The morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains and spread across the room. Chiya frowned, his temples throbbing from the hangover.
Last night he and Tsunade had been drinking at his place until the middle of the night.
The more Tsunade drank, the more wound up she got. When they started sparring in taijutsu, her competitive streak kicked in.
Without caring about Chiya's objections.
She pulled him into the courtyard and started a fight.
Her taijutsu strength was fierce and her movements far bolder than usual. Using her physical advantage to subdue an opponent was a classic trick of taijutsu-type ninja.
On top of that, Tsunade's attack frequency was relentless. Chiya had been barely keeping up.
What a disaster.
He rolled over and reached out beside him, and his hand landed on something familiar.
"Hm?"
He blinked open his eyes in a daze and found himself staring straight into a pair of emerald eyes.
Tsunade had woken up at some point and was glaring at him, her cheeks faintly pink, golden hair spread messily across the pillow.
The two of them locked eyes for one second.
"Thud!"
Tsunade kicked him clean off the bed.
"Hss."
Chiya grabbed his side and climbed up from the floor, all trace of sleep gone.
"What was that for?"
"You have the nerve to ask?!"
Tsunade said through clenched teeth and quickly wrapped the blanket around herself, lowering her voice.
"Did we not agree last night that you would send me home by the middle of the night? Why did we sleep until daybreak?!"
Chiya rubbed his temple and said helplessly.
"You drank too much. After midnight you were completely out of control and would not listen to me at all."
Tsunade's face turned red with shame and frustration.
Hearing Chiya say that, her fragmented memories slowly drifted back.
She had just kicked him again a moment ago, and the movement had pulled at a sore, swollen spot.
Yesterday she had been too drunk to feel it. Now that the alcohol had worn off, her whole body ached and felt like it was falling apart.
She was just about to snap at him again when suddenly.
"Knock knock knock!"
A rapid series of knocks came from outside the door.
Both of them went rigid at the same time.
"Chiya-nii! Are you home?"
It was Kushina's voice.
Tsunade's eyes went wide and she instantly panicked.
"This is bad! It's that girl Kushina!"
Chiya also snapped more alert and said with a frown.
"Why is she here?"
"How would I know?!"
Tsunade scrambled to grab her scattered clothes and started pulling them on in a rush.
"If she sees me here, how am I supposed to face anyone?!"
Chiya pressed his fingers to his brow and said helplessly.
"Hide for a moment."
He looked at the clothes she was holding.
"Wait, that one is mine!"
Tsunade tossed it back at him with a look of disgust and hurried to find her own.
"Hide? How?!"
Tsunade glared at him while getting dressed.
"This room is not that big!"
Chiya pointed to the wardrobe. Tsunade rejected it immediately.
"No good! Too obvious!"
"Then."
"Bang!"
Another round of knocking, harder this time.
"Is anyone home?"
Kushina's voice carried a hint of suspicion, as if she sensed something was off.
'This is Chiya's house. I did not get the wrong place.'
Tsunade gritted her teeth, her hands flying through a sequence of hand signs.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
A puff of white smoke cleared, and Tsunade's full figure shrank down. In its place stood a young, child-sized version of herself.
Tsunade (as a child) nimbly jumped to the top of the wardrobe, arranged a few potted plants, and hid herself behind the curtain.
She poked her head out and looked down at Chiya from above, her expression full of unspoken threat.
"Say one word and you are dead."
Chiya's mouth twitched, but there was no time to think. He threw his clothes on quickly.
He straightened his messy hair and walked briskly to the door.
The moment the door opened a crack, Kushina shoved it wide and nearly walked straight into Chiya's chest.
"Why did it take so long to open up?"
She peered at Chiya with suspicion, her red hair wild as flames, her green eyes looking him up and down.
"Is Mikoto here?"
Chiya's expression did not change.
"No. I just woke up, so I was a little slow."
Kushina walked straight past him carrying a gift bag.
She strode into the room, eyes sweeping all around.
