"What are you looking at?"
"The window."
"It's pitch-black outside. What's there to look at?"
"Your reflection in the window."
At Liumu's home.
Han held her bowl and chopsticks, looking at Liumu across from her in surprise.
She smiled gently.
Looking up, she replied, "I'm right here in front of you. Why look at my reflection?"
"Because... I'm shy."
Liumu had grown increasingly mature, especially after the Night of the Nine-Tails and taking charge of Root and the ANBU. His formerly mischievous nature seemed to have mellowed considerably.
Before, he had been a child, thinking and acting on whatever first came to mind.
But now...
"Oh, right. The Fourth Hokage asked whether I'd like to take a position at the Ninja Academy."
Han brought this up out of the blue.
A trace of anticipation seemed to flash through her usually cold eyes.
"You can decide that yourself. I respect your choice."
Han smiled faintly.
She nodded.
The Fourth Hokage had actually discussed having Han work at the Ninja Academy with Liumu long ago.
Han loved children, and she wasn't as cold as her appearance suggested.
She was very patient with children.
But Han was no longer the little girl she had once been.
She needed to make her own decisions about everything.
"If you agree, I'll report to the academy in the next couple of days."
Liumu smiled and replied, "All right, I understand."
"System, are you there? Give me a ding if you are."
[Ding...]
"Why have you been so quiet lately? No missions, not even a sound."
[Ding. No mission has been triggered yet.]
"That's your answer?"
Liumu couldn't work out any pattern to the Template System's missions.
Helping Han and the Uchiha in the past, and even having his ninja