Kitahara Kaede followed behind Minato, carrying a box of desserts.
The further they walked, the more remote the area beca. Eventually, Minato stopped and scratched the back of his head, looking back at him.
"Sorry about this, Kaede. I live a bit far out."
"It's fine. It's peaceful," Kaede replied.
He scanned the surroundings. He knew this location had nothing to do with peace and quiet; it was purely to prevent any civilians from being caught in the crossfire should the Nine-Tails ever rampage.
Minato pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.
"I'm ho!"
The sound of rapid footsteps echoed from inside.
"You're back!"
A flash of red hair appeared from the end of the hallway. Kushina, dressed in casual ho wear, ca jogging over. She glanced at Minato first, then looked past his shoulder, locking her eyes directly on the person behind him.
"Wow! Minato's ntioned you so many tis in his letters! I finally get to et the real you!"
She reached out to take the dessert box from Kitahara Kaede's hand, her smile radiant.
"You even brought sothing! You're being way too formal—co in, co in!"
Kaede took off his shoes and followed her inside.
The living room wasn't large, but it was kept neat and tidy. Two cups sat on the coffee table, one of them half-empty.
He looked up.
Soone was sitting on the sofa. Golden twin-tails, amber eyes.
The person happened to look up at the sa mont.
Kaede's step faltered for a fraction of a second.
Tsunade.
Tsunade and Kushina were close, so her presence here wasn't unexpected. He withdrew his gaze and gave a slight nod, maintaining the proper etiquette of a junior eting a senior.
Tsunade stared at the young man by the door.
The youth Minato had brought back, as Kushina had just ntioned.
It was him?
Minato looked at Tsunade and then at Kitahara Kaede, noticing the montary exchange of glances between them.
"Do you two... know each other?"
"We've t once," the two of them answered almost simultaneously.
The synchronicity made Kushina blink in surprise.
Minato smiled. "Well, that's perfect. I don't even need to introduce you."
Tsunade's fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.
The person Minato had repeatedly ntioned in his letters—the one with exceptional judgnt and a level of ticulousness that didn't belong in a fifteen-year-old boy—was him.
The sharpness on the battlefield, the dical insights, the unnatural growth curve in his records. Every single piece of evidence pointed to the sa person.
Tsunade set her cup back on the table.
"Back at the hospital, he brought in so injured teammates and asked to sign a detoxification report."
"Ohhh," Kushina drawled, her expression saying *'so you do know him,'* before letting it drop.
She turned and tugged on Minato's sleeve. "Alright, co in and help heat up the food."
Minato gave Kaede a smile and was dragged into the kitchen.
Only the two of them remained in the living room.
The clatter of pots and pans began to echo from the kitchen.
"Don't touch that pot—I've got it!"
"I'm just helping you carry the plates!"
"Carry nothing! Go get the bowls and chopsticks!"
The voices drifted through the walls, accompanied by the sll of cooking oil and laughter.
Kitahara Kaede sat in a chair on the opposite side of the coffee table from Tsunade. The intermittent bickering from the kitchen reached them in waves.
These sounds reminded him of the simulation.
That small kitchen, Tsunade with an apron tied around her waist, himself chopping vegetables beside her, and Nawaki banging his chopsticks against a bowl, complaining that he was hungry.
He tilted his head and looked away.
The mont he shifted his gaze, he caught a movent in his peripheral vision—Tsunade had turned her head at the exact sa ti.
Their eyes t in mid-air for a fleeting mont before they both looked away.
Kaede spoke first.
"I didn't expect to run into you here, Lady Tsunade."
His tone was polite and formal.
Tsunade studied him for a mont before leaning back into the sofa.
"Minato ntioned you several tis in his letters. How are things on the front lines?"
"It's been much better since Lord Minato adjusted the deploynt," Kaede replied. "I'm just doing reconnaissance; he's the one in command."
Tsunade didn't respond.
He kept distancing himself from every achievent, pushing the credit onto others, and speaking of the most perilous events in the lightest possible tone.
The person in his dreams had been the sa.
