A/N: I created the name of this story by using the Japanese word for wood "mozukai" and adding the "gakure" to create the village of Mozukaigakure. (You will find out later why it has this special name!) If any of you don't know, Tsunade and Jiraiya are by far my favorite characters and them as a couple is so cute! Tsunade is about 33 and Shizune is 10.
IMPORTANT: I want to thank Ability King KK for his suggestion. Because of his suggestion, there has been an important plot change regarding who knows the secret and who doesn't.
Summary: Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune have kept a big secret for many years, so what will happen when the Hokage finds out about their secret?
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS!
Chapter 1: Prologue
After the death of Dan and Nawaki, Tsunade takes Shizune and they set out to go where they please…or so you think. After out of sight, Tsunade takes Shizune to a secret entrance that leads to the Senju Compound.
"Shh! Be very quiet Shizune!" Tsunade was not going to risk being caught.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" even though Shizune has been apprenticed to Tsunade for years and they have a mother/daughter relationship, Shizune still insists on using honorifics. Our favorite blonde led her student to what looked like a tree stump. "Uh… Tsunade-sama, what are we doing?"
"I will explain once we get there." Shizune trusted Tsunade with her life and was okay with her answer. Tsunade then proceeded to lift up the trunk and revealed a very deep hole. "Now, follow me, and be careful. I haven't been through this tunnel in a while, so it could have collapsed."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune oh so diligently replied. They both jumped into the hole, and Tsunade made sure to slide the trunk back into place and also put a sealing jutsu on the stump to make sure nobody could follow them. The tunnel had not caved in at all; it was almost in perfect condition, which meant there was enough room for them to walk comfortably side by side. After walking for about a mile or so, the tunnel came to an end; actually it came to a door. Tsunade carefully turned the handle and pushed on the door. As the two kunoichi stepped out, the younger one was awestruck at the sight in front of her. Low and behold stood the Senju Clan Mansion which was several stories tall and stretched from one side of the yard to the other, almost looking like a giant gate. It actually was a gate, since you had to go through it to get to the rest of the Compound.
"Where are we?" Shizune had never been here before, but it was beautiful. The trees were several hundred years old and had grown into very, very, very tall trees.
"This is my Clan's home, the Senju Compound" Tsunade was proud as she said this, her clan's compound was way bigger than any other clans' in the village of Konohagakure, even though this compound wasn't actually in Konoha's borders. Only a Senju and the Hokage knew its exact location, so any outsider rarely got to see it, unless one of the clansmen showed them.
"It is so beautiful, but Tsunade-sama, may I ask why we are here?"
"I don't favor living in Konoha if the Council is going to take advantage of Sarutobi-Sensei's position of Hokage, plus the place I am about to show you is a whole hell of a lot nicer and friendlier place." Tsunade advanced towards her childhood home, and once Shizune snapped out of her daydream of the place Tsunade was going to show her, she ran to catch up with the Slug Princess. Tsunade walked through the main mansion and exited out the back door, by doing so, your eyes would land on the amazing sight of Mozukaigakure, or The Village Hidden in the Wood.
"This is Mozukaigakure, a separate village created by and for and Senju clansmen with approval from the Fire Daimyo." Tsunade explained to her student, Shizune.
"Really? Why did they create their own village? Did they not like Konoha?" Shizune was confused; she had thought Konoha was a decent place to live.
"Let's find a spot to sit down and I can explain why this village was formed."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" The two walked through the village for a few minutes before finding a bench near a park where little kids where running around. Shizune noticed that as they progressed through the village, some of the older clansmen bowed to them, or more specifically, bowed to Tsunade.
"Alright, so when Konoha was first founded by my grandfather, Hashirama Senju, the Clan was a big part of the village, seeing as it was the biggest clan in Konoha, and it still is today. Although the Compound has changed since then, but we will get to that later." At that point, one of the kids from the park ran over to the pair and Tsunade placed the young boy in her lap. "During the Second Shinobi World War, the council sent all of the higher-ranking Senju ninja on Suicide or other missions that would have high fatalities, but some clans, like the Uchiha Clan, got simple missions like village patrol. Many Senju lost their lives in that war, including my Grandfather, my uncle Tobi, and my younger brother" Shizune was cautiously eyeing her mentor, Tsunade never talks about her brother, and now it didn't seem to even faze her that she mentioned him. The little boy in Tsunade's lap was listening intently to the story, and Shizune had no idea who he was and just assumed Tsunade knew the boy.
