She had promised herself not to go back there, to the altar that Naruto had created in his memory, next to the small pond.
Three years had passed since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War and many things had changed and among others she was no longer Hokage, Shizune had decided to stay in Konoha to serve the Sixth, Orochimaru seemed to have finally changed - from time to time they met for a few drinks, like in the old days - and Naruto had moved with the eldest Huyga.
It was Naruto who told her where he had "buried" him, since his body had never been found, having ended up in the depths of the ocean.
Every time she went to see him, however, she remained silent without knowing what to say, because all the words had ended the day Fukasaku-sama had told her of his death, along with all the possible and imaginable insults.
Only the tears and a void in the bottom of her heart remained, because in the end she realized that she loved him. It had taken her years to admit it to herself, believing she had only loved one man in her entire life and denying anyone who asked her if they were together that she would never, ever get engaged to a pervert.
Yet, taking a step back in time, despite having always rejected Jiraiya from that point of view, she certainly couldn't deny that he had always been there, especially in moments of pain: he was the shoulder on which she cried, his were the arms that surrounded her so as not to let her fall, his were the smiles he reserved for her in moments of despair. Jiraiya had always been there by her side, both as a teammate and as a friend of her. She had always been aware of his feelings about her, everyone had noticed and he had done nothing to hide them, but at the time they were too young and too different, which is why Tsunade had never given him a chance.
Salty tears began to fall from her amber eyes, as she brought a half-empty bottle of sake to her lips - the other one she had brought, had been placed next to the tombstone, as a gift.
"So, in the end you cried for me." His voice came from behind her like a stab, but she thought she imagined it. She shook her head as if to send her away. "Isn't it enough for you to haunt me in a dream? Now I hear your voice too, old idiot."
Moments of silence followed, in which she drained all the remaining liquid from the bottle. When she heard some footsteps approaching she stiffened - Naruto was very clear to all the villagers, never disturb Tsunade when she went to visit the tomb, so who the hell dared to bother her?
Feeling her frustration growing in her, the person behind her spoke again, stopping walking. "Hime, it's me. I'm back."
Tsunade couldn't believe it, it really was his voice. If it was Orochimaru's joke, this time she would really kill him. But when she got up and turned around, she recognized the figure in front of her as a real person, not as an edo tensei.
"How? No, no, that's not possible."
"Instead I'm here, I'm alive." Jiraiya took a step forward, leaning on the walking stick he carried with him. "Please believe me. "
"No! You are dead, Fukasaku-sama.."
"Fukasaku-sama managed to recover my body when I fell into the water, but my condition was so critical that he preferred to lie to all of you in order not to give you false hope. "He took another step forward, then leaning against the trunk of the tree nearby. "I was treated in a secret place in the Shikkotsu Forest by snails, they weren't sure I would make it. That's why they didn't say anything."
And in fact, his injuries had been critical: he had lost an arm in the fight against Pain and his left leg seemed to be unable to support his weight, so he used a cane. But everything else seemed to be fine. "I don't… Listen, I'm sorry, I never imagined I could risk dying in that fight, but I couldn't give up. I wanted to get back to you right away, but I was in a coma with an uncertain fate. And when I woke up .."
"When did you come back? Do others know?" Tsunade tried to appear as if she didn't care, her cursed pride preventing her from showing what she really felt and saying long unpronounceable words.
She just took a step back as if to say okay, you're back, but you won't get your reward. "I've been to Kakashi and Naruto before, he couldn't stop crying. They gave me a detailed account of the whole war, from the assault of Pain to the defeat of Madara and Kaguya. By now the whole village knows of my return. Oro-kun too, of course."
What a fool, several times she had fantasized about his return to her, that he would immediately go to her, instead he had left her for last, as if everyone else mattered more. She would understand Naruto, but Orochimaru? He had even gone to those two old fools of Koharu and Homura before joining her. "Hime."
This time Tsunade took a step forward, raising a fist as if to hit him. "Hey, wait, wait. I just got better, so you kill me again." Jiraiya laughed, hearing her laugh made her cry again. She quickly wiped away her tears, bending her face so as not to let him see it. God, she really missed him so much.
"Besides, there is one thing I want to tell you, so please don't kill me, at least not now."
For a moment they were both silent, Jiraiya's eyes fixed on her. "So, what is it you want to tell me? I don't have much time, I have… I have things to do."
However, instead of speaking, Jiraiya acted directly. He came even closer, annihilating the distance between them, and taking Tsunade's face with the humble hand left, he lifted it and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
Kiss that lasted a few seconds, but for her it lasted a long time.
"I'm sorry to tell you, Hime, but I think you lost the bet."
