She could hardly believe her eyes when she stepped foot in the place she abandoned so many years ago. It looked different to her, more modern, and relaxed, instead of on the edge due to the raging war that she had to live through. Yes, the Leaf Village definitely changed, and now she would have to take up the position of Hokage.
They walked through the village with the eyes of many villagers plastered on Tsunade, scrutinizing every inch of the person who would now be their leader. Jiraiya's eyes wondered to his teammate and took notice of the stiffness in her walk, and the uncertainty in her eyes. She was nervous, and the blatant stares of the locals were doing nothing but making the situation even worse for her. He still wasn't too fond of her, but he made the choice to leave the past in the past, and try to rekindle the friendship that they once shared with each other, so he leaned over to her and whispered in her ear.
"Ignore them." He said, "Once they get to know you, they'll be happy that you returned to the village to become their leader."
His words did little to suppress her uncertainty, but she was grateful that he made an effort to make her feel better despite all they have been through, so she managed to give him a small smile, though fake in every sense. How could the villagers possibly like her after she abandoned the village? As far as she was concerned, nobody except for Shizune liked her. She wasn't her grandfather. She wasn't as calm and friendly as he was. Therefore, how could she possibly win the hearts of the villagers?
They arrived at the gate of the Hokage mansion and approached the guards.
"Master Jiraiya, you have returned." The guard said with his eyes on Tsunade despite the fact that he was speaking to Jiraiya.
"Indeed, and I have brought back Tsunade." He responded and turned his head to look at Tsunade who was busy looking up at the great, red building that stood before them. She spent much of her childhood within those walls, sneaking into her grandfather's office to hop onto his lap to talk to him about any frivolous thing that came to her mind, and many a time she played tricks on her personal security team just so that she could get away from them. It was a bother to have them constantly watching over her every move, but they were assigned to her by her grandfather himself for her protection. The day her grandfather died, was the day that she moved out of the building with her parents to move back into the Senju compound. Her granduncle became the next Hokage, and that meant that his immediate family would move into the mansion. Never did she expect to move back into her childhood home.
"The exterior hasn't changed much." She said to herself while remembering her younger self playing outside the mansion. She wasn't even paying attention to the guard, for she was lost in her memories until Shizune gently nudged her on the shoulder, "What is it?" She asked Shizune.
"Maybe we should be going inside the mansion Lady Tsunade." Shizune suggested, "We shouldn't keep the village elders waiting for much longer."
"I won't keep you waiting out here then." He aid before he let them onto the compound, "And Lady Tsunade." He started and Tsunade looked at him, "Welcome home."
She smiled softly at the guard to show her appreciation even though she was nervous to be back in her old village, and walked into the familiar red building that she would once again call home.
Walking through the halls of the mansion was almost like a dream to Tsunade. How is it that everything could stay exactly as it was when Tsunade was a child? The pictures on the walls remained untouched and even the small crayon markings at the bottom of the wall that were Tsunade's doings were untampered with. They were told to wait in the conference room and Naruto was sent home. Shizune and Jiraiya settled themselves at the long table, but Tsunade just could not find it within herself to settle.
"Why don't you sit down Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked her when he noticed how unrelaxed she was, "Knowing those olf bags, they'll probably take a year to get in here."
"Even the interior looks the same." She said to herself, "This is so strange."
"If everything looks as it was when you were a kid simply means that they haven't changed the furniture or anything in years." Shizune commented, "Why is that strange to you."
"It just brings back so many memories of my childhood, my grandfather, my parents, everything."
"I think that's a good thing." Jiraiya said, "Now you'll never forget them."
The thought of her never forgetting her family as long as she remained in that mansion made her smile, for when she was a child, her family was the most important thing to her. The love that they all shared was eternal.
Suddenly, the door to the conference room swung open, and there entered Koharu and Homura, the elderly village advisers.
"It sure took you long enough to return to the village Jiraiya." Koharu said immediately as she took a seat beside Tsunade.
"We ran into some trouble." Jiraiya explained, deliberately withholding the fact that they spent a night at a resort.
"What kind of trouble?" Homura asked while sitting next to Koharu.
"Orochimaru." Jiraiya said with regret.
The mention of the Sannin's name sparked interest in the two old advisors, for not too long ago, Orochimaru murdered the Third Hokage, "What became of that?"
"We kicked his ass until he decided to retreat." Tsunade said as she remembered every detail of her encounter with her former teammate.
"And where have you been all along?" Koharu said as she looked at Tsunade as if she were a bug.
"None of your damn business." Tsunade snapped back and directed her attention to Homura, "Tell your friend to mind her own business and let's get on with this meeting."
