It has been a week since Tsunade and Jiraiya visited the site where their son was buried and got the rare opportunity to actually meet their dearly departed child. They were grateful for that opportunity and viewed it as a gift from above to have actually had laid eyes on the unfortunate child who never got the chance to live. Their relationship was strained to say the least, but they seemed to have developed a mutual respect for each other after bonding over their son. Jiraiya completely understood Tsunade's reasonings for not telling him of her devastating miscarriage for he knew that she was only trying to protect him from feeling despair and grief. It actually made him feel somewhat happy that she cared to shelter him from such sadness. He also sympathized with her every time he thought of the fact that she had to carry the burden of such sorrow all by her lonesome. How hard it must have been on her to walk around with such a cruel reality for years without having anyone to shoulder that load with her and tell her that she could survive and one day face happier circumstances. Sure she had Shizune, but at the time Shizune was too young to understand the extent of the horrors Tsunade experienced, and when she was older and more mature, Tsunade refused to even utter a word about her deceased baby. Therefore, Jiraiya made it a point of duty to cut Tsunade some slack and walk a mile or two in her shoes before passing judgment on her.
It was no later than midday when Tsunade was at the Leaf Village's local hospital checking up on a few of her patients. Usually she would have sent Shizune or another medical ninja to perform the necessary routine checkups on her patients, but on that particular day Tsunade wanted to be there personally to monitor their progress. More than likely, she just wanted to avoid the mountains upon mountains of paperwork she knew she had waiting on her in her office. That was one part of her job that she did not particularly like. Going through important documents, signing off on mission reports, and responding to messages from neighboring lands were nothing but a time-consuming bore to her. She felt as if she should have people to perform those tedious tasks for her, but according to Koharu, doing paperwork should be a duty that only belonged to the Hokage. Sometimes she wished that she could get a break from it all and just lounge somewhere where nobody could disturb her and indulge herself in a bottle of sake and a few lottery tickets. That would be a great use of her time in her opinion, but unfortunately that would be impossible due to her new title.
The first patient she had to check up on was Lee who sprained his ankle and collapsed from exhaustion after overexerting himself during training for the second time for the week. Lee was just the type of person who had to push himself to the limit in order to feel accomplished. Little did he know that this was doing nothing but harm to his body. Tsunade walked into the room and saw Guy, his sensei standing at Lee's bedside giving him a motivating speech like always and encouraging him to recover quickly so that they could get back to training. Tsunade rolled her honey colored eyes upon hearing his words and wanted to tell the Jounin to go elsewhere so that Lee could actually recover but refrained herself.
"How are you feeling today Lee?" She asked while stepping further into the room, "I hope you're getting some rest."
Lee wasn't expecting to see the Hokage personally show up to perform his checkup. He was certain that a nurse would have been there instead but nevertheless greeted her with a warm smile and a thumbs up, "I'm doing well Lady Hokage!" He said gleefully, "In fact I think I'm ready to return to my training!"
"That's right Lee!" Guy said in an encouraging tone which only annoyed Tsunade, "You can't be confined to a hospital bed when we have training to do!"
Tsunade couldn't hold her tongue anymore. She felt the need to let the two eager ninjas know that their ambitious personalities were clouding all rational thought. Furthermore, their loud, obnoxious voices were beginning to give her a splitting headache, "Okay that's enough!" She said with a raised voice and rubbed her temples to prevent her headache from worsening, "Lee you aren't full recovered yet. Your chakra levels are still too low." She walked over to the now disappointed boy and checked his vitals and temperature before she took hold of his wrapped ankle only to determine that it still wasn't fully healed, "You're going to stay in this bed until you're well enough to be discharged got it?"
Lee looked at his sensei with disappointment evident in his rather large eyes and sighed when he realized that there was nothing Guy could do or say to change Tsunade's mind. She was the Hokage after all. He looked down at his lap and tried his best to hide his feelings from the blonde woman, "Yes M'am."
"Good." Tsunade said and reached for his chart to write down her findings, "And Guy," she started while scribbling away in the chart, "Stop trying to push him so hard. If you continue to do so you'll end up doing more harm than good."
