C136

Haruto made his way to the quieter section of the hospital, where Shizune was working on her research. He moved through the familiar hallways, greeting the occasional med-nin or nurse who recognized him. His mind was occupied with the idea of taking a break tomorrow afternoon, spending it peacefully by the lake fishing, but before that, he wanted to check in on Shizune.

He reached the small lab where she had been holed up for most of the day. Shizune was sitting at her desk, surrounded by scrolls and notes, her brow furrowed in concentration. She hadn't noticed him enter, completely absorbed in her work. Haruto knocked lightly on the doorframe.

Shizune looked up, blinking a few times as if shaking herself out of deep thought. "Oh, Haruto, I didn't see you there." Her voice was tinged with frustration, her usual warm demeanor slightly dulled by the weight of the day.

"How's it going?" Haruto asked, stepping inside.

Shizune sighed deeply, leaning back in her chair. "Honestly, it's been a tough day. I've been working on this antidote formula, and nothing's been going right. The proportions are off, the chakra infusion won't stabilize, and to top it all off, I had to sit through a useless meeting this morning." She rubbed her temples, clearly exhausted. "It's just one of those days where everything feels like it's piling up."

Haruto stayed silent, listening patiently. He didn't offer any solutions or advice—he just let her talk. He knew sometimes people needed to vent, and jumping in with suggestions wouldn't help right now.

"And then," Shizune continued, "I tried running the formula through the chakra circulator three times, but it just kept failing. I know it's a simple formula, but I can't figure out what's wrong. It's like I'm missing something obvious, and it's driving me crazy."

Haruto nodded, still listening, his calm expression never faltering. He had learned over the years that not every problem needed a solution, sometimes just being there and listening was enough.

"On top of that," she sighed, "there's this huge backlog of reports I need to go through, but I can't get to them because of this research. And Lady Tsunade was supposed to help me with this, but she's been swamped with other things, so I'm on my own. It's… it's just been a day, Haruto."

She paused for a moment, catching her breath. Haruto didn't interrupt, simply letting her work through her thoughts. It was clear she'd needed to get all of that out.

Shizune leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. "I know I shouldn't complain, but today's really been rough."

Haruto just nodded, his gaze steady. He didn't try to offer any words of wisdom, and Shizune seemed to appreciate that. After a few moments of silence, she glanced at the clock on the wall and blinked in surprise.

"I've been talking for almost an hour," she said, her tone filled with disbelief. "It didn't even feel that long." She looked back at Haruto, her expression softening. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload all of that on you."

Haruto shrugged lightly. "It's fine."

Shizune gave a small smile, the tension in her face easing. "Thanks for listening. I didn't realize how much I needed to talk about it."

Haruto saw that her mood had lifted, and he decided it was the perfect moment to ask. "Do you want to go fishing tomorrow afternoon?"

Shizune blinked, clearly caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation. "Fishing? Tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Haruto said, his expression calm but slightly amused. "You said before you'd be interested. It'd be a good break. And we could cook the fish for dinner."

Shizune chuckled softly, still a little surprised but clearly intrigued. "Fishing, huh? That sounds… nice, actually. But, um, how are we going to catch the fish?"

Haruto smiled playfully, a confident glint in his eyes. "When I go fishing, I always get fish," he said, his tone playful but bossing a little.

Shizune laughed, the sound more genuine this time. "Alright, alright. I'll take your word for it, then. Tomorrow afternoon it is."

Haruto nodded, satisfied with her answer. "I'll meet you by the lake."

Shizune leaned back in her chair again, looking much more relaxed than when he first arrived. "You know, you're pretty good at this listening thing. I feel a lot better now, thanks."

Haruto just gave a small shrug. "Sometimes people just need to talk."

Shizune's smile widened. "Wiser than you look, Haruto."

He gave her a quick nod before turning to leave. As he walked out of the room, Shizune leaned forward again, resting her elbows on the desk. Despite the mess of her day, she felt lighter. The idea of fishing by the lake sounded perfect, exactly what she needed after such a stressful time.

"Fishing," she muttered to herself with a smile. "Who would have thought?"