Chapter 2—The First Fracture
Tsunade had hardly been waiting a minute at the meeting place when someone came up behind her and embraced her. His body pressed against her back as he leaned down and whispered, "Good to see you again, Tsunade." She closed her eyes, enjoying the sound of his voice, but a moment later she felt him tense and before she knew what was happening, her feet left the ground.
Orochimaru jumped back, taking Tsunade with him, and three kunai struck the ground where they had been standing. A female ANBU ninja named Inko jumped down from the trees.
"Let go of her, now!" she ordered.
Orochimaru obeyed and stepped away from Tsunade. Tsunade turned to look at him, terrified for a moment that he might not be in disguise, but he was still dressed as an ANBU, and more than that, his distinctive white skin was completely covered as well, and his long hair was tied back. Even Tsunade, who knew who was wearing the mask, would not have guessed that this man was Orochimaru if she had not heard his voice. She was relieved until Inko spoke again.
"Who are you?" she demanded of Orochimaru. He did not answer. "Take off your mask," she said. He did not move.
Inko then addressed Tsunade. "Lady Hokage, please move away from him. I don't think this guy is really a Leaf ninja."
Tsunade ignored her and continued to stare at Orochimaru, silently and desperately hoping that this would not come to a fight. Though she knew Orochimaru had killed many Leaf ninja before, she had never actually been present during the battles. If she ever were, she would have to choose a side, and that was not a decision she was ready to make.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Inko's shout jarred her, pulling her from her thoughts and back to the situation at hand. Tsunade took a few steps back, moving away from them both. Inko focused again on Orochimaru and demanded once more that he remove his mask. "This is your last warning," she said, reaching for another kunai.
To Tsunade's alarm, Orochimaru sighed and reached for the mask. She turned away and closed her eyes. This is it, she thought. I don't know what to do!
Orochimaru removed the mask. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm a little confused. Have I done something wrong?"
Tsunade's eyes snapped open. The voice was unfamiliar. Slowly she turned back to the man who had been holding her a minute earlier. His long black hair was the same, but every other feature was that of a stranger. She simultaneously sighed in relief and shivered uncomfortably.
"Who are you?" Inko asked again.
"My name is Tenshi," he lied. "I'm from Iwagakure. I was just visiting for the festival. You see, I'm an old friend of Tsunade's." He smiled at his "old friend" and she caught a familiar, scheming glint in his eyes. She smiled as well.
"Yes, he came all this way to see me," Tsunade said lightly. "Surely you saw us talking at the festival dance. It's been so long since we've seen each other; we must have spent most of the night together."
"Why are you impersonating an ANBU?" Inko asked sharply. Tsunade looked to Orochimaru, anxious for his excuse.
"What, this?" He held up the mask. "It's just a costume. It was a masquerade, wasn't it? I certainly didn't mean to cause any…" He locked eyes with Tsunade. "…Trouble."
Tsunade suddenly felt frustrated to the point of anger with the unfortunate situation. Everything had been going so well until this happened. She rounded on the intrusive ANBU member.
"As you can surely see by now, there's no problem here," Tsunade said. "You should go back to your duties."
"But Lady Hokage–" Inko objected.
"That's an order! There's no problem here, and if there was, I could handle it myself."
"…Yes, Lady Hokage." Inko shot one last suspicious glance at "Tenshi" from behind her mask and disappeared.
Tsunade and Orochimaru waited a few seconds, remaining still and silent before Tsunade grabbed Orochimaru's wrist and began pulling him away from the village.
"Wait, Tsunade, what are you doing?" Orochimaru said as he ran after her to avoid having his arm pulled off. His voice already sounded more normal. Tsunade stopped abruptly and turned around, pulling Orochimaru forward so that he ran into her. "Shh," she whispered, holding him close. "Keep the disguise on for now." She pulled away and continued running. Orochimaru followed.
They ran on in silence away from Konoha until Orochimaru realized they were not yet alone. "Tsunade…" he said quietly.
"I know," she murmured back. Inko had not given up so easily. She was following silently, and at a careful distance, but the two Sannin were not fooled. Orochimaru started forming hand signs, careful to keep them out of view of their pursuer. But Tsunade saw them.
"…Don't–" she said, but he cut her off.
"Don't worry. I'm not doing anything bad." He summoned a small snake and sent it off into the trees away from them, but not before attaching an exploding tag to its back. A minute later the tag ignited and a small explosion shook the trees a short distance off to the side of where they were running. At the same time, Orochimaru grabbed Tsunade and stopped her. Without a word, he held her body against his and they began to sink into the ground, gone before the explosion had dissipated.