Chiya's heart jumped slightly, but he kept his face calm.
"Early morning visit. What is going on?"
Kushina did not answer. Instead, like a wary little fox, she made a full loop of the room and even bent down to check under the bed.
Up on top of the wardrobe, the small "Tsunade" held her breath, body completely rigid.
After confirming there was truly nobody in the room, Kushina's expression relaxed noticeably, and the corners of her mouth even curled up slightly.
"Here. For you."
She pushed the gift bag into Chiya's hands, her tone awkward.
"Consider it a. thank-you gift."
Chiya looked inside. The bag held several boxes of neatly packaged sweets and a bottle of sake.
"A thank-you gift?"
Kushina turned her face away, the tips of her ears going pink.
"I know it was you who sent those Uchiha subordinates to bring my clanspeople back from the border of the Land of Fire."
She paused, her voice dropping slightly.
"Thank you."
Chiya smiled and set the gift down on the table.
"You do not need to thank me. It was a Konoha mission. I only sent people over."
Kushina snapped her head up and stared at him.
"Liar!"
"Hm?"
"You only did it because I told you about it!"
"I only told one person about this matter, and that was you!"
She put her hands on her hips with total certainty.
"Otherwise how could it be such a coincidence that Uchiha ninja happened to go and meet them?"
Chiya shrugged.
"Just a coincidence."
"Hmph, I do not believe that at all."
Kushina pouted, but the look in her eyes had softened considerably.
"You are the type of person who does good things and then always acts like it was nothing."
Chiya looked at her and could not help letting out a quiet laugh.
"So what kind of person do you think I am?"
Kushina stared at him for a few seconds, then said with sudden sincerity.
"You are a good person."
"..."
He was momentarily speechless. He had not expected to be handed the "good person" card.
Up on top of the wardrobe, the small "Tsunade" nearly burst out laughing but barely managed to hold it in.
She had known it for a while now.
The thing Chiya hated most was being called a good person.
Kushina did not notice any of this. She hesitated for a moment.
"Chiya-nii, can I come find you often from now on?"
"What for?"
A chill ran down Chiya's spine.
"Training! Or just talking is fine too!"
Her eyes darted around and she forced a firm tone.
"Mikoto-nee gets to come over. So why can't I?"
"Up to you."
Kushina's eyes lit up, but she quickly forced herself to look composed and let out a deliberate "hmph."
"Then I am leaving now. I have things to do at home."
She turned and headed for the door, but stopped at the doorway, turned back, and stared at Chiya for a few seconds. Then.
"Oh, right!"
She stepped quickly back over, rose onto her toes, pressed a quick kiss to Chiya's cheek, and then ran off with a red face.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut.
Chiya stood frozen in place. He had actually been caught off guard by that girl. He touched the spot where she had kissed him and was speechless for a moment.
On top of the wardrobe, Tsunade jumped down.
A puff of white smoke burst open and Tsunade returned to her real appearance.
She crossed her arms and looked at him with an expression somewhere between a smile and not.
"Well, well. Clan head Chiya, you are quite the charmer, are you not?"
"That was unexpected! Totally unexpected!"
Chiya scratched his head and said with an awkward laugh.
Tsunade shot him a glare, then looked down to straighten her clothes, and happened to glance at the gift on the table.
"Kushina is quite thoughtful."
Chiya did not comment on that and only asked.
"Where are you headed now?"
Tsunade stretched out lazily.
"Back to the hospital. Last night's proposal still needs to be fleshed out."
She walked to the doorway, then suddenly turned back and narrowed her eyes.
"Come here."
Chiya stepped over, not quite sure what was happening.
Tsunade hooked an arm around his shoulder and pressed a firm kiss to his other cheek.
Tsunade pushed him away with satisfaction, opened the door, and left.
The room finally went quiet.
Chiya looked at the sweets and sake on the table, touched both cheeks, and shook his head with a quiet laugh.
"That was quite the lively morning."