Four long years came and went and still Jiraiya hasn't seen nor heard from his old teammate. His heart ached and ached for those four years for he wanted nothing more than to see her once again. It took him some time but he forgave her for all the wrong she has done to him. What happened between them was long in the past and he didn't see the sense of dwelling on such an event. He was willing and ready to move on with his life and fall out of love with Tsunade and for your years, he was successful. However, his mind never left her. It was constantly on her, wondering if she was okay and if she found true love and happiness. He wasn't sure and he would never be certain since she was long gone and in his opinion, never coming back.
Life for Jiraiya has changed dramatically over the past years. He devoted his time and efforts into training Minato and the now fourteen year old boy was excelling in everything that he did. He was a genius that came along every once in a lifetime and Jiraiya was proud to call himself his teacher. Minato wasn't just his mere student, but he was his closest friend. The boy has always been mature but now that he was a young man, Jiraiya felt comfortable sharing everything with him. Now Minato knew everything about Jiraiya's situation with Tsunade and played a major role in helping him to get over it and learn how to forgive. Jiraiya even helped Minato with whatever problems he was having in his life. For example, Minato had a crush on his classmate, the feisty, red haired beauty, Kushina Uzumaki for quite some time but due to her strong personality, he was too shy to approach her.
"Just try to talk to her one day." Jiraiya told him.
Minato agreed to do just as Jiraiya told him but he never had the guts to talk to her. One night however, Minato was walking home when he noticed long strands of red hair lying on the ground. He immediately noticed the hair to be Kushina's since she was the only girl in the village with such long, red hair. This could only mean that she was in trouble, so he followed the strands of hair until they lead him to her. She was being kidnapped by Kumogakure ninjas because she possessed a special kind of chakra as well as the nine tailed fox demon. He defeated her kidnappers in one swift movement and rescue her. This broke the ice between them and ever since then, they became close friends and lovers.
"Saved the damsel in distress." Jiraiya said, "That's a great way to sweep the girl off her feet! I'm so proud." Jiraiya smiled and rubbed his hand in Minato's spiky yellow hair.
Jiraiya was also the third Hokage's most trusted shinobi. Whenever the Hokage needed assistance, he would call on Jiraiya and when he needed a second opinion, Jiraiya was the one he depended on. Orochimaru was still in the village but ever since the day they returned from war, nobody has seen him. Nobody knew what he was up to but rumors circulated around the village that he was using human beings as test dummies for his random experiments. They were just rumors though so the third Hokage didn't believe a word of it. He refused to believe that Orochimaru would do such a thing but whatever it was he was doing, he couldn't be up to any good.
Jiraiya's friendship with Orochimaru quickly deteriorated just like his relationship with Tsunade. However, he still considered Orochimaru as a friend and would do anything for him. It seemed as if his childhood friends were miles and miles away from him and while that was true in his case with Tsunade, it wasn't so with Orochimaru. They lived in the same village and yet, they never saw each other. He wanted so desperately to change that but never dared to visit Orochimaru's home. He knew how much he hated uninvited visitors and refused to get on his bad side. He just wanted a friend to talk to. At least he had Minato but he often found himself yearning for the company of others his age.
"Jiraiya sensei!" Minato said while running towards his mentor, "Jiraiya sensei!"
The adolescent's screams got his attention so he turned to face the blonde boy, "What is it Minato?" Jiraiya asked, confused as to why he was shouting his name in that manner.
"I have a message for you from the Third Hokage." Minato said and handed the sealed envelope to Jiraiya.
The Sannin opened the envelope quickly and read the letter inside. When he finished reading it, he felt his heart tighten in his chest. No, this could not be happening. Was the Third Hokage absolutely certain?
"I-I have to go Minato."
"Why? What's wrong sensei?" Minato asked with a look of concern on his face. Something was definitely wrong but he didn't know what.
"I'll tell you later but for now I have to see the Hokage."
"Are you certain Sarutobi sensei?!" Jiraiya shouted as he burst through the doors of the Hokage's office.
