A/N: I'm getting annoyed. Seriously. If you guys don't tell me how it went, how the heck am I supposed to improve?! Now, take the hint, and start reviewing.
For those that actually bothered to read and comment, I thank you. Sincerely.
Other than that, there really isn't anything else to say. I suppose my late updating speed is to be blamed as well, but doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. Hell no, I ain't satisfied at all. DX
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
I Will Believe
Chapter 29: Friend or Stranger
"Mo! Ero-sennin! How long more do we have to go?!" Naruto was impatient, annoyed and extremely irritated. They had been wandering around Tanzaku for the whole day and other than training his wind nature compression abilities, it was an extremely uneventful day.
Though one could count the sight of Jiraiya getting stomped on by females in righteous fury after he 'accidentally' entered the female's side of the hot springs. But even then, seeing how this was way too common nowadays, it really wasn't that much of an entertainment.
"Ah shut it brat. You've been doing nothing but whining." Grumbled Jiraiya as he rubbed his cheek once again. That Kunoichi didn't have to hit so hard…
"Whining huh…" Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he was extremely tempted to ram his fist into Jiraiya's back, "This, coming from the guy who spent fifty minutes lying on the ground, savoring the feel of their 'holy' feet on your body."
"Damn straight!"
"…… I don't even know why I ever respected you anymore…"
The skies darkened as the evening approached, signifying an end to their fruitless search for the blonde female named Tsunade. Frankly, Naruto had absolutely no idea how they were unable to find her. Jiraiya made it sound quite simple. The moment you hear extensive cussing, people flying through the air, visible destruction of infrastructure, chances were, you've found her.
And yes, they did stumble upon countless places where there were 'visible destruction of infrastructure', yet all they got were random complaints of a woman with a volatile temper beating them up because they laughed at her losing streak. When asked which way she went, they pointed a direction towards the next casino.
So the duo followed the directions and arrived at another scene of chaos. This time, people were indeed flying everywhere, albeit, they were crashing everywhere as well, but that was beside the point. Again, the blonde woman was sighted, this time escaping with a raven-haired female who was holding onto a pet pig. Where did she go? To the next casino.
Yet again, they were on the move. And this time, they even heard the extensive cussing, saw more people flying, and extremely visible damage to certain walls, and once again the same sighting of the blonde and raven-haired females. But the reply remained the same, "They went that way!"
So for the next four hours or so, Naruto and Jiraiya went from casino to casino to casino. Was it a coincidence that Tanzaku happened to be the city of casinos? Apparently not. Worse, this Tsunade character, or better known as the Legendary Sucker, happened to be quite a cunning woman. After losing and running away from a casino on one side of the city, she would dash to another casino located somewhere on the other side of the city, and continue gambling. Of course, she repeated her course of action for the rest of the day, meaning Naruto and Jiraiya had to travel back and forth as well. So it was no real surprise that the blond wasn't the least bit happy with their progress.
"Alright brat, what say you we take a break?" The white-haired sennin muttered as he finally spotted a small restaurant off the side of the road. He seriously needed some sake at this point. He would never admit it, but sometimes it was tiring to keep up appearances. Acting perverted and random was his way of shielding his emotions. Being the core that held a spy network together, one had to be either extremely predictable or unpredictable. Predictable being cold, strict, emotionless. Unpredictable was the one Jiraiya chose. Though many would beg to differ, given his constant acts of perversion.
Sighing, he rubbed his head. He had been thinking all day, coming up with all sorts of plans to possibly get Tsunade to join the Konoha ranks. He knew it was going to be quite a challenge, considering the bad history the blonde had with the village. Jiraiya didn't really agree with her actions, seeing them as a cowardly way out, but on the other hand, he understood fully her fear and anger at Konoha. She felt betrayed, as did he when Orochimaru turned traitor. It was understandable, but like Sarutobi said, it was high time that she got over it. There was just too much talent to be wasted by gambling her life away.
Naruto rotated his neck, sighing in relief as his muscles loosened and 'pops' were heard from the bones. Finally a break. A food break. Plus Sake.
"About damn time." Sake was always good after a long day. Musing to himself, he couldn't remember the exact time that drinking Sake became a daily ritual. He supposed it could be when he couldn't completely cope with the number of kills he had and therefore tried to use Sake to numb himself. However, this act soon proved to be futile, seeing how Kyuubi's chakra was away to completely nullify any virus and bacteria that were acting on his immune system, which meant that mere chemicals would be broken down even before it got absorbed into the blood. Naruto shook his head as he remembered the number of times he held a drinking contest with Anko and walked away the champion. That woman just didn't understand that he couldn't possibly get drunk.
