Truth: Everyone needs a kind word sometimes.

"Sayuri Kaguya!"

Sayuri took a deep breath and left the classroom, walking down the hall to the testing room. She opened the door and poked her head in cautiously. The room was empty expect for Iruka and Mizuki sitting at a table, neatly-folded hitai-ate on the table in front of them, waiting to be given to those who passed.

"Sayuri, are you ready?" Iruka asked as she followed the wall to the back of the room. "Make as many clones as you can, please."

"Yes sir," Sayuri responded, slipping back into the respectful, demure addresses she'd learned as a child. She had a habit of doing that when she was nervous or speaking to someone she respected.

Sayuri took a deep breath and began gathering up her chakra. She formed her hands into the correct hand signs and said, "Clone Jutsu!"

Four clones appeared around her, standing calmly and waiting for any direction.

"Well done!" Iruka congratulated.

"Iruka, they don't look much like her," Mizuki said, leaning over skeptically. The faces were slightly different, the marks placement off.

"She doesn't know what she looks like," Iruka hissed back.

"Oh, she's the blind one?" Mizuki asked innocently. Iruka gave him a dark look.

"Be polite."

"Have I passed?" Sayuri asked softly, not letting on that she heard their quiet conversation.

"Yes," Iruka said. "You can come forwards and take your hitai-ate."

Sayuri stepped forwards, guiding herself with Iruka's position and a guess at how wide the table was. He stretched out his hand and she met it, feeling the weight of the metal plate and the smooth fabric in her hand.

"Thank you, sir," she said, bowing.

"You're now a shinobi, a genin," Iruka announced. "You may leave and find your family."

Sayuri nodded and left the room. She knew the halls of the Academy by heart now, after training here for three years. Long gone were the days when she'd have to stop and figure out where she was and where that was in relation to where she was trying to go.

She stepped out into the sun and was immediately accosted by two excited voices.

"Did you pass?" Ayano asked eagerly. "Did you? Huh? Did you? Did you?"

"You know she did!" Satoru said proudly.

Wordlessly, Sayuri held up her new hitai-ate and gave her widest grin.

"I knew it!" Satoru crowed. He picked Sayuri up and swung her around. "I knew it! What do you want to eat tonight, huh? My treat! We'll celebrate!"

"Ice cream?" Sayuri asked hopefully, glancing back at Ayano, who chuckled.

"You got it, kid."

"Sayuri!"

Miyako slipped through the crowd and moved up to her, eyes big and hopeful.

"Did you-"

"I did!" Sayuri cut her off. The two girls laughed and hugged each other happily.

"We're shinobi now!" Miyako said, looking vaguely dizzied by the thought. "We'll be going on missions and helping people and protecting the village and… and my father will be pressuring me to help him… and… and… oh, I think I need to sit down," she said faintly.

"Breathe," Sayuri encouraged. Miyako gulped in air. "Don't panic. You'll be great."

Miyako gave her a grateful grin. "Who do you think will be on our squads?" she asked thoughtfully.

Sayuri turned to Ayano. "Ayano, you're taking on a team this year. Do you know where we are?"

"That would be telling," Ayano said, grinning mischievously.

"A hint, please!" Miyako begged.

"You'll both be pretty happy with your teams," Ayano said mysteriously.

"I'm glad of that, I was worried I-" Sayuri cut herself off abruptly and turned her head. "Is that Naruto on the swing?"

Miyako glanced around the crowd and saw that Naruto was indeed sitting on the swing, watching the triumphant children longingly. "Yeah. I heard he's the only one who didn't pass," she said softly.

"We should talk to him," Sayuri said suddenly. Miyako looked at her.

"What, no! We don't know him that well, and he's sad, and it would be uncomfortable, and…"

"And he's sad, so we should try and help," Sayuri said. She grabbed Miyako's wrist. "Come on."

Sayuri dragged Miyako over to Naruto. She liked him, in all honesty. His antics always made her smile and while he wasn't the best shinobi, he made up for lack of innate talent with a truly startling determination. However, people mostly avoided him, for reasons she didn't understand. The truth was, everyone needs a kind word sometimes.

"Hey Naruto," Sayuri greeted calmly.