"It's a pleasure to have you back Tsunade." He said sarcastically and eyed Shizune, "And who's this?"
"That's Shizune. I took her in when she was a little girl."
"Nice to meet you." Shizune said respectfully to the old man and the miserable old woman.
"Anyway." Koharu started, "You've returned to the village to become the Fifth Hokage. Therefore, we need to discuss certain things about leadership, politics, and everything that a Hokage should know. Furthermore, we need to get you measured for the Hokage attire that you must wear for your inauguration."
"Hold up." Tsunade interrupted, "I'm fine with all the meetings I have to attend, but there is no way in hell that you're going to get me to wear that shit Sarutobi sensei used to wear." She said stubbornly, "Why do I even need to have an inauguration? It's such a bore."
"Tsunade!" Koharu shouted, "There must be an inauguration followed by an after party. How else are the villagers going to get to know you better? And you must at least wear the Hokage hat during the ceremony. It's tradition!"
"I don't care about your damn tradition!"
"Tsunade." Jiraiya cut in when he realized that things weren't going to well, "Can I speak to you outside for a moment please?"
Tsunade looked at him in confusion, but then agreed to go with him just to get out of the same space as the village advisors. She never liked them, and she knew that they weren't too fond of her as well, "Okay fine."
"Can't whatever you wish to speak to her about wait?" Homura asked, "We're in the middle of a meeting."
"Yeah, a meeting that isn't going to well." He reminded the old man, "We won't be long anyway." He said before he walked outside as Tsunade followed behind him.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" She asked after she shut the door to the conference room.
"You gotta put your stubbornness aside." He said, which earned him a look of rage from Tsunade.
"Excuse me?"
"Before you get mad, hear me out." He pleaded when he took notice of her tone of voice, a tone that he was all too familiar with, "I know you don't like the old gas bags, but you're going to have to work with them a lot now since you're the Hokage. It's true that inaugurations are a bore, and the Hokage clothes really do look like a piece of shit, but just this once, go along with what they want you to do."
Tsunade was about to disagree with everything he was saying, and he noticed this so he spoke up again, "Remember that you decided to become Hokage for Nawaki and your grandfather."
She sighed in defeat as she realized that Jiraiya was right. Why did he always have to be right?, "I'm also doing this for Sarutobi sensei."
"Even more reason to listen to Homura and Koharu. They were his friends."
"Don't remind me." She groaned, "Remember how annoying they were when we were kids? We always wanted to go visit sensei in his office and they wouldn't let us."
"I remember that!" He laughed, "They were a real pain in the ass."
"Tell me about it." She smiled as she remembered their childhood, "Maybe we should get back in there."
"Yeah, we should."
They went back in the conference room, and the advisers proceeded to inform Tsunade about her schedule for the next three days leading up to the highly anticipated inauguration. First she would get settled into her new home. Then she would have a meeting with the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. Afterwards, she would have her picture taken so that the construction workers could get a start on her stone monument. After all of that was done, there would be the inauguration ceremony followed by a grand party. There would be a lot of media coverage to inform the other villages of Tsunade's inauguration. Tsunade was by no means thrilled about all of this, but as Jiraiya told her, she decided to suck it up and do everything as she was told.
Of course she was still nervous about becoming the Hokage, and the villagers reaction towards her and she figured that she would never get over her feelings of uncertainty. It would be difficult to run a village, but she wanted so badly to do a good job to honor her sensei, brother, and grandfather that she decided to at least try to overcome her feelings.
The following day, as planned, she had her meeting with the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. The meeting was long and tedious. Furthermore, the monotone in his voice wasn't doing anything to make the situation any better. He spoke about things she already knew, issues she was already aware of, and other things that really weren't of any relevance to the Hokage title. In all honesty, she wanted to place her head on the table before her and fall asleep, but as the new Hokage, she had to conduct herself in a professional manner.
When the meeting was over, she couldn't wait to walk out of that boring, stuffy room. She thought she was free to do as she pleased for the rest of the day, but then Koharu presented her with a rather large and heavy portfolio.
"What the hell is this?" Tsunade asked as she held the portfolio.
"Ninja profiles. You need to familiarize yourself with all the ninjas in the village, their skills, their rankings, and the teams they belong to." She informed her.
"I have to go through all of these? But that will take an eternity to do!" She whined as she flipped through the portfolio.
"It comes with the job." Koharu said with zero sympathy, "You're supposed to be smart right, so this should be no problem for you."
"This has nothing to do with intelligence! It's just going to be so boring."
"That really isn't my problem." Koharu smirked, "Have fun."
