I Won't Leave Again

Tsunade watched the boy slowly approach, his head lowered as if lost in thought, and felt a surge of anger.

She'd spent the whole day worrying about him, and now he was standing right in front of her as if nothing had happened?!

Furious, Tsunade let her temper get the better of her. She sprinted forward, clenched her fist, and charged at Yuya.

Hearing the noise, Yuya looked up and saw Tsunade. He paused for a moment, then said softly, "Tsunade..."

Tsunade froze too, then slowly came to a stop.

Today, Yuya was...

Ahem. He wasn't her older brother. He was a jerk.

But...

Tsunade saw that Yuya looked unwell. He even looked right past her, toward the people behind her. She turned around and spotted Jiraiya and Orochimaru following her.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She no longer felt like punching Yuya, so she pursed her lips at the two boys and asked, "Why are you following me?"

Little Jiraiya ignored Tsunade. He walked right past her to Yuya and clasped his hand, his eyes shining. "Big bro! You're amazing! You badly wounded the Raikage and single-handedly bought the shinobi forces more time to retreat!"

Yuya gave a bitter smile. He had indeed wounded the Raikage, and the troops had indeed retreated, but neither had much to do with him.

The Raikage had launched a surprise attack. Once Senju Tobirama had reacted, there was no way the Raikage could have killed all the shinobi on the front lines. He could have killed Yuya alone, but a safe retreat was still possible. And if he hadn't needed to protect Yuya, Senju Tobirama could have counterattacked.

But Yuya was too important. That option simply wasn't on the table.

Strictly speaking, Yuya had played a role in what happened, but Senju Tobirama's command had mattered far more.

Yet Senju Tobirama had focused all the credit on Yuya...

Yuya knew Senju Tobirama was paving the way for him.

Senju Tobirama had sent people to escort Yuya back to Konoha. He'd returned yesterday, along with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kagami Uchiha.

The two had been badly wounded while covering Yuya's retreat. Their injuries were truly serious. Yuya had covered himself in gold on a whim earlier, effectively wearing a layer of body armor, which had offered some protection.

But gold conducted electricity well. Although the Raikage's Lightning Release chakra had only covered himself, it had still made Yuya's scalp tingle.

It was a double-edged sword.

Without the gold to shield him, Yuya would have been half-dead at best.

There was no way he'd be on his feet now.

Konoha's medical facilities were woefully inadequate at the moment. They didn't even have an organized medical corps. (Note 1)

But now wasn't the time to think about that. Yuya looked up and managed a smile at the three kids, then took them to the most luxurious barbecue restaurant in Konoha.

Well, one he'd opened himself.

Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't hold back. They ordered dozens of plates of meat. Yuya paid them no mind and looked at Orochimaru instead.

"Aren't you going to order anything?"

Still very small, Orochimaru looked at Yuya in puzzlement. "Yuya, you seem kind of strange today."

Yuya's heart skipped a beat. He forced a few laughs, then explained that he'd come back from the battlefield with his life, and figured the meaning of life was to eat his fill every day. Otherwise, if he died, he wouldn't be able to eat anymore. Wouldn't that be a pity?

Little Orochimaru nodded as if he understood, then dipped his meat in sauce and began eating.

Yuya breathed a sigh of relief, but for a while, he didn't know what to say.

When he'd read the manga in his previous life, all he'd known was that Orochimaru's parents died in this war.

He had no idea when they died.

But now...

Yuya knew.

And...

He knew exactly that Orochimaru's parents had died during the Second Raikage's surprise attack, when the Raikage's target had been him.

Yuya felt guilty.

If he hadn't gone... would Orochimaru's parents still have died?

Maybe they would have, but it definitely wouldn't have been because of him.

Then he could have comforted himself with that.

But now...

Halfway through the meal, little Jiraiya finally caught on. He pointed at Yuya suspiciously. "Big bro, don't tell me you've got another way to eat this that you haven't told us about..."

Well, he'd caught on to nothing.

Kids weren't that scheming.

