You decide against trying to follow Naruto. While a part of you wants to track him to down and see what he's up to, you don't really see a point. If need be you can always try and find him again, he doesn't exactly strike you as someone that hard to track down. No, instead you have an appointment with soothing hot water.
As you lean back in the bathwater though, you can't seem to shake the sensation that you're missing something though. Like there's a memory just on the tip of your tongue that slips out of your grasp whenever you reach for it.
You've always hated that feeling.
You slip further into the water as your brow furrows slightly. It's something Naruto blurted out in his scattershot explanation of his training, you're sure of it. Toad sage...why does that sound so familiar? You shift slightly, sinking deeper into the warm embrace of the bathwater, and sigh. No matter, if he thinks getting training from someone called "The Pervy Sage" is going to help him against Neji he's...
Wait. Toad sage. Pervy. Was looking for him near a women's bathhouse. Your eyes snap open with a realization. Pervert Toad Sage. No, it can't be, there's no way he could...but if he is. Could that knucklehead possibly be getting training from Jiraiya of the Sannin?! Hero of the Second Great Shinobi War, Famed Sage of Mount Myōboku, and most importantly Lady Tsunade's teammate!
You sink lower in the water for a moment, bubbles of air betraying your intense thought. You could...no, he's probably too far to track properly by now. Damn, if only you'd made that connection sooner. Even if it turned out not to be the case you have to know. This could be the best chance you had in years to get Lady Tsunade's autograph! Or even maybe meet her!
You suddenly feel very light-headed.
You let yourself fall back against the edge of the pool with a sigh. Letting yourself enjoy the thought of meeting your idol for the first time. What would you even say to her? For years you tried to be exactly like her, to...less than stellar success. You blush slightly at the thought of all the bars and gambling houses you got thrown out of, literally in some cases.
You're pretty sure your picture is still on the wall in a couple of them. But Lady Tsunade is still...she's The Kunoichi, she's-
"That was quite a display you put on."
Why
A feminine voice interrupts your revelry. Why must everyone insist on interrupting your private time? You quirk an eye open to-...oh
The intruder is perched on top of the wooden surrounding the bathing area. Half-shrouded by the shadows of the trees, but still enough to see her long purple hair fall down past the twin swords strapped to her back. You don't really pay attention to those though, because your focus is entirely on the white mask of some indeterminate animal covering her face, and the prominent red tattoo on her upper arm.
ANBU.
Why is an ANBU member here? Why is an ANBU member interrupting you in the bath? Why is an ANBU member interrupting you in the bath?!
You force down the immediate reaction of utter panic, in hopes of approaching this with some measure of calm composure. You fail of course, but it was nice to try at least. At least you remember to surreptitiously grab one of your kunai, folding it close to your breast as you hunker down in the water. "Uhh..."
You know what would be nice now? The thought idly pops into your head: Clothes. Clothes would be very good now.
The ANBU member simply hops down off of the rock without a sound, "Quite obvious who it was as well, made it very easy to find you."
If she's trying to reassure you, this is an exceptionally poor job. Wait. Right, you can-
<Wants to talk to you about something very personal>
Okay, that just raises further questions. You're positive you don't know anyone who's in ANBU, unless they happened to be in the business of recruiting genin right out of the academy. And the last time you even saw an ANBU member was...that night. "Why...why are you here?" You manage to keep the waver out of your voice, mostly.
"I-" She pauses, just for a split second, but enough for you to notice and when she continues her voice is ever so slightly thicker, "-wanted to ask a favor for a friend, she...wants to talk with you about something you saw."
<Doesn't want to reveal her identity to you.>
Your eyes widen slightly at that, why...no, she's ANBU, of course she doesn't want to reveal her identity. Though why would that be her overriding intent? Unless, she's not asking for a friend. So many questions, most of which you suspect you won't get an answer for if you ask. "What does she want to know about?" You ask, trying and failing to keep the edge of suspicion out of your voice.
You see her mask twitch left and right, surveying over the empty bathing area. Idly you wonder how exactly her mask works, you can't see any visible eye holes, just two black dots of paint. Likely some complex seal work to make it transparent, or something similar. It's something to focus on, to distract yourself from freaking out over the fact that a black-ops agent is interrupting your bath to ask you for personal favors holy sh-*ahem*
"Not here. She wants to meet you, in person, someplace safe."
<Wants to know about Hayate>
You chew your lip, you can't exactly say you're surprised. What else would an ANBU, or their "friend" at least, want with you? Do you even know anything classified besides about that night? The old saying about genin and mushrooms springs to mind. Still, something feels...off about this whole thing. You can tell she's lying to you about something. "And...if I say no?" you ask with a lot more confidence than you feel.
"Please I-" she cuts herself off, "She...there's things I cannot get from reports. I would be in your debt."
<Wants to know how her boyfriend died from someone who was there>
Oh.
Do you agree to meet with her friend?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Interlude Vote:
[ ] A Traitor's Lot Kin
[ ] Conflict Within Sakura
[ ] How Troublesome Shikamaru
[ ] Reflections ???
[ ] How Things Seem Kabuto
So, the mystery box option was meeting Yugao. In doing so, you've gained a social option for meeting her next week, with the possibility of getting her as a tutor. In return, you lost the opportunity to meet Jiraiya early, and therefore start working on making an impression early, and you'll have to interact with him solely through Naruto for now.
Trying a new thing where instead of allowing interlude write-ins, I'm curating them just a bit. Narrowing down to several things I think you would be interested in seeing. I'll give a reward if you guys manage to guess who they all represent.
Some are easier than others.
