Author's note: I do not own Naruto or its characters. This is for the 30 Kisses challenge using list beta. This is slightly AU. Theme 13: Hourglass.


Yesterday

Tsunade was pretty sure she was still in shock. The events of the day had left her feeling awed, terrified, confused, furious, and exhausted. She hadn't even known there was a jutsu that could do this, and she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It had started out as an ordinary day. Things had gone fine until lunchtime. Tsunade had let Sakura talk her into going to the Ichiraku to eat, and they had been on their way there. She hadn't known what was going on. It had felt like air was almost humming. Tsunade had just barely heard the warning cry just before someone had tackled her to the ground. Jiraiya had slammed into her, rolling her body beneath his own. The wind had been knocked out of her, and Tsunade had spent the next few minutes gasping for breath, Jiraiya still on top of her. She could vaguely hear the sounds of a fight going on around them, but she was too dizzy and all her limbs were tingling to really pay attention to that.

She managed to free a hand to press to her temple. Tsunade's head was pounding, and from the way Jiraiya was breathing, she would guess that he was in pain as well. She paused a moment, staring at her hand. There was something off about her henge. She couldn't even feel the slight twinges of arthritis that she typically had. Even the adrenaline she was feeling wouldn't explain that. Her hands almost always ached a little no matter what. Jiraiya shifted and rolled off her.

Tsunade sat up, studying the parts of her body that she could see. This wasn't her henge. She looked and felt younger. It was as if her body had actually regressed. Jiraiya held out a hand to her, and she took it, looking up at him for the first time. Tsunade froze. The man standing above her was Jiraiya, but he was the spitting image of Jiraiya at age eighteen. She opened her mouth, but her voice didn't quite work.

"Hime?" His voice was concerned.

"Do you have a mirror?" She blurted it out.

Jiraiya frowned. "You look fine, Hime. In fact, you look more like you're eighteen versus being in your twenties like normal…"

His voice trailed off as he seemed to realize that something was not right.

"I'm not the only one who looks eighteen."

That was about as far as their conversation had gotten before they had gotten swept up in the chaos of ninja trying to figure out what had happened and moving to a more secure location. There were questions to be answered and tests to be run, and one way or another, Tsunade didn't get a chance to speak privately with Jiraiya. She wanted to if only because she knew that it would help her focus and calm down. Jiraiya had always had that effect on her. He also had a tendency to provoke her and make her lose her temper. But he was something familiar in all this, and Tsunade was feeling the need for comfort and stability.

As far as any of them could tell, she and Jiraiya had actually physically regressed to the point where they were eighteen again. And it looked like it was permanent. Well, they were both aging at the normal rate, but they were aging from eighteen rather than their actual ages. Time's hourglass had gone backwards and then forwards again. She didn't know how the ninja had managed it or what the point of it had been. The ninja who had carried out the attack had sucided before any of her people could get their hands on him. He had been carrying no identifying marks or equipment, so they didn't even know where the attack had originated from. It was a puzzle, and it didn't look like they were going to find a solution any time soon. But once they were sure that there was no further danger, Tsunade was left alone in her office to think.

Tsunade sighed. She remembered being eighteen. It hadn't been fun. Oh, she had been a fantastic ninja at the time and her team was in one piece. But that wouldn't last too much longer. At eighteen she had just been recovering from loosing her little brother a few years earlier, and at eighteen she would lose Dan, who she thought was the love of her life. On the other hand, this could be a chance to rectify some of the mistakes she had made. She might be physically eighteen now, but she still had all of her memories and experiences. And now she had more than just a decade or so ahead of her. Of course, that was only if they weren't all killed in a battle or an attack. But that was the life of a ninja.

The real question was: was Tsunade willing to take a risk and use this opportunity change some decisions she had made in the past? The idea terrified her a little, but on the other hand, what if she didn't try? What if she went through life knowing that she had never given it a chance? She was no hero, but she could overcome her fears. Maybe. She was still puzzling over the whole issue when Jiraiya walked into the office.

"What are you stewing over now, Hime?"

He knew her too well. Tsunade looked up at his familiar and yet unfamiliar face. Eighteen looked good on him. Of course, if she was being honest, she would admit that he had always looked attractive to her.

"I was just trying to figure out if this changed things or not."

He met her eyes. "What things?"

Tsunade sighed and looked away. He knew exactly what she was talking about, and he was going to make her say it.

"Well, this could be a second chance in some ways."

"A second chance for what, Hime?" Jiraiya was standing right in front of her now.

She met his eyes. "Us. For us to something more than friends."

He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She rest her head against his chest, closing her eyes. "I'm scared, Jiraiya, but I'm willing to give this a try."

"Good. I won't let you down." He kissed the top of her head.

Tsunade let out a soft sigh and hoped that for once romance would work out for her.