So I'm going back and revamping this story chapter by chapter. This was the first story I wrote so I feel like it deserves to be cleaned up a bit. If you've read the story already, I'll be adding a lot of stuff and if this is your first time, enjoy the ride. I'd like to give a special thanks to my Beta Oblivion153 for looking this over for me.

I Don't own Naruto

Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut as the bright afternoon sunlight seeped in through the window, blinding her when she cracked a bleary eye open. Beside her, an immense heat was emanating off of Jiraiya's exposed upper body, inciting her to move into him. The room was silent besides the steady breathing coming from the sleeping man, who hadn't so much as budged even when Tsunade wrapped her arms around him to snuggle into the crook of his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent. She had forgotten how much heat he radiated, since she hadn't really been this close to him since they were team Sarutobi, when they would huddle together for warmth, making her grateful for her heater of a teammate. She smiled at the image of his tranquil face, free of the wrinkles and creases that formed from his animated expressions. It was strange to see him without even a hint of a smirk, ready to make some flippant remark at her. Her fingers ran absentmindedly down his cheeks, tracing the trail of red that marked his face.

"Must you always touch me while I'm trying to sleep woman?" Jiraiya said with closed eyes, startling her.

"Jeez you scared me, how long have you been awake?" Tsunade asked while pushing his wild white mane out of his face.

He simply shrugged and squinted his eyes open to look at her. "How long have you been poking my face?" She gave him a scowl and jabbed his cheek with a manicured finger.

"I've been meaning to ask you, what's up with these?" She traced her finger along his cheek once more, all the way to the the underside of his chin where the lines ended. "I've known you all your life and I still don't know what these are for. I know they don't wash off though, so they must have some purpose. It's not a clan thing is it?"

An evasive cough escaped his throat, and he uncomfortably rubbed the nubbed piercing on his nose out of habit. All these years, and Tsunade hadn't seen him go into Sage Mode. There was a reason for that. "It's, uh, for a technique I have."

He was avoiding the question, and she wanted to know why. He had also piqued her curiosity, she didn't think he had any more techniques hidden up his sleeves that she didn't know about. And if he'd had those his entire life, it meant he'd been hiding it from her this entire time. "Well what is it?" she interrogated.

A large hand came up to cover his eyes, then wipe down his face with an exasperated groan. "Fine, I'll tell you I guess." He didn't hide the fact that he was none too pleased to have to reveal it to her. "It's called Sage Mode, it's a form of Senjutsu, and it's something that I learned in Mount Myōboku when I accidentally summoned myself there as a kid. It's an awesome technique, and it allows me to utilize the nature energy around of me instead of having to use my own chakra, and it increases my strength and speed tenfold. And actually, I'm the only human to have mastered it so far, or so the elders tell me. Apparently I'm only able to withstand the nature chakra because I have such massive reserves of my own." There was a lack of enthusiasm in his voice as he explained his jutsu to her, making it the first time he had told someone about Sage Mode without boasting. If it was anyone else asking, they would have to listen to him brag for days.

Tsunade eyed him skeptically, "Wait a second, you've had this technique all your life and I've never seen you use it? If it's as good as you say it is, why don't you use it all the time? Hell, you didn't even bother using it during the war." Although it didn't matter to her either way, her aggravation at him was building the more she thought about all the wasted opportunities.

"It's not that easy Tsunade," he responded with an impatient huff, "I have to be completely still to take in the nature energy around me, which makes it nearly impossible to use in battle without fusing with the elder toads, and besides, I never used it before because I didn't want you to see me like that." A hand slapped over his mouth when he realized what he'd just said, regretting it instantly.

"See you like what?" her forehead crinkled as she studied him.

He was holding his breath, obviously not too keen on explaining himself. But after a few seconds of her glaring at him expectantly, he gave in, "Whenever I go into Sage Mode I look… different. My nose gets all big and warty and I get these sharp teeth and my hands and feet get all webbed and gross and these red lines expand to cover up half my face and I just get ugly, okay? That's why I don't like using it unless I absolutely have to because I look disgusting and it's not worth it." The words had flown out of his mouth in a jumbled mess and Tsunade had to take a second to decipher everything that he had just said to her.

With a tightly clenched jaw and a stone cold glare, she shoved him onto his back to loom over him from above. "Are you fucking joking? That's the reason why you never use it? Because you think I'll think you're ugly? You're a lot stupider than I thought you were if you honestly believe I'm that shallow."