Pushing the door open, he stepped in, eager to find a seat. His legs were quite sore and looking at the weary Ero-sennin, he was sure that he felt the same. Though for different reasons. Wind manipulation required extreme concentration, and because Naruto was training on compressing the chakra, he needed his legs to constantly expel chakra through the tenketsu on his foot to keep him anchored onto the ground as he walked about.
Interestingly enough, the first sight to grace his cerulean orbs was blonde hair. In pigtails. Two of them. Moving down with his line of gaze, he saw that she wore a green robe with the kanji 'gamble' on the back. And at the moment, the woman removed that particular robe with a sigh and the necklace she wore came into view. Definitely the crystal of the Shodai Hokage. And finally, the most obvious evidence of all…
"You've got to be kidding me…" Naruto mumbled as he closed his eyes, not believing that the huge bust he just saw belonged to a woman of age fifty. There was just no, bloody, way.
But then, fate always liked to teach him the meaning of irony.
Sure enough, Jiraiya's triumphant shout with his finger pointing directly at the woman Naruto had been observing for the past twenty seconds, "Tsunade!"
Apparently hearing her name, the woman raised an eyebrow and turned around, before staring wide-eyed at the person before her, "Jiraiya?!"
Elsewhere……
Dark cloaks billowed as they travelled down the road, silently through the night. Cold onyx eyes stared over the village, "Tanzaku…"
His companion grumbled about not being able to rest, "Mind resting now?"
"Unfortunately know, we have to comb this terrain to ensure that we have the utmost advantage in our combat."
The blue-skinned character shrugged, "I don't even understand why you're so serious. It's not like we're going to kill the brat."
"Even so, a test of his skills is required."
"You and your obsession with skills." Moving his Zanbato off his shoulder, he stared at the bustling city, "Have to say, I miss that kinda life."
The former shinobi closed his eyes, before shaking his head, "Come, there's no point dwelling on the past. We have an important mission ahead of us."
Opening his eyes, he revealed blood red orbs with three tomoes in each of them, "Uzumaki, I hope you live up to your expectations."
Back in Tanzaku……
Today's been absolutely hectic. Her luck was even worse than before, and the very fact that she kept on losing in every single casino proved it. Of course, it was one of the reasons as to why she was so pissed at people blocking her way. Couldn't they see that she had money to make?! Did they think she enjoyed paying debts off?
Hell no.
Worse still, she had this creepy feeling that she was being stalked. Were they debt collectors? Assassins? Or even rapists?!
………
Nah, not possible. Her imagination was running a bit wild here, but that could be due to the sake she had been drinking. Speaking of which, she was kinda running low on her supply, and seeing how they had been running back and forth the city all day, she figured that they deserved a break.
Shizune was more than happy to comply with her sensei's wishes, as was Ton-Ton, with its enthusiastic "puhi", and so they found themselves in this humble little restaurant, enjoying some well-deserved dinner and good old Sake.
This is the life, mused Tsunade as she swallowed yet another gulp of the delicious alcohol. Her daily routine consisted of travelling, gambling, eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, drinking and oh, did she mention gambling?
She had long since placed the past behind her and was looking forward to the future. No more fighting, no more blood, no more deaths… Her eyes hardened as images rose from her memories and began to torment her once more. Shaking slightly, she tightened her grip on the Sake cup and took another gulp. Calm down… was all she could think to herself as she forcefully pushed those nightmares back into the depths of her mind.
"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune looked on sadly as she watched her mentor suppress her inner fears. She had been apprenticed to Tsunade since age nine, and had left Konoha with her, travelling by her side all this time, training under her in the arts of healing. The world of medicine was extremely vast, and for a little girl like her, it showed endless opportunities and possibilities, mesmerizing her with the effects a chemical could have on a human anatomy by merely adding a functional group onto it. Poison itself was nothing spectacular at all. It was simply another type of drug, granted, it was meant to kill, but at the end of the day, the stuff it was made up off had to be the same chemical compounds that a medic studied through their life.
Over the years, she had really developed into a fine young woman, and though she wouldn't say she was far from being on the same level as Tsunade, she was at least a jonin-leveled shinobi. Despite her meek and shy personality, her profession would cause her to undergo a hundred and eighty degree change whenever the situation called for it. Being a medic meant having a clear mind at all times, pin-point precision and chakra control, along with the ability to make decisions on the spot. It was really tough at first, seeing how Tsunade had to almost beat the shyness out of her to get her to realize how serious the profession of a medic was.
