Shizune's face twitched.
Tsunade: "..."
*Thwack!*
"Ow... Why'd you hit me?"
"...Because you said something you shouldn't have! Apologize!"
"Huh? What? Did I say something?"
"Just shut up!"
Beside them, Tsunade hid a smile behind her teacup. *You fool. Some truths are better left unsaid...*
***
Touye stared in agony at the magnificent woman's kimono before her, then glanced at Shizune, whose eyes were shining with anticipation. "This... if I wear this... won't it restrict my movements? I think I'll pass..."
"Oh, I see..." Disappointment was clear on Shizune's face. "Then what about this one? And this one..."
Like a wooden doll, Touye was pulled this way and that as Shizune held up outfit after outfit. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and spoke up timidly to the excited Shizune. "Um... if it's not too much trouble, I'd still prefer a set of boy's clothes..."
"Huh? Why...?" Shizune was astounded. "You're a girl, why do you want to wear boy's clothes?"
"Well..." Touye didn't know how to explain. She couldn't very well tell her she was actually a man, could she? Shizune would never believe it, not after she'd seen her from head to toe.
"They're better for moving around...?" Touye offered, uncertainly.
The corner of Shizune's mouth twitched. "...Do you even believe that?"
"...No."
After failing to explain herself, Touye simply fell silent. She let Shizune talk until she was blue in the face, but she didn't respond, instead picking out a set of boy's clothes and holding them as she walked aside.
Seeing that she couldn't change the girl's mind, Shizune sighed in resignation and pulled out her wallet to pay, pouting.
Touye followed docilely behind Shizune, her head bowed.
Seeing her like this, Shizune couldn't stay angry. She gently stroked the girl's head and said softly, "Alright, if that's what you want, I won't object. Don't look like such a kicked puppy..."
As she said it, she couldn't help but laugh.
Touye tilted her head, looking at Shizune in confusion. It was a shame she had the mask on; the adorable gesture would have charmed anyone.
Though she showed no outward reaction, Touye didn't even realize that the corners of her own mouth had lifted into a slight smile.
***
"Hah! Hah! Hah..."
With each sharp exhale, Touye rained punch after punch onto the wooden training post, sweat pouring down her face. Her hands were already bloody, but as if feeling no pain, she continued to strike the post viciously.
It had been three months. Three months without a shred of progress. She didn't know why. Was she not working hard enough? Was her training method wrong? She had no idea.
*Like this... how can I save Haku like this? How can I find Chun?*
*Useless... Useless, useless! You're so useless!*
With a roar, she threw a punch at the post, which in her mind had taken on her own image.
"Enough!"
A hand suddenly appeared, blocking her fist and gripping it tightly. An overwhelming, irresistible force surged through her, and she found herself flying through the air, thrown more than thirty meters away.
She managed to right herself mid-air, landing on her feet and digging two deep furrows in the ground before she came to a stop, her legs still trembling.
Looking at the stern-faced blonde woman before her, Touye lowered her head. "Lady... Tsunade..."
Tsunade walked toward her slowly, her voice colder than Touye had ever heard it. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if that punch had landed? Your hand would have been shattered. The broken bones would have mixed with muscle, tendons, and nerves. That hand would have been ruined. Forget delicate movements like hand seals—you wouldn't even be able to lift anything heavy!"
Touye bowed her head. "I am very sorry!"
"It's not me you need to apologize to. It's the people you're fighting so desperately to protect!" Tsunade roared.
Touye fell to her knees, choking back a sob. "But... the ones I want to protect are all gone... because I was too weak... The so-called bonds... are already broken..."
*BOOM!*
Touye's head snapped up, and she stared dumbly at Tsunade.
A massive crater, more than ten meters in diameter, had appeared in the ground. Cracks spiderwebbed out from its center, where a fist as smooth as jade rested. It was Tsunade's fist.
Her body was leaned forward, her right fist pressed to the ground. She looked at Touye with a piercing gaze. "So-called bonds? They are something that exists no matter when, no matter where! Whether you're together or not, whether you'll ever meet again! As long as you're alive—no, even in death—they will exist! They are something that nothing can ever erase!"
She stood up, looking down at Touye with contempt. "Or is it that what you call bonds are nothing more than some trivial obsession?"
"No!" Touye shouted. "They're not... I... I understand... I won't be weak anymore. I won't be lost anymore. I'll work hard to become strong, and I'll find my bonds again! And I'll never let them go!"
Tsunade watched her with a cold expression. After a long moment, her face softened. "Give me your hands..."
Touye held out her bloodied hands. Tsunade frowned, carefully using a senbon to pick out the wooden splinters embedded in her flesh. Then she cradled the girl's small hands in her own, enveloping them in healing chakra.
"You want to be strong that badly?" Tsunade sighed as she watched the wounds on the small hands slowly close.
"Yes. Only by being strong can I protect what I want to protect! I've already been through so many partings and deaths... I... I don't want to go through that ever again..."
After another long silence, Tsunade spoke. "Then starting tomorrow, you will attend lessons with Shizune. But you are not like Shizune, so," she paused, lowering her head so Touye couldn't see her expression, "be prepared to die at any time..."
Touye was stunned for a moment, then replied happily, "Yes!"
The sun slowly set, its last golden rays bathing the two of them in a warm, harmonious light...
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