The lazy sun was barely beginning to peek its head over the horizon as the last day of summer in Konoha slowly began. It had been the hottest summer in nearly a decade, and the familiar mild climate innate to the village hidden in the leaves had been replaced by a sticky and pervasive heat that seemed to slow the hustle of the bustling streets to a sluggish pace. Stray animals retreated to huddle under the shade of shop awnings and heavily branched trees. Old women who used to sit outside their homes and chat with neighboring ladies now met in air-conditioned teahouses, fans in hand, to compare notes on the latest gossip. Even the shinobi appeared to move at a lethargic pace as if not even the strongest ninja could avoid the effects of such an unpleasant and moist heat.

This morning, a drowsy silence lay over the village, and its inhabitants were content to savor the last few minutes of air-conditioning before they would be forced to get up and endure the day. At this time, the only person outside was a twenty four-year old girl laying flat on her back on a parched, grassy riverbank, staring up at the sky, watching the sun slowly rise. She was a petite, gray-eyed girl with a long mane of light brown hair that was kept tied into a ponytail. She wore a simple civilian outfit this morning: a short sleeved floral-patterned dress than reached the tips of her fingers when she stood upright and brown, strappy sandals. Beside the girl laid her work clothes, including a medics uniform that she had folded neatly and a stocked first aid kid that she carried everywhere.

Mina had just gotten off her overnight shift at the hospital. Having started working at the hospital exactly one year before, Mina had finally begun to feel as if she had gotten the hang of things. Clocking in, going on rounds, and treating her patients was beginning to become second nature. At last, her life was settling into comfortable and predictable routine, and that was just how she wanted it.

As she laid on the riverbank, watching the sky transform with light and color, a tiny, tantalizing breeze blew lightly over her face, brushing loose strands of hair into her eyes. Was that what I think it was? She sat up quickly, fixing her hair, looking around to catch evidence that what she just felt had been real. Mina stared at the trees on the opposite side of the riverbank. Had the leaves just been rustling?

Almost as though she had spoken her thoughts aloud, a male voice suddenly answered her, "It's finally over."

"What is?" Mina asked, turning to face the tall, well-built shinobi standing behind her. He had snuck up on her again without her noticing. How annoying, and yet predicable of him.

Genma smirked, twisting the senbon carefully in his mouth before answering, "This cruel summer." He gave a great sigh before shrugging his shoulders and plopping unceremoniously to the ground beside his old friend, "Long night?"

Mina turned back to face the riverbank, now watching the water begin to sparkle as sun rose higher and higher into the sky.

"It was the same-old, same-old," she replied, "did you just get back from a mission? You look a bit more roughed up than usual." The two friends fell silent as the medic quickly scanned her shinobi friend, taking in the dried stains of blood, tears in his jounin uniform, as well as the numerous amount of scratches that befell her companion. She touched his upper arm gingerly, being rewarded with a low wincing sound from Genma, and immediately noticed how tender and bruised the arm muscle was. She began to administer treatment, a steady green glow emitting from her hands while she repaired the torn muscle tendons in his bicep with her chakra. Genma grunted in thanks.

This was another routine that had been established in Mina's life in the past year or so. She would get off her shift at the hospital, and Genma, who was usually just coming back from a mission, would find her either at her apartment or at one her favorite spots in the village. Somehow, he always knew which location to find her at, but Mina just chalked it up to more hidden shinobi abilities that she did not understand. He used to insist that he didn't need her healing because after all, if his sustained injuries were that serious, he would've already landed in a hospital bed; however, she wouldn't hear of it. In Mina's opinion, Genma was a bit too reckless with his life even though he was a shinobi and the gamble between life and death came with the territory.

"So tonight," Genma began after a period of silence, "is your night off, correct? He looked up at the brunette, trying to read her expression.

Mina nodded slowly, still focused on the task at hand, "That would be correct, but so what?"

Genma smirked, "SO," he emphasized, "that means that you're finally free to go out with us tonight! You have no good excuse this time!"

Mina groaned inwardly, "Go out with who? Your jounin friends? Come on, you know how I feel about that!"

"Yeah, yeah I know you feel out of place because you're not a shinobi. But so what? You and me? We have similarities too! We both have seem comrades fail and people die right before our eyes!"

Mina snorted at her friend's ability to make light of probably the worst part of their own respective jobs.

"And.." he drawled on, "that's what makes people close. People bond over shitty situations. You can't deny that. That's just a way of human life."

Finally finishing up his arm, Mina removed her hands from Genma's arm and placed them back down beside her, propping herself up.

"Forgive me for not wanting to talk about such a gruesome subject when I meet people for the first time" she smiled, shaking her head.

Seeing Mina's smile stretch across her face, Genma couldn't help but grin cheekily in return. She looked beautiful even after a grueling 10 hour shift at the hospital. He had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke her soft, long brown hair as it swayed ever so slightly in the timid breeze. He squeezed his fists tightly, resisting the urge, reminding himself to get it together. After all, he had a reputation to manage.

"If I come tonight, does that at least mean I get to meet your girl of the week?" Mina said, wagging an eyebrow at him.

Genma chuckled, finally rising to stand. He made a face as if he was seriously considering her question."Why of course, but only if actually come tonight." He brushed some dirt off his pants before offering a hand to help Mina up, "Let me walk you home. You can't go out later tonight if you don't get some sleep right now."

"That is true," said Mina, "I guess." She reached up to grab her friend's hand, which hoisted her to her feet. Hastily, she scooped up her medics uniform and first aid kit, and fell into step beside Genma as they began to make their way back to the heart of the village.

"You're pretty lucky you cornered me on my night off."

