Chapter 3:

Village Year 75, August 8th

“Kasumi! I'm so glad you're okay!”

“Ooof!” I grunted as someone jumped directly on top of me while I was snuggled under my covers. I wanted to sleep in after all the exercise yesterday…

I opened my eyes to find a teenage girl sitting on top of me. She had long blonde hair and bright teal eyes with no pupils, and she was smiling down at me as she spoke again. “Good morning, sleepyhead!”

“Good morning?” I replied in confusion. I had no idea who she was or how she got into my bedroom. How did she get into the Hayabusa compound?

My questions were answered when I glanced toward my bedroom doorway. Ryu was leaning against the post, smirking at me. He had clearly let this girl in for some reason to wake me up!

I will have vengeance for this transgression against my precious sleep time! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday…

In the meantime, I needed to figure out why this excitable girl was sitting on top of me with an expectant look on her face.

“Would you mind getting off of me…whoever you are,” I asked her and her smile immediately turned into a frown.

“Oh… I didn’t actually believe your brother when he told me you lost your memories,” she said while climbing off my bed. “I'm sorry about that, you must be really confused right now.”

Yes, yes I was.

She put her hands on her hips and her frown turned into another cheerful grin. “I'm Suki Yamanaka! We've been best friends since the academy! If you don’t remember me, then that's ok! It just means we’ll get to become best friends all over again!” she declared while pumping her fist in the air.

She was so confident about her declaration that I actually found myself partially believing her. Why wasn’t this girl the protagonist, she definitely gave off those kinds of vibes.

“It's nice to meet you, Suki. I'm Kasumi Hayabusa,” I said while getting out of bed and doing a few stretches. “Would you mind waiting downstairs with Ryu while I change?” I asked. I was feeling a bit underdressed, still in my PJs.

Suki nodded her head quickly and turned towards Ryu, who was still watching us from the doorway. “I would be more than happy to spend some time alone with my darling Ryu!”

“...”

“...Nope,” Ryu said bluntly. His form flickered before our eyes, and he completely vanished!

Did my brother, one of the strongest Shinobi in the village, just run away from a teenage girl?

Yes, yes he did…

“Awe, he always acts shy when I try to flirt with him…” Suki said with a small giggle.

“Isn’t he a little old for you?” I asked her. She looked to be the same age as me, around 13. And Ryu was… well, I didn’t actually know how old Ryu was, but I guessed late teens to early 20s. I’d have to ask him later.

Suki turned around and blushed. “Oh right, you don’t have your memories… I must have come off as a total fangirl just now. I don’t actually like him like that,” she started explaining. “You’re the one who put me up to it. You told me it would be funny and said it would be good practice for whenever we had to do any seduction missions in the future.”

“S-Seduction missions!” Now I was the one blushing. “Nope, no… just… all of the nope!” I decided then and there that I was never going on one of those missions. Were those actually a thing in this world? Who was I kidding, of course they were a real thing here!

Suki kept giggling at my reaction. “Your reactions are still just as funny as always, Kasumi. Seduction missions are completely optional. Just because I'm training for them doesn't mean I actually have to do them. I just think it's a useful skill to have in my arsenal,” she finished with a shrug.

I let out a sigh of relief. “So, now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, what are you doing here?”

“I know you don't remember, but we promised to have some fun once you completed your first C-Rank mission…” She paused for a moment. “Sorry about how that turned out, by the way. Yusuke and Adachi were assholes back in the academy, but they were still our classmates for years…”

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Taking advantage of the awkward silence, I decided to get dressed in the bathroom. I emerged a few minutes later wearing a pair of shorts and a black T-shirt. “If we're heading outside, I'd like to get some new clothes and actual shoes. I really hate ninja sandals. They don't protect my toes at all.” I had stubbed my toes so many times trekking through the forest.

Suki gasped excitedly when I mentioned shopping. “Yay! It sucks that you don’t have your memories, but I'm starting to love the new you already! You never wanted to go shopping with me before! We better get going if we want to hit up as many stores as possible before sunset!”

Oh no, she was one of those kinds of girls! I glanced out the window and shuddered… it was currently sunrise. “Is it too late to back out?” I asked.

“Yep!” she declared, starting to drag me down the hallway. Holy crap, this girl was strong! I couldn't escape her grip at all!

When we made it downstairs, Ryu was sitting at the kitchen table eating dango. I noticed another takeout bag in the trash can nearby. This was only my third day in this world, but I was starting to think he didn't know how to cook at all. Every meal so far had been takeout.

That can't be healthy...

“Kasumi and I are going shopping, Ryu! Do you want to come?” my apparent new best friend asked my brother.

“No,” was his immediate reply before he turned to me. “If you're going out, take your katana with you. You need to be safe.”

Wait, what?

“…I have a katana?” I asked in surprise. I didn't remember having a sword when I woke up in this world.

Ryu simply pointed toward the side of the kitchen.

Some people have coat racks, and ninja families have sword racks. Or at least our small family does. A sheathed black and purple katana rested where he pointed on the wooden rack. It sat directly beneath one of the most famous blades in all of video games, and probably the most famous blade in all of Konoha—Ryu’s own Dragon Blade.

It was pretty crazy that he kept such a legendary weapon in our kitchen...

