Hello again.

I wanted to at least get the two to meet each other before I called it a night. So here's chapter 2.

"Where IS she, ero-sennin?" Naruto asked. "You said she'd be in this town tonight."

Jiraiya was pondering the same thing. "Well Tsunade wouldn't have traveled as fast as we were, and this is the only town for miles, so she either came here or is camping out somewhere, and knowing Tsunade, she needs sake every day if she's traveling, and she already would have drank all of the sake she packed on the first day, so she has to be here." Jiraiya concluded.

Naruto blanched, and looked at Jiraiya. "Wow ero-sennin. That actually made sense. I guess you're not a stupid ero-sennin at least."

Jiraiya sighed as he stopped looking around for Tsunade and looked at Naruto. "Kid, even in the way you refer to me, I'm an ero-sennin. Sages are not stupid you little brat." He ruffled Naruto's hair a bit before looking for Tsunade again.

Naruto had already dispelled the twenty shadow clones he made to look for Tsunade. He had looked in every inn he could find, but to no avail. She wasn't even out in the streets. Then again, he was going off what Jiraiya told him to look for, which was for a, "really old blonde woman with the biggest, most perfect sets of breasts a man could ever want to touch."

Jiraiya had checked all the bars but shockingly came up empty. He figured between him and Naruto that they checked every place she would have been. He noticed a lot of little kids running around even with the sun almost completely set, meaning this was a kid-friendly town, which meant the town probably didn't have casinos or any shady institutions. If Tsunade managed to find an underground gambling site, they weren't going to find her if they searched all night.

Jiraiya was actually putting some real effort into finding Tsunade; he and Naruto had already spent three weeks on this goose chase. He had not kept up to date with his spy network, and the only plus he could see out of the entire trip was that Naruto had mastered two of the three steps to the rasengan. But most importantly, he had not visited a brothel in three weeks. THREE WEEKS.

"Ero-sennin." Naruto said, pulling Jiraiya out of his thoughts. "Since we can't find her, I think we should get a room or something before it gets completely dark out." Jiraiya could find no fault in that logic. "I remember seeing a really good inn not too far from here while I was looking for Tsunade-san."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the last word Naruto said. "Tsunade-san? What the heck? Since when do you respect people you little brat."

Naruto shifted his feet, and gave the reply, "Well Tsunade-san's a sannin, right?" Jiraiya nodded. "Orochimaru may have been the biggest jerk I've ever seen, but there was no doubting that he was crazy strong. You might be an ero-sennin, but you're probably really strong too." Jiraiya looked very smug at this. "It's not that hard to believe that she would be equally as strong as you guys."

Jiraiya chuckled. Oh Naruto, you have no idea how strong Tsunade is. No idea at all...

"Yeah Naruto, she's plenty strong. But I'm a little miffed at how she gets so much respect from you and I get nothing. Tsunade gambles, has a drinking problem, anger management issues, is physically violent, is under a genjutsu to hide how she really looks, and won't allow herself to be found by us!" Jiraiya basically yelled at the end of his rant.

Naruto chuckled. "Ero-sennin, I-- (insert stomach growling noise here)."

Jiraiya laughed uproariously. "Hungry huh, you little brat." Naruto looked away sheepishly. "Yeah, we haven't eaten anything since we stopped for lunch what, eight hours ago?" Naruto nodded. "Ok, well it just so happens that we're standing right in front of a family restaurant!" Naruto looked to his left, and wouldn't you know it, they were. He realized that he should pay more attention to what was around him. It certainly would help him in the long run, being a shinobi and all that.

Jiraiya grinned when Naruto looked to his left; the kid had no idea that they were right in front of a restaurant. He'd have to use this to one up the brat later. "Well brat, I did beat you to the town, so if you wanna grab some food, let's go!" Jiraiya said.

Naruto only shook his head as he walked into the restaurant, with a still grinning Jiraiya right behind him. "Ok brat, go get us a tabl---TSUNADE!" Jiraiya exclaimed pointing his finger at a table occupied by a woman.

The blond woman at the table perked up at hearing her name, and when she saw who it was, she couldn't suppress her shock. "Jiraiya? What are you doing here?"

Naruto was flabbergasted. THAT was Tsunade? He thought all the sannin were fifty years old. That blond lady looked like she was still in her twenties for crying out loud. How is she a sannin?

Naruto decided to voice his thoughts. "Ero-sennin, aren't the sannin supposed to be fifty years old?" Jiraiya looked at Naruto, a little confused. "Yeah, so?" Naruto then replied, "Well that lady over there doesn't look fifty."

Jiraiya laughed at this, and gave Naruto a mild noogie. "I said she was under a genjutsu to hide her real appearance, remember?"

