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Chapter 26 - Teaching

Warm light spilled like water the moment the door slid open.

"Young Clan Head is home." Mikoto leaned in the entryway with her familiar gentle smile.

She had just changed out of her kunoichi gear, a loose collar showing a pale line of skin, hair tips damp with night dew.

Clearly she had just returned from the assembly as well.

Jin paused a beat. In the lamplight her smile looked softer than usual.

"Don't tease me, Mikoto." His voice unconsciously softened.

He reached out by habit, just like the first time he saw her after his parents were gone.

Mikoto opened her arms without thinking. When the boy with the scent of night wind fell into her embrace, her mind drifted.

Back when Elder Hikaku asked her to look after him, he had not even reached her waist. Now the top of his head pressed against her chin.

"You grew so fast." Her fingers smoothed his black hair, brushing the familiar whorl.

Three years ago his Sharingan had been full of unrest. She had never imagined she would live to see him named Young Clan Head.

The warmth between them chased off the chill at the door. Jin breathed in lightly at her shoulder, that familiar floral note slowing his movements.

"Congratulations on making jōnin, Mikoto."

She tapped his brow with a fingertip. "Do not be silly. Elder Hikaku told me it was you who pushed my promotion."

Pride and something more crossed her smile. The child who needed her had grown into the Uchiha's Young Clan Head. Now this older sister needed him to rise.

A gust of night air slipped in and Mikoto blinked, suddenly aware of the cold at the threshold. She loosened her arms and spoke.

"All right, inside with you, before the wind comes in."

Jin let go naturally and followed her into the inner rooms.

...

Dawn had barely paled the sky.

Jin was already at Konoha Hospital.

Unlike yesterday's first day, staff now greeted him with looks of respect. In the low buzz of whispers drifted phrases like Tsunade's disciple and healing prodigy.

Clearly his outrageous pace of treatment had already spread.

When he reached Tsunade's office, a nurse cheerfully slid the door for him.

Inside, Tsunade was waiting. "Right on time. Same as yesterday."

She tossed him a thick wad of bills.

"What is this. Planning to keep me?"

He blinked at the cash, then slipped into his usual tease.

"In your dreams. That is your pay for treating patients yesterday. You do not think med-nin work here for free, do you."

Tsunade frowned in mock disdain.

"I see, not bad for a day."

He thumbed the amount and tucked it into his pouch.

"If only a day's wage were always that high, I would not need you covering my debts. It is that much because you did work for several days in a single afternoon. We might not need me for a while."

She pulled him out of the office.

"No patients, then where are we going."

"To teach you medical ninjutsu. You are my disciple. If you cannot do even the basics, who would believe it."

She hauled him into the next room.

"I already can. Worked great yesterday."

"Spare me. You call that medical ninjutsu. Hand on the wound and done. I bet you do not even know what it is."

He scratched his chin. The Horse Talisman's power was hard to explain. Magic was not exactly transparent. Still, it worked better than medical ninjutsu and far faster, so his interest in textbook healing was thin.

Seeing his lack of enthusiasm, Tsunade planted fists on hips. "Do not think medical arts only treat wounds. Once you grasp them, you will see they are useful for a lot more."

She scooped up a half-dead river fish and plopped it before him.

"Do not use that power. Use chakra to stimulate and heal its body, like I showed you yesterday."

"Got it."

Pale green chakra bloomed in Jin's palm and spread over the fish. As it flowed, the gills fluttered faintly, the tail began to stir.

Moments later the listless fish regained vigor and even flopped twice.

"You are not cheating, are you."

Tsunade leaned close, suspicious.

"If I cheated would it be this slow."

He flicked the fish into a basin. It began to swim at once.

"Scared by my talent, Tsunade."

"Hardly. That is average."

She kept her mouth strong, but her eyes stayed on the basin, surprise not leaving her gaze.

After watching a while and finding nothing odd, she turned back. "Fine, you pass. No more lessons today. You are coming with me to a place."

"Where."

He blinked at her mysterious tone.

"Do not ask. You will know when we get there."

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