As I got stabbed, I remembered something. Fuck I knew I forgot something. I lamented at that exact moment. The type of ninja mesh a lot of people wore. Hinata has it under her coat, Ino has it under her clothes, Shikamaru also has it. Anko basically had a body suit of the damn thing. Hinata looked confused as she got up and started moving towards us.

“I’m s-sorry.” She stuttered. “You g-got hurt, b-because of me.” She was on the verge of tears as she spoke.

“No, I got hurt because I am not strong enough yet, Hinata-chan. I would gladly get hurt again, to save you. Relax now, it’s over.” I got into a coughing fit again, after managing to wheeze out two sentences.

“Told you to keep your trap shut!” Anko glared at me again. I beckoned Hinata over since I couldn’t speak. Pulled her into what I hoped was a comforting embrace. She had just gone through a traumatic event. If the enemy ninja made it into the water, no way I could chase. Not because it would be breaching the border, but because I couldn’t walk on water yet. Anko held me and I held Hinata when Ino jumped out of the bushes. She looked around at the carnage and then spotted us.

“Are you… Are you okay?” She yelled as she rushed at me. I could only nod as I felt Anko squeeze me a bit too tight.

“What happened?” She asked.

“I would like to know that too.” Anko said, but after everyone gets here. Ino nodded in answer. Ino being the blessing she is, helped calm Hinata down and pry her off me. Everyone sat around and waited. Yui and Akari joined soon after, also filled with questions, but Anko just said we should wait for everyone.

Soon after, a group of Konoha ninja entered my vision range. A few faces I recognised. There was an Inuzuka and her canine. Hiashi also was there himself. Clearly an aburame with insects inside his body, god that was disturbing. Few other ninja I did not recognise. They landed in front of us. Hiashi immediately spoke in a commanding voice.

“Ms.Mitarashi, report!”

“Team 1 is on patrolling duty here, we noticed unmarked shinobi heading this way and moved to intercept.

“How did you manage… that? I wasn’t aware you had sensory abilities, Ms. Mitarashi.” Hiashi asked.

“I didn’t spot them, I responded to an alarm flare.” Anko responded.

“Then who?” the man pressed for some reason, he sounded irritated. I could only assume, because his daughter almost got kidnapped. I raised an arm to interject here, as the situation was getting uncomfortably close to my secrets. Thankfully Hinata had separated from me at this point, even though she still lingered next to me. The Hyuga head, noticing this narrowed his eyes at me.

“Ino Yamanaka, displayed sensory abilities, sir. I acted upon them as we were stationed at the tower. “ I explained throwing Ino the credit as well as hoping her name would carry weight into her capabilities.

“Very well. I am looking forward to the full report. Come Hinata!” Hiashi said. They quickly left with the prisoner.

“Well, I didn’t expect such bullshit on this assignment, we are going back to the tower.” Anko declared.

“A true shinobi should always expect the unexpected.” I declared sagely, as I did my best to sound like a wizened old man. That drew some giggles. Also earned a smack to the back of my head from Anko.

“Told you to shut up, now let’s move before I kick your ass!” She ordered, but she was smiling.

Once we reached the foliage covered tower, the land we could see was covered in a thicker fog.

“Spill the truth, kid. What happened? And how are you fine already?” Anko asked as we all settled in the small tower.

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“I… I think… it was your embrace sensei. Your ch-oof” Anko interrupted my solemn answer with a chop to the head. Everyone collectively rolled their eyes. Then I explained the fight in all its details.

I observed my audience’s reactions as I talked. Anko sensei listened thoughtfully, Ino was filled with admiration, Akari listened with curiosity. Yui though, I could not read very well. The usually taciturn girl gazed at me with such intensity, I found myself drawn into her gorgeous emerald eyes. She seemed upset, or even mad but the shift in her features was so little I was not sure.

“Alright, everyone get some rest. We resume our normal schedule tomorrow.” Anko declared. In response everyone groaned.

“Just another week, and we are done with the assignment.” Everyone sort of found a corner of the single room of the outpost. Ino lay next to me. At this point the strangeness of the situation went over my head. She had been sleeping practically on me, since the first day she moved in. I had also gotten used to her presence. Human contact… I never realised how much I needed it. I had people before, my brothers in arms, I would have died for them and I did, just like they did for me. It was different, a different purpose, a different drive. A lesson to learn from this combat though, I suck at keeping track of my throwables. Might be wise to either get better at that or invest into a sword, which I will need to learn how to use.

