Chapter Twenty-One: Other Side

There was a bit more push back than typical, but Yuina still gave in by the end. A peculiarity that she try to frame her concerns within a work dynamic rather than outwardly announce her feelings on the matter. He could see through it all the same.

She seemed to be under the impression that everyone was curious or intimately knew shinobi. Hopefully, this mission would prove her otherwise.

It wasn't that there weren't any lingering ties from the warring days. That they weren't impacted from previous wars. There was passive knowledge of shinobi. It just so happened that for most people's daily lives were often separated. Some could even go about their whole life without ever interacting with one, and those who did didn't usually know intimate details.

Even people requesting missions didn't always know what to expect. They were hired for goals. If their end of the deal was fulfilled, there was no need to share further information. Those who were more informed on shinobi rarely pried knowing it would likely lead to trouble.

Musoku would be a good place to learn how inconsequential they were to most people's lives. It didn't matter that those in charge of this town were shadow puppets. The town thrived and people stuck in their lanes.

He made himself comfortable in the corner of the establishment and ordered Kenchinjuru. A hearty soup to fill him while he waited.

After he got served his meal, his eyes are drawn to the woman entering the building. Or what looked like a woman. Transformation jutsu was usually a useful skill. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had keen eyes.

Her eyes quickly found his, and without hesitancy made her way over to him. She pulled out the chair to sit across from them. "I didn't expect to meet you here."

"And I didn't expect to see you. Isn't this below your pay grade?" She pulled out a scroll from her haori and passed it to Orochimaru.

"You've been out a while, so you must have missed the news that I've gained a student."

"Who would give you students? If you told me that a decade ago I would have believe you, but don't you stay shut in that private lab of yours? Do you even have time for this with everything else? Wait. Singular? Don't tell me the rest of the team died already."

"You've never had a filter." His eyes narrowed. He didn't need a reminder how easily others have fallen. "And I was only given one. Think of it as an apprenticeship if you must." Quality over quantity, especially when he hadn't been prepared to take on any students.

It wasn't that he didn't have patience. He always had. Patience with his teammates. Patience with his learning. Patience with his experiments. He simply had preference with dealing with competent people when given the choice.

"I have things to do, so I'll take my leave." She left leaving him alone once more.

Working alongside Yuina had been pleasant thus far. Certainly, better than the times he must interact with Naozane or Sadaharu from the Research Centre, and he certainly never wanted to work with Sanjuro ever again if he could avoid it.

Their lab collaborations, which were infinitely more interesting than their core training exercises, had been a careful dance of trade secrets.

The methodologies of her approaches were fascinating, and she never held him back. On occasion she would ask questions, ask for clarification, or ask to define a term but they were never repetitive and were thoughtful in nature. Truly, a genius in her own right.

It was interesting, witnessing someone who may be as curious as him, in action. To push the boundaries of what was known, what was achievable, and study the unknown. There was hunger and there was drive. Not just a passing curiosity that could be tossed aside when things became difficult, but someone willing to barge their way until they got the answers or results they wanted.

He wanted her to be fruitful. From chakra experimentations to her highly reactive materials.

It even incited ideas whether chakra could be merged, or if it left a distinct imprint of any sort. He would have to examen the case notes to know for sure.

As for her concoctions, he could still remember her words: "People underestimate the capabilities of science. It has the ability to save millions or kill those same people. Even beyond life and death, it's often limited only to one's imagination." It was a sentiment he agreed with.

It wasn't what he expected when being given a student, but he came around to looking forward to their days together. And those eyes of her – how expressive they were despite them being the darkest shade. Her pupils indistinguishable from the iris. She never looked at him in disdain nor suspicion even though he had little doubt that she hadn't heard some of the stories by now. That he was a recluse. That he lacked personality. He had been willing to kill his teammate – regardless of reasons or circumstances.

Though, she didn't look at him with reverence either. For some of his thoughts and ideas, sure, but that seemed isolated from him as a person.

It had been eight months, and he still didn't know her view of him. A feat given the cracks of her attempted guised expressions.

Hours passed and Yuina had yet to return.

The bell to the entrance rang, finally revealing the person he had been waiting to return. "You took longer than I expected."

It was just a check-in. Even taking her time he expected three to five hours at most.

It had been thirteen hours. It was well past nightfall.

"My apologies. Since there wasn't anything in particular to look out for, I took note of everything I could." Most, if not all, would be stuff he and Konoha already knew, but learning how to shuffle through information to find the key information was an important skill to have.

"Shall we go over your write up somewhere more private."

Yuina was quiet for a moment. "I haven't had a chance to write it down. If it's permissible, I can do it now." Her eyebrows scrunched. He didn't understand what was perplexing about their conversation.

Orochimaru eyed her. There was an obvious answer. "You can write code." The only logical reasoning to her reaction was Yuina not knowing whether her report could be written. Even so, she could write code fluently, so that shouldn't have been a fear. Even he had only been able to pick up a few words after all these months because of a simple barebone list of hers written in her code which she mentioned aloud when they discussed in more detail about an experiment.

They left to find accommodations for the night. Yuina gave a summary only when they were alone. The short version still nearly took two hours and included information of interest. Like certain leaders had been accepting bribes from foreign officials, undermining the authority of the Land of Fire – and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It normally wouldn't matter if the leaders pocketed some extra money. Not for this town, but they've deliberately reduced how much they've been sending in tribute, and have been further supporting the neighbouring nations.

Unrelated to local leaders, but she even learnt of the destabilization program initiated during the rebuilding efforts.

The thoroughness of her report was quite astounding.

Perhaps her efforts were wasted on a mission like this.