After a good night's sleep, Taiichi woke up refreshed. After his morning workout, he planned to visit Yohei and Saori.
He hadn't had a chance to tell them about Captain Yamaguchi's injury yesterday due to exhaustion.
Freshening up, Taiichi headed straight for Saori's house. It was still early, the morning light accompanying his hurried steps.
He knocked gently. A smiling woman in her thirties, clearly Saori's mother, opened the door.
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Taiichi Matsushita, Saori's teammate. I'm here to see her."
"Oh my! You're Taiichi! I'm Saori's mom, call me Auntie Keiko." She grabbed his hand enthusiastically and pulled him inside. "Saori talks about you all the time!"
She circled him, examining him from head to toe with a growing smile. "Mm, what a handsome young man."
Before Taiichi could speak, she pulled him along again. "You know, we wanted a boy, but got a girl instead. Saori is great, but..."
Taiichi was bewildered. Saori was quiet and reserved; her mother was... quirky. He hadn't managed to say a word since his greeting.
"You're here for Saori, right? Come on! Saori-chan! Look who's here!"
"Who is it, Mom? Stop shouting!" Saori complained, walking out into the yard.
Seeing Taiichi, she froze. Her mother was still holding his hand. Taiichi waved awkwardly with his free hand.
"Taiichi!" Saori rushed over and pulled his hand free. "Mom! Stop grabbing people!"
"Oho, jealous, little Saori?" Auntie Keiko teased, then winked. "Alright, I won't disturb your whispers. Bye!"
She vanished.
"Taiichi, don't mind her. My mom is a bit..." Saori trailed off.
"Haha! I think she's great. Life must be fun with a mom like that," Taiichi said, a hint of longing in his eyes.
Seeing his expression, Saori remembered he was an orphan. She quickly changed the subject. "So, why are you here?"
"Right! Captain Yamaguchi was heavily injured on a mission. He's in the hospital. I came to get you so we can visit him."
"What?!" Saori gasped. "Is it serious?"
"He's stable now. Let's go get Yohei, and I'll explain on the way."
"Okay!" Saori dragged Taiichi out. "Mom! We're going out!"
"Hey! You didn't even give him tea!" Keiko chased them out but they were gone. "That girl... good taste though."
They crossed the village to the Uchiha district. Unlike rumors suggested, it wasn't heavily guarded against outsiders. Civilians walked freely.
"It's just like the rest of the village, just more Uchihas," Saori noted.
"What did you expect? Arrogant, cold, ambitious, cursed?" Taiichi asked.
Saori blushed. "Well, that's what people say."
"Just rumors spread by certain higher-ups wary of them. Every clan has bad apples," Taiichi sighed. The Uchiha had issues, but extinction was a bit much.
They arrived at Yohei's large house. "You guys are rich. My apartment is tiny compared to this," Taiichi joked.
Saori smiled. Taiichi spent money like water; he wasn't poor.
Yohei answered the door. "Who is it... Taiichi? Saori? Did I forget training day?"
"No. We're going to visit Captain Yamaguchi. He's in the hospital, heavily injured," Taiichi explained.
"What! When?"
"Come on, I'll explain on the way."
On the way to the hospital, Taiichi explained the gist of it—the severe injury, the missing kidney, the miraculous survival.
Yohei and Saori gasped at the severity and admired Yamaguchi's will. Hearing he was safe, they relaxed.
"Taiichi, you could be a storyteller. You had me sweating," Yohei joked.
They bought flowers and fruit and arrived at Yamaguchi's room.
Yamaguchi was awake but pale, gritting his teeth as if in pain or anger.
Yohei peeked in, then threw the door open. "Captain! Are you okay? Should I call a doctor?"
Startled, Yamaguchi looked at them and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
"But—" Yohei turned to Taiichi. "Taiichi, check him!"
"It's fine," Taiichi glanced at Yamaguchi. "It's the itch from nerve regeneration in the new tissue. Like a healing scab but times ten. It's the body adjusting."
"It'll itch like hell for two or three days," Taiichi added.
Yohei and Saori shivered. Yamaguchi looked despairing. Itching you can't scratch is torture.
"Captain, you lost a kidney? Will you still be... you know... functional?" Yohei asked curiously, courting death.
Taiichi rubbed his ears. Yohei was really letting loose lately. Saori blushed, understanding the implication.
Yamaguchi's face turned black. He suppressed his rage. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm fully healed."
"Huh? But Taiichi said half your waist was gone! Did you use a secret technique? Steal someone else's organ?" Yohei continued his death march.
Yamaguchi wanted to beat him to death.
"Captain, calm down. I'm just distracting you. Isn't it less itchy now?" Yohei pleaded.
Yamaguchi paused. It was better. But seeing Yohei's face made him want to punch it again.
He looked at Taiichi instead. "Speaking of which, thank you, Taiichi. If not for you, I'd have lost my kidney, maybe my life."
"Just doing my duty, Captain. It wasn't just me."
"Taiichi! You didn't tell us you healed him! Your medical ninjutsu is that good?" Yohei was shocked. He thought Taiichi meant the hospital saved him.
"Yep! Better suck up to me. If you lose a kidney or a lung, I'm the one saving you," Taiichi joked.
"Get lost!"
They laughed, distracting Yamaguchi from the itch. But soon, the nurse kicked them out.
They promised to return tomorrow and left.
Not far from the hospital, a figure flickered in front of them.
The three Genin snapped into combat stances. Taiichi's tanto was half-drawn.
"Minato-senpai! Scaring people can get you killed! Blocking the path like that is dangerous!" Taiichi complained, sheathing his blade. If they were outside the village, he might have attacked.
"Sorry, sorry. Urgent mission. I've been looking for you," Minato apologized, realizing his mistake. He was surprised by their vigilance, especially Taiichi's locking killing intent.
"Minato-senpai, are you leading our squad?" Yohei asked excitedly. A Jonin-led mission!
"Just Taiichi," Minato crushed his dreams.
"Ah!" Yohei wilted like a frosted eggplant.
"Since it's a designated mission, go ahead, Taiichi. Don't worry about us," Saori said sensibly.
"Okay. See you later."
Watching them leave, Yohei and Saori looked at each other.
"We're too weak," Saori said softly. "Useless when it matters."
Yohei straightened up. "Weak? Everyone starts weak. We know how hard Taiichi works. We might not have his talent, but we can match his effort."
He clenched his fist. "From today, double training! We will get stronger!"
"Double training!" Saori agreed firmly.
Meanwhile, Taiichi learned the mission details from Minato: Assassinate the Sand Envoy to stop the Wind-Earth alliance.
His role: Medical support to keep the team alive.