With those final words of advice, Tsunade put the chart back where she found it and walked out the room, leaving the two disappointed shinobi to talk amongst themselves. She only hoped they would heed her warning because there's nothing more debilitating than a ninja who does harm to himself by constantly overdoing it. Tsunade had a few more patients to see before she absolutely had to return to her office, so she walked over to the front desk where the patient chart was situated and tried to determine which room her next patient was settled in. She was then approached by a pink haired girl she recognized to be Sakura Haruno, Naruto's teammate and friend. Tsunade assumed that Sakura was in the hospital to visit someone who has been admitted, but only when she saw the apprehension on the girl's face did she rethink her assumption.
"Hello Sakura." Tsunade said in a friendly manner in an attempt to ease the pink-haired girl's nervousness, "What brings you here?"
Sakura looked up at Tsunade and was about to say something but then she stopped the words from coming out her mouth. She then focused her attention to the floor and nervously bit her lip.
"Is something the matter?" Tsunade asked wondering why Sakura was acting so strangely. She hasn't known the girl for very long, so she did not know her personality that well. However, when she was travelling back to the village with Naruto, she always heard him speak of his teammates. According to the blonde-haired boy, Sakura was feisty yet caring and would not hesitate to put him in check when he was being ridiculous. If all of that was true, why was she conducting herself in such a shy and unsure manner?
"When did you know that you wanted to become a medical ninja?" Sakura asked, finally looking up at the Hokage.
Tsunade thought about that question for a minute. It has been so long since she specialized in medical ninjutsu, so she was not certain on the exact time she made the decision to train in the medical arts. In fact, she wondered to herself what her reasoning was at the time. She wasn't certain but then she thought back to her Genin days when she would go on missions with her teammates. Those were indeed better days when she actually used to have a good relationship with everyone on her team. She then remembered how Jiraiya, being the reckless ninja he was, would always injure himself on missions or even during training. Often times when he would get hurt, he would have to wait until he made it back to the village before he received medical treatment. That truth usually hindered the success of their missions. Perhaps that was the reason she decided to become a medical ninja.
She smiled to herself upon realizing that Jiraiya was the reason she became so adept at medical ninjutsu, "I did it because I wanted to take care of my teammates." She explained, "Why do you ask?"
Sakura sighed deeply in order to further calm herself before she spoke up, "Lady Hokage, I would like to become your apprentice." She said confidently, "I'm a hard worker and I will dedicate all my time to my training if you will have me."
Tsunade was taken back by Sakura's sudden request to become her student. She hasn't trained anyone except for Shizune and even that was so long ago. She then thought about Sakura's situation. She didn't hail from any special clan since her parents were both civilians nor did she have any unique abilities. In fact, all the girl had going for her was her intelligent mind, and her will to succeed. Sakura was a member of Naruto's team. Naruto was currently being trained by Jiraiya, and unfortunately Sasuke was now entangled with Orochimaru. The more she thought about the situation, the keener she became on the prospect of teaching Sakura not only medical ninjutsu, but how to become a well-rounded female ninja. She would be lying if she said that team seven did not remind her of her own team. In that moment she decided to take the girl under her wing, for she looked as if she were desperate to enhance her skills.
Tsunade walked over to the apprehensive yet determined girl and placed her hand on her shoulder with a smile, "Very well."
Sakura's green eyes lit up with excitement and also relief, for she was so uncertain of how Tsunade would react upon her request, "Thank you so much Lady Tsunade, I won't let you down." She said with a smile.
"I won't go easy on you so prepare yourself." Tsunade told the girl. It wasn't in Tsunade's character to go soft on her apprentices. It wasn't her style and she believed that coddling them would do them no good and would not result in them becoming stronger. Despite the fact that Shizune was just a young girl when Tsunade trained her, Tsunade did not hesitate to throw a lot of hard work, and technical chakra control practice her way. In the end, Shizune became a better, more efficient ninja under Tsunade's tutelage and Sakura would be no different.
"There you are!" A familiar voice coming from behind Tsunade said.
Tsunade turned around to face the person who has apparently been looking for her and let out a deep, defeated sigh upon seeing who it was. Standing behind her with her hands on her hips and a disapproving look plastered on her face was none other than Shizune. The truth was, Tsunade escaped the confinements of her office when she sent Shizune to get her a cup of tea. She was just trying to evade all the paperwork she had to do, but now she was caught and probably would be forced to return to her office.
