Minato woke Hana up himself this morning, knocking on her door with a quiet but firm, "You've got ten minutes before I leave."

He was already out the door by the time Hana started getting ready. She groaned, brushing through the tangled mess of her hair with a huff and far too much detangler. At this point, she was tempted to leave it down, but she knew better—it'd only annoy her later.

Kushina had already left for the day. A note on the fridge said she had errands and left a bento box for Hana's breakfast. She grabbed it and headed out.

This morning, the village was quiet and peaceful. It was mostly older folks out on walks. There were no kids screaming or street vendors shouting, which was kind of nice.

When she reached the Hokage Tower, only Minato and Kakashi were waiting inside the office.

"Uh... am I late again?" Hana asked, raising a brow.

Minato looked up from a clipboard. "You're early today. Rin usually shows up in a few minutes."

Hana grinned. "Well, I feel accomplished for not being late this time."

Kakashi didn't even glance up. "Did you get lost on the 'path of life' again?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hana said casually. "I never said that."

Minato chuckled under his breath.

Rin showed up not long after—alongside Obito. Hana didn't acknowledge either of them, still annoyed from being ditched two days in a row. Rin's presence didn't help, either. She hated feeling replaced.

The Hokage cleared his throat and began, "Your mission today is to locate a missing cat."

The team collectively deflated.

"This isn't just any cat," he added. "It belongs to the Feudal Lord's wife. She's... very emotional about it."

Hana didn't hide the deadpan expression that crossed her face. Another D-rank. Great.

Before they left, Minato handed them small earpieces.

"They're testing new tech for long-distance communication. Try them out," he said.

To Hana's surprise, Minato stayed with them on this mission. That at least made it more tolerable.

They fanned out through the village, keeping contact through the earpieces.

"It's a black cat with a pink sparkly collar," Minato reminded them.

"I think I found it!" Obito's voice came through the earpiece, followed by a loud meow and Obito yelling. "Stupid cat! It scratched me!"

"Nice going," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Shut it!"

Rin spotted a cat, too, but it had no collar—false alarm.

"See anything, Hana?" Minato asked through the earpiece.

"Nope. Do we get any hints on where this cat might be hiding?"

"I don't think the Hokage mentioned specifics," Minato replied.

Hana sighed. If she were a cat, where would she hide?

Near food. Restaurants. Maybe alleyways?

"Wait—I see her!" Rin called. "Near the fruit stands, behind some barrels. Collar's there too."

The team regrouped, and sure enough, the sparkly pink collar was visible under the cat's black fur. She was crouched low, ready to bolt.

"Alright, how do we want to do this?" Hana asked.

They set a plan. Obito fetched a net, and together they cornered the cat. It was quick, but not painless—Obito fumbled again, but Hana swooped in and gently scooped the cat into her arms.

"I got her!" she beamed.

Everyone winced and pulled out their earpieces at the same time.

"Your volume was way too high," Kakashi muttered.

"Sorry," Hana said sheepishly, pulling hers out.

Minato smiled. "Nice job. I know these missions feel small, but they're helping your teamwork."

They returned the cat to the Hokage's office. The Feudal Lord's wife was already there. She jumped to her feet when she saw her pet.

"Oh, Kuro! Mommy was so worried!" she squealed, smothering the cat. Kuro looked more annoyed than relieved.

She didn't even thank them before walking out, nose in the air.

Hana blinked. "...You're welcome?"

The Hokage shuffled papers again. "Next mission: A woman recovering from hospitalization needs help with grocery shopping."

Minato turned to the team. "I'll leave this one to you. Report back once you're done."

They headed to the marketplace. Rin and Kakashi walked ahead. Obito slowed his pace to match Hana's, cheeks slightly pink.

"I think I'm getting somewhere with Rin," he grinned. "We went to Yakiniku Q. I even walked her home. She gave me a hug."

Hana didn't respond, her expression unreadable.

He kept rambling about Rin's laugh, the way she said thank you, and how close they were getting. The more he spoke, the more Hana clenched her fists at her sides.

She didn't say a word.

When they reached the woman, she handed them a massive shopping list. Rin scanned it and grabbed two carts.

"If we split up, we'll finish faster."

"I can go with you, Rin—" Obito began.

"Kakashi, you're with me," Rin said quickly. "Hana, you and Obito take the other cart."

Hana forced a smile. "Yup. Sounds great."

Obito looked like someone just burst his balloon.

They split up. Obito tried to make conversation again.

"So... when do you think we'll get a real mission?"

"I don't know. Hopefully soon." Her tone was flat.

He frowned at the short answer but didn't press.

Hana scanned the list and kept moving. She was walking faster than she realized. When she turned to ask Obito to grab something from the top shelf, he wasn't there.

"Here, I'll grab it for you."

A tall man with golden-blonde hair reached up and handed her the box of pasta. He smiled down at her, polite but unfamiliar.

"Uh... thanks," she mumbled, accepting it.

He kept talking, but she didn't register the words. Her chest tightened. Her fingers went cold. Her heartbeat started thudding too loud in her ears.

Something about him—his voice, his build, the way he looked at her—sent her spiraling. She couldn't explain it. Couldn't even think. It was like her body remembered something her mind had buried.

Without another word, she turned and walked away—fast.

She was halfway down the aisle when Obito caught up to her.

"There you are. I thought I lost you again. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said quickly. "Just—just fine."

Obito blinked. "Are you sure?"

"I said I'm fine." Her voice was tight. She pushed the cart ahead, not looking at him.

A pause.

"...Hana. If something's wrong, you can tell me, y'know."

"I said I'm fine, Obito." Her tone snapped sharper than she intended.

He went quiet after that. Not hurt—just surprised.

She felt guilty but didn't want to explain something she didn't fully understand.

Before she could say anything else, another voice cut through the tension.

"Hana? Is that you?"

She turned sharply, heart racing again—only to see Anko, grinning like always.

There was a man beside her—tall, with ghost-pale skin, jet-black hair down to his waist, and unsettling snake-like eyes.

"Oh. Hey," Hana exhaled, trying to steady herself.

"Damn, haven't seen you in forever," Anko said. "Training going good?"

"Yeah. Just, y'know... training." She offered a weak smile.

Anko narrowed her eyes slightly, picking up on something, but didn't push. "This is my sensei, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru gave her a polite smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. You too."

Anko nudged her. "We gotta catch up soon. I've got stuff to tell you."

"Sure," Hana replied, even though her stomach was twisting.

"See ya!"

Once they were gone, Obito gave her a side glance.

"You okay now?"

"I'm fine," she repeated, softer this time.

But her heart hadn't slowed down yet. Something in her gut still felt off—and she didn't even know why.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I now changed Hana being a jinchuriki. I felt like that was kind of cringe lol so I took that one out. I promise there's a twist coming up soon.