"What do you mean?"
"I mean dreams." Chocho blinked. "Like Boruto wants to surpass the Hokage, Sarada wants to become Hokage, and I want to... Hmm, open a really amazing restaurant."
Kiyomi fell silent.
"I don't have a dream."
"Is there anything you want to do?"
Kiyomi thought for a long time.
"I want to..." She hesitated. "I want to know how ordinary people live."
Sarada and Chocho exchanged a glance.
"That's easy." Chocho smiled. "Ordinary people go to school, eat, sleep, sometimes slack off, and sometimes work hard."
"That's all?"
"That's all." Chocho patted Kiyomi on the shoulder. "You're already doing it."
Kiyomi lowered her gaze to the monitor on her wrist. The number was still 78.
Maybe being ordinary wasn't so hard after all.
Mitsuki came by in the evening.
He brought a book of plant illustrations and a few potted plants.
"The air in the hospital isn't great." Mitsuki set the pots on the windowsill. "These plants can purify the air and make the room feel more lively."
Kiyomi looked at the lush green leaves. They were definitely easier on the eyes than the stark white walls.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Mitsuki sat down beside the bed and opened the book. "I thought I'd teach you to recognize some common medicinal herbs. You might not need them, but there's no harm in learning more."
And so another lesson began.
Mitsuki spoke gently and explained everything patiently. He pointed to the plants in the book and told Kiyomi which ones could counter poison, which could heal wounds, and which she must never touch.
"This is datura." Mitsuki pointed to a purple flower. "It's highly poisonous. But if it's prepared properly, it can be made into an anesthetic."
"How do you prepare it?"
"It's complicated. You have to extract