"I'm one hundred percent certain Jiraiya, now-"
"No!" He shouted, cutting off his mentor, "You must have the wrong guy, there's no way that Orochimaru would-"
"I saw him with my own two eyes boy!" Sarutobi shouted, still lost for words at what he just witnessed, "I saw Orochimaru in the vault, stealing forbidden jutsu. He even confessed that he used human beings as test subjects for his experiments. Every person that he used died. All the rumors were true."
"But Orochimaru couldn't possibly... He's one of us. Maybe- Maybe somebody forced him to do all of that."
"He was by no means forced Jiraiya, he did what he did because he wanted to... And so foolishly allowed him to escape..."
"Why would you do a thing like that?"
"Because he was my student..." Sarutobi admitted. He felt a strong connection to Orochimaru since he taught him for years but now, Orochimaru was going down a path of destruction and he couldn't fully come to terms with it, "Orochimaru is no longer my student and he is no longer your comrade. The faster we learn to accept that, the better it will be for us." He said with a heavy heart. It wasn't easy for him to see his student turn to such evil and darkness but as the Hokage, he knew he had to make a decision that he never thought he would be forced to make, "I couldn't stop him but... Maybe you could."
"Sensei, please don't ask me to-"
"Orochimaru is a criminal now. Hunt him down and bring him to justice."
How could Jiraiya possibly fight his friend? They grew up together and faced grave situations side by side. The fondest memories of his childhood always included Orochimaru and now he was being asked to hunt him down and throw him in jail. This wasn't an easy thing for him to do but he couldn't simply go against the Hokage's orders so with a heavy heart, he made the decision to follow his instructions, "Where is he?"
"He shouldn't be too far away from the village."
Jiraiya nodded his head and started to walk away to fulfill his unfortunate duty but was stopped when Sarutobi spoke up, "This isn't easy for me either Jiraiya. I'm loosing all of my students. First Tsunade and now Orochimaru. You're the only one I have left so if you two get into a serious fight, don't die."
Sarutobi held a special place in his heart for all his students and nothing pained him more than to lose them. No matter what, he would always remember them as young, innocent children.
"I won't." Jiraiya said and walked out of the office, not knowing what to expect but still had hope that he could talk some sense into Orochimaru so that everything would be back to normal.
The four years since Tsunade has left the village have not been kind to her. At first, everything was fine because she had money but it wasn't too long until that money ran out. Now she was broke and still had a child and a pig to care for. Being poor definitely wasn't easy and she often found herself not being able to meet the financial demands of everyday life. It was pitiful. She went from riches to rags in only a few short years. Maybe leaving the village was a mistake after all but she still wasn't willing to admit that to herself or to Shizune.
She was a waitress in a grungy men's bar. She worked the night shifts not by choice but because that was the only shift she could get. The day shifts were all taken by women in a similar position as she. The uniform she had to wear was disgraceful and left little to the imagination of the men she had to serve. The top she wore was tight fitting, had a low neck line and revealed her stomach while the skirt was short and revealed her long legs. She hated that uniform with all her heart because it brought her nothing but unwanted attention from perverted men. But what could she do? That was the only job she could get to fit in with the people of the town and that uniform came with the job. She just had to suck it up and get to work.
"Table nine is in need of a waitress Tsunade." Her boss told her, pointing at the occupied table. He was a fairly young man, but older than Tsunade. It was obvious that he didn't care about the well being of his employees, he only wanted money.
"Okay." Tsunade said while walking over to table nine. There sat a middle aged man, smoking a cigarette. He looked like a typical bum, the scum of the street. Those type of people were all Tsunade would see walk into the bar, "What would you like to have today?" Tsunade asked in the most pleasant voice she could speak in regardless of her constant foul mood.
"I'll have a hot piece of you on a plate." He said disrespectfully.
"Excuse me?" Tsunade said through clenched teeth, trying to suppress her anger and her urge to kill the man. She reminded herself that she could not display her monstrous strength, especially not at work.
"I mean, I'll just have a coffee."
"Would you like cream and sugar with that?"
