Author's note: A minor content warning, this chapter contains some heavier than usual adult language and adult situations in spots.
Chapter Forty-Four
"Naruto…. Oh Naruto…" the voice shook Naruto from sleep, forcing him into a dizzy haze. "Naruto, wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" The voice was masculine, cheerfully mocking him. Sasuke! His eyelids peel back reluctantly, Sasuke greeted him with an indistinct visage. The world was unfocused, as if Naruto were staring out through a fishbowl. Blinking twice, the world sharpened, and Sasuke was, indeed, kneeling over him.
"No amount of mission pay is worth waking up to your face, Sasuke," Naruto groaned as he closed his eyes and rolled away from his friend.
"The feeling is mutual," Sasuke chuckled, "but I'm afraid it's time to get up; we've got work to do!"
As Naruto struggled to sit upright, the aching burn of his abs and chest hit him with a gnawing ache. He rubbed at his aching muscles, struggling to remember what he'd done to burned them out so badly. Hinata! Adrenaline kicked-started Naruto's heart as his head darted wildly in search of Hinata. The wave of excitement receded as his eyes caught sight of her. Hinata looked haggard, but beautiful nonetheless, as she struggled to hold herself upright. "How is she?" he croaked through his dehydrated throat.
"Fine," Sasuke handed him a canteen, "weak, but fine." Naruto took a sip of the contents. He tasted the odd mix of iodine, orange flavoring, vitamin C mix, and rehydration salts. Despite knowing he needed it, Naruto's lips pursed at the sour-sweet mixture.
"Yeah, it's that bad," Sasuke nodded as he smiled. "Drink up, we've got some serious work to do!"
Naruto drank the sour concoction, feeling strangely better despite the god-awful flavoring. He noticed Sakura steadying Hinata as the girl struggled to keep her body steady while drinking. Naruto got up to a kneeling posture and tested his ability to stand. Despite feeling a bit off, he got to his feet without incident. A check of his watch revealed it was 1000. Damn, I must have been pretty out of it! Tension was palpable in the bunker as he walked toward the center where Shikamaru, Neji, Temari, and Sasuke were seated near Gaara.
A once-over of the group gave Naruto a sharp sense of foreboding. Sasuke looked pale, and Naruto could see reddening of the back of the boys' neck as well as some mark that looked like a semi-familiar curse seal. That can't be good. Shikamaru and Temari both sported minor wounds, but their outfits stained in mud hinted at a struggle unseen. Neji looked determined but tired. The boy's Byakugan was active, and the dark circles under his eyes hinted he'd kept it active for an extended period of time.
Then there was Gaara. Even knowing what the kid had been through, he looked deathly. "Hey," the boy managed a slight smile through pain.
"Gaara," Naruto paused, uncertain what to say next, "h-how are you feeling?"
"Sick," he replied flatly, "you ever get the flu, and you don't know which end to stick into the toilet?" Gaara clamped his eyes shut in clear discomfort
"We're going to get you out of here, Gaara; just hang on a bit longer, okay!" Naruto gave him the best smile and thumbs up he could manage in his tired state.
As Naruto turned to join the others in conversation, Gaara spoke with a strained voice, "Naruto, thank you!" Tears began running from his empty eyes, "No one else has ever done what you did to help me!"
"Don't get all mushy on me know, Gaara, you can tell us everything when we get out of here," Naruto winked and rejoined the others. "So, where do we stand?"
"All the teams have the necessary scrolls," Shikamaru said, "but our current situation makes getting the hell out of here a tricky proposition."
"How so?" Naruto asked, "And don't sugar-coat it; how bad are we?"
"Gaara and Shino can't walk," Neji huffed in frustration, "I can't run prolonged distances."
"Kiba can't see and can't smell" Sasuke added, "and we're not sure about Hinata's condition, either."
"I can walk," she replied from her bedroll, struggling to stand, "and I can probably run again if you give me a bit longer." Naruto eyed Hinata. She was sincere in her conviction, but Naruto was uncertain if her conviction could back up her capability.