Shizune truly thanked her mentor for taking that much time in molding her to what she was today. Granted, she had her fair share of headaches when Tsunade got into a serious gambling mood, and she was the responsible one out of the two, meaning the one who was the 'treasurer' of their belongings; but even so, she would never forget the wonderful times they had together. She remembered an exact same scene when she was little, and had curiously asked Tsunade why she was shaking as she drank Sake. The reply would be etched into her memory forever, "To forget…"
Her little mind had registered the fact that for her to drink Sake, it would mean that she had bad stuff happening to her, so if she forbid her to drink alcohol, everything would be fine, right? So it was with quite a determination that she announced this goal to Tsunade, which caused a slight widening of eyes from the Slug Sannin and a gentle ruffling of her hair, "Alright brat, do your best."
Looking at her mentor now, Shizune was pretty sure that Tsunade forgot about that scene, seeing how she always whined and complained when Shizune hid her Sake stash somewhere, preventing her from accessing anymore of it, knowing that in a drunken haze, she would definitely go gamble again.
Shaking her head in amusement, she was about to berate Tsunade once again for her gambling addictions again, just like she did everyday, when the door to the restaurant opened. A young blond teenager of age around thirteen to fourteen-ish entered followed by an old man with long spiky white hair. They were quite the peculiar pair, and seemed almost like father and son. Though she supposed it was because both of them held similar weary looks on their faces while the young one had one akin to exasperation. He soon cheered up though as he looked around for an empty seat.
Shizune stifled a gasp as the old man's face came into view. She knew who he was. And the fact that his eyes were centered right on their table was enough to prove that yes, he was looking for them. His triumphant cry of "Tsunade!" reached them in a second and as expected, her mentor almost spit out her Sake in surprise at this sudden visit she got from her old teammate.
"Jiraiya?!"
In Konoha……
Multiple explosions were heard from the training grounds as Ryusei had a ninjutsu match against Minagi. It was a request from both Sakura and Ino, seeing how the two girls had been pushed to their limits, forcing them to surpass themselves, and in return, they wanted to at least witness the strength of their sensei.
Not to mean that they had forgotten about Anko. Far from it. They visited her every single day, bringing her new flowers from Ino's shop, and using their free time, they would always dictate their training details to their sensei whilst holding her hands, as though chatting like they normally would. At first, these visits felt extremely depressing, especially for Ino, who just couldn't bear to see their usually active sensei bedridden and unconscious. The paleness of her skin frightened her as well, and the need to see her revived grew stronger than ever. Sakura felt helpless. She studied medic-jutsu before, and hence, had some understanding as to the depth of Anko's injuries. It was horrible to just sit there and watch one of your precious people withering away, while you weren't able to do anything.
However, Kireki made a good point. Turn your sorrow into determination, and your agony into motivation.
That was exactly what they did. They were improving by leaps and bounds, and after a while, it became a ritual to report their gains to Anko, as though ensuring her that they definitely were not slacking off and that she had nothing to worry about.
What really surprised them though, was the number of times Kakashi actually came to visit Anko. He was supposed to be outside of the village, training Sasuke, and the fact that it was indeed the 'real' him that came brought more confusion to the girls. The silver-haired man wasn't even reading his porn like he usually would. He would sit by her side, hold her hand, and stare at her face. He didn't say anything, nor did he do anything else, yet the expression on his face was enough to show his inner turmoil.
Sakura and Ino knew that Kakashi held Anko in amore to some extent, but for him to spend so much time for her, it really said a lot. He looked like he was repenting, for what they didn't know, but always as he left, he would smile warmly and thank them for looking after her. They in turn, would bow respectfully and thank him back.
Even Minagi somewhat softened in her gazes towards the white-haired jonin after seeing him looking after Anko like that. He didn't meet her gaze, just like before, and as always, he would hold his head low as he moved past her, as though guilty of something. It was only when Ryusei sighed and halted Kakashi's movement, forced him over to Minagi, and told him to 'be a man', that the two sorted it out. Apparently, Kakashi made a long, detailed apology for something that Kireki kept secret, and regarding Anko, he wanted their permission to take care of her from now on, not just as a colleague, but as a lover. His determined gaze eventually won out, or so Kireki described with much amusement and Minagi relented, forgiving the white-haired man for whatever sins he committed years ago.
That episode being over, Sakura and Ino were then asked what they would like as a reward for their hard training, and after much debate, the two decided that a ninjutsu match between Minagi and Ryusei would be a very satisfying reward. So that brought us to where they were now.
"Katon: Saika no jutsu! (Fire Element: Chaotic Flames technique)" A concentrated blast of fire was aimed directly at Ryusei, who merely sent his very own 'Hiken' (Flame Fist) at it, nullifying the attack. It was well known that Uchiha had a superior control over fire, but it was clear to anyone that Ryusei didn't just control that element. It was if he was the element itself. Flames reacting to his simplest call, with barely any hand-seals necessary, mesmerizing and deadly.
Minagi rolled her eyes as she got out of her battle stance and crossed her arms before her chest, "There really is no point in putting on a show if all you do is cancel out our attacks."