"I should have known you would be here." Shizune said and stepped closer to Tsunade and Sakura, "You have a lot of work to do you know. If you don't complete everything Lady Koharu will be very upset."
"Shizune you know I don't give a damn about that old lady." Tsunade rolled her eyes and dreaded the very thought of having to sit at her desk and go through all those tedious documents. Just thinking about it made her want to bang her head against a wall multiple times with such force that would result in her passing out just so she could avoid all that busy work.
"I know you don't like it Lady Tsunade, but it does come with the territory of being the Hokage." She reminded her mentor and then turned her attention to Sakura who she did not seem to notice before, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there Sakura. How are you doing?" Shizune said kindly.
"Lady Tsunade has just agreed to be my teacher." Sakura said, giddy with excitement.
Shizune was a bit perplexed with the information she just received. As far as Shizune was concerned, she was the only person Tsunade has ever trained. She was not upset at the fact that there would be another apprentice of Tsunade's, it was just quite strange to her. Even though she would now have to share the person who raised her with someone else, she knew that no matter what she would always be Tsunade's most trusted and loved pupil.
"That's great news Sakura." Shizune said and hugged the younger girl, "Welcome to the team." She smiled.
"That means I should take Sakura along with me as I round on the rest of my patients to show her the ropes." Tsunade said and grabbed hold of Sakura's hand in an attempt to evade going back to her office. She started to head towards another patient's room until she was stopped in her tracks by Shizune.
"Not so fast Lady Tsunade." Shizune said and took hold of Sakura's other hand and snatched the hospital chart out of Tsunade's, "I will round on your patients with Sakura while you go back to your office and complete your paperwork."
Tsunade was trying to pull Sakura in her direction, still trying to go against what Shizune was telling her to do while Shizune was attempting to pull the girl closer to her. Sakura just stood there, being pulled in opposite directions and didn't have the courage to speak up for herself. It wasn't until Tsunade pulled her a little too hard that she let out a soft shriek of pain, "Ow." Sakura said and then Tsunade let go of her hand.
"I'm sorry Sakura, are you okay?" Tsunade asked, trying to ensure that the girl was indeed alright.
Sakura nodded her head, trying her best to assure the Hokage that she was not injured, "I'm fine."
Tsunade was relieved that she didn't inflict any serious injury on the young ninja and realized that there was no getting out of doing her paperwork. Reluctantly she allowed Shizune to take care of her patients and left the hospital to complete her tasks for the day. She was not looking forward to it, but knew it had to be done or she wouldn't hear the end of yet another one of Koharu's long, condescending lectures.
Jiraiya proceeded to walk towards the main gate of The Leaf Village with Naruto in tow. The two had just completed a mission together and were almost back home. The nature of the mission wasn't too complicated as it only consisted of escorting an important diplomat back to his village safely. However, Jiraiya took the opportunity to gather intel on the Akatsuki organization while Naruto was sleeping. So far, Jiraiya didn't learn anything life altering from his sources, but knew that one day the Akatsuki would become an immediate threat to the security of The Leaf and everyone residing there. It was only a matter of time.
"It's so good to be home." Naruto said upon entering the village, "I feel like I haven't been here in forever."
Jiraiya let out a small chuckle at Naruto's words, for they have only been gone for a total of five days, "You moron, we haven't been gone that long." He teased and earned an annoyed grumble from the young Genin.
As they entered the village, they stopped at the gate keeper's booth and informed the guard that they were back from their mission, "Jiraiya and Naruto reporting back from our mission." Jiraiya said to the guard in charge of the main gate.
"Thank you Master Jiraiya." The guard said, "We will inform Lady Hokage of your arrival. Be sure to report back to her at once."
Jiraiya nodded his head and proceeded to walk through the village with Naruto. He thought about the last time he saw Tsunade. It was the day after they visited the site where their son was buried. She called for his presence in her office for the purpose of assigning him a mission. Ever since that intense hug they shared, he could not stop thinking about the woman who emerged in his dreams. He just wished that the one he met while he was sleeping was the one in reality, but that was not going to happen. Nevertheless, he yearned for the friendship they once had and hoped that one day they could rekindle their relationship and go back to how it was so long ago.
"I'm starving Pervy Sage!" Naruto complained and heard as his stomach let out a very audible grumble.