"What of the opposition?" Naruto asked.
"I scouted the clearing while Shikamaru and Termari were away," Tenten spoke from her corner of the bunker. She spoke as she continued preparing a series of kunai, "There are roughly a dozen teams guarding the four main approaches to the temple." She began wrapping her knuckles, "Normally, I'd say we'd just steamroll over them from one direction, fast and hard. But carrying wounded, I'm afraid that isn't an option," she punctuated her frustration by tearing the end of the tape.
Naruto turned an eye back at Gaara and then to the assembled group. "What about Gaara?"
"What about him?" Sakura asked softly.
"How desperate is his situation," Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, "because that makes a huge difference about our plans."
Sakura and Ino exchanged looks, both wondering who had the courage to spread the bad news by the look of it. Sakura nodded, "He still has a relatively high fever, but I'm more worried about his liver." She shook her head.
Ino picked up the message, "Without proper blood test and imaging, we can't rule out the possibility that every minute we delay is causing irreparable liver damage."
Naruto nodded slowly, "Okay, so we call Dad and evacuate him immediately…"
"I'm afraid that isn't an option," Sasuke cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto shot back harshly.
Sasuke exchanged a look with Sakura, then Temari and Shikamaru. "I can't overemphasize how much what we're about to say does not leave this bunker." We?
"Your father," Sakura spoke from her seat next to Hinata, "gave us clear orders to get Gaara out by any means other than emergency evacuation."
Kankaro spoke indignantly, "In the name of god, why!"
"Kankaro," Temari spoke flatly, "Father is dead," she stared her wide-eyed brother in the face, "and an S-ranked criminal is impersonating him."
"How are you so sure?" her brother huffed.
"Because the man who killed him was trying to kill me," she looked at Gaara longingly, "but he didn't expect Gaara to take the hit for me." Temari closed her eyes against tears.
"Kankaro, we know about the invasion plan, and we know Gaara was supposed to be a lynchpin to it," Shikamaru spoke, arms crossed defensively. "That is why Oorochimaru didn't just kill all of us when all he had to do was attack one night while most of us were sleeping."
"That's why he didn't snuff us out while we were going for the antidote," Sakura added.
"And why he tried killing Shikamaru and not me when we were going for the last scroll," Temari nodded.
"Of course," Naruto snapped his fingers and the puzzle pieces snapped into place, "The all-or-nothing rule of the test! If a team doesn't finish as a whole, the whole team is eliminated!"
"I don't get it," Kankaro curled his face, "he tries killing you, but then he doesn't?"
"He probably hoped to set Gaara off by killing the two of you," Shikamaru explained, "causing Shukaku to slaughter everyone present. When that failed and Gaara was poisoned, he realized he needed Gaara alive to get him to the finals, but he also needed you and Temari to get there, too! You said yourself, the attack ended when Gaara was poisoned."
"So," Naruto chewed his lip, "we're setting a trap, and we're the bait."
"Something like that, Naruto," Sasuke nodded. "For it to work, we have to get Gaara out the traditional way, or the game is up."
"That's damn dangerous," Neji quipped, "What if something goes wrong?"
"Neji, I trust Dad's judgement," Naruto said in a throaty voice, "I don't like it, but a lot of people, Hidden Sands and Hidden Leaves, could die needlessly if we don't go through with this!" Naruto thought back to Mom's lesson about doing hard things when he wanted to call off his date with Sakura and Dad's lesson learned from Lord Sarutobi in the aftermath. Someday you're going to be wearing Dad's jacket and sitting his chair, and you're going to have to make hard decision that won't please everyone. Looks like the road to someday just started today. Naruto checked his watch, 1023. We're wasting time! "Anyone who hasn't eaten, eat up!" Naruto said firmly, "Leave anything not essential or important; we can't afford dead weight." He turned to Shikamaru, "You got the map?" Shikamaru spread it on the floor in front of Naruto. "Here's the plan," Naruto explained everything, hoping it was a good plan.