"No but I would love you with it. Scratch that, just forget about the coffee and us two can go back to my apartment and we'll have some fun." He said while looking her up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts.
"I'll be right back with your coffee sir." She said, still fighting back her anger at the blatantly horny man. Oh how she hated working there, serving scum like him every night. But she couldn't quit, she just couldn't. What would become of Shizune if she did? What would become of her? They would be sitting out in the streets, begging for food and money, depending on the generosity of others for the rest of their lives. No, she couldn't allow Shizune to live on the streets once again. It was dangerous, absolutely dangerous, especially for a child her age. Of course Tsunade could easily protect her from criminals and rapists but she didn't want to expose Shizune to such a traumatic thing. She had to provide for her so if it meant putting up with that perverted asshole, she would suck it up and bear it.
Tsunade's boss noticed the look of anger and frustration plastered on Tsunade's face. He couldn't have his waitresses looking so unpleasant so he told her plaster a smile on her face and be pleasant, "What's wrong now Tsunade? Would it kill ya to smile?"
"You wouldn't be smiling if some asshole was harassing you." Tsunade grumbled while filling the coffee pot with steaming hot black coffee.
"You work in a men's bar. Scum come in here all the time and you're not so bad to look at. In fact, you're a fine piece so ass. Expect to be hit on." He said with zero sympathy.
"Whatever." She mumbled and carried the pot of coffee to the pervert, "Here you go." She said as she poured the dark liquid into a coffee cup, "Enjoy." She turned her back to him and was about to walk away when she felt him grope her from behind. She reacted to that rude gesture without a thought and punched him in the face so hard that she broke his nose. If she was using her full strength, he would have been sent flying against the wall. He was lucky.
"You broke my nose you bitch!" He shouted as he rose to his feet with the intent of punching Tsunade back. However, she didn't hesitate to throw the pot of coffee on him. The hot liquid burned him severely and left him in excruciating pain.
"AHHHHHH!" He screamed, "That fucking bitch threw hot coffee on me!"
Tsunade's boss came immediately when he heard the man's screams and the gasps of everybody else in the bar, "Tsunade what the hell is wrong with you?!"
"That asshole groped me!" She shouted, "I may be your employee but I have rights and that was sexual harassment!"
"You don't have any rights anymore!"
"What do you mean?"
"You are fired, that's what I mean!"
"Fired?" She repeated.
"Yes bitch you're fired, are you deaf? Now get your ass out of my bar!"
"Well now that I'm fired I can finally do something that I've always wanted to do." She said before she punched her boss so hard in the face that she broke his nose as well but she didn't stop there, she punched him again in the eye, leaving it black and blue and swollen. She picked up her coat and walked out of the bar with her pride still intact.
Only when she was out of the establishment did she realize that she was now unemployed. She was supposed to get paid the following day but that was definitely not going to happen after she beat up her boss and she barely had enough money to last her the week. What was she going to do now? No other place would hire her because word about what happened today would get around fast in such a small, unforgiving town. She allowed her anger to get the better of her and now she was without a job. How was she supposed to pay the bills or buy food? She had no answers now and nobody to turn to. She messed up big but this time, there was no way to correct her mistake.
She slowly walked home, not wanting to face Shizune after she so foolishly got fired from her job. It was her responsibility to put food on the table and a roof over their heads and now she couldn't even do that. She hated herself even more than before and wished that her life wasn't so messed up. She was certain that Shizune would hate her too and regret ever agreeing to live with her so many years ago. Shizune was now ten years old. She has gotten taller but never lost the cute look that she had when she was just six years old. She was even more intelligent than before and was striving in medical ninjutsu. TonTon also got bigger in size but within, she was still a playful piglet. They knew that the little pig would never grow out of her baby phase. Yes, Tsunade had a sweet little family unit but now, she doomed them all. How could she simply walk in and tell them that she lost her job?
She waked through the front door and immediately, Shizune came running to the door, "Lady Tsunade, your shift isn't over yet. What are you doing home so early?"
She sighed deeply, realizing that she couldn't lie to her, "Have a seat Shizune." Tsunade followed the girl to the small sofa and took hold of her hand, "I was fired tonight."
