They had a long talk, and Shiori knew how it would come to an end. They both knew that was why they both sat in silence. She wanted to pretend that the silence was bringing her comfort, but the truth was that she hated it.
There was so much she wanted to say, so much to ask, but it would only make things harder for them both. So Shiori decided to be the one to acknowledge it. "Sensei, let both of us get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, we say goodbye." It was hard to say, and she saw how the man's emotions also spiked at that. He quickly brought his emotions under control.
He nodded, and they both got ready to sleep. Without a word exchanged, they laid their futons next to each other. Shiori turned her back to him, not wanting him to see her tears. She knew that it was hard for him as well, but they had to do it.
She was startled when a warm arm wrapped around her. Her muffled sobs filled the room.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she woke up early. She went through the packs and sealed her belongings in her bag. For the first time since she visited the temple, she changed into her favorite outfit.
She could feel that Yuki was awake from his chakra, but he didn't show any outward signs of being awake until she was done. He silently got up and got ready as well. He was wearing a simple crimson battle kimono, but he didn't have any weapons on him.
He had quite a few bags, which could make traveling difficult. Shiori searched her bag, took out a few storage scrolls along with some supply scrolls she had, and gave them to him. He accepted them with a smile.
She couldn't help but sense dread taking over her. The man didn't have to leave the temple for centuries. Was he even ready to face the real world? Did he know about all the advancements and facts that were essential parts of life?
She went through her bags in a rush. Finding all the scrolls that may be relevant to him. She neatly sealed them all. "This scroll contains the basic knowledge and history, this one contains some basic medicine and first aid kit, this one had emergency rations, and…" She went on to explain all the content.
He listened attentively and finished packing in a much more organized manner. When he was done, he motioned for her to come closer. She walked up to him. He reached around his neck and took out his necklace.
"This is one of my most valuable treasures. I want you to keep it safe for me until we see each other again." He tied the necklace around her neck.
She also wanted to give him something. A keep safe. But she didn't have much to offer. Then she remembered. She reached into the depths of her bag. A seal so tiny that anyone would miss, except for her. Since she was the one who put it there.
She unsealed what she was looking for. A dagger. It didn't look special, but to her, it was. "When I first woke up, this was the only thing I had with me. I wasn't even wearing any clothes. I kept it ever since. It can be a key to finding out about my past one day. So you should also keep this safe for me." She gave him the dagger.
It was a small dagger that could be easily hidden under clothing. It had a red handle and matching sheath. When she first woke up, she only had the dagger, not the sheath. But carrying the dagger around without a sheath was hard, so she had it crafted for the blade.
Yuki took the dagger and hid it in his clothing. "I know you are going to find the path of peace. But it's still good to use for peeling some fruits." She said with a small laugh.
He chuckled and gave her a hair ruffle. They looked at each other for a moment longer before leaving the room. They had breakfast in a nearby shop. And headed to the city gates. They hugged each other tightly.
"It's time to go, Shiori-chan, but before that, there is one last thing I want you to have. Will you please give me your hand?" Yuki said. Shiori gave him her left hand. He turned her hand so her palm was facing up.
Then, quicker than her eyes could follow, he went through a long series of hand signs. When he was done, he touched her wrist with his index and middle finger. Shiori felt a shock of chakra go through her. It was not painful or unpleasant. It was just warm and foreign—yet familiar since it was his chakra.
When he removed her hand, a small mark appeared. It looked like a raven, the size of a coin. She brought her hand closer to her face to examine it.
"It's a secret technique of my clan. If triggered, it allows me to find your location no matter where or how far apart we are. Use it if you are ever in danger. It's a one-time use, but I can always reapply it after. So do not hesitate to use it." He said as he ruffled her hair one last time.
Traveling alone once again didn't feel the same as it did before. She had always enjoyed the sense of adventure in the past, but now she felt empty as if a part of her was missing. She knew that their journeys had different paths to take, even if their destinations were the same.
She was sure that their paths would cross again. For an unknown reason, she was sure of it. So, she decided to smile and face the world head-on. If anything, during her time in the temple, she realized how much she had to learn.
But she had a plan now. She needed to return to the land of fire to resupply and then head to the wind country to continue her studies. She first wanted to take their medical exam and get her certificate.
Then, she could stay there for a while and exchange her medical expertise for their knowledge of poisons. Tsunade-sensei might be the most capable medic in all nations, but her power was in her unparalleled knowledge of the human body and how it works. Her experience played a huge role in that, too.
It was not something anyone could achieve, and it would take decades of dedication and talent. Her goal was to simplify medical knowledge so it would be more accessible, and so those who wanted to follow the same path wouldn't have to spend as much time.
To do this, she had to find shortcuts. While Tsunade-sensei could treat the most dangerous poisons by isolating and extracting the poison and then healing the patient, it would be much easier for those who didn't have as much power or skills to do the same thing and could instead use counterpoisons.
She knew that Suna was not likely to reveal any secrets to her, but even with their public knowledge, she could still learn from their methods and approaches. Still, she needed to get everything she would need for the long journey.
It would take her two weeks to get to Konoha at her speed. But she was too tired to make the whole journey back without breaks. She just wanted to get back to the safety of the land of fire before taking a break.
It took her five days to reach the border of fire country. It was sooner than she estimated, but she pushed herself too much. She knew her body was protesting against each movement, but she pushed forward.
She only slept when she could find a village, not trusting her abilities to defend herself if caught in the open. This meant that she had to push herself enough to reach a village by the end of each day.
She was walking at civilian speed. Not able to run or go any faster. She knew that she was going to have a long recovery when it was all done. It was stupid of her to push Yuki-sensei away like that.
He was in no hurry to start his journey, but Shiori pushed him away. He also knew she had not recovered enough for extended travel, but Shiori couldn't bear delaying the inevitable. She knew they had to separate, and staying with him longer would only complicate things.
She also needed a safe place to recover so she couldn't be vulnerable in unfamiliar territory. But now that she was in the bordering area, she could relax slightly. There were regular ANBU and shinobi patrols near the border, so she was safe to a degree.
Of course, if she was lucky, she wouldn't face either of them. They would mostly patrol the areas and only interfere if they believed you were causing trouble. Sometimes, they would also randomly check the travelers, but that was rare.
So she kept her head down and tried to avoid suspicion. It was around noon, and she still had a good few hours before getting to the closest village. She decided to rest in a clearing. She had no energy to cook, so she took some dry rations.
She ate and massaged her legs, trying to relieve some pain. Her feet were bruised and slightly swollen. She took out some slave and bandages and wrapped her feet carefully. She knew using chakra to heal them would only make her feel worse.
She rested a little longer until the salve's numbing effect kicked in. Then she started walking again.
She got to the village a little before dark. It was a tiny village. After asking around for a while, she found the singular inn. Thankfully, they had an empty room since they had no other visitors in the village.
The village was not safe enough for her to take her intended break, but it would do for the night. A larger city in which merchants and travelers often stayed was about a half-day journey away.
Since the city brought much revenue from travelers, it had some protection from the land of fire. There were always some shinobi patrolling close by, ready to intervene in cases of emergency. That would be a better place for her to stay.
She didn't have the energy to change clothes or do anything else besides putting up some security seals before she fell asleep.
She slept until mid-morning. When she got up, she took a shower and cleaned up before eating a light breakfast. She wasn't sure how her stomach would handle a big meal, so it was better to go with something simple.
After finishing her breakfast, she left the village.