Naruto looked up at the two girls in surprise. They never really spoke much in class, barring Sayuri's memorable outburst where she threatened to skewer anyone who called her stupid. Miyako looked uncomfortable, but Sayuri just looked sympathetic, or as sympathetic as she was able with her eyes hidden behind a scarf.

"Hey," he replied, trying to sound happy. He failed dismally. "Some test, huh?"

"You'll get it next year," Sayuri encouraged. "You just need practice, a little more, and you could be a genin."

"Yeah, you'll be great," Miyako said faintly. She wasn't good around people she didn't know well.

He smiled at them. "Thanks guys."

"Ladies, can I talk to Naruto alone for a moment?"

Both girls turned and nodded to Mizuki, surprised by his sudden appearance, before walking back to the crowd.

"That was nice of you guys," Ayano praised. "Miyako, your dad was looking for you a second ago."

Miyako nodded. "I should go. See you at orientation tomorrow?" she asked Sayuri quickly.

"Of course," Sayuri nodded. "We can walk together. Your house is on my way."

"Great," Miyako smiled. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

They hugged quickly and Miyako scurried off to find her mother, who was at once promising to make her favorite dishes and scolding her for running off into the crowd.

"So, are you going to do anything interesting with your forehead protector?" Satoru asked, tapping his own wrapped around his right thigh just above his kunai holster.

Sayuri nodded and pulled off the belt over her eyes, tucking it into her shirt as they walked. She raised her hitai-ate and used it to cover her eyes instead.

"Original," Ayano announced.

"No one else would be crazy enough to cover their eyes," Sayuri said, fingering her hair.

"Have you finished those gifts you were going to make for your new teammates?" Satoru asked.

"What gifts?" Ayano asked blankly.

"Tell her," Satoru encouraged.

"You remember those hair pins I gave you last year?" Sayuri asked.

"How could I forget? Those things are gorgeous," Ayano grinned. For her birthday the year before, Satoru had taken Ayano out for dinner and Sayuri had given her a pair of lacquered wooden hair pins she'd carved herself with detailed roses at the top.

"I'm doing the same thing, only I'm using bone," Sayuri explained. "It's difficult, because the ends are pointed so they can be thrown like senbon, but to get them hard enough to do any damage makes them more difficult to carve."

"I see," Ayano nodded. "That's a pretty neat idea. At least you don't have to go out and buy new materials if you mess up," she joked.

"No, I don't," Sayuri said with a small smile.

Ice cream had kind of become a habit for Sayuri and Ayano. Every time they went out, they made sure to stop and get a cone. For a while, Sayuri always got something different, eagerly sampling all the different flavors. Ayano had enjoyed watching her acting all giddy over treats like a kid should. Satoru joined them whenever he could.

"One vanilla, one chocolate, and one mint chocolate chip," Ayano ordered.

"It's like you know us," Satoru teased.

"Yeah, I know you, Mr. Vanilla," she sighed, shaking her head as she passed him his cone. "I don't know where I went wrong with you. Such a boring flavor…"

"Oh, and chocolate isn't?" Satoru challenged.

"Chocolate trumps everything," Ayano said happily, licking her ice cream. Sayuri took hers and started eating.

"Hey, Lily-girl!"

Sayuri sighed and turned to see Izumo and Kotetsu waving from across the street. She saw them every now and then, not often enough to really consider them friends, but they got along decently.

"Kotetsu, I've asked you not to call me that," Sayuri pointed out.

"Repeatedly," Izumo agreed.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Kotetsu groaned.

"You shouldn't call her names she doesn't like," Satoru scolded, pulling out his stern voice.

"I'm getting tag-teamed!" he complained. "Here we are, thinking we'd be nice and come over here and congratulate your graduation!"

"Thank you, guys," Sayuri said, smiling slightly.

"No problem," Izumo said, ruffling her hair. "Maybe one day we'll go out on a mission together."

"That'll be a while," Satoru said hastily.

"Whoa, Satoru's going into protective dad mode. Time to make our escape before he starts telling us to settle down and start a family," Kotetsu chuckled.

"Nice to see you," Izumo said.

"You too," Ayano and Satoru nodded as the two wandered off into a restaurant down the street.

Satoru shook his head. "I swear, sometimes I think Kotetsu likes Sayuri way more than he should," he said protectively.

"That would make him a pedophile," Sayuri said calmly, licking her ice cream.

