Chapter 25.

"You have come to collect a mission?" Izuna-nii was surprised by my sudden appearance in his office. It isn't unheard-of for a shinobi to get missions directly from the Hokage, but it's not common for genins to do so, as there is a special department for that. However, since my enthusiastic students desired a 'proper mission', we came to him as he is the one, who's giving out dangerous tasks of higher-end B-rank and above.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I judged my students ready for a job of higher difficulty."

[Apparently, they were not satisfied with their three easy B-ranks. I want them to finally calm down, that is why, could you please choose something difficult?]

The Hokage showed a subtle smirk and handed me a red scroll with a big 'B' on it. The eyes of my students glittered at the sight of the challenge and I could only gently smile. They don't know what they had gotten themselves into.

The Hokage wasn't joking around. The elimination of nukenin. They are not going to be all that powerful, bunch of chunins and a jounin at most, but it will be a mission on a harder end. It's time for their first in-action blood. The cruel, true initiation that a shinobi must pass at some point in time.

[Good luck with them later, Malika. It will be difficult, ] Izuna said when we were already exciting the office.

[Thanks.]

"Alright! We are meeting up by the gates in two hours, " after we left the building and walked into the park I announced this as I looked at their reaction.

"Sensei! We are already fully equipped!" Tsunade stepped forward, reporting their condition.

"Yup! We learnt your tricks from last time, Malika-sensei!" Jiraya proudly announced as he unveiled a bid backpack from an on-body fuin. " 'A shinobi must be always prepared for the unforeseen circumstances and carry all his essentials on him at all time' "

I approvingly nodded, "Alright! Let's do a check-up. Shurikens?"

"Hai!" they answered in the unison.

"Hygiene necessities?"

"Hai!"

"A few spares of clothes?"

"Hai!" by this point, Orochimaru, Hiruko and Tsunade smelled that something was amiss and weren't as energetic in their responses.

"A teddy bear and fluffy pyjamas?"

"Hai!" gleeful Jiraya instantly replied; however, after a moment, when he digested the said words, he began to turn red. "That was illegal, Sensei!"

"Do you really have a teddy bear?" surprisingly, it was Hiruko who decided to initiate the feud.

"It's not a teddy bear, it's a toad plush..." Jiraya corrected him without a second thought and when he realized what had happened, it was too late to do the damage control.

"So Jiraya-kun is s-still a child, " Orochimaru crept up to his friend a hissed into his ear, causing the later to jump away.

"You are unbelievable, Orochimaru!"

"I think it's more unbelievable that you still sleep with a plush, " Tsunade headbutted into the argument and the whole group began to quarrel in their usual, friendly manner.

I stood a little bit to the side, observing them with a smile but my heart ached a little. They will not be as cheerful after the completion of our mission. Perhaps, it might be a good idea to get each and every one of them a cuddling toy after the cleanup.

***

Orochimaru looked at his pale hand as he sat beside a campfire. The colourful patches of light danced on his palm, bringing back the image of warm, fresh blood.

'What is the meaning of life?'

It can be easily taken away by a flick of a wrist with a shuriken in it. It can be cut short by a drop of poison. Life is...

Life is too short and unpredictable to be wasted.

His eyes shook a little, as he clenched the fingers of his free hand shut. What could be considered a waste of time? Hobbies? Friends? Village?

"Hey, Orochimaru-kun. Why aren't you in the tent? I'm the one on watch, " the gentle voice rang behind the boy, startling him and kicking out the thoughts, that he just had, out of his mind.

"I... couldn't fall asleep and came out of some fresh air."

His golden eyes studied the figure before him. Malika-sensei wasn't big and looked to be around their age. In fact, when he first met her, he was sure that she was joking when she introduced herself as a full-fledged ninja. However, he was soon proven wrong, when he asked the previous Hokage himself.

Since then, he found himself admiring her. She never pushed him away even when things, that he was interested in, were almost crossing the line of morals. She didn't berate or left Hiruko that clearly stated his dreams on their very first encounter. In fact, she supported both of them, gave pointers on different subjects and even revealed the place where they might find their destiny - the research department.

