January 1st, the first day of the new year.
After snowing all night, it finally stopped. A pale sunlight seeped in through the window.
Half-asleep, Tsunade rolled over.
Her silky blonde hair lay in a tousled fan across the pillow.
A moment later her lashes fluttered and she opened her eyes.
Staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling, Tsunade instinctively pressed a hand to her forehead.
The hangover headache made her frown.
Fortunately, she had the Yin Seal. With a bit of chakra regulation, her body quickly returned to normal.
She shook her head as last night's memories flooded back.
She and Kurenai had drunk themselves under the table. Not even Kitazawa and Shizune could stop them.
In the end, she'd had no choice but to stay over.
After two steadying breaths, Tsunade got out of bed.
She took in the room and walked over to the desk.
"Winter Break Student Training Plan?"
She flipped a couple of pages and saw names like Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
That settled it—she had slept in Kitazawa's room.
"Pretty tidy, actually."
She yawned and went to the window.
Pulling the curtains open, she let the sunlight spill over her lush figure.
Just then, the door opened.
Tsunade turned and saw Kitazawa, moving with exaggerated care.
She blinked.
He'd changed into a black kimono, which made him look refreshingly different.
Handsome people really do look good in anything.
"Tsunade-sama, you're awake?"
Seeing her stir, Kitazawa stopped tiptoeing, walked in, and said, "Start with some milk."
"Where's Kurenai?"
Tsunade took the cup and sipped—hot.
Her hungover body immediately felt soothed.
"Couldn't keep up with you. Still out cold," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Sorry for taking your bed last night."
Back leaning against the windowsill and both hands around the cup, she looked at him.
"It's fine," Kitazawa said easily. "If Tsunade-sama ever wants to sleep here, it's yours."
Since he and Kurenai had made things official, he rarely slept in this room anyway. He mostly used it as a study and only stayed in it now and then.
"Either way, thank you."
She took two more gulps of milk. "I want a bath."
She'd been dead drunk last night and skipped it. Now that she was clear-headed, she felt uncomfortable.
"Bathroom's this way."
Kitazawa led her over.
"Thanks."
Tsunade shut the door, undressed, and slipped into the tub.
Kitazawa headed to Kurenai's room.
He opened the door—still asleep, sprawled and peaceful.
Not disturbing her, he went to the kitchen.
Since it was unclear when Kurenai would wake up, he decided on a Western-style breakfast—bread, milk, and sandwiches.
When he finished, he returned to the living room.
Tsunade was still bathing; the sound of running water murmured through the door.
He set breakfast on the table and waited.
Rina, Shizune, and Karin had gone home the previous night. They lived next door, and Kurenai's place couldn't fit that many people anyway.
After a bit, a door opened.
He glanced toward the bathroom—and froze.
Tsunade stepped out wrapped in a white bath towel.
It was Kurenai's towel, and it was stuffed to its limits, looking ready to burst.
"Do me a favor—go fetch me a change of clothes."
She flopped onto the sofa and flicked her golden hair back over her shoulder.
The motion, paired with the towel's sculpted outline, was… very distracting.
"Well? Hurry up."
She shot him a look.
Kitazawa snapped back to himself, went next door, and found Shizune already up.
Moments later he was back in front of Tsunade.
"Since it's New Year's Day, Shizune-senpai lent me a kimono for you," he said, handing it over.
"A kimono, huh?"
Tsunade curled her lip. "Such a pain to put on."
She took the pale green kimono and went to change in Kitazawa's room.
Several minutes later, she reappeared.
Well…
Even though kimonos are cut generously, on her they still couldn't hide that flawless figure.
"Tsunade-sama, breakfast is on the table," he prompted.
"Mm."
She headed to the dining table.
Checking the time, Kitazawa went back to Kurenai's room.
Sitting on the bed, he set his hand on her forehead.
Soft green chakra flowed into her body.
Feeling a warm current inside, Kurenai stirred awake.
"Headache?"
Kitazawa grinned.
"Nope."
She smiled, sat up, and wrapped her arms around him.
Though she'd been just as drunk last night, he'd bathed her, so there was no alcohol smell on her at all.
Kurenai wiggled her waist and slipped her soft body into his arms.
She tilted her head, licked her lip, and asked with a hint of mischief, "Aren't you off today?"
They'd skipped their usual morning… routine after the drinks.
"Tsunade-sama is in the living room," he said, pinching her cheek.
"You could have led with that."
Her smile froze; two red blossoms flashed across her cheeks.