Satoru choked on his ice cream. "Where'd you hear that word?"

"She's not a little kid anymore, Satoru," Ayano snorted.

"What was it like when you were genin?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Well, in the beginning you get pretty easy missions," Satoru recalled. "Finding lost pets, light cleaning, easy stuff. That gets you working together and helps you get in sync with the other people on your team."

"I never went in for that," Ayano recalled. "I always thought it was dumb. Learn by doing. It doesn't take any kind of ability to weed a garden or split some logs. Training all the way."

"Didn't you use to tie up your students?" Satoru recalled.

"Maybe a little," she said innocently. "Hey, Kakashi restrains his too."

"Kakashi's just crazy enough to get away with it."

"And I'm not? You wound me, Satoru!"

"Please, you're too tough for that."

"Charmer," Ayano grinned.

Sayuri buried her smile in her ice cream cone. Satoru and Ayano were a little bit… blatantly obvious. They both liked each other a lot, more than as good friends or old teammates. Sayuri had noticed it in the years she'd been staying with Satoru. Whenever Ayano was around he seemed to perk up. She kept hoping he'd screw up his courage and ask her out one day. Privately, she thought they were adorable.

They finished their ice cream and Sayuri spent the rest of the day at home with Satoru. Ice cream wasn't a real meal, so she fixed them something simple when the time came for dinner. Satoru tried to protest and said that it was her special day, so she shouldn't have to cook. Sayuri told him she'd been cooking for years, so it wasn't a big deal to her. She enjoyed it.

They were in a different apartment now. It became clear a year after Sayuri began staying with Satoru that he didn't want her to go and she didn't really want to leave. He'd become like an older brother to her, and she was like his little sister. They'd moved into a slightly larger apartment. Really the only difference was that this new one had one more bedroom, so now Sayuri was no longer living on the couch.

Sayuri was up a bit later than usual. Satoru had already turned in for the night so she sat up on her bed and carved, putting the final touches on the last pair of hair pins she was making. Sayuri ran her fingers over the carvings and smiled at the texture. She couldn't find a flaw anywhere.

She set the hair pins aside and turned to her equipment pouch, double-checking to make sure that she had everything she might need for whatever her new teacher might decide to throw at her tomorrow, tucking the hair pins in along the bottom. She set out her clothes for the next day, hitai-ate on top, and laid down to sleep.

The next morning Sayuri was up, dressed, and out of the house before Satoru even got up. He wasn't surprised to see breakfast on the table though, the house a little cleaner than it had been last night, and Sayuri's bed neatly made. Some things never changed.

Sayuri walked to Miyako's with a spring in her step. She stood outside of the house and waited, leaning against the fence. Miyako burst out the door, tightening her forehead protector as she went. She was wearing it over her forehead in the standard style.

"Are you ready?" Miyako asked breathlessly. "Our first day… our teams… our teachers… It's so exciting!"

"Breathe," Sayuri said calmly as they started walking towards the Academy. They had to report there for orientation.

"I'm calm," Miyako disagreed after a few deep breaths. Sayuri ran a hand over her cheek.

"You're twitching," she accused.

"Well, yes, because… I mean, the life of a shinobi is violent!" Miyako burst out, stopping. Sayuri paused and looked back at her in surprise. "In the Academy it's fine, it seems so far away, and you don't really realize that in a year you might be killing people! But it's scary, and I don't know if I can… if I can…"

"Miyako!" Sayuri said sharply, grabbing her shoulders. "You can. You've trained for this."

"But I'm… weak," Miyako mumbled. "I don't like hurting people. It's why I hate my kekkei genkai."

"If you did you'd be sadist, so that's not really a bad thing. Forget what you can do with your kekkei genkai. Not wanting to hurt people doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong if you have power and don't abuse it. Understand?"

Miyako nodded weakly and gave a tiny smile. "I'm just nervous. I barely got any sleep last night. I was having a mental breakdown."

Sayuri sighed. This was Miyako's main problem. She was a worrier. She worried about everything, from grades and people to the economy and the state of her soul, and she had a bad habit of working herself into worried frenzies on different topics. She'd end up near hyperventilation if you let her get going. Sayuri had learned to pull her back before she got too far over the years.

"You'll be fine," Sayuri said confidently. "You will be a great shinobi."

"Thanks," Miyako said, slumping slightly in relief. "I needed that."

