The Breaking Point
This story takes place just over a year after More than Enemies.
Chapter 1—Masquerade
Tsunade shoved her final stack of paperwork away from herself and sighed. Then a calendar that had been previously covered caught her eye. "Ugh." She stood up and left her office, brushing past Shizune in the hallway without a word.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune called. "Where are you going?"
"I'm taking a walk," Tsunade replied shortly, and she hurried from the building before Shizune could respond.
Jiraiya spotted Tsunade soon after. She was walking more quickly than normal and headed, unmistakably to Jiraiya, toward her favorite out-of-the-way bar. He ran ahead and waited there for her to arrive.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Tsunade rounded the corner. When she saw Jiraiya waiting for her, she hesitated and almost turned around. Then Jiraiya was beside her, grinning and saying, "Hey, Tsunade, what's the matter?"
She crossed her arms and looked away but her eyes found the fliers hung on a nearby fence and her expression told Jiraiya enough.
"Ah, the Leaf Festival masquerade, huh? It's tomorrow night." He looked back at Tsunade and laughed a little at the scowl set on her face. "So don't go!" he said simply.
"I'm not allowed to skip it," she grumbled. "The Hokage is required to be there."
"So play hooky! You've never had a problem with that before. All those little trips out of the village…"
Tsunade's hand snapped into a fist but what he said next distracted her from the imminent attack.
"But I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. I hear someone's got a good surprise planned for you. You might have fun.
"Anyway, I've got more research to do so I'm afraid I can't stay and have a drink with you." He headed off down the road but called back, "See you at the festival, Tsunade!"
Tsunade turned back to the bar. "I hate surprises," she muttered.
[X]
The night of the festival, everyone gathered at the Hokage's Residence for the dance. Tsunade was standing by the wall, watching Jiraiya flirt noisily with every girl in the room. He had just given Anko one of his special compliments, earning a well-deserved punch which the kunoichi delivered with a smile, when a man in an ANBU mask walked up to Tsunade. He held out his hand to her but she shook her head.
"Sorry," she said. "I'm not much for dancing."
"Not even with me?" the man said. Tsunade gasped at the familiar voice and stared, dumbfounded, as a gloved hand reached up and tilted the mask to the side briefly.
"Orochimaru," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," he said quietly with a smirk.
"Are you crazy? You're going to get caught!" Tsunade looked around nervously but no one seemed interested let alone concerned about the ANBU member speaking with the Hokage.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tsunade," Orochimaru said. "I would never let myself get caught. Now, come here." He took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.
"Orochimaru, what are you–?"
He put a finger to her lips. "Just dance, Tsunade."
They fell into step with the other couples already in the midst of a waltz but Tsunade still seemed reluctant.
"What's wrong?" Orochimaru asked as they glided through the steps. Tsunade laughed lightly.
"Honestly? It's this kimono." She tugged at the sleeve of the traditional, long silk garment. "I haven't worn a skirt in thirty years, much less something like this. It's driving me crazy."
Orochimaru laughed and Tsunade was taken a little by surprise at how pure it sounded. "You look beautiful," he said, then added, "Of course, if it's bothering you that much we could go somewhere more private and–"
"Stop! Right there! I won't have you sounding like Jiraiya," she scolded, but she was smiling and moved a little closer to him as they continued to dance.
[X]
Orochimaru stayed with Tsunade for nearly the whole masquerade, Jiraiya joining them on and off throughout the night. The three of them got along as well as or better than before their three-man squad had fallen apart years ago. It was nothing new to them, though. It had been almost a year since the Sannin had reunited to face three of the Akatsuki together, when Jiraiya found out about Orochimaru's and Tsunade's secret friendship. They had parted ways at the end of the battle without certainty that all three would ever be together again, but just a week after that parting, Tsunade had sent a team to eliminate Kabuto, only to find that Orochimaru had defeated them. She disappeared from the village that same night and learned that Orochimaru had not only escaped the cave-in, but had also acquired a new body since then. Their secret meetings started up again and their friendship quickly grew into something more. From time to time, Jiraiya would join them as well, and soon it was as though the Sannin had never disbanded.
There was just short of an hour left that Tsunade was required to be at the masquerade when Orochimaru left.
"Even as an ANBU, it would be suspicious for us to leave together," he explained to her when she objected. "It's bad enough that I've hardly left your side all this time."
"Compromise?" Tsunade said. "Meet me outside the village after?"
Orochimaru smiled behind the mask and nodded before vanishing.
The end of the event seemed to drag on forever. Tsunade's good mood was the only thing sparing everyone from her temper and annoyance with the formalities since she had nothing left to distract her. Jiraiya had left even before Orochimaru, and there was no one else there that she wanted to talk to. When it finally ended, she headed straight for her room, explaining quite convincingly to Shizune that she was exhausted and did not want to be disturbed at all. A quick change of clothes later, she was out the window and headed for the village gate.