She didn't hesitate for a second before she packed her bags and headed out the house. Her destination, the Leaf Village. She was planning on never returning to her home village but when she got that letter from Sarutobi, she couldn't help but be obligated to go back. Jiraiya was on death's door and desperately needed her help. Despite what they have been through, she couldn't let him die. How could she ever live with herself if he died when she could have helped him? Indeed it has been four years since she has seen him and she wasn't quite sure how she would feel once she laid eyes on him again but all of that didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was the difference she stood between his life continuing or his demise.

"Why are we going back there Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked, still left in the dark as to why they were going back to the village, "I thought you swore that you would never go back."

"I did Shizune but Jiraiya needs my help." Tsunade explained, "Sarutobi sensei sent me a letter explaining that Orochimaru did something bad and Jiraiya was trying to stop him. I'm not sure what that snake bastard did that was so wrong but he hurt Jiraiya and now he's on the verge of death."

"That's terrible Lady Tsunade! You have to help him." Shizune said. She always liked Jiraiya so it hurt her deeply to know that he was in such a grave situation. Shizune also knew that if he died, Tsunade would be distraught, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"That's why we have to get to the village as soon as possible."

"But Lady Tsunade, it takes three days for us to get to the Leaf Village from here."

"We won't be stopping to rest Shizune so it will only take a day and a half."

Tsunade and Shizune travelled at the highest speed to the Leaf Village. Like Tsunade said earlier, they didn't stop to rest or even to eat, they just kept moving. It was probably unwise to travel such a far distance without rest but Tsunade wanted to get to the village right away. She needed to help Jiraiya and she swore to herself that she wouldn't allow him to die. Not now, not ever. Yes they have been through hell and back in terms of their relationship but deep down inside heart, she cared for him so much that if he were to die, a piece of her would die along with him.

Despite Shizune's young age, she was keeping up with Tsunade as they ran through the forest and jumped from tree branch to tree branch. It was tiresome for her despite how well she was doing and soon she found herself unable to continue the journey without rest.

"Lady Tsunade, I can't go on. I'm too tired." She said wearily.

Tsunade couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop. Jiraiya's life depended on her coming to his aid. He could die at any moment. She was going to ignore Shizune's pleas to stop but when she saw the girl fall to her knees from exhaustion, she knew she had to pause their journey.

"Shizune are you okay?" Tsunade asked as she ran to Shizune's side and helped her to her feet.

"I'm just really tired." She said softly.

"We'll rest for a few hours then. After that do you think you'll be okay to travel again?"

"Yes, I just need to sleep."

Tsunade dug into her bag and emerged with a large blanket. She wrapped it around the ten year old and laid her tired head in her lap. As she slept, Tsunade continuously smoothed her hair back to soothe her to sleep. Shizune looked so calm and peaceful while Tsunade was anything but that. She was scared for Jiraiya's life and anxious to know if he was okay. She had no way of knowing if he were dead or alive until she actually arrived in the village. What if he was dead on her arrival? She would be absolutely devastated. But what if he was alive? She would heal him to the best of her abilities and ensure that he survives. She couldn't help but wonder though, if he would be happy to see her or angry. She figured that more than likely he would hate her with every ounce of his being for abandoning the village. She wouldn't blame him if he did. She would hate herself too if she was in his position. All her dead relatives must be frowning down upon her because as the last Senju, she should remain in the village and protect it with all her power but instead, she abandoned it because she couldn't live with her guilt for using and hurting her friend. Suddenly, her heart began to beat wildly as she thought about the reaction of the villagers to her arrival. This was the reason why she swore to herself that she would never return to the village. She didn't want to have to face the scrutiny and disapproval of the villagers but she had to go back, for she couldn't give up on Jiraiya.

A few hours later, Shizune woke up from her slumber feeling refreshed and ready to continue their journey to their homeland. They continued on, non stop and when Shizune grew tired again, Tsunade hoisted the girl up on her back and carried her as she made her way over to the village. It took them more than a day and a half due to the fact that they had to stop for Shizune to rest, but they made it to the village in one peace. The moment they stepped through the gates and landed on Leaf Village soil, they were stared upon in a more than obvious manner from everybody in the village. Usually when foreigners came to visit the village they would be stared at but the villagers weren't looking at them as aliens, they were looking at them with familiarity mixed with disappointment. Tsunade knew that it was because she abandoned the village four years ago but she chose to ignore the blatant stares and continued to walk to the Hokage Mansion.