"You're welcome. Now let's get to orientation."

They started walking again.

"Ow!" Sayuri yelped as she smacked into the door frame. "Who put that there?"

"The architect?" Miyako suggested, tugging her to the side a bit so she was lined up with the door properly.

Several people were already in the room when the pair arrived, including Sasuke, who had a group of girls vying for the coveted seat next to him.

"What do people see in him?" Sayuri sighed, still rubbing her face as she sat down. "He's so cold and closed off. What's desirable about that? It'd take an act of god to get to know him well enough to have a relationship."

"I think it's mostly his looks," Miyako shrugged.

"We are, thankfully, immune." Sayuri shuddered. "I don't think I could ever lose it like that over a guy and make a fool of myself." Miyako said nothing and Sayuri glanced at her suspiciously. "We are immune, aren't we?"

"He's attractive," Miyako allowed. "But he scares me. He always looks like he's trying to decide whether it's worth killing you. And… his hair looks like a chicken's butt," she added, giggling slightly. Sayuri shook her head in amusement. Even that tiny insult would have Miyako tittering and blushing. She really didn't have it in her to insult someone.

"What was that?"

"Did you just insult Sasuke?"

"He's beautiful!"

"Watch it Hasekura!"

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that!"

Miyako was a bit louder than she meant to be, just loud enough to attract the attention of Sasuke's fan club. They suddenly appeared beside Sayuri and Miyako's table. Sasuke himself turned around, surprised by the sudden reprieve. Miyako whimpered and pressed closer to Sayuri as the fan club began angrily enumerating the many wonderful qualities of Sasuke Uchiha and how dare she insult him and she was a terrible person and who does she think she was she was probably just jealous-

"Help," Miyako whimpered.

Sayuri's help came in the form of a bone sliding out of her palm, the tip pointed and gleaming wickedly. She tossed it up and down casually.

"Leave," Sayuri ordered, turning to face the herd. "You're worrying Miyako."

"She insulted Sasuke!"

"Yes, yes, and naturally she deserves to be lynched for that," Sayuri sighed impatiently. "We get it."

The fangirls wandered off, grumbling under their breath.

"Thinks she's so cool."

"Bitch."

"Creepy bone girl."

"Thank you," Miyako said, head falling forwards into the desk as she fell forwards in relief. The metal plate made a loud sound against the wood. "They were so scary… My life flashed before my eyes."

"Funnily enough, I didn't see anything."

"Haha," Miyako sighed. "You shouldn't make jokes like that," she warned. "People will think it's okay for them to make jokes, and they'll be meaner."

"If they can think up a better insult than I've already heard, I will personally congratulate them," Sayuri scoffed.

"Alright everybody, settle down," Iruka said, stepping into the room. "I will be placing you into squads of three people. The teams are as follows…"

Sayuri tuned most of this out, not interested. She heard a few groans or cheers around the room as people were paired up with friends or people they disliked.

"Team 9: Sayuri Kaguya-"

Sayuri perked up in her chair. This was it.

"-Kiyomi Arita-"

Sayuri's eyes narrowed slightly behind her mask. Kiyomi Arita. She knew that name. Kiyomi was the girl who had called her stupid and a freak during her infamous meltdown years ago. And now she was now the same team as her? This didn't bode well…

"-and Miyako Hasekura!"

"We're together!" Miyako said in delight. "This must be what Ayano was talking about!"

"I'm glad," Sayuri said, sighing in relief. She wasn't sure if she and Kiyomi would have gotten along. Who knew, Kiyomi might not be that bad? They didn't speak outside of group projects they were assigned together. She was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, even if they didn't get along, she had Miyako.

"Those are all of the squads," Iruka finished up.

"Why does a great ninja like me have to be with a slug like Sasuke?" Naruto demanded, standing up and pointing over a glaring Sakura's head to Sasuke.

"Sasuke had the best scores of the graduates. Naruto, you had the worst scores," Iruka said pointedly. "This way, there's a balance of abilities on the team."

"Just don't get in my way, loser," Sasuke murmured.

"What did you say?"

"Hard of hearing?"

"Knock it off Naruto, and sit down!" Sakura said hotly.

"You'll meet your new jonin teachers after lunch," Iruka said, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. "Until then, class dismissed."

