Please," she murmured back.
Just as quickly as he came, Dr. Makoto retreated.
The following silence was heavy. Not a warm lull between topics or the gentle, companionable quiet of two people sharing tea—but tense, smothering uncertainty. Hashirama still didn't look at her, staring at his hands like they were a map. Yui picked up her chopsticks and put them down.
"Hashirama-san?" Yui asked again. "Did I… Did I do something to make you mad?"
He shook his head immediately. "No, it's not that, it's just… it's been difficult." The understatement was obvious enough to make him grimace. Hashirama sighed. "I'm still a ninja, Yui-san. Some things are hard to explain."
Yui looked away, embarrassed and taken aback. She hadn't meant to pry. Wind blew the door open again; Dr. Makoto hadn't shut the door all the way. The warm air rushed out, and the cold draft made her shiver. Yui stood to close it and paused, facing the door. With anyone else, she'd leave it there. But Hashirama wasn't anyone else. With him, she felt comfortable enough—concerned enough that she'd risk asking just to know.
"Is this about teaching other people the leaf trick?"
"No!" he said. "Well, no, not… that's not why I'm... I mean," Hashirama sighed again, "that's a different matter. It's not my place to tell you what you can or can't do." He unsheathed his kunai, shifting it from one hand to the next. "Still, I don't think it's wise to put it in a book. Not everyone should know how to use chakra."
"Why not?" Yui blinked at him. "Isn't it good if more people know chakra healing? It could help so much people."
"And hurt even more," said Hashirama, voice low.
"You don't know that."
His laugh was bitter. "Yui-san, I'm well-versed in the ways that chakra can be misused. Even the medical kind."
She frowned. "Well, it's hard to learn chakra when you don't have a teacher. I don't think that lots of people will figure it out from a book. And the only other advice we'll put are meditation and how to make the salves."
"But they'll have access to chakra, and that's the first step. Some things shouldn't be shared."
His vehemence surprised her, and his last sentence fell between them, curdling the air. Yui reached out, hand outstretched but purposeless, as if to check for a fever that wasn't there. "Hashirama-san, I thought you wanted to do it different. What happened to everything you said about working together? About sharing what we know?"
"I'm still a ninja, Yui-san!" he said again, voice raised. "I can't be as selfless as you!"
She stepped back, stricken at his overreaction. Hashirama sheathed his kunai and didn't meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, and without another word, he left her home. The door closed, and she was alone.
Slowly, Yui sat back down. She didn't ask questions about her patients, not beyond what she needed to treat them. Yui kept a certain distance, partially because her role as their healer required it. But Hashirama had never been her patient. He had never been anyone but a frequent visitor—someone who came by to see her, not her medicine—a refreshing conversation partner who shared her ideals… a friend, even. But something had changed.
"What's wrong?" Yui said to the air. "Can I help?"
The worst moments weren't when she failed. They were when she could do nothing at all.
Yui kept herself busy. She doubled her efforts with penicillin, spent more time rewriting the book with Dr. Makoto, increased the lessons with her apprentice, and even helped her sister finish the wedding preparations. Soon, Ume's big day arrived. After sake was exchanged in the shrine, the celebrations for the newlywed couple began.
