Tsunade

Three days later, at noon.

Byakuya came out of Konoha Hospital, planning to buy some lunch. He had recently become fond of the chicken skewers sold on the next street. Best of all, they were tasty and cheap.

Unfortunately, only a limited amount of chicken was sold, so by the time he went home in the evening, he probably wouldn't be able to buy any.

He rounded a corner and saw three familiar figures.

Kakashi stood in the middle, his silver hair swaying gently in the wind. Rin stood to his left, holding a bag and looking at him with concern in her eyes. Obito stood on the right with his hands in his pockets, wearing an expression that said, "I'm not here to keep him company," but his eyes kept darting toward Kakashi's face.

Over the past few days, there had been far fewer rumors in the village about Hatake Sakumo's failed mission.

Minato and the others had probably put in a lot of effort too, but the real reason was probably that there was no longer anyone constantly pushing the rumors from behind the scenes.

But another rumor had begun to spread: something had happened to White Fang. Some even said he was dead.

With no official denial, more and more people began to accept White Fang's death as fact.

Of course, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, Obito had learned the truth about White Fang, even if he wasn't particularly valued. And since he knew, that meant Rin knew too.

They were clearly there to comfort Kakashi, but judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be listening. Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something else.

That made Obito, who had been watching Kakashi, grind his teeth in frustration.

"Byakuya-senpai!"

Rin was the first to spot him and waved a greeting.

Obito followed her gaze, and his face fell. "You again?"

Everyone had been acting naturally, but as soon as Kakashi heard Byakuya's name, he turned and stared at him, startling the other two.

"Kakashi? You know Byakuya-senpai?"

Kakashi looked at Byakuya.

"Of course. We've known each other for a long time."

"Really? You never told us..." There was a note of disappointment in Rin's voice that even she hadn't noticed.

But Obito, sensitive to emotions, picked up on it.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

One sentence had shut them both down... Kakashi really was something when he was young.

"What's wrong? Did you need something from me?" Byakuya smiled, neither too familiarly nor too distantly. "I was going to buy some chicken skewers that have been really popular lately. If you haven't tried them, I recommend—"

"Byakuya." Kakashi cut him off. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Kakashi!"

A little at a loss over Kakashi's aggressive manner, Rin hurried to apologize to Byakuya. Offending an outstanding medical-nin like him wouldn't do Kakashi any good.

"He isn't usually like this. It's just that recently... something happened in his family..."

"Isn't Kakashi always like this?"

Obito muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Rin.

"Mm, it's all right."

Byakuya patted Rin on the shoulder.

"I know what he's like."

Rin became even more flustered.

"Where were you on the night three days ago?"

Kakashi didn't speak loudly, but his question was direct.

Rin froze, looking from Kakashi to Byakuya. Obito frowned as well.

Byakuya met Kakashi's eyes without looking away.

"I've been at home with Hayate these past few days."

Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to judge whether he was telling the truth.

But all he saw was a gentle smile, tinged with a hint of confusion.

"All right, all right!" Obito suddenly threw an arm around Kakashi's shoulders and dragged him toward the ramen shop. "You're getting obsessed. Come on, let's go eat ramen. My treat!"

"Obito, let go—"

"No! You're eating a bowl of ramen with me today, or I'm not letting go!"

Kakashi stumbled a couple of steps as Obito pulled him along, then looked back at Byakuya.

Byakuya remained where he was, without moving.

After taking a couple of steps, Obito looked back too and pointed at Byakuya. "Hey, you—stay away from Rin!"

"Obito!" Rin's face turned red. "What are you saying?!"

Obito spoke without a hint of shame. "I'm worried he'll trick you. I just get the feeling he's no good."

"Obito, come back and apologize to Byakuya-senpai!"

Byakuya watched them walk away, bickering noisily, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

It was good to be young.

Konoha Hospital.

Byakuya pushed open the door to his examination room and stopped in his tracks.

Tsunade sat in his chair with her legs propped up on his desk and her eyes closed, her long blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. Her breathing was even—she was asleep.

Byakuya stood in the doorway without making a sound. Asleep, Tsunade looked like a different person: her brows were no longer tightly furrowed, and her fingers were no longer clutching at anything, as though she had temporarily laid down some heavy burden. But Byakuya knew that when she woke up, those things would weigh on her again.

He couldn't help recalling their first meeting.

It had been in the forty-second year of Konoha.

Byakuya had only recently joined Konoha Hospital and was still a trainee.

That afternoon, a critically injured ninja had been brought into the emergency room. His chest had been pierced by some kind of Ninjutsu, his internal organs were shattered, and the bleeding wouldn't stop. The doctor in charge was a veteran medical-nin in his forties. After scrambling to treat him for half an hour, his face had grown increasingly pale.

"Call Lady Tsunade," he said.

Someone ran out. A few minutes later, Tsunade pushed the door open and came in.

"Everyone else, out... You, stay."

Byakuya was the assistant for that operation, and he was the only one kept behind to help.

He stood in the corner, handing her instruments. It was his first time seeing Tsunade work up close. Her hands were steady, her gaze focused, and every movement seemed precisely calculated: accurate and direct.

The operation went on for nearly an hour. Tsunade kept working and working until she finished the final stitch.

Then she stopped.

Byakuya saw her hands trembling. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat slid down her cheeks from her forehead. Her eyes were fixed on the blood left on the operating table, her pupils contracting.

"Lady Tsunade?" Byakuya called softly.

Tsunade didn't answer. She abruptly stepped back, knocking over the instrument stand behind her. Metal instruments fell to the floor with a piercing clatter. She looked down at her hand. The scalpel was still in it, and there was still blood on the blade.