But I didn’t care about his sword at the moment. I was too focused on my own weapon! I ran over and grabbed the katana. I unsheathed it a few inches and gawked at how beautiful and sharp the blade looked.

“You must have dropped it on your last mission,” Ryu told me. “Luckily, one of Konoha’s border patrols picked it up on the way back to the village last night. Try not to lose your blade again, little sis. A Hayabusa’s blade is our life,” he said while nodding sagely.

Suki pouted at me from the side. “You're so lucky, Kasumi! My parents still won’t let me get my own sword even though I'm a Genin now. They think I'm going to cut my leg off or something!” she complained, stamping her foot. “My Jonin-sensei also specializes in Taijutsu so he won’t teach me either.”

A Taijutsu specialist for a Sensei? That explained why she was so freakishly strong.

I sheathed the sword and tied it around my hip. “Does it have a name?”

Ryu shook his head. “That old thing? No, it's just a regular katana that's been sitting around in our clan’s storage room. The only named blade our clan has is the Dragon Blade…” he trailed off, glancing at Suki for a second.

His acting was pretty good, but I could tell that Ryu was lying. Most likely because Suki wasn't a member of our clan. He didn’t want to spill any clan secrets.

In the Ninja Gaiden games, I knew there was another named blade that the Hayabusa Clan kept locked away and protected: the Dark Dragon Blade. I had a feeling it existed in this world as well. It was something I would rather never get involved with, considering it mind controls anyone who wields it and also mutates them into literal monsters.

I told Ryu we were heading out to do some shopping. He handed me a large pouch full of coins before we left. When I opened the pouch, Suki’s jaw practically dropped off. I figured that meant he gave me quite a bit of spending money. Learning this world's currency system was another thing to add to my ever-growing to-do list.

“Where do you want to stop first, Kasumi?” Suki asked me as we walked down the dirt streets of Konoha. This world is weird, they had working electricity, but no concept of paved roads.

“My Kunoichi outfit was completely ruined on my last mission. I need a new one. I also need a new set of shuriken and a better way to carry my katana,” I replied. I was simply too short. The long sheath was almost dragging on the ground as we walked. My katana was going to have to be strapped to my back in the future.

“I know just where to go!” Suki cheered, grabbing me by the hand. She dragged me a couple of blocks until we stood in front of a small shop.

“Muramasa’s…” I read the name of the shop and did my best not to deadpan. That couldn't actually just be a coincidence, right? Was it really him?

Suki dragged me inside. The small shop was packed to the brim with weapons and armor! There was enough steel in here to arm a couple hundred ninjas at the least.

An old Asian man sat at the end of the shop, sipping on a steaming cup of tea as we walked up to him.

“Hey there, old man! I've brought you a customer.” Suki gestured to me. “She needs a new Kunoichi outfit and a full weapon restock.”

“Hm, a new customer? Let me get a proper look at you. Step forward, my eyesight is not as good as it used to be.” I shrugged and stepped closer to him. He opened his eyes and gazed at me.

A small shiver involuntarily ran through my body as he did so! His gaze felt like he was examining my very soul. He closed his eyes a moment later and picked his tea cup back up.

“Hm, you will make a fine Kunoichi. Come back tomorrow, and I will have your equipment ready for you,” he said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Wha–” I was cut off by Suki squealing excitedly and dragging me out of the shop.

When we were standing back on the dirt street, I turned to her in confusion. “What was that? What equipment? I didn't get to buy anything before he kicked us out!”

Suki shook her head. “That's not how his shop works. Muramasa is the best blacksmith in all of Konoha! He's probably the best in the entire Land of Fire, actually! He's been around since the founding of the village, and all of our greatest Shinobi and Kunoichi have probably used equipment made by him at some point. He only makes gear for the best of the best. He took one look at you and said you would make a fine Kunoichi!”

“Then why did he kick us out? Doesn't he need my measurements or something?” I asked.

Suki laughed and waved off my concern. “He already did when he looked at you. He's never been wrong before. If he said he would, then he'll have the perfect equipment ready for you by tomorrow,” she explained.

“If you say so,” I muttered as we kept walking. Suki wanted to check out a new flower shop across the village. “How did you find out about that old man?” I asked her.

“Our Jonin-sensei took my team there on our first day. Muramasa made these awesome leg weights for Lee, and Neji got these special gloves that protect his hands and still let him use his Gentle Fist,” she explained.

I almost missed a step when I heard her words. She was teammates with Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga? That meant her Jonin-sensei was Might Guy! Holy crap, she lucked out big time! I wondered what happened to Tenten, though. Did she just not make the cut in this universe?

I knew my existence was eventually going to change canon, but I didn’t expect it to already be happening. What other changes had occurred that I didn’t know about?

I was snapped out of my pondering when Suki poked me. She had a concerned look on her face. “Sorry I brought up my team. I realized that was insensitive of me now that you don’t have one,” she apologized before asking, “What are you planning to do about that, by the way?”

“It’s okay,” I said, accepting her apology. “I’m planning on training for a few days before starting solo missions. With my team gone, I’ve basically become a member of the Genin Corps. I can take solo missions up to C-Rank, and if I successfully complete ten of them, I can start accepting B-Rank missions.”

Ryu had explained all of this to me last night. I could wait for a spot to open up on another Genin team—which would mean someone died—but I wasn’t going to do that. It could take months, and I’d miss out on a bunch of potential XP.