"Fired?!" Shizune said in shock, "How did you get fired?"
Tsunade couldn't possibly tell her that she got fired because she punched a guy in his face and spilled hot coffee all over him and then punched her boss twice in the face as well. That would make her sound like a monster. Of course she could have just explained that she did what she did because some guy groped her, but Shizune was so young and innocent that she didn't even know what groping meant and Tsunade wanted to keep it that way. She didn't want her sweet little Shizune to grow up too fast.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm out of a job now and that's that." Tsunade said, feeling like a failure.
"How are we supposed to buy food and pay the bills now?" Shizune asked softly, sensing her master's stress.
"I don't know." Tsunade said while tearing up, "I don't have the answers Shizune. I don't know what to do anymore." Tears were now falling from her honey colored eyes and dropped in her lap, "I've failed you and I'm so, so sorry."
Shizune didn't say anything, she just simply wrapped her arms around Tsunade's body, "You haven't failed me." She said, "If it wasn't for you, I would have been dead by now." Shizune pulled away from their embrace and wiped a falling tear from Tsunade's face, "We'll figure something out Lady Tsunade. We always do. Whatever happens from here on out, I'll always be beside you. Me, you and TonTon, we're a team."
What did Tsunade do to deserve such a wonderful child? Shizune didn't even cry nor did she get upset at Tsunade. No, instead she comforted her and told her that everything would be fine, that they were a team. Shizune was truly an angel sent directly from Heaven and Tsunade's saving grace.
"I'll figure something out in the morning but for now, let's go to bed." Tsunade rose to her feet and Shizune did the same. They walked into their separate bedrooms and went to sleep, neither knowing what the future would hold for them but hoping that it was something good.
From the moment Jiraiya walked out of the village, he hasn't stopped running. His heart was pounding rapidly in his chest and he was filled with anxiety and sorrow. For the life of him he couldn't understand why his comrade would do something so illegal. Stealing forbidden Justu was against the law and one of the most serious offenses one could commit. What was he planning on doing with forbidden Justu anyway? He wasn't sure but whatever it was that Orochimaru was planning to do, Jiraiya would stop him.
He ran and ran for what seemed like forever at his highest speed until a man with long black hair came into view. This man was no other than Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya called out, "Stop!"
Orochimaru stopped running and turned around to face his old friend. Without saying a word, he threw a kunai straight at him but instead of piercing into Jiraiya, it landed at his feet. When Jiraiya got a closure look at the weapon, he realized that it wasn't any ordinary kunai, it was one with a highly explosive paper bomb attached to it. Jiraiya immediately jumped away from it and stayed perched like a bird in a tree until it exploded. When it was safe to return to ground level, he did.
"Why are you doing this?!" He shouted, "You're a Sannin just like me. Your loyalty is to the village and yet you stole forbidden Justu and killed innocent people for the sake of your sick experiments! What happened to make you like this?!"
All Orochimaru could do was laugh. This further angered Jiraiya.
"What's so funny?!"
"Oh Jiraiya, you're such a fool." He said, "My loyalty is to the village? Ha! My only loyalty is to my goal of destroying the village."
"What?! Destroy the village?" Jiraiya said, not sure if he heard correctly, "Have you gone mad?! Why would you want to destroy the village, that's your home!"
"I'm going to destroy that sorry excuse for a village because I want to. I'm going to learn all the jutsu the world has to offer and then I'll be invincible."
"There's no way that you can learn all the jutsu in the world. Be realistic! You'll die before you master it all!"
"That's why I know the jutsu to make me immortal. I can't be defeated, I've surpassed you."
"Don't you remember when we were kids?" Jiraiya asked, hoping that Orochimaru would remember and reconsider his evil plan, "You and Tsunade always outdid me in everything. You guys were so smart and I was the underdog. Even though, all three of us and sensei, we had so much fun. You were like the brother I never had. You were my best friend and now look at us. You're plotting against the village and I'm trying to stop you. This isn't how it should be, we should try to rekindle our friendship and go back to those days. Please just reconsider. Let's be friends again, like old times. Orochimaru, you don't want to destroy our home and everybody in it. I know you don't."