When she finally arrived at the all too familiar red building, she was met by ANBU black ops who escorted her to the Hokage's office and led Shizune to the waiting room where she would be left in the care of Biwako Sarutobi. Tsunade soon found herself in her sensei's office and as soon as she walked through the door, she was embraced by the aged man. She didn't understand why he was hugging her when she expected him to be upset with her for leaving the village but she couldn't do anything other than hug him back. She had to admit that it felt good to be in the company of her old sensei once again. The man basically taught her everything she knows and practically raised her when her relatives died.

"I'm so happy to see you Tsunade." Sarutobi said as he caressed her smooth cheek, "You've grown to be even more beautiful."

"Thanks sensei." She said and hugged him once again, "It's good to see you too." She smiled as she broke away from their hug. Her smile soon faded however, when she remembered Jiraiya, "How's Jiraiya? Where is he?"

"He's not doing so well. He's in the hospital now, come, I'll take you there." He said and walked out of his office with Tsunade by his side.

"What exactly did Orochimaru do?" Tsunade asked.

"I'll tell you all about that once you've finished healing Jiraiya. It's quite the terrible story and I wish for you to be fully concentrated on healing Jiraiya. Trust me, it can wait."

"Now I'm even more anxious to hear what he did and why but I'll wait."

Tsunade followed the old man until they were at the hospital and now in front of Jiraiya's room door. She took a deep breath and entered the room and nearly collapsed on the floor at the sight that she saw. Jiraiya barely looked like himself. He was pale and black and blue spots were all over his body. He was a mess and Tsunade could only wonder what their former teammate did to him.

"What did Orochimaru do to him?" Tsunade gasped, never taking her eyes off of the stitched up wound on his stomach that looked as if it were infected and extremely painful.

"Orochimaru stabbed him in the stomach with a blade that was dipped in a poison that we are unfamiliar with." A nurse who was tending to Jiraiya explained, "We managed to close up the wound but we are unable to come up with a solution that will counter the poison and rid his body of it. If we don't come up with something soon, Master Jiraiya will die."

"How could Orochimaru do something like that to him. They were childhood friends, almost like brothers." Tsunade said. She couldn't believe that Orochimaru could be so cruel towards Jiraiya.

"I was wondering the same thing Tsunade but please, help Jiraiya. He doesn't have much time left." Sarutobi pleaded. He didn't want to lose his student.

"Okay." Tsunade said and walked over to Jiraiya's side. Immediately, she analyzed his situation and the first thing she did was extract the infection from his stitched up wound. She placed her hand over it and directed her chakra to her palm. Almost in an instant, the puss started to rise out of the wound until it completely disappeared. The wound was no longer infected and looked much better than it did before. The redness and swelling were now gone. The easy part was over, now it was time for her to extract the poison out of his body.

She had to dig deep in her mind for all the information she had stored up on poisons and how to counter them. The poison that Orochimaru used on Jiraiya was quite unfamiliar to her for it caused him to go into unconsciousness, resulted in him becoming extremely pale and caused black and blue spots to emerge all over his body. Normal poisons would kill their victims right away but this one was slowly killing him. She stood there never taking her eyes off of her patient until she remembered the exact day that she researched this particular poison. It was in the beginning stages of her medical training a few years ago and she took it upon herself to learn about the different poisons of the world. One particular poison struck her the most for it was completely different from the rest of the poisons. It came from a rare multi colored, black and bright blue snake. The poison slowly killed it's victims by plunging them into unconsciousness as the toxic substance worked at shutting down each and every organ of the body. Black and blue spots would appear on the flesh as the poison terrorizes the body. This was the poison that Orochimaru used on Jiraiya. She should have known it right off the bat since it came from a snake and Orochimaru's specialties were snakes. She knew exactly how to heal Jiraiya now but she had to do it quickly for he didn't have much time left before the poison made its way to his heart.

"I know what poison he used." Tsunade said and turned to the nurse, "Get me a basin of water with solution x mixed in it and another empty basin right away!" She instructed and the nurse quickly left the room to get the items that Tsunade requested.

"What poison did he use?" Sarutobi asked.

"A poison that comes from a rare snake."

"I should have known it would have come from a snake." He mumbled, "That Orochimaru!" He said through clenched teeth.

