Gin was at the Meeting Cactus where she and her team usually met up either for training or for assignments. It was somewhat rare that they would go on missions, seeing as Gin’s primary duty was that of being Kazekage, which entailed… well, she wasn’t quite sure, to be honest. She just sat there, signed papers and trained. She was bored to death of administrative duty which was why she took on this mission in the first place. Well, that and the fact that she was currently very underhanded also influenced things. It was meant to be a simple mission. It was labeled as C rank, but it may as well just be a D rank mission, seeing as all she and her team needed to do was go to a party. But the mission title had a nice ring to it and would without a doubt serve to build these kids’ resumes, considering that they had been assigned to guard one of the most prominent noble families in the entire country. Of course, this would entail some travelling on their part, but the family had offered to have them escorted on a carriage to the capital. Gin was initially tempted to reject the offer, seeing as she thought the kids needed the workout of running all the way over to the city. But then again… A luxurious carriage with all the free booze she could want in it was much too hard to pass up. The carriage would be there in a few hours.

The young Kazekage had made Hodaka pack several kimonos for her and her team. She currently carried them sealed into a scroll that was inside her weapon’s pouch. She had to admit, learning fuuinjutsu had been a very good way to invest her time in the hospital. It made carrying her ridiculous amount of weapons much easier. Now, she just waited under the glaring sun of Sunagakure for her squad to gather. She had a smile on her face, glad to finally see something outside of her office. She was also excited for the party. She was downright giddy. The assignment was for her and the team to enjoy the party like any other guests in the room and brace themselves in case something went wrong. And the likeliness of that happening was very small. After all, it wasn’t as if they had been hired to deal with petty fight between guests. There was an actual security company taking care of that. Her job was to take care of any unlikely assassination attempts against the young heiress – a teenage girl that went by the name of Aiza. She was often called Aiza-Hime or Princess Aiza because of her noble status.

Gin spotted a mop of green hair from the corner of her eye. She half expected Kaizen to arrive first, but she wasn’t disappointed to see Jezzi there. She considered the girl a bit of a personal project. She was meek and sickly, but she had a great amount of determination. Besides, she was one of the few, if not the only wood release user in Sunagakure. Of course, that didn’t mean that she didn’t take care of her other two students. She just had to put in a little bit of extra effort when it came to Jezzi. Misoka and Kaizen could handle themselves for the most part. But they had a lot of training to do before they got up to the higher ranks. She just hoped to have them ready for the next chuunin exams. “Hey, Jezzi, dear! You ready for a fun time in the capital?” Gin greeted. She wasn’t able to resist beaming. God she was happy to get out of Suna. Jezzi tilted her head to the side, her face scrunching up slightly. She looked mildly confused. “ Why would we want to there? And what’s with the petname?” She asked bluntly. She was straightforward as always. Gin chuckled and shook her head. “Oh… And good morning,” she added. Gin let out a chuckle. “I’ll explain when the other two get here.”

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The sun was soaring overhead on a midsummer day in the village of Suna.
Misoka blinked as she raised her head to look up into the deep blue sky and felt her heart fill with excitement. She loved sunny weather and a nice training session with her squad, so these two things combined were enough to paint that big, cheerful smile on her face.
It could only be diminished slightly when she spotted her teammate Kaizen coming around the corner, obviously on his way to the Meeting Cactus as well. Despite the effort she’d made so far, Misoka was still nervous around the opposite gender, to the point of constantly questioning the boys’ intentions. However, she had to admit that she was getting along with Kaizen much better than with other boys, probably because of his stern and nerdy nature. The only disadvantage of that was that he wasn’t much of a talker if not absolutely necessary.
“Hey, Kaizen!” she exclaimed friendly and caught up to him. He gave her a short glance before redirecting his gaze at the path, adjusting his glasses. “Misoka.”
They walked in awkward silence for a while, apparently neither of them knowing what to say or how to make conversation. Finally, Misoka gathered the courage to raise her voice. “So... what do you think Gin-sensei makes us do today?”
It was meant to be a simple, small-talk question, but she could see how his brain was functioning behind his furrowed forehead. “I fear I cannot give you an accurate answer to that, but... I would imagine Gin-sensei might start the training with a spar again.”
Misoka nodded hesitantly. “Um... yes. You’re right. Err.. thanks for your opinion.”
“My pleasure.”
‘Still a bit awkward,’ she thought, but quickly regained her smile. Since he was her squad member, she would have plenty of time to get used to his attitude. And it wasn’t like she didn’t respect him for always keeping his cool.

Upon arriving at Team One’s meeting point, Misoka could already see Gin and Jezzi waiting for them.
“Good morning, Gin-sensei! Good morning, Jezzi-chan!”
Oh, she knew how much the green-haired girl hated that suffix. Jezzi seemed to hate everything which might suggest she was little. But Misoka couldn’t bring herself not to tease her a bit.
Kaizen came to a halt beside her so that the team was complete now. He greeted their sensei and Jezzi totally Kaizen-like, politely and keeping a straight face whereas Misoka didn’t bother to hide her excitement. Gin was a role model for her, a strong and independent woman who had climbed the ladder of success seemingly with ease. Misoka wanted to be just like her, fierce in battle and without fear whatsoever.
“What are we going to do today, Gin-sensei?” she inquired eagerly, ready to take any chance to better herself or impress her teacher somehow.

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