Every ti he returned from the battlefield and sat opposite her, he would recount the most life-threatening events in the flattest voice. She would have to press him for ages before he would frown and add, "It was a bit troubleso."
"The AB Duo isn't easy to deal with, is it?" Tsunade asked.
"With Lord Minato there, it's not much of a problem."
Still the sa.
The person sitting across from her spoke as if he had witnessed far more than just this war.
The day he had signed the papers at the hospital, she had seen his palms. They were smooth, devoid of any callouses or scars. That was the part that confused her the most.
But aside from that—the tone, the phrasing... everything matched.
He was only one piece of evidence away. Just one.
"Lady Tsunade?"
She snapped back to reality. Kitahara Kaede was looking at her with a calm expression.
"The food should be ready soon," he said.
Sure enough, Kushina poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a platter.
"Dinner's ready!"
The four of them gathered around the table. Kushina's cooking was hearty, the portions were generous, and the flavor was punchy and spicy. She kept piling food onto Kaede's plate.
"Try this! I added an extra spoonful of chili!"
Kaede took a bite and nodded. "It's delicious. Thank you."
"Don't be so distant!" Kushina pointed a chopstick at him. "Minato's letters say you're one of the family now—call Big Sister Kushina!"
Kaede paused.
"...Thank you, Big Sister Kushina."
"That's more like it!"
Kushina grinned and plopped a large piece of at into his bowl. Minato watched from the side with a smile, occasionally chiming in. The atmosphere of the al was carried entirely by Kushina's energy.
Kaede reached for a plate of greens across the table, his gaze sweeping across the surface.
Tsunade was leaning forward to pour so water, and her collar shifted slightly. A silver-white chain slid from the edge of her neckline, resting against her collarbone.
Kaede's chopsticks paused for a heartbeat.
The color of that chain flickered in his vision. He felt as though he had seen it sowhere before.
He rembered that during this period, wasn't Tsunade supposed to be wearing the First Hokage's necklace? Perhaps she had changed it; it was possible.
He didn't dwell on it, placed the greens in his bowl, and lowered his head to eat.
Opposite him, Tsunade noticed.
His chopsticks had stopped—just for a second. And when they did, his gaze had landed right on her collar.
Had he recognized it? Or was it just a random glance?
She couldn't tell.
"Lady Tsunade, why aren't you eating?" Kushina's voice floated over.
"I am," Tsunade replied, taking a bite of food.
After dinner, Minato stood up.
"I have a few front-line reports that need to be submitted tomorrow. I'm going upstairs to organize them." He gave Kaede an apologetic smile. "Keep chatting, you guys. Make yourselves at ho, don't be shy."
Minato headed upstairs.
Kushina cleared the dishes and fished a deck of cards out of the cabinet, slapping them down on the coffee table.
"Co on, co on! Now that we're full, let's play cards!"
She gave Kaede a wink. "Lady Tsunade is a regular at the casinos, but her luck... well, it's terrible."
"What did you say?" Tsunade glared at her.
"Just stating facts!" Kushina giggled and began shuffling. "What should we play? High Card? Drawing the Turtle?"
Kaede looked at the cards in Kushina's hands. Having spent so much ti with Tsunade, Kushina had clearly picked up a gambling habit of her own.
Tsunade glanced at the deck. "High Card, Drawing the Turtle... those are all two-player gas." She looked at Kitahara Kaede. "We can't play with three people."
Kaede thought for a mont.
"Let's play President."
"President?"
Kushina's hands stopped shuffling, and Tsunade looked over as well. The two of them exchanged a glance.
"What is it?" Kushina asked, flipping through her cards. "Never heard of it."
"It's not in the casinos, either," Tsunade added.
Kitahara Kaede looked at them.
"I'll teach you."
He was already dealing. He deftly split the cards into three piles, explaining the rules as he went.
"It's simple. First, let go over it once—"
Tsunade watched his hands as he dealt.
'I'll teach you.'
The tone and rhythm of those words... it felt as though soone had once said them to her.
Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she picked up the pile of cards in front of her.
"Fine."
She looked down, organizing her cards one by one.
"Teach us."
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