Good thing he hadn't done anything reckless. If their "duet" got overheard by Tsunade… she'd probably flee the village overnight.
"That's what you get for being so impatient."
He couldn't help laughing.
Annoyed, Kurenai kicked at him.
He stepped back and caught her foot.
Tickling the soft arch twice, he said, "Get dressed and come eat."
Her toes curled involuntarily.
She shivered and yanked her foot back.
"I'll deal with you later!"
She huffed, got out of bed, and slipped into a red-and-black kimono.
"Looks great," he said after a quick once-over.
They went to the living room.
"I'm full. See you next time."
Tsunade glanced at them, put down her bread, and stood to leave.
"Did you offend Tsunade-sama?" Kurenai blinked.
"Not that I know of," Kitazawa said, giving up on figuring it out.
After breakfast, they followed New Year's custom—visited the shrine to pray, then strolled around Konoha.
A leisurely day passed just like that.
The second day was still a holiday.
This time they didn't laze around; they practiced sealing.
Kurenai trained the Four Limbs Weighting Seal.
He worked on the Sealed Binding Formation—the last seal on his list.
Its effect is similar to the String Light Formation—both restrain a target. But instead of drawing a formation on the ground, the Sealed Binding Formation uses four talismans to form one. It's much more flexible.
On the third day of the new year, winter training resumed.
Kitazawa arrived at the academy early.
"Happy New Year, Sensei!"
Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Yakushi Kabuto, Hyūga Hinata, and the rest swarmed around him.
"Happy New Year," he said with a broad smile.
"New Year's money, Sensei!" Yamanaka Ino thrust out a hand, eyes shining.
"Everyone gets some."
He handed out the red envelopes he'd prepared—even Kabuto, who was basically a big kid by now.
"All right, pocket the money and get to training," he said. "Hinata, Neji, and Karin—stay."
"Yes, Sensei."
The others scattered to start their drills.
"Hinata, Neji—you've both mastered Shadow Clone. Time for a new regimen," he said straight out. "Take the next two days off from the academy and go home to learn Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm?" Neji looked surprised.
"That's right. It's a rare long-range Gentle Fist. Once you've got it, you might just beat Naruto."
Neji brightened, eyes full of anticipation.
"Come back to me after two days," Kitazawa added, ruffling Hinata's hair.
"Okay," Hinata said. Though a bit reluctant, she left with Neji.
"Karin, I'm teaching you your first sealing technique today."
He handed her a scroll. "It's called the Finger Carving Seal. Start by memorizing the formula."
"Got it!"
Karin was excited. She was finally stepping onto the path of a true shinobi.
Kitazawa split off a Shadow Clone, then took Sakura to Konoha Hospital.
Between practicing seals, he squeezed in surgeries. A lot of people got stomach troubles over the holiday.
He even ended up performing a high-difficulty operation by surprise—his task progress bar ticked forward another notch.
On the fourth day—Sunday—just when he thought the week would pass quietly, Yakumo Kurama showed up to report she'd learned the Emotion Substitute Technique.
"Then let's go," Kitazawa said. He wanted to see if it would work.
They went next door.
"Tsunade-sama," he said, offering a scroll. "Yakumo's treatment plan."
Tsunade didn't need to ask to know Yakumo had mastered the technique.
She opened the plan.
It had two parts: first, treatment using Emotion Substitute; second, a fallback if it failed.
"Let's begin," Tsunade said, setting it down.
"Please don't resist, Tsunade-sama," Yakumo reminded her. "I'll start by putting you into an illusion."
"I know."
Yakumo cast the Dreamscape.
Normally, they would have used the genjutsu they'd devised—Mirror Flower, Water Moon—but since that was a lesser version of the Dreamscape, she went straight to the stronger one.
Tsunade's vision blurred—and she was in a setting both strange and familiar.
She looked up and saw Orochimaru—his younger self.
"Sorry, Tsunade," he said after a few seconds of silence.
She stepped into the tent. The stench of blood hit her, making her body tremble.
Her eyes dropped to the corpse under a white sheet on the cot.
"Please accept my condolences, Tsunade-sama," a masked medic-nin said solemnly.
With a shaking hand, she reached for the sheet.
She lifted it.
Nawaki's face stared back at her.
Tsunade stood rooted, shaking harder and harder.
She covered her face; her pupils quaked, her expression pure terror.
A medic-nin nearby flashed through hand signs.
Emotion Substitute!
He was Yakumo in disguise.
