Author notes: I haven't been posting up to schedule this past two weeks, I'm sorry. My parents visited me and I totally forgot to post on the other Wednesday, and this week I got sick so I skipped posting once more. I should be going back to regular schedule for the next weeks.


Lady Tsunade didn't show up to the library the next morning. Tsubane didn't know if it was to give the teen some space to digest the news, or because her mother had lost control of her addiction after they left the restaurant. It felt weird to think of Tsunade as her mother. Tsubane didn't know yet if their relationship would change, and if Tsunade would even want to take the role she never took.

Tonton oinked to say hi. She usually left the pig alone, but she felt like she needed the animal today, so she petted him.

"You can take him in your arms if you'd like. He's getting used to you now."

Tsubane lifted her head to look at Shizune, and made a grateful smile before doing so. The warmth of the pig felt nice against her skin.

"Have you talked with Lady Tsunade this morning or last night?" Tsubane asked.

"No. I met with a friend I hadn't seen in forever. She probably is with Arashi, like she is every morning. Why?"

"She told me yesterday." Tsubane said, showing no emotion. She still didn't really know what to think of all of it. Shizune's smile faded away in surprise.

Tonton tried putting his nose into the teen's neck, making her laugh. Shizune was trying to analyze her emotions, frowning and moving her head hesitantly, with a slow movement back. "What did she tell you?"

"You know she's my mother, and you probably know that's what I'm referring to. She told me she'd get help for her addiction too. She might have me move in if she succeeds. I don't know if she's scared of me seeing her losing it or something."

Shizune was taken by surprise, clearly. They didn't have time to chat more, because the phone rang, and since Shizune and Tsubane were alone, the woman decided to take a look at who tried to reach the library.

"Uzumaki Kushina. Clearly that's a call for us," Shizune said, before taking the phone in her hand.

Tsubane decided to remain silent, so that Shizune wouldn't have interference and hear better Arashi's mother. She could hear Kushina's voice, and she seemed to talk loudly. It felt to Tsubane as if she was agitated, but she couldn't hear the words said.

"No, Lady Tsunade isn't here. She wasn't there this morning?"

While Tsubane thought of visiting Arashi in the afternoon, she decided she'd wait until the evening instead. Lady Tsunade clearly hadn't shown up as usual to the hospital, which meant she probably had slept in and was likely to show up for the afternoon shift. Tsubane didn't really know if she wanted to see her mother this soon. Maybe they needed some space. Besides, she wanted to confide in someone, and Shizune was too close to Lady Tsunade to feel comfortable. And Sai was not someone of emotions, so Tsubane could talk to a wall instead.

Shizune hung up the phone soon. She looked at Tsubane with a worried look, and seemed shaken. Tsubane's heart sank. Did something happen to her Arashi? Was her teammate dying?

"Arashi's other doctor ordered a scan this morning and they saw internal bleeding. They supposed it's since last night. They have to operate on him to find where he is bleeding from and stop it. Ms. Uzumaki was trying to reach Tsunade since she didn't show up."

"It's my fault," Tsubane said, her eyes filling with water. If she didn't agree to eat with Lady Tsunade the other night, she wouldn't have drunk and would already be ready for the surgery.

"Tsunade made her own choices. You are not responsible for anything. You are not going to blame yourself for existing. Do you prefer helping me find Lady Tsunade, or you prefer getting your team to the hospital?"

Tsubane felt like spending time with her team was what she needed, but she knew that Arashi's best chances of survival were if Tsubane chose the other option.

They were barely out of the library when Shizune spotted the Sannin, sipping on some tea in a restaurant on the main street. The woman had bags under her eyes, and didn't seem to feel so well. Tsubane winced. Lady Tsunade had definitely lost control after Tsubane left her last night. Was she even in the state to work?

"Please tell me you have good news," Tsunade mumbled.

"Arashi's going to surgery," Tsubane said.

"Great!" Tsunade said sarcastically. "Just what I needed."

"Can you help or we tell his doctor you are sick?" Shizune said.

"I'm coming. I've been worse. Do you want both to assist? I think you could learn a lot, especially you, Tsubane."

Tsubane made a little unsure smile. While she appreciated the opportunity, she felt it was one of those moments she wished to spend time with Sai and Yamato Sensei. But she knew she wouldn't stay still in the waiting room with them, and if she was to pace from one side of the hallways to the other, she would rather watch the surgery. Then, she'd know what's going on.

Half an hour later, everyone was in place, and preparing Arashi for the urgent surgery. Tsubane held her breath as the surgeon opened Arashi's stomach, searching for the cause of the bleeding, his cut line being just above the seal.

Suddenly, the surgeon frowned, and Tsubane surprised herself holding her breath. What was wrong with Arashi?

