedly what she had done and then left, exasperated. With the glasses and her spell to push the intestine, she had done what many couldn't without opening the patient. She hoped they wouldn't start asking her for the jutsu because she wouldn't know what to say. As soon as she left the locker room, she headed home. To her surprise, while walking through the village, Naruto and Sasuke appeared and took her to the barbecue restaurant.
"What is this about?" she asked, tired.
"We're eating out to celebrate your birthday," Sasuke said curtly.
"Huh. Alright."
As soon as they arrived at the yakiniku, they saw everyone already seated. Seina saw all her friends from the academy, including Neji and his team. The only one missing was their teacher, who was likely still on a mission. Ino was the first to see her.
"Seina! Happy birthday! We hardly see each other anymore!" Ino exclaimed, giving Chouji a nudge as she got out of her seat to rush into Seina's arms. "We need to hang out, just us! Hinata, you, Tenten, and me."
"Sure. We can go to the hot springs this afternoon if you want," she smiled.
The others wished her and her brother a belated happy birthday. In one corner, Hinata blushed at the mention of the hot springs but nodded. The problem arose when Naruto complained that he also wanted to go. What was supposed to be a girls' afternoon turned into a group outing to the hot springs. Seina didn't mind, much to Ino's displeasure. It wasn't like they would all be bathing in the same bath. She considered mentioning Sakura but a sidelong glance from Sasuke made her keep quiet.
"It was supposed to be just for the girls," Ino sulked.
"Come on, Ino, don't stress," Tenten comforted her. "We can all go and then ditch the guys there."
Seina laughed at the betrayed expressions of Lee and Naruto. They started eating amid discussions, laughter, and conversations. It was fun to be with her friends again. She felt she hadn't seen them in months, apart from the missions they shared. For example, she hadn't greeted Chouji in weeks.
"Are you fully recovered, Hina?" she asked, sitting down in front of Hinata.
Neji, despite having apologized and mellowed out, was sitting at the other end of the table next to Shikamaru. Hinata nodded. She made a gesture as if to bring her hands to her chest but aborted it herself, clearing her throat.
"I'm perfectly fine. I've been doing missions without any problems," Hinata smiled softly but without stuttering.
"Great! I'm glad."
"Did he really give you a whole year of free ramen?" she heard Kiba laughing loudly at Naruto's words.
"Actually, it's a good gift," Shikamaru thought aloud. "He didn't have to think much about it and still hit the mark."
"What more could you expect from Guy-sensei's eternal rival!" Lee cried in admiration at Kakashi-sensei's genius.
"Actually, it reminds me of Shikamaru," Chouji said while eating. "Though Shikamaru is even lazier."
"Ugh… Ramen? Really?" Ino said. "He could have invited him to a restaurant with more dishes."
"Well, it's what empty-headed Naruto likes," Tenten shrugged. "What did he give you, Seina?"
"Don't say it!" Kiba exclaimed. "It's definitely something related to the bookstore!"
"A voucher to buy books?" Neji asked, puzzled.
"No. It's definitely something related to the hospital," Chouji said. "Though, well, it could be a medical book."
"Kanzashi," she cut in before they could keep bouncing ideas.
"Kakashi-sensei bought you kanzashi? Kanzashi for a kimono?" Tenten asked amid the silence of the others.
"I never would have guessed," Kiba said, shaking his head.
"Sasuke bought Naruto and me yukatas for next year's summer festival," she explained.
"Huh. Now that you mention it, it's a good idea for a gift," Ino blinked. "And how is it?"
"Are," Sasuke said, picking up a piece of cooked meat. "He bought her a pair."
"Each with the symbol of my parents' clans," she replied.
Another silence fell, this one more thoughtful. Jewelry like kanzashi sometimes passed down through generations, so such a gift had more value than initially thought because she had no one to pass down jewelry to her.
"I knew Kakashi-sensei only pretends…" Shikamaru sighed.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Nothing important."
Seina knew what Shikamaru meant because she had realized it months ago, and Sasuke seemingly did yesterday. They exchanged a look until she smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly, agreeing with him. They finished eating amid laughter, and when dessert arrived, they gave her the gifts. She received a mix of books, chocolates, some clothing items, and even weapons.
"Yosh! Let's go to the hot springs!" Lee exclaimed as he left the restaurant. "A hot bath is what we need!"
They went to the hot springs on the outskirts of the village. As soon as she entered the bath, wrapped in a towel, she glanced around. She suppressed a mischievous smile at what she was about to do. She cast a spell before undressing, knowing there were some perverts in Konoha who spied on the girls at the hot springs. Jiraiya was the first to come to mind. She heard the boys fooling around on the other side of the wall while she bathed before getting into the water.
