BOOM!!
The heavy wooden door burst open from the inside, blown apart by an overwhelming force. Splinters flew in every direction. Tsunade charged out through the wreckage, her aura blazing with fury.
"AHH! You damn brat! Go to hell!!"
Shame, rage, and a crushing sense of humiliation from being completely exposed fueled a punch so powerful it roared toward Ryo's face. She was going to make him pay for running his mouth.
Faced with the incoming blow, Ryo's pupils shrank, but his body didn't move. In that split second, seeing Tsunade's face flushed red from shame, he suddenly understood. He couldn't dodge. If he did, she'd completely lose control and create a public scene. The consequences would be disastrous.
Just as the fist, packed with terrifying force, came within an inch of his nose, the wind from it already lashing his bangs,
Ryo suddenly lowered his voice and muttered three soft words, only audible at close range.
"Tsunade. What if Mikoto and Nawaki find out about last night?"
The punch.
Stopped.
Less than an inch from Ryo's cheek.
The wind from it grazed his skin like a blade.
Tsunade froze. Her raised arm, burning eyes, and tense body all locked in place for a brief moment, as if someone had hit pause.
She glared at Ryo. That handsome face up close now looked insufferably smug and detestably cunning.
Make it public? Let Mikoto find out? Let Nawaki find out?
Just imagine. Tsunade, the Sannin, Konoha's Princess, drunkenly stumbling into a young man's room in the middle of the night, sleeping in the same bed with him.
If word got out, how would she face the village? Face the world? Her dignity would be in tatters. Her reputation, ruined. Death might be preferable.
Looking at Ryo's face. Calm, but with a hint of unease in his eyes. Tsunade's rage surged again, but this time it was laced with bitter frustration. She suddenly yanked her fist back and, through clenched teeth, growled in a low voice.
"GET LOST, YOU DAMN BRAT."
She spun around and slammed the broken door shut. The impact made the wall tremble, and the half-shattered doorframe rattled.
Ryo stood in the wrecked hallway, staring at the crooked door. He let out a long breath.
Inside the room.
Tsunade slid down against the door, sitting on the floor. Her face buried in her knees, ears still burning red.
With the anger gone, the shame came flooding in like a tidal wave. The chaos from last night played back in her mind. Drunkenly entering the wrong room. Ending up in the same bed. And that morning...
"Quite soft, actually."
That damned brat.
She groaned and lightly bumped her forehead against her knees. Logically, she knew she'd messed up last night, but the feeling of being violated, coupled with the unbearable shame of having her inner thoughts exposed, made her completely unsure how to face him again.
Her thoughts were in a mess, but one stood out clearly. Get back to Konoha. Fast. As far away from that brat as possible.
Daybreak.
The team set out in silence, the mood heavy.
Tsunade walked in front, back straight, pace fast, and her aura left no room for questioning. She stared ahead, sharp-eyed, as if slicing through the air. She never once looked back.
Nawaki followed behind with the horse, pouting. His promised allowance was still missing. He could feel his sister's terrifying aura today, wrapped in an invisible field of frost.
He wanted to ask about the money, but seeing her tense face and pressed lips, he quietly swallowed his words. Not worth it.
Ryo walked in the middle-rear, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed. But his gaze was fixed forward. Occasionally, he looked down slightly, as if focusing on the road. His face was calm, as if the chaos from the night before had never happened.
Only he knew why he kept his distance from the golden ponytail ahead.
Mikoto walked just ahead of him. Her gentle eyes flicked between the two. One striding fast without a glance back. The other looking calm, but with slightly deeper breathing than usual.
She had heard the commotion in the hallway earlier. The shattered door. She didn't know what had happened exactly, but the tension between them and their deliberate avoidance said enough.
Her lips curved slightly. A trace of understanding flashed in her eyes. She didn't ask questions, nor did she explain anything to Nawaki. That quiet awareness was a kind of control in itself.
The group continued forward with a strange mix of calm and tension. No one spoke. Even the horses' hooves sounded dull against the dirt road. Only Nawaki occasionally whispered to a guard about the route.
Tsunade didn't stop in any towns along the way. Under the blazing afternoon sun, sweat beaded on her face, but she only quickened her pace.
Tea breaks? Rest stops? All abandoned. Her mind had only one thought. Konoha.
Only in the village, beneath the gaze of the Hokage Rock, did she feel she could escape this suffocating awkwardness.
Their return became a forced march. What should have taken two and a half days, they compressed into two days and one night. When Nawaki whispered, "Sis, shouldn't we rest? Some of the injured are struggling," all he got was her cold voice, not even turning around.
"Hold on a little longer. We're almost there."
Nawaki shrank back and stayed silent.
Finally, the road cleared.
In the distance, nestled in the canyon forest, the tall walls of the village came into view.
The Hokage Rock loomed above like a guardian, watching over them. Under the golden-red sunset, Konoha was bathed in warm light. Smoke rose from chimneys, carrying a familiar scent.
"Ah. We're finally home." Nawaki cheered, joy bursting through his fatigue.
"Thank goodness..." Mikoto whispered, her eyes soft as they fell on the village.
Only Tsunade, walking in front, paused slightly when she saw the village gates, the massive "木" character marking Konoha.
Home. A place of safety. Yet as she neared it, a strange, indescribable feeling surged inside her.
Would the gates close the chapter on last night's chaos? Or would it make things harder to clean up?
A trace of frost faded from her face, but deep down, a subtle panic stirred as the village came closer.
Home... then what?
(To be continued.)