"Should we eat with Kiyomi?" Miyako suggested. "We should get to know each other, right?"

Sayuri nodded, following Miyako over to the other side of the classroom where Kiyomi sat.

"You guys wanna eat lunch together?" she guessed when they walked up. She grinned crookedly. "Guess I can do that." She picked up her lunch and headed towards the door, gesturing with a hand.

"She's… confident," Miyako murmured as she and Sayuri followed the other girl.

Kiyomi Arita was widely acknowledged as one of the prettiest girls in their class, after Ino and Sakura. She had white hair that fell in feathered layers around her face and big blue eyes. These were brought out by the blue tank top she wore over her mesh shirt. She wore knee-length black pants tightened to her skin at the bottom with white ribbon.

The problem with Kiyomi was that she had no social filter and was very bad at choosing tactful ways of phrasing things. Whatever was in her mind came out and it was sometimes a less than friendly comment. She frequently insulted people inadvertently while trying to state a fact about them or critique their work.

This stood in sharp contrast to Miyako, who was painfully shy when she was around new people. She despised confrontation and hurting people, which made her an odd choice for a shinobi. However, her family had been shinobi for years, so she was as well. The Hasekura's symbol, a red dragon, was coiled around the upper arm of her black shirt. They were a very old Konoha clan and commanded a large amount of respect despite their small numbers.

"Here works, right?" Kiyomi asked, settling in the shade of one of the trees outside. "I like eating here."

"Sure," Miyako said, sitting down with her lunch. Sayuri sat next to her silently.

"So, should we get to know each other?" Kiyomi asked.

"I suppose so," Miyako said uncertainly, looking to Sayuri for any better ideas.

"Cool! I'll start!" Kiyomi cleared her throat. "So, my family are potters, and I hate it, so that's why I wanted to be a ninja. My favorite color is blue and my favorite food is rice balls, any kind. My specialty is taijutsu, and I sing in my spare time. People say I'm pretty good. Who's next? How about you, Miyako?"

Miyako went bright red at being put on the spot. "Oh, well, uh, I'm…. well…"

"I'll go," Sayuri said, cutting her off and giving her a chance to collect her thoughts. Miyako gave her a grateful look. "My specialty is taijutsu as well, although I usually use my bone knives. My favorite color is the color of my eyes." That bit always got her strange looks, but it was only because Kimimaro had once remarked that their eyes were the same color, and she enjoyed that small connection to her. "I love ice cream. In my spare time, I clean, carve, and cook."

"Uh, well my specialty is genjutsu," Miyako said, her words considerably stronger now that she'd gotten herself together. "My favorite color is, uh, red, and I really like umeboshi. I'm pretty good at genjutsu and in my spare time I like to… I don't really have hobbies," she admitted. "I mostly just read."

"That's boring," Kiyomi huffed. "Seriously, you don't do anything fun?"

"I hang out with Sayuri sometimes?" Miyako suggested. Kiyomi opened her mouth to say something and Sayuri cut her off, wary of where this might be going.

"I have something for you," she said.

"Oh, wow, seriously?" Kiyomi asked, turning to face her. "Sweet!"

"Here." Sayuri reached back into her equipment pouch and pulled out the hair pins, passing one pair to Miyako and giving the other to Kiyomi.

"They're like yours," Miyako said delightedly, pointing to the hair pins holding Sayuri's hair into a messy bun.

"What are these made of?" Kiyomi asked blankly.

"Bone," Sayuri answered calmly. She missed the grossed out face Kiyomi made but Miyako saw it. She knew Sayuri's kekkei genkai wasn't exactly the nicest of abilities to have. It turned a lot of people's stomachs. But there was no reason to make a face like that. No matter what they were made of, the hair pins were beautifully carved with long, trailing vines of flowers. They were very elegant, but not too dressy, just a classy touch to something every day. Miyako was happy to receive them and quickly pulled her hair up and put them in.

"Thanks!" she said happily.

"Thanks," Kiyomi repeated, sliding the hair pins into her equipment pouch and trying to subtly wipe her hands on her pants.

"Who do you think our teacher will be?" Miyako wondered.

"I don't even know who the options are," Kiyomi shrugged. "Who cares? It is what it is."

"Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Ayano are all taking on teams this time around," Sayuri recalled. "Ayano and Satoru were talking about it the other night."