"Aaah. This is the life," Tenten murmured, leaning against the stone and closing her eyes.
"Mmhmm…" was all she managed to say, resting her head on her arms crossed over the stone.
"Why do I get the feeling that you and Hinata will surpass me in terms of bust?" Ino complained, to Hinata's embarrassment. "How is it possible to have that chest at twelve years old?"
"Ino!" the mentioned girl half-whispered, half-yelled, red as a tomato.
"What? It's just us, it's no big deal."
"My mother had a large bust," Seina said. "Maybe it's genetic."
"Then I'm screwed," Tenten laughed. "My mother is tall, slender, and pretty flat. I hadn't noticed, but Ino is right. What size are you? A 90?"
"Maybe because, besides the ninja bra, she also wears a somewhat loose black jacket," Ino sighed.
Seina shook her head, closing her eyes again. What a conversation. She supposed it was normal, considering the age of her friends. They had just entered adolescence, so she knew she would have to endure tears, jealousy, envy, and drama all around. The only good thing was that ninjas were less dramatic than civilian teenagers.
She was listening half-heartedly, relaxed, when her enchanted ears caught the boys' conversation.
"Are you guys okay? Naruto, Sasuke?" Chouji asked.
"Huh. That's right. You guys are really red!" Kiba exclaimed. "What's wrong with you two?"
"Naruto…" Shino called, with a curious tone of voice. "You're not seeing through Seina's eyes, are you?"
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted. Sasuke and Seina choked. "OF COURSE NOT! We can close the connection, idiot!"
All the girls stopped talking, having heard her brother's shout.
"I knew it!" Shikamaru said, his voice full of energy. "I knew you guys were connected somehow! And Sasuke too!"
"We're not seeing anything!" Sasuke hissed. "It's a jutsu of Seina's for long-distance hearing. We forgot to deactivate it."
"They were talking about… girl things," Naruto confessed in a faint voice. She started laughing upon realizing what had happened. "Nee-chan! Stop laughing!"
"No. This is too funny," she replied.
"Goodbye!"
She had the feeling they had deactivated the connection, even without proof. She kept laughing at Naruto and Sasuke's embarrassment. When she turned around, she saw Ino and Tenten raising an eyebrow.
"What was that?"
"We forgot to deactivate a jutsu that increases hearing range," she explained with a huge smile. Hinata understood instantly, fainting. "Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke were red as tomatoes, and that caught the others' attention."
"You mean your brother and Sasuke… heard our conversation about our… boobs?" Tenten asked, clearly trying to hold back laughter, judging by her trembling lips.
As they looked at each other in silence, they started laughing uproariously. Ino, once she understood the humor, joined them. She was sure the boys could hear them from the other side of the wall. She woke Hinata with a spell, touching her forehead with a finger. They had to assure her that nothing bad had happened before she realized it wasn't such a big deal.
Hours later, they left the hot springs. They saw the boys waiting at the door, teasing Sasuke and her brother. She saw Kiba's sly smile and, surprisingly, Neji's too. Even Shikamaru and Shino seemed amused by what had happened.
"Did you enjoy our conversation?" she asked teasingly, linking her arms with Naruto and Sasuke.
"You could have reminded me about the earring," Sasuke hissed under his breath, but he didn't pull away.
"It was a very educational talk!" she laughed again, joined by Tenten and Ino.
Naruto seemed unable to respond, blushing more than ever.
"What were you talking about?" Shikamaru asked. "They wouldn't say."
"About our boobs," Ino rolled her eyes.
More than one person choked at Ino's blunt and frank answer, including Hinata.
"Hinata-sama!" Neji said, scandalized, though Seina detected he was joking rather than serious, especially since she saw the corner of his lip twitch with laughter.
Hinata turned red again. Seina cast a calming spell on her, watching as she blinked in confusion for a few seconds, feeling more relaxed. After that, they went home, happy to have spent the afternoon together.
"I can't believe you were talking about… that," Naruto said, scratching his nose.
"Don't you guys talk about your parts? Or about girls? Or boys?" she asked.
Sasuke ignored her, pretending not to listen, while her brother blushed again, though less violently. Then she had a thought. Had Naruto and Sasuke had "the talk"? Although the academy covered sexuality superficially because some missions might require seduction, she couldn't recall a seminar on reproduction. Damn… She might need to discuss it with Kakashi-sensei. Her brother obviously hadn't had their parents to explain it to him, and Sasuke had lost his years ago.
When they got home, to everyone's delight, they saw Kakashi-sensei had arrived before them. He wasn't alone but accompanied by a clone.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto greeted with a smile. "What are you doing?"
"Whose blood is that?" she asked, looking more closely and realizing he was quite bloodstained.
