Chapter 2: Wildflower

Chapter 2: Wildflower

"Miss Rin."

Nohara Rin felt awkward as she watched the maid bring in tea. She stood up clumsily to return the greeting, but the maid left with a bow without making eye contact.

The vast reception room felt uncomfortably empty. Muffled voices drifted from the inner room, where her teacher was conversing with the head of the Hyuga clan.

Rin picked up her teacup and took small sips, her eyes wandering aimlessly around the room. 

She had saved a fellow villager on the battlefield, but it seemed to have embroiled her in some trouble, necessitating her teacher's intervention on her behalf.

Fortunately, the Hyuga family had always treated her courteously when inviting her over, only inquiring about the details of what happened without giving her any difficulty.

Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly noticed a figure appear in the doorway.

The courtyard was noisy in the daylight, with sunlight slanting into the reception room. The person stood at the boundary between light and shadow, their fine facial features barely visible in the dim backlight.

"The Hyuga clan members all seem quite good-looking..." she thought absently. After several visits to the Hyuga compound, the many pairs of white eyes she had seen were starting to blur together.

But she remembered clearly who this person was.

"It's you," Rin said, quickly setting down her teacup and standing up.

During a mission with Kakashi to search for a missing reconnaissance team, they had only found Hyuga Shin, blind and critically injured. The rest of the team had perished.

At the time, they were near the edge of the Rock ninja camp and risked being discovered by the enemy. Hyuga Shin told her and Kakashi that if they didn't want to bring back a blind burden, they should help him exchange his eyes.

Her impression of him ended with him being brought back to the village. Although Rin had visited the Hyuga compound several times since then, always because of him, she had never seen him again until now.

"How are you feeling?" Rin asked, her gaze lingering for a moment on his eyes as she examined him.

Those dark pupils were deep and quiet, seemingly ordinary, but looked quite out of place on a member of the Hyuga clan.

"Almost fully recovered," he replied.

"And your eyes... have you gotten used to them?" 

"Yes, I can see everything."

"That's good."

Rin had only performed eye transplant surgery twice, both under urgent circumstances. Due to the imperfect techniques and equipment, she was worried there might be some aftereffects for Hyuga Shin.

"Thank you for everything you've done," Shin said suddenly.

"Did you come here just to thank me again?" Rin chuckled, finding him rather straightforward. "You already thanked me before. Besides, we're fellow villagers - saving you was just my duty."

"It means a lot to me," Shin insisted.

Rin felt a bit embarrassed. "You... don't need to worry about it so much."

Shin didn't dwell on the topic further and changed the subject: "I heard Lord Minato is here."

Rin nodded. "My teacher is talking with Hiashi-san."

"It seems I'll have the honor of meeting Lord Minato then."

Rin smiled gently. She was used to her teacher having countless admirers.

As they chatted casually, sudden noises came from the inner room. Hyuga Hiashi and Namikaze Minato emerged together.

Hiashi's smile was friendly, quite different from how Shin usually saw him. Then Shin saw the future Fourth Hokage - a tall, handsome young man with blond hair.

"Sensei," Rin called out immediately, also greeting Hiashi, "Hiashi-san."

Shin stood to the side and bowed slightly without speaking.

"The war at the front lines is in a stalemate. We'll have to rely on you to lead us, Minato," Hiashi was saying.

"With the Hokage here, we will surely be victorious," Minato replied.

Hiashi's gaze swept over the two in the reception room, noticing Shin was wearing a forehead protector today.

Then he looked at Rin and said with a sudden smile, "We invited Miss Rin over to better understand the situation at the time, for follow-up treatment. I didn't expect you to make a special trip for this, Minato. It seems we haven't been hospitable enough to Miss Rin."

Minato also smiled. "You're too kind, Hiashi-san. I was just worried Rin might offend you somehow."

Hiashi said, "Miss Rin is an excellent medical ninja. Many of our clan members admire her greatly."

Rin was taken aback by the unexpected praise.

"Please don't see us out. We'll take our leave now," Minato said with a slight bow.

"Shin, escort them out," Hiashi said with a smile.

Leaving the reception room, the three walked along the corridor towards the main gate.

The Hyuga compound was vast, with rock gardens, streams, ponds and greenery visible. Sunlight filtered through, casting shadows on the stones.

"You must be Hyuga Shin," Minato said as they walked, initiating conversation with the young man beside him.

"Yes, Lord Minato."

"No need to be so formal. We owe that important victory to the intelligence you provided," Minato said with a light smile.

"The intelligence wasn't gathered by me alone. It was the achievement of the entire reconnaissance team," Shin replied.

Minato paused, moved by his words. He nodded, "You're right."

Then he sighed, "The situation must have been extremely dangerous."

Shin said, "It was all for the village. Didn't one of your students sacrifice himself for the same reason, Minato-senpai?"

His words were met with silence from the other two. Shin noticed Rin lower her head dejectedly.

After a while, Minato spoke again: "No one will have died in vain."

His voice was steady and powerful, his expression resolute, as if making a promise.

Shin replied without changing his expression, "You're right, Minato-senpai. Every fallen comrade is a hero of the village. Their will shall guide us to persevere and move forward."

Minato was surprised to hear such high-sounding words and couldn't help but give Shin another look.

"It's admirable that you have such conviction."

Shin continued, "The sacrifice of my teammates served as a warning to me. I also want to become someone like you, Minato-senpai, fighting on the front lines for the village. It's a pity the clan requires me to stay in the village to recover for now. If only I could fight alongside you."

Minato smiled, "Since you haven't fully recovered, you should focus on resting. Young people like you staying alive is also a contribution to the village. Moreover, the power of your Hyuga clan is very special and significant to the village."

Shin's eyes flickered slightly. "You're right, Minato-senpai."

At the gate of the Hyuga compound, Shin watched the two leave, his expression returning to calm.

Rejected... as expected. How could he accept such a selfish request? He wasn't a hot-blooded idiot like Naruto.

After Minato and Rin had left the Hyuga compound, Rin couldn't help saying to her teacher, "Shin-kun seems like a good person too."

Perhaps because both their teammates had been sacrificed, Rin felt a sense of empathy towards him.

Minato neither agreed nor disagreed, only smiling as he said, "Don't associate with him too much."

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