Tsunade watched the old woman walk away with the urge to run after her and smack her in the face. How did she expect Tsunade to go through all those ninja files and memorize them?
"I'll help you Lady Tsunade." Shizune offered, "That way it'll go faster and you'll have some company."
"I'll take you up on that offer."
They decided to take their work for the day to a tea house instead of working in the office. A change of scenery was greatly needed. On their way there, they were approached by Naruto who was in the company of three girls; one with short pink hair, the other who was a blonde, and a brunette who kept her hair in two buns. The young kunoichis seemed to be giddy upon seeing Tsunade.
"There you are." Naruto brethed heavily, "My friends wanted to meet you."
"You have friends?" Tsunade teased and turned her attention to the three girls, "Hello."
"My name is Ino Yamanaka." The blonde said. She was obviously the boldest of the three, "I hear you're going to become our new Hokage, and I think that's great. It's about time a female gets to be in charge."
"I'm TenTen." The one with the buns spoke up and bowed respectfully to Tsunade, "I've read bout you in books, and it's an honor to actually meet you and have you become our Hokage."
"Thank you." Tsunade said, surprised that those girls were so eager to meet her, "And what's your name?" She asked the pink haired girl.
"I'm Sakura Haruno, Naruto's teammate. Welcome back to the village."
"Thanks." She said and then introduced the girls to Shizune, "This is Shizune, my most trusted assistant."
"I think we should get going Lady Tsunade, we have a lot of ninja files to go over." Shizune reminded her mentor.
"Right." Tsunade sighed, "Well it was nice meeting you girls. See you around."
They waked into the tea shop, and after ordering their beverages and a few scones, the portfolio was opened and Tsunade began to look over the ninja files. First, she started with the new genin teams. The first team she familiarized herself was team seven, Naruto's team. It consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuske Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno who were all under the command of Kakashi Hatake. Sasuke was an exceptional ninja, while Sakura, although she had no special skills and she didn't hail from a clan, she was brilliant. Naruto on the other hand, was the one who was always slacking behind his teammates.
"Oh my God." She gasped.
"What is it?" Shizune asked while peering into the portfolio only to see that Tsunade was looking at Naruto's team, "What's wrong with team seven?"
"They're exactly like my team."
"How so?"
"Sasuke and Sakura are the overachievers." She said as she pointed at the pictures of them, "And Naruto is the slacker. Don't you see Shizune? Sasuske is Orochimaru, Naruto is Jiraiya, and that girl Sakura is me."
"That's amazing. When I think about it, it's like the Third Hokage put those kids together to remind himself of you and your teammates."
"Maybe so."
It was quite the coincidence that team seven was almost a replica of the Sannin. She didn't know why, but she was pleased that there was a team that could remind her of her childhood, when everything seemed to be simple. She moved along to team eight, which from the looks of it was formed strictly for tracking purposes. Hinata Hyuga, who possessed the Byakugan, Kiba Inuzuka, who had a defined sense of smell, and Shino Aburame, who specialized in the use of bugs were all members of that team, under the leadership of Kurenai Yuhi, a skilled genjutsu user. Team ten on the other hand, was an exact replica of the Ino Shika Cho team, the team they're parents were members of. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi were the rookie ninjas of that team, and their leader was the son of the Third Hokage, Asuma Sarutobi. Lastly, she reviewed team Guy. TenTen, Lee, and Neji Hyuga, of the side family of the Hyuga clan were all members. It was actually quite amusing for her to see how the generation below her, were now senseis. Furthermore, she commended her late sensei for putting together such effective teams. She only hoped that she could be a great Hokage like he was.
As hoped, they finished the task at hand, and were now heading back to the mansion, when Shizune stopped walking suddenly. Tsunade looked back at her assistant who was just standing there, looking at Tsunade with hopeful eyes.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked as she stepped closer to the raven haired woman.
"Can we visit our old house?" She was referring to the Senju compound, the place she lived in when she was just a little girl. That house held so many memories not just for Shizune, but for Tsunade as well. That was the house that she lived in with all of her family members after she moved out of the Hokage mansion, and when her family passed away, she shared that house with her little brother.
"Do you really want to?"
"I really do, more than anything else. I just want to remember what it was like."
Tsunade sighed, afraid to return to the house, for it held so many memories of the ones she loved who passed away. She looked at Shizune, whose eyes were beaming with hope, and realized that she couldn't deny her request. All she wanted to do was visit the place she called home when she was a child. In fact, it would be wrong of her to not do this one thing for Shizune, "Very well."