Genma shrugged, shoving his hands casually into his pockets. "I won't feel lucky until I actually see you at a bar tonight instead of lazing around in your apartment like usual. So I'm gonna reserve my judgments for now. I don't wanna jinx it."

"You still believe in that stuff, huh? Jinxing and karma and fate?"

As the two companions reached the main streets of Konoha, the villagers had only begun to wake up for the day. The sun had finally risen into the blue, clear sky, and a small breeze could be felt from time to time, signaling the end of a brutal summer and the beginning of a new season.

"Baby, you know it." Genma looked down at Mina, smirking, "How else can I explain how lucky I was to be able to meet someone like you?"

Mina rolled her eyes in return to her friend's shameless attempt at a flirtation. Throughout the village, Genma was known to be a playboy. He loved women, and women loved him. The fact that he was an elite jounin probably did wonders to create an even more disillusioned, idealized version of him that women could fantasize about; however, Mina knew better. Underneath his seemingly lazy, apathetic, but yet 'cool' demeanor that girls swooned over, Genma was someone that cared deeply and passionately about many things. Why he wouldn't let that show still remained a mystery to her, but she assumed that in time, she would understand why. Although Mina had only been alive for twenty-four years, she recognized that there was always a reason behind why people behaved the way they did, and this situation was no exception.

"You know you don't need to practice on me anymore, right? You could get any girl in this village right now!" Mina pointed out, "The ladies of Konoha would be here in a second, to grovel at your feet if you so much as looked at them!"

"Hey now, who said I was practicing?" Genma winced, "And that's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, noticing that civilians were beginning to open up their shops. The village was awakening.

"Well, it's not an exaggeration to say that you have no trouble with the ladies!"

The two friends turned off the main road, now walking on a street mostly dedicated to housing, growing closer to Mina's apartment building. "All the nurses think you're some sort of sex god, it's pretty ridiculous."

At this, Genma perked up. "Sex god…hmm? I think I'm more than okay with that reputation." He grinned devilishly, "Although, I don't think you should be telling me this. I thought you've been trying to get me to be more humble. This kinda defeats that purpose, no?"

Finally the duo had reached Mina's apartment building. Together they slowly climbed the stairs to the fourth floor where her living quarters were located, and they paused outside her door for a brief moment. "Look," Mina said while swiveling to look at Genma, "All I'm saying is you don't need my help anymore. No girl would ever turn you down." She then dove her hand into her pockets searching for the apartment key, her hands finally grasping onto cold metal after a few seconds of fumbling. "Anyway, I'll see you around then, yeah?" She turned her back on him to insert the key into the lock, "Goodbye Genma-kun."

Genma shifted the senbon in his mouth carefully from the right to the left side while watching Mina unlock her door, his hands casually resting in his pockets. He wondered how it was possible that she still had not caught onto his feelings for her. Then again, perhaps it was his fault that their relationship had turned out the way it did. They had met strangely in a dark, empty street corner of Konoha at 5 in the morning. Genma had just snuck out the window of his latest conquest's apartment while Mina was just coming home from a night shift at the hospital. At first, when she noticed him and began to piece together what he was doing, which wasn't hard considering his messy clothes, unruly hair, and a trail of dark hickeys on his neck, she just shrugged and chuckled, thinking it was amusing. Genma, on the other hand, in a half-drunken state, thought he had seen something of an angel, or at least, he had seen what angels would look life if they existed in this universe. He attempted to shuffle forward towards Mina and wave at her but instead clumsily tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, groaning upon impact. Mina rushed forward, helping the stranger to his feet, "Are you okay?" He mumbled something indistinguishable in reply before closing his eyes. Before he hit the ground again, Mina quickly grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder to support him, "Where do you live?" She said these words slowly and loudly, punctuating every syllable, hoping they would reach the stranger even in his drunken state, but his only response was a low snore as he fell asleep. Mina swore out loud, annoyed. It was just her luck to be stuck out here with this strange, drunk man at the crack of dawn.

"Well jeez. I can't just leave you here on the street now can I?" Mina said, shifting her gaze to the stranger slung across her shoulder. She sighed deeply before beginning to trudge down the street. "How bothersome…."

That morning, Genma slept on Mina's couch, with her monitoring him closely as to make sure he didn't succumb to alcohol poisoning. She sat in an armchair across from his sleeping figure watching his chest rise and fall, her cheek resting in the palm of her hand. Occasionally, her own sleepiness would cause her eyes to momentarily flutter shut, but she slapped herself awake, trying to treat this situation as if she was at the hospital working and this was her patient. Eventually, however, Mina finally succumbed to a deserved sleep, sinking down in the armchair into a curled up position. It was the conversation that ensued when both parties woke up that began their friendship.

"So of course she thinks I'm just some immature playboy who's sticking around to pay her back for that one night." Genma thought to himself now back in the present..

"Genma?" A voice suddenly brought him back from his thoughts. He shook his head, disentangling himself from the memories of the past ,"Yeah?"

"I was just saying goodbye, but you looked like you were a million miles away..."

"Ah, no I'm all good. I'm all here." He grinned sheepishly patting his chest to indicate so, "I will see you tonight by the way, or else." He added.

"Yeah yeah whatever."

Mina gave a final nonchalant wave before closing her door. In turn, Genma began to make his way home, trudging down the four flights of stairs in the apartment building, all the while thinking to himself how ironic and unlucky it was that the one girl that seemed immune to his charms was the one he wanted the most.

Hi all! Sorry there wasn't any kakashi in this chapter, but I promise there's going to be a whole lot of him in the rest of the story. Please feel free to offer up any constructive criticism in the reviews section, as this is my first fanfiction ever. I've already outlined the entire story up to the end, so it's likely that I'll actually be completing and finishing this story. If you've read all the way to the bottom of this page, thank you :') and enjoy the next few chapters!