Healing Touch (Part 2)

A second part to that Tsunade and Harry AU bit that I wrote in December. I've named it 'Healing touch' for now but I might change the name later if I come up with something better.

Warnings: Not too edited.

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“Did you enjoy your outdoor survival training?” Tsunade asked in lieu of a greeting as a short brown haired boy, her six year old brother, trudged up to her.

With dirt in his hair and a scowl, Nawaki said, “Why didn't you tell it was going to be so horrible?”

Tsunade snorted and combed through his hair, shaking away the dirt. “I told you a week survival training was nothing to be excited about. But you just kept thinking it was a camping trip.”

“It was a camping trip from hell!” Nawaki said, “A giant leech fell on me. I thought I was going to die.”

Tsunade couldn't stop her lips from twitching as she guided her brother out of the newly built academy grounds. “You screamed, didn't you?” 

Nawaki held up a strong front for all of 30 seconds before he slumped in despair. “Reina laughed when she picked it off me and killed it.”

“That girl is going to be a formidable ninja when she graduates,” Tsunade said, stifling her laughter at Nawaki's continued bad luck with his crush.

“I'm going to be a formidable ninja too,” Nawaki protested.

“Not if you keep screaming at every little thing.”

“It was a leech! A leech the size of my head. It's could have taken all my blood and left me like a dried raisin,” Nawaki's voice rose with every word. 

“Idiot,” Tsunade bumped against him fondly. “That could only possible happen if you're completely covered in head to toe with those large leeches.”

Nawaki shuddered. “Stop talking about the leeches. And why are you picking me up instead of granny?”

Tsunade grabbed her brother and ground her knuckles on his head. “Is that something you say to your only sister after she came back from a long and dangerous mission?”

Nawaki squeaked and struggled against her grip. “Let go!”

Feeling the gazes of the people on the streets, Tsunade walked faster and only let go of Nawaki when they were in an emptier section of Konoha. The section that housed the Senju property. “We have a guest. Grandma's keeping him company so I came to pick you up.”

“A guest?” Nawaki said as he struggled to right his hair. 

“A Uzumaki cousin from Whirlpool.”

Nawaki's eyes widened. “A cousin?”

“A very distant one who's part of the current clan head's immediate family,” Tsunade said as they got closer to the house. “So be good and don't embarrass grandma.”

Before their conversation could progress any further, they paused at the loud laughter coming from inside the house. 

How long had it been since their house had been filled with such loud laughter? 

Too long, Tsunade concluded. Much too long if the sound was enough to stun her and Nawaki like a couple of idiots. 

“Is that granny?” Nawaki asked in a whisper. 

They shared a look and walked into the house, following the sounds of laughter. 

The two occupants- grandma and Harii- were seated on the floor holding a handful of cards and surrounded by plates of snacks. 

“Granny, you're gambling!” Nawaki said, his incredulous voice cutting through the laughter. 

Two sets of amused eyes turned to them in unison. 

“So I am,” grandmother said, her purple eyes bright. “You look like you had a rough time, Nawaki-kun.”

Forgetting all of Tsunade's words, Nawaki whined. “There was giant leeches.”

Harii winced and asked in genuine concern, “Did they hurt you?”

Happy to have a sympathetic ear, Nawaki said, “It bit me. I thought I was going to die.”

Tsunade rolled her eyes and muttered. “You should go have a bath because you smell like death.”

“Well, you get stinky even without leeches.” Nawaki retorted. “Jiraiya told me that when you were in Suna your clothes had to be burnt because they smelt like rotten f...”

Mito interrupted. “Nawaki-kun, do you need help with the bath?”

“I'm not a kid.”

“I thought you were injured from the leeches, dear.”

Grateful for her grandmother's timely intervention, Tsunade walked over to the card game while planning how she'd make Jiraiya pay. That nightmare mission in Suna was never supposed to be talked about with anyone.

“Dango?” Harii offered her with a soft smile that banished the encroaching memories of the mission.

Already feeling much calmer that before, Tsunade accepted the snack and looked down at the card pile on the floor. “Neither of you are winning,” Tsunade realized in astonishment.

“Uzumakis always end up in draws when they play each other,” her grandmother said with a fond pride. “There's no fun in always winning against people without the Uzumaki luck.”

Now that Tsunade thought about it, her grandmother never gambled with anyone. She'd always thought it was because her grandmother was too proper for things like that. 

“It's fun when you get to make snobs cry though,” Harii said. 

Mito tilted her head, considering for a moment, and nodded with a sharp smile. “Yes, that does sound fun. Who did you destroy?”

Harii's lips curved into an equally sharp answering grin. “A stupid noble who was misusing his wealth.”

Tsunade swallowed and wrenched her gaze down to her dango, wondering if she was getting ill as her her entire body grew warm.

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There was supposed to be more of Harry in this but I guess I'll leave that for later parts.

I like writing this AU and I think there will definitely be more parts to this. It just flows easily and I don't have to work out actual plot issues. It's a good writing experiment after my failure with Kakashi. And eventually, I will reach the 'romance' portion of this AU. 

Polar