After finishing our tasty supper (bless Honda-san's heart) we talked about minor topics like if the prying Anko would seek us out to tease us more (or me really) or Kakashi's eternal rival, the ultra-charming Maito Gai. Even through the exhausted façade Kakashi displayed discussing Gai's daily challenges, his appreciation and respect were in plain view for the leaf's supreme Taijutsu specialist. I suppressed a warm giggle.

Kakashi did always have a soft spot for Rock Lee's future Dad.

We even played a few rounds of the original classic Mario Kart surprisingly enough on my Famicon. Kakashi was the quite hidden gamer, beating me more than I would've liked, I hated to admit. Gamer's pride and all that jazz.

By the time the moon scooted above the sky, rolling the sun over to the other side of the world and darkening ours with glittery twinkling stars, Kakashi made his exit. I escorted him to the door, propping myself on my knees as he slid out of his guest slippers, hopping off the upper step I sat on.

"Thanks for having me," he said. I traced his moving feet to his sandals, making a mental note that he was likely twice the size of me for some reason beyond me. He was a boy, me. Of course he had bigger feet. "The food was great, too. Give Honda-san my regards."

I lifted my gaze from his feet now sandalled, plating a smile. "Can do." My body moved entirely of its own accord as I reached out to my squad teammate, softening those pools of raven that seemed to have carved out a residence in my heart.

He cupped my lithe hand, delicately caressing my tender flesh with a thumb and my eyes glistened wide. "I'll see you soon, Rin." And then, his hand was gone, leaving faint truces tingling through me. I barely noticed my door opening and closing, too tranced by the electric sensation surging through me.

I collapsed eagle-spread to my tiled floor, my dark hallway complementing the silence all around me and I appreciated the moment to be alone with my thoughts. 'Rin's feelings are already becoming so hard to ignore.' I would die on that hill, that these were Rin's love making my inherited body react positively to Kakashi's tender smiles, stares and touches. It had to be.

I rolled onto my side, staring glumly at the hand Kakashi's touch graced. I still felt the residual traces, heating my cheeks, "I know, a bath!" I jolted upright. "Yes, a bath! That'll take my mind off things." My bathroom door was right beside me so I opened it and stepped onto a light blue marbled floor, the bathroom's light shining on its reflective surface.

Rin's favourite colour, lavender-purple, coated the walls, highlighting the flooring. A countertop sat on the other side of the room facing the door, effortlessly bearing the weight of my hair-dryer, hair-straighter, skin lotion, shampoo, shower gel and bath salt. The Japanese – or people in the Elemental Nations – didn't use bubble bath, to my chagrin. My love of bubbles and baths couldn't be understated.

I began running the tub and sprinkled a few layers of bath salt on top, watching the water turn green like an anti-infestation. Steam clouded my bathroom like a strangely warm misty night.

I stripped down entirely, the rigid air of the unheated bathroom prickling my skin. Dumping my clothes inside a basket across from my low sink, I collected my bath products and sat on a small white stool, facing my reflection on a oval-shaped mirror above the sink.

'Things that just make sense here- showering before bathing.' I grinned at myself. It really did. Water dirtied so quickly, that within five or ten minutes I was already sitting in my own filth. Really, cleaning the grime and sweat off yourself first made way too much sense.

I leathered every inch of my body, rinsing myself off with the shower head between the taps. I proceeded to do this several times, filling the increasingly warming air with the scent of blueberries before shampooing my shoulder-length hair. I made a foam-styled afro, giggling at my childlike innocence as I turned on the tap and filled a small bucket I pulled from underneath my sink.

I lifted the tub above my head, closing my eyes and flipping it around, dumping the lukewarm water over my head. Water crashed on the floor with an audible splash, trailing my floor and falling down my drain hole.

I placed the emptied bucket down and stood, rippling the small puddles across my floor on my way back to the taps of my bathtub. I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and I switched off the hot water, balancing its steamy temperature with icy-cold water. Once my bath water was at a temperature I preferred, I hesitatingly dipped a toe into its limey fluid, flinching instinctively. I bent my knees and gently submerged myself, exhaling in blissful content.

"This is great. Baths are the best." I could already feel my troubles washing away, sinking further in and resting my head on the back's surface. Alone with my thoughts once more in a far comfier setting, I went over today's training. 'My drawing speed is improving quickly. I can finish a storage seal within ten seconds now!" The sooner I narrowed it to a single second or even less, the sooner I could begin learning sealing techniques.