They walked down the familiar path that would lead them to their old home. With every step, they came closer to the compound, until they stood before that large iron gate. Tsunade pushed it open and was pleased to see that the house was still there, looking as if it was never abandoned years ago. The elders must have been abreast of it's upkeep to preserve the residence of the well known Senju clan. Then again, why wouldn't they take good care of it? It belonged to the First Hokage.
They approached the door, and Shizune reached into the potted plant beside it, and dug around until her hand emerged with a key. She remembered them burying that key years ago, in case they lost the primary key. It was amazing how nobody found it. For years, it's hiding spot was only known to the former residents; Tsunade and Shizune. She opened the door and they both stepped inside. The interior looked exactly as it did the day they left. Some of Shizune's toys that she had to leave behind for the purpose of light travel were scattered on the living room floor. The furniture was dusty, but it looked the same. Shizune ventured into her old bedroom, while Tsunade went into her's. Her draws were empty, and her bed was bare, without any sheets or pillows. How strange it was to be in the very room she abandoned years ago. Suddenly, she felt the need to take a look in Nawaki's bedroom. She walked down the hall, and pushed the door open to his room with a squeak. It was dark, so she turned on the light that surprisingly still worked. It looked the same, with his toys scattered on the floor, the bed that he never liked to spread, messy, and his jacket draped over the back of his chair. She smiled at his messy room, for it reminded her of her little, trouble-making brother. Over on his desk was a picture of him, the picture that he took when he became a genin. She held the picture in her hand and smiled.
"I became the Hokage for you, you little rascal."
Suddenly, Shizune walked in the room and marveled at how beautifully preserved Nawaki's room was, "It looks the same."
"That's because nobody has been in here since we left. Guess they didn't know where the spare key was."
"They could have just knocked the door down." Shizune pointed out.
"Yes, but there's no way they would want to damage the old Senju compound. No, they have too much respect for my clan to do a thing like that." She took one last look at Nawaki's room. She was back in the village, but she wouldn't be living in that house. However, she swore to herself that she would visit it more often, "It's getting late, we should go. I wouldn't want to look haggard when they take my picture and measure my head for that stone carving."
They walked out of the buiding, and after they locked the door, Tsunade stuffed the key in her pocket. That way, nobody would have access to the compound except for herself and Shizune.
The day of the inauguration came faster than Tsunade ever expected. That day she would officially become the Fifth Hokge of The Village Hidden in the Leaves. She was more than certain about the new journey she would be embarking on, but she was still apprehensive. Being the Hokage is a big, demanding job. She already got a taste of the hard work when she had to go through all the ninja files. However, she knew that she wanted to be the Hokage not just for the deceased she held dear to her heart, but perhaps for herself as well.
She was awaken from her slumber by some personal assistants she never met before who were sent by Koharu. Apparently they were there to help her get ready for her big day. Tsunade however, did not see the need for their assistance, for she was more than capable of getting herself ready. Still, they insisted on doing her hair and makeup. It was annoying to have people those people frolic around her as if she were an invalid, incapable of doing things for herself, for their presence was unwanted.
After what seemed like hours, her assistants were finished dolling her up, and she was escorted to the roof of the Hokage mansion where the village advisors and Jiraiya were waiting for her.
"What took you so long?" Jiraiya whispered in her ear as she stood beside him.
"That idiot Koharu sent a group of people to help me get ready as if I needed any help." She grumbled and shot a death glare at the old lady.
Jiraiya chuckled, for he knew how much Tsunade hated when Koharu interfered in her life, "Well it's your special day, and I think you look great."
Tsunade didn't comment on what he just said, nor did she thank him. She was too shocked about what he said to do anything but wonder if their friendship was returning to what it used to be.
"Here's your hat." Homura said as he handed Tsunade the Hokage hat that has been passed down from Hokage to Hokage.
"Didn't I make it clear that I'm not going to wear that shit?" Tsunade growled and tried to give the hat back to the elderly man, but he refused to take it.
"You don't have to wear the robes, but at least wear the hat." He urged.
"And didn't I make it clear as well that I don't care about tradition?"
"Tsunade." Koharu chimed in, "You wouldn't want to make a spectacle of yourself in front of all these people would you?"
At first Tsunade had no idea what the old bat was talking about, for the only people in her company were them and Jiraiya. She looked at her old teammate and saw that he was looking down on the village. She decided to do the same and noticed that everybody from the village were standing before the mansion, looking up at her.
She felt a red tint rise to her cheeks, and a cold sweat run down her back. Never in her life did she have all those people stare at her, and it made her feel quite uncomfortable.
"Remember what I told you." Jiraiya said as he noticed how nervous she was.
She recalled when she first step foot in the village after so many years, and remembered him telling her that everything would be okay, that with time the villagers would grow to love her. She didn't know how, but it made her feel better.