"So you're suggesting that I get burnt to a crisp while you show off your Kunoichi skills," deadpanned the brunet, "Very charming Minagi."
A smirk grew on her face as she ran slender fingers through her hair, "I know, I'm surprised at how amazing I am as well."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Ryusei spoke up, "Girl, as much as I like to think that, we all know it's not true."
Onyx eyes narrowed in a second, "What was that?" Her tone changed from soft to deadly without warning at all, the glint from the kunai she was fingering didn't seem all too reassuring as well.
Ryusei grinned and fazed from his spot, causing said Uchiha to swear as she quickly yelled out, "Katon: Hisen Heki! (Fire Element: Fire Spin Encampment)" Blowing out a burst of fire, and with extreme control, she formed a human-sized sphere around her body, completely shielding her from any attacks that were to come. To others, this may have worked perfectly, but unfortunately, her opponent was Ryusei…
"Futile effort," he smirked as he traced a circle with his right arm and slammed it right onto the fire shield, "Kouryuu Arikai! (Proud Dragon Repents)" The sheer impact due to the force behind this attack shattered the shield, rendering it utterly useless, but apparently, Minagi had already foreseen this and quickly emitted her own chakra burst to shed the physical burden from her torso the moment he attacked.
Ryusei barely gave her any time to breathe. Leaping into the air, he held his left arm back, charging it up with chakra and slammed it right at her head, "Hiryuu Zaiten! (Flying Dragon in the sky)"
Minagi gritted her teeth as she yelled out, "This is a ninjutsu fight! Not a taijutsu one! You cheater! Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu! (Fire Element: Grand Fireball technique)" The flames collided right on with the chakra pulse, causing a loud explosion to occur.
Instantly activating her sharingan, Minagi scanned the surroundings, ready to detect any movement from her 'mischievous' teammate. This was ridiculous, to think that he would spring that set of taijutsu on her. Who was she kidding? There was no way she could take eighteen palms in one go. And he said she wanted to show off. What a hypocrite.
Suddenly detecting chakra burst from the right side, she leaned backwards and before anyone Sakura and Ino could even see what was happening, a huge clash of chakra was heard in the air, with Minagi staring coldly into the forest, her sharingan spinning wildly.
"What the…what happened?" muttered Sakura as she replayed the scene in her head. All she could remember was the Uchiha slightly angling her body, before…
Emerald orbs focused on Minagi's feet, and sure enough, they were at a slightly different position compared to before. Raising both eyebrows, she blurted out, "No way! I didn't even see her leg move!"
Kireki chuckled as she saw the bewildered look on Ino's face that clearly said 'what?', and answered Sakura's question, "Yes. There is a reason why Minagi has to operate her sharingan in order to utilize this taijutsu style. Jonei Kyaku (Shadow Legs) is a style unique to her, and can only be executed with the help of sharingan."
"Eh? But I thought Sharingan was only useful for copying ninjutsu and detecting attacks…" Piped Ino, as she scrunched up her face in thought, "How is it that she requires…oh!"
Kireki nodded, "Yes, her sharingan allows her to pinpoint the exact timing required to counter the attack, the precise location of the attack and with supreme speed and accuracy, combined with power, you get the deadly style, Jonei Kyaku."
"So only females in the Uchiha clan could learn this?"
"No, like I said before, this attack is unique to only Minagi."
"Why's that?"
"Simply put, Minagi's the only female in the Uchiha clan to successfully awaken her Sharingan."
"Eh?!"
Minagi focused as Ryusei repeated the first two attacks once again, as though he wanted her to show the girls that her attack could in fact, cancel out his moves. And so she did, her kicks were so fast that the naked eye would barely be able to catch its movement. The hardest part about this style was to make it so that you can utilize the move anytime, anywhere. And on top of that, there had to be no other muscle movements to hint to your enemy that you're about to attack him.
Jonei Kyaku was a style that focused primarily on kicking. When one moved his/her legs, the entire body was bound to move in one way or another in order to accommodate this action, so for Minagi to reach the stage where even calm, collected shinobi carefully observing her attacks could not seem to tell when her attacks would start was definitely a huge achievement. However, she knew that this was not enough to surprise Ryusei. Oh, far from it. Reason was simply because there was no way to get him shocked or stunned. All he had to do was repeatedly use those eighteen palms and sooner or later, she would be defeated.
True enough, Ryusei struck once again, with both arms were attacking, right palm followed by left fist, forcing Minagi to dodge the attack, for there was simply no way of knowing which side the attack was coming from. If wrongly guessed, the full brunt of the impact would not be pleasant.