“Hey, whatcha thinkin?” Ino whispered, looking up at me. From her position on my chest, I could see her cute cyan eyes curiously peering at my own.

“The fight today. I might try learning Kenjutsu.” I answered and watched her eyes shift down and her lips turned into a frown.

“What ya thinking?” Asked imitating her earlier curiosity.

Her eyelids drooped, eyes went dowcast and the corner of her lips lowered.

“I couldn’t help you. I was so worried.” She squeezed me harder and burrowed her face on my chest, hiding herself.

“No, no, no. You can’t be sad about that. You did your part, Anko sensei made it in time. Besides, you are way too young to fight to the death.” I quickly whispered, trying not to wake everyone else. She started sobbing in my arms and all I could do was wrap my arms around her. Ah shit I said, death implying risk of death which must have scared her even more. Clearly not a very eloquent man am I? She was just a child under duress.

“I… graduated, so I am considered… an adult.” She whispered in between sobs.

“You can’t even pretend to be an adult before fifteen. No matter what anyone says. I mean look at me. I wish I could hide under sensei’s huge coat but she said I was too young.” I said and immediately a kunai whizzed passed my eyes thunking loudly into the wall next to me.

“Stop spewing nonsense, brat. Go to sleep.” Anko said. Under the threat of sharp metal objects flying in our direction we drifted into sleep.

Morning came and Anko sensei’s melodious voice woke us up.

“Get up you lazy brats!” She sang. “Go wash up, we have a meeting in thirty.” She ordered.

Thirty minutes later we were sitting in a loose circle with serious expressions.

“Alright, obviously some shit happened yesterday that I was not expecting. I guess it just proves my point about the world. We were all raised in the relative safety of the village. Even though you are trained and desensitised from an early age it still is a wake up call. Even if the Hyuga girl probably doesn’t realise what could have been, you should. You know what could have been if not for Ryoshi stepping up, even though he shouldn’t have. It was a dangerous situation that required quick decision making that led to critical impact. These things happen more often than one would like in the shinobi world. Sometimes no amount of preparation is enough. Not all situations can have a good outcome. Sometimes you will have to choose between two bad outcomes. Some would have you believe the highest priority is the mission, others believe it is the life of the shinobi. As much as I want you to say, that I want you to survive. Some missions can have an impact on many lives. I will not say that you should choose one or the other. That I want you to decide. Just know that I will be pissed if you die for any reason. Understood?” Anko asked after she was done talking. Everyone responded in unison.

“Yes, sensei!”

“Now to my second point. Mental health is a bitch. Our lives are lived under almost constant stress. Most people at some point will snap in one way or another. Please, just reach out to someone. Talk to anyone. Reach out to me if you are concerned. Most Jounin are either already mad or on the verge. I eat dango like I am starving, because it is the only thing that overpowers the taste of blood in my mouth. Some things… just stay with you forever.”

She ended on a solemn note. I really wanted to ask for a kiss from Anko to mend my mind, but I did not feel appropriate to joke around the topic of mental health. We returned to a normal patrol schedule shortly after our chat. It was another week until a team came by to relieve us of our patrol duty and we were on our way home. The misty forest gave way to … a not so misty forest of the same trees. We were walking in silence, which was no good. I wanted to hear the girls speak.

“Sensei.” I called out.

“Huh?” She raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of man do you like?” I asked, smiling excitedly. Yui and Akari had a frozen expression of disbelief.

“Oooh. Lemme guess. “ Ino chirped before Anko could respond. “Sensei, you seem like the type that likes… hmm… the mysterious type. Am I right? I’m right, right?” Asked Ino after thinking out loud.

“What? Where did this come from?” Anko asked, flabbergasted.

“Mysterious huh? I can be mysterious or maybe I can’t. Who knows? Aren’t I already mysterious?” I asked with a giant grin.

Anko just face palmed in response. Yui and Akari also joined in egging Anko on to answer as their interest was also peaked.

“Fine, fine. Just stop asking. Let me think. Hmm. I guess it would be best if he was trustworthy and understanding. I've been told I am a bit of a wild spirit. Also strong, I guess.” The girls nodded along with her as she listed qualities.