Coming Clean

Tsunade came upstairs, opened the bedroom door, and switched on the light. A spacious, tidy bedroom appeared before her.

The room was simply furnished, with only a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a small bookshelf.

The bookshelf held some books and scrolls of various colors. Outside the bedroom window was a small balcony for hanging laundry.

She flopped face-first onto the neat little bed. The clean sheets smelled of sunshine, and Tsunade let out a contented sigh.

A lot had happened today. She'd left Konoha that morning, and by evening Minato and the others had been attacked. She was mentally exhausted.

Damn Danzo!

It had taken so much effort to finally decide to leave for a while. Wouldn't this just make it harder to leave now?

Though Danzo was the only rotten one among the higher-ups, after what had happened, she didn't dare leave again so easily.

Oh, well...

It seemed fate had other plans!

At least, no matter how things unfolded from here, it wouldn't all be my fault anymore, right?

Tsunade thought quietly, her mind a jumble of thoughts. Before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Perhaps it was the bed's doing, but she slept more soundly than ever...

The next day, at school.

"Nonō, could we talk alone?"

At noon, Minato waited around the corner of the school hallway, his eyes quietly fixed on Nonō as she came out of the classroom.

His gentle voice made Nonō pause. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes; she hadn't expected Minato to approach her out of the blue.

She still didn't know that Danzo had been taken out.

After all, he was the Hokage's aide, a great big shot. Ordinary people could hardly even meet him, so how could someone like him just die so easily?

So when Minato suddenly came to see her, her heart started racing.

She felt shy, hopeful, and, more than anything, nervous and guarded.

Wondering what Minato wanted, Nonō gave a small nod.

They went up to the school rooftop, where no one else was around.

According to those romance books Danzo had bought, lots of confessions happened on school rooftops!

Nonō stole a glance at Minato's profile, trying to read something in his bright blue eyes.

Was Minato going to confess to her?

The thought made her cheeks feel a little warm.

No, no, calm down, Nonō. Don't lose your head...

"Are you... working for Danzo?"

As Nonō's thoughts ran wild, Minato finally asked in a quiet voice.

His words shattered all her fantasies and dragged her back to reality.

He'd found out...

Nonō gave the slightest start. Her mind cleared at once, and her lovestruck thoughts vanished. Her face became perfectly calm.

What should she do?

Should she come clean?

Yes!

She made up her mind in an instant.

Minato had looked at her with suspicion before.

Now that he'd chosen to confront her, he'd probably found solid proof.

He wasn't asking because he wasn't sure. He'd come to her already knowing the answer.

If she kept denying it, he'd only trust her less.

Now that her identity was exposed, who knew what would happen to her next? This might be her only chance to free the orphanage from Danzo's threats!

"I'm sorry..."

Nonō lowered her head slightly. "I had no choice, but please believe me. I never meant to hurt you."

"Don't be so nervous. I'm not blaming you."

Seeing Nonō admit it so frankly, a smile flickered across Minato's calm face. "Would you tell me why?"

"I... I'm from the orphanage."

Minato's even-tempered manner let Nonō breathe a little easier.

Thank goodness, he wasn't angry!

Minato really was so considerate...

"Half a year ago, Danzo visited the orphanage. He said he wanted to select talented children for special training, and in the end he chose me. He didn't look like a good person, so at first I didn't want to agree."

As she spoke, Nonō's face fell. "But he's the Hokage's aide. He could cut off the orphanage's funding with a single word. We were already struggling to get enough to eat. If the funding was cut off too..."

"I see..."

Minato nodded. That was about what he'd expected. Those were the only tricks Danzo had.

"What task did he give you?" Minato asked.

Nonō cautiously glanced at him. "Could I trade that information for something?"

"What do you want in exchange?"

Minato couldn't help laughing to himself. He could more or less guess what she was going to ask for.

Without hesitation, Nonō said, "I want Lady Tsunade to protect the orphanage! Please don't let Danzo go after it!"

"That's all?" Minato asked to make sure.

This time, Nonō hesitated.

She wanted Tsunade to help the orphanage, at least enough to make sure everyone could eat and stay warm.

But then she thought of all the mouths the orphanage had to feed. Surely one person couldn't support them all.

"If... I give you one more piece of information, could you make sure everyone at the orphanage gets enough to eat?"

After a long struggle, she finally asked, embarrassed.

"Sure."

Minato agreed without hesitation. "Can you tell me now?"

Nonō looked up in surprise. Minato had agreed so readily that she couldn't help wondering whether he meant it.

But she had no other choice now. She could only accept her fate and hope he'd keep his word.

"Danzo's task for me was... to make Minato Namikaze like me."

As she said it, she lowered her head in embarrassment, the tips of her ears turning slightly warm.

"That was the only task he gave me, but I kept looking for reasons to put it off. Don't misunderstand, it's not that I don't like you... No, I mean... I just didn't think it was right. Feelings should be something more sincere."

"I understand."

Minato nodded. "What's the other piece of information?"

"I suspect Danzo might do something to Kushina, or even to you. I'm not completely sure, but I think it's worth being careful."

"From my interactions with him, Danzo seems fiercely determined to become Hokage. He also hates anyone who might get in his way, no matter who they are."

Nonō watched Minato uneasily. She'd originally planned to save this information as a last resort in case he refused to help the orphanage.

"I see..."

Minato paused, then cleared his throat and said with a perfectly serious expression, "Well then... Nonō, thanks to the information you gathered while undercover, the missing-nin Shimura Danzō was brought to justice last night!"

Nonō froze. "Huh?"

"That means the bastard's dead. Root went down with him."

Minato gave a soft laugh. "Come to think of it, I have you to thank for the information."

"H-how could that be?"

Nonō stammered, "But he was the Hokage's aide! Was it the Hokage...? Besides, I never gave you any information before..."

"Who says you didn't? Didn't you tell me with your eyes, and didn't I read what you meant?"

Minato winked, his tone light. "I can't tell you the details, but Danzo is definitely dead."

"Then... does our deal about making sure everyone gets enough to eat and stay warm still count?"

Nonō asked timidly. As soon as she said it, she felt she'd been shameless and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Well... I can't help it. I already promised, after all."

Minato laughed lightly. His sunny smile seemed to warm the cold air around them by a few degrees.

Nonō stared blankly at the boy before her, a thousand thoughts rising in her heart.

In a daze, warmth suddenly welled up in the corners of her eyes. Her vision blurred, and tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks.

She was only five, after all. Now that the hurt and pressure she'd endured lately had suddenly lifted, Nonō could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Fortunately, though she couldn't control her emotions, she could still control her body.

Before the tears could hit the ground, she threw herself into Minato's arms.