Always
A NaruSasu story
Flashback:
'Naruto, are you sure you have to do this? I mean, you don't have to go train with Jiraiya… You can stay here and work on becoming a jonin like everyone else in your class,' Naruto just looked at her with a scary fierceness and said, 'no way in hell, Granny Tsunade! I'm not gonna back out of this!' Tsunade sighed as she nodded her head begrudgingly to let him leave with Jiraiya.
Tsunade shouted out after Naruto and Jiraiya and said, 'Jiraiya! You take good care of my boy! And Naruto, when you come back, I'll have your favorite ramen shop open up a tab that you can charge to me, ok?! I love you, and be careful!'
End flashback:
Tsunade sighed. 'That was six years ago, and they still hadn't sent word when they were coming back since they came here and defeated Pain… I hope that they're both all right… I wonder how much Naruto has changed,' Tsunade thought. Just as she turnedher back, to the window, she dropped her glass of sake and gasped at the sight before her. She groped for her chair as she whispered a single name: "N… Naruto?"
*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's P.O.V.~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*
I sighed as I entered Konohagakure's gates. 'Well, here goes… hope you'll be happy to see me, Granny Tsunade… I know I'll be happy when I see you,' I thought. As I made my way up to Granny Tsunade's office, I made sure that I concealed my chakra. When I silently opened her office door, she was facing the window, so I just stood and waited for her to turn around. When she did, she did something I have never seen her do; she totally wasted her sake! Yep, she dropped a full glass of sake right onto her oriental rug behind her desk… Then, she whispered my name. I gave her my famous 'Uzumaki Cheshire Grin' and said, "Heh heh, hey there, Granny Tsunade. How've you been? Well, I hope."
*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~ Regular P.O.V.~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*
Tsunade regained her composure as she slowly wobbled her way over to Naruto. She was right in front of him before she lost it.
She gathered him-or rather, tried to gather him-in her arms, but seeing as how he'd filled out quite nicely in six years and had become very muscular, found it rather difficult as she cried, "Oh, my Heavens! You've come back! I've missed you so, Naruto Jaden Uzumaki! I can't believe you're here," Tsunade cried.
Naruto's ocean blue eyes softened as he put his arms around Tsunade as he said, "Well, I'm here, so believe it! I would ever be able to stay away from Konoha for very long. You know that all too well, Granny Tsunade… I tried to come back countless times, and every time I tried, Jiraiya would just drag me back by scruff of my neck and beat me to a pulp until I promised that I wouldn't try to leave anymore. Thankfully, for him, and me I'm not that easy to beat and I don't scar that easily… Or else you'd have given him a beating to remember, huh Granny Tsunade," Naruto joked.
Tsunade just laughed as she stood on her tiptoes to move his-no longer unruly- hair out of his face as she stroked Naruto's cheek with her thumb.
Naruto leaned into the touch as he sighed and said aloud, "I'm… home…"
Tsunade swallowed the lump in her throat as she managed to say before her voice cracked, "Yes, you are, Naruto. Finally, you're home, where you belong."
As the two were catching up, Tsunade finally asked about her young Junchuriki's hair. "What happened to those crazy sun-spikes I got so used to seeing, Naruto?"
Naruto just sighed as he rubbed at his hair and said, "Well, I let it grow out and all of the spikes just… went soft and feathery; no more natural miniature liberty spikes after that. However, I'm in need of a haircut; it's getting too long… It's almost touching my shoulders, but… I actually kinda like it, don't you Granny Tsunade?"
Tsunade just smiled and said, "Of course I do! You look even more handsome than when you left, Naruto… You look just like him now, you now that? Except your hair is more luscious and feminine-like… You ever looked at a picture of your father and put up a picture of you right next to it? You're almost a spitting image now that you're getting older…"
Naruto just blushed and looked down at his tattered ninja sandals and smiled sheepishly at Tsunade as he said, "Ummm…. Do you… Think I could… Get another pair? Of sandals, I mean. They're getting small, too… So is my outfit… Jiraiya tried to make a new one, but… He did a really shitty job ha ha.. So I had to keep altering and fixing my old one that I had left with by myself…"
Naruto stood up to show Tsunade for emphasis only to have her gape at him. Naruto looked around with a panicked expression that mirrored Tsunade's as he said, "W-what is it, Granny Tsunade? What's the matter?"
Tsunade's face went very stoic as she grabbed Naruto's arm and turned him around so that she could see his back. She gripped it even harder when she saw what was on it. She tried to control her voice as she ground out from behind gritted teeth, "Naruto… I am going to ask you what this…abomination on your back is, and if you lie to me, I will skin you alive. So Naruto, what is it?"
Naruto gulped as he tried to come up with something to tell her about the tattoo as he said, "It's uh… Umm… ok, ok! It's a tattoo! Please don't be mad at me; I know that I promised you before I left that I wouldn't get one, but it just happened! I honestly didn't expect to get one- you have to believe me, Granny Tsunade! Gomenasai!"
Tsunade's face softened as she let go of Naruto's lushly muscled arm and said, "Ok. That's all I wanted, Naruto. I just wanted you to tell me the truth. You're free to wander about, but! You have to accompany me to the ramen shop… do you remember the promise that I made to you before you left, Naruto? About the ramen shop?"
Naruto's eyes went wide as he recalled, "Y-yeah! You said… Umm… That when I came back, I could get a tab at Ichiraku's and have it charged to you, but… I didn't think that you'd remember! Are you still serious on that, Granny? Will you really?!"
Tsunade just smiled and nodded her head 'yes' as the two headed off to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.
A/N: soooo... tell me what you think!!! this is my first Naruto fanfic, and i was kinda shy about putting it up because i didnt' have anyone read it before i put it on here... so creative criticism is very welcome! tell me what yout hink i should improve on, or if it's fine as is! i have 40-something pages already written, but i need feedback before i add another chapter ^^