Maybe something like a shield barrier like the pretend one Kyle's cousin, uh, "Kyle from alternate universe" used on South Park: Fractured But Whole. I really missed that game. It was one of the better modern titles of the 2010s, unconcerned with trying to tick off political checkboxes and instead gave fans of South Park fun and engaging gameplay with our favourites from the show.

'Maybe I could take inspiration from some of the moves my character has access to throughout the game.' I mused. The Elementalist moveset came to mind for obvious reasons, but the Blaster hero set also had similar techniques I could potentially recreate. 'Of course, creating a jutsu from nothing is way easier said than done.' I curled a hand around my nape, pensive.

It was hard enough creating attacks from scratch in Dragonball Z but the characters at least had their imagination as a base, or at least that was how I interpreted Krillin and Piccolo crafting their own unique moves. Ki could be extremely flexible like that and could be shaped and moulded as the wielder wanted it to be.

Chakra, on the other hand, was made all the more difficult with the addition of hand-seals. Thinking up a jutsu was one thing, crafting the hand seals and a Chakra shape for that jutsu was a whole other ball game.

A deflated sigh blew from my lungs, sinking into my steamy water, 'Wish I could just go to the library and pick up a few scrolls containing super-powerful jutsus.' An melancholic smile curled my lips at the nonsensical thought. Naruto fanfiction was so silly, but there was a lot of charm reading Naruto and other transmigrated people strolling off to the library and having access to a whole mountain of immense jutsu at Genin-rank.

Noticing my fingers beginning to wrinkle, I knew it was time to leave the tub, so I pulled the plug and stood, climbing out. I fetched myself a purple towel from the rack and dried myself off, draping my body in a similarly coloured dressing gown hang up on the door. I blow-dried and straightened my chocolate brown-hair, finishing off with my skincare routine and brushing my teeth.

"Ah!" I exhaled, blissful, walking out of my bathroom on squeaky clean feet back to my living space. "Much better." I looked at my sparky reflection, brimming brilliantly, being so clean. A giggle. "Guess I'll get to bed now."

I changed into my pjs and flicked off the lightbulb, flooding the room in darkness. As I tucked myself beneath the covers of my futon, the blueberry-flavoured scent of my shampoo drifted all around me, slowly lulling me to sleep.

'Wonder who I'll meet tomorrow,' A sleepy yawn stretched my jaw wide briefly. 'Hopefully not Anko. Dunno how much more teasing I can take.' The mention of teasing inevitably sprayed my thoughts to Kushina-san and Kakashi. '…I have to make sure I don't tell sensei about my dinner date with Kakashi. She'll never let me live it down.'

The sun beamed brightly as I stepped out of my door, stretching my arms up with a groan of relaxation in my usual outfit.

"Oh, hello, Rin-chan!" Honda-san's peppy voice diverted my attention to her.

"Honda-san!~" I greeted with a bow, "Thanks for the food yesterday, it was yummy."

"You're very welcome, dear." My middle-aged neighbour replied, cupping her cheek with a doting smile and a sinking feeling dropped like an anchor in my stomach. She had the face of a mother about to see her little girl off on her first outing. "I'm glad your happy date went well. I take it Kakashi-kun liked the taste, too, right?"

"W-What?" I sputtered, reddening. "Honda-san, it's not like that. I just invited Kakashi over because I worried my tummy might not be able to hold all of it!" I protested, waving my hands in embarrassment. Kakashi's compliments blossomed in my head, making me add. "Oh, he did. Kakashi wanted me to pass on his regards."

"Oh, you can't fool this old woman." She snickered and I dreaded what secrets lay hidden behind her impish smile. "Why, my husband and I heard you two lovebirds through the wall."

For good reason, too, face reddening even more on an atomic level, so much so I resembled a tomato wearing a brown wag with my leaf headband, "B-But, that's-, uh, not!" I stuttered, fumbling over my words. "You're not old." I remembered my manners, at least, even if my brain was currently in meltdown.

"Oh, you're too kind," said Honda-san, luring in me with the acceptance of my deflection before abruptly spinning it back on me. "I see why Kakashi-kun likes you."

I cried fake tears, slumping my arms.