The brunet didn't let up, and instantly followed up with his right arm, slightly curling his second and middle finger, expelling chakra from his tenketsu and sent one straight hook towards Minagi's chest, intent on paralyzing her, "Senryuu Muyou (Hidden Dragon awaits)."
With a slight yelp, the female Uchiha fell backwards as the attack successfully grazed her tenketsu and the chakra that Ryusei sent into her body was successful in disrupting her balance.
Sakura watched in amazement at the string of attacks shown to her. This was taijutsu on a whole new level. Never before had she seen such direct forms that focus on both strength and technique. The only one that could even come close to this was Goken that Gai and his student, Lee, seemed to use, yet those seemed like mere child's play. Besides, they relied more on speed, and whatever Ryusei used just now, speed was definitely not something that needed to be worried about. The impact created just seemed so huge that it would be able to cover whatever distance required anyway. The style seemed grand and majestic, as though nothing would be able to escape from it.
"Kouryuu Juuhachishou. (Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms)." Kireki answered their unspoken questions, "I think it's pretty much self-explanatory." Chuckled the female Hyuga as she left the girls and went to calm the Uchiha down, lest she go berserk and make Ryusei her new firewood.
"It's a NINJUTSU match! What the hell were you thinking?" roared Minagi as she tried to claw at Ryusei's face, intent on letting him know just how frustrated she was, "What a show off!"
The brunet laughed awkwardly before giving up. There was no point resisting, might as well get it over with. And so he let go of her arms and due to this sudden lack of resistance, Minagi naturally unbalanced herself but extending her arms further than necessary, and she ended up in his embrace.
Her struggles stopped instantly, her angry protests swallowed. Ryusei himself did not see this coming, and it was pure instinct that his arms closed around her waist the moment she tripped. Crimson red stared into amethyst violet. Minagi's lips trembled slightly, before shaking her head, "Let go now…"
Turning her eyes away, refusing to meet with his gaze anymore, she quietly said once again, "Let go… Ryusei… I can't… You already have Kire…"
"Minagi."
One single word from him was enough to catch her attention.
"Ryu-chan…"
"Minagi… I…"
Biting her lips, she shook her head, "We've been through this before…"
"Minagi – "
"No, I can't… I'm not worth…"
And with that, she forcefully struggled out of his grip and dashed away from the area, tears in her eyes, threatening to fall any second.
Ryusei could do nothing but stare at her back, a distraught look on his face. He seemed to want to go after her, yet it was as though he were restraining himself. Clenching his fists, he almost wanted to beat himself up for being such an inconsiderate fool when Kireki placed a hand on his shoulder, a small smile gracing her lips, "Baka… Go."
Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, before nodding and dashing off. Needless to say, Sakura and Ino could only stare at this development with wide eyes, wondering why the heck Kireki would say that. It just wasn't logical?! It was like she was encouraging him to… to…
"We were his fiancées."
That got their tongue. All the protests and questions they wanted to ask came to a hold.
We? Fiancées? As in more than one?
Minagi's mind was in a chaotic frenzy at this very moment, berating herself for being such a coward and running away from the problem. He was there… right there! And she screwed up. It had been years since she had been able to hug him that freely, that openly. It was utterly frustrating to think that she had once again let go of her chance, because she felt that she didn't deserve him. Only this time, there was another excuse, and that was because of Kireki.
She didn't know where she was going, she had no idea how fast she was running, all she knew was that she had to let out her stress one way or another, and there seemed to be no better way than to dash as fast as you can, away from reality, away from it all.
It came as a complete surprise when a pair of arms circled around her waist and forcefully pulled her to a stop, and due to the inertia, she soon found herself rolling on the ground with another person, ending with her on top. Her eyes widened as she saw amethyst eyes staring back at her, relief shining beneath them. His quick rate of breathing showed that he must have put some effort into catching up with her…
"Ry-ryu-chan!" Gasping in surprise, she immediately began to struggle once again, "What are you doing?"
They were stuck together in a bundle of tangled limbs due to the fall they just had, and there was barely enough room seeing he was squeezed between the cold, rough ground and the much more forgiving surface of Minagi's body. Even now, he was able to feel the flexibility and the softness of her. All of a sudden, she went utterly still, as though finally realizing the significance of having him pressed against her from forehead to toes.
"Minagi…" was all he whispered.
She didn't even think of resisting as Ryusei's mouth closed over hers. All she could focus on was how his tongue teased her lips, how fire exploded through her so hotly that she thought she must be radiating like the flames she had so expertly controlled awhile ago.
The knowledge that she would still respond to him, and only him was overwhelming to Minagi as Ryusei's hands moved to anchor her. She made a sound that could have been his name as he teased open her lips, asking for further exploration, a deeper intimacy.