The nurse came back at once with the items that Tsunade demanded in her hands. She laid them on a table and brought the table close to Tsunade. Without hesitation, Tsunade held her two hands, palms facing downwards, over the water with the solution x. The water stirred in a basin and in an instant, some of the water rose up from the rest and turned into a bubble within Tsunade's hands. She carried the bubble over to Jiraiya and miraculously put it into his chest. The bubble was taken out but this time, inside of it was a sickly green substance that could only have been the deadly poison. She dumped the bubble with the poison in the empty basin and repeated the method for extracting the poison over and over again until each and every black and blue spot disappeared from his body. His paleness went away and then all the poison was taken out of his body. His life was no longer hanging by a thin rope for Tsunade saved his life.

"He should be okay now. He just needs rest." Tsunade said, "Sarutobi sensei, I believe you have something that you would like to tell me."

"Yes, of course." He said and walked out of the hospital room.

The two of them, teacher and student stood in the hallway of the hospital and Sarutobi began to tell Tsunade everything.

"I got word from one of my guards that somebody broke into the vault where all the scrolls containing forbidden jutsu are kept. Of course I immediately went down there but I didn't expect to see my own student, Orochimaru tampering with all the scrolls. He told me his plans. He wants to learn all the jutsu in the world, including the forbidden ones because someday he wishes to destroy the Leaf Village. I tried to talk him out of it, believe me I did but he wouldn't listen. He simply walked past me and for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to stop him."

"You let him go?" Tsunade questioned, not believing what she was hearing.

"I couldn't bring myself to fight him Tsunade! He was my student, I practically raised him!"

"That doesn't matter! Because you didn't stop him Jiraiya almost died!"

"I know that and I regret not stopping him but that's all in the past now and Orochimaru is our enemy now. I'm just happy that you came back and saved Jiraiya."

"I couldn't just let him die you know."

"I know." He smiled, "Stay as long as you like. I can give you back the keys to the Senju compound."

"No that won't be necessary because I'm going to leave now."

"You can't leave before Jiraiya wakes up. What if something medically unforeseen happens?Just stay until he opens his eyes."

Tsunade hesitated before she gave her answer because Sarutobi was practically begging her to stay, "Okay fine." She said, "But as soon as Jiraiya wakes up, I'm gone."

Jiraiya opened his eyes to find himself in a strange, unfamiliar room. His eyes darted all over the room until they focused on a bouquet of yellow flowers on a side table with a get well card attached to it. It didn't take him too long to realize that he was in a hospital room. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was hearing Orochimaru tell him that the blade he stabbed him with was dipped in a poison and that he was going to die within a few days. If all of that were true then why was he still alive? He knew for sure that whatever poison he used on him was complex and hard to counter. So why was he alive and well?

"Nice to see you awake Jiraiya sensei." A voice coming from beside him said.

Jiraiya turned to the direction of the voice and smiled when he saw his blonde haired student.

"I thought you were a goner for sure this time." Minato said and took a seat beside his mentor, "How are you feeling?"

"Minato, who-who healed me? The poison that Orochimaru used was complex. Whoever healed me must be highly skilled."

"You don't remember being saved by the medical team that Lord Hokage sent behind you after you went after Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya shook his head, not remembering anything like that, "I only remember what Orochimaru told me and seeing him walk away..." He said then trailed off. Orochimaru, the only friend he had left was gone to the bad and he couldn't save him. He felt like a useless, inadequate ninja. How could he call himself a student of the Third Hokage when he couldn't even save his friend?

"Jiraiya sensei, are you alright?" Minato asked, noticing that something was bothering Jiraiya. He saw the look of despair on his face and couldn't help but wonder why. Jiraiya was alive and healthy, so why was he so sad?

"I couldn't save my friend. What kind of ninja am I if I couldn't even save him?" Jiraiya said quietly, "I have no right to call myself Sannin."

"Don't say that Jiraiya sensei! It's not your fault that Orochimaru decided to go against the village. You did everything you could to stop him. Don't blame yourself for something that you had no control over."

"If I were a stronger ninja I could have beat him to a bloody pulp and drag him back to the village. I would have been able to talk some sense into him but I was too weak. Now I have to live with the guilt of being unable to save him. I should have died! Who the hell saved me?! I'll kill the bastard who did!"

"You really don't know who saved you?" Minato asked.

"Of course I don't! I was unconscious!"

"She saved you..."

"Who?"

