CH_114

Neru plucked a long blade of grass and twirled its tip around her finger.

This scheming girl didn't answer Tōji right away.

Tōji, as usual, was quietly on guard.

"Back at the exam venue—why did you seem so distracted?" Tōji adjusted his sitting position and shifted the topic.

"Because my uncle didn't come to watch my match. Isn't it normal to feel a little let down?" Neru's tone didn't sound disappointed at all—there was even a hint of amusement.

Was she hiding something or being honest? Tōji couldn't quite read her anymore.

"What about… your parents?" Tōji hesitated before asking. Neru had never mentioned them before—she always talked about her uncle, even just now.

"They went to the battlefield over four years ago. Never came back." Neru said it lightly.

"Mm… sorry." Tōji didn't dare say anything more.

"Actually—I've already asked my clan to make arrangements." Neru smiled again, and this time the smile seemed genuine, relaxed. "Once I'm promoted to chūnin, I'll join Konoha's medical corps."

She said it so calmly and confidently.

『Well—makes sense. The Itoi clan's connections must be pretty solid.』

"Then congratulations!" Tōji meant it—he was genuinely envious.

Getting into Konoha Hospital was a solid choice, maybe even above average.

"So—what about what you mentioned earlier? About Captain Kenji?" Neru finally circled back.

"Captain Kenji came back from the Land of Water—and he's going again." Tōji wasn't sure why, but he wanted to give her a little information. "It's dangerous. He might not make it out of the Land of Water this time."

"You're actually telling me something this specific? That doesn't sound like the Tōji I know." Neru let go of the grass blade, propped herself up on her hands behind her, and gazed at the motionless blue sky and white clouds. "Are you worried you won't make it back yourself?"

In the past, even when Tōji did share something, it was always vague.

"Who isn't worried." Tōji lay back down again, staring at the gaps in the canopy where sunlight filtered through. "If you can get out of it, you'd better prepare now."

"Then I really should thank you." Neru turned her head to look at his face. "Is it really that dangerous? You always seem to sense danger coming."

"Men's intuition. I just have a feeling this one's going to be really bad." Tōji knew Neru was watching him, and it made him uncomfortable, so he closed his eyes.

The worst injury Tōji had ever suffered was at the hands of Kiri-nin.

Honestly, if Neru could find a way to get into Konoha Hospital early and dodge this mission… that might also give Tōji a better chance of convincing Kenji not to take him and Natchi.

"Still haven't found a way out?" Neru's question had two meanings—one immediate: a way to dodge this mission; one more distant: a way to switch to a safer job.

"I had some ideas, but before I could act on them, Kenji came back and threw everything off. That's why I'm stuck—otherwise you wouldn't have found me here." Tōji suddenly felt something—

In a way, Neru was something like a kindred spirit.

The chemistry they had in battle, their similar approaches to life, the way they could read between each other's lines.

But her personality wasn't easy to warm up to—he had to keep some distance.

Otherwise, she really could have been a teammate worth keeping.

"So your plan isn't just about getting into Konoha Hospital?" Neru asked.

Because she'd always assumed Tōji was thinking along the same lines as her.

"One of my plans. Can't just rely on one." Tōji opened his eyes and saw that Neru was no longer staring at his face.

"Seems like none of your plans are working out too well, then." Neru seemed a bit different now.

『Is it because she's about to escape the "sea of suffering" that she no longer needs to "painstakingly" scheme for survival?』