She took a deep breath, and placed the hat on her head. With a nod of reassurance from Jiraiya, she turned around to face the village and walked up to the edge of the roof. So many people were looking at her, but she tried not to allow that to bother her. She closed her eyes and images of Nawaki, her grandfather, and her sensei flashed in her mind. After several moments, she took the hat off her head with a smile and addressed the villagers.
"From this day forward I shall protect the village as the Fifth Hokage!" She said so that the entire population could hear her. Suddenly, they started to applaud her. Never did she expect them to cheer her on given her track record of abandoning the village. It warmed her heart and made her think that maybe she really could be an effective, well respected Hokage.
The celebrations took place two hours after the inauguration ceremony, for as soon as it was over, Tsunade was led into a room where she had to sign many papers, and do press. Only high ranked ninjas and members of the council were at the party. The rest of the villagers had a celebration of their own; a festival in the streets.
Tsunade was incredibly bored at the party. She spent the night meeting members of the council and being congratulated by the high ranked ninjas, but overall it was no fun for her. Her idea of a good time was anything that involved alcohol and gambling. Sure, there was liquor at the party, but she couldn't drink to her pleasing in the presence of 'important' people in the village. After all, she was supposed to be setting an example as the most respected person in the village.
Shizune didn't seem to be enjoying herself that much either, but of course she put on a smile and greeted everyone in attendance. She even started up conversation with the members of the council. Tsunade on the other hand, could not do as Shizune was doing. Being fake with people she really didn't want to talk to, and pretending to have a good time when she was bored out of her mind were just some things that she couldn't do without feeling a major sense of self betrayal. Therefore, she snuck out of the room, hoping that she went unnoticed, and retreated to the roof.
Once outside on the roof, she could hear the sound of laughter and music coming from the villagers, who were enjoying the festival. How she wished she could join them, but if she did, the advisers would surely have her head. She continued to stare down at the village until she heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Not enjoying your party?"
Tsunade turned around and saw Jiraiya standing before her with a brown paper bag in his left hand.
She smiled upon seeing him then turned around to face the village once more, "You were supposed to be at that party, and yet I haven't seen you."
"I was there." He said and stood next to her so that he too could see the village, "But I left within five minutes of it starting. Koharu and Homura have no idea how to throw a good party."
"Tell me about it." Tsunade sighed, "I wish I could be down there with the villagers. They seem to be having such a good time."
"I figured as much." Jiraiya said as he opened the brown paper bag, "That's why I got this." He pulled out a bottle of sake as well as some miso pork he got from one of the stands at the festival.
"You went to the festival and got that?" Tsunade asked, her eyes full of happiness upon seeing what Jiraiya brought with him.
"I saw how bored you looked at the party, and figured that you would eventually sneak out, so I went to the festival and got some alcohol and pork."
"You didn't have to do that Jiraiya." She said as she looked up at him, her eyes meeting his.
"I wanted to." He sat on the floor of the roof and urged her to have a seat as well, "Now we can have our own party."
She wondered why he was being so kind to her, but decided not to ask him. She didn't want to bring up anything that neither were willing to talk about. However, she was grateful for his kindness and felt terrible that she never returns the favor.
He popped open the bottle of sake and handed it to her. She drank the liquor straight from the bottle, and handed it back to him. They shared the pork until it was done. All they had left was a little bit of the sake, and the stars above their heads. They didn't speak much, but it felt nice to Tsunade to just sit there with him. She wondered if that could have been her life if she didn't treat him so bad.
Suddenly, fireworks went off. It looked as if the villagers decided to end the night with a spectacular display of lights.
"The lights are so beautiful." Tsunade said as she looked up at the illuminated sky.
Jiraiya was looking at the lights as well, until he turned his head to look at her. She looked so beautiful, and for a moment he wanted to tell her that, but he refrained himself from commenting on her beauty. Instead he held her hand, which caused Tsunade to stop looking at the fireworks, and look down at their intertwined fingers then up at him.
"You're going to make a great Hokage." He told her then looked up at the lights once again.
She felt a sense of connection to him as they sat with their interlocked hands. It felt so right, and yet an annoying voice in the back of her head was screaming at her, telling her that it could never be right unless she told him her secret. She sighed and unconsciously held his hand tighter.
"Thank you Jiraiya." She said and looked at the lights, dreading the moment when she would have to let go of his hand and tell him the secret that she has been hiding for eighteen years.
Such a late update. Sorry!
Between school and work it's really difficult to find time to update, but I'll utilize my spring break to write and update.
Thanks for sticking with me.
Xoxoxoxoxoxo