Naruto did a mental facepalm. 'Oh yeah...'

Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's back. "Come on kid, let's go over to Tsunade's table. Maybe you'll luck out and she'll pay dinner for us."

Naruto snorted. Yeah right. If she's anything like you, she'll make me pay for her too.

Jiraiya and Naruto sat down across from Tsunade. A waiter quickly came by, gave the two a glass of water, and asked if they were ready to order. Jiraiya began to skim through the menu as Naruto asked what ramen flavors they had.

The waiter looked contrite as he replied, "I'm sorry, but we do not have ramen on our menu."

Naruto was in shock. Full fledged shock. What kind of restaurant doesn't serve ramen? This broke the second of his three absolute laws of the universe: that all restaurants serve at least one flavor of ramen. Then again, his first law was that he would love Sakura-chan until the end of his days. He believed that the first law would be broken someday too. So basically in one day, his entire universe was turning inside out.

"Oh Kami..." Naruto groaned. "You don't serve ramen here? What am I supposed to eat? Huh?"

The waiter looked slightly miffed. "I am sorry that we don't serve ramen here, but please do take a look at our menu. There are several dishes that I am sure you will find to your liking."

Naruto didn't think so, but he looked at the menu anyways. Sure enough, nothing jumped out at him. Shaking his head, he began to wonder what he was going to do for dinner.

During the entire exchange, Tsunade was slightly grinning to herself. Kami, he looked exactly like Nawaki did. Same attitude too. Nawaki loved tonkatsu as much as this kid seems to love ramen. Maybe...

Tsunade intervened on the waiter's behalf. "Waiter, one order of tonkatsu for the brat here."

The waiter nodded, and Naruto just about exploded. "What?! You can't order for me! I have to pay for my own meal! I'm going to get what I want! Waiter-san, five bowls of miso ramen please."

The waiter by now was getting exasperated. "Once again, we don't serve ramen here. Please do try the tonkatsu; it is a dish that our restaurant does quite well, if I do say so myself."

Naruto was about to send a retort when Jiraiya cut him off. "Naruto, ever wonder why you're so darn short?" Naruto nodded. "You only eat ramen, you little brat. You need to diversify what you eat, so you intake the right nutrients so you can grow taller. Healthier too for that matter. Now eat the tonkatsu. Jeez, it won't kill you." Naruto leaned back into his seat, clearly unhappy with the whole mess.

Jiraiya sighed. "I'll pay for your tonkatsu Naruto, so can you enjoy it now?" Naruto looked up, and he nodded vigorously. "Of course, you're still going to pay for MY dinner. Waiter, three bottles of sake and two orders of curry rice for me."

The waiter nodded, and left. Naruto stood up from his seat and loomed over Jiraiya, pointing his finger at him. "What the heck ero-sennin! Are you trying to bleed me dry? I had no idea you ate so much, or I never would have accepted that stupid deal!"

Jiraiya put his right hand on Naruto's head, and forced him to sit down. "Jeez brat, my meal costs less than five bowls of miso ramen, so what's got your panties in a knot?" Naruto looked away, mumbling about old perverts needing to get drunk to feel young again.

Jiraiya was about to show Naruto how young he exactly was via a painful punch to the face when Tsunade intervened on Naruto's behalf. "So Jiraiya, who's the brat."

Jiraiya shifted his focus to Tsunade. "He's Uzumaki Naruto, the number one most hyperactive knucklehead ninja in all of Konoha," he finished with a grin.

Tsunade perked up at hearing the surname, and looked at Naruto seriously for the first time. "Uzumaki? So he's..."

Jiraiya put up a hand to stop her. "Yep. He's that."

Tsunade shook her head and took another shot of sake. That was only her second one, so she still had a ways to go yet before she'd start yelling and throwing chairs around. Besides, this time, Jiraiya was here, so the damage she could do would be limited. Grinning at this knowledge, she immediately took her third shot of sake.

Jiraiya noticing this, immediately said, "I'm not paying for the damages."

Tsunade smirked. "You wuss." She took her fourth shot of sake. "So what brings you to the outskirts of Konoha?"

Jiraiya decided it was time to be serious. "You know that Orochimaru led an attack on Konoha and killed Sarutobi-sensei?"

Tsunade looked away, pouring herself a fifth shot, but not drinking it right away. "Yeah I heard." She noticed Naruto looking down dejectedly, with the hint of tears in his eyes.

Jiraiya was about to reply when the waiter arrived. "Here is your sake, sir." The waiter put three bottles of sake on their table, and gave Jiraiya a shot glass. "Your meal will arrive shortly." The waiter left to take the orders from another table.