"You make me laugh Jiraiya. How could you think that I would want to be friends with the likes of you? When we were children I was civil to you and that whore Tsunade and the old man because I had to become stronger in order to get to the level I'm at now. You old fool. You don't know me at all!"
Orochimaru came at Jiraiya so fast that he didn't have any time to react. Before Jiraiya knew it, he was pierced in the stomach by Orochimaru's snake blade. Pain ripped through his body and only when Orochimaru pulled away from him did he fall to his feet. He grabbed hold of his wound and immediately, red, sticky blood came pouring out of it.
"Look at you, bleeding to death. How very pitiful. And you call yourself a Sannin? You don't deserve to have the same title as me." Orochimaru smirked in disgust, "I will destroy the Leaf Village." He turned around and started to walk off but said one last thing before he was out of sight, "And by the way..." He started, "That blade that I pierced you with was dipped in poison. You'll be dead in a few days. Nice knowing you... Old friend." Orochimaru laughed and was soon out of Jiraiya's vision.
His eyes flickered open and closed until he didn't have the strength to stay conscious. A stray tear fell out of his weary eyes at the fact that he was unable to stop his friend. At this point, he didn't care that he was going to die. He lost both of his closest friends and now had no purpose to live. He closed his eyes and was soon engulfed in darkness. He welcomed death and passed out, not certain if his eyes would ever open again.
Tsunade rose from her slumber that morning feeling exhausted. She didn't sleep at all that night for something just didn't feel right to her. Of course she had the stress of being out of a job loomed over her shoulders but something else felt wrong and unsettling. It was probably nothing but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel that something was terribly wrong. She walked out of her bedroom and went into her bathroom to ready herself for the long day she had ahead of her. She made the decision to go out in town and find another job. Hopefully everything would work out and she would be hired. At this point, she was willing to do anything it took to get some money so she wasn't picky about the nature of the job that she would receive. A job is a job and a job puts food on the table.
After freshening up in the bathroom, Tsunade went into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for herself and Shizune. Before she opened the cupboards which she was sure were bare, she retrieved the almost empty bag of pig food and filled up TonTon's bowl with the dry food. She made a mental note to buy another bag and then opened the cupboards. They were fresh out of pancake mix and cereal so she opened the fridge and thankfully, she found some eggs. She fried them up and placed one on two different plates and put a slice of brown bread beside it. She then poured two glasses of orange juice and then called Shizune for breakfast.
Shizune came walking down the stairs with her stuffed bear in hand and sat down to eat breakfast with Tsunade. They ate in silence and then after their meal was done, Tsunade washed up the dishes.
"What are you going to do today while I'm at school Lady Tsunade?"
"I'm going to look for another job. It's going to be difficult but we need the money so it has to be done."
"Why don't we just return to the village?" Shizune suggested, "We still have our house there and you can go back to being a ninja again. It's the most logical solution to our problem."
"We can't." Tsunade simply said.
"But why not? You never told me why we can't go back. You said that you'll tell me when I'm older, well I'm older now and I want to know why we can't go back to our home."
Shizune was indeed older. She was no longer the little girl she once was. She was ten years old and almost a teenager. Surely she had a right to know why Tsunade left the village.
Tsunade put down the plate she was drying and sat down beside Shizune, "Okay, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Remember Jiraiya?"
Shizune nodded her head and Tsunade continued, "When my brother died, he was there to comfort me. At first I didn't want his help but then I gave in and allowed him to comfort me. On the day of my brother's funeral, I was so sad and emotional but Jiraiya was there for me and he offered me his comfort once again but I took advantage of the situation and we ummm... We made love."
"What do you mean by made love?"
Shizune was so innocent that she didn't know what that meant. As much as Tsunade hated it, she had to tell her about that for Shizune to fully understand the story.