Suddenly the door opened and Jiraiya turned his attention to the person who was standing in the door frame. His heart sank to his feet for he could not believe that the woman who he has not seen in four years was actually standing before him. Was he seeing a ghost? Was that really Tsunade?

"Tsu-Tsunade?"

"Hello Jiraiya..."

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Jiraiya sensei but I have somewhere that I need to be. See you later." Minato said when he realized that the two former teammates needed some privacy to talk things through and get reacquainted. He left the room and closed the door behind him, silently hoping that his master could find happiness.

"Sarutobi sensei told me everything." Tsunade said, "I came to save you."

"You saved me?"

"I just said that." Tsunade said and checked his vitals, "You seem to be doing well. You can be discharged today. I'll inform one of the nurses."

"Why did you save me?" He asked softly.

"What?"

"Why did you come all this way just to save me? You should have just left me to die! Why is it that you always seem to hurt me?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I didn't hurt you idiot! I saved your damn life!"

"By saving my life you hurt me just like how you hurt me four years ago!" Jiraiya shouted, furious at the fact that he was not left to die. He couldn't stand the thought that he was so useless that he couldn't save Orochimaru and now, he had to live with it.

Tsunade couldn't stand to be in the same room as him. She knew that he would be angry upon seeing her. She tried to do something nice for him and she got clobbered because of it. All she could feel now was guilt for hurting him once again. She should have never come, she should have just stayed out of it. By nightfall, she would leave the village again with Shizune.

She didn't say another word to him. She simply nodded her head and exited the room, leaving a fuming Jiraiya alone. Before she left the building however, she informed a nurse that he could be discharged from the hospital. Even after four years, she couldn't do anything right.

"We're leaving already?" Shizune asked after Tsunade told her to pack her bags. Shizune was in no rush to leave. She loved the village with all her heart and she loved the room that Tsunade fixed up for her so many years ago. She knew in her heart that they could have a better life here instead of the dump where they were living. Tsunade had to work too hard in their new village and the stress of meeting the daily financial demands was taking a toll on her. In the Leaf Village, she would be more than able to live comfortably without having to work so hard. She could return to being a ninja or even work in the hospital. So many opportunities were there for her in this very village and yet she was so willing to leave them all behind.

"Yes Shizune, we're leaving." Tsunade simply said.

"But we just got here and I already packed out all of my clothes." She whined, "I miss the Village and I love this house. I want to be a ninja like everybody else here and go to the Academy and go on missions with my squad. I was born to be a ninja and yet I can't be one because we have to live in the middle of nowhere because you're running away from a man! I hate it there Lady Tsunade, I absolutely hate it and TonTon hates it too! We love it here and yet you're taking me away from the place of my birth again! It's just not fair!" Shizune shouted with tears in her eyes. The thought of leaving the village once again to return to a hard, unforgiving life made her emotional so without thinking, she ran out of the house with her little pig in hand. She wasn't sure where she was running to but she needed to prove a point to Tsunade. She didn't want to leave and by running away for a little, Tsunade would get the message and hopefully rethink her plans.

"Shizune get back here!" Tsunade shouted but soon realized that her attempts to get Shizune to come back were futile. Shizune needed some time to calm down and she knew that she wouldn't be calming down anytime soon. Tsunade hated constantly keeping Shizune away from her home but what choice did she have? Jiraiya hated her and didn't want to be anywhere close to her. He made that perfectly clear earlier today. She didn't know what to do but she knew for sure that they wouldn't be leaving the village tonight. Shizune needed to cool down and Tsunade needed to think about her future.

Tsunade stepped out of her house and walked down the road. She wasn't sure where she was going but she was going somewhere. Her life was a complicated mess. Jiraiya hated her and soon Shizune would start to hate her too. It was as if she were all alone again. Shizune was getting older and older with each passing day and soon she would be able to go off on her own, then Tsunade would be completely alone. Loneliness was all she felt as she continued her walk. She couldn't help but wonder why her life was so hard. At first her life was perfect but as soon as Nawaki died, her life took a dramatic turn for the worse. Perhaps if he never died, she would still be happy.

Tsunade soon found herself in the village graveyard. She was all too familiar with that plot of land and she loathed it with all her being. This was where her brother was laid to rest so this place held nothing but horrible memories of his funeral for her. She remembered every single detail of that dreadful day. That was the day when she broke down like a hysterical baby in front of the tombstone and that too was the day when she made love to Jiraiya. That day was the start of all her problems with him. What a horrible day it was. She stood in front of her brother's grave and felt extremely sad but was glad that his resting place was kept neat with a bouquet of flowers at the head of the tombstone.

