The group arrived at Tazuna's house about half an hour later. They would have arrived quicker but they didn't want to make any of Kurenai's wounds worse so they took their time. Upon arrival Tazuna knocked on the front door a few times. A minute later it slides open to reveal a young woman, maybe a little older than Kurenai. "Tou-san." She runs forward and wraps her father in a hug. He had left over a week ago to go to Konoha and bring back the ninja. She had been worried sick. After a moment she breaks the hug and looks at the ninja he brought.
They're just a bunch of kids. And an injured woman. The woman despite the injury to her shoulder carried herself with confidence. The two girls were just standing there, though the blind one seemed to be clinging possessively to the redhead. The only boy was standing next to them with a bored and somewhat angry look on his face. Though it didn't reach his eyes, that just seemed to be his natural expression.
Wait one of them is blind? Oh god they're doomed. Konoha had condemned them then. Forcing a smile onto her face she looks at the haggard group. "Come on in, I'm sure you could use the rest." The woman nods and they make their way inside.
Kurenai sits down on the couch in the small living room. "Sasuke, turn on your Sharingan." The boy nods and does just that. Seeing as he has it active Kurenai bites back a grimace as she works through the hand seals for Shōsen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique). "Be extremely careful. This is an A-rank healing technique that medic nin usually spend months learning. You don't truly have the chakra control for this, but if I leave the wound as is, I could lose the use of my arm. If you aren't careful you could make it worse." The boy gulps at this. This was important and beyond his skill level. But his sensei was relying on him. So he had to do this and he had to do it right.
He needs control. He needs to channel the Yang chakra just right. Something strikes him. For some reason his instincts are telling him to use more of his Yin chakra instead. He decides to trust his gut. He takes a deep breath and goes through the hand seals. He brings his now glowing green hands up to his sensei's shoulder and is amazed as he watches her wound close, leaving only a faint scar. That… Wasn't as hard as she told him it would be. It seemed the use of Yin chakra just came to him.
Kurenai was surprised. The boy actually had an immense amount of talent for Medical Ninjutsu. He had executed the Jutsu almost perfectly. She was expecting her shoulder to heal slightly improperly but it feels completely normal. While a higher level medical ninja might have been able to prevent any scarring, he had done amazing for someone new to the art. She might have accidentally stumbled on a gold mine. "You know Sasuke you have a real talent for this. I think when we get back to Konoha we should focus on cultivating your talent."
Sasuke wasn't sure what to think about that. He wanted to be strong, strong enough to kill Itachi. But this was something the man had never pursued. Sasuke was unsure. He needed to be strong but why should he be like Itachi to do so? Where Itachi was a destroyer of lives what if Sasuke became a Saver of lives. He would still grow strong. But that sounded surprisingly appealing to him. He would have to think about this more in the future.
Suffice to say Tsunami had some of the doubts alleviated when she saw the magic the boy just worked. She was still confused about them sending a blind girl but maybe they weren't being completely condemned. Tazuna, having watched the battle earlier, knew that the ninja really did have some crazy magic going on and wasn't going to doubt their ability anymore. He slides his eyes over to the other two members of the team he hired. Those two seemed oddly close, kind of like how he used to be with his wife. Oh. He didn't like that much. But they were his saviors and he's not about to insult them. Even if he thinks it's unnatural. They're young and hopefully will learn from this mistake later.
The two girls weren't thinking about how their relationship would be considered. They were of course aware that it's probably not legal here. But to hell with the law, they're ninja why should they care. No instead they were just quietly enjoying each others company. After several moments Naruko speaks up. "So Kurenai-sensei, what's the plan for the week?"
"Training." Kurenai said with a teasing smile.
"Okay, but what kind of training?"
"The difficult kind."
"Not helpful." Naruko just wanted to know. Was that so hard?