She didn't deny him or herself, where the heat and taste of him fully swept over her senses. She forgot where she was, or what had happened in the past. She forgot everything but the sweet, hot presence of him inside her mouth.
With an incoherent sound, she pressed against him, giving herself to the kiss, regretting only that she couldn't put her arms around him and hold him as completely as she had in her dreams.
After the first few moments of mutual exploration, Ryusei felt his own control burning out of his grasp, knowing fully well that he wanted to do so much more, feel so much, share so much, and yet it still wasn't enough. His mouth bit into hers, straining to be closer to her warmth. When she made a soft, eager sound in the back of her throat, it felt like the earth had caught fire around him.
He called her name, demand and apology at once, not meaning to come to her like this, half wild, control slipping away with each small movement of her tongue over his, his mind reeling and his body shaking, starved for her. Slowly, sinuously, his whole body caressed her while he searched every texture of her mouth with his tongue. This was Uchiha Minagi, his lover, his fiancée.
She felt the strength and urgency of his passion in every movement of his powerful body. Making a sound of frustration and hunger, she needed to feel his skin sliding against hers, all of it, hot and sleek and completely naked. It was the only way to reassure herself that this wasn't a dream, that she was awake and wholly alive for the first time in seven years.
With a low moan, she moved against him, returning the twisting caresses of his body, not holding back any of her response. She'd never been able to deny him or herself, even in her deepest dreams, she longed for him. Ever since that day she left him, she had craved for his love once again.
His teeth delicately ravaged her lips, whispering her name again and again in a litany of joy while he licked her mouth with tiny, hot strokes, savoring and caressing her.
"I used to wake up shaking after I dreamed of you," he said, "I'm shaking now, but I'm not dreaming. Tell me I'm not dreaming."
Reality broke over Minagi in a cold wave. "No, this… I…"
"Minagi, no more… please, don't run anymore…"
"You already have Kireki… I promised that I will not be a burden…"
"You are not!" Ryusei's instant declaration shocked her slightly, before she retaliated with an indignant, "W-what are you talking about?! I-I was the one who caused you all that misery! I had no right to be in your life anymore!"
Ignoring her outburst, he once again searched for her lips, engaging them, ravishing them, enjoying them. There was only one thing that he needed to know.
Despite her initial protests, Minagi whole-heartedly kissed him back.
That's just cheating… kissing me on the lips like that…
As though understanding her line of thought, Ryusei released her and placed his forehead on hers, "Minagi, you love me."
Blushing a deep crimson, the female Uchiha stuttered, "I-I, t-that is just… I-I me-ean…"
"And I love you."
If possible, she turned an even deeper shade of red, before finally relenting, "I know…"
Ryusei nuzzled her neck gently, and nipped her skin, "And?"
Shivering at his touch, she laced her fingers through his hair and whispered softly, "What about Kireki?"
Smirking, the Kamio raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think told me to come here?"
Grimacing slightly, Minagi shook her head, "I owe her too much…"
"Well, she said she's merely repaying you for letting her have me solely to herself when you broke off the marriage arrangement." Muttered an exasperated Ryusei, "But I know. I've thought this over many times, and discussed it more than once with Hokage-sama and Kireki. They agree with my decision. I am Kamio Ryusei, and you, Uchiha Minagi," He kissed her once again, before finishing his sentence, "Shall become my wife."
Staring wide-eyed at the Kamio, Minagi first chuckled, before laughing out loud at the daring statement made by the man she loved. One thing was for certain, he sure wasn't subtle about this. "My, my, and have you even asked me about my decision?"
Gazing lovingly into her eyes, he grinned as his hands reached for the buttons on her clothes, undoing them one by one, at an agonizingly slow pace, all the while sucking light on her left ear, "Well then, I'll just wait for your answer won't I?"
"Ah…Ryusei…"
With Naruto and Co……
Oh she didn't. She did not just insult all the Hokage before his very face.
She did not just call the job of a Hokage dog shit.
"What the fuck did you just say, you big fat bitch?!" roared Naruto as he almost leapt at the blonde woman before, ready to swipe off her head if need be. No one insults Sarutobi-jiji and the Yondaime in front of him! The Shodai and Nidaime were her grandfather and grand-uncle for crying out loud!
Tsunade merely leaned backwards slightly, gazing at the blond brat before her in a condescending manner, uninterested as Jiraiya barely held him down. Not that he was doing a good job of it, seeing how her teammate himself was looking quite disappointed with her answer. Keh, who was he to preach to her about the loyalties of a village? He didn't lose two of her most precious people! He didn't lose all hope in his life?!
Shizune's head turned from her mentor to Jiraiya, and back to her mentor multiple times. This was just a fight that was waiting to happen. She should have known it would come down to this the moment those two entered the room. It had started off relatively calm, with Jiraiya and the blond teenager taking a seat at their table, ordering their meals and Sake, before chatting nonchalantly with Tsunade.
