Under the Bell

Jiraiya strolled through the forest, muttering incessantly to himself.

"Hmph, so what if he's the top of the Ninja Academy? It's nothing special."

He looked left and right, his brain working harder than usual for once.

There were two bells.

One was on Hiruzen, and the other was hidden somewhere in the woods.

Steal the one from his teacher?

He wasn't stupid enough to walk into that trap.

The Third Hokage was a monster; taking him on head-on was just asking for a beating.

But the one in the woods was different.

It was a test of search skills and pure luck.

And Jiraiya firmly believed that his luck was definitely better than Kitahara Kaede's.

"Once I find the bell, let's see how Tsunade can refuse me." The thought made him giddy. "Barbecue... Tsunade must look pretty cute when she's eating barbecue..."

He grinned like an idiot for a few seconds before shaking his head violently.

"No, find it first, then think!"

He picked up his pace, weaving through the trees.

Three minutes later, he stopped.

About twenty meters ahead, at the base of a large tree, half a red rope was peeking out from under the fallen leaves.

A bell hung at the end of the rope.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy, catching the metal and making it glint.

Jiraiya froze for a second, then erupted with joy.

"Hahahaha! Heaven is on my side!"

He slapped his thigh, his voice loud enough to echo through the entire forest.

"What's the point of running so fast? I'm the one who found it first!"

Jiraiya bolted forward.

His foot caught on something tight.

Whoosh—

A snare sprang up from beneath the leaves, locking firmly around his ankle. The other end was tied to a branch overhead, and he was instantly yanked into the air, dangling upside down.

"Aaaaaah—!"

Jiraiya hung head-down in mid-air, his white hair hanging straight toward the ground, his face turning bright red.

He twisted his body frantically, like a fish on a hook.

His hands couldn't reach the rope on his ankle, and his abs weren't strong enough to pull him up into a crunch; after struggling for a while, he just swung back and forth in the air.

"Damn it—what a piece of trash trap—"

The bell lay at the base of the tree, less than three meters away.

He could see it, but he couldn't reach it.

Jiraiya took a few breaths, gritted his teeth, and tried again.

This time, he didn't struggle blindly. His right hand reached for the ninja tool pouch at his waist, pulled out a kunai, and sawed at the rope around his ankle.

The angle was awkward, and since he was upside down, even stretching his arm to the limit only allowed the tip of the kunai to graze the outer layer of the rope.

He strained, his face turning purple, until the blade finally caught the edge of the cord.

Just as he was halfway through—

"You've got spirit."

The voice came from above.

Jiraiya's hand jerked, and he nearly dropped the kunai.

He looked up—or rather, down, since he was inverted.

Kitahara Kaede was squatting on the branch that held him, his hands resting on his knees, looking down at him.

Jiraiya's face turned even redder.

It wasn't just from the blood rushing to his head—though that was part of it—it was because he had been so close to cutting the rope.

So close.

"I found the bell first!" Jiraiya shouted. "You have to respect the order of arrival!"

Kitahara Kaede didn't answer.

Let him down? So he could take the bell and go on a date with Tsunade?

Sorry, he didn't have that kind of weird fetish.

He dropped from the branch, scanned the ground around the bell, and tossed a pebble at it.

Confirming there were no other traps, he bent down and picked up the bell.

It chimed in his palm, a crisp, clear sound.

"You—" Jiraiya's voice cracked. "Hagoromo Kaede, you bastard! I found it first! You have no shame!"

His shouting echoed through the forest, startling a few birds.

Kitahara Kaede gripped the bell and looked up at him.

Jiraiya's face was turning a deep shade of purple. He was still clutching the kunai, the rope frayed halfway through.

Give him another twenty seconds, and he really would have cut it.

Jiraiya didn't know that his twenty seconds had been lost to his own mouth.

When he shouted "Heaven is on my side," half the forest had heard him, including Kitahara Kaede.

About a minute later, the bushes rustled, and Tsunade emerged from the side.

There were two leaves stuck in her ponytail, and she held a kunai in her hand, her expression guarded.

"What's that noise? I heard Jiraiya—"

She saw it.

Jiraiya was hanging upside down from a tree, his face bright red, still gripping a kunai.

Kitahara Kaede stood under the tree, holding the bell.

Tsunade's expression shifted from guarded to indescribable.

"...So this idiot stepped in a trap."

"Yeah."

Tsunade didn't say much else.

Kitahara Kaede held the bell out to her.

"Here."

Tsunade clearly froze at his words.

She stared at his face.

He was giving the bell to her?

Jiraiya's words from earlier were still ringing in her ears—"If I grab the bell, I'll go on a date with Tsunade."

He had heard it.

So he had run so fast because—

Tsunade's ears burned.

She quickly cut off the thought, refusing to let it go any further.

"Take it." Kitahara Kaede shook the bell.

Tsunade was still looking at him.

Kitahara Kaede frowned and waved his hand in front of her.

"Tsunade?"

Tsunade snapped back to reality.

Realizing she had been staring at Kaede for several seconds, her face suddenly grew hot.

"Right, right."

She snatched the bell, her movements so hurried she almost dropped it.

