"Creak."
The villa's heavy mahogany door was pulled open a crack from inside.
Sen wore a loose, faded pair of pajamas, his black hair a tangled bird's nest.
Dragging his wooden sandals along, he poked half his body through the doorway.
Last night, he had only just finished smoothing out half the volatile chakra in the Divine Tree's space.
A tingling ache still seeped through his bones.
He had been sleeping soundly.
Then Naruto's howling, loud enough to rival a pig being slaughtered, had jolted him awake.
"It's first thing in the morning. Who died?"
Sen let out an enormous yawn, squeezing two yellowish tears from the corners of his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes carelessly with the back of his hand, scraping away the freshly crusted sleep.
"Did the owner of Ichiraku Ramen kick you out again yesterday?"
Outside the door stood Naruto.
His face, with its six whisker marks, was covered in pale streaks washed clean by tears and snot.
He looked like a filthy cat that had just rolled through a mud puddle.
"No, bro!"
Naruto lunged forward and grabbed Sen's thigh.
His arms clamped down tight, hanging on like an octopus.
He smeared every last bit of his snot and tears onto Sen's pajama pants.
"It's Sasuke! Sasuke ran away!"
"He knocked Sakura out and snuck out of the village all by himself!"
Naruto sobbed in ragged bursts, his voice cracking.
"Sakura said he went to find that freak Orochimaru!"
Sen looked down at the unidentified blob of sticky fluid on his thigh, his brows knotting instantly.
He had only bought these pajama pants last week.
"Ran away?"
Disgusted, Sen extended a finger and poked Naruto's forehead, pushing his golden-haired head away.
"So he ran away. What's the big deal?"
Sen leaned against the doorframe and