With great effort, she turned her head toward the sound. Two figures came into view, one tall and one short. The taller one wore a green jacket, her bright blonde hair tied into two ponytails. There was a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead—a beauty mark, perhaps? But what really caught the eye were the two... mountains threatening to burst from her chest.
Ahem...
Though she couldn't see it, Touye was almost certain that woman had the character for "Gamble" written on her back.
The shorter one was a girl in her teens, dressed in a black training suit with a neat, short haircut. She was quite pretty and was holding a little pink pig. Was its name Tonton? Or something else?
Because of the blonde woman, Touye made a point of glancing at the black-haired girl's chest... Tsk tsk... It seemed the apple sometimes falls very, very far from the tree...
(*"Lady Tsunade, let's go!" the black-haired girl said to the blonde woman.*
*"Go? Weren't you the one who wanted me to check out what was happening?"*
*"I just suddenly got a bad feeling about it, so I don't want to look anymore..."*
*"..."*)
These two were...!
Touye's eyes widened. What were they doing here? It didn't matter. Whatever the reason, she might just live!
She looked at them with desperate hope. "Please... help me..."
The two women, now closer, looked down at the pleading girl. The blonde woman's face was cold, as if she hadn't seen a thing. The black-haired girl looked sympathetic, but she made no move.
They weren't exactly Good Samaritans, after all. They were ninja, and though they might seem righteous in the stories, they had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Faced with a complete unknown in this situation—even if it was just a kid (Touye was still dressed as a boy, remember?)—who knew if it was a trap? Not finishing her off was already an act of kindness.
Feeling the last of her life slipping away, Touye summoned her remaining strength. "Please... help me..."
***
The blonde woman listened to the girl's plea and nonchalantly cleaned out her ear. "Why should I?"
Beside her, the black-haired girl's face showed even more pity, but she remained silent.
"I..." Touye was at a loss for words.
"Let's go, Shizune." The blonde woman stepped around Touye and continued on her way.
The black-haired girl sighed, shook her head, and carefully skirted around her as well, jogging to catch up.
Touye grew more frantic. *What do I do... This is my only chance... I can't let it slip away! That's it! A desperate gamble!*
She "shouted" at their retreating backs. "Please, wait!"
The two women turned to look at her again. They saw her struggle to reach a hand into her chest, her expression grave.
Both of them tensed up, wary. Who knew what she was pulling out? What if it was an explosive tag or a shuriken? The blonde woman narrowed her eyes, ready to strike and kill at the slightest hostile move.
Touye fumbled inside her clothes for a moment, then slowly pulled her hand out. The blonde woman's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the corner of a piece of paper. *Could it be... an explosive tag?*
Touye finally managed to pull the item out completely and held it up. The blonde woman's eyes flashed with a ferocious light. She pushed off the ground, shattering the earth beneath her feet, and charged forward with overwhelming force.
*Such presence! As expected of her!*
In an instant, the blonde woman was beside Touye, her hand moving like lightning.
Touye felt a brief coolness in her hand... and the paper was gone.
The blonde woman had already retreated to her original spot, staring grimly at the paper in her hand. After a moment, she looked up and said coldly, "Deal!"
In her hand was a five hundred thousand ryo note.
Beside her, the black-haired girl let out an embarrassed cry. "Lady Tsunade!"
The blonde woman—no, Tsunade—ignored the flustered Shizune. With the greedy expression of a miser, she carefully tucked the bank note away before finally kneeling beside Touye to examine her injuries.
A moment later, Tsunade placed her hand on Touye's chest, and a green medical chakra began to glow.
The healing chakra slowly nourished Touye's battered body. Instantly, she felt the ebbing of her life force halt, and a steady stream of chakra began to replenish her.
"Hm? What's this?"
While treating her, Tsunade seemed to discover something. She gave Touye a surprised look, and the hard expression on her face softened slightly.
Touye felt her injuries begin to mend. Her nerves, stretched taut, finally relaxed. She knew her life was saved. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. After days of relentless fighting without a moment's rest, she had burned through every last shred of her stamina. The moment she let go, she could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.
After a long while, Tsunade removed her hand from the girl's body and turned to Shizune. "Shizune, carry her. Let's go."
"Eh? Ehhhh?" The black-haired girl looked at her in disbelief. "Take him with us? Why? A moment ago you were..."
"Enough with the questions," Tsunade said impatiently. "Just carry him like I told you. Don't waste time. I'm itching to get to the next town and win my money back!"
"Ah! Lady Tsunade, you're going to gamble again?! Please, we're already in so much debt! Shouldn't we pay it back first?"
"Quiet! Once I win it all back, paying off some debt will be a piece of cake!"
"You say that every time!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Being a tsundere won't solve anything!"
The two of them walked on, bickering. Touye rested peacefully on the black-haired girl's shoulder, lost in her first sound sleep in days...
***
A few days later, a red-haired girl of about five or six arrived at the site of Touye's final battle with the Kirigakure ninja. She seemed to be searching for something.
Finally, the girl knelt and picked up a scrap of cloth from the ground. She stared at it for a long time before looking up, her eyes filled with determination. "Sister, I will find you! Wait for me!"