Tada I had fun re-watching episodes 95 and 96 to do this piece. Ah, Orochimaru smackdown! I'd like one order of snake-bastard, well tenderized, a flambe if possible. Cheers to Bullwinkle's Lady, because it was the first on her list, even if I did do Hanabi (who was the first on Ultra Sonic 007's) before it.
15 Fragments of Tsunade
Lips (intro):
She kissed him, Nawaki, on the forehead, because he was her cute little brother. She never thought she would be kissing him goodbye.
Foot:
She practiced. It was worth it. The expression on Jiraiya's face when she brought her foot down and the earth swallowed him up was priceless.
Neck:
For years that necklace has hung heavy with claimed lives. Now that Naruto wears it so proudly, she thinks the weight pressing down on her is a little lighter.
Hands:
It's unfortunate Orochimaru's flunky interrupted them. She wanted to get at least one good slap-across-the-face in before she set about tearing him apart. Finally, her hands might have done some good.
Blood:
She overcomes her fear of blood to save the little punk. She might die here, like this, in the heat of a battle twenty years too late. She overcomes herself, faces death like a true shinobi of the Leaf, and suddenly she feels alive.
Back:
The character on her back says 'gamble'. She doesn't gamble with other people's lives. But she does bet on their abilities.
Chest:
Her sources tell her that Jiraiya's latest has an entire chapter devoted to what can only be her cleavage. Unfortunately, the stupid bastard is three countries away, so she cracks her knuckles and waits for him to come back. He's one of the few people she can be sure will.
Lips (reprise):
She kissed him, Dan, on the forehead, because she loved him. It was her blessing for his dream, a promise to share him with the village, and protect it with him.
Fingers:
She forces her fingers to stop shaking. She forces her entire body to stop trembling. She'll prove it to him, as the grandaughter of the First Hokage, as a student of Sarutobi-sensei. She too, inherited the will of Fire.
Elbow:
She takes Shizune with her, has the girl at her elbow almost all the time. They both know what it feels like to have the last of your family ripped away.
Tongue:
You can't smell the blood with sake on your tongue. The burning sensation is real and now, and even if one night's drinking won't let you forget forever, maybe a permanent drunken stupor will.
Ear:
Distantly, she heard the men of her previous life; distantly, she heard Kabuto's half-dead gloating; distantly, she heard Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Ringing in her ears the most clearly is her own voice, begging some dying brat with more guts than she ever had. Don't die. You have to live. For your dreams.
Head:
She's been saving up her chakra, in that little blue diamond. She's been keeping away her faith, in that little green pendant. It's about time to move forward.
Eyes:
Sakura has the same eyes she does. Sakura has the eyes of a girl who has been left behind, abandoned for a place she can't follow. She has the eyes of a woman who won't let that stop her.
Lips (outro):
She kisses him, Naruto, on the forehead, because he's going to be Hokage someday. You can bet on it.