"Whoa, you know Ayano Soma?" Kiyomi asked, sitting up sharply. "She's like my idol! That lightning technique she does is so awesome! I'd kill to learn from her!"

"She was on a genin team with my guardian, Satoru," Sayuri explained.

"Never heard of him," Kiyomi said, waving that off. "So, what's Ayano like? Is she awesome?"

"She's… energetic," Sayuri said slowly. "She likes teasing people, and she's almost impossible to annoy."

"Sounds like we'd get along," Kiyomi chuckled, leaning back casually against the tree.

"Perhaps," Sayuri agreed, though she wasn't sure.

"Lunch is almost over. Should we go back to the classroom and find our teacher?" Miyako suggested.

"Yeah, let's go!" Kiyomi said energetically, jumping up and pulling Miyako up. Sayuri climbed to her feet and they made their way back inside to the classroom. Several people were already back, a few jonin gathered at the front of the room talking. Ayano was there, smirking at Asuma and holding his carton of cigarettes teasingly out of reach.

When all of the students were back, the jonin began stepping up and claiming their teams in order. Kurenai took off with Team 8 and then Sayuri and her team perked up, knowing they were next. Or, at least, hoping. Naruto's team number 7, hadn't been called, as their instructor wasn't there yet.

Ayano stepped up, beaming. Her eyes locked on Sayuri and Sayuri smiled back.

"I'm looking for Team 9. Where are you guys at?"

"Ayano," Sayuri sighed, shaking her head as she stood with her team and trooped down. "Why couldn't you have just told me this the other night?"

"This is so cool!" Kiyomi whisper-squealed, squeezing Miyako's hand. Miyako grinned weakly.

"Yeah... Cool..."

Miyako was worried. Ayano was one of the most well-known Leaf kunoichi alive. A lot would be expected from her students. They would be expected to grow up and be just as good. Miyako felt herself to be an average kunoichi. She wasn't sure she could ever live up to that expectation. Still, in a way this was better than getting someone else. Miyako already knew Ayano fairly well through Sayuri, and Ayano knew she wasn't an amazing shinobi, so maybe she wouldn't expect too much?

"Alright ladies," Ayano said, planting her hands on her hips and grinning at them. "Let's go!"

She turned on her heel and started out the door, the three kunoichi on her trail. She led them to the rood of the Academy and reclined against the railing.

"Alright," she said, looking at the girls. "Rules say we've got to get acquainted before we go rushing off doing things. So, say your name, something you like, something you dislike, and a hobby. And if anyone asks, yes, I totally stole this method from Kakashi. I'll start." She cleared her throat and recited, "My name is Ayano Soma. I like sparring and I dislike overconfident opponents. As for a hobby…" she shrugged. "What I do on my off time's my business, kiddies." She snickered. "Who's next?"

"I'm Kiyomi Arita!" Kiyomi jumped in immediately. "I like sparring too, my hobby is singing and I really hate pottery," she said viciously.

"What'd the pots do to tick you off?" Ayano scoffed. "Alright Miyako, you're up."

"You already know me though," Miyako pointed out. Ayano shrugged.

"Rules are rules. Hokage wants us to take at least a couple minutes and bond or some other touchy-feely thing. I figured this was better than trust falls or something equally lame."

"My name is Sayuri Kaguya. I like ice cream, I dislike it when people move things, and my hobby is carving, which you already know," Sayuri said, giving Ayano a stern look that lost some of its potency seeing as her eyes were covered.

Ayano laughed. "I can feel that look Sayuri. Don't make me sic Satoru on you," she teased.

Kiyomi gave Sayuri a jealous look. "You are so lucky to get to hang out with her," she said enviously.

Sayuri sighed, recalling Ayano's boundless energy. Yes, she adored Ayano, but there were times when she was a bit much even for Sayuri's patience. "Sometimes I wonder," she said ruefully.

"I'm Miyako Hasekura," Miyako said, rushing through her words. "I like books and I dislike being put on the spot and my hobby is reading." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, wasn't that enlightening?" Ayano said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "Alrighty, who wants to go on a mission?"

"Already?" Miyako screeched in shock.

"Alright!" Kiyomi cheered.

"Breathe Miyako," Ayano chuckled. "I'm not throwing you headfirst to the missing-nin. We're weeding a garden."