"Hey Nawaki." Tsunade started, "I haven't been here in a while because I left the village. I know you're probably thinking that leaving the village was a terrible thing to do but believe me when I say that I had to. Jiraiya and I are in a very weird place right now and honestly I think he hates every bone in my body. I always seem to hurt him so how can I be around him? I know that Shizune wants to stay here but she needs to understand that we just can't, not with the way things are. I'll try to make a better life for her where we are now because I just can't stay here..." She said and then trailed off. She remembered Jiraiya saying that he wanted to die. Why? Why did he want to die? She wasn't sure but she felt compelled to know the reason why. What if he tried to take his own life? She didn't want him to die, that was the reason why she came back. No, she had to get to the bottom of this and possibly talk him out of doing anything rash. She knew that he didn't want to see her but if he killed himself, she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. After all, she was the one who gave him the okay to leave the hospital.

Shizune sat on a bench outside of the Ninja Academy. She admired the building and wished that she could be attending there. She wanted to learn with the other students. Yes, Tsunade taught her the basics already and she knew that if she went to the Academy, she would be at the top of the class. She just wanted to be the ninja that she was born to be and by living in Yokohama Town, she couldn't be. She continued to look at the building until she heard the school bell ring. All the children who were once in the building ran out and while some went home, others stayed on the school grounds to play on the swings or the monkey bars. They looked as if they were having so much fun and Shizune wanted nothing more than to join in on the fun. She was too shy and nervous to approach the children though so she stayed seated with TonTon in her lap.

"What are you doing out here by yourself Shizune?"

Shizune turned around to see the Third Hokage standing in front of her with a generous smile plastered on his face. He was such a kind man with a smile that made others want to be around him.

"I ran away from Lady Tsunade for a little." She confessed, "Please don't send me back to her right now. I just want to be away from her for a little while longer."

"I'm not going to send you back child. It's for you to decide whether it's right that you return to her or not. I just want to know why you did what you did."

She couldn't keep anything away from the Hokage. Perhaps if he knew her situation, he could help her, "She wants to leave the village again and I don't want to." She started, "Oh Lord Hokage, you have no idea what we wet through when we left the village. First Lady Tsunade was an emotional wreck. She used to cry herself to sleep every night! But now we live in a town called Yokohama Town. It's terrible there Lord Hokage, absolutely terrible. We can't be the ninjas that we are because we need to be able to fit in with the other people living there so Lady Tsunade had to become a waitress. First she worked in a gentlemen's bar and she used to get harassed by the men there all the time. She often couldn't put food on the table because her salary was so low but I never complained. I took what she could give me and did without what she couldn't. She got fired form that job and now she got a job at the bakery. We could have a better life here but she still wants to leave. I don't want to go back. I would love to stay but I know that I have to leave again with Lady Tsunade. Isn't there something that you can do?"

Sarutobi shook his head, "I can't tell Tsunade what to do Shizune. She's an adult and has a right to make her own decisions and as her adoptive daughter, you should follow where she leads. I want Tsunade to stay here, believe me I do but if she wants to leave, I can't stop her."

"I guess I understand..."

"Everything will work out eventually." Sarutobi said and held out his hand to Shizune, "Come now, I'll treat you and your pet to some sweet dumplings."

"Really? Thanks Lord Hokage!"

Sarutobi and Shizune walked hand in hand to the dumpling shop. Shizune still didn't want to leave but she knew that she had to. They made a pact that they were a team from the moment Tsunade signed the adoption papers. She couldn't leave the team. They were together for life.

Tsunade was suddenly overcome with a feeling of intense concern for Jiraiya. She couldn't understand why he wanted to die. She always knew him to be a person who was always happy and upbeat. Therefore, the thought of him not being happy and wanting to perish drove her into confusion. She knew that he hated her and didn't want to be around her at all but she had to see him, she had to try to help him.

She walked out of the graveyard after she whispered a silent prayer for her deceased brother and headed over to the hospital. She walked through the many different halls of the building until she got to Jiraiya's hospital room. She swung open the door but to her surprise, Jiraiya was nowhere to be found. Instead, an elderly woman was lying in the hospital bed that Jiraiya once laid in.

