Chapter 241: ** - 241: Fighting Spirit**
Terumi Mei remained standing, a faint smile still lingering on her lips, but the light in her eyes seemed to flicker and fade, as if extinguished by a sudden breeze.
As if she hadn’t heard him clearly, she took a few steps forward.
"What did you... just say?" her voice was soft, the end of the sentence trembling slightly.
Kitahara Kaede looked at her, refusing to avert his gaze.
"I said, I have those memories too." He paused for a moment. "Meeting you in the blood mist, teaching you, and eventually dying at your hands—I remember it all."
Mei’s breath hitched.
In an instant, all the confusing details from before snapped into place. Why he was always so polite. Why he would occasionally drift off while looking at her. Why he had struggled so many times to find the right words in the office today.
*So that’s how it was.*
*He knew everything.*
*He had been watching her perform a one-woman show all along.*
A cold sense of betrayal washed over her. But before the disappointment of being deceived could settle, another thought surged forward.
He had chosen to confess today. He could have continued the charade, yet he chose to tell her the truth.
What did that mean?
It meant he no longer wanted to lie to her. He was willing to drop his mask.
The dimness in Mei’s eyes reignited, burning even brighter than before. An uncontrollable excitement bled into her tone.
"And then?"
Seeing the light return to her eyes, Kaede felt his throat go dry. He didn’t know what she was expecting, but what he was about to say was certainly not what she wanted to hear.
Steeling himself, Kaede spoke.
"You aren’t the only one with these strange memories."
The expression on Mei’s face froze instantly.
"There are two others."
"What?!" Mei’s voice spiked sharply, a reaction so sudden she didn’t even notice it herself. She glared at him, her gaze becoming razor-sharp. "Two others? Who?!"
Kaede didn’t beat around the bush. "Pakura, and Tsunade."
At the mention of Pakura, Mei gritted her teeth. *Of course it was her.*
But when the name "Tsunade" followed, she went completely rigid.
Tsunade. One of the Legendary Sannin, the Princess of the Senju clan from Konoha. How could *she* be involved too?
Mei felt her mind spiraling into chaos.
Noticing her pale complexion, Kaede continued. "These memories didn’t all return at once." He slowed his pace, as if explaining a complex problem. "At first, I only knew that Tsunade and I shared a deeply poignant memory. Later, Pakura approached me of her own accord, and I slowly remembered the things between us. And then... I came to the Hidden Mist and met you, and your part of the memory awakened."
Mei fell silent, processing his words. After a moment, she looked up, her gaze piercing straight into his face.
"And how do you... feel about them?"
Kaede fell silent. After several long seconds, he decided to be honest.
"I truly fell for Tsunade."
Mei felt as if a needle had been driven deep into her heart.
"But because of some misunderstandings, we aren’t together," he added. "As for Pakura, the situation is currently very complicated."
Once he finished, the living room fell into a heavy, absolute silence. Mei staggered back half a step, her calf hitting the edge of the sofa, and she collapsed onto the cushions.
***
She kept her head lowered.
"Don’t speak for a moment. Let me... calm down."
Kaede nodded. He didn’t step forward, nor did he offer words of comfort. Anything he said now would be redundant.
The only sound in the room was the steady *tick-tock* of the wall clock. Mei sat there, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Seeing this, a wave of guilt surged over Kaede. He smiled bitterly to himself. Back in Konoha, when Tsunade had confronted him on the Hokage Rock, he thought that was the absolute limit of the stress he could handle. Now, he had to go through it all over again. And once he returned to Konoha, he would have to face both Tsunade and Pakura. Just imagining the scene made his scalp tingle with anxiety.
On the sofa, Mei’s mind was a tempest.
Tsunade. That woman, who stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, also shared a memory with him. And he had admitted it—he had truly loved her. Then there was Pakura; based on his words, it didn’t sound like he had rejected her either.
*Then what am I? Just the one who came in last?*
A fire ignited in her chest, heating her entire body. But just as the rage reached its peak, a thought brought her back to a cold, calculating clarity.
Tsunade wasn’t with him. Pakura wasn’t in the Mist.
Right now, the person by his side was *her*. And he had begun to slowly accept her.
Mei slowly lifted her head. There were no tears on her face, nor any sign of a breakdown. Instead, a very faint smile bloomed at the corners of her mouth.
Kaede saw the smile, and his heart skipped a beat.
Mei stood up and walked toward him, step by step. She stopped so close that he could smell the light fragrance of her hair. She looked up at him, her eyes dark and filled with undisguised aggression.
"You say you loved Tsunade, but you aren’t together. Pakura isn’t by your side, either."
She leaned in a bit closer, almost pressing against his chest. "And yet, knowing the danger, you still came to the Hidden Mist. These past few days, you’ve cooked for me, helped me change my bandages, taken care of me..."
"Kitahara Kaede, do you really dare claim that I mean nothing to you?"
Kaede’s heart hammered against his ribs. He opened his mouth to explain that his visit to the Mist was primarily for the benefit of the village.
"Shut up," Mei interrupted him flatly. "So what if you like Tsunade?"
She reached out, slowly smoothing a tiny wrinkle on his collar. Her touch was light and tender, but her expression was anything but.
"You aren’t actually together. Since I still have a chance..." A curve formed on her lips. "Why on earth would I let go?"
Kaede looked into those emerald eyes. A fire was burning within them—an obsession that sent a chill down his spine.
"There’s no rush for the emotional side of things," Mei said nonchalantly, withdrawing her hand. "We have plenty of time to slowly cultivate things here in the Mist."
With that, she turned and walked toward the door. After a few steps, she paused and looked over her shoulder.
"I’ll be back to make you breakfast tomorrow."
The door clicked shut gently.
Kaede stood alone in the living room, staring at the closed door. He let out a long, slow breath.
*I’m doomed.*
*I’m seriously doomed.*
He had intended to lay all his cards on the table, clarify the situation, and let her know there were two other competitors so that she would gracefully withdraw.
But what on earth was with this sudden surge of fighting spirit?