"Pour me another."
"But you've already had four-"
"Did I ask you to count? Or did I ask you to refill my glass?"
"The latter. I'm just worried about you. You hardly ever drink, and certainly never this much. Is something going on?"
"You know, it surely is a mystery how all I asked was for you to pour me another fucking drink, yet, the glass still remains empty."
"I just-"
"Shizune, if one more word comes out of your mouth defying me, so help me God, your termination of employment letter will be on your desk faster than you can blink."
The room falls silent except for the sound of sake being poured into the empty glass.
"Thank you. Please send for Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura. I need to speak with them immediately."
"Of course. As you wish, Lady Tsunade."
Her office door quietly closes behind a trembling and teary-eyed Shizune.
The blonde haired woman lets out a deep sigh. She picks up the glass, walks toward her favorite window, and sits on the sill. Gazing at the sun setting over the horizon of her beautiful village, she brings the glass to her lips and throws it back. The bitter sake burns her throat once more. The sensation is nothing compared to the inferno of sorrow burning within her heart.
Shizune was right, Hokage Tsunade never drank. All of her family members were alcoholics, and one by one, she witnessed the plant's poison lead all of her closest loved ones to a path of self-destruction; her father included. A childhood saturated with dark memories of verbal, mental, and physical abuse plagued her thoughts throughout the day and her dreams throughout the night. She and her mother traveled to the deepest depths of Hell at at expense of her father's drunkenness. At the age of eight, after her father's death of liver failure, she swore to herself she would never become like her father, and she would be the one to break the vicious cycle of an ancestral alcohol addiction.
The blonde haired Hokage bites her lip as she tries to fight back tears. The room starts mildly spinning as she closes her eyes. Crying is for the weak, and Hokages must never, under any circumstances, show weakness. To do so would disgrace not only the name, but all the previous Hokages before her.
The three most reiterated rules of being Hokage: always protect your people, always love your people, and always remain strong for your people.
If one cannot live up to those expectations, it is one's duty to relinquish the position to someone who can. One thing is for damn sure: she would give up her own life before ever giving up being the Hokage of Konoha.
A knocking at her door brings Tsunade out of her thoughts and back to reality. Being mindful to slowly stand so she doesn't fall over, she carefully makes her way back to her desk.
"Enter," She calls, pouring herself another glass of sake.
Shizune enters. "Lady Tsunade, Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura are here for you. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long. That Hatake Kakashi is a hard man to find sometimes."
A small smile plays on Tsunade's lips as she nods in agreement. "That he is. Thank you, Shizune. Please show them in."
"Of course, Lady Tsunade."
"Oh, and Shizune?"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade?"
"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I'm just under a lot of stress at the moment."
Their eyes meet and Shizune's face softens with compassion. Knowing better than to continue the conversation, she offers the distressed Hokage a knowing smile and closes the door behind her.
Not even a few moments later, another comes knocking at her door. Tsunade quickly shoots the sake back, opens her desk drawer, and stashes away the glass and half empty bottle.
"Enter."
A wide-eyed Sakura and expressionless Kakashi walk through her door.
"Good Evening, Kakashi and Sakura. Please, have a seat. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"Not an inconvenience at all, Lady Hokage," Sakura says shakily. She quickly sits and smiles to try and mask her nervousness.
"What can we do for you, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asks, casually crossing his legs in the chair.
Tsunade lets out a deep sigh. "I have a very important favor to ask of you two, and you two specifically. Both of you are my most reliable, most trustworthy, and most strong-minded-" She stops mid-sentence and smiles as she meets the gaze of a very anxious Sakura before continuing, "Well, some of my most strong-minded shinobi."
She walks toward the window and holds her hands behind her back.
"A devastating matter was brought to my attention this morning. I haven't been able to think about anything other than this tragedy since I first heard word of it. It still doesn't seem real."
Kakashi and Sakura lock eyes and exchange the same look.
Tsunade looks back at the confused shinobi and asks, "Have either of you heard of the village, Nervasia?"
They both simultaneously shake their heads.
She sighs and turns her gaze back to the window.
"That's alright, I didn't expect you to. Nervasia is two hundred miles south of here. An ancient village, built on strong paganistic traditions revolving around magic, mysticism, and all things metaphysical. No words can accurately describe the remarkable and unworldly energies Nervasia harbors."
"What do you mean, unworldly, Shishou?" Sakura asks, her voice full of wonder.
Tsunade says nothing at first, only meets Sakura's awe-struck gaze with a seriousness as she makes her way back to her chair. Clasping her hands together, she looks both Kakashi and Sakura in the eyes, takes in a deep breath, and speaks in a tone so firm, so quiet, and so monotonous, goosebumps cover the arms of the two shinobis sitting before her.
"I've seen things happen in that village that are never supposed to happen on this physical plane, things you only read in books and hear in old folk-tales. With my own two eyes, I've seen a schizophrenic woman become sane, a child dying of cancer be restored to full health, a deceased man be brought back to life, and a living man fall to his grave all because of a mere stare from one of the village's elders.
"The energies are so overpowering, so riveting, so godlike, I genuinely believed I crossed over to a different plane. It felt like a dream. But it wasn't. It was real. I haven't traveled there in quite some time, since I was an adolescent girl. A two hundred mile trip would keep me away from Konoha for far too long, but I've prioritized maintaining a strong alliance with Nervasia. They've blessed this village in more ways than I could ever imagine. I promised our devout loyalty and assistance if the time ever came."
Both Kakashi and Sakura raise an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Nervasia's laws on its practices are strict, and those partaking in any practice with evil intent are immediately executed. For hundreds upon hundreds of ears, no sort of corruption has risen above their prohibitions. That is, until now. A group of dark magic practitioners disguised as common villagers are said to be offering some sort of "potion" while giving readings to induce clients into a state of unconsciousness, which has resulted in the deaths of numerous people, including one of Nervasia's most respected elders. They call themselves the LaVeyans. I know it sounds as if this should have no relevance to Konoha, but it does. Many years ago, an agreement between Konoha and Nervasia was made: in order to ensure the everlasting safety of this village and its people, they casted a spell upon Konoha to ensure it would forever remain in the same exact state as Nervasia. Because of this, we were blessed with some of their remarkable abilities, all ranging from our healing touches to our combat skills. With that being said, if Nervasia is overtaken by corrupted forces…"
Tsunade's voice catches in her throat. She tightly closes her eyes and clenches her fist to fight back tears.
"We will be, too," Kakashi and Sakura simultaneously say.
The blonde haired Hokage silently nods.
The air is heavy with silence as they all three imagine what could happen to their beloved village.
After a few moments, Tsunade opens her eyes.
"This is not a game. The fate of you, me, and all of Konoha's people is at stake. Everything we've built this village on is at risk of being in the hands of the darkest entities you could ever imagine. I know you both have fought against dark forces in missions, and I am in no way discrediting your remarkable victories from those missions. But these entities make those forces appear holy in comparison. They don't take just the cake, they take the tools used to bake the cake, the baker himself, and the entire fucking kitchen. However, I wouldn't have asked you to help me on this if I didn't think you were capable of defeating them. I've thought about and weighed all of the different possibilities, and my heart told me it was you, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake who could take this on. I've never been wrong before, and I certainly don't intend on starting now. So, it is with great confidence, hope, and immense desperation that I ask this of both of you: are you willing to accept this mission?"
The two sitting shinobis stare into the eyes of their Hokage, their hearts racing, their palms sweating, their breaths shallowing.
A moment of silence passes.
Then two.
Then three.
Then simultaneously, they both say, "Yes."