The glitz and glamour of the Red Lotus's gambling floor dimmed with the drone of pachinko machines and the drone of countless people determined to lose their hard-earned money. Jiraiya didn't care about the small fish, however. He and Tsunade had a quick breakfast at the buffet and soon were seated at a bar table near the bookies' counters. On overhead monitors, news footage of the day's events played and replayed between highlights of teams getting eliminated from the previous day and the current odds on each team and combination of teams.
The excess of sound and light coupled with the frustrating lack of hard data caused the invisible vice on Jiraiya's skull to tighten slowly, torturously. Kid, you'd better damn well be safe; you and your girl! Jiraiya flashed back to when Minato had disappeared on the rescue mission to find Kushina almost thirty years ago – anxiously pacing, sick to his stomach thinking that his son was also missing. Relax, Minato came back from that one; Naruto will, too!
Distraction came in the form of Tsunade walking back to the table from the bookies, "I can't believe it!"
"What?"
"The assholes from Iwa, Suna, and Kumo just upped their bets on none of our teams finishing; right now they're putting sixty-to-one odds against Teams Seven and a hundred-to-one odds against all the Hidden Leaf teams completing!"
Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, "It seems you stand to make a lot of money based on yesterday's bets," he grinned, "Care to up the stakes."
"Dammit, Jiraiya!" Tsunade slammed a hand down on the table, "You know my shit luck! Do you really what me to jinx this like I do with everything!"
"Tsunade, you're no more bad luck than that crystal you wear around your neck," Jiraiya rubbed his thumb over her hand, "If it's so damn cursed, why not place it in your bet? If you win, great, and if you lose, at least you'll be rid of the damn thing!"
"This necklace…" Tsunade huffed, thumbing it between her fingers, "was the first Hokage's, my grandfather's! Do you really think I'd risk it on a bet!"
"If you still think it killed Nawaki and Dan, why not?" he replied sharply. "Tsunade, I don't know what's happening, but if it's really bad luck, then this is your best chance to be rid of it! And…"
"And?" she replied harshly.
"And if it isn't, then it's time to stop wearing it like some weight around your neck! You didn't kill Nawaki or Dan by giving it to them! You gave it to them because you loved both of them!" Jiraiya felt the pent-up years of frustration and distance boil over, "Dammit, I love you, Tsunade! And I always have! Watching you carry that damn torch has cut me up inside for almost thirty years!"
Tsunade stared wide-eyed, her coppery irises eclipsed by her dark pupils, "Jiraiya… what did you say…" her voice strained, breathless, "…what did you just say!"
The casino froze still for a moment, and Jiraiya could tell his life was flashing before his eyes. If you're wrong about this, it's all over! "I said, 'I love you,' Tsunade." His heart beat loudly in his chest as he awaited a response that would send him to heaven or hell.
"Wait…" Tsunade stammered as she rolled the green crystal shard in her left hand, "…wait here!" She snapped the necklace from her neck and stormed from the table toward the bookies. My god, that crazy woman is going to do it! Jiraiya felt his heart start beating again. At some point, he remined himself to breathe.
After what looked like heated discussion with the bookies and a casino manager, she handed the necklace to a team of security personnel, and the manager handed her a series of forms. A few signatures later, she was given two receipts and swaggered back to the table. As she sat down, she laughed nervously, "I can't believe I just did that!"
"I can't believe you did it, either," Jiraiya gasped in exasperation, "How the hell much did they price it for?"
"They could only appraise it to ten-billion yen and not break the house if they lose," her body shook with sheepish laughter.
"You could buy three mountains with gold mines with it," Jiriaya laughed, "I think they're getting the better deal if they win!"
"May it give them better luck than it gave Nawaki, Dan, or myself, then," she sighed, flagging down the waiter, "Sake, please, for both of us."
"Young lady, isn't it a bit early to start day-drinking?" Jiraiya scolded playfully.
"Not when you've staked a huge chunk of your net worth on a bunch of genin," she laughed, "God, I must be crazy!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you if the worst happens," Jiraiya winked.
"And if I win," she smirked, "I wouldn't need anyone to care for me ever again." She shot a glance at a group of Iwa and Kumo shinobi making their way to up their bets.