Jiraiya poured himself a shot of sake, and drank it, reveling in the pleasure that was alcohol. "Ahhh, good stuff." He poured himself another shot. Picking it up, he turned to Tsunade. "The village needs a new hokage, Tsunade. The council has determined that it will be you. They sent Naruto and me to bring you back to Konoha so you can begin your reign of terror as the Godaime Hokage."

Tsunade finished her sixth shot of sake and stared at Jiraiya impassively. Naruto did not take this news impassively. "SHE'S THE NEXT HOKAGE?! I THOUGHT WE CAME TO GET HER SO SHE CAN FIX KAKASHI-SENSEI AND SASUKE! What the heck ero-sennin! Didn't you say she gambles a lot? And look at her, she's already on her seventh shot of sake, so she obviously has drinking issues. And--"

"No thanks. I decline." Tsunade said.

"And, and....eh?" Naruto finished lamely.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Those words sound familiar. I recall you using them when I asked you out all those years ago."

Tsunade smirked. Naruto blanched.

"Why don't you want to be hokage?" He asked. For the love of kami-sama, he couldn't fathom why anyone would turn down the opportunity to be hokage. Hell, he'd wear the hat right now if the council gave it to him.

Tsunade shrugged. She was already slowing down. 'Eight shots and I'm already like this? Oh this night is going to suck...' "I have no love for that village."

Naruto's shock at why someone would refuse to be hokage was quickly dissipating into righteous anger. "How can you not love your village? Ero-sennin told me that you were the granddaughter of the first hokage! It's basically your village. How can you hate it? How can you not want to be hokage? If they asked me to do it, I'd say yes in a heartbeat and be the hokage right away." Naruto all but shouted the last few words.

Tsunade blocked him out as best she could, but she couldn't block out the words he was shouting at the end. "..be the hokage right away." 'Oh Kami-sama...'

Tsunade gave her full attention to Naruto. "So brat, you want to be hokage or something?"

Naruto nodded and gave Tsunade his trademark smile. "Yep! I'm going to be the greatest hokage that ever lived!"

Tsunade flinched and physically moved back into her chair. She had heard those exact words from the two most important males in her life. To see someone who looks so much like Nawaki say those words to her again was something she did not want. It brought back the worst memories of her life. The memories of their deaths. In Nawaki's case, his bloodied body brought back to the morgue, barely recognizable. In Dan's case, her failing to save his life, even with all of her supposedly legendary medical jutsu. The memory of his blood on her hands was something she could never forget.

The table had fallen into an uncomfortable silence at the end of Naruto's declaration. Tsunade was idly drinking shots when she was in the mood, Jiraiya was doing much of the same thing except he was additionally scoping out the restaurant for attractive women. Naruto was lost in his own thoughts.

The waiter came back with the food to break the table out of its reverie. "Here you are sir," he said as he handed Jiraiya his curry rice. "And here you are," He said as he handed Naruto his plate of tonkatsu.

Jiraiya grinned over at Naruto. "Well kid, thanks for the meal," as he greedily dug into his plate.

Naruto tried a piece of his tonkatsu, and realized the thing tasted GREAT. Not quite miso ramen level, but it might beat out shrimp ramen. He came to the conclusion that this 'tonkatsu' was quite edible and delicious, and proceeded to tear through his meal at a lightning pace.

Tsunade chuckled when she saw Naruto's reaction to the tonkatsu. "So brat, taste any good?"

Naruto was stuffing his mouth with tonkatsu pieces, and consequently couldn't give a verbal reply. So he just nodded as he proceeded to choke himself to death with tonkatsu.

Naruto wolfing down tonkatsu reminded Tsunade of when Nawaki used to do the same thing. She loved her little brother dearly, and the memory brought a faint smile to her lips. Drinking does help recalling the good old days, after all.

After about five minutes, Naruto was done with his dinner. He leaned back, very satisfied with the meal. He was nowhere near full, but he decided he'd order some more after he digested what he already ate. Jiraiya wasn't even done with his first plate, but he looked like he was savoring his meal rather than pretend to be in an eating contest.

Tsunade was already getting a buzz, and was getting quite bored of just watching the two of them eat. She pulled out a deck of cards, and asked if Jiraiya wanted to play a hand. If she wins, Jiraiya lends her some capital for gambling purposes. If Jiraiya won, she'd listen to what he had to say before telling him 'no.' Jiraiya agreed, and Tsunade began to shuffle.

It was then that a young girl with short black hair walked into the restaurant. She had on a black kimono, with a white undershirt. She would have looked perfectly plain had it not been for the small pig cradled in her arms. She looked around, and found the familiar blond hair that her master had.

