"BOOM!"
With a tremendous roar, the girl's body flew backward, slamming into the wall and creating a deep crater. The Raikage, however, was completely unscathed. The Superhuman Strength that could shatter mountains and split stone had only made him pause for an instant.
But he couldn't press his attack, because...
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
A powerful flying kick slammed into the Raikage, but he managed to block it with his arm.
Even so, he was sent flying backward just as she had been, smashing through the wall and out of the inn.
"Lady... Tsunade..." Touye stared in surprise at the blonde woman before her.
"Are you alright?" Tsunade didn't turn around, her gaze fixed sternly on the Fourth Raikage as he leaped back up from outside.
"It's nothing serious," the girl said, checking herself over. "Just a fractured left arm."
A hint of joy tinged her words.
Of course, the joy wasn't from the fracture, but from the fact that she had finally used Superhuman Strength. The price had been only a broken arm, and that was partly due to clashing head-on with the Raikage. Otherwise, the backlash would have been even less.
"Good." Tsunade nodded, then narrowed her eyes at the Raikage. "Well, if it isn't the Fourth Raikage. What has you so angry that you'd throw away your pride and attack a child?"
The sharp taunt made the Raikage's face burn. If his skin weren't so dark, one might have seen it flush.
He snorted coldly, about to step forward.
But the young ninja behind him, who had remained still until now, suddenly stepped up and stopped him, whispering something in his ear. Touye was too far away to hear clearly, but she caught a few words. "...injuries... worsening... medical... Tsunade..."
Strung together, they made no sense at all.
Whatever the young ninja said, the Raikage managed to swallow his rage, though his face grew even darker. His already fierce expression now looked no different from a demon's.
The young ninja stopped the Raikage, then stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, I am also a medical ninja. I have the utmost admiration for your medical ninjutsu..."
"Spare me the flattery and get to the point," Tsunade interrupted impatiently, earning another cold snort from the Raikage.
The young ninja, however, showed no offense. "Yes..."
***
The young ninja explained the situation in detail. The Raikage had been on a mission, but on the way back, they were ambushed, and one of his companions was gravely injured.
"You're a medical ninja yourself. Why come looking for me?" Tsunade asked dismissively.
An awkward look crossed the young ninja's face. "Well... my skills are insufficient..."
"Hah..." Tsunade's expression grew even more mocking. "How amusing... And what makes you think I'll help? You come asking for medical aid, yet you have the audacity to injure my people. Are you that confident you can force my hand?"
At this point, Touye finally remembered. There was indeed a scene like this in the original story. The Raikage's injured subordinate had been parasitized by some kind of bug that absorbed chakra and then exploded. A spider-like tumor had formed on his chest.
If she remembered correctly, the Raikage had been infected as well, but for some reason, the parasite hadn't been able to absorb his chakra, leaving him unaffected.
So, what came next was the Raikage stepping forward to say something he thought was giving Tsunade a great deal of face. But from Touye's perspective, he was basically backing down, just too stubborn to admit it.
In the language of her past life, this was called... being a tsundere?
*Yeah, that's it.* Touye stroked her chin, thinking mischievously.
Sure enough, the Raikage stopped his subordinate's repeated attempts at humility and stepped forward to deliver a speech. He concluded by saying that if Tsunade didn't want to treat his man, he would have to resort to forceful measures, and that he would be waiting for her in the courtyard.
Watching this, Touye could barely hold back her laughter, because she knew that the drunk Tsunade wasn't even listening to him.
And just as she expected, after the Raikage left, Tsunade's eyes glazed over again. She staggered back to the table, drank the remaining half-bottle of sake, and then slumped onto the tabletop to doze off.
Touye glanced out the window with a strange expression on her face. As expected, the Raikage and his subordinates were standing in the courtyard with solemn expressions, awaiting Tsunade's arrival.
*The weather's not looking too good lately... I think the forecast called for light to moderate rain...*
The girl looked up at the inky black sky. Not a single star or glimmer of moonlight could penetrate the thick clouds.
Poor Raikage. Tsunade had definitely stood him up.
The girl shook her head and tried to drag Tsunade and Shizune from the table to their beds.
Shizune was easy enough. She had slept through the entire fight and was easily settled under the covers.
Tsunade, however, was another matter. The drunken woman was clinging to the table for dear life, and Touye couldn't pry her away no matter how hard she pulled. She couldn't very well let her take the table to bed.
Helpless, Touye draped a blanket over Tsunade's back and sat down beside her.
Before long, she grew drowsy, her head nodding until she, too, drifted into sleep.
Outside, a light rain began to fall. As for the Raikage standing in the courtyard... who cared about him?
The next morning, the girl was jolted awake by a sound like the roar of a giant beast.
"TSUNADE!"
The voice was thick with endless fury and resentment, making Touye shiver and snap out of her sleep.
She looked around in a panic, cursing herself. *Dammit, I was supposed to be on guard against an attack from the Raikage's ninja, but I fell asleep without realizing it. Good thing nothing happened, or I'd never forgive myself.*
Glancing around and seeing no danger, she breathed a sigh of relief, then sneezed. She had spent the night hunched over the table. Though her unique constitution meant she wouldn't catch a cold, a sneeze or two was unavoidable.
Tsunade and Shizune were still fast asleep, completely undisturbed by the tremendous roar.
Touye scratched her hair. *What was that loud noise?* Still groggy, she couldn't remember what had happened the night before.
She got up and headed downstairs to get some hangover soup. She had planned to brew it herself, but it looked like Tsunade and Shizune would be waking up soon, so there wasn't enough time. She'd just have to order it from the inn.
Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard a bellow. "Hey! You, the kid with the Ice Release! Where's Tsunade?!"
Touye turned her head to look at the fierce-looking man, her mind clearly not yet online. "Uh... sleeping... Wait, who are you, old man?"
The words had barely left her mouth when she saw the man before her transform into an erupting volcano.
"You damn bastard! Bastard! How dare you mess with me!"
The man tilted his head back and let out a deafening roar that shocked Touye fully awake.
"Eh? Ehhhh?"
Realizing she had just kicked a hornet's nest, the girl scrambled back upstairs, not forgetting to grab a jar of hangover soup on her way.
The Raikage, drenched from a night in the rain and filled with the rage of being stood up, followed her.
After a flurry of chaos in the room, Tsunade and Shizune were finally awake. Once Touye explained what had happened last night, Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. A fight it is! Who's afraid of who?
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp