I was extremely tempted to separate this chapter into like, three, since it was so freaking long, but I decided that the resulting chapters would be too short and add too many excess documents.

So I'm sorry you have to stare at the screen for so long . but bear with me, k?

Thanks for reading!

No! thought Reborn in horror as he stared at Tsunade slumped on the floor, clutching her blood-stained shoulder. What have I done? I was shooting the last target when she jumped into the bullet's path and— a sudden realization hit him as if it were he that was shot. Her brother's tribute! That's why it was disarmed! She left it there on purpose! He rushed over to Tsunade and picked her up carefully. "Hang in there Tsunade!" he shouted. Reborn sprinted out of the course.

Tsunade, luckily, was still conscious, although the pain was starting to affect her thinking. I've been through worse, thought Tsunade, but no matter how much I get injured, the pain still is overwhelming each time. She felt Reborn put her down in the break room. "It's only a minor wound," said Tsunade, trying to hide the pain from her voice as best as she could, "If you get a first-aid kit and some tweezers, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Reborn, worried and on the edge of panic, "You probably need to go to the hospital. I'll go call an ambulance."

"No." said Tsunade sharply, shocking Reborn. She sighed and looked at him apologetically. "Sorry Reborn-kun, but I think I'll be fine if you just get me a first-aid kit. The wound isn't that deep."

"Oh ok," said Reborn, terribly confused, "I'll go ask Akai-kun for one."

Reborn ran out of the door and Tsunade heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I convinced him not to call an ambulance. She thought, if they saw my blood, then I wouldn't be able to continue in my job.

….

I have never felt so panicked in my life, thought Reborn as he frantically looked for the first-aid kit that Akai had said was in the backroom. So many people have been shot and even died in front of my eyes, and I always walked away with little or no concern. But when Tsunade got shot, I felt as if my world would end. I already know that this feeling has already passed merely wanting to protect an informant, but what is it now? He finally spotted the first-aid kit wedged in the corner of the very back shelf. I have no time to deal with these thoughts right now! he thought angrily as he yanked the first-aid kit off the shelf and rushed out of the room.

…

Reborn burst into the break room. "Tsunade-chan! I got the first aid kit!" he yelled. Tsunade looked up and smiled weakly. "Thanks Reborn-kun," she said through her growing pain, "Leave it there and I'll—"

"No, Tsunade," said Reborn. Tsunade stared at him in shock.

"You're obviously in too much pain to treat yourself," said Reborn firmly, "I'll treat it for you."

Tsunade broke into a cold sweat. No, no, no! she thought, alarmed, I can't have him see my blood! It would reveal too much about my identity, my secret! "It's ok, Reborn-kun," she said, panicked, "I'm fine, I'll be able to handle it."

She expected Reborn to give in, but instead, he leaned closer and said softly, "Please Tsunade-chan."

Tsunade looked into his black eyes and saw them filled with guilt and sadness. He blames himself for my injury, she realized. Her resolve shattered, as if something inside of her couldn't bear seeing Reborn like this, seeing him sad because of her. Reluctantly, she rolled up her sleeve, exposing her wound. She heard Reborn gasp in shock. Of course he would be shocked, she thought sadly, no one else has blood that's slowly turning black.

…...

Reborn stared at Tsunade's wound. Her blood, it's nearly black, he thought in disbelief, is this why she didn't want to go to the hospital? Then, he heard Tsunade let out a little hiss of pain. Right! thought Reborn, snapping out of his daze, I have to take out the bullet! He carefully took the tweezers and took out the bullet which, thankfully, wasn't embedded deeply in her arm. Tsunade clenched her fist, and then unclenched it with a sigh of relief. As Reborn put down the bloodied bullet and started to disinfect the wound, Tsunade let out a long, sad sigh.

"I guess I'll have to tell you the truth now," she said desolately.

Reborn looked at her with a shocked and confused look. "The truth?"

"Yes, the truth about four years ago," said Tsunade, her mind already wandering into the past, "The truth about my bloodline. The truth about my brother's death."

…

"As you can probably tell, my family line isn't normal. Our blood is specially designed to fulfill our fate. No two people have the same fate, even if they are born together, like my brother and I were. If we don't complete our fate, our blood would ultimately kill us. Usually, this isn't a problem, since our lives follow the course fate sets out. However, on that fateful day four years ago, I inadvertently changed my fate by doing the impossible: I cheated death. The kendo match that my brother and my parents died trying to reach wasn't my brother's competition. It was mine. The competition was the highest competition I had ever reached, and yet I was unfortunate enough to get sick on that day. I had begged and pleaded to go, endlessly badgering my parents to take me any way, and they would've—if it weren't for my brother. He insisted that he go in my place, since we looked so much alike. Behind all the equipment, it would be impossible to tell the difference." Tears streamed down Tsunade's face. "A—and I agreed to it! I was so caught up in myself that I never took my brother into consideration! All I wanted to do win, and my brother died because of me. Before they left, my brother came up to me with a sad smile and said, 'Tsunade-chan, listen to me. You must try your hardest to preserve your life. It won't be easy completing your fate, but you must try, try as hard as you can. You must do it for yourself, so that you will live.' After that, he died in my place, taking my fated end. Because of this, our fates were switched, something that has never happened in our families many generations. My refined senses are a result of my body changing to adjust to my new life, to let me live. But my blood is turning darker, showing me that my time is slowly running out. The more I work, the more I get hurt, the faster my blood cells change," she began to choke up, "I-I'm trying my hardest, b-but it's just so difficult. A-and my b-brother's last words, it's as if he knew he was going to die."

Tsunade could no longer hold back her sobs. As she cried, she felt Reborn tighten the bandage around her shoulder and lay his hand gently on her arm.

"You shouldn't cry," he said softly, "Your brother wouldn't have wanted to see you this way. He gave you life because he believed you could live it well, live it happily. Besides," he added in an even softer voice, "it hurts me to see you cry."

Tsunade's sobs subsided. She looked up at Reborn and realized that their faces were awfully close, their noses almost touching. Both of them blushed and Reborn stood up abruptly. "I-I'm going to return the first aid kit to Akai," he said, flustered. He went out of the door, leaving Tsunade alone with her scrambled thoughts.

….

Why did I tell him that? she thought, it goes against everything I've said before. This information might lead him to dig deeper, uncovering my lies and my true identity. She touched her cleanly bandaged shoulder. But, Tsunade thought in surprise, it felt right to tell him. Tsunade looked up at the ceiling. That fateful day, my brother also told me something else: 'But Tsunade, if you happen to find someone who you're willing to through everything for, take the chance, because love is the only force fate can't change.' Did you know this was going to happen, Tsunayoshi-nii sama? Did you know I would meet and fall for someone I could never be with?

…

Reborn leaned against the door. The information she gave me doesn't add up, he thought, if her brother is the Black Hunter, then why is her blood changing? Although her brother is the main suspect, this information could reveal some important key points that will bring me closer to the Hunter. So why, Reborn thought as he stared at the ground, have I already decided to keep this to myself? I just couldn't stand seeing her so sad, blaming herself for her brother's death. It seems that in just a few days, she already means so much to me.

…

Tsunade buried her head in her hands and Reborn slumped to the ground, one thought going through both their minds: What's happening to me?