Who Said It Was for Him

Before dawn had fully broken, Kitahara Kaede arrived at Tsunade's house.

He knocked twice.

There was a commotion inside, followed by footsteps pounding down the stairs in a hurry.

The door swung open, and Nawaki poked half his body out.

His weapons pouch was bulging on his shoulder, and his Forehead Protector was polished until it gleamed. He'd clearly rubbed it back and forth in front of the mirror more than once.

He froze for a moment when he saw who it was.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Sensei?!"

He looked Kaede up and down twice, as if afraid he'd mistaken him for someone else.

"I heard a few days ago that they'd changed our Jonin leader. I thought I'd heard wrong—but I never expected it to actually be you!"

Kaede's mouth twitched.

The little brat. Who knew he was such a little hater?

"What, you didn't want it to be me?"

"Of course I did!" Nawaki chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "With you leading the team, this mission'll be a piece of—"

"Take off your weapons pouch."

Nawaki's mouth was still open. His smile froze.

"...No need, right?"

Kaede was already crouching by the doorway. He patted the ground.

Nawaki muttered something, then obediently took off his pouch and spread it open.

Kaede checked everything one by one. His fingers paused over the Military Ration Pills, and he weighed them in his hand.

"Not enough. Add two more portions."

"It's only a C-rank—"

"Add two more portions."

Nawaki looked at his expression, swallowed his argument, and ran inside to rummage around.

By the time he came back with the Military Ration Pills and stuffed them into the pouch, Kaede had already stood up.

He pressed the fasteners on the armor beneath Nawaki's clothes, one on either side, checking that they weren't loose.

"Let's go."

The two of them left the alley side by side.

The streets were nearly empty. Only a few early-rising vendors were setting up their stalls, and dogs barked in the distance.

Nawaki walked a few steps before he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Sensei, honestly—it's just a C-rank scouting mission. Is all this really necessary...?"

"Once you leave the village, there's no such thing as 'necessary or not.'" Kaede didn't even turn his head. "Leave one thing behind, and you have one more way to die."

Nawaki fell silent.

Two seconds later, he quietly tightened the buckle on his weapons pouch another notch.

The silence didn't last long.

"Sensei."

"Yeah?"

"This mission... do you think something's off about it too?"

Kaede glanced at him.

Nawaki scratched the back of his head.

"It's not that I think anything's wrong, exactly. It's just... a few days ago, after my sister heard I was going on a mission, she started acting strange. Every time I ask, she says she's fine, but I'm not an idiot."

He paused.

"She doesn't act like that when she knows everything's under control."

Kaede looked at the road ahead.

"So that's why you stayed up all night and polished your Forehead Protector three times."

Nawaki grinned a little but didn't deny it.

"I thought—if you were leading the team yourself, my sister wouldn't have to worry about me anymore."

Kaede smacked him on the back of the head.

"Follow orders when we get there."

"I know, I know."

Nawaki rubbed the back of his head, his usual lively self again, and bounced along ahead.

South Gate.

The other two Genin were already waiting.

They were rookies who'd graduated in the same class as Nawaki, one tall and one short, both standing ramrod straight.

When they saw Kaede approaching, they snapped their feet together and nervously rattled off their numbers and names.

Kaede waved a hand.

"Just call me Captain. No need to be so nervous."

The two of them relaxed their shoulders a little, though their backs remained stiff.

Nawaki stood to the side with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin raised, putting on an air of seniority.

Kaede gave him a sidelong glance.

Nawaki immediately straightened his face, then leaned over, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"Sensei—by the South Gate."

Kaede followed his gaze.

Tsunade was leaning against a stone pillar at the South Gate entrance.

Her dark blue coat was draped loosely over her shoulders, her ponytail tied carelessly, and her hands tucked into her pockets.

Judging by where she stood and how she was standing, she'd been there for a while.

She was supposed to be on duty at the hospital today.

Before Kaede could move, Nawaki had already sidled up to him, nearly putting his mouth to Kaede's ear. He could barely contain his excitement.

"Sensei, let me tell you—"

He sneaked a glance at Tsunade to make sure she was far enough away.

"A few days ago, my sister didn't come home all night."

He paused.

"When she came back the next day, she was still grinning to herself."

Kaede ignored him and headed toward Tsunade.

Behind him, Nawaki silently gave him a thumbs-up.

When Tsunade saw him coming, she pulled a hand from her pocket and took out a cloth bundle. Without looking him in the eye, she shoved it into his hands.

"Take it."

Kaede took it and pried open the top with his thumb.

Military Ration Pills—high-concentration ones, individually sealed, and two shades darker than the standard issue from the military.

A tube of hemostatic ointment was tucked underneath. A handwritten label was stuck to the bottle, the letters neat and decisive.

Tsunade's handwriting.

Kaede held the tube of ointment and looked at it for a couple of seconds.

"Nawaki won't need this, will he?"

Tsunade's gaze drifted toward the treetops beyond the South Gate.

"Who said it was for him?"

Her words were stiff.

But after saying them, she drew her gaze back—not to his face, but to his hands, watching as he tucked the cloth bundle into his weapons pouch.

Kaede said nothing more. He put the bundle in the innermost pocket of his weapons pouch and pressed it firmly into place.

Tsunade's brow twitched.

"It's Nawaki's first long trip."

"Yeah."

"Don't let him get carried away. Once that brat gets worked up, he'll charge straight into anything."

"I won't."

She paused.

"You too."

Her tone was no different from before, as if she'd merely tacked on a passing remark.

Like an afterthought added after telling him to look after her little brother.

But Kaede heard it.

The more smoothly she'd delivered everything before that, the harder those three words had caught in her throat.

"Okay."

Just one word.

Tsunade nodded and turned to leave.

After a few steps, she kept walking, her voice drifting over on the morning breeze.

"Come back soon."

By the time those four words reached his ears, she was already far away.

Kaede watched her for a moment, then turned back to the team.

"Let's go."

The four of them passed through the South Gate and stepped onto the main road. A layer of morning mist was rising.

After they'd walked a little over twenty paces, Nawaki looked back.

Then he turned around again.

He didn't speak right away. He walked quietly for five or six steps before tugging at Kaede's sleeve.

"Sensei."

"Yeah?"

"My sister came back again."

His tone had changed. All his earlier teasing was gone, replaced by something he couldn't quite put into words.

"She wasn't looking at me."

Kaede didn't stop walking.

But he looked back once.

The morning mist was thin, and the outline of the South Gate was still visible.

Tsunade was still leaning against that stone pillar, her dark blue coat standing out against the gray-white mist.

She hadn't left.

And she really wasn't looking at Nawaki.

Their eyes met, and Tsunade raised her chin slightly.

She didn't wave, nod, or make any other gesture. She simply looked at him.

Kaede turned his gaze away.

He realized he was smiling.

Nawaki watched him for three seconds, then snorted.

Kaede raised a hand and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Watch where you're going."

"...Oh."