Waking Up a Chunin

The morning sunlight was as warm and gentle as ever.

The streets of Konoha were gradually filling with people. Everyone was starting a busy new day.

It was still so peaceful and tranquil, as if the war raging beyond the village could never threaten them.

That was all thanks to their faith in the Konoha Ninja.

In the ninja hospital, Ye Yuexin lay quietly on a white hospital bed.

An IV was still attached to the back of his left hand.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, where a nurse had drawn back the curtains, and fell warmly across Ye Yuexin's face.

The morning sunlight was full of life, making Ye Yuexin's face look especially delicate.

A head of long, smooth, jet-black hair covered his right hand.

A small, slightly weary face rested beside Ye Yuexin's hand, fast asleep.

It was Kurenai Yuhi, who had just returned from a mission.

Ye Yuexin had been unconscious for two whole days. Kurenai had only found out yesterday, after she returned to the village.

She hadn't even taken a bath before hurrying over to keep him company.

You could say she was already looking after Ye Yuexin like a proper wife.

"Click, click, click!"

Only the crisp sound of high heels woke Kurenai from her sleep.

She rubbed her eyes and saw that the nurse was removing the IV.

She woke up completely at once and hurriedly asked, "Nurse, how is Ye Yuexin doing now? Didn't you say he was out of danger? Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

Seeing the concern on Kurenai's face, the nurse chuckled.

"Kids these days grow up so fast. You haven't left since you came by last night. Is he your boyfriend?"

Kurenai's face immediately turned red.

But that wasn't the answer she wanted, so she quickly asked again, "Nurse, how is he doing?"

Seeing that Kurenai was too embarrassed to answer, the nurse was considerate enough to change the subject.

"Jingyan personally treated his injuries. Don't worry, he's basically out of danger. Lady Tsunade has personally guided Jingyan in the Mystical Palm Technique."

"As for why he still hasn't woken up, Jingyan explained that the poor boy suffered mental trauma as well as physical injuries."

"Physical injuries are easy enough to treat, but mental trauma can only heal gradually on its own. That's why he hasn't woken up yet."

Hearing the nurse's explanation, Kurenai finally began to relax.

She managed a smile. "Thank you, nurse."

"You're welcome. The higher-ups specifically ordered us to give this boy special care. And you need to take care of yourself, too. You didn't even eat dinner last night, did you? Go get something to eat."

"Okay, thank you." The nurse left.

After the nurse was gone, Kurenai rested her head beside Ye Yuexin's hand again, with no intention of leaving.

The door opened once more.

Before Kurenai could turn around, Might Guy called out, "Kurenai? Why are you still here?"

Kurenai turned and saw Might Guy and Ebisu walk in, one carrying flowers and the other a boxed meal.

"I knew you'd still be here. I bought you breakfast," Ebisu said as he walked over to Kurenai.

Then he set the boxed meal on the small table beside the bed.

Might Guy had already arranged the flowers in a vase.

Neither of them had been seriously injured. Ebisu hadn't needed hospital treatment, and Might Guy had only had bandages wrapped around his badly strained muscles.

With Might Guy's physique, he'd recovered almost completely in a day. Years of training had made his body incredibly resilient.

"What are you doing, Might Guy!" Kurenai rapped him sharply on the head.

He'd nearly pressed his face against Ye Yuexin's. His round face and thick eyebrows had been right over him as he stared intently.

Rubbing his sore head, Might Guy asked in confusion, "Why hasn't Ye Yuexin woken up yet? Kakashi woke up yesterday."

"The nurse said Ye Yuexin suffered mental trauma as well as physical injuries. He has to recover on his own, so that's why he's still asleep," Kurenai explained with a huff.

Hearing this, Might Guy turned to Ebisu. "Mental trauma? Ebisu, don't you know some mental techniques?"

Kurenai immediately looked at Ebisu, too.