He blinked stupidly up at her, "You wouldn't care?"

"Of course I wouldn't. I'm a medic Jiraiya, I've seen things in the human body that would make your little toad trick look adorable, I hang around slugs all day for God's sake, I couldn't give a rat's ass over what you look like when you go into Sage Mode." Once she was done vexing, she let the crease in her forehead smooth out and slapped her hand playfully on Jiraiya's dubious face. "Besides, I doubt you could get much uglier than what you've got going on already," she teased.

A wave of relief washed over him knowing that one of his biggest fears had been resolved just by her words of assurance. It might have sounded stupid, but he would never be able to truly shake the anxiety that he held over how Tsunade perceived him, it was just an unfortunate remnant of his past. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her to pull her in closer, planting a delicate kiss onto the diamond on her forehead. She rested her head onto his chest and shut her eyes, concentrating on the comforting sound that his heart emitted. "Do you kiss me like that on purpose," she asked, voice muffled against his skin. He drew his head back to shoot her a puzzled expression. "Kiss me on the forehead I mean, the way that I used to kiss Nawaki and Dan on the forehead." It was somewhat startling, to the both of them, for her to so casually be bringing up her deceased loved ones, especially with such an even voice as she did so.

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, I just like you're little diamond there," he supplemented his point by poking her forehead.

"Hm, I thought you were doing that because I became Hokage, since I used to do that to Nawaki and Dan when I told them they'd become Hokage one day. Funny how I ended up with the title instead." Slender fingers twirled his hair as she reminisced.

Jiraiya shifted their position so that he could observe her with an eyebrow quirked up. She was biting her lower lip in thought as she returned the gaze. "Fine then," he lowered his lips to her diamond once again, "that's my good luck charm, that you'll be the best Hokage that ever existed."

Tsunade scoffed, "I hardly think that's realistic." A smile graced her lips in spite of herself though, "I think you may be the only person in my life who didn't have an obsessive dream about becoming Hokage. Even Orochimaru of all people wanted the name for himself."

A humming sound came from him, "My dream was always to get strong so that you'd acknowledge me, and then I could have any girl I ever wanted." He let out a dramatic sigh, "Well I got all that, so I guess I need another dream huh?" Tsunade had gave him a dirty look out of the corner of her eye, which he matched with a perky grin. "I know, since I don't care about the Hokage title, I'll go for the next best thing. My dream is to protect the Hokage at any cost, so she can achieve her dreams."

She let him nuzzle her hair, curling into his chest some more. you've already done that, more than you even know. She thought back to when Dan died, the pain that she had felt was overwhelming. Jiraiya was the only person she could lean on then, when he would stroke her hair, telling her everything was going to be okay even when she knew it wasn't. She had listened to his strong heart for comfort, and it did just that, even back then. It was her safe haven, her home. Whenever she needed someone to tell her to just let it all out she would go to Jiraiya and cry until she couldn't cry any more. He was always there for her, not one to judge her when she was vulnerable, and she realized that she wouldn't have made it this far without him. When they were genin they would sneak out at night to watch the stars together and talk about whatever they felt like. Jiraiya was always her wall to lean on, her shoulder to cry on, her friend to laugh with, and now her lover to keep her warm through the night.

And she couldn't deny that there was some guilt still. She had been harboring her regret for letting Dan die for nearly half her life now, and during that time she always felt as if she needed to stay loyal to him, or at least to the memory of him. She couldn't imagine having shared her heart with anyone after his death, but at the same time Jiraiya had been there first. There was a conflict between her morality and her wishes, and in the end she justified that Dan would want her to find happiness again. Besides, he'd always liked Jiraiya and was grateful for him being one of Tsunade's best friends, which eased her guilt just a smidgen. Well, it wasn't that she was feeling guilty per se, but rather that it was hard to let go of the sentiment altogether.

On the subject of sex however, there was absolutely no competition. Jiraiya knew his way around a woman's body, to put it bluntly, and for that Tsunade was almost grateful for all the experience he had. But that was a different matter entirely, and there's no way she'd give him the satisfaction of hearing her admit it.

Jiraiya's deep voice shook through her body and brought her back to the present. "So what are you going to do today Hime?"

Tsunade blinked a couple times and looked up to meet his gaze. "I actually hadn't planned anything," she said thoughtfully, "I wasn't expecting us to take the leisurely route there."

