Who are you?

Part 13

Shiori woke up near noon. Others were already awake by the sound of conversation outside the room. Shiori folded her futon and blankets and put them neatly to the side.

She picked up her toiletries and headed out of the room, mumbling a good morning as she headed for the bathroom. After a tiring day, she liked to take showers at night to wash off the dirt and feel clean when she went to bed.

But she knew they had an important meeting today, and she wanted to look her best. So she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. When she came out, a tray with breakfast was on the table.

Tsunade was reading a book Shiori had bought her. It was one of the newer published ones she knew could not be found in the land of fire. It was about the research on the long-term effects of healing jutsu on people with different chakra levels.

Using chakra to heal someone often leaves a slight residue in their body. While the body would do its best to dissolve this chakra over time, some lingering residue would take a long time to entirely be gone.

The body tried to fight off this residue since it was foreign. A person with high levels or a potent chakra could dissolve it faster, but a civilian's body often had a hard time.

Their bodies would constantly use a level of chakra to burn it off, which would lead to chakra waste. While it was not at such a high level to be a danger to the person, it still needed consideration.

It could also be important immediately after healing the person since that was when there was the highest amount of residue. Also, the person's body was already weak due to the injury.

Also, if the person's chakra was weaker than the healer's, as in the case of civilians, it could take years to fully dissolve the residue, and the constant use of chakra in the area where the residue was could become problematic.

The research did not suggest possible solutions. It only warned people of the effects and possibilities. In the end, the author suggested that more data was needed before a solution could be formed.

Shiori was very interested in the whole article, as it was very detailed. It was more of a book with all observations and records. She couldn't wait for her sensei to finish reading it so they could discuss it.

Shizune was busy with her own work. Reading Shiori's journal and making her own copy.

When Shiori finished her breakfast, which was some rice and miso soup, she made them all some tea so they could all focus on their own reading material. When she handed everyone their own cup, Shizune handed her her own notes so Shiori could take notes as well.

They spent the next few hours in peaceful silence, each immersed in their own work. The only sounds were the pages flipping, brushes against the paper, and Tonton snoring softly from her nap under the sunlight near the window.

When it was lunchtime, Tsunade and Shiori headed to a restaurant to meet her former teammate. Shiori was wearing her usual attire minus her backpack. She didn't want to lose anything important. She had a sealing scroll with what they may need. The scroll needed her blood and chakra to activate, so she wasn't worried about it getting stolen.

Tsunade guided them to a table in the back. A man was sitting there. Shiori recognized her from the photo Tsunade showed her of her former genin days, but the man was much older.

More mature. And all Shiori could think about were the eyes. The beautiful golden eyes screamed of danger. Such was the case of nature that often, the most beautiful things were the most dangerous.

But it was not only the eyes—the pale skin, dark silky hair, and purple markings around the eyes—that made the man perfect.

"So pretty," Shiori said under her breath. She didn't mean to say it out loud and only noticed what she did when the man's gaze turned towards her for the first time with evident confusion.