Before she could say anything, Ebisu hurriedly explained, "Don't look at me! My techniques are for control and attack. I've never heard of any that can repair mental damage."

Hearing this, Kurenai and Might Guy both looked disappointed.

Just then—

"Cough, cough... Did I make it?" The first thing Ye Yuexin saw when he opened his eyes was a snow-white ceiling.

Then he realized he was lying in a bed.

He asked hoarsely.

At the sound of Ye Yuexin's voice, the whole room fell silent for a moment.

"Ye Yuexin, you're finally awake!" Might Guy's delighted, round face suddenly appeared in Ye Yuexin's view.

"Might Guy, get away from him!" Kurenai shouted.

Then she took Ye Yuexin's hand. "How are you feeling? Does anything still hurt?"

Ye Yuexin turned his head and saw Kurenai and Ebisu beside him.

He quietly looked at the tear tracks still on Kurenai's face. Then he smiled. "I'm still alive. That's wonderful!"

"Honestly, what are you going on about?" Kurenai said reproachfully, looking at Ye Yuexin's sentimental expression.

He shifted slightly and realized that his wounds, especially the one on his lower abdomen, didn't hurt much anymore.

Ninja medicine really was amazing.

Ye Yuexin had been lying down for so long that his whole body felt uncomfortable. He raised the head of the bed and leaned back.

"Thank you, Kurenai."

"And thank you, Might Guy and Ebisu."

Seeing that Ye Yuexin seemed to be recovering well, Ebisu started talking trash like Obito.

"I'm the one who carried you all the way back. Why'd you thank Kurenai first?"

"Got a problem with that, Ebisu?" Kurenai said threateningly, already getting a little worked up.

"Uh, no. Just pretend I didn't say anything." Ebisu immediately backed down in the face of Kurenai.

"How was I rescued?" Ye Yuexin asked.

"I'll tell you. When we reached the main base, they immediately sent three people to rescue you."

"After that, I think they ran into Kakashi and the others. They managed to save you in the nick of time with help from a little dog."

"And according to the ninja at the main base, you weren't just in critical condition—you'd been so badly injured that you were close to going into shock."

"Fortunately, one of the people who went with them was a Chunin and a medical ninja. That's what kept you alive."

Hearing Might Guy's account, Ye Yuexin felt like getting sentimental again. He really was lucky to be alive.

Then he remembered something and asked, "What about Kakashi and the others? How are they?"

"Kakashi's probably doing even better than you. He woke up yesterday. Unlike you, who's been unconscious for three days."

"Obito and Rin are looking after Kakashi. When Kakashi woke up yesterday, he came to see you. But when he saw you still hadn't woken up, he stayed for a while, then went back to Kakashi's room."

"And Genma Shiranui had it rough. I heard he's going through special clan training now. I haven't seen him since we got back to Konoha."

Hearing that everyone was still up and about, Ye Yuexin felt that, no matter what, the mission must have been a success.

"Oh, right, Ye Yuexin. I have some good news for you."

Ye Yuexin was still thinking when Might Guy suddenly bellowed, making him jump.

"Bang!" Kurenai jumped, too, and whacked Might Guy on the head again.

"If you do that again, I'm kicking you out. Hmph." Maybe it was because Ye Yuexin had been injured.

Otherwise, someone as gentle as Kurenai, with her mature, big-sisterly demeanor, wouldn't have been so irritable.

This was the first time Ye Yuexin had seen Kurenai act like this.

"What is it, Might Guy?" Ye Yuexin asked curiously.

Might Guy didn't answer at first. He gave Ye Yuexin a thumbs-up, then shouted, "You know, because of this mission, we've all been promoted to Chunin. And you especially—you're now an elite jonin of Konoha!"

Hearing this, Ye Yuexin was stunned.

No way. It couldn't be that easy to get promoted to Chunin, could it?

He'd only ever completed two missions. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of Chunin Ninja Exams?

Since when had promotions for Konoha Ninja become a joke?