"You'll be trying to use your kekkei genkai again. Sasuke we're going to try and get you more of the tomoe in you Sharingan. And Hinata we're going to be focusing on your speed. You may be fast but you're no where near fast enough when compared with the rest of the team." The three genin nod, though Sasuke is a little surprised to hear Naruko has a kekkei genkai, he hadn't been told about this yet. Though he'd put his money on that being a fault of Naruko forgetting to tell him just as she had with telling Hinata about this Uzume woman.
"I actually have an idea about how to use it but none of you are going to like it." Especially Hina-chan.
"What is it?"
"What if we have Sasuke use the Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire release: Grand fireball technique) at me. Kaguya said the ability would come instinctively." Before Kurenai can even respond Hinata cuts in.
"No. I refuse to let you just stand in front of a ball of fire that would sear off your skin." Hinata had her arms crossed and was glaring at her girlfriend. The redhead gave her a powerful pout. "I'm not budging on this Naru-chan. If this doesn't work you could die or be crippled."
"I'll be fine Hina-chan. But I don't think I'll be able to use it until I need to, and wouldn't it be better to do it in a more controlled environment?" It was a fair point and it could make a huge different in a week. She had also intensified her pout at the white eyed girl.
With a sigh Hinata broke and scooped Naru-chan up into a hug. "Alright Naru-chan, but you better not get hurt." Naru-chan nods and surprisingly doesn't squirm to get free as she usually does. Instead just cuddles into the taller girl.
"You know I am your sensei, aren't you supposed to ask me for permission?" The two girls look at her and she rolls her eyes. "You have it anyways, just be careful. And not today, we can train tomorrow, for now we just had a battle and everyone should rest." All three of her genin nod and relax. "Tazuna-san I'll guarding you while you work, even if I think we should be fine for the coming week." There was always a chance a bandit could get a bright idea after all.
The group relaxes after that, all of them seeing the merit of the proposal. Hinata had dragged Naru-chan into her lap. Once she does an expression of bliss crosses her face. There was just something so right about having her girlfriend in her lap. Maybe it was because she could get an excellent feeling of the other girls body and warmth. Naru-chan still wasn't squirming as she usually would. She just leans back against the white eyed girls chest. She knew this would bring some comfort to Hinata, who would never like the idea of the redhead being in danger. If it wasn't for the fact she wanted the redhead to be able to protect herself Hinata never would have supported the other girl becoming a ninja. Hinata couldn't help but lean forward and snuggle into her girlfriend. She was just so sweet and adorable.
It was to this scene that a young boy, maybe seven or eight, walked into the living room. The ninja figure this must be the grandson Tazuna mentioned. The boy gives them a look. One of abject hopelessness for a better tomorrow. Then he notices the two girls cuddling and gives them a weird look. Why were they practically trying to sink into one another? He didn't get it. "Oh Inari meet the ninja who're protecting your Jii-chan."
"What's the point, they're all going to die anyways."The boys tone matched his expression. He runs up to Tazuna and gives the man a hug, which is returned. "Welcome home Jii-chan."
Naru-chan was giving the boy a look, why was he bringing up the fate of all humans to inevitably die one day? Hinata seemed to notice her girlfriend's shift in expression and quietly said, "He means we're going to die on the mission." Naru-chan's expression changes to one to realization as she nods. Hinata didn't let the boys statement affect her, she had a redhead to protect, and that wouldn't stop until they both died of old age.
Well they weren't going to die on this mission, they probably wouldn't even be maimed, not if Gato only has bandits. And the ninja Konan is sending probably won't be out to kill them, she seemed fairly intent on that much. Though it would still be better to aim to kill, just like Kurenai-sensei was teaching them.
Kurenai wasn't particularly put out by the kid. He was a civilian child and would likely never truly understand just how different ninjas are from civilians. And once again he was a child, and she would never allow herself to get angry at a child.
The only member of the team who truly seemed put out by the child was Sasuke. It was a direct insult to him and his ambition. But he held back because he knew the boy was a child. But he might not be able to keep his cool if the kid keeps that shit up. He decides to take a cue from his female teammates and just stay silent. Well the couple had started to quietly chat, but they were largely ignoring the boy.