Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…But I will someday.
AN: This is a one-shot for the best couple in the world, Tsunade and Jiraiya, featuring the song 'Angels' by Within Temptation. This is set when they were younger, probably around their 20s, and leads up to when Jiraiya is searching for her in the Tsunade Search Arc in the anime.
Enjoy! Please Review…puppy-dog eyes
Tsunade stood next to her younger brother's grave, her necklace gripped tightly in her hand as she shed tears of anger. Jiraiya wasn't too far away from her, and had witnessed first hand what it was like for Tsunade to continue her life without her brother, Nawaki. He took the opportunity to go over to her, his eyes falling onto the grave stone in front of her.
"He was a good kid, Tsunade. You should be glad that you knew him so well." The white-haired Jounin said as he looked down at her.
"What do you need, Jiraiya?" She asked; her anger was showing through her beautiful amber eyes.
"I just came to comfort you, or at least try." He said as he looked down into her eyes.
"I don't need your damn sympathy." She replied as she turned back to the grave.
Jiraiya slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her into a slightly comforting embrace. She didn't pull away, and that made Jiraiya smile as he hugged her tighter.
"Everything will be alright, Tsunade." He said as he hugged her once more before letting go.
"Says you, pervert." She said as she playfully punched him in the arm. He smiled at her and then left.
She watched him go, and then turned back to Nawaki's grave. She gave the necklace one last tight grip before she headed home for the night.
Sparkling angel
I believe
You are my savior
In my time of need
Tsunade looked at the picture of her team, which was sitting on top of the mantle in her living room. She had to admit that Orochimaru did still creep her out, considering the crimes that he made against Konoha, but he looked so innocent in the picture. She glanced over to her snowy-haired teammate, a smile soon forming on her face as she looked at him. She then remembered how he had comforted her this morning, and her smile grew bigger.
Blinded by faith
I couldn't hear
All the whispers
The warning's so clear
She had started to hang around Jiraiya some, even though she was dating Dan, and they became the best of friends that they could be. Tsunade had even started to get attached to Jiraiya, seeing that he cared for her in more ways than one, although not intimately because of her current relationship with Dan. But they knew that they could confide anything to each other, without the fear of blackmail.
I see the angels
I'll lead them to your door
There is no escape now
Now mercy no more
A few days later, Tsunade had returned from enemy territory with only two of the three members of the team that she had brought with her. Dan had died on the mission, and Tsunade had a heavy heart from it, and a new fear of blood. Jiraiya was there, he saw her and her sorrow. He tried his hardest to talk to her, to comfort her, but she just turned him away. She then left the village with Dan's young niece, Shizune, and was never heard from again.
No remorse 'cause I still remember
The smile when you tore me apart.
She remembered his smile, his voice, but she couldn't remember him. Her memories were now confided into her necklace, being drown from her mind from her countless years of drinking and gambling. Though she spent years trying to forget him, she just couldn't. Her memories of all three of the important men in her life were fresh and wouldn't go away, no matter how hard she tried.
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wished they'd turn to real
You broke the promise
And made me realize
It was all just a lie
Tsunade's heart was his, and he knew it, because she trusted him the most with her secrets from the past. Jiraiya knew that she could never forget him or her lover and brother, but she could if she had her mind set on it. But he knew Tsunade well enough to know that she would never, under any circumstances, do that to him, Dan, or Nawaki.
Sparkling angel
Couldn't see
Your dark intentions
Your feelings for me
Tsunade knew that she was foolish when she was younger, and her present reflected that greatly. But what she didn't know, was that Jiraiya had always loved her in a way that Dan never did or could. She never knew his true feelings before she left the village, and with it, all of her memories.
Fallen angel
Tell me why?
What is the reason?
The thorn in your eye
Jiraiya knew before he left Konoha, over 20 years after she had left, that Tsunade was still broken on the inside. He wanted to know. To know what his hime (princess) was feeling so down when she knew that he would treat her the way that she had wanted to be treated. He now had an apprentice of his own, and one that could rival his father at that. Jiraiya was proud of Naruto, and that's why he asked him to come along to find Tsunade, and for some intensive training along the way.
I see the angels
I'll lead them to your door
There is no escape now
No mercy no more
Jiraiya and Naruto had come to the village that Tsunade and Shizune were in. While attempting to find her, Jiraiya made the decision to stop for a bite to eat at the local bar. Upon entering, her saw her, his hime, Tsunade.
"Tsunade!" He yelled out, looking at her for the first time in years.
"Jiraiya?!" She asked in response, looking at her former teammate and friend.
He quickly made his way over to her table, sitting across from her, with Naruto at his side. Shizune was surprised to see Jiraiya, since she had already seen Orochimaru earlier that day, and his new apprentice. Jiraiya didn't waste anytime in talking to Tsunade about the position that she was offered by the village.
"Tsunade. After careful consideration, the Council of Elders has decided to name you the fifth Hokage of Konoha." He said as he shuffled her deck of cards in his hands.
"Heh, you think I'm that foolish? I decline." She said openly, receiving an angry glare and burst of words from the unpredictable blonde across from Shizune.
Tsunade just ignored the younger male and shuffled her cards again in her hands. Shizune looked over at her mentor with a worried look on her face, wondering if she was really going to consider Orochimaru's offer.
No remorse 'cause I still remember
The smile when you tore me apart
Tsunade looked over to Jiraiya, a smile on her face as she looked at her cards. Jiraiya remembered that smile, since it was the last smile that she had given him before she left the village for good, along with a younger Shizune. The smile tore his heart in half, since it was the only smile she used when she was actually, truly happy. He looked back down at his cards again, trying to wipe the smile away from his mind, and laid down a Royal Flush, making Tsunade frown and throw down her cards.
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wished they'd turn in to real
You broke a promise
And made me realize
It was all just a lie
Tsunade knew in her own heart that she was in love with Jiraiya, but she was too afraid to admit it, for fear of losing another of her important men. Her heart had been put under so much lately, that she couldn't even think of losing Jiraiya like Nawaki and Dan. She blinked away the tears that were forming in her eyes, and continued to drink her sake.
Could have been forever
Now we have reached the end
She thought about how she could have been with Dan for the rest of her life. But when she tried to imagine that, she couldn't stop the scene from the war and his death from coming through. She was sitting on the Tanzaku Town gate, her knees brought to her chest as her frail body was racked with tears from the memory.
This world may have failed you
It doesn't give the reason why
You could have chosen
A different path of life
The smile when you tore me apart
Jiraiya knew that it was hard for her to forget Dan and Nawaki, and he knew that when she left, that the world had turned its back on her. Her heart had been sealed for so long, awaiting the time it could open up freely again, just so it could flourish among the people she knew and cared about. He knew that she could have chosen a different way to handle her grief, but the drinking and gambling was the only way she could think of for her attempts to forget her losses.
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wished they'd turn in to real
You broke a promise
And made me realize
It was all just a lie
Tsunade had finally been prompted enough to go back to the village, even against her wishes, though she knew it was for the best. She looked over her shoulder to the happy, young blonde genin following behind them. He was now wearing her necklace, after winning the final bet that she made with him, and she was happy that she could entrust it with him.
Could have been forever
Now we have reached the end
Tsunade was now back in the village alone with Shizune, Jiraiya, and Naruto. She had finally been officially sworn in as Hokage of Konoha, and was sitting at her desk with Jiraiya standing over her. They were now officially going steady with each other, since Jiraiya had insisted that they take it slow, for the two of them. Tsunade had liked every last bit of his offer, and was happy that she could open her heart to her friend, now turned lover, again.