"Is that so?" she smiled and sat opposite to him. "Then, go to sleep once you've got enough."

Maybe it would be fine to share his resent thought with her? She wouldn't judge, right?

"Sensei..." his lips began to move before his brain or feelings had time to hinder them. He had told her everything. His fears, thoughts and feelings that just overflowed his mind after the completion of their mission. She listened carefully to every word and never interrupted.

Subconsciously, Orochimaru was waiting for one of those speeches about the Will of Fire, the importance of life or other hypocritical crap and was ready to follow his personal conclusions.

"Well, I can't say that I have the answer to your question, Orochimaru-kun, " however, once again she exceeded his expectations. "Everyone has their own interpretation of the meaning of life. Some find it in their family, others in training. Sometimes people stray from the path and become even more miserable, but continue to follow what they think is their meaning."

Orochimaru slightly nodded, understanding the logic, "Then, what should I do?"

"Eh? I wouldn't know the answer, Orochimaru. You have to find it yourself, " she scratched the back of her head. "I can only offer you advice. Cherish loyal comrades and friends. Sometimes, they can be the only reason to continue living."

***

We finished the mission on the same day we received it. I have to give it to my team, they have the will of iron. Even after the massacre, they didn't panic, calmly disposed of the bodies and set up the camp.

No, they were pretending to be calm, while their auras and shaky hands gave away the true state of their young minds. I let them rest and took up the night watch. I can do that quite easily, when they, on the other hand, need as much rest as possible.

After scouting the perimeter and setting up the barrier, I returned to the camp only to see one of my pupils staring at the fire and his hands. The face appeared to be detached from the world and his aura was in complete disarray.

I snapped him back in reality by creeping closer from the behind and sending some mana into his head. There, it is much better not to think too much sometimes. I sat down, ready to play the role of a therapist and made a mental note to show them to some professionals back in Konoha.

He spoke and shared what was weighing on him and I could only analyse, listen and advice. I can't decide his future for him, only direct. Whether to follow the given path or not, was solely his choice.

"Go and get some rest, Orochi-kun."

The teenager slavishly responded with a nod and began to move in the direction of his tent while holding a plushy snake that I made sure to prepare for him. I don't think he even realised that he was sitting out her with it.

With a light chuckle, I made a clone to stay here and teleported back into my house. The lights were off, but I could feel that sustain someone decided that it would be alright to stay up late if a parent isn't present.

"Minato-kun, " I gently knocked on the door and heard a commotion in the room as if someone was trying to quickly get to bed, but tripped and fell. I entered the door to see that Minato fell from his chair with the book still in his hands "I thought that we agreed that you will not read past nine in the evening and go straight to bed."

"I... I-i..." his eyes began to dart everywhere as he was panicking. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

I silently gazed at him for a second before grabbing him and giving the child a bear hug.

"Sh... sh... I didn't mean to scare you. Don't cry."

I wiped away the drops that appeared in the corners of his eyes. I red the outer layer of his mind and found the reason. He was afraid that I would kick him out for his mistakes or misbehaving.

"It's alright to play or go against someone or something, Minato. I'm not angry."

"Really?"

"Yup!" I winked at him and picked up the small ball of cuteness. "Did you eat dinner I left for you?"

"Yes! Thank you, everything was delicious!"

"I'm glad that you are so responsible! I won't have to worry about you the next time I leave, right?"

"No!"

"That's great! Now, let me put you to bed and I'll return to my students."

His eyes rounded and he began to touch my cheeks to make sure that I wasn't an illusion.

"But you are here? And you said that the mission was far away... I thought you were already back!"

"He-he-he! Not yet, but we will be back tomorrow afternoon. Your guardian has some tricks up her sleeve and she was able to pay you a visit!"

After some time, I managed to put him to sleep after singing a lullaby from my world and returned to the camp.

It was such an interesting feeling - being a parent!