To make matters worse, Haruna had left abruptly on the mission, without the opportunity to bid his family farewell. Katsuro watched the now orphaned siblings closely, his eyes almost becoming teary. While they had never been particularly close, Haruna had been kind to him, and treated him like his own nephew, sometimes taking him out for lunch with Tsunade and Nawaki. He had welcomed Katsuro when he had been orphaned, and that was something he would never forget - his death invited a similar, empty, numb, chilling feeling that he had felt when he lost his parents, and Katsuro was forced to fight back tears. More than that, he was an excellent father to Tsunade and Nawaki, especially considering the absence of his wife and their mother, and his children's love for him was obvious in their reactions to his death.
Nawaki had buried his face in Tsunade's robes and was sobbing uncontrollably, and finally, the Princess of the Senju clan spoke.
"Thank you for personally delivering the news, Sensei - I know you must be very busy. I'd like to take on his funeral responsibilities, please, instead of the village, if that's fine with you?" Tsunade's voice was quiet, but stoic - emotionless. Hiruzen looked at her in worry.
"O-of course, my child. If there's anything you need at all, please just-"
"I know. Thank you, Sensei," Tsunade said, her voice almost robotic, and she bowed formally - uncharacteristic of the normally bashful, confident young woman. Hiruzen sadly nodded, and walked away. Perhaps the old man does have a shred of a heart, Katsuro thought.
Tsunade picked up Nawaki, who was still crying, and started walking back into the house. Granny Mito called out to her, trying to be comforting, but still tearful nonetheless.
"Tsunade …" she managed to get out, before breaking down into tears again. Another stab of pain made its way to Katsuro's heart - but this time, it was different - guilt. If I was on that mission, could I have saved him? Would they be crying now? If I had become a shinobi …
"Don't worry, Granny. I'm fine," Tsunade tried to reassure the older woman, but still speaking without a hint of emotion. She sat down, and held her younger brother as he cried himself to sleep. Katsuro watched her, concerned, but he made no move to intervene.
Soon after Granny Mito had gone to sleep, exhausted after the day's emotional toll, but not before doing her best to console Tsunade, who herself had just put Nawaki to bed.
When she thought no one was looking, Tsunade body flickered to the rooftop of the Senju complex, where she had a bottle of sake ready. Waiting for her, though, was Katsuro, holding out the bottle for her to take. She took it wordlessly, and drank in silence, neither of them saying a word for a long time.
Eventually, the sake ran out. Frustrated, Tsunade hurled the empty bottle into the open space, watching it shatter. Katsuro watched on, and made no move to speak, but instead, he placed his hand over Tsunade's.
The shinobi tried to pull her hand away, but Katsuro held on. With her superstrength, she could easily pull her hand away, but she chose not to.
In the silence of the night, a single tear rolled down Tsunade's face. Then another, and another, and in Katsuro's arms, the Princess of the Senju Clan, the future Sannin and Hokage, cried her heart out.
As he held his friend, Katsuro cursed his weakness. He knew all too well the feeling of helplessness and sadness that came when a parent died. The situation made his wander to his determination to get stronger.
Tsunade must be feeling helpless like I was in her despair. Cursing her own weakness as if she could have stopped it. There was nothing she could have done, maybe it is only now I see this perspective. But this world is cruel, more and more people die and are taken from my family even in times of peace. I need to get stronger, even more than I am now.
I'm sorry, Uncle Haruna. I was not strong enough, or maybe I was but hiding my strength meant I couldn't help you. I will not act weak and helpless any longer.
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Since that day, Tsunade and Nawaki have lived with Katsuro and Mito. Mito invited her grandchildren considering Nawaki was still young and needed to be taken care of when Tsunade was away on missions and also because they needed to be around family in times of grief.
"I win." Katsuro simply stated.
"Are you crazy? I literally could have chopped your arm off if I wanted!"
"Not before I would have shattered that shitty sword!"
"As if someone as slow as the Princess could ever touch my blade, you got 2 big weights slowing you down after all." Katsuro chuckles.
"What did you just say you pervert?!" Tsunade roared at Katsuro, as she chased him around the Senju complex as he laughed uncontrollably.
Granny Mito sighed to herself. Apparently, another one of Katsuro's many talents was the ability to ragebait her granddaughter beyond belief, and it was even more apparent that it was the hobby that he enjoyed doing the most. That being said, she was truly relieved.
Even if neither of them realised it, Tsunade was one of the very few people that Katsuro truly lowered his walls around and - one of the only people he laughed and smiled around too. And Katsuro was one of the only people that Tsunade would laugh and be truly 'free' with since her father died. When Katsuro was with Tsunade, and Tsunade with Katsuro, it was as if the losses and the pain that both of them had been through evaporated. She was glad, despite it being a few months ago the pain of losing her father had impacted the girl heavily. She drank when she thought everyone else was asleep (apart from Katsuro) and trained more than ever before. But the presence of Katsuro ensured she was healing, slowly, but healing nonetheless.
And Granny Mito was a clever old lady. She didn't miss the small details. The light blush that would adorn Katsuro's face when Tsunade got too close, or the way Tsunade would curl her hair whenever Katsuro was around. For all her seriousness and her position as the eldest Uzumaki and wife of the Founding Hokage, Granny Mito chuckled like a schoolgirl who had just received the juiciest gossip ever. Perhaps love is in the air, she mused to herself.
"What's wrong with you, Granny?" Katsuro had seemingly escaped Tsunade.
"Yeah, why are you laughing to yourself like a weirdo?" Tsunade chimed in. Never mind, she was here too. "I told you, Tsunade, Alzheimer's has finally caught up with her!"
"Huh?" It took a second for Granny Mito to process what the insolent boy had just said as she was shaken out of her happy mood, but before she could get a word out, Tsunade spoke.
"That's such a shame, even my Iryo Ninjutsu can't help with that," she said with faux sadness.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!!"
Both Tsunade and Katsuro letting their guards down fully and with no willingness to evade ended up caught within the Uzumaki chains.
"Aw, shit," Katsuro managed to get out, before Granny Mito grabbed him by the back of his neck. Surprising strength for a 90 year old mummy of a Granny, Katsuro thought.
"What did you just say, brat!" came the shrill scream from the woman holding him like a dead rabbit. Wait, did I say that out loud? Katsuro cursed his carelessness, as Tsunade was somehow laughing despite being wrapped up in chains.
She has a cute laugh.
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