Dawn broke.
School was off.
With no classes, Uchiha Jin finally had time to relax.
Sunlight slanted through the window and warmed his face. The Horse talisman's current erased every trace of injury, but the fatigue in his mind needed time to ease.
Today he meant to unwind and loosen nerves that had been taut for too long.
He buckled on his tool pouch, called a quick word to Mikoto, and stepped out.
Cooking smoke and food scents already drifted along the Uchiha streets.
He drew a deep breath by the roadside and let the everyday bustle wash the dryness of training from his mood.
"Jin, red bean soup?" the shop lady called from down the lane.
"The usual, one soup with dumplings." He smiled and ordered.
The hot soup gleamed in the morning light, and the sweet chew of rice dumplings bloomed on his tongue.
"Back to support us again, Jin!"
At the street's end, the sweets shop owner waved, already packing Jin's favorites with practiced hands. He leaned in, voice low and conspiratorial.
"I heard you beat Lord Fugaku. True?"
So Elder Hikaku had begun spreading the news for momentum. Jin kept it light.
"Just a spar. I got lucky."
"Amazing, Jin. Lord Fugaku is a famed genius of our clan."
Excited, the owner slipped him a few more skewers.
Jin thanked him and left.
As he ate, he caught snatches of neighbors talking about Fugaku's trip to the hospital. Those ripples would soon spread across the Leaf.
Danzō was likely scowling over an Anbu report. The Third's pipe would be steeped in worry.
He bit into a dumpling and let the sweetness melt, but today he only wanted to enjoy a rare, easy morning.
Leaving the chatter behind, he headed for his chosen destination.
Perhaps because it was early, the barbecue shop was nearly empty.
He took a window seat, laid Thunder Country prime beef on the iron plate, and it began to sizzle at once, grease singing and aroma rising.
"Is this seat free?"
A clear woman's voice cut in just as he lifted his chopsticks.
He looked up and first saw two pale curves straining the cloth.
The taut fabric looked a breath from surrender. Then came a handsome face, gold hair tied in a ponytail, and clean, striking features, both crisp and alluring.
Tsunade-hime, not yet of the Sannin.
"What a coincidence. You have time for barbecue too, Lady Tsunade?" Jin drew his eyes back and kept his tone even.
"Jonin need breaks too." She sat as if they were old friends, red lips quirking in amusement. "Besides, a certain little pervert was staring for quite a while."
His glance had been quick, but she had sharp eyes for where it lingered.
"I am a minor. I do not follow your meaning," Jin said without blinking and turned to the beef.
Tsunade rolled her eyes and waved for sake.
"I came about Kushina," she said suddenly, serious.
Jin's chopsticks paused. He signaled for an extra set and a few more dishes.
"If it is about Kushina, eat and talk."
Tsunade did not stand on ceremony. She lifted the slices he had just finished and only then spoke.
"The old man talked to Grandma Mito about you. He says you are too close to Kushina. I do not quite get the elders' thinking, but Kushina is Grandma's kin, which makes her my little sister, so I figured it was better to confirm a few things early."
The Senju had dissolved, and being born in quiet times had left Tsunade with little taste for politics.
She had come for Kushina's sake, nothing more.
Jin finished the last bite on his plate, dabbed his mouth, and spoke.
"As far as I know, Kushina and I are not dating."
In the original path, she had been bullied and even kidnapped by Cloud while the village elites treated her like air. Now, when he had done nothing, the Third and Tsunade watched him like a thief. It soured his mood.
His voice cooled.
"Do you mean to say the old man misread you, that you and Kushina have nothing at all?"
Tsunade's gaze tightened. Kushina often chattered in her ear about Jin, which spoke to closeness. If Jin now tried to drop Kushina because of pressure from above, Tsunade would plant a fist.
"No. Kushina and I get along, we spend time together at school, but that is because she has no other friends there. I am the only one she can talk to. If you and Lady Mito truly care, then focus on her being nicknamed and bullied at school, not on me for being Uchiha."
He did not soften even when her fist clenched. His voice rose a shade.
"In the Leaf, do people really care about Uzumaki Kushina? She is from an allied clan and distant kin to the Senju. Yet at school she has to befriend me, an Uchiha, and you do not even know her situation. What right do you have to question me, and what exactly do you need to confirm?"
"I..."
Tsunade froze. She did not in fact know how things were for Kushina at the Academy.
"I thought the old man would arrange it..."
Her confidence drained. Her voice fell.
"The Third did arrange something. The day I met Kushina, he sent Anbu to the Uchiha to tell me to keep my distance."
Jin's tone turned edged with irony.
Tsunade could not hold back. "What is that old man even doing!"
Jin said nothing more.
He rose to pay, packed an order of beef, and walked out without looking back.
Tsunade half rose to call after him, but no words came. She sat again and watched his figure fade into the morning light.