The streets of Tanzaku Quarters were nearly empty by the ti Haji and Tsunade left the tavern behind.
Paper lanterns swayed in the night breeze, casting soft orange light across the stone paths. The air slled faintly of smoke, spilled sake, and distant rain. It was quiet. Not because the town had gone to sleep, but because people could feel sothing had shifted. The tension from Konoha's fall, the rumors of the Third Hokage's death, and the presence of Orochimaru, these things weighed on everyone.
But none more than Tsunade.
She walked slowly beside Haji, hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her coat, her golden hair falling loose across her face. Her steps dragged just a little. Not from the sake. From sothing older.
She didn't say a word.
Neither did Haji.
He walked beside her in silence, his tall fra casting a long shadow in the lantern light. The halberd strapped to his back shimred faintly with cold blue glow, humming every now and then like it was reacting to the weight of emotion in the air.
They passed through the marketplace, now empty, stalls closed up and awnings folded tight.
It wasn't until they reached the edge of the open square that Haji finally spoke.
"…Are you alright?"
Tsunade didn't answer right away.
Her gaze was fixed ahead, unfocused. Her breath left her in a long, quiet sigh.
"…No. Not really."
She wasn't slurring anymore. The alcohol had dulled the sharpest edge of the pain, but it was still there. Just quieter. Buried.
"I figured," Haji said.
More silence followed.
The only sound was their footsteps against the cobblestones.
"You know it's a trap, right?" he said after a mont. "Orochimaru doesn't give anything for free. Not even promises."
Tsunade flinched slightly, as if hearing his na stung. "I know that."
"Then why are you thinking about it?"
She stopped walking.
Haji turned to face her. Her expression was unreadable, but he saw it in her eyes. The conflict. The hope. The guilt.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Because… what if it's real? What if it works? Dan… Nawaki… I've missed them for so long."
He didn't rush to answer. Instead, he looked at her. Really looked at her.
Tsunade, the proud, loud, fearless woman he'd trained under, looked small now. Not weak, but tired. Like soone who'd carried too many mories for too long.
"I don't know what it's like to lose people like that," Haji said quietly. "But I've lost things too. I know what it's like to want to undo the past."
She didn't speak.
He took a step closer.
"But you can't bring back what's gone, not really. And you know Orochimaru. You know what he does to people. To life. Whatever he offers you… it won't be them. Not the way you rember."
Tsunade's eyes filled with tears, but none fell.
"He said he could bring them back," she whispered.
Haji nodded. "But what's the cost? You know there are no perfect resurrection."
She turned away, shoulders tense. "…You think I'm weak for even considering it?"
"No," he said firmly. "I think you're human."
She turned back, surprised by the softness in his voice.
Haji looked away for a mont, toward the stars above the rooftops. "You loved them. They mattered to you. That kind of love doesn't just vanish. It stays. Sotis it burns. But that's not weakness."
Tsunade didn't answer right away. Then she stepped over to a bench beside the street and sat down heavily.
"…You remind of him, sotis," she said.
Haji blinked. "Who?"
"Dan," she replied. "He was quiet too. Steady. Didn't need to say much to get through to people."
Haji said nothing. He simply sat beside her.
They stared ahead at the quiet street.
Tsunade reached into her coat and pulled out a small flask. She looked at it for a mont, then closed it again and shoved it away.
"I didn't think it would hurt this much," she murmured. "Hearing their nas after so long."
"Pain like that never really fades," Haji said softly. "But you can live with it. And you've already been living with it longer than most people could."
She looked over at him.
"You're too mature for your age."
He gave a small smile. "I've been told that before."
For the first ti that night, she chuckled. Just once. But it was real.
Then she stood.
And this ti, her shoulders were straighter. Her back was firm. The heavy weight hadn't disappeared, but it was lighter now.
"I'm not healing him," she said. "I won't give him what he wants. Not this ti."
Haji rose beside her. "Good."
They started walking again.
Now the silence between them wasn't heavy. It was steady. Peaceful, even.
The lights of the clinic ca into view at the end of the road. The windows glowed softly in the dark, warm and familiar.
Tsunade paused just outside the gate and looked back at him.
"…Thanks," she said quietly.
Haji nodded. "You don't have to thank ."
"I do," she insisted. "You didn't say anything flashy. You didn't tell what I wanted to hear. You just stayed. And that mattered."
He looked at her for a long mont.
Then answered simply, "I'll stay as long as you need to."
She smiled again, tired, but honest.
And together, they stepped inside.
End of Chapter 43 – The Weight of Nas
Reviews
All reviews (0)