The living room was littered with messy clothes and wet stains, it seemed every spot had traces of a struggle.
Those tattered pieces of clothing further illustrated the intensity of the fight.
Even Yūhi Kurenai, this older sister, felt dizzy seeing such a tragic scene.
The mastermind behind all this... one glance was enough to know it was Mitarashi Anko, who was pressing the child's head against her chest.
And she herself was sound asleep, the corner of her mouth seemingly carrying a happy smile.
It was just unknown whether she was eating red bean dumplings or drinking red bean soup in her dreams.
Kurenai forcibly restrained the impulse to act directly, tiptoed over the obstacles along the way, and arrived in front of the two.
Just one look at Nojuro Ryun's condition, and she felt half her blood run cold.
Nojuro Ryun was motionless, his skin utterly devoid of color, and there seemed to be no rising and falling movement in his chest either.
Kurenai quickly grabbed Anko's disheveled hair, pulled her up, and threw her aside.
Anko was flung directly onto the ceiling, then fell face down onto the floor, bouncing a few times. The intense pain made her scream and wake up.
Rubbing her swollen eyes, she watched Kurenai busily doing something and said discontentedly, "So violent as soon as the sky brightens, no wonder you still don't have a boyfriend."
Usually when she made such jokes, Kurenai's biggest reaction was just an annoyed retort.
Moreover, Kurenai had made the first move, so Anko felt she was the one in the right.
Now there was almost no part of her body that didn't ache, and she still didn't know how Kurenai had brought her back after she got drunk last night.
Probably dragged by her legs, bumping and knocking hundreds of times along the way?
But, why was Kurenai's house such a mess?
Could it be she went on a drunken rampage yesterday?
Anko, feeling guilty, was just about to say something when she saw Kurenai turn her head and shoot over a look that seemed almost murderous, frightening Anko into freezing stiff.
She was naturally no match for Kurenai, and this was the first time she had sensed killing intent from her good friend.
What on earth had happened to make her so angry?
"Hahaha, sorry sorry, I'll definitely clean up for you, and for anything damaged I'll pay the price... no, double compensation!"
"Shut up!"
Kurenai couldn't be bothered with Anko, she had to first solve the problem that this child's heart had stopped beating!
As a ninja with a Hand Seal proficiency of 9, Kurenai naturally knew medical knowledge and even some medical ninjutsu. She understood what she should do most urgently.
So she laid Nojuro Ryun flat on the floor and began giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Anko watched Ryun with a bewildered look, a hundred questions swirling in her mind.
Why was Nojuro Ryun at Kurenai's house?
Why was Nojuro Ryun completely naked?
Why did Nojuro Ryun look like he was already dead, with cold hands and feet?
Who was so bold as to sneak attack and kill someone at Nojuro Ryun's house while she and Kurenai were home?
Anko remembered Ryun's request yesterday, he had sensed danger, and now it seemed it was actually true!
No, she had to help too...
Anko, who had just tried to stand up, gasped in pain, the agony seemingly making her remember something.
Scenes flashed back one after another, the mastermind behind all this, seemed to be her?
She seemed to hear her own triumphant laughter, hear Nojuro Ryun's helpless cries, even see Nojuro Ryun's deathly pale face in his final struggle...
In that instant, Anko's own blood ran completely cold.
She lost the strength to stand, sat back on the floor, a buzzing noise filling her mind, she didn't even hear Kurenai's scolding.
"Come here and help with chest compressions!"
Seeing Anko unmoving, Kurenai shot her a frustrated glare, and was just about to pick up Nojuro Ryun to take him to Konoha Hospital when she saw Ryun's chest begin to rise and fall.
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face, it seemed Ryun had passed the most dangerous stage.
What to do next?
Sending him to Konoha Hospital was obviously the most reasonable course of action, but... although Kurenai was extremely angry at the foolish thing Anko had done, she still didn't want to send Anko to Konoha Prison and make her infamous for all time.
This might sound somewhat lacking in morality, but the bonds between comrades were, for a ninja, clearly the most important thing besides loyalty to the village, far more important than the life of an unfamiliar person.
There was no other way, the ninja world was still a world of war, where was there any universal morality that valued human life above all else.
If he couldn't be sent to the hospital, they could only handle it themselves.
It was the middle of a harsh winter right now, Nojuro Ryun's problem was hypothermia, his body temperature needed to be raised.
At such a time, hot water must absolutely not be used to directly raise his body temperature, otherwise the returning cold blood would put too much strain on his heart, which could very likely lead to cardiac arrest, shock, and death.
The best method was to wrap the other person up, then have a person with normal body temperature use passive rewarming to slowly raise the other's body temperature.
Thinking of this, Kurenai picked up the blanket from the sofa, wrapped it around Nojuro Ryun, then glanced at Anko and said, "Still not coming over to save him?"
Anko then snapped out of her daze, stumbled over wanting to get under the blanket, to use her own body temperature to revive Nojuro Ryun.
But then Ryun opened his eyes, and the moment he saw Anko, he screamed in terror, "Don't come over!"
Anko froze in place, looking at Kurenai with helpless eyes.
Kurenai sighed, this final step of the rescue, she naturally couldn't give up now.
So she picked up Ryun and said, "You're responsible for cleaning everything up, I'll go help him recover, we'll talk about everything after he's better."
Then Kurenai took the stairs two at a time, went upstairs to her own room, and placed Nojuro Ryun on the bed.
Her hand gently stroked Ryun's face, the corner of her mouth curving into a gentle smile as she said, "Alright, all that yesterday was a nightmare, it's over now."
Next, she lightly struck the back of Ryun's neck, making him lose consciousness, then slipped under the blanket herself, embracing Nojuro Ryun, taking on the role of rescuer.
Although Ryun had lost consciousness, his body still trembled subconsciously, occasionally making some pushing motions.
Kurenai wasn't angry about this, only annoyed at Anko, she attributed it all to the psychological shadow Anko had left on Nojuro Ryun.
Slowly, Ryun quieted down, and his heartbeat gradually grew stronger.
Only then did Kurenai completely relax, reaching out to stroke Nojuro Ryun's hair.
Seeing what seemed to be tear stains still at the corner of Ryun's eyes, her heart ached slightly. Her hand reached behind Ryun's back and patted gently, as if treating Ryun like a crying infant.
Ryun also seemed to have found a mother's warm embrace, snuggling into Kurenai's arms. This scene was harmonious and heartwarming.
...At least for Yūhi Kurenai it was.
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