Last time, Yuya hadn't told them they could make dipping sauce. After the kids had eaten their fill, he'd gone and made himself a bowl of fragrant seasoning, then polished it off with relish.

This time, little Jiraiya thought he'd learned his lesson.

He definitely wasn't going to fill up on plain barbecue again.

Yuya paused, then shook his head. He looked at Jiraiya, then at Orochimaru, and smiled softly. "You're right. There is another way to eat this meat."

Little Jiraiya excitedly raised his hand. "I knew it! I knew it!"

Yuya asked the server to bring over some flatbread, then took a piece and showed the three kids how to do it.

Wrap the grilled meat in the flatbread, piling on several pieces at a time. Anyone who liked vegetables could add whichever ones they wanted.

The three kids had never seen anyone eat this way before.

They thoroughly enjoyed the meal, their mouths glistening with grease.

Even Tsunade found herself liking Yuya a little more.

As they were parting, little Orochimaru said he was going to the Commercial Street to buy a bag of rice for the old lady who lived next door to him. Just as he was about to leave, Yuya called him over.

"Orochimaru... would you be willing to be my little brother?" Yuya was completely serious.

No matter how Orochimaru had ended up the way he did in the original manga—betraying the village, killing his teacher, conducting human experiments...

Yuya had a responsibility to look after him now.

Or rather...

He had a responsibility to look after the families of the hundred or so shinobi who'd died because of him this time.

Orochimaru looked at Yuya in confusion. Seeing that he wasn't joking, he instinctively wanted to refuse. But Jiraiya raised his hand beside them. "Big bro! Can I be your little brother too?!"

Yuya's face went dark. That little rascal...

Oh, well.

Yuya sighed and waved dismissively at the two of them. "Fine, fine. You're both my little brothers from now on. You can run wild in Konoha. If you get into trouble, just give them my name. Happy?"

Little Jiraiya's eyes lit up. "Then, big bro, can we have food this delicious again? Once a week—no, once every two weeks! No, once a month is fine!"

Yuya looked at Jiraiya and shook his head with a laugh.

Little Jiraiya was just starting to feel disappointed when Yuya said, "If you want, you can come every day."

With that, Yuya turned and left. Tsunade hurried to catch up—the two of them lived in the same direction.

Behind them, Jiraiya let out an excited shout.

With her hands behind her back, Tsunade walked beside Yuya, pouting as she muttered, "Easy for you to say. It's been months since you last saw us. And this time, you even left the village to go... to go...

"Hmph. Anyway, who knows when you'll leave the village again?"

Watching the ponytail at the back of Tsunade's head swing with every step, Yuya fell silent. After a moment, he spoke softly. "I won't."

Tsunade looked up at him, puzzled.

"I won't," Yuya repeated, though this time he was saying it to himself.

"I won't leave again." Yuya raised his head and gazed at the brilliant sunset, murmuring softly,

"I'll never leave again."

Tsunade stared blankly at the boy beside her, who was more than a head taller than she was. She felt as if something had changed inside her...

"All right." Yuya lowered his head to look at Tsunade and smiled. "You go on home. Your big brother has some things to take care of tonight."

The warm feeling that had started to rise in Tsunade vanished at once. She stared at Yuya, exasperated. "You really are busy. Does that mean we won't see you for months starting tomorrow?"

Yuya laughed. "Of course not. Listen, wait for me after school tomorrow. I promise I'll come take you all out for barbecue again."

Tsunade blinked, then held out her little finger. "Pinky promise."

Their hands weren't that different in size as they hooked pinkies. Then Yuya smiled and said goodbye to Tsunade.

Then he turned away, his smile fading.

He needed to deal with what had caused all this.

Note 1: In the original Naruto story, Tsunade and Dan Katō first took an interest in each other during a discussion meeting of Konoha's medical corps. Tsunade was already in her twenties then, and Nawaki was a Genin. Anyone who's made it through nine years of compulsory education knows what advanced medical care can do for a country. It's a field that truly benefits the masses. And leaving aside those lofty benefits, even in practical terms, a healthy person can contribute more to society than someone who's sickly. Those are real, tangible benefits.