Chapter 285: Not Enough Room

"Huh?"

Kitahara Kaede's mind shut down completely.

The moment the sound escaped him, he wanted to slap himself.

Until now, the atmosphere had still remained on the respectable path of discussing treatment for a female patient.

His reaction directly ignited every spark of ambiguity in the room.

Tsunade had already been uncomfortable.

When he responded like that, the heat in her cheeks instantly soared.

She quickly turned her head, instinctively shifting her pale legs to one side.

Her palm pressed against the edge of the sofa as though she were about to rise.

"Forget it if you don't want to."

Kaede didn't dare hesitate.

"I can do it!"

The four words burst out at extraordinary speed.

Tsunade's movement stopped abruptly.

She turned back and looked at him.

Her bright red ears betrayed the calm she was trying to maintain.

She pressed her lower lip together and pointed toward the broad sofa beside her.

"Then lie down over there."

Kaede obediently walked around the tea table and sat on the sofa.

He slowly lowered himself backward.

The instant his back touched the leather, his entire body became as rigid as an iron plate.

He couldn't find any natural place for his limbs.

The direction of events had completely exceeded his understanding.

Tsunade gripped the chair beneath her and shifted it forward one small movement at a time.

The distance between them steadily narrowed.

She stopped above Kaede's head.

They were now dangerously close.

Tsunade's faint, distinctive scent drifted directly into his nose.

She looked down at him, her gaze sweeping over his rigid body.

"Relax."

Her voice was soft but carried the unquestionable authority of a medical professional.

"If your muscles remain this tense, I won't be able to locate the acupoints accurately."

Kaede obediently complied and instinctively closed his eyes.

The next moment, two hands touched his neck.

Her fingertips carried a faint coolness, but her palms were warm.

They steadily supported the back of his head.

"Work with me."

"Move closer slowly."

Kaede's breathing completely lost its rhythm.

Following the gentle force guiding the back of his head, he shifted his upper body upward with extraordinary slowness.

The warmth supporting him suddenly disappeared.

With nothing beneath it, the back of his head naturally lowered.

It sank into something utterly unbelievable.

Warm. Soft. Astonishingly elastic.

The instant his head pressed down, that full softness gently lifted him back upward.

Her thigh.

Kaede instinctively opened his eyes.

His vision was swallowed by an astonishing darkness.

Directly above him, an overwhelmingly beautiful curve rose like a snow-covered mountain and blocked every trace of light.

Kaede immediately squeezed his eyes shut again.

What he couldn't see couldn't disturb him.

Unfortunately, his other senses became infinitely sharper.

He could hear his own heartbeat growing louder with every beat.

His throat moved painfully.

He kept his eyes tightly closed, even his eyelashes trembling beyond his control.

This was deadly.

He absolutely couldn't move.

He couldn't even allow himself to think.

A faint rustle of fabric sounded above him.

Tsunade's voice was even quieter than before, with the slightest tremor hidden inside it.

"Move... a little farther up."

"There isn't enough room."

Kaede didn't dare open his eyes.

Like a blind man, he could only shift his head left and right by instinct.

His hair brushed repeatedly across the smooth skin beneath him.

A faint itch traveled upward.

"Is this right?"

He asked with his neck still stiff.

Tsunade's entire body was tense.

The movement against her legs had already made her burn all over.

And whenever Kaede spoke, his breath passed through her clothing and struck the sensitive skin just below her chest.

The stimulation was impossible to describe.

Tsunade bit her lower lip fiercely and forcibly swallowed the soft sound that nearly escaped her throat.

"That's fine."

Her voice came out so soft that it barely sounded like her own.

"Then... I'll begin."

Kaede gave an almost imperceptible nod.

As he moved, his hair swept across the softness again.

He clearly felt the surface beneath his head tense for an instant.

Tsunade raised both hands, preparing to locate the acupoints near his temples.

Her hands stopped in midair.

She froze.

Her field of vision was completely blocked by the towering fullness before her.

Looking down revealed nothing but pale skin and shadow.

She couldn't see where Kaede's head actually was.

How was she supposed to massage him?

The heat that had only just begun to subside spread across her entire body again.

Tsunade's face turned so red it seemed ready to bleed.

But after coming this far, she couldn't admit that she couldn't see and ask him to get up.

A medical professional unable to massage a patient's head because her own figure created a blind spot...

If word ever spread, she might as well crawl into a crack in the ground.

She could only grit her teeth and feel her way downward.

Her fingertips first found his forehead and cautiously moved toward both sides.

At first, she couldn't judge the location and missed twice.

Her awkward movements resembled a careful caress far more than medical massage.

After several more attempts, she finally found the correct route.

Her fingertips pressed outside his temples.

The pressure gradually increased as she moved in slow circles.

Kaede's heart, which had nearly leaped from his throat, finally began settling under her skilled touch.

Her fingers changed position, sliding into his hair and pushing backward through the roots.

They moved from his temples to the back of his head, lightly scratching his scalp along the way.

Kaede relaxed completely.

Tsunade tilted her body and tried to peer past the curve obstructing her vision.

She could only barely see the lower half of his face.

A faint arc had appeared at the corner of his lips.

It was the unguarded expression of someone experiencing complete comfort.

Seeing it calmed the chaos in Tsunade's heart.

As long as he felt good, that was enough.

She withdrew her gaze and continued moving both hands over his head.

Only breathing and the occasional rustle of clothing remained in the office.

After an unknown amount of time, Tsunade withdrew her hands.

"Finished."

Kaede slowly opened his eyes.

The moment his eyelids rose halfway, he carefully shifted his gaze to the side.

Looking directly above him might genuinely be fatal.

"Can I get up now?"

"Get up."

Tsunade granted permission.

Kaede didn't sit up directly.

Keeping his body pressed against the sofa, he wriggled backward like a caterpillar with extreme caution.

He moved inch by inch.

Only after retreating several inches and confirming that his head had left the dangerous area did he brace both hands and sit upright.

At that angle, sitting up directly would have sent his head straight into somewhere it absolutely shouldn't touch.

And if he truly hit it...

Tsunade watched his somewhat ridiculous series of retreating movements.

She immediately understood what he was avoiding.

Indescribable embarrassment mixed with irritation rushed to her head.

She sprang to her feet, grabbed the cup on the table, and hurried toward the desk.

Kaede remained seated on the sofa and straightened his disordered hair.

Looking at her back, he said sincerely,

"Thank you."

"After that massage, I feel completely relaxed."

Water poured into the cup.

Tsunade kept her back toward him, not daring to turn around. The heat in her face could have boiled the water.

Her voice, however, remained as hard as stone.

"If you want to thank someone, thank that female patient."

Kaede smiled and teased,

"I helped her too, didn't I?"

Tsunade cursed inwardly.

'Helped her, my ass.'

There was no female ninja with damaged cranial nerves. She had invented the entire story on the spot.

Kaede checked the time and prepared to leave.

Just as he was about to speak, Tsunade's hand stopped around the cup.

"If you ever need it again..."

"You can come find me."

Those words sent Kaede's heart racing once more.

His gaze locked onto the back of Tsunade's neck.

The skin there was visibly and unmistakably red.

Kaede didn't hesitate.

"All right."