During the years Asuna had been away, Satomi had carefully tended to her room every day. It looked exactly as it had when she left. Asuna changed out of her combat uniform into casual clothes, then let down the hair she had kept tied up, finally recapturing something of her old life.
Asuna leaned back and fell onto her bed, letting out a deep breath. Whatever else might change, her own bed was still the most comfortable. In the Land of Rain, living conditions had been reasonably good thanks to Hanzō's consideration for the Konoha Ninja Village. Once war broke out, however, everything changed. Conditions on the front lines were far worse, and she could only expect them to deteriorate further as the fighting intensified.
Asuna lay there for a while, quietly dozing, before getting up to see whether there was anything she could help with. The moment she opened the door, she sensed someone rushing toward her and instinctively took a defensive stance. But she felt no hostility, and the other person threw her arms around her.
"Wow, it really is you, Asuna! It's been so long." After embracing Asuna, the newcomer looked her over, then happily rubbed her cheek against hers.
"Let go of me, Akemi. Don't do that." Asuna was rather unused to her sister's enthusiasm. Akemi had always been affectionate, but never quite this exuberant.
"Well, it's been so long since I last saw you." Sensing her younger sister's unspoken resistance, Akemi reluctantly let go. "You've grown up, Asuna."
"We were born on the same day." Asuna straightened her rumpled clothes. "Akemi, how did you get back so quickly? Mother said the Research Department was really busy lately."
"It is. Since war with the Land of Lightning is quite likely, the village has asked us to