Her voice was half an octave higher than usual.

She could tell something was off, so she quickly looked down at the bell, avoiding his gaze.

Kitahara Kaede watched her for a second.

Her ears were red, her eyes were darting around, and she was even stuttering.

She was nothing like the usual Tsunade who crossed her arms and glared at people.

In that moment, he thought Tsunade was kind of cute.

His hand almost reached out to ruffle her hair.

"The other bell is with Hiruzen. I have an idea, but I need your cooperation—"

Tsunade didn't respond.

Kitahara Kaede looked over.

She was staring at his face again.

"...What exactly are you looking at?"

"Nothing!" Tsunade snapped her head away. "Tell me, what's the plan."

Her voice was still higher than usual.

Jiraiya, hanging from the tree, saw it all clearly.

Tsunade's ears were red.

Tsunade's voice was flustered.

And the look in Tsunade's eyes.

They were bright, filled with a hint of confusion.

She had never looked at him like that.

Not even once.

Jiraiya's nose suddenly felt itchy.

It felt like something red was about to come out.

"Hey—don't just stand there chatting—let me down first—"

No one paid him any mind.

Half an hour later.

In front of three wooden posts.

Hiruzen stood there with his pipe in his mouth; the bell at his waist was gone.

He looked at Kitahara Kaede and Tsunade, a new glint in his eyes.

"The coordination between you two... exceeded my expectations."

He exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Kaede, your tactical awareness and split-second judgment are already beyond the level of a Genin."

He paused.

"Tsunade, your chakra control and explosive taijutsu are top-tier among your peers."

Tsunade's chin lifted slightly.

She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, but the pride in her eyes couldn't be hidden.

Hiruzen tapped his pipe and put it away.

"Both bells have been retrieved. The test is over."

"Oh, right," Tsunade suddenly remembered. "Teacher, what about Jiraiya?"

Hiruzen pointed behind him.

On the middle wooden post, Jiraiya was tied up tight with rope.

His head hung low, his white hair a bird's nest, his expression one of utter despair.

"Although he managed to get down on his own, I used a shadow clone to tie him up," Hiruzen said calmly. "However, given that he is a ninja who keeps falling for such obvious traps, I think staying tied up a little longer will be more educational."

Tsunade walked over to the post.

She held up the bell and shook it in front of Jiraiya.

Ding.

"Jiraiya—I won the bet."

She smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Looks like you're the one who's out."

Jiraiya's face twitched.

Then he exploded.

"Shut up! You flat-chested! You ironing board, Tsunade!"

Silence for a second.

A full second.

Tsunade's smile froze on her face.

Then it slowly, slowly vanished.

In its place was an expression that made the surrounding temperature drop by three degrees.

"What—did—you—say?"

"You damn pervert!!"

Her fist slammed into the wooden post.

A crack appeared in the wooden post.

Jiraiya jumped, post and ropes and all, nearly pulling the whole thing out by the roots.

Hiruzen sighed behind them.

"Alright, alright, stop the noise."

He rubbed his temples.

"Kaede, Tsunade, you two head back first. Jiraiya... stay here and reflect."

Tsunade glared fiercely at Jiraiya and turned to leave.

After a few steps, she looked back and waved at Jiraiya, who was still tied to the post.

The meaning of the gesture was clear—goodbye, idiot.

Kitahara Kaede followed after her.

The two walked side by side on the way home.

Tsunade suddenly fell silent after walking for a while.

Kitahara Kaede glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw her head bowed, her gaze fixed on the area around his chest.

She wasn't looking at him.

She was looking at herself.

Tsunade stared at her own flat chest for two seconds.

Her brows furrowed.

They walked a few more steps.

There was a small fruit stall by the side of the road, piled with baskets of fruit of all sizes.

Tsunade's footsteps faltered.

Then, she spoke suddenly.

"Kaede."

"Yeah?"

"When you buy fruit, do you prefer to pick the big ones or the small ones?"

Kitahara Kaede didn't even think about it.

"The big ones."

Tsunade stopped walking.

Kitahara Kaede took two more steps before realizing she hadn't followed.

He turned to look at her.

Tsunade stood where she was, her expression complex.

Anger, grievance, and the urge to hit someone.

The three emotions layered together, finally manifesting as a sharp stomp of her foot.

"Asshole!"

She turned and walked away, strides long and fast, heading in the exact opposite direction of the way home.

Kitahara Kaede stood in the middle of the road.

He glanced at the fruit stall, then at Tsunade's retreating back.

Why wouldn't you pick the big ones when buying fruit?

He thought for three seconds.

Then he remembered the line Jiraiya had shouted earlier.

Flat-chested, washboard.

Then he thought of the two seconds Tsunade had spent looking down at her own chest.

Then he thought of "big ones or small ones."

A very rare expression appeared on Kitahara Kaede's face.

A mix of bewilderment and sudden realization, followed by a hint of guilt.

He reached up and scratched the back of his head.

"...She wasn't asking about fruit?"

In the distance, Tsunade's figure rounded the corner and disappeared.

The tips of her ears were red enough to bleed.