Her breathing grew more and more rapid.

"No..."

Byakuya saw her hands shaking and her eyes losing focus. The scalpel fell to the floor, her legs gave way, and she collapsed into a sitting position.

Her arm struck the instrument stand. The scalpel's blade cut her palm, and blood seeped out. Her pupils contracted to their limit. She retreated into a corner, held her head, and began trembling uncontrollably.

"No... no..."

A choked voice rang out.

Byakuya stood where he was, watching her.

Is this hemophobia?

A psychological disorder brought on by the overwhelming despair of losing her younger brother and her lover on the battlefield, unable to save them no matter what she did...

Even without extending his Reiatsu to sense her, he could feel how unstable Tsunade's soul was.

Kaido should help. Even if it can't cure her, it should at least calm her down. But that would expose me to others too early.

After weighing his options, Byakuya prepared to go out and call for help.

But a hand suddenly grabbed his pant leg.

Tsunade raised her head. Her face was pale, but her eyes had regained their clarity.

"No... you can't go out... You can't let anyone know..."

He tried to pull his leg free, but it wouldn't budge.

Her reason was suppressed again, and Tsunade began to tremble once more. With no other choice, Byakuya moved closer to her and waited for her to recover.

"Dan..."

Byakuya froze and looked down to see the dazed look in Tsunade's eyes.

"Dan... I miss you so much..." Tsunade's voice was so soft it was barely audible. "Don't go..."

Byakuya glanced at his long hair and sighed.

He held both hands over her head, and a pale green light appeared—Medical Ninjutsu. Beneath that pale green layer, the light of Kaido seeped in as well, surrounding Tsunade's unstable soul and beginning to flow gently.

Tsunade's breathing gradually steadied.

As though she had fallen asleep, her hand let go.

Byakuya stood up and used Medical Ninjutsu on her hand.

He had only just managed to stop the bleeding before bandaging it.

His Medical Ninjutsu wasn't much to speak of yet.

Then he began putting away the instruments Tsunade had knocked over.

"Dan...?"

Tsunade woke up soon afterward.

"Lady Tsunade."

"How long has it been?"

"Probably only five minutes."

"..." She had never recovered so quickly before. What happened?

"What did you do?"

"I only stopped the bleeding on your hand," Byakuya replied respectfully.

"..." Tsunade's memory was a little muddled, but she still felt there was something else. Yet looking at the ten-year-old child before her, she felt it was all her imagination.

"Don't tell anyone what you just saw."

"All right."

"..." Tsunade had originally intended to use a sterner tone, but after hearing his answer, she felt there was no need.

"You can go... Oh, right, what's your name?"

"Gekkō Byakuya."

Byakuya came back to himself.

Tsunade was still asleep in his chair.

He walked over but didn't wake her. Instead, he leaned against the wall by the window and waited.

About ten minutes later, Tsunade's eyelashes moved. She opened her eyes and saw Byakuya staring absently out the window.

"When did you get here?"

Byakuya turned to look at her.

"About ten minutes ago."

Tsunade stretched, accidentally exposing some of the pale skin of her chest.

Byakuya's gaze darted away almost reflexively, shifting to the empty picture frame in the corner. The corners of Tsunade's mouth curved upward.

"Hmph, such a prude."

Byakuya's face remained expressionless.

"I'm only twelve, ma'am..."

Tsunade's gaze grew a little dangerous.

Byakuya had no choice but to correct himself. "...Sis."

"Smart choice."

She walked over to the window and leaned against the other side, folding her arms across her chest.

"Were you the one who did it, with Sakumo?"

Byakuya didn't answer.

Tsunade didn't look at him, only gazed at the sky outside the window.

"Your Medical Ninjutsu is too unusual," she said. "Even though you're hiding it well now—doing your best to make it look like everyone else's—you've still got a long way to go if you want to fool me."

Byakuya was silent for a moment.

"Your Medical Ninjutsu is remarkable... or rather, your Chakra is remarkable."

"Two years ago, when your Medical Ninjutsu was still very poor, you were even able to soothe my hemophobia."

"...You remembered?"

"I remembered a long time ago. But you didn't reveal my hemophobia, so I didn't tell anyone about this either."

"So you knew who did it three days ago."

"Yes." Tsunade's tone was flat. "I just didn't expect your swordsmanship to be that good too."

Byakuya said nothing. He knew Tsunade hadn't reported this to the Third. If she had, the Anbu would have come knocking long ago.

Of course, it might also have been Root.

Tsunade looked out the window. In the distance, the faces of the successive Hokage were carved into Hokage Rock.

"Hey." Tsunade didn't turn around, and her voice was soft. "Will you harm Konoha?"

"No."

"Good. I believe you."

As she spoke, Tsunade tossed him a notebook. Byakuya caught it and saw "Mystical Palm Technique" written on it.

"These are my notes from learning the Mystical Palm Technique. Your Medical Ninjutsu has improved quickly, so you should be ready to start learning it."

Holding the notebook, Byakuya asked, "So do I need to treat you as my teacher?"

"Teachers and disciples, what a hassle. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask someone else. I don't have that much time to teach you."

Tsunade rose and walked toward the door.

"By the way, Hatake Sakumo still needs to stay in the hospital for observation for a while. You'll be in charge of him."

She left.

Baiye stood by the window, the booklet in his hand, looking at the sky outside.

The setting sun dyed the clouds orange-red.

It suddenly occurred to him: if Tsunade had recovered her memories, did she still remember hugging a ten-year-old child's leg and crying, "Don't go"?

The corners of Baiye's mouth twitched upward despite himself.