"Visiting hours are over." A nurse said.

"Where's Jiraiya? He was in this room."

"Are you forgetting that you discharged him earlier today?"

Realization dawned on Tsunade. It was true that she discharged him but she must have been too worked up over what he said to her to remember.

"Oh that's right." Tsunade said, "Would he be home by now?"

"Yes, we told Master Jiraiya to go straight home and rest."

"Okay thank you." Tsunade said before leaving the hospital to go to Jiraiya's house. She was all too familiar with the paths that must be taken in order to get to his small house. She used to go there all the time. The last time that she has been to his home was when they made love. That was four years ago.

Tsunade arrived at her home and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When she worked up enough courage, she knocked twice on the door. She stood there for quite some time but received no answer. Against her better judgement, she reached under his welcome mat to retrieve his spare key. She opened the door and locked it behind her. The house looked the same as it did four years ago. It carried that familiar masculine smell and mirrored Jiraiya's personality.

"Jiraiya?" She called as she walked around the house. She looked everywhere for him but he was nowhere to be found. He was supposed to be resting so perhaps he was asleep in his bedroom. She walked over to the bedroom door and pushed it open slightly and peeped through the small gap between the door and the doorframe that was created. Then she saw a sight that she never thought she would ever see in her life. Jiraiya was standing in the middle of his bedroom holding a knife close to his wrist. He was going to cut himself and allow himself to bleed out until he was no longer living. Without a thought Tsunade burst through the door and grabbed the knife straight out of his hand.

"Tsunade?!" Jiraiya shouted in disbelief, "What the hell are you doing in my house? How did you get in here?!"

"That doesn't matter!" She shouted, "Why were you trying to kill yourself? Why do you want to die?!"

"Why do you care if I live or die? You don't care about me! You made that perfectly clear four years ago so don't barge in my house like the intruder you are and pretend as if you care about me because you clearly don't!"

"If I didn't care about you I wouldn't have come here to save your ass from death!" Tsunade blurted out. She couldn't believe what actually came out of her mouth. Did she just admit that she cared about Jiraiya to his face?

"Y-You care about me?" He asked in disbelief.

She couldn't deny it and she couldn't take back what she said. She needed to gain his trust in order to prevent him from killing himself so she simply nodded her head, "Yes" she said, "I care about you. Now, can you tell me why you lashed out on me today for saving you and why you were trying to kill yourself?"

"I couldn't save Orochimaru, that's why. I feel guilty for allowing him to become our enemy and I can't live with that. Perhaps if I were stronger, I could have stopped him."

"How stupid can you be?" She asked, "Whether you were stronger or not Orochimaru still would have turned against us. Jiraiya, he almost killed you. He is no longer our comrade. He's our enemy. The sooner you accept that, the better it will be for you." She said and then grew sorrowful, "There are many things in my life that I feel guilty about but I never tried to kill myself. In fact, I haven't tried to make it better either... I just ran away from my problems..."

Jiraiya didn't know what to say. He didn't push the topic any further so he just said, "I guess you are right Tsunade. And I'm sorry for lashing out on you. You just wanted to help me."

"It's okay." Tsunade said. She hated that he was apologizing to her when she still couldn't apologize to him. She was indeed sorry for what she did but she still couldn't tell him sorry to his face.

"When are you leaving again?" Jiraiya asked, not sure about what else to say.

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Can you not?" He asked and she looked at him his confusion in her face, "You just got here and we haven't seen each other for years. Perhaps we can start over and get to know each other again?"

"Jiraiya..."

"Plus, I need to properly thank you for saving my life. Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow."

What could she say? She couldn't tell him no and maybe this was indeed a chance for them to start over. Perhaps they could become friends again and leave the past in the past. If they do rekindle their friendship, Tsunade would be able to stay in the village and Shizune would love that. What harm could one little dinner do anyway?

"Okay Jiraiya."

Things were different between them but this was a start. Hopefully they could sort out their problems so that everything would go back to normal.

At least their speaking to each other right?

Originally I had it planned out that Jiraiya would be beyond happy to see Tsunade but I felt that this scenario would be more interesting. Do you guys agree?

So what exactly will happen in the next chapter?

I'll let you in on the secret... They're going to have dinner together. ;)

Nope I'm not telling you. You just have to wait for the next chapter.

Thanks as usual for reading. Your support means so much to me!

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo