Sometimes, Natsumi felt that she was one of the only shinobi in all of Konoha who preferred D-rank missions. Admittedly, the D-rank missions she was most often sent on involved work that played to her strengths. If it was a food-related mission, she was more likely than anyone else to be given that assignment, and she appreciated the Hokage's consideration. While arguably some of it could be seen as placing a qualified person accordingly, she doubted any other Hokage would be quite so considerate about giving a young jounin so many D-ranked missions just because she preferred them.

Sadly, this mission she'd come back from had not been D-rank. It had been an A-rank mission, and a stressful one at that. Though Natsumi's injuries were mild enough that medical attention wasn't needed, she was exhausted. Mentally and physically exhausted. She wasn't certain she even had the energy to cook herself dinner, and her hobby was normally what she used to unwind.

It was a long walk home, too. In the end, she decided it would be best to order something for herself. She'd just have to find the closest place that was still good enough to meet her standards. Natsumi devoted almost as much time to becoming a proficient cook as she did to her training, and the only reason she didn't devote more time to cooking than training was because she had relatives and teammates that she didn't want to let down. She had high standards, even for fast food. It took a certain amount of care to make something that wasn't bland and mass-processed.

There was a stand that sold soba noodles that would do nicely. Natsumi arrived, placed her order, and waited while they prepared her meal. As she waited, her eyes began to shut, and she slumped to the side, falling asleep on the shoulder of the person next to her.