"It's not mine, don't worry. That's what I was about to clean up."
"Clean up?" she asked, confused. "Didn't I tell you the whole house is full of runes? If you don't clean it within a couple of minutes, it disappears."
"…Really?" he muttered to himself, looking at the floor. "More than one person would kill for a jutsu like that."
She cast a spell when he turned back to her. The blood vanished from his clothes and body. He started at the sensation, looking down.
"Thanks, Seina."
"Are you hurt?"
"Just a few scratches. I'm going to shower."
She nodded. She left a couple of clones making dinner while they sat on the couch, chatting. When Kakashi-sensei came down, in pajamas and barefoot, she immediately saw the scratches he mentioned. He had a visible, superficial but large one on an arm and also on the hand of the same arm. She didn't even need to tell him to sit next to her. He offered his arm, and she used iryo ninjutsu to heal it. She was curious how he got them with his enchanted clothes…
"Anything else?"
"A few…" he pointed to his torso and leg.
It seemed as if he had been hit from the right with some jutsu or weapon. She finished healing the wounds he indicated. Before letting him go, she used a diagnostic spell to make sure that was all.
"You're good."
"By the way, happy birthday," he smiled. "I saw you opened the gifts."
"Thank you very much. They were beautiful," she smiled back.
"Tomorrow I'm going to Ichiraku!"
Seina blew a laugh at hearing this.
"How was the mission?" the jonin asked, reclining beside her on the couch. "What was it about?"
"We had to capture a sea monster in the Land of the Sea and protect the village's ships so they could pay Kirigakure without getting robbed," Sasuke summarized.
"In the Land of the Sea?" Kakashi-sensei frowned.
"Yeah. We know what you're thinking, Kaka-sensei," Naruto cut in. "That's where Orochimaru's base was."
"Was?" his teacher asked, somewhat alarmed, turning to look at her. "Did you destroy an Orochimaru base?"
"It was actually one of his henchmen trying to bury us inside," Sasuke replied.
"…Why don't you tell me what happened from the beginning?"
Seina recounted how they arrived at the port and had to stay overnight because no one dared sail at night, how they witnessed a confrontation between a girl and Orochimaru's henchmen, who turned out to be Yoroi and another teammate they couldn't remember the name of. How everything pointed to Isaribi being the monster, the disappearances, Isaribi's reappearance, the supposedly cursed Kikai Island, the encounter with Kirigakure ninjas, capturing the enemies, the destruction of the base…
"I see you've been very busy," the jonin frowned again.
"You know, now that we've told you all this… I just realized something. What did that guy mean by saying Orochimaru would have to wait three years before he could take Sasuke's body?" she asked.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I think I'll talk to Tsunade-sama about it, if she's not already investigating it."
Despite having prepared dinner, Seina didn't eat. She was full from the barbecue that afternoon. She wanted to wait until Naruto and Sasuke went to bed to talk to him alone about a couple of things. Kakashi-sensei seemed to understand, seeing her lying on the couch, so he ate slowly to pass the time. Minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto went to bed, yawning. When they were alone, the jonin raised an eyebrow, eating a piece of fruit beside her.
"Do you know if Naruto and Sasuke have had the talk?" she asked directly, clearly referring to sex. Kakashi-sensei choked.
"W-w-what?" he stammered, coughing. She patted his back.
"Today we went to the hot springs, and they overheard a conversation about breasts," she rolled her eyes with a smile at the memory. "Apparently, they were as red as tomatoes. Then I wondered if anyone had given them the talk, you know… I didn't give it to Naruto, and I doubt anyone did the same with Sasuke. Maybe the academy, at most."
"That's a good question," Kakashi-sensei mused aloud. He sighed. "I'll have to ask them directly."
"Better you than me," she shrugged.
Seeing him continue thinking, staring into space, she grabbed his half-eaten apple and stole it. The jonin looked at her with an amused expression but didn't try to stop her. As soon as she finished the fruit, she vanished the remains and cleaned her juice-covered hand with a spell. In silence, she leaned against the couch and reclined on her side. She felt Kakashi-sensei's arm wrap around her, pulling her closer.
"By the way, thanks for the gift. Maybe you went a bit overboard, but they really are beautiful."
"As soon as I saw them, I knew they were for you," he whispered against her hair.
She couldn't say anything more to that. She closed her eyes as she relaxed against his chest. She felt a hand caress her back, trying not to shiver with pleasure. She didn't know when, but she drifted into a light sleep in Kakashi-sensei's arms. She noticed him lifting her after a while, carrying her up the stairs. The last thing she recognized was the sound of her bedroom door opening before falling completely asleep.
"Good night, Seina," and a kiss on her forehead.