26 Give me your smile

Not long after arriving at his apartment, Yujin received a visit from Tsunade. She left Shizune sleeping at her place and came to meet him, curious about what he had talked about with Mito.

"Hey, how was it with grandma? I hope she didn't say anything strange."

Tsunade doesn't know exactly what Yujin and Mito talked about all night, but she knows that at some point, Mito must have questioned their relationship.

Although Tsunade tries not to dwell on it, she knows that her relationship with Yujin is heading in a certain direction, and obviously Mito must have noticed. With little time left to live, it's not strange for her to question Yujin's intentions.

Just because she tries to ignore this fact doesn't mean Mito will too.

"No, we talked about some important things, but she asked me not to tell you for now. I hope you won't insist; I don't want to break my promise to her."

Tsunade nodded slowly, puzzled about the situation. Even though she wants to know a lot, she respects Mito too much to override her intentions.

"And I came with news. Dont ask me why, but the lady will postpone the ritual for a few days. You'll have more time with her."

Tsunade's stern expression softened, and a smile quickly formed on her face. Seeing her like this, Yujin sighed and secretly vowed to make sure this beautiful smile doesn't disappear from her face.

'No matter what, I'll do everything to ensure Lady Mito survives this.'

Yujin thought and smiled as he watched Tsunade ignore him and get ready to leave.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?"

She turned to look at him, confused.

"Are you going to see Lady Mito? She just went to bed now. She's been awake since yesterday, receiving important visitors from the village all day. She must be very tired; let her sleep."

Tsunade hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she agreed and went back into the room, sitting next to Yujin on the bed. As if thinking of something, she asked.

"Is that why she postponed the ritual? Because she stayed up all night talking to you and is tired? And she wants to be in perfect condition for the ritual."

Yujin smiled upon hearing this and shook his head, finding it amusing how she started deducing what happened.

"Then why would she delay it for a few days? She could just do the ritual tomorrow after a day of rest."

Tsunade quickly calmed down upon hearing this, intrigued by Mito's reasons.

"Why do you care? It's good for both of you to have more time together. Don't worry and just focus on supporting her in this moment."

"That's true... I'll go see her! No, wait, she's sleeping now."

Seeing her so confused, Yujin held back his laughter.

"How about a stroll around the village? It's past the time for training after sunrise. It's good to clear your mind."

Tsunade accepted Yujin's invitation, and the two left the Senju complex.

---

Although Yujin had walked around the village a lot since he arrived, there were many places he didn't know. Tsunade was more than happy to show him around.

They walked through the streets, talked to some people passing by, had lunch at a restaurant, visited parks, and saw children running and playing.

The last stop was a place Tsunade knew, on top of a hill, which provided a view of almost the entire village. The two spent some time silently observing the village.

Looking at Tsunade's profile silently observing the village, Yujin was satisfied with the decision to take her for a walk. She clearly needed it.

"You seem more relaxed."

Yujin started the conversation, waiting for her impression of the outing.

"Yes, I think I needed this, a moment away from the troubles."

Tsunade smiled but didn't say anything more, continuing to enjoy the scenery. When she finally seemed satisfied, she turned to Yujin and thanked him.

"Thank you."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

Tsunade shook her head slowly and explained, the smile slowly disappearing from her beautiful face.

"You're always thinking about how to cheer me up, console me. I feel like a fool every time I see you worrying about me and comforting me. I don't feel like myself, you know? This isn't me."

Yujin smiled and approached her. Tsunade watched him in silence, unsure of what he was going to do. When she saw him raise his hand to touch her face, her instincts wanted her to pull away, but she overcame them and stood still, waiting for what he would do.

Yujin placed his hand on her cheek, and suddenly, he put the other hand on the other cheek and, using his fingers, pulled Tsunade's lips upward, forcing a smile. Seeing the forced smile, Yujin smiled and spoke.

"You're much more beautiful when you smile, why the serious face?"

Tsunade quickly pulled away when she realized what he was doing. When she saw him smiling, she puffed her cheeks, pretending to be angry, and commented with hands on her hips.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. You're trying to cheer me up again."

"And what's wrong with that?"

Yujin approached again, catching her by surprise since he came closer faster than she could react since she wasn't ready for it. He again placed his hand on her face, but this time, he didn't force a smile; instead, he spoke.

"I really prefer your smile, you look ten times more beautiful. Give me your smile."

Tsunade was speechless at how assertive Yujin was being. She didn't know how to react. This was the first time Yujin was clearly flirting with her, and she didn't know how to respond. Not knowing what to do, she looked down, breaking eye contact with him, but didn't reject Yujin's hand on her face.

A few seconds later, she took a deep breath and took a step back. Yujin kept his hand in the air but didn't approach her again. Sighing, he also took a step back and apologized.

"I apologize."

Tsunade quickly shook her head and began to explain quickly.

"No, no, it's not that. I'm happy, really happy. But..."

She bit her lower lip while gathering determination to say what she wanted to say.

"I don't think it's fair to Dan. I'm also not ready for this."

Tsunade turned and quickly walked away without saying goodbye to Yujin.

---

Yujin was returning to the apartment. When he decided to do what he did, he expected this to happen, but it doesn't make the whole situation less painful.

He fell in love with Tsunade.

He knew this for a long time but held back his feelings because of the circumstances. He didn't want to bring another problem into her life, but there's a reason why he decided to do this now.

He started feeling Tsunade's emotional dependency on him, and the more he felt it deepening, the worse he felt.

He felt like he was taking advantage of the situation; a situation where she is extremely vulnerable.

At the same time, he couldn't deny any emotional support because she really needs it right now, and he was the only person capable of supporting her. Not to mention that, because of the feelings he nurtured, he was more than happy to spend time with her and be a support.

The problem is that this is going too far, and he's afraid it will harm their relationship. He's afraid that in the future, she will realize that they met during a fragile period of hers, and he took advantage of it, something that is impossible to explain since it happened, although not consciously.

It's the kind of thing that happened naturally, and he didn't know how to stop it.

After thinking a lot about how to solve this, Yujin realized that Tsunade knew their relationship was heading towards a romantic one but was temporarily ignoring it because of the circumstances. So, if he doesn't do anything inappropriate, they will just continue in this relationship until it's too late.

That's why he took the initiative to declare his feelings. Since she wasn't ready for a romantic relationship, he knew she would reject him. And after that, their relationship would reset. She wouldn't feel comfortable seeking emotional support from him anymore, which would put distance between them.

All of this was a calculated move by Yujin, but it doesn't make it any less painful.

Now neither of them knows how to face each other.

In a way, Yujin was forcing Tsunade to reconsider their relationship.

This sudden distance will be difficult for both of them, but Yujin knew it was for the best. Their relationship couldn't continue as it was. It was painful for him to feel like he was taking advantage of the situation.