"You see, making love is a special time that a man and a woman who really like each other spend with each other. It involves getting naked and ummm... Enjoying each other's body. There's kissing and... Touching. You see Shizune, making love is necessary in this world because it's not only a great way for people who love each other to show each other that they love them but babies are made that way. When you're older I'll go into more detail with you but for now, let's leave it at that."
"If you and Master Jiraiya made love then that means that you two were in love right?"
"Not exactly."
"But you said that people only do that when they're in love."
"That's true but in my case, it's a little different. You see, I just wanted to do it because I wanted to feel happy in such a sad time in my life. I wasn't willing to take our relationship further and love him but he was. I hurt him by doing that and damaged our friendship to the point of no repair and I couldn't live with that and the guilt I felt so I left the village and left him behind."
"Then why were you crying when you saw him on the night we left?"
"Huh?"
"If you didn't love him then why were you so sad when you left him?"
Shizune had a point. Why was she crying? Could it be that she loved him all along and didn't realize it?
"Look Shizune, I told you the story so now you know why we can't go back there."
"I don't think that's a very good reason Lady Tsunade. You could just say sorry you know."
"If only it were that simple." Tsunade said softly and then handed Shiuzne her school bag, "Go on now, you wouldn't want to be late for school."
"Okay. Good luck with finding a job."
Tsunade waited for Shizune to be at school before she threw on her jacket and went out into town to find a job. Most of the places she went to, turned her down because they heard of the incident that happened where she used to work. They didn't even interview her or ask her why she did what she did. They just passed judgement on her based on what they heard. She was about to give up until she saw a help wanted sign hung up on the door of a small bakery. She took this as a sign sent from Heaven and walked into the bakery with a pleasant smile on her face. She was immediately greeted by a kind looking, fairly old lady who was quite plump and had rosy cheeks.
"May I help you?" She asked kindly.
"I saw your sign on the door and I was hoping that I could get a job here."
"What's your name and do you have any experience with being a waitress?"
"My name is Tsunade and I actually have experience as a waitress. I was a waitress at the men's bar down the road for three years."
"Oh you're the waitress who punched and poured coffee on a customer and then you punched the owner."
"Will that affect my chances of getting a job here?" She asked sadly, "If so, I completely understand."
"No way!" The old lady said, "I'm glad you did what you did. That pervert deserved it and your boss was no better. He should have stood up for you but he didn't so he deserved what you got."
"Really?" She asked, not believing that she was actually hearing this.
"Yes. I'll be happy to hire you and don't worry, all you have to wear is an apron over your clothes. That skimpy outfit you were forced to wear was rather distasteful and I'm sure that you hated wearing it."
"I really did." Tsunade said and was moved to tears by the lady's kindness.
"Oh dearie, don't cry." She wrapped her old arms around Tsunade and embraced her.
"Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."
"No problem. You can start anytime you want, just let me know."
"I will. Thank you again."
Tsunade walked out of the bakery, feeling as if she was walking on clouds. She was so happy that she could hardly contain her happiness. That lady was kind enough to offer her a job when everybody else denied her. Her life was starting to look up. She looked at her watch and realized that it was time for Shizune to come home from school so she hurried home.
"Shizune! Shizune!" Tsunade said happily as she walked into her house.
"What is it Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked, anxious to hear what Tsunade had to tell her.
"I got a job as a waitress at the bakery!"
"That's great Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said and hugged her mentor but then remembered that she had a message for her, "I almost forgot." She said and dug into her pocket for the sealed envelope, "I found this in the mailbox when I got home." She handed Tsunade the envelope.
The envelope was addressed to Tsunade and was sealed with the stamp of the Leaf Village. Tsunade didn't hesitate before she opened it and read the letter within.
"Oh my God." She gasped when she finished reading the letter.
"What is it?"
"We have to go." Tsunade said and rushed into her room to pack her things.
"Lady Tsunade, where do we have to go?" Shizune asked feeling confused, "What's wrong?"
"It's Jiraiya." She said, "We have to go to the Leaf Village."
Tsunade's returning to the village guys! What will happen?
Thanks for reading and reviewing as usual.
Look out for the next chapter.
Until next time.
Xoxoxoxoxoxo