At night, Senya slept in the middle, with Kurotsuchi lying to his left and Yugito Nii to his right. Each of them had their own blanket, and they lay neatly on the tatami mats.
Not long after lying down, Kurotsuchi drifted into a baby-like sleep.
An hour later, unable to fall asleep, Senya could not help but sigh inwardly.
"Young people really have it good. They fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. I'm so jealous of that baby-like sleep."
Yet that soft-spoken sigh made Yugito Nii beside him shift her body. She turned onto her side and looked at Senya.
"What is it? Something on your mind? Can't sleep?" Her gentle, mature voice sounded beside his ear.
Senya subconsciously turned his head and saw Yugito Nii lying on her side, propping up her head with one hand. Her beautiful eyes were lowered as she stared at him.
"Yeah. I'm thinking about something."
"What are you thinking about? Tell me."
As Yugito Nii spoke, she shifted her blanket and moved closer to Senya so she could hear him clearly, bringing her ear close to him.
Senya only felt his nose itching. It was the loose strands from Yugito Nii's braid hanging over his face, and he had no choice but to brush them away with his fingers.
Otherwise, if he sneezed and woke Kurotsuchi, that would be bad.
"Move back a little. It's itchy."
Only then did Yugito Nii reluctantly move her head back.
"Is this okay now?"
"Go on, what were you thinking about?"
She looked at Senya expectantly, but he seemed completely unaware of it, his expression utterly serious.
"I was thinking about when peace would truly come to the Shinobi World, and when these awful Earth Cakes that are so hard to swallow would disappear."