Jiraiya leaned his head back and closed his eyes in thought. "Well..." he started with a sigh, "I'm pretty sure there's a beach nearby. What do you think?" Tsunade jolted upright at hearing this.

"Are you crazy? I haven't been to a beach since I was a little girl, of course I want to go." She got up and started to frantically grab her discarded clothes off the floor. Jiraiya eyed her lustfully, adoring the way his oversized shirt clung to her curves whenever she bent over to pick a piece of her outfit off the floor. That was a sight he could definitely get used to. She stopped suddenly, slouching as she turned to look at Jiraiya with an attempt at a pout. "Jiraiya, I don't have a bathing suit."

Jiraiya went through his daily stretching routine, popping his joints in preparation for the day, before sliding into the same fishnet shirt he had carelessly flung onto the floor the night before. "There's bound to be a swim shop somewhere in town. I need one too actually." The pair got dressed to make their way towards the bustling market streets that adorned the city.

It was summer now, and a much hotter one than the summers they experienced in Konoha, by far. A dry heat radiated through the air, even where there was shade you could feel it burn the water out of your pores. Tsunade was suffering the worst, constantly tugging down at her shirt to loosen it from where it clung to her skin, thought it did little to help since it was too hot for her to even sweat. Jiraiya, on the other hand, walked beside her briskly, unfazed by the pounding sun. "How the hell are you wearing all that?" She counted the layers on him, of which there were about 4, and that wasn't taking into account the guards he wore on his hands and legs.

"Mount Myōboku is a swamp Tsunade, meaning it was hot and humid." He glanced down at himself, then at her. He could see her suffering, but he didn't feel a damn thing. "You just get used to it I guess."

She groaned and shuffled ahead of him. "Ugh, whatever let's just hurry up, I feel like I'm melting." Tsunade never liked the other nation's weather, it was always either too hot or too cold, unlike Konoha which had perfect weather all year long.

They had been walking for no more than ten minutes when they found the small surf shop they had been looking for. Tsunade had picked out a skimpy red bikini, holding it up to herself in a mirror. A strong arm wrapped itself around her waist, and Jiraiya smirked at her reflection deviously. "There's going to be children there you know," he muttered closely to her ear. The way his breath tickled her ear canal sent tingles through her brain. "I wouldn't mind of course."

"I'm not actually buying it, I just wanted to see how it'd look on me." Jiraiya slumped in disappointment, sliding his arm back to his side as he slinked away.

The beach was as crowded as one would expect from a scorching summer day. The sand burned your toes with every step that your foot sunk into it, and the heat from the sun seemed to carry in the ocean breeze. Kids ran around oblivious to it all, screaming and laughing as they chased each other, splashing and frolicking in the cold water's edge. Parents kept a careful eye on their precious bundles as they soaked up the sun, couples lounged together on towels laid out, other's read under an umbrella's shade, and a daring few could be found getting in their daily jog in spite of the sun's scorn. It all brought a smile to Tsunade's face, seeing people enjoy themselves. She certainly didn't see it often enough in her profession.

Tsunade had settled on wearing an azure bikini lined with white stripes, one of the only ones at the store that could handle her generous chest size, while Jiraiya wore a pair of simple red board shorts. The pair had split to change out of their clothes, and as Tsunade stepped out of her respective locker room, squinting into the bright sunlight, she spotted her companions shock of white hair amongst the crowd and made her way to where Jiraiya had laid out a towel. Her eyes roamed his back as she walked, where muscle rippled under tanned skin with every movement he made, to the lean curve of his lower back, leading to the perky mound of his butt. The impulse to run her hands over his body made her feet move faster through the heavy sand. There were hundreds of times that she'd felt the need to just touch him, to feel his muscles coil under her hand, and it was taking some time for her to get used to the fact that she could now, any time she wanted. It wasn't as if Jiraiya would complain about being touched after all.

There was a part of her that hated him for it though. How ironic it was, that he would be the one to age the best out of the three of them, the only one of the Sannin to not care about growing old. It wasn't fair that his tanned skin was flawless save for the scaring, that his face was wrinkle free except for the permanent smile lines that formed from years of laughing and enjoying life, not when she had to use a genjutsu just to hide her own bitterly formed ones. But that didn't matter so much now that he was hers, or whatever they had going on right now. She walked over unnoticed and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him close, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I hate you, you know that? Where has that body been all my life?"