"I found where the vessels ruptured. Lady Tsunade, can you take a look at… this? Can you confirm what is surrounding the vessels?"

If the surgeon was surprised, it had to be bad. He didn't look confident, as if he had never seen what was in front of his eyes. Tsubane, from the other side of the window, couldn't see what Lady Tsunade was inspecting now. But her sudden pale face indicated it wasn't good.

"Don't touch this right now!" Lady Tsunade barked. She took a step backwards, taking her hands away. She then looked in the direction of her students. "Shizune, get Kushina here immediately, and Minato if he's available. The seal hasn't changed on the exterior. But it's wrapping around Arashi's blood vessel, and approaching arteries. I believe we caught it just in time."

"Yes, my lady, I'm going right away," Shizune said, turning back to the door. Kushina was likely in the waiting room, it wouldn't be long before both women got back.

Tsunade then turned to Tsubane. The teen gulped. What was her mother going to ask her?

"Can you get me a Hyuuga here? Anyone, doctor, nurse, family of a patient, I don't care. Someone with a Byakugan. We need to watch Arashi's chakra. How did we not think of having a Byakugan user monitor him?"

Tsubane left behind her mother to criticize herself. She was in a grumpy mood, and Tsubane had a mission. She flicked her eyes around in every hallway, trying to recognize someone. How could she know who was a Hyuuga in this hospital?

She reached the reception area. "Is there any Hyuuga doctor in this building? We need someone with a Byakugan. It's an emergency," she asked, passing in front of her friend Shikamaru who was trying to register himself. He looked like he had broken his wrist.

"Doesn't Neji's sister see an eye specialist here?" Shikamaru proposed.

Tsubane turned back to the receptionist. She didn't like to be rude, but she didn't have any time to waste. Her friend's life could depend on it. She ordered to call Amaya's doctor. The woman behind the desk was reluctant, seemed to think teenagers were brats, but with a sigh, took the phone in her hand, pressed a button. Then, everyone around could hear the speaker, "Dr. Hyuuga to the reception, Dr Hyuuga to the reception."

Tsubane sat next to Shikamaru in the waiting area, nervous. Suddenly, a woman with dark hair approached her. "Is it you that called for me? I'm Dr Hyuuga."

"We need you in surgery."

"I have appointments, and I don't have any eye surgery scheduled for today."

"We need someone with the Byakugan to watch someone's chakra system. You won't be operating, just observing and telling us what is happening. We already have a surgeon and Lady Tsunade on the case. Plus Kushina."

The Hyuuga doctor's eyes grew wide open. "Oh, the Hokage's son. I heard rumors about his weird condition. I didn't see his name on the surgery list when I prepared for my patient's this morning."

"Wasn't planned. He's hemorrhaging."

"In that case, let's go, there's no time to waste."

The doctor knew her way to the surgery block, so Tsubane followed along. The teen returned to her spot, where Shizune was as well. Kushina seemed to be blaming herself for not realizing Arashi's seal had changed. Tsunade was trying to calm the mother down.

"Kushina, it changed from the inside. I'm no fuinjutsu specialist, but I never heard of that before. You couldn't know. For some reason, the internal seal did not show up on our previous scans."

Dr Hyuuga had finished the sanitizing part and entered the room. Kushina immediately thanked the ophtalmologist. The Byakugan appeared on her face and Tsubane could see the doctor was analyzing Arashi's chakra network. After a few minutes, she was able to affirm, "The seal is wrapped around Arashi's abdominal tenkensu. It's cutting them from the rest of the system. There's only a filament of chakra going through. But it seems it's draining Arashi's chakra towards the seal to feed it."

Kushina immediately frowned. "According to Naruto, the Nine Tail has been trying to help for days, the chakra, its chakra at least, should be going the opposite direction."

"I admit this is weird," Tsunade added. "And if the beast tries so much, he could have caused the bleeding without wanting to. After all, the seal is wrapped around tenkensu but also vessels and very close to an artery, we caught it just on time. And some jutsus are known to make its user bleed."

Kushina gulped. "Naruto is convinced the Nine Tail is good. He wouldn't do that to Arashi, doesn't he?"

Tsubane looked at Shizune and whispered "I bet he didn't know how he was making things worse." The doctors wouldn't hear her, but it didn't matter, because suddenly Kushina seemed to panic.

"There's something here on the seal that I do not recognize. It's not part of the seal signature Minato and I used, nor those of who helped us do it." Kushina wanted to keep who had done Arashi's seal to herself, and Tsubane understood why. They had many people observing at the moment, and it was best to keep the information classified. Even Tsubane rather not know. "Someone get me Minato to double check. But I believe what I'm seeing is not a normal seal evolution or weakening. Someone did this. How did they have access to Arashi's internal organs?"