Chapter 18: Mito Uzumaki II

“Bring them here. I want to see them.”

Tsunade was heading back to Yujin’s apartment. For some reason, Mito wanted to see the man who had been with her for the past few months, as well as her future great-granddaughter.

On the way, Tsunade walked slowly, lost in thought.

At that moment, she felt powerless. It was as if she was about to faint. She felt her strength rapidly draining with every step she took, as if she was walking towards an abyss.

It wasn’t just Mito’s imminent death, but how her entire life had been up to that point – a constant stream of deaths of people she loved. It was as if, no matter what she did, just by existing, she cursed the people she loved to death.

This filled her with fear.

She felt the urge to run away, to do what Yujin did – isolate herself on some mountain and live alone, without forming bonds with anyone, and consequently, not getting hurt when those bonds were severed by the reaper.

It was so much pain, and she felt like she was on an irreversible path. The heart of the most powerful woman in the village was closing, on the verge of preventing anyone from entering it for the rest of her life.

It was under these conditions that she arrived at Yujin’s apartment. She tried to compose herself as much as possible before entering, but anyone could feel how desolate she was.

When she opened the door, a sight that finally considerably calmed her greeted her.

It was late in the night, and Yujin was sitting on the floor with Shizune sleeping peacefully on his lap.

The sight of him smiling while gently stroking the girl’s head was the most wonderful thing Tsunade had ever seen. For a few moments, it was as if all the emotional fatigue she was feeling disappeared.

She approached him, which finally caught Yujin’s attention. When she saw his smile quickly fade, Tsunade started crying without even realizing it. She knelt beside Yujin and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

Yujin’s expressions slowly transitioned. From a smile to confusion, and then he finally realized the gravity of the situation. When he felt his sleeve being pulled by her, he held his breath upon realizing how fragile she was.

Without saying anything, he pulled her into a tight hug, and Tsunade couldn’t take it anymore and started crying quietly.

Yujin didn’t say anything; he just held her tightly, wanting to convey that he was there for her.

The two stayed embraced for hours. Yujin said nothing, and neither did Tsunade. Even after the tears dried up, she continued hugging him.

When she finally felt she regained some of her strength, Tsunade pulled away from Yujin and wiped her face.

Yujin saw Tsunade’s swollen eyes and sighed, feeling the pain in her heart. Seeing her in this state was painful for him. He preferred to see her smiling, something that rarely happened in the past few days. Although she smiled all the time, the genuine smiles were rare. Dan’s death still lingered in her mind, constantly draining her energy.

Whatever happened, it was equally painful, and it was causing Tsunade to almost collapse.

Yujin didn’t know how to approach the subject or comfort her. He spent the entire time he was hugging her searching for words to say, but couldn’t find the right ones.

Tsunade remained silent for some time. She was preparing to speak, but it was so painful that even talking was difficult.

“My grandmother ... she’s going to die soon. She’s very old, can’t carry the burden of the fox anymore.”

Yujin knew about Tsunade’s grandmother; she came up quite often in their conversations about when she was younger. She mentioned a few times how Mito became an important support for her after her parents’ death. No wonder she was so fragile at the moment – Mito meant a lot to Tsunade. Yujin didn’t know what the “fox” was about, but he ignored it for now.

“That’s just...”

...

...

Tsunade didn’t know what else to say.

“She means a lot to you; I can see the pain you’re feeling. It’s a big blow for you.”

Tsunade made a crying face, but no tears fell; she had none left.

“It’s so unfair. As if the world conspires to take away people I love from me. If she dies ... I won’t have anyone left.”

Tsunade’s frustration was building up; she wanted to cry but couldn’t – there were no more tears. Seeing her in this state, Yujin approached slowly and touched his forehead to hers. They stayed like that for some time.

“My mother used to do this when I cried a lot. She said I calmed down immediately.”