One way or another, a lot of people are going to go broke today! "Sounds like it could get real lonely." The waiter came back with the sake, pouring them each a cup. Jiraiya rested his chin in is hand, admiring Tsunade's reinvigorated spirit.
"Well, I'm sure I'd find some way to squander it, maybe someone to squander it with," she stared back with her coppery eyes as she took a slight sip of the sour rice wine.
Is she daring me, or am I imagining things? He heart raced again. You confessed that you love her, why not? "Care to place a private wager?" he asked, hiding the fact that his heart was in his throat.
"Oh," she smiled, "why not; I've bet everything else!" Tsunade giggled, making Jiraiya's heart feel light.
"If you lose this bet, I treat you to a fine dinner here tonight, pay the hotel bill, and help you get back on your feet." He rested his hand on the table halfway between them.
"Sounds pretty sweet to lose," she winked as her hand snaked over his, "What happens if I win?"
The muscles tugged up against the corner of Jiraiya's mouth, "If you win, we order room service, we go back to the room, and we make love like the world is going to end tonight!"
Tsunade tilted her head, staring with a curious side-eye, "So, do I win if I win, or win if I lose?" she laughed, pouring a top-off to her sake cup, "I'll drink to that!" She leaned in, hooking his arm around his. Jiraiya grabbed his sake cup and they drank with their arms interlocked.
The liquid burned warm down his throat. Jiraiya's cheeks flushed warmly as he prepared to lean in and kiss her across the table when a commotion distracted both of them. "WE INTERUPT THIS PROGRAM FOR OUR LIVE FEED FROM THE FOREST OF DEATH!" boomed from the television monitors.
The air was thick and heavy as the group approached the clearing. The ozone scent of approaching rain assaulted Hinata's nose as she scanned the western approach to the central temple in the late afternoon light; more than a dozen teams stood between them and safety. Get through this and no more sleeping on a concrete floor, no more drinking rainwater, and no more eating survival rations! The thought of her luxurious bed and a celebratory trip to Ichiraku's redoubled her conviction. She'd need it; her limbs still felt rubbery under their own weight, and she felt far from a hundred percent. You don't have to do a hundred percent, just get close enough!
"Everybody remember the plan?" Naruto asked the rest of the group as it huddled in cover. A chorus of affirmations came up. He turned to Hinata, "Ready?"
"As ready as I can be," she nodded and began making the hand seal along with Naruto. In a moment, her concentration split over a hundred ways. I'm never going to get used to this!
"Remember everyone, stay in the pockets of clones, and be ready for a potential surprise along the way!" The group marshalled into their running order, "AND GO!" Naruto shouted.
Like a horde of barbarians, they burst through the underbrush to the edge of the central clearing. Hinata filled the space with a flood of shadow clones to overwhelm the teams blocking the west entrance to the temple. While Naruto's clones served as mobile protection for the teams, especially those with wounded: Kankaro carried Gaara, Choji carried Kiba, and Lee carried Shino.
At first, the initial shock worked. Two of the four teams blocking their way broke and ran to avoid being trampled, but two Iwa teams stood their ground, raising an earthen barrier to break up the first wave of hundreds of shadow clones. Keep going! Halfway there! Hinata's legs thundered beneath her; other teams were approaching to investigate.
As her first series of clones approached, lighting split the air with a massive KABOOM, and the sky opened with a pelting rain. Through the sheets of downpour, dozens of her clones disintegrated. At first, panic gripped her, thinking someone immensely powerful had cut through a swath of them; but she soon realized as she huffed and heaved that her chakra reserves, even augmented by Kyuubi, were exhausted. Her clones dissolved suddenly, and her lungs burned like fiery kunai were stabbing her from the inside out. Soft mud grabbed her foot, causing her to grind both knees into the mud. It's all up to you now, Naruto; I hope you know what you're doing! She bowed her head, waiting for the rest of the plan to take effect.
