Border Patrol Arc: Nagasuga

She was drenched.

Apparently the south-east border regularly rained at certain hours of the day. Almost like clockwork.

She hated it. It reminded her too much of her coastal hometown where it always inconveniently rained during prime commute hours. Back then she tried to always have an umbrella with her and a spare outfit at work.

Politics aside, it made her appreciate the Land of Fire more. Nagasuga may have had horrible weather, but the vast majority of the Land of Fire was pleasantly tempered. She would have hated being raised in the Land of Water. They were a series of islands and the most south-eastern point of the mainland meaning they shared a land and maritime border.

Uzushio would have been just as bad considering they were a few hundred kilometers north, undoubtedly with similar weather considering they were an island. Plus, what kind of place was named after whirlpools without the occasional horrendous weather.

The view was nice, when it wasn't raining, but she could understand why it was sparsely populated. It was part of the Narrows. There were many mountain ranges and the area was susceptible to seasonal floods. It was a wonder how the Land of Fire continued to have ownership south of there. Yuina thought of the geographical layout. Ferries perhaps? Transport across the gulf would be much easier than the terrains she had crossed to reach Nagasuga, and it looked like there were more tough terrains ahead.

There wasn't a need to investigate the village for long. It was an old outpost, still semi-active. It wasn't so different than the small isolated communities she heard about for research or excavations. It did, however, mean that those in charge knew they were there before they even set foot into the village.

"That time again, huh?" A middle age man exited the small tower that was likely owned by Konoha scratching the back of his head. A cigarette fell from his mouth as he straightened up when he saw them. She eyed Orochimaru. The man wasn't so tight laced because of her so the only logical reasoning was because of Orochimaru. She was quickly proven correct.

"Orochimaru-sama. What brings you all the way out here?"

Orochimaru placed a hand on Yuina's back and gave her a light shove forward. "It's my student's first C-Rank mission, Eiichiro."

"Student?" Yuina could feel his gaze on her.

Was there a problem with that? If he was a civilian she could voice her opinion. After all, what was the chance she would run into him again? Her eyes found Eiichiro's own forehead protector slanted on his forehead. Konoha's symbol clear as day. "Hatake Yuina. Genin."

"Hatake?" She could feel the scrutiny. "Wouldn't happen to be related to Sakumo, would you?" He asked but it looked like he didn't believe it himself.

Yuina blinked. How long had he been out of the village? Huh? Maybe her dream didn't have to conflict with her role as a shinobi. Maybe she could be stationed somewhere and live out her days in peace and get paid. Assuming Eiichiro was properly being paid and he wasn't merely bound by nostalgia. The fact that he continued to wear his forehead protector lent itself to the idea of passive active duty.

"He's my Otou-san."

Eiichiro coughed. "I thought the bastard couldn't have kids."

She loathed him for calling him a bastard even if it didn't sound malicious. "There's two of us. Kakashi and I graduated after only a year at the academy." It was Yuina's way of debunking Sakumo's capability to have children. It would have been fine if he couldn't. She wouldn't exist, but not being able to have kids shouldn't be a form of judgement.

"After a year? I assumed you were just short for your age. Come in, come in. We can chat over tea and I can grab you some towels." As much as she didn't appreciate his introduction she wouldn't turn down a chance to dry herself.

"Thank you." Yuina grabbed the tea, not oblivious to the way that Eiichiro's attention now seemed to be on her as he avoided looking at Orochimaru as much as he could.

"You sit and drink just like him." She blinked. Why did he remember that of all thing? "We were in the academy together. The girls like him. Always complemented how considerate and talented he was. Well, he was talented. Could kick my ass without trying. Made me angry for the longest time. Didn't help we got put on the same genin team."

This was Sakumo's teammate?

"It wasn't a front though. Thought I would finally see under that mask of his one day only to realize he really was like that." Yuina tried to think of a young Sakumo with a mask like Kakashi until she realized he meant an emotional mask. "Besides. Did you know? He acts all cool, but he's secretly really boring. He was so old fashion. Wouldn't even date around." She wondered what he meant by date around. She highly doubted that dating culture was anything modern society on Earth.

"I would be careful, Eiichiro. Speak too poorly of Sakumo and Yuina here might attack you." She'd been trying to stay courteous but Orochimaru could tell. Maybe Eiichiro could already see through her and simply didn't care. The way he turned frigid made her think he was more startled by Orochimaru speaking then the potential attack from her that would never come.

"Right. Right. How's Juuri? The two still songbirds?"

"I'm afraid she died while I was still a baby."

Maybe it had been too forward. "Right. Those things happen. Suppose short love is better than no love."

From what little Yuina knew, Sakumo and Juuri had been married for eight years before pregnancy. That hardly sounded like a short love. Even then, love didn't die with death.

"I've got daughter back in Konoha. If you ever meet a Shitsure Rie, tell her hi for me. I guess I should get to debriefing. Though, it's been quiet the past several months."

Nothing in his debrief was worrying, but he seemed disconnected from his family. He didn't even want a note passed along or anything. She couldn't understand such a thing. She'd been in foster care but that wasn't because her mom didn't care. She was just incapable of taking care of her at the time. Then she warmed up to the family she was staying with and they became her second family. Then she was reborn here and Kakashi and Sakumo became her family. She cared for each family as much as the last. She couldn't ever imagine showing so little care.

Orochimaru passed Eiichiro a scroll she didn't even know he had on him, but that signaled the end of the group discussion. They stayed around for a meal before they were back to travelling. Mizushi was their last destination.

"Something wrong?" Her lips tightened. "You can speak freely."

Yuina didn't know if she could. It's something she noticed for a while, but was clear again that day. People gave Orochimaru respect, undoubtedly from the stories of his notable feats, but many also kept their distance. It wasn't everyone, but it happened frequent enough to take notice.

He wasn't dumb. He would have had to notice. However, asking about it seemed too personal. While she's adjusted to him in many ways, it's been strictly professional. It was a line she still didn't want to cross.

"No nothing. Just looking forward to nicer weather."