The evening breeze swept through, lifting the curtains high. White gauze billowed in the air like a giant bird beating its wings.
Yongye walked down the corridor, descended the stairs, and crossed the lobby.
The nurse on duty was still at the front desk, her head lowered and her small eyes darting about. She looked rather furtive.
When she saw Uchiha Yongye come out, her shoulders hunched and she lowered her head even farther, almost pressing it against the desk.
Nice figure! Later... I'll have Nonō Yakushi introduce us!
Yongye made the appraisal to himself, ignored her, crossed the lobby, and entered the side corridor. He stopped before a door.
The door was made of light brown wood. A small brass plaque nailed to its frame bore the name "Yakushi Nonō." It had been polished until it gleamed faintly under the corridor lights.
He did not knock. He pushed the door open and went in.
The office was small. A desk stood by the window, piled with stacks of documents and several thick medical books. Their pages had yellowed and their corners had curled; the gilt lettering on their spines had worn away beyond recognition.
A bookcase stood in the corner, crammed with Scrolls and folders. Several Scrolls that would not fit had been laid across the top.
The window was open, and a white sheer curtain stirred gently in the night breeze. Moonlight shone through, casting a rectangle of light on the floor with the outline of the window frame along its edges.
Yakushi Nonō stood behind the desk, her hands at her sides, rubbing her fingers against the seams of her trousers again and again.
She had changed clothes—not into her pale blue casual outfit, but into a white medical uniform.
Yongye had told her to come here,