Kaza Togusa lay in a nice warm bed, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he took in everything around him, his focus fixed on the simple white ceiling above. Every part of his body still ached terribly. He glanced at his arms, finding them carefully wrapped in fresh bandages as he pondered how long he had been unconscious and how much time had passed. Turning his head, he realized he was back home in Konohagakure. The window and the room's design confirmed they had brought him back from the battlefield.
As the brown-haired youngster lay there, his hand instinctively moved to his cheek, a memory flashing before his eyes. His face flushed at the thought of Ino standing up to him and giving him a resounding slap when he had been stubborn, perhaps too stubborn. He knew that he might revert to his obstinate and prideful ways. As he lay there, his eyes scanned the room, and panic overcame him when he noticed the ring was missing. It had been a curse, but it was *his* curse, one he had to bear. His pride might have blinded him to its true significance. He spotted the ring on the bedside table, but when he reached for it, it seemed suddenly too small for his fingers. Upon closer inspection, he noticed writing on the inside of the ring, which hadn't been there before. It was a code, a code for...
Kaza's mind raced as he realized it was the code for the scroll he had been searching for all along, hidden within the ring that had made him invisible to others. The irony was not lost on him. A smile crept onto his lips as he lay back, contemplating the mystery of the ring, its purpose, and its impact on his life, both positive and negative. It was a true double-edged sword that had cut deep into him.
A few hours later, a nurse entered to change the bandages on his arms and body. Kaza allowed the cute brunette to do her work, examining the damage caused by his reckless actions, his need to act in a moment of desperation. He saw the burns, cuts, and injuries to his arms and chest, the result of getting too close to an explosion. It had been a desperate move to save the day. Most of the wounds would heal in time, but a few would likely remain as reminders of the perils of pride.
Kaza smiled as he remained silent, not wanting to disturb the woman's work on his injured body. However, when she left, he was greeted by his mother a few moments later. Tia, his kind mother, looked at him with a smile, her eyes reflecting her previous worry. She was not a ninja but had married one when they were young, had Kaza, and then lost her husband shortly after his birth. Her sad chocolate brown eyes were focused on him as she sat by his bedside.
"You had us worried," she said softly. "I'm glad you're fine, but please try to avoid such things in the future. I know you and your clan are a prideful bunch, always putting the good of others before your own."
"Oh yeah, didn't Dad die fighting bandits before I was born?" Kaza asked casually, as he had no connection to the man and had never known him.
"Yes, he did," Tia replied, her voice growing weaker as she continued. "He fought to protect others, a merchant convoy, by himself. He was supposed to be returning home when he stumbled upon the battle. The odds were heavily against him, and it would have been wiser to avoid the fight. But, like you, he couldn't just walk away. He engaged the bandits, driving them away, but he was mortally wounded in the process. He lived just long enough to say goodbye to me and ask for my forgiveness." Tia's voice quivered as she spoke. "I don't want to say goodbye to both the men in my life, so please, promise me you won't do something foolish like that."
"Gotcha, I'll do my best to avoid that," Kaza replied with a smile, although he wondered if he could truly live up to those words.
"Good. Now, why did you tell me about your friends? They're all such sweet people," Tia commented as she looked at him. "Especially that Ino girl, she's quite impressive."
Kaza pondered her words, but before he could respond, she left the room to return to work. Kaza remained in his bed, wondering about her comments until he saw a blonde figure replace his mother at his bedside. His eyes met Ino's, and he couldn't help but think that she was perhaps the most beautiful person he had ever seen, at least in that moment. She placed some flowers in a vase by his bedside, and an awkward silence hung between them as they both acknowledged the unspoken changes in their relationship.
"I see you're up. That's good. I'm glad you are," Ino said softly, pushing through the awkwardness to say something.
"Yeah, thank you, Ino. You saved my life, and I owe yo..." Kaza began, but Ino raised her hand to stop him.
"We're friends, right? Friends save each other. You saved me twice—once from those bandits and once from that jounin. I just returned the favor," she said, downplaying her role. "Besides, I'm sure if I hadn't, Ayeka, Sai, or Yoshito would've stepped in to save you."
"Maybe," Kaza said softly, his hand reaching out to grasp Ino's firmly. "But you were the one who did it, who stood up to me and corrected me when I needed it most. I need to set the record straight on one thing: you're not ugly, Ino. In fact, in my book, you're the most beautiful person alive," Kaza said bluntly, his face realizing the boldness of his words only a moment later as he turned red. Ino's face mirrored his embarrassment as she accepted the compliment from her brave and kind friend who had saved her life.
Despite the awkwardness, Kaza continued, "Now, Ino, I need a favor. My bag—the one I had with me—it contains a scroll that I need to examine as soon as possible. I want to work on it while I'm laid up here."
Ino nodded, her curiosity piqued by the contents of the scroll they would soon uncover. She retrieved the bag from the closet in the room and, after finding the scroll, brought it to Kaza. "Is this the one?" she asked, holding it up.
"Yeah, bring it over here. Perhaps we can figure this thing out together and finally discover its meaning," Kaza suggested. "I found the scroll with the ring when I was a kid, and I've been trying to decipher it ever since."
Ino took a seat next to the bed, and then, without hesitation, she climbed onto the bed beside Kaza. Side by side, they used the ring over the next few hours to read the scroll, breaking its code to uncover its secrets. The two friends worked together as partners in unraveling the mystery.
The message began with a warning: "Don't put the ring on until you read
this." Kaza shook his head at his past foolishness. As they continued to read, the message proved to be intriguing. It spoke of a hidden location on the shrine, accessible only to someone who had overcome the challenges posed by the ring. It hinted at something related to light release, with the ring serving as the initial step to unlocking it. The message was incomplete, but Kaza could piece together the general location of the hidden room.
"So, I think that once I'm back on my feet in a couple of days, Ino, would you like to go on an expedition with me?" Kaza asked softly as he looked at Ino. Their relationship had come a long way from the initial dislike and indifference he had felt toward his classmates, and Ino had certainly not forgotten him now.
Ino's response was cut short when Sai and Shikamaru entered the room. Sai couldn't resist making a blunt comment. "Should we give the young lovebirds some more time?" he asked Shikamaru, who simply shook his head and muttered, "Troublesome."
Over the next couple of days, Kaza spent time with his mother, his teammates, and the members of Team 10. The rift between the two teams had completely disappeared, and Kaza had formed friendships not only with his own teammates but also with classmates who had once overlooked him. He was no longer an invisible ninja; he now had friends, including one who held a special place in his life—Ino.