A few days later, after the report was handed to the Squad Captain when he visited there, and the enemy heads were presented, things returned to something like normal.
At least on paper, they were still "recuperating."
In truth, with Ryusei and Kanae's combined medical skills, their bodies were already back to fighting shape.
Renjiro spent most of the daylight hours outside, training alone, leaving Ryusei and Kanae behind inside one of the caves that served as a temporary base.
The air between them felt ambiguous, heavy in a way neither admitted aloud.
Not what most would think, Ryusei mused.
They were still too young for that. But he had his own reasons.
He leaned back against the rough stone wall, that same narrow-eyed smile playing on his lips. "Kanae. Let's do it again..."
"The chakra exhaustion training."
Kanae's head turned sharply, her violet eyes narrowing. She knew what he meant.
Her lips pressed together for a second, but she gave a tiny nod. "You're reckless," she said flatly. "One slip, and you could cripple yourself."
Ryusei grinned wider, as if enjoying her scolding. "That's why you're here. My personal safety net."
"Idiot…" she muttered under her breath, though her cheeks had already begun to warm.
He pushed himself up, loosening his flak jacket, then stripped it away.
One layer after another came off until, finally, he stood in nothing but makeshift shorts.
His torso was bare, every line of muscle defined, shoulders broad, tapering into a sharp V.
His body was explosive but lean, built for speed as much as strength.
Kanae froze for a second, then quickly averted her eyes, her heart pounding.
She tried to pretend she was unaffected, but the Byakugan, already active, betrayed her.
She saw everything in his body, every chakra line, every scar that marred his skin.
And those scars… they weren't grotesque.
They were subtle, white, softened by time and his unnatural healing. Instead of ruining him, they gave him a primal edge, a quiet proof of survival.
Kanae felt her face heat even more. "Why… shorts again? You could at least keep a shirt."
Ryusei chuckled lowly. "Oh? Embarrassed? But you told me last time it was easier to guide my chakra without fabric in the way."
"That—!" Kanae snapped back, her voice breaking slightly. She looked away quickly, Byakugan veins bulging around her eyes, as if to cover her fluster by acting busy. "Just shut up and focus. Don't make me regret helping you."
Ryusei tilted his head, amused, stepping closer. "You're really cute when you're serious. Even cuter when you're not."
Her breath hitched, but she clamped down on it, forcing her mask back in place. "Sit. Now."
He did as told, lowering himself cross-legged onto the cave floor, his expression finally shifting into something calmer.
The air grew heavier.
"Ready?" she asked, her voice softer now.
"Always," Ryusei replied, his eyes half-lidded.
His chakra flared, and with a deliberate effort, he began forcing streams outward through his coils, sharp expulsions that made his muscles twitch and his breathing hitch.
Kanae moved behind him, her palms hovering just above his back at first, then settling lightly on his shoulders.
Her Gentle Fist strikes were careful, precise, her Byakugan guiding her. Every time his chakra threatened to overload a pathway, her strike redirected it, balancing the flow.
Her hands trembled slightly, not from lack of skill, but from the pounding of her own heart.
Her eyes traced the network of his chakra system, but her mind couldn't stop returning to the sight of his scars, the way his lean frame tensed and released under her touch.
'Is this really the Senju physique…?' She thought to herself, biting down the heat spreading through her chest. 'Or is it just him…?'
Ryusei exhaled slowly, deliberately playful even in this. "Your hands are shaking, Kanae. Don't tell me you're nervous now."
She pressed harder against one of his coils, hiding her face behind her long hair. "Focus on your chakra, not my hands," she shot back, though her voice had gone faint.
The room fell quiet except for the sound of chakra pulsing, Ryusei expelling it in harsh waves, and Kanae guiding it back with delicate precision.
Both of them knew this wasn't something most shinobi could ever attempt.
One wrong push, and his network could snap.
Only his insane willpower, physique, and internal perception, combined with her Byakugan and Gentle Fist, made it possible at all.
And that was why Kanae, no matter how embarrassed she was, didn't dare let her eyes waver.
Because despite all his teasing, all his grins, she knew he was putting his life in her hands.
And she refused to let him fall.
Meanwhile, Ryusei thought that this practice made sense, no matter how crazy it sounded.
Forcing his system into overload pushed both body and mind to adapt, making chakra production more efficient with every session.
The payoff was obvious; Ryusei could now recover a full reserve in even half a day, something most shinobi would kill for.
Even so, he didn't dare overuse it. Once a week, with Kanae's Byakugan support was the limit. Any more, and even his body might start breaking down over time with hidden dangers.
The practice dragged on for a long while, beads of sweat dripping down Ryusei's temples as he forced more chakra out through his tenketsu in erratic bursts.
Kanae's pale eyes traced every stream of it, her hands sometimes darting forward with Gentle Fist precision to redirect a dangerous surge before it could damage his coils.
"Careful—too much in your lower abdomen," she murmured once, almost forgetting to keep her voice cold. Her Byakugan flared, veins tense around her temples.
Ryusei only smirked through clenched teeth. "You're too nervous, Kanae. Trust me a little more. If I break, you'll just have to fix me."
Her face stiffened. "Idiot… don't joke about that."
He chuckled, but didn't argue. Soon enough, the final pulses tapered off, smoke-like mist rising faintly from his skin as he let the flow collapse back into balance.
He exhaled long, leaning back on the rock wall. "Done."
Kanae dispelled her Byakugan with a soft breath, her hands lowering slowly.
She looked flushed, not only from chakra strain but also from the closeness and the fact that she'd been watching his body so intently this entire time.
Her gaze flicked aside quickly as if caught.
"Not bad. You're getting sharper," Ryusei said after a pause. "Your control in guiding my flows is cleaner than last time. Here—" He straightened, raising his hand. "Let's put that into Yang Release now."
Her eyes flickered, serious again, and she nodded. For a while, he guided her hand with his, explaining how to mold Yang Release more effectively and letting her observe directly.
She listened intently, even when his hand lingered on hers longer than necessary.
Eventually, she excused herself, saying quietly that she needed to keep pushing her clan techniques, too.
She moved further into the clearing, standing alone, and began to practice the Rotation.
At first, her form spun awkwardly, chakra shell cracking apart and dispersing after a second, or sometimes flaring unevenly.
Again and again, she tried, her pale eyes hard with focus despite every failed attempt.
Ryusei stood leaning against a tree in the shade, arms crossed, watching. His usual grin softened slightly.
'So diligent. No matter how many times it breaks down, she just keeps going. No wonder she's been advancing so fast lately.'
His narrow eyes narrowed further, gaze following her back as her white eyes glowed faintly, spinning again.
'Will you truly break your cage? I hope so…'
For a moment, he almost believed it.
Her aura when she trained, the sincerity when she guided his chakra as if her own life depended on it, the way she was slowly opening to him, it wasn't strange that he felt moved.
Until now, he had mostly kept her close for her usefulness, for her bloodline, and marginally enough because she was pretty.
But as he watched her fall, pick herself up again, and try once more with grim determination, he felt something else stir.
'Maybe she could really escape from that cursed clan fate and walk beside me.'
Then his smile faded back into something bitter.
'Well… first, I need to secure my own survival. If I can't do that, it doesn't matter what anyone else wants.'
The forest filled with the sound of spinning chakra again, weak and faltering, but persistent.
And Ryusei just kept watching for a while longer.