So even the legendary Hokage had some perverted part of her hiding away. He scoffed and kissed her lightly, "With you the entire way." Jiraiya ogled at the blonde beauty. His eyes roamed her body, soaking up every dip and curve in her tiny figure. He could feel her breasts pressed against his back and could only imagine how they didn't pop out. He moved his way down to her smooth stomach and small waist, remembering the small belly button ring she used to wear when she was younger, the one that she'd gotten the same time he got his nose piercing actually. He stopped at her shapely thighs and calves, always calling out to him, teasing him. He could only imagine the kind of scars she was hiding under her genjutsu, because he very distinctly remembered there being a large gash mark running across her stomach, one that could't be found today. I must look ridiculous, all beat up like I am. It was obvious what he did for a living, to say the least.

Tsunade was spun around him and lifted up bridal style. A yelp escaped her and her arms instinctively locked around his neck to prevent from falling. Jiraiya carefully removed her sunglasses and tossed them onto the towel below. "Now, weren't you saying how badly you wanted to swim?" he asked as he started walking toward the people filled ocean.

"Jiraiya don't you dare," she warned with a growl. He chuckled darkly, shivering against the cold water that came up to his knees and tossing the small woman over his shoulder with ease despite her squirming. It would have been much easier for him to just walk on top of the water, but that method was much less amusing, and he didn't need to cause a stir amongst the nice citizens that weren't accustomed to the regular use of jutsu.

"And what?" he said daringly. "You'll beat me up and fall into the water anyways." The glare she was giving didn't even faze him. "Man you really are light Tsunade, I could probably toss you a good 15 feet out without breaking a sweat."

"Jiraiya!"

"Oops, too late." Before she could protest, she was thrown into the freezing water, caught up in a wave that swelled over her just as she sunk under the surface. She came up sputtering angrily, tearing her hair away from her face.

"I'm going to kill you," she said through chattering teeth. The water was almost to deep for her to stand, forcing her to tip toe her way not-so-threateningly towards her troublesome teammate.

Jiraiya had a wide grin spread across his face, with his arms held out tauntingly. "I'd like to see you try." With that, he dove underwater and began swimming deeper into the ocean against the waves. The chase began, and to Tsunade's surprise Jiraiya was much more adept at swimming than she'd originally thought. He had swum out far enough that the throng of people were dwindling to only a few, most of whom were out on some variation of a board waiting for another swell to hit. When he turned to face the blonde woman's wrath however, she was no where to be found. A frown formed on his face, and he had just began swimming back when something pulled him under the water by his leg.

A shinobi's first reaction is always to prepare for an attack, and Jiraiya had been living a long life as a shinobi. As such, his reflexes kicked in before his brain did, forcing his body to torque out of the strong grip holding his legs under the surface and grab ahold of the hands beneath him. Even underwater, he could clearly make out Tsunade's devilish grin and the halo of blonde hair framing her perpetually youthful face. The tension left his body as fast as it had come and he forced out the remaining air in his lungs, bubbling back up to the surface with Tsunade slung over his shoulder once more.

"Jiraiya let me down," she yelled. A grunt escaped him as they surfaced the water. Tsunade had taken no time at all to start pounding her closed fist against his back, but he took no heed to her defiant blows.

"No can do Tsunade, I'm not much of a bodyguard if I end up getting drowned by the Hokage I'm supposed to be guarding," he said with mock seriousness. Once he'd made it back to where he could stand on the sandy ocean floor, he let her slip off his shoulder and held her out in front of him so she didn't have to tread.

She looked up at him with her arms crossed, "You are such an ass, manhandling me like I'm a rag doll." She scowled and turned her back to him. He couldn't help but laugh, it was always the same with her. A calloused hand placed itself under her chin to turn her head back to him, one that she didn't bother fighting against. The scowl was still there, but there was something affectionate in how she glared at him from the corner of her eye, or maybe he was just so used to it.

The sun was enveloping her face, framing her delicate features in a warm glow. Perhaps delicate wasn't the right word for it, since she always seemed to manage to scrunch up her pretty face into the most horrendous expressions of fury. Either way, he found her beautiful, and even after 40 or so years she managed to take his breath away. His lips enveloped hers in a rough kiss in which she reciprocated, breathing in his salty scent as a hand tangled itself into his hair, the other resting itself on his stomach. She melted into his touch, only pulling away once the need for oxygen forced them to.