Her sensei then began to play cards and once again, lost quite a number of times to Jiraiya. And that was when the question arose. "Tsunade, Sarutobi-sensei would like you to become the Godaime-Hokage. Do you accept?"
She herself had no idea how to react. Tsunade as Hokage? As in the gambling drunk? The Legendary Sucker? As much as she hated to admit it, her sensei just didn't seem like a good choice. However, the words that followed right after got even her to feel a little distasteful at Tsunade's attitude, "Hokage is for dumbasses, about as useful as dog shit."
The kid's reaction however, came as quite a surprise, for she didn't think he would freak out that much by Tsunade's cold answers. After all, Shizune was quite used to them already. But then, before Jiraiya could even speak his obvious disapproval at his teammate, the kid had stood up and cracked his knuckles in a pretty menacing gesture, "I don't give a damn if you're a woman or not. I've had enough about pessimism for one day."
What's more surprising was Tsunade's absolutely patronizing reply, "Ha, fine then. Since you want a beat down so badly, I'll play with you for a bit. You and me, outside, boy."
Jiraiya shook his head at the situation on his hands and couldn't stifle a loud sigh. Somehow, he knew it wouldn't go smoothly, but to be honest, for Tsunade to be so openly spiteful of the village was something that even he felt was extremely inadequate for someone her status. She was the 'hime' of Konohagakure, with her grandfather and granduncle being the ones to create this village after all. Her ways of countering with her past seemed to be running away, and that in itself was a disgrace to her ancestors.
Is this what you have become Tsunade? Has fear controlled you so much that all your teachings have gone to nothingness?
Not wanting to continue on this despairing line of thought, he followed them outside the restaurant as well, wanting to see the shock on Tsunade's face when she realized that the brat was not all he seemed to be. Young as he was, this kid's got skills, you've got to admit that.
Tsunade completely ignored Shizune and Jiraiya's reprimanding looks and haughtily said, "Alright brat, first one to fall loses. Deal?"
Naruto stared at her in disbelief, "You serious?"
A disdainful glared was his reply, "What, afraid you might lose?"
Gritting his teeth, he narrowed his eyes, "Alright then. Don't come crying when you fall flat on your fat butt!" Deactivating his gravity seals, he was off. This wasn't just any normal opponent. This was Tsunade of the Sannin, top medic in the world plus a woman with insane strength, or so Jiraiya had said.
Without any further adieu, he instantly pulled out his arsenal of one-hit KO attacks. He knew he had but one chance, and that was to fully utilize her underestimation of him and ram one attack home. Deciding to use the fourth's jutsu to rebut against her claims that the Hokage was useless, he roared, "Rasengan!"
For Tsunade, it was absolutely unnerving to see a brat this young travel at speeds that her naked eye had difficulty following under a slightly drunken haze, followed by that familiar blue sphere of chakra perfectly controlled in his right hand, aimed directly at her back.
"What the…" Subconsciously, her body jumped into gear, her left hand instantly slapping his wrist, diverting that attack, before her right aimed a punch at the boy's chest.
Naruto seemed to have foresaw that quickly summoned up a second Rasengan on his left hand, and slammed it straight on to her fist, once again surprising the Slug Sannin. The jutsu barely had time to connect with the flesh before the chakra pulse emitted by Tsunade in her enhanced strength caused the attack to dissipate, blasting Naruto backwards. Fortunately, Naruto landed on his feet, and steadied himself, thereby allowing him to stay in the match.
That fast exchange of attacks shook off whatever drunken stupor present in Tsunade and instantly made her one hundred percent alert. This kid…
"So you even taught him that jutsu, Jiraiya. What's this? A gift in helping him attain that pathetic position?" Her words were aimed directly at the blond as she continued to stare at the boy in distaste, "Che, handing him everything on a silver platter."
Now that was the worst thing to say in the face of Naruto. No words could adequately describe the rage that he was feeling that very moment. To think that this bitch had the audacity to say that he had everything handed to him, when she herself was a bloody heir to the whole of Konoha.
"Oh really, I suppose that you being taught jutsu was just a waste of time, seeing how you wouldn't even begin to comprehend the need to help your village at times of need, you being your sorrowful self."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the cheek this boy was showing, she was a Sannin, and soon he shall realize the painful reality that there was a huge amount of gap in between them. Raising but one finger, she brought it down right on to the ground, creating a huge crack due to the impact of her attack and watched on as Naruto deftly leapt to the side, his hands already forming new seals.
"Ha, got you there haven't I?" His eyes were focused directly on the blonde woman before her, and nothing else. He was at a severe disadvantage, seeing how most of the attacks in his arsenal were too destructive to be used in this town, yet the lady sure had no problems with demolishing the road at all.