Shikamaru tasted the first drop of rain on his tongue when they were just about halfway across the main clearing. Only a hundred meters to go! As was feared, the outer ring of Hinata's clones all suddenly collapsed, but thankfully, the protective flow of Naruto's clones continued to run interference, albeit increasingly thinner protection.
The final nail in the original plan came as the Iwa team raised a long earthen barrier to block the way. Shikamaru reached for a flash bomb on his belt when the sky brilliantly illuminated with a violently explosion followed the howl of storm-force winds. The lighting crash smiled on them, as did the fortune of the howling winds. This is too easy!
The two Iwa teams stood smugly atop the barrier they erected, not knowing they'd already lost. Lighting crashed, spreading shadow everywhere. Concentrate! Lighting boomed again, he finally could reach all six opposing genin, seizing them by their shadows.
A wall of angry, swirling wind whipped past him with the deafening force of a bursting explosive tag. When he opened his eyes again, the six opposing genin were sailing through the air toward a bone-breaking landing. The large earth wall collapsed, causing the ground to tumble beneath him.
Something caught on his right foot, and a sickening POP as his body went one way and his foot refused to follow. A cold, icy spear jabbed through the length of his leg, through his pelvis, and into his stomach. The next sensation was the hot burn of dirt and gravel peeling skin off his chin, arms, and legs as he flopped to the ground.
Shikamaru lay sprawled out for a moment, hearing and feeling people thunder past him; raindrops pelted him like a barrage of tiny pebbles. He struggled to rise, but searing pain greeted him as he even tried crawling on the right leg. The lighting crash of pain shot from his sprained ankle all the way to his right eye as he fell forward on his face again. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he wheezed through strained tears burning out his eyes. He could see the goddamn temple entrance not fifty meters away, its illuminated portal like a distant gateway to the heavens. He dragged himself, but other genin not on his team were approaching. If he was lucky, they'd beat the crap out of him, leave him for the medics, and his team would be disqualified because he couldn't cross the finish line with them.
Shikamaru closed his eyes as angry steps approached. This is it! A quick heel stomp and you die or never walk again! What a pain!
"Dude, this is no time for a nap!" a vile banshee screeched as she sent a shriek of wind behind him. "Ugh! You've been hanging with that fat kid on your team too much!" Temari heaved him up and over her shoulder and took off running for the entrance.
"Oh gods, put me back down, troublesome woman!" he groaned. I'll never hear the end of this from Mom, Dad, or Sensei!
"You're welcome, jackass!" she boomed as she tightened her grip on him, one hand alarmingly close to his derriere. Oh god, curse biology! Whether she was messing with him or had just happened the grab him there, the effect was still the same.
The rain suddenly stopped, and he noticed they were surrounded by bright light. Temari sputtered to hard stopped, lowering him down with a hard thunk. As Shikamaru's eyes adjusted, he noticed Temari hunched over her knees, heaving violently to catch her breath. She locked gaze with her pained, teal eyes. "Skika…" she fell forward onto him and collapsed.
He shook her briefly, unable to rouse her, he shook her a bit harder, "Temari…. TEMARI!" Still, she did not move. "MEDIC! MEDIC!" his voice echoed in the concrete entryway.
Naruto saw Hinata go down roughly halfway to safety. He knew it had been a gamble using a shadow clone swarm in their current state, which was why he hung back when everyone else raced toward safety. They had planned for it, but it still wretched his heart to watch her fall to her knees. Naruto skidded down beside her, once again cradling her in his arms, "Come on hon, let's earn that cinnamon roll!"
The ground shook violently as Shikamaru and Temari cleared the way of enemies and obstacles. For a moment, he held her close as the ground quaked, "Hang on!" He yelled as she screamed from the shockwave of the ground quaking and the airburst hitting them. It lasted maybe a few seconds, but it was one of the more frightening things he'd endured short of drowning.
Naruto opened his eyes, seeing the way to safety clear. Team Eight and Team Might Guy crossed first, followed piecemeal by Team Ten and the Sand Siblings. "Naruto come on!" Sakura ran toward him back from the entrance, "Hurry!"