"You don't how happy it makes me knowing I can do that," Jiraiya mumbled with a lazy smile. Her hand patted his chest affectionately before tugging him back to the shore. The water wasn't exactly pleasant, although it did wonders to cool them down in the immense heatwave, and Tsunade had had enough of the ocean for a day.

Upon returning to their spot, Jiraiya flopped down onto the towels, spreading his long limbs across the entire surface until there was no room left to sit. The setting sun cast hues of violet and crimson across the sky, just barely peaking over the horizon of the ocean. He let out a content sigh lying there as tiny rivulets of water dissipated of his skin and a comfortable warmth spread throughout his body.

Tsunade took the opportunity to ruin his relaxation by lying flat on top of him, earning a grunt from the unexpected weight put on him. She could feel the taut muscle contract beneath her body flush against his, chin propped up on his chest over her hands with a satisfied smile on her face, one that contrasted the displeased look on his. He remained silent though, because just feeling her weight on top of him helped to solidify the reality of things between them, that he'd finally managed to worm his way into Tsunade's heart after years and years of chipping away at the wall around it. Even now he was still having trouble coming to terms with it, it all seemed like some hyperrealistic hazy fantasy of his.

"You probably look like a creep you know," Tsunade murmured tiredly against him. The sun was definitely getting to her, but in a much more pleasant way than before. A breeze had even kicked up now that cooled her just enough to keep lying in warm glow.

"What, why?"

"Well I still look like a twenty-something year old," she explained, "and you're still an old man." He could nearly hear the smile in her voice.

"Hmph, I can certainly even the playing field Tsunade." His arm lifted awkwardly as to not throw her off him, fingers finding her forehead in a sealing formation. "It just takes one little word." Now it was his turn to grin impishly at her.

"You wouldn't dare," her voice dropped into a threatening snarl. Her life would have to be inches from death before she released the genjutsu she constantly put up, and even then she would be fighting with death himself before she let anyone see her in her natural state. She wasn't so sure she even knew what that looked like anymore to be honest.

"Ka-"

Her lips sealed over his violently, cutting him off before he could disrupt her chakra. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd actually do it too, he was stupid enough to pull something like that, especially when there were so many people around. She was greeted by his triumphant smile when she pulled away. "Shut up baka, you talk too much. Besides, I don't think you look half bad, for being old anyways." The image of a young Jiraiya popped up in her head. Chipmunk cheeks, a mop of messy white hair, and a stupid grin that was perpetually plastered on his face. She could still hear the irritably high screech of his voice in her head, always screaming some insult at her or complaining. He'd come a long way from the brat she knew, that's for sure. Somewhere during their adolescents, He'd managed to abandon that childish complexion for a rugged handsomeness. She would have never noticed it when they were still a team, but now she had all the time in the world to contemplate his quirks.

He looked more or less the same as he did when he was a kid, save for a few minor changes. His jawline had squared out and sharp cheekbones rested below his eyes. But his eyes, they never changed. All the sorrow and wisdom in the world could never rid the mischievous glint from those fathomless black eyes. At least she could find comfort in that, knowing that he had never changed from the stubborn boy she met all those years ago.

After a while, the body on top of him went lax and Jiraiya wagered that she'd ended up dozing off on top of him. He let her be, not wanting to wake her, so he settled with his thoughts. It was obvious to him that she was still just getting comfortable with him, romantically speaking. If he was a gambling man he'd bet she was still harboring guilt over Dan, and with her gambling skills he knew he'd be right. It wasn't surprising, since he himself still carried the guilt of all the deaths on his hands with him, like Minato and the old man, as well as all the countless shinobi he's failed to protect, even Orochimaru. That kind of guilt wasn't something that resolved over time, it only grew and gnawed at your conscience until you learned to live with being a monster, and he never planned on getting to that point.

Dan was never a problem to him anyways. Jiraiya would have preferred that Tsunade chose him, but he was content just knowing she was happy, because God knows she was deprived of the happiness she deserved in life. So he'd just swallowed his pride bared it, seeing them so in love with each other. It brought him some kind of vicarious satisfaction when he saw the life return to her eyes after her brother's death, even if it meant he wasn't the one to bring that happiness back himself. His nindo revolved around her after all, and even though he was taxed with finding the savior of the world as they knew it, he couldn't help putting her well being before anything else. She was his weakness and his strength, unfortunately. It was a dangerous combination for a shinobi such as himself.

