He didn't say anything. Just kept working. Unpacking crates, sorting herbs, brushing wax onto new wraps.
At night, the trading hut glowed with lantern light, steam rising from a pot of melting wax. Ryouhei stayed late, sketching a thinner wrap design Kaede suggested—less bulk, better for shinobi pouches.
He wrote in his ledger: Wraps – Thin batch. Test with Kaede. Need more wax, cedar oil.
✦ Three Days Later ✦
The Shimono shipment left at dawn—six crates of soap, five crates of wraps, and a box of War cards with Kaede's weird animal drawings.
Ryouhei stayed behind in Grass to sort a new delivery: clean cloth from the Mist Village, bricks of beeswax, and a sack of metal scraps for tools.
Yuna's hut was packed full, crates stacked almost to the ceiling. Kaede was in the corner, quietly sorting herbs. Even after a long night, her hands moved quickly and neatly.
Ryouhei grabbed a bundle of cloth to check for damage. As his fingers brushed past a tagged shinobi pouch nearby—a pouch marked with a faint chakra seal—the seal flickered for a second, then vanished.
No burn. No spark. No sign of damage. Just gone. A thin, smoky smell hung in the air for a moment.
Yuna didn't notice. She was counting coins at the front of the hut.
Ryouhei froze. Then, trying to stay calm, he shoved the pouch under a nearby crate.
"Probably old," he muttered. "Seals don't last forever."
But his hands were shaking as he picked up the next cloth roll. He had no chakra. Kaede had tested him weeks ago—chakra paper hadn't changed at all. Blank. So why were chakra tags disappearing around him?
Maybe the supplies were bad. Maybe it was the damp air in Grass. Maybe...
He pushed the thought away. He wasn't a shinobi. He didn't mess with chakra stuff.
Then Kaede's voice broke through his thoughts. "You dropped this."
She held out a trade scroll. The edge was crinkled and slightly dark—like it had been near fire.
"That's the third scroll this week," she said.
Ryouhei forced a chuckle. "Yuna's supplier's using cheap ink again. Probably smudges in the damp."
Kaede didn't look convinced. "You said that last time."
"It's nothing," he said quickly, taking the scroll from her. "I'll check with Yuna."
Kaede didn't say anything else, but she didn't take her eyes off him for a while.
Ryouhei turned back to the cloth, his heart pounding. He wasn't lying. He really didn't know what was going on.
But something was wrong. Something that made chakra react weird around him.
✦ That Night ✦
The hut was quiet. Candlelight flickered along the walls, casting long shadows. Kaede was out checking the guard posts, and Yuna was asleep in the back room. Ryouhei sat cross-legged on the floor with his journal open in front of him.
He scribbled notes:
Scrolls crinkle when I'm near. Seals fall apart. No heat, no sparks—just vanish. Could be bad supplies? Humidity? But Yuna's tags were new. Same for that Grass shinobi's pouch.
He stopped writing and looked over at his pack.
Weeks ago, Konan had handed him a sealed scroll—something for emergencies. Red wax seal. Angel emblem pressed deep into it. Faint hum of chakra when held.
He'd never opened it. Just kept it tucked away. Could it be leaking? Messing with seals around him?
He reached for the pack but didn't touch it. His hand hovered just above the flap. The air felt strange—thick, like the air before lightning strikes.
He pulled back.
A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, even though the night was cool.
"Not touching that," he muttered. "It's probably nothing."
He turned the page in his journal and wrote:
Focus on trade. Grass deal is stable. Yuna needs 30 wraps next month. Scroll stuff can wait. I can fix it.
He blew out the candle and lay on his back, staring at the dark ceiling. Outside, the rain tapped gently against the roof.
His fingers tingled—like they'd been too close to a flame. He flexed them, trying to shake the feeling.
"Just tired," he whispered. "That's all."
✦ The Next Morning ✦
The morning was gray and damp. Ryouhei woke early and was already packing soap bars for a trader from Mizuwa. Kaede stood near the door, quietly sharpening a kunai. The hut smelled like cedar and melted wax, but something in the air felt off—tight, tense.
Yuna walked over with a small stack of scrolls. "Double-check these," she said, handing them to him. "Last set had some issues."
"Alright," Ryouhei said, reaching for a brush. He unrolled the top scroll—and the chakra tag at the corner suddenly sparked. A faint burn mark spread across the paper. He pulled his hand back fast, muttering under his breath.
Yuna spun around. "What was that?"
"I didn't do anything!" Ryouhei said, lifting his hands. "It just did that on its own."
Kaede walked over, frowning as she looked at the scroll. "That seal's new. It shouldn't fail like that."
"Maybe it's the wax in the air," Ryouhei said quickly. "Or one of the herbs reacting to something. Could be anything."
Yuna narrowed her eyes. "My tags don't just break for no reason. You're messing them up somehow."
"Messing them up?" Ryouhei laughed, but his voice sounded a little strained. "It's just bad luck. I'll copy it onto a new scroll."
Kaede didn't speak right away. She rested her hand lightly on her kunai pouch. Her voice was calm, but serious. "Be careful. If this keeps happening, it won't just be scrolls getting ruined."
Ryouhei swallowed hard and gave a quick nod. He grabbed a fresh scroll, signed it fast, and handed it over.
Yuna took it without a word, heading back to her workbench. Kaede gave him one last look, then slipped outside into the fog.
Ryouhei leaned against a crate, letting out a long breath. His fingers still felt warm. He flexed them, trying to shake the feeling away.
"Stupid seals," he muttered to himself. "Not my fault."