You Can Call Me Yumi

"No!"

Naoki's eyes flew open. He saw a white ceiling.

He was dazed for a moment, his mind sluggish, as though submerged in thick glue.

I... didn't die?

The thought had barely surfaced when sharp pain surged through his whole body. His ribs, abdomen, back—pain from every inch of muscle tore at his nerves and seemed to rip through his soul.

He didn't know how much time passed before he finally came around.

He carefully climbed out of bed. The pain of his wounds pulling made him grimace.

He looked around. It was an unremarkable wooden cabin, furnished with a simple wooden table and two chairs. An old wardrobe stood in the corner, and a faint scent hung in the air, like some kind of medicinal herb mixed with... a woman's perfume?

"Where am I?"

Naoki braced himself against the bed and struggled to stand. A tearing pain came from the wound in his abdomen. He looked down and saw that the bandage had been carefully replaced. The fresh white wrappings were neat and snug.

He shuffled to the window and pushed it open.

A sea breeze swept over him, damp and salty.

Beyond the window stretched a vast blue ocean, glittering in the sunlight. The horizon was nowhere in sight. A few seabirds skimmed over the water, their calls bright and clear.

It was a lovely view, but Naoki wasn't in the mood to admire it.

Who had rescued him?

Naoki frowned, struggling to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness.

Karatachi Yagura's Hook Staff, the icy water as he sank into the sea, his awareness slowly fading... and that enormous shadow.

He vaguely remembered something wrapping around his body in the final moments before he passed out...

Just then, he heard footsteps.

Naoki turned and instinctively reached for his waist, but found nothing there...

The door opened, and a woman in a red dress walked in. She had a sultry air about her.

"Well, look who's awake.

You sure can sleep. Did you know you've been in bed for over a month?

I've been the one washing you this whole time."

As she spoke, the woman came closer.

"Looks like you're doing pretty well. You can even get out of bed."

She moved closer and closer, until Naoki could smell her sweet, cloying perfume.

"Cough... Thank you."

Naoki instinctively took half a step back to put some distance between them, while discreetly studying her.

She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Her long hair fell loosely over her shoulders, with a few strands hanging over her forehead, making her skin look even fairer.

There was a languid charm in her eyes, and the hint of a smile played on her lips. Her red dress accentuated her slender waist and the curves of her chest. She carried the distinctive allure of a mature woman.

"What, afraid I'll eat you?" The woman smiled even more broadly when Naoki stepped back. "Relax. I'm not interested in injured men."

Naoki couldn't make heads or tails of her behavior. He didn't know what she was after, and his gratitude toward his savior had begun to fade.

"Thank you for saving my life," Naoki said stiffly.

The woman clicked her tongue, swished her skirt, and turned to sit on the bed. She crossed her shapely legs and pointed at Naoki with a pale finger.

"Hey, I've been taking care of you for over a month. I'll spare you the details of changing your bandages and washing you. Without me treating you, you'd probably have crossed the Sanzu River by now. You wouldn't even be here to talk..."

She paused, then added, "Don't you think you should call me 'Dear Sister' and thank me properly?"

The woman's words left Naoki feeling awkward.

He really ought to thank her. No matter what, she had saved his life and cared for him for over a month. He truly owed her.

"I was rude." Naoki composed himself and spoke with grave sincerity. "Thank you for saving my life. I, Uchiha Naoki, will remember your kindness. If you ever need anything from me, I'll do everything I can to repay you."

The woman arched a brow, her smile deepening.

"You don't need to worry about repaying me..." She smoothed her skirt as she stood, then approached Naoki and lifted his chin. "So you really are a ninja? And a famous Uchiha from the Shinobi World, no less?"

Even though he was grateful to her, Naoki wasn't pleased to have a woman touch him like that. He gave a stiff nod.

"Good. Let me introduce myself. I'm Aikawa Yumi..." As she spoke, she slowly ran a finger down his neck, stopping at his bare chest to tap it a few times. Then she parted her red lips. "You can call me Yumi, too."

This woman was far too flirtatious—almost brazen. Naoki sensed that something wasn't right.

He could clearly tell that she had no chakra. She was obviously just an ordinary person. So why was she acting as if she had him completely at her mercy, behaving so outrageously?

"Little brother, what are you thinking about? Spacing out at a time like this?"

"Nothing." Naoki shook his head.

Until he understood what was going on, he decided to focus on recovering from his injuries before worrying about anything else...

"Yumi, could you tell me where I am? How did you save me?"

Aikawa Yumi withdrew her hand, went back to sit on the bed, and crossed her legs. The hem of her red dress slipped down, revealing a stretch of pale calf.

"This is a little town on the coast of the Land of Hot Water. It's called Kannazuki Town." She spoke leisurely. "As for how I saved you... I found you while I was strolling along the beach. You were nearly dead. Your chest was caved in, and there was a hole in your abdomen. You'd almost bled dry, and your face was ashen—you looked just like a corpse. Nothing like how rosy you look now..."

"The Land of Hot Water? Then I must have drifted for quite a while."

Naoki thought to himself that the distance from the eastern coast of the Southern Border to the Land of Hot Water was considerable. Given the injuries he'd suffered, it was a miracle he had survived the journey. He had no idea how his body had endured it, or how he'd still been alive when she found him...

Then he remembered Aikawa Yumi saying she had taken care of him for "over a month." If he had been unconscious for over a month, then the search from Konoha must have ended. Zongxin and Zongye might think he was dead. And Hideko...

He instinctively reached for his chest, but found nothing there.

"What are you looking for, little brother? Want me to help?"

"Nothing." Naoki shook his head.

That amulet... was gone.

He remembered clearly that before setting out, he'd carefully sewn the amulet into the inner pocket of his clothes, right against his heart. During the past month, no matter how many battles he'd fought or how badly his wounds had hurt, the amulet had always stayed close to his chest.

But now, all he could feel there was a rough bandage...

Maybe he'd lost it. Maybe... He glanced at Aikawa Yumi.

"Hey, little brother, why are you looking at me?"

Naoki cautiously asked, "I had a waist pouch with some medicine in it. Did you happen to see it...?"

"No, I didn't see any bag." Aikawa Yumi shook her head.

Had he lost it? Maybe that was for the best...