She thrust out both hands toward Tsunade, pouring out chakra.
Moments later, Tsunade calmed noticeably.
"It works!" Yakumo brightened.
Right then, Tsunade's aura shifted.
Crack.
The illusion shattered.
Yakumo was back in the living room, staring at Tsunade in disbelief.
Not only had Tsunade instinctively resisted the substitute—she'd broken the dreamscape itself.
What terrifying power and will.
"Are you okay, Tsunade-sama?" Kitazawa asked, glancing at his right arm gripped in her hand.
"I'm fine," she said after a deep breath.
"Sensei," Yakumo whispered the details to Kitazawa.
He frowned.
Yakumo's method was harsh, but it fit: replace the emotional response to Nawaki's death, and you'd be halfway there.
But it hadn't worked—Tsunade's instinctive resistance was too strong.
"Again," Tsunade said after a few seconds. "I'll try to keep myself under control."
"Okay," Yakumo nodded. She'd already prepared for a tug-of-war.
"Kitazawa, you come in too," Tsunade said suddenly.
He blinked and looked at Yakumo.
"Works for me," Yakumo said, casting the Dreamscape again.
Kitazawa narrowed his eyes.
When they settled, he found himself in a wartime Konoha encampment.
He glanced around and saw Orochimaru.
Tsunade, face set, walked into the tent.
He hurried after her and took her hand.
She looked at him, surprised.
"Do you want to see it?" he asked, meeting her gaze.
"See it," she answered, firm.
He lifted the sheet.
Nawaki's mangled remains filled his view.
In the original story, Nawaki had stumbled into an explosive tag trap and was blown apart.
Tsunade began trembling again.
Yakumo quickly used Emotion Substitute—this time not swapping pain for joy, but easing the pain, helping Tsunade build some resistance to the memory.
Kitazawa squeezed her hand and sent a stream of soft green medical chakra to alleviate the physical pain.
Two-pronged treatment—much better than the first attempt.
Even so, after five minutes Tsunade lost control and broke the illusion.
They were back in the living room.
Weight suddenly pressed into him as Tsunade fell into his arms.
Eyes closed, a single tear slid down her pale cheek.
"Yakumo, that's enough for today," Kitazawa sighed.
"Yes, Sensei," Yakumo said, stealing a glance at Tsunade. "I'll take my leave."
Kitazawa stroked Tsunade's hair gently.
After a while, he felt awkward. A mature body pressed tight against him—he could feel every curve.
This was… its own kind of ordeal.
"Sorry," Tsunade murmured at last, sitting up.
"It's fine," he said with a shake of his head.
He understood her losing it. In his place, he might have done worse.
"Go on," Tsunade said, turning away.
He half-opened his mouth, then closed it. Leaving her some quiet was better.
As he walked away, he was lost in thought.
This approach was too crude—like ripping open a wound.
Maybe they could add some "plot" inside the illusion so she wouldn't have to confront Nawaki's death head-on.
If that didn't work, create a few false memories to ease the regret—let Nawaki become Hokage and pass peacefully of old age, for instance.
It might be self-deception, but it could have unexpected effect. It was only an illusion anyway—worth a try. Could it really be worse than reliving the death itself?
…
That would be next Saturday's task.
He glanced back.
Maybe it was his imagination, but after two sessions their relationship felt subtly closer.
Good news. The better things were with Tsunade, the safer he would be in Konoha.
And, well, he was a normal man. Saying he had no thoughts about Tsunade at all would be a lie.
Sunday passed; a new week began.
[Current Mission: Learn three sealing techniques over winter break.]
[Reward: Evil Sealing Method.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa let out a breath.
He'd finally finished his seals before the end of break.
Next up: focus on Water Release and Earth Release tasks.
Lightning flashed in the distance; thunder rolled.
He took one look and ignored it. Not natural weather—Kakashi was making it.
Ever since getting the idea for the S-rank Lightning Release: Kirin, Kakashi had been researching it. From the looks of it, he'd barely stepped through the door; success was still far off.
"Hinata, your chakra compression isn't there yet," Kitazawa said, turning to her.
"Yes, Sensei," she answered softly, and continued carefully compressing chakra.
Reaching a certain threshold, she snapped her palm forward.
An invisible shockwave smashed into a tree a short distance away.
In an instant, a deep mark gouged its bark.
"Keep going," Kitazawa said. "You've learned Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm when you can punch straight through that tree."
Besides being a long-range Gentle Fist, Vacuum Palm had frightening penetration.