"Tsunade-Sama! The veterinarian said that Tonton is perfectly fine, and that there's no need to worry about her leg," she yelled as she ran over to the table.

Tsunade looked up during her shuffling. "Oh Shizune, Tonton's ok then?"

Shizune slowed down as she approached the table. She noticed that there were two people sitting with her teacher. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the older man was none other than the toad sage, Jiraiya-sama, and she proceeded to introduce herself.

"Jiraiya-sama! It is a pleasure to meet you." Shizune said and bowed.

Jiraiya stopped eating for a second to look up at Shizune. He recognized her as Dan's niece. She had grown up a lot since he saw her last fourteen years ago. However, he thought she remained a part of the civilian population of the village. He was shocked to see her traveling with Tsunade.

His train of thought next led him to his super pervert ways. He checked her out, and was sorely disappointed. Shizune had not filled out at all. She might have been a B-cup at the very highest, and had nowhere near the sex appeal her goddess of a teacher had.

"Good evening, Shizune." Jiraiya replied. "I had no idea that you left the village with Tsunade. I thought you remained a part of the civilian population of the village."

Shizune blushed, and gave her reply, absently stroking Tonton's neck while doing so. "After Uncle Dan's death, I had no family left in Konoha. Tsunade-sama was the only family I had left. I had no desire to be put into an orphanage, so I begged Tsunade-sama to let me follow her. It took some doing, but I managed to get her to say yes."

Jiraiya nodded, realizing that that made perfect sense. Dan was a jounin, and there was no way Shizune wouldn't be a ninja. "Well Shizune, why don't you take a seat and order something?"

Shizune smiled. "I'd be glad to Jiraiya-sama, though I have a question. Who is that sleeping boy to your right?"

Jiraiya looked to his right, and wouldn't you know it, Naruto fell asleep. It was pretty late; well past the kid's normal bed time. He chuckled to himself. 'Kid's still a little brat. I forget that at times...'

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and started to lightly shake him. "Naruto, wake up. Wake up you little brat." Naruto proceeded to start snoring. Shizune giggled at this, wondering who the cute little boy was. Jiraiya, realizing his efforts were getting him nowhere, proceeded to pull out the ultimate Naruto alarm clock. He bent over, and whispered in Naruto's ear, "All you can eat free miso ramen."

Naruto shot up awake instantly, looking around excitedly for the free ramen. When there was none, and he only saw a laughing Jiraiya, Naruto was seething, and said, "GAH. Ero-sennin! Why did you wake me up? And where's my free all you can eat miso ramen?"

Tsunade laughed out loud when she realized what Jiraiya did to get him to wake up. Shizune's giggles escalated into a soft laughter of her own when she too realized what happened. Turning his head towards Tsunade, Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I guess there's no free ramen, huh." Then he turned his head towards the other source of laughter.

What he saw was a lightly laughing girl who looked to be a couple years older than him. She had a pig cradled in her arms, and she was wearing a plain black kimono. But that wasn't what Naruto was looking at. No, his attention was fixated on her smile. Her smile was more endearing than any he'd ever seen before. It was full of amusement and warmth. Just by looking at her smile Naruto began to feel warm inside, and strangely enough, very happy. He couldn't describe what he was feeling. Never in his life had he seen anything so beautiful. 'Holy cow...who, is she?' Naruto thought.

Shizune stopped her laughing to introduce herself to the little boy. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. 'Must be because I'm holding a pig in my arms.' Shizune mused. She kept her smile up and introduced herself to the little blond. "Hello there. My name's Shizune, and this little piglet here is Tonton. Say hi, Tonton." Tonton gave a little squeal as a hello. Shizune's smile got brighter after Tonton said 'hi' to Naruto. Tonton was awfully shy, and for her to greet anyone without running away was a major accomplishment. Turning her smile to Naruto, she asked him, "And what's your name?"

Naruto, transfixed by how darn pretty she looked, could only manage his name. "Naruto..." he said. "Uzumaki...Naruto."

AN: I know it seems like it's that love at first sight thing, but it isn't. Shizune (FOR NOW) is looking at Naruto like a little boy, which he is. Naruto's reaction to Shizune is just what it is. He's just transfixed at how nice a smile she has. Think about it. In the canon up to now, the only people who've really smiled at Naruto up to this point are Iruka, the third hokage, Kakashi (with that eye smile he has), a couple of his friends (of which none are female), and Jiraiya. So for someone like Naruto, who was abused all his life, to see a feminine smile for the first time, and a pretty one at that, let alone earnest, would be quite a shocker. Especially because the smile was directed at him. At least, that's how I wanted it intrepreted.

Next chapter should be up in the next day or two. Reviews always welcome.