"Come on, Kyuubi!" Naruto forced himself back to his feet, still cradling Hinata. Soon, his legs carried him like lightning, and he was through the entrance faster than Sakura despite the fact that she was only a few meters from it. As fast as he moved, he came to a sudden stop. Already medics were carrying Gaara, Shino, Temari, and Shikamaru further into the temple to a makeshift infirmary.
Firm hands tapped him on the shoulders, "Hey kiddo!" Iruka Sensei's voice came from his right, "You did good out there!" he turned to see his smiling instructor's face.
The sudden shifting of Hinata out of his arms, almost caused Naruto to flail about violently until he saw it was Kakashi, "I'll get her checked by the medics; don't forget to get checked, yourself!" he winked and began to carry her away.
"Kakashi, wait!" Naruto reached into his pocket, extracting the still cellophane wrapped cinnamon roll, "Give this to her, please!" Kakashi took the sweet confection and winked before taking Hinata away.
Iruka rubbed Naruto's shoulders, "You did it! You got them all home safely!" he shook Naruto in triumph, "Now let's go get you to your old man and mom; I can't imagine how proud they'll be to see you!"
Naruto heaved several deep breaths, feeling dizzy. I made it! I made it! Everyone is safe! Despite the feeling of elation, exhaustion hit him like a tsunami, as did another prickling sensation in the back of his neck – danger. Naruto didn't know why, but his eyes darted out the still open entrance of the temple. Standing far away in the blackness of approaching night was a figure all clad in white. Even at this distance, Naruto somehow could make out the man's viperish grin as he licked his lips and mouthed, "See ya, kid!"
"Iruka," Naruto blinked, and the vision was gone.
"Naruto," Iruka stared out into the night with concern, "What is it?"
"O—Oorochimaru," he stammered. Naruto felt himself disconnect as Iruka shouted for security. Naruto stared out into the night, looking past the shadows, feeling his enemy slither away. His hands clenched into fists. Slither back into your hole, snake! We'll be waiting for you. Next time, you wont get away!
Naruto felt another set of hands on his shoulders, "Come on, son," Dad's voice brought him back to reality. "Let's have the medics check you, and let's get you home!" Home! Right now, the thought of being in his own bed and safe was the closet thing to perfect he could think of – better than any prize this exam offered.
All the air left the room in the Red Lotus's gambling floor as Naruto carried Hinata across the threshold to the temple on the TV monitor. In the span of fifteen minutes, the Hidden Leaf Teams went from dead last to the only group to have fully completed Part II of the test. Satisfied that his grandson and his girl were okay, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief that he'd been holding for the past few minutes. Close call, but they did make it!
"Yes, we have reports coming in from the proctors that Teams Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten from Konoha and the Sand-Siblings from Suna have all completed the course and are in stable condition," the reporter on the television continued to chatter. A chorus of familiar groans erupted throughout the room – the many shinobi that had just lost months of mission pay or other savings, having bet against Naruto and his friends. The kid will go far!
Jiraiya's elation was curtailed by the sight of Tsunade looking glassy-eyed across the table. "Umm… Tsunade?" Jiraiya cocked up an eyebrow in confusion.
"He… he did it…. He really did it," she muttered, her eyes shaking.
"Tsunade, your right," Jiraiya grinned, "You're officially a rich woman!"
She was unmoved, eyes still wide and glassy. "My god…" Tsunade went limp and slumped to the side out of her chair.
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled as he raced to catch her as she fell. "Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted as he guided her down to the ground. "Come on, babe, don't do this!" He tapped her gently on the arm.
"Sir, will your wife be needing us to call for a medical team?" a casino manager asked.
"Jiraiya?" Tsunade's eyes shot wide open, "I just had the strangest dream!" her voice quivered. Her eyes darted around, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
"It's okay, just breathe," he said. Jiraiya took her hand and massaged it slowly.
"Jiraiya… Naruto?" her eyes glued wide-open.
"They won, Tsunade," he smiled, "You're a very wealthy woman right now!"