Honda-san laughed affectionately, "Okay, I'll stop now."

"Everyone keeps picking on me," I complained.

"That's because you're too cute, dear." Honda-san reasoned, closing the gap between us and gently tilting my chin up with a finger, gushing over my blushing face like a mother. "See? When you look like this it's hard to resist teasing you a bit."

"…Guess I still have a bit of growing up to do," I mumbled, turning my head as Honda-san removed her hand.

"Ooh, don't be in a rush to grow up too soon, Rin-chan." She advised with a wistful sagely tone. "Take it from me. These are some of the best years of your life, so be sure to cherish every moment with Kakashi-kun," continued Honda-san, alluding to her own wasted adolescence. "Because you won't get another childhood."

The irony of her advice was that I was currently living another childhood. I couldn't tell her that for obvious reasons, so I beamed instead, nodding, "Hmm!"

"That's the spirit!" She enthused, cupping her hands. "On a more positive note, I'm making grilled salmon teriyaki with cucumber salad tonight. Since you liked the chicken karaage, would you like me to spare some with you?"

"Oh, yes please, if you don't mind, that is." I bowed.

"Not at all." She smiled softly, "I'll even make an extra portion so you can enjoy another dinner date with Kakashi-kun."

"I-I'm sure he would like that," I stammered, grinning sheepishly. Another bow, "Thank you again, Honda-san."

"You're welcome, Rin-chan." She walked back to her door, stepping halfway inside. "Have a nice day."

"You too."

And the entrance closed, bringing an pleasant end to our conversation.

My morning routine began with my freelance-like D-ranked missions. Even running through the monotonous household chores that entailed such basic jobs, from mowing a civilian's lawn and weeding someone garden, playing Deliveroo girl, cleaning the baths of a public bathhouse before opening times, or my favourite job, walking the dogs; D-ranked missions had every freelance work you could find scrolling through the menu of the mobile game BitLife.

It was only my second day undertaking the mundane work, but it already felt formulaic in a way that left me a little drained. I could completely understand why Naruto had a hissy fit taking these 'missions' in canon. Even still, though, I would much rather be doing this in a controlled environment like in the safety of the village than doing a life-threatening mission outside the village. No thank you. A scary world awaited outside the security of the village walls and one I evidently wasn't ready to face.

I finished the last round of mundane chores with a cozy dog walk through the forest. Being a dog lover from childhood, walking the ninja hounds easily became my favourite D-ranked mission, though it wasn't like the bar was high to begin with admittedly. Still, I deeply appreciated ending today's workload with something I deeply enjoyed on an emotional level, reinvigorating me going forward.

I collected my pay-out from the academy and made my way downtown, feeling my belly rumbling slightly, "I'm starting to get a bit hungry." I noted, gazing up at the bright azure sky as if trying to gauge the time. "I have been working for about six hours now without break." Just walking four hours would've burnt off one thousand and three hundred calories. Add work and two hours on top of that and I was burning off at least double that amount.

All that energy spent was bound to make me a little hungry.

'Let's find another tea parlour,' I decided, smiling. 'I could go for another bowl of red bean soup and tea right now.' Freshly made red bean soup was so much better than the packaged stuff I used to buy from Amazon in my past life.

I meandered across the village's dirt roads, away from the place of learning Rin studied at and through my home's landscape, past bright and colourful buildings, down bricked stairs and over a small bridge above a thin crystal-clear steam made sparky by the sun's brilliant radiance. Konoha really was a beautiful and luscious place, embellished by the Leaf of Fire's sunny weather, and the many good-natured people that took up residency here, vastly outnumbering the few bad eggs lurking in the shadows like Orochimaru and Danzo.

Plenty of lovely citizens waved me by as I passed their homes, though I did also get ogled by a few teenagers, making me nervous. I just tried to take it as a compliment that I was doing good job maintaining Rin's pretty looks as I hurried on by the lecherous gazes.

"This looks nice." I said, finding a humble one-story shack with white cement walls, adorned with wood and outfitted with a dark-red triangle roof, similar to an old Chinese building. The small sign above the door read Ikeda's Family Tea house. "I always like supporting small businesses." Smiling, I skipped on the establishment's doorstep, reaching for the doorknob, until it pulled away from me. "Oh."