"Pitiful…" Rushing forward, she reached his side in a second, stunning him with her speed before he received a hard punch directly on the cheek, with the physical impact vibrating through him first, before the chakra induced wave swept over his body and sent him flying through the air, crashing right into a wall, almost imbedding him within that structure. Her eyes stared coldly as she shook her head, "You actually thought you could win? Brat, I give you credit for mastering Rasengan, but that's it. You've got nothing on me."
Naruto suddenly got out of the wall and landed on his face, racing at the blonde woman straight on, "Least I'm not a coward! I'm prepared to fulfill my dream, even in the face of death itself!"
Those words seemed to have an effect on the lady as her eyes widened, before they narrowed in contempt. However, Naruto ignored her and continued, "This is it! I want to be the best, I strive to be the best, and I damn well will be the best Hokage this world has ever seen! You wanna know why?!" Roared Naruto as he charged up Kaen Furea, gaining acceleration as he charged towards Tsunade, "Because being a Hokage is my dream!"
Kaen Furea in right, Wind elemental Rasengan in left, he appeared before her, intent on showing her the intensity of his attacks, yet this time, she flicked a finger each at his wrists, completely deflecting his arms before he even reached her, and rammed both fists deep into his wide open torso, showing absolutely no mercy, blasting him back with a huge chakra pulse, driving him once again into the wall, only this time, he slid helplessly onto the ground, struggling to breathe.
So this…is the strength…of the Slug Sannin…damnit…so fast and powerful…I've got nothing on her…
Shizune gasped and quickly rushed over to treat the kid's injuries, unable to believe that Tsunade would go this far just to punish a teenager. It was almost brutal and completely uncalled for, one of the reasons why Jiraiya instantly appeared in front of her, rage apparent in his eyes, "Why?!"
Tsunade seemed taken aback by her teammate's response, yet composed herself and answered in disdain, "Dreams are nothing but chains of your fate. Death is what follows if he does not abandon those silly fantasies. You should know better than me Jiraiya, after all, you know full well what Orochimaru – "
She never got to finish her sentence as she just realized that Jiraiya's palm was an inch away from her face, ready to strike any time. Looking at the male in front of her, it was only now that she fully realized just how angry he was. She had no idea that he would be hurt this badly, considering how he was always the happy-go-lucky kind. But for him to be this serious…
"Disappointing, Tsunade. I have nothing more to say." Slowly retracting his palm and clenching it into a fist, he walked away from her, approaching Shizune and motioning for her to move away from the boy, before lifting him onto his shoulder, and taking one final glance at her, "You've changed, hime. I don't even know who you are anymore."
And with that indifferent comment, he ignored the attempts at apologizing from Shizune and left her in the middle of the street.
Alone. Once again. Alone.
Just like she forced him to so many years ago…
Her body started shivering, colder than she had ever been, her hands draped across her chest, holding herself, trying to stop the shaking, but it was all futile. This feeling of vulnerability once again attacked her heart as she slowly slumped onto the ground.
Unpleasant memories resurfaced with twice the usual vigour, and the result was twice the pain she had to endure…
What are you talking about sis? Being a Hokage is my dream!
I like this village very much. I want to be able to protect it. Being a Hokage…is my everything.
"Why…why do you still believe in that Jiraiya…? How can you still believe in something that doesn't even exist?!" She gave a desperate cry, yelling for all she was worth at the only teammate she had left.
The white-haired sennin merely shook his head and replied in the distance, "Because I haven't given up."
Hm… a bit dramatic at the end, I think. But I really wanted to show a different Tsunade, and put more emphasis on her strength instead of her fears. I want her to be cold, and indifferent to anyone until her outer layer breaks off. That makes it all the more meaningful for the plot later on. To be honest, this was how I would expect her to act.
By the way, if you think I'm overpowering Tsunade, you are right. I am. She is going to be way more powerful than the manga version. She is a sannin. I expect her to show the skills. So do not come crying about how there was no way she could do that to Naruto. You're telling me a fifty year old medic with inhumane strength is unable to deflect a straight on attack and crush a teenager of thirteen years old? Don't make me laugh.
Oh, and regarding that little fluff bit of Ryusei and Minagi, I am hereby telling you that lemons later on would be sorta like this, only going into way more detail (duh), so hopefully, you've enjoyed it. I made it more emotional as well, so yeah.
That being said, the battle bits were fun to write and hopefully, you understood the attacks and significance. I'm building them up for the invasion, so they are a necessity.
Now, REVIEW! Comment on how you think about this chap. I'll reply to any questions you have. Eight thousand words people, I think I deserve a little credit? -.-