Tears dripped from her eyes; Tsunade bolted upright and wrapped him in her arms. "He did it! I'm not a jinx!"
Jiraiya patted her on the back, "No, you're not," he rocked her slowly. "Will we need to take you to the hospital?"
"No," she pulled back, "I just need to lie down." Jiraiya help steady Tsunade to her feet. "Let me check my winnings, and let's go back to the room. I- I just had too much excitement."
"It's okay, take your time!" They went to the bookies' counter. Tsunade had, indeed, won a daimyo's ransom.
"Of course, it is our pleasure to return this to you," the casino manager at the counter handed her back the case containing the First Hokage's necklace, "We're always skittish of taking property in lieu of hard funds, especially something so valuable!"
"It must have been a heavy loss," Jiraiya said.
"Yes," manager said sullenly, "However, our losses were partly offset by the significant losses of others. It put a sizable ding in our quarterly profits, but I doubt it will severely offset us," the smile returned to the man's face. "Perhaps, I can interest you in setting up a few more bets?"
"After all the excitement of today," Tsunade sighed, sounding spent, "I think I'll pass on testing my luck." She turned a curious look to Jiraiya then back to the manager, "Perhaps, I could be talked in making use of some of the amenities, and extending our stay another three days – say a spa visit and dinner reservations for tomorrow night?"
"Of course, and might I suggest tickets to the playhouse for tomorrow night? There is an excellent Kabuki troupe performing Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura."
Tsunade turned to him, "You interested?"
Jiraiya shrugged, "Sure!" Tsunade paid with her earnings and registered the rest to be wire transferred to her bank. She still seemed unsteady on the walk to the elevator, occasionally needing to grab his arm, and the rest of the way back to the room. As they walked into their darkened room Tsunade didn't even bother touching the light switch. She tossed her handbag on a table, kicked off her shoes, and flopped herself down on the bed. "Tsunade, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Jiraiya, lie down with me," her voice weary.
Jiraiya did as she asked, kicking off his shoes and sliding next to her. "You okay?" he asked.
"Hold me."
Jiraiya wrapped her in his embrace, slowly stroking his fingers through her hair. The only other sound in the room was the sound of the rain against the windows.
"Jiraiya," Tsunade clutched his robes, bringing herself against him. His heart began assaulting his ribcage as if it were trying to claw its way out.
"Yes…" before he could speak another word, she filled his lips with her kiss. They began light, uncertain, but they soon became passionate, desperate. Jiraiya traced the side of her face, wiping away thin trails of tears. Part of him wanted to speak, but there were no words to match what they were saying.
Tsunade forced him onto his back, and she climbed over him, "You said you love me," she said nose to nose to him.
"Yes," Jiraiya replied breathlessly.
"Prove it," she sat up, straddling him. "Show me what you've dreamed of doing for the past thirty years," she whispered in her low, smoky voice as she began pulling open her robes.
"If this is about the bet…" she placed her fingers over his mouth to stop him.
"Listen, perv," she locked her intent eyes with his, "I won that bet, and I intend to cash it in; don't tell me you've got cold feet!"
"Perish the thought!" Jiraiya pulled her to him, and they began wrestling free from bits of clothing. This isn't a dream; this is really happening! His hands and lips explored her inch by glorious inch in the dim shadows cast by the rainy evening.
"I haven't done this, in a very long time," she teased, rolling them around, "You might have to refresh my memory!" She grinned.
"I love you, Tsunade," he whispered to her lips as he kissed her again. She pulled him in close, and his teenage fantasy became reality. Goosebumps erupted throughout his body, and her hands kneaded his body throughout, feeling every inch of him as if she were committing him to memory.
They continued exploring, learning, one another for some time. Tsunade's breathing became rapid, and Jiraiya felt himself approaching ecstasy as well. Some many lovers he'd had had been forgettable at best. "I love you, Jiraiya!" she screamed. He soon felt himself consumed by passion, knowing he'd never forget this moment; he'd never forget her.
Author's note: hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Everyone stay safe, and thank you very much for reading. I'll you all next Saturday.
- Adam