Kiri still reeked of sweat and blood — an unpleasant smell to be sure — but to Ryuji, her soft and elastic body was more than enough to make him feel a fleeting moment of pleasure.
…Along with a bit of pain.
Because Tsunade's current position was, frankly, awkward.
She was lying prone in his arms, which meant her toned stomach was pressing right against Ryuji's lower abdomen — leaving his sword pointed directly at her navel.
Her head was resting on his chest, and in this perilous situation, all it would take was the slightest movement from her, and Ryuji's precious dagger would suffer a catastrophic blow from her overwhelming… strength.
In other words, the moment Tsunade woke up, she'd instantly notice his little reaction.
And in fact… Ryuji could already feel the tip of his heroic blade nudging firmly against her bellybutton.
But Kiri didn't care about any of this. Since Ryuji had promised to keep watch, she relaxed completely and quickly fell asleep. As for whether Ryuji might do anything improper…
Well, she already planned to properly do those things with him later anyway. Might as well add a little romance to this messy apocalypse — something to look back on fondly someday.
After all, a wandering gunner like her was all about romance!
It was a necessary!
But for Ryuji… this situation was pure torture.
Not long after, Kiri's soft breathing turned into distinct snores, loud enough to irritate his ears. And it was at that moment — amidst the noise — that Ryuji realized something terrifying.
Tsunade snores too.
But tonight… she wasn't snoring at all.
The instant that thought crossed his mind, he felt something cold — terrifyingly cold — clamp down on his sword. At the same time, another hand lightly pressed on Kiri's body.
Her snoring cut off instantly.
Her restless sleep turned eerily peaceful — like a baby.
And then, Ryuji felt something sharp and cold sensation against the hilt of his sword.
A chilling voice broke the silence.
"Was what you said… true?"
Ryuji froze.
He knew exactly what that was.
A kunai.
Damn it — she'd been faking sleep all along!
But why the sudden hostility!?
He had no clue — but one thing was certain: until Tsunade was done with whatever she wanted to do, there was no way Kiri was waking up.
Even so, Ryuji forced his voice to stay steady.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"It's useless," Tsunade's voice sounded hollow, but with an odd trace of guilt. "Kiri's body might be special, but she's still human. Chakra doesn't affect her much… but it's enough. I put her into a deep sleep — she won't wake for at least six hours."
Ryuji didn't care about that. All he could focus on was—
Her hand.
So damn soft.
Not at all like a battle-hardened ninja's hand.
"Hah… you're excited again," Tsunade murmured, a trace of bitter amusement in her hollow voice. "When I first met you, that part of you was completely normal… even showing signs of decline from aging. But now… it's so full of life again."
A faint green glow filled the dark room.
Ryuji's heart skipped a beat.
It was chakra.
Medical chakra glowing in the palm of her hand.
"I don't know if you're the mastermind behind all this," Tsunade whispered, "but I just want to know one thing…"
Her empty gaze bore into him.
"Can you really… send a woman back home after sleeping with her?"
Under that green glow, Ryuji hesitated.
"I'm not sure," he confessed. "Sending someone back requires energy. A full 1000 points. With Erina… it worked because I genuinely loved her, so our connection generated that energy. But with you guys… I-I don't know if it'll—"
Before he could finish, the kunai was at his throat.
"So you were lying to us?"
"Because I honestly don't know!"
Tsunade fell silent.
Ryuji felt his scalp tingle under her hollow gaze — lips trembling faintly, clearly struggling to hold herself together.
But in the end…
She grabbed his collar.
Pulled him close.
Her empty eyes staring deep into his.
"I don't care anymore. If you can't send me back… I'll kill you."
"W-wait, I really—"
Before he could finish, she slammed him down onto the bed.
And then — warm lips crashed into his.
A clumsy kiss. A desperate kiss.
Tears dripped onto his face.
It was painfully clear.
Trapped in darkness, tortured by the stench of blood, the endless roars of zombies, and her own hemophobia — Tsunade had reached her limit.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
She kept whispering those words, but her actions were anything but gentle. With trembling hands, she cut through Ryuji's clothes without hesitation, then grabbed his sword, desperately trying to press it against herself.
She just didn't want to stay here any longer. Not in this suffocating darkness, surrounded by the stench of blood, the endless roars of the undead, the sound of flesh being torn apart, or the splash of blood hitting the ground.
Unlike Ryuji and Kiri, Tsunade's senses were far too sharp. Where they only heard the distant howls, she could hear everything — every detail of the carnage outside.
She could hear the flow of zombie blood, the ripping of flesh, the grotesque sound of organs spilling out, and the sickening noise of zombies gnawing on the corpses of their own kind — all of it, clear as day in her ears.
And this nightmare repeated itself again and again... endlessly in the dark.
Tsunade had always been terrified of blood, but now, trapped here in this hellish place, it felt like she'd been dragged back to the battlefields of the Shinobi World War.
In her mind's eye, it wasn't mindless zombies clawing at the barricades — it was Dan... it was Nawaki... torn apart, mutilated, dying all over again right in front of her eyes.
Their broken bodies slammed again and again into the fragile shelter around her, calling to her, blaming her — asking why she couldn't save them.
The overwhelming stench of blood robbed her of any last shred of self-deception. There was no safety here. No escape from her guilt. No escape from them.
And so, without the time for self treatment, no reassuring words from a "Child of Destiny" — in this moment of utter darkness and fear — Tsunade, whose hemophobia had reached its breaking point, snapped completely.
Yet even as she clutched Ryuji's sword, trying to drive it into her own vulnerable body, her hands were trembling so badly her aim was all over the place, scraping against his waist and thigh, making Ryuji flinch from the sharp pain.
In the end, unable to bear it any longer, Ryuji seized a brief opening, grabbed Tsunade's hands, and forcefully flipped her down onto the bed, pinning her beneath him.