"…Wha—"
Rin hesitated, her eyes drifting toward the ground. Even the tips of her ears turned a little red.
"Um… f-for now, there's only one. I haven't had time to make the others yet… maybe later…"
"…"
Looking at the mix of embarrassment and faint expectation on Rin's face, Mikami Yuu more or less understood. He carefully tucked the charm into his pocket and gave her a gentle smile.
"It looks really nice. I'll keep it on me. Thanks, Rin."
"Mhm!"
Only then did Rin relax. She glanced up at him quickly, the corners of her mouth lifting despite herself.
"Then… go get your ninja tools ready. From the way Minato-sensei said it, we really might run into danger outside the village this time. We leave together tomorrow morning!"
"Okay."
…
The next day.
Early morning.
Mikami Yuu checked his ninja pouch one last time, strapped the short sword Kakashi had given him to his back, and tested the draw a few times by gripping the hilt and pulling it out halfway before sheathing it again. Once he was sure everything was fine, he said goodbye to his mother, Mikami Aoi, then left home under a stream of worried reminders from her.
Rin was already waiting outside.
The two of them met up and made their way to Konoha's gate in the dim morning light. There they found Minato and Kakashi already waiting, along with a wagon piled high with crates and bundles. Several medical ninja in dark green flak jackets were busy sorting the cargo.
Among them, Mikami Yuu spotted a familiar face.
"Jachi-senpai?"
"Hm?"
The female ninja he'd called out to was indeed Jachi, the one who had taught at the medical training class. She blinked in surprise, then smiled.
"Oh, it's Rin and Yuu? I didn't expect to run into you two on this escort mission. It's nice having familiar faces in the team."
"Are you leaving the village too this time, senpai?"
"Ah… more or less. We're heading to Wildfire City, west of the Land of Fire."
Jachi didn't seem inclined to say more about her mission.
Mikami Yuu and Rin tactfully didn't press.
They waited a while longer.
By the time Minato checked his watch for the third time and Kakashi was starting to look impatient, Obito finally came running down the road, gasping for breath while straightening his crooked goggles.
"S-sorry! Minato-sensei! My grandma insisted on making me drink another bowl of soup…"
Minato shook his head, amused and helpless. "Be more careful with time next time, Obito. Alright, everyone's here. Move out!"
At once, everyone in the team hoisted the packs assigned to them, got the wagon moving, and followed Minato out through the village gate. Before long, Konoha was behind them, and they were traveling through dense green forest.
Along the way,
Minato used every opportunity to teach Mikami Yuu and the others about tracking, evasion, and wilderness survival, while Kakashi supplemented from the side.
"Pay attention to marks on the ground. The depth of footprints in wet earth and the direction moss has been scraped can tell you the enemy's numbers and direction…"
"When moving through a forest, choose harder ground whenever possible so you leave fewer tracks…"
"When choosing a campsite, water access and clear sightlines come first. Avoid animal dens and any area that looks prone to landslides…"
The Ninja Academy had covered these things too, but only briefly, and often in a way that didn't quite match real field conditions. So all of them—including Mikami Yuu—got a lot out of it. Rin even took out her small notebook and wrote down the key points.
During an evening break,
Mikami Yuu walked over to Kakashi, who was resting with his eyes closed.
"Kakashi, want to spar?"
"…Sure."
Kakashi stood up immediately.
The two of them moved to an open patch nearby, drew their blades, and in the blink of an eye, the constant clack-clack of swords striking filled the air.
During the spar,
Hatake Swordsmanship kept chiming in to make her presence known:
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Hmph. After several days of practice, you're still this green! With a spirit like that, how are you supposed to bear my will? Again!]
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Your form is scattered, your intent in disarray—like rotten fluff drifting in the wind. If your heart doesn't reach where your blade points, how is it any different from a child waving a dead branch?]
[Hatake Swordsmanship: That slash finally had a little shape to it. Too bad it's still only firefly light, unworthy of contending with the bright moon. Little white-hair, remember this! A real blade should strike like thunder—deciding everything in a single instant!]
"…"
Great. She was a chatterbox too.
Still, some of what this "swordsmanship beauty" said was genuinely worth hearing.
Mikami Yuu sharpened his focus and kept trading blows with Kakashi.
Meanwhile,
during the break, Rin took out two handmade charms from her clothes. They were a little rougher than the one she had given Mikami Yuu before. She walked over to Minato and Obito and handed them over, somewhat shyly.
"Minato-sensei, Obito-kun… these are safety charms. Think of them as a little token from me."
"Hm?"
Minato blinked, then smiled warmly and accepted the charm with both hands, quite seriously.
"Thank you, Rin. That was very thoughtful. I'll take good care of it."
Compared to Minato,
Obito's reaction was way more dramatic. His eyes went huge. He looked at Rin, then at the charm in her palm, and basically bounced into the air.
"Rin made one for me personally?! Wow! That's awesome! Rin, you really care about me! I'll protect this with my life!"
As he spoke, Obito immediately clenched the charm tightly in his fist like it might fly away, then shot a provocative glance at Mikami Yuu, who was still practicing swordsmanship nearby.
How about that? A charm handmade by Rin herself! Aside from Minato-sensei, who else got that kind of treatment?
Could Mikami Yuu do that?
Rin opened her mouth, then stopped herself.
…
That night, the group set up camp in the forest.
The next morning, they packed up and continued on.
And so,
the team kept moving southwest through the Land of Fire for two or three days. They didn't run into the bandits or enemy ninja everyone had been half expecting, but they did encounter wild beasts several times. Mikami Yuu and the others dealt with them easily, and as a result, their dinners each night gained extras like grilled meat and ribs.
Over those two days, thanks to Kakashi constantly "feeding" him moves and Hatake Swordsmanship personally critiquing him, Mikami Yuu's swordsmanship improved noticeably compared to when they first left the village. His stance had grown steadier, his attacks cleaner, and there was a faint sharpness beginning to show.
Until this day.
As the team was passing through a heavily wooded mountain forest,
Kakashi—who had been scouting ahead—suddenly returned to the group and lowered his voice.
"Minato-sensei. Looks like people are closing in from ahead. Quite a few. They look like local bandits, and they're getting closer fast."
"Oh?"
Minato's expression sharpened. He raised a hand, signaling the team to halt.
"Stay alert! Obito, Rin—you two protect the medical personnel and supplies! Kakashi, Yuu—watch the flanks!"
"Yes!"
Mikami Yuu and the others spread out to both sides, putting the medical ninja and supplies in the center. They had just finished forming up when a chaotic rush of footsteps came crashing closer. Then the brush on both sides was shoved apart, and a crowd of vicious-looking figures armed with all kinds of weapons came pouring out.
~~~
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