"Ah! Coming!" Shizune called back, grabbing Touye's hand and pulling her into a run.
Stumbling for a moment, Touye ran to keep up. As they ran, she glanced back one last time. She didn't know if she would ever see this place again...
*We have to. We have to survive. Together... we will survive.*
***
With a muffled squelch, Touye drove the tachi deeper into the ninja before her. The man's eyes widened in shock. He suddenly raised his hands and grabbed her shoulders. "Quick! Do it now!"
Touye ignored the chunin she had run through and turned her cold gaze upon the three genin standing nearby, her killing intent pressing down on them without restraint.
These were not the Konoha rookies of the future. Faced with the murderous glare from the faceless killer before them, they didn't follow their instructor's order. Instead, they stumbled back in fear.
The opportunity the chunin had created with his life was wasted. He stared at his worthless students, his eyes widening further with unwillingness.
Feeling nothing, Touye pulled out her blade and, with a horizontal slash, carved a massive gash across the chunin's chest.
The man could no longer stand. He slid to the ground, blood spraying from his chest and drenching her. His eyes, wide open in death, were filled with nothing but resentment and regret.
She slowly turned to face the trembling genin. "Leave the scroll. You can go."
The three of them exchanged glances. Finally, the one who seemed to be their leader stammered, "Sensei said the scroll was too important... he kept it on him."
Touye nodded. "If I find out you're lying, I will hunt you down and kill you."
The genin's face crumpled. "I'm not lying! I swear I'm not!"
"You can go." Touye turned away, unwilling to speak to them any longer.
"Y-Yes!" The three of them scrambled away.
She carefully used her tachi to flick open the chunin's breast pocket. The scroll that rolled out was lifted on the blade's tip. After a careful inspection to confirm it was what she needed, she glanced one last time at the corpse on the ground and turned to leave without a second's hesitation.
The chunin had been quite skilled. A direct confrontation would have certainly left Touye injured. But unfortunately for him, he had three deadweights on his team, and so he died filled with indignation.
Arriving at a nearby town, Touye slowed her pace and walked through the gates.
The townspeople saw her, drenched in blood, and scrambled to get out of her way, parting to form a wide path. The bustling market fell silent.
Ignoring the stares, Touye walked to her inn. Before entering her room, she knocked, confirming that Tsunade was not inside before she pushed the door open.
She soaked her blood-stained clothes in a basin and stepped into a tub filled with hot water. The water, slightly cool to others, was just right for a girl of the Yuki Clan.
She let out a comfortable sigh and sank deeper into the water until it reached her chin.
After a moment's hesitation, she glanced around the empty room. Then, thinking it over, she slowly reached for the mask on her face.
After soaking a while longer, she stood up from the tub and grabbed a nearby towel to dry herself.
Though the water hadn't been particularly hot, steam still filled the small bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Water dripped from her short, choppy hair. Her smooth skin, fresh from the bath, was tinged with a lovely pink, and her delicate face was flushed. Yet her expression was utterly dead, making her look like an exquisite, lifeless doll.
She glanced down at her chest, which had begun to show a slight curve, and frowned. Children in the world of Naruto seemed to develop quickly. At only eight and a half, her chest was already starting to develop, however slightly.
Thankfully, it seemed that a woman's "monthly friend" arrived around the same time as it did in her previous life. Otherwise, Touye, who had lived two lives, would have had no idea how to deal with it.
"Whatever. No point thinking about it. I need to get ready and wash these bloody clothes before Lady Tsunade gets back."
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and walked over to her luggage to rummage through it.
Kneeling on the floor, she took a long strip of cloth from her bag and began to wind it tightly around her chest.
Just as she was busy, the door was suddenly thrown open.
Shizune felt like her luck had run out. That morning, she had failed to dissuade Lady Tsunade from gambling and had even been dragged along herself. In a matter of moments, half of the hundreds of thousands of ryo that Touye had painstakingly saved was gone. The other half was still back in their room. After losing all the money they had brought, they were still in debt to the casino. Tsunade was being held as collateral, and Shizune had been sent back to get more money. *Yes*, Shizune thought, *my luck has truly run out...*
Perhaps the heavens felt her plight was too tragic and decided to throw her a bone. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw a naked, beautiful young girl. Well, not entirely naked—she was still wrapping a cloth around her chest, which was somehow even more alluring than seeing nothing at all. Despite being a woman herself, Shizune felt a rush of blood to her head. Something warm trickled from her nose.
After staring blankly for a long moment (having thoroughly scanned the girl from head to toe several dozen times), Shizune suddenly bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, wrong room."
She backed out, closing the door behind her, then paused. *Wait a minute. If it was the wrong room, how did my key work?*
Still dazed, she opened the door again. "Um..."
The naked girl in the room seemed not to have processed what just happened. Shizune felt a little embarrassed looking at her naked form (if you're embarrassed, stop looking!). "Um... this is our room... who are... you? Oh... I'm sorry, I'll step out. You get dressed..."
Touye stared, dumbfounded, as Shizune went back and forth. Her hands froze mid-motion. Only when Shizune left for the second time did she finally react, on the verge of tears.
*She saw everything? It's over, I'll never get married... Wait, what am I thinking? I'm a dude!*
***
It was evening by the time the two of them managed to ransom Tsunade from the casino. The three now sat in the room, forming a tense triangle.
"What? Lady Tsunade, you knew Touye was a girl from the start? Then why didn't you tell me? I... I thought we had a burglar..."
"Of course. I knew from the first time I treated her. Speaking of which, Shizune, you've treated Touye plenty of times too, haven't you? And you never noticed? It seems your foundational medical ninjutsu is still lacking. You'll need more practice."
Tsunade sipped her tea nonchalantly. "Why else do you think I changed my mind and brought her with us back then?"
"Uh... well..." Shizune was at a loss for words.
It wasn't really her fault. Touye had always worn boys' clothes, had short, choppy hair, and was still very young. Not only was her chest bound, but even if it hadn't been, the slight curve was barely noticeable.
Touye, cuddling Tonton (she'd almost forgotten about him), had been forced to discard her blood-stained male attire for fear of Tsunade seeing it. She was now wearing some of Shizune's old clothes. They were a bit loose, but her own old clothes were already too small.
The girl bowed her head. "I am very sorry!"
Tsunade waved her hand. "It's fine. It was her own lack of skill. You're not to blame."
Shizune also offered a kind smile. "That's right, it's not your fault. Hmm, are those clothes a bit big for you, Touye? I'll take you shopping for some new ones later."
Touye nodded and said honestly, "The clothes are fine... except the chest is a little tight..."
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