Speak of the looming devils beneath the surface and one shall appear, distinctively mummified with bandages covering his forehead and right eye socket likely housing someone's stolen Sharingan. (Too early to be Shusui's considering Sasuke hadn't even been born yet). A deep, palpable X-shaped scar rested on his chin; another prominent feature of his, shaggy raven hair crowning his head. The elder's outfit remained unchanged, even seventeen years from his debut in canon, comprising of a white kimono shirt and a greyish-black long robe concealing the full length of his body down to his sandalled feet (I presumed anyway) and his tucked in right arm.

Instant hostility flared within me like molten lava but I did my best to suppress my bubbling rage at this walking plot device and forced my body down in a bow, "I'm sorry." Displaying open antagonism toward Shimura Danzo when I had no valid reason to as Rin would be the dumbest thing I could ever do.

He was the very last person whose suspicion I wanted to warrant.

"Please, go right ahead," I assured, using my best polite smile and stepping aside, though I was pretty sure he saw right through it like he did with Sai's.

I remained under Shimura-san's scrutiny for what felt like an age. There wasn't a hint of warmth or consideration for a fellow human's error in his uncovered, narrowed left eye. He didn't even look pleased a youngster seemed to respect her elders.

'He's really giving me the silent treatment.' I noted, feeling a slight twitch of a frown nagging at my thin eyebrows, but I stubbornly held it back.

Shimura-san's eye finally closed and his cane moved an inch forward, "Apologies." He said, sliding his concealed feet forward, propping his cane on the ground and coming off the raised step with measured, robotic composure.

I waited until the soft thudding sounds of his cane tapping the ground with every step he took faded into the background before I struck my tongue out. "Jerk." I HATED him with every fibre of my being. What an awful character, written solely to facilitate Itachi's heel-face turn. Itachi's reveal from psycho bad guy to Konoha double agent wouldn't have made sense without that Sharingan-stealing slimeball.

Kishimoto might've always planned for Itachi to be good, though I find it unlikely considering Itachi needlessly traumatized Sasuke once again in the Search for Tsunade arc – not something a good guy would do, but he didn't seem to have an idea executing that in a way that wouldn't vilify Hiruzen. Enter Shimura Danzo, a cold, detached character designed to be hated, so fans could say, "Well, if you hate him, he's done his job."

Except I never despised him solely because he was supposed to be reviled, I hated him because he was a poorly written contradictory character. The narrative told us he was a necessary evil for the village but all we saw was him actively sabotaging the village.

He ordered the Uchiha not to aid against Kurama's attack on the village even though Fugaku's Mangekyo could've potentially reversed the Genjutsu Obito placed on him and gave Minato adequate time to safely reseal him back into Kushina without sacrificing his life and leaving his baby boy all alone.

He made the villagers aware Naruto held the Kyuubi inside him, uniting them in their hatred of a little, innocent child.

He fatally poisoned Shusui and robbed him of his Sharingan in his lust for power, even plotting to conspire with Orochimaru to achieve that end.

No one could ever tell me he was a necessary evil for the village and I would die on that hill. Kishimoto's attempts at humanizing him with a last-minute sappy backstory-flashback prior to his death failed miserably and only made me hate him more. You can't have a character be that unlikeable and except your audience to change their tune on a dime because of a single scene from said character's past.

That's insanity.

Honestly, Shimura-san's existence really reduced Hiruzen's character. Instead of just being an ambiguous good guy like Netero from HunterXHunter, he needed someone like Shimura-san to deflect blame away from him to remain morally righteous. Sadly, keeping someone as shady as Shimura-san around made him look utterly incompetent. The anime even added a filler of Shimura-san's attempted assassination of Hiruzen which should've had exiled if not executed outright on the grounds of treason.

Ugh.

"Welcome!" The cashier of my chosen shack said behind the counter, adorned in a traditional bright pink yukata.

I looked into the shack and down the street, contemplating going elsewhere just out of sheer spite for Shimura-san, but I quickly realized not only would I be biting my nose off to spite my face I would be depraving a small, seemingly niche establishment of my business, and that wouldn't be nice. My disdain of Shimura-san had nothing to do with them.

Danzo is such a bad plot device. That's further evident in him never making an appearance in the Tsunade arc despite being to be Hokage. Hiruzen dying would've been the perfect chance to take control of the village but he didn't exist back then. He only exists purely for Kishimoto to deflect all the evil in the village unto him.