Chapter 155

After hesitating by the doorstep, I gathered my courage, suppressed my fear, and crossed the barrier. The next moment, I almost collapsed to the floor as my suddenly weak legs gave way—she's here! Even though the chakra signature was barely noticeable, Saya was alive! Taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment to calm my wildly beating heart, I pushed the door open and stepped into the foyer.

— Mom, I'm back!

The sound of something wooden falling from the kitchen was followed by a voice that exclaimed in surprise:

— Ryo?! You're home!

Almost dissolving into a puddle of relief on the spot, I kicked off my sandals and dashed through the house to the source of the voice. Saya barely had time to squeal in surprise before I wrapped her in a hug, holding her tightly.

— Alive! — I sighed happily into the mass of hair that mom had left cascading over her shoulders.

— Ryo! Put me down immediately! — the kunoichi protested, but from the complete lack of irritation in her voice, I knew she was also happy to see me.

— No way! I was going out of my mind with worry when I didn't get a reply to my letter and didn't detect your chakra when I arrived in Konoha, — I grumbled into her hair, only setting her down and slightly pulling away once I had relaxed my embrace.

— I-I'm sorry.

Casting a quick glance at my face, Saya looked down apologetically, giving me a chance to properly examine her for the first time, and I involuntarily frowned. The ghastly scar on her face immediately caught my eye, barely missing her left eye, stretching from the start of her brow across the bridge of her nose to the very bottom of her chin, disfiguring her nose and lips. Its purplish hue and general freshness clearly indicated the presence of foreign chakra in the wound and poor healing speed even with the use of a healing seal.

And judging by the visible edge of a similar stripe visible through her shirt collar, the facial injury wasn't the only damage. It was impossible to miss the empty right sleeve just above the wrist and the other hand gripping my clothes to keep her balance. The bandaged foot and the stick lying on the floor clearly indicated that her leg had also been hurt.

Saya herself looked somewhat smaller than I remembered, with numerous new wrinkles on her face, sunken cheeks, and an overall gaunt appearance. She looked not like the dazzling beauty of twenty-something I remembered her as, nor her actual thirty-four years, but like a person of forty-five or fifty, with even a few gray hairs in her silky hair.

Not to mention the severe chakra exhaustion, if the source was only now stabilizing chakra production. It was clear that participating in the village's defense had cost Saya dearly.

Suppressing the irritation that flared up momentarily and the urge to scold the reckless fool who always gets into trouble and might one day give me a heart attack despite all the Uzumaki health and iryō-nin skills, I sighed wearily and patted her on the head.

— And why couldn't you write? The other hand is functional…

— I was planning to practice with it a bit so that the handwriting would be the same and you wouldn't worry…

I suppressed the urge to smack myself on the forehead and groan—because I wouldn't worry at all in the absence of a reply! Women's logic kills me!

— Alright, forget about the letter, — I sighed, picking Saya up and carrying her into the living room.

— Ryo?

— What Ryo? I've been Ryo for fifteen years! — I snapped back, dropping onto the couch and settling Saya on my lap. — I'll do an examination now and then we'll go to bed to recover. I don't have much time to waste.

— Not much time? Didn't you come back for a break? — the kunoichi asked in surprise.

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