The clouds moved lazily overhead as the sun continued to sink lower and lower into the ocean. Families were beginning to pack up their stuff and leave, but there was still a good amount of people there lounging around and enjoying the sunset, much like himself. Slowly but surely, much like the woman still lying on top of him, the toad sage felt himself drifting off into a blissful sleep.

It was the movement above him that woke him up from his slumber. Jiraiya didn't even know that he'd fallen asleep, much less where he where he was waking up. Tsunade had all but rolled off him and was curled up in the towel to his side. It took a few moments of staring out into the calm sea and the sound of calm waves lapping over the shore for him to fully process his surroundings. He frowned up at the moon, debating whether to wake the sleeping blonde beside him or not. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand, estimating that it was at least eleven o'clock judging by the tide. The other arm wrapped around Tsunade's small figure out of habit to keep her warm despite it being a pleasant 60 degrees or so.

There was no one out on the beach anymore, and he wagered there wasn't many people out period at this time of night, but it was summer after all so perhaps they didn't look so strange laying there still. He opted against waking Tsunade, at least not yet. It was a peaceful night and he quite enjoyed watching the waves slowly inch towards him only to recede back into the depths of the ocean.

Carefully, he slid out from under the small woman as to not wake her and stood up, making sure to cover her with his robe before he left. A snug black shirt was pulled over his head as he made his way to the edge of the shore. There, he dug his toes into the wet sand, allowing the water to splash up his shins and wash it away, staring off into the horizon all the while. He looked out into the ocean with his hands hanging loosely in his pockets, deep in thought over his current predicament concerning his former and current students. They all ran through his head, from Minato to Naruto, all the powerful shinobi that he had the pleasure of calling his apprentices, all worthy of the pride he felt towards them. All accept for one, that is.

Tsunade woke up in a dazed state, grasping for something or someone next to her but finding only discarded clothing instead. Bleary eyes took in the scene around her as she stretched, focusing finally on the lone figure that stood at the water's edge. Damn, did I sleep for that long? She wrapped the familiar robe that was covering her around herself and silently made her way next to Jiraiya's side. He was too deep in thought to notice her standing atop the water next to him. She noticed his tightly clenched jaw and touched his shoulder lightly, causing him to jump in surprise. His expression softened once he realized it was just her. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important," he muttered, looking down at his toes as they wiggled in the mushy sand. She wouldn't press any further, not if he didn't want to talk about it. Jiraiya was not the type to burden others with his problems anyways, so she knew better than to bother trying to force it out of him. It was like he took some kind of morbid pleasure in simmering in his own issues, refusing to let anyone help him. It couldn't have been something he developed after traveling alone for so long, since she knew he acted like this even when they were children.

She dropped the subject, settling instead on hooking her arm into his and leaning her head against his shoulder, something she could only manage due to standing on the waters surface a good 3 inches off the floor. They stood in silence, admiring the beautiful sea swaying gently in the pale moonlight. They treasured these moments, moments that seemed frozen in time, locking their beauty in forever. A shinobi is deprived of serene times like this, so one would always make a note to capture it in their mind.

Tsunade averted her gaze onto Jiraiya, whose hair shimmered in the moonlight. Even the small piercing on his nose shone bright under the moon's luminescent. His arm wrapped itself around her waist protectively, a habit that developed very quickly for him once she finally let him do it. A soft kiss was planted on the crown of her head, a silent vow of protection for him. Tsunade had opened her heart to him, allowed him to make her vulnerable once again, and he swore to himself and to the moon above them that she would never go through the type of heartbreak that made her so timid to love again, not for a third time anyways. She trusted him, trusted in his ability to survive, to live on so that she wasn't abandoned once more. He would fight for her sake, because his life mattered to her, not to himself.

She was the manifestation of Konoha's will, the one passed down from Kage to Kage, and if that wasn't worth living for, he didn't know what was.

"I love you Hime." There were the four little words that had been begging to be spoken for decades.

"I love you too Baka." He smiled into the endless ocean in front of him and tightened his embrace around her. There was the reply he'd been holding his breath for since the day he met her.

Thanks for reading, reviews are very much appreciated, and have a nice day. :)