Kaina didn't realize showing up at someone else house at 4 in the morning is not a normal thing to do. For civilians, perhaps. But wasn't she supposed to be a ninja? In-training or not.
Civilians' definition of normal is very different from their own. A ninja must be ready for a mission 24/7 unless the leader of their village stated otherwise. Typical tyrants.
It wasn't a surprise to see the person she wanted to visit to be awake. At first, she wondered if she has entered the wrong. Seeing Suzume-sensei without her oval glasses is an intimidating sight, Kaina couldn't recognize the woman until she heard her voice.
"Come on in!"
"Are you Suzume-sensei? You know, just in case."
"What a silly question. Do you face the sun and ask: Are you the sun?"
Perhaps Kaina should consider a career in T&I with Ino's dad soon. They could use a human lie detector like her. Emotions are every ninja's weakness, no one can hide it from her no matter how hard they tried.
...Except if they are emotionless evil possessed puppets.
"You are not the first student to come here today. Your friend Tenten just left about five minutes ago. I'm surprised you didn't meet her on the way."
Suzume-sensei wasn't joking when she said her students can visit her whenever they wanted to, as long as the reason is related to anything that happened in the academy.
But this is still a house owned by a trained ninja. With that in mind, Kaina entered Suzume-sensei's house with full caution. Who knows what kind of defense it has.
"I have told you before, there is no such thing as Uzumaki remover. Not here, at least."
She couldn't dismiss the sight of the woman's piercing red gaze that screams blood and murder. Those unnatural pairs of eyes made her looked like an actual ninja who dealt with death and destruction daily.
Most academy students are afraid of it. Weaklings. According to Funeno-sensei, they have no hope of ever becoming a ninja. Suzume-sensei won't hurt a fly, she is mostly docile when not provoked into action.
In other words, she is just your average academy teacher.
"Sit down, please. Is there something you need? Don't tell me it's about the You-Know-What again."
"Can you inspect this scroll without opening it? Of course, you can. You are the smartest sensei in the academy!"
"I know I'm the only adult in the academy who wears glasses, but that doesn't mean I'm the smartest. Let's just get this over with. Where did you get that scroll?"
"The Dark Realm."
Kaina told her sensei what happened, omitting nothing. The information she provided must be as true and as accurate as possible to her knowledge.
"...And then you appeared in a nameless shrine deep in the woods. Nearly giving the caretaker a heart attack."
Suzume knows something is wrong with this girl since day one. Trouble followed her wherever she goes. For a simple girl whose only desire is to live peacefully, she has the worst luck ever.
The small scroll she carries looked innocent, but it's scented like a very expensive perfume worn by a daimyo's most favoured consort. Intoxicatingly so.
"Sensei, you're not supposed to open the scroll."
"I'm not opening, I'm touching. There's no rule against that, is there?"
"No, guess there isn't. Oops! Sensei, it opened by itself."
"Congratulations on becoming a Chunin! Your reward will be delivered soon. If not, you have seven days to live."
"Oh no! We are going to die!"
"Not we, you. I'm a Chunin, remember? Let's pretend this never happened."
The countless ghostly hands emerging from the tatami mats are not real. The aged book it left behind doesn't exist. Everything is perfectly normal, as all things should be.
Until the book tried to bite the two ninjas in the room. A fatal mistake. A Katon Jutsu calmed it down. Something is written on its opened first page.
"Thou shalt be able to summon forth demons at any point if their names are first written within these pages."
"This kind of contract isn't rare. Our Yondaime has one with the Shinigami."
A contract that resulted in his untimely demise.
Fortunately, Kaina hasn't signed any contracts yet. Or has she?