"The council then deemed that our losses were too great and only put a few names on the Memorial Stone in Konoha, some of which were my grandfather, my uncle and Nawaki. To honor the Senju shinobi who lost their lives in war, the wall surrounding the Senju's cemetery has each and every name of any Senju who has lost their lives in the line of duty carved on the inside. As a clan, we felt we were not appreciated by the village as a whole, so some of the higher-ranking ninja of our Clan and me, since I was the heir, decided during a meeting that we were going to ask the Fire Daimyo for permission to create a secret village in the Compound. He agreed as long as 1% of the money our village earns goes to Konohagakure since we were originally part of that village. Since we would no longer venture into Konoha, we had to adapt out new village so it could support us. We had to build a lot of stores and markets, and those who grew gardens were given more land to be able to grow more crops for the entire village. Also, the main entrance to the compound that comes off of a discreet path in Konoha has been sealed off, so nobody except for the Hokage, Jiraiya, and me can open it. Since the day we created Mozukaigakure, everyone just thought the Senju had died off during the war, and that I was the sole survivor. Only three non-Senju members know of this place, and have or will be sworn to secrecy: you, the Hokage, and Jiraiya.
"*Gasp* Really?" Shizune was honored that Tsunade would trust her with such a big secret.
"Yes, and you must promise that you will never speak of this place unless I say you can or you are in Mozukaigakure. We want our village to remain a secret to Konoha and the world for certain reasons, and by failing to keep your promise by telling others of our home you will be viewed as a traitor and depending on the amount of information you give away, you could be executed." Tsunade was dead serious as she said this, and Shizune made a mental note to never, ever speak of this village.
"Tsunade-sama, you have my word, I promise to never speak about Mozukaigakure. May I ask a question?"
"Of course" Tsunade replied.
"Why did you show me this place? And why did the older members bow to you?"
"Well, I brought you here because we are most likely going to live here from now on, and they bow to me because I am the oldest member of the Clan and therefore I am the head of the Senju Clan."
"We are going to live here! This is great! Do they have any girls my age? Do you think they will like me? Where are we going to be staying? Is Jiraiya-sama going to live here as well?" Shizune was very excited, and Tsunade was amused by her actions because Shizune was jumping up and down and firing of questions like there is no tomorrow!
Tsunade put her hand on Shizune's shoulders to prevent her from bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Whoa, slow down Shizune! To answer your questions: yes there are girls your age here, yes I think they will like you, we will be staying in the main mansion, and yes Jiraiya is going to live here. Oh! That's another thing I was going to tell you!" The two kunoichi had been sitting there for a while; it was almost time for supper. The little boy who had been sitting in Tsunade's lap had been called by his mother, so Tsunade set him down and watched with a smile as he ran over to his waving mother, then she waved back to her.
"Okay so as I was saying earlier, Jiraiya will be staying with us. Another secret that not many people know, including Sarutobi-sensei, is that Jiraiya and I are a couple. It isn't too serious yet, like husband and wife, but we have thought about having children." Tsunade smiled at the thought of being a mother. "We better go home; Jiraiya probably has supper about ready." Tsunade stood up and led Shizune to their new home, well, Shizune's new home.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Hey Jiraiya, we are home." Tsunade said as she stepped into the kitchen
"Well good timing, the food just came out of the oven." Jiraiya smiled as the couple shared a quick peck on the lips before all three sat down at the table.
"I take it you told her?" Jiraiya asked as they dug into the meal Jiraiya had prepared: Yakitori with a side of Onigiri and some fresh vegetables.
"I told her the first part, but I was going to wait until we were all together to tell her the second part." Tsunade replied. Shizune was confused as to what they were talking about.
Jiraiya then turned to face Shizune, "So Tsunade-hime has told you we are a couple and might start a family in the near future? Shizune happily smiled and nodded in response.
"Well," Tsunade started, "we discussed this thoroughly and we were thinking about getting a head start on our family. So we would like to know your thoughts about us adopting you as our daughter." Shizune's eyes widened, she could not believe her ears. The two people in front of her wanted her as their daughter!
"Yes! I would love that! Thank you!" Shizune had tears running down her face, but they were tears of joy. She jumped out of her chair and then went and hugged the two Sanin in front of her. The new family finished their meal and cleaned their dishes so they could go to bed. Shizune burst into tears of joy again as her new parents showed her, her room. They had personalized Shizune's room already. Shizune's favorite color was a deep purple, but since that was too dark for the walls it was her second favorite color, teal. Her carpet was white with a big, dark purple rug. The bedframe and dressers were made of a fine oak wood and her bed had teal sheets with a dark purple comforter and decorative pillows. Her name was also engraved on her door. Shizune hugged her parents again before saying goodnight so she could put away her things, which had been all sealed into a scroll and been placed in her pocket. The two Sanin retreated back to their room where they decided they could talk more about having children tomorrow and promptly fell asleep on their heavenly soft bed.
A/N: That was a long chapter (for me anyway! I normally write little drabbles)! This is a new story I'm trying out so please review and tell me what you did or didn't like and what you'd like to see more or less of! Thanks!
Next time: Starting A Family? - Shizune meets new friends and we get a better look at the Senju Clan! :)