Jiraiya would be lying if he said that he wasn't hungry too. When he thought about it, the last time they had something to eat was approximately four hours ago when they left one of the towns they had to travel through in order to return to the village. Even then they did not eat to their stomach's capacity as the place they stopped at to eat was a dainty little tea shop that only served delicate finger sandwiches and hot beverages. That was not the kind of establishment Jiraiya ever graced with his presence, but it was the only available food location on their way home, so he had no choice. Naruto was not too fond of their selection of meals either so he barely ate a thing. Almost as soon as Jiraiya heard Naruto's stomach grumble, his started to moan for nutrition as well.
"Can we get something to eat?" Naruto pleaded with hands clasped in front of his face, begging Jiraiya to stop somewhere to eat, "I can go no more Pervy Sage." Naruto was acting as if he never had a meal in his life. His performance was quite comical, but that was just Naruto's personality.
"What place do you have in mind?" Jiraiya asked, feeling his stomach grumble again.
As if he was not just behaving as if he was about to take his last breath due to starvation, Naruto's entire demeanor changed upon realizing that Jiraiya was allowing him to pick the place where they would consume their meal, "How about Ichiraku Ramen!" He smiled and already started to head in the direction of his chosen location.
Jiraiya shook his head and followed the boy over to the popular ramen establishment. He should have known that Naruto would have picked there, for everyone in the village knew that Naruto's favorite meal was ramen noodles with extra miso pork accompanied by two soft boiled eggs. Jiraiya enjoyed the dish but it was not his favorite meal. Often times he would find himself at that particular location just because Naruto loved going there and Jiraiya genuinely enjoyed spending time with the boy. Therefore, Jiraiya grew to tolerate eating ramen once or perhaps even three times for the week.
They arrived at the ramen shop and promptly seated themselves at the counter. They didn't even have to browse the menu since the owner of the shop knew their order like the back of his hand.
"Welcome back you two." The owner said, "Having the usual again?" He confirmed before he placed some dried noodles into a pot of boiling hot water.
"You got it old man!" Naruto said gleefully, excited at the fact that in just a few moments he would be devouring a full bowl of ramen.
In a few short minutes, they were both presented with two steaming hot bowls of ramen noodles. Naruto was so excited to eat that he didn't hesitate to break apart a pair of chopsticks and dig in. He was about to stuff a bunch of noodles into his mouth until Jiraiya stopped him.
"Where are your manners boy?" Jiraiya asked and shook his head. Even though Naruto was growing up he still had a lot to learn, "How about you thank this good man here for your food?" He said as he looked up at the owner of the establishment.
"Oh right." Naruto said while scratching the back of his neck, "Thanks old man!"
"No problem Naruto, eat up." He said encouraging Naruto to consume his meal.
It only took Naruto a few seconds to be finished with his first bowl and quickly ordered another while Jiraiya was taking his time with his meal. The ramen had a nice savory taste to it. It really was the best ramen in the village.
After Jiraiya was done with his bowl, and Naruto was finished with his third, they were now completely satisfied. Naruto proceeded to dig around in his pocket until he found his wallet and was about to pay for his meal before Jiraiya stopped him, "I got this one Naruto." Jiraiya said and placed some money onto the counter to cover their bill.
"Thanks Pervy Sage!" Naruto said and walked out of the establishment while holding his stomach that was now bulging out due to the many bowls of ramen he consumed. Jiraiya walked out behind him and couldn't help but feel happy that he got to spend more quality time with the boy while bonding over a meal. He couldn't explain why, but he enjoyed being in the knucklehead's company.
"Hey Pervy Sage." Naruto started.
"Yeah what is it?" He asked, wondering what it was that Naruto was about to say.
"Weren't we supposed to report the outcome of our mission to Granny Tsunade?"
Realization dawned on Jiraiya as he remembered the fact that they were supposed to see Tsunade immediately when they returned to the village, "Oh shit." He cursed, feeling as if Tsunade was not going to be too pleased upon seeing him show up in her office an hour after he was supposed to. The last thing he needed right now was to get on Tsunade's bad side. He slapped his hand over his eyes in frustration and turned to Naruto.
"How about you head home while I go see Tsunade." He said, feeling the need to send the boy home. He didn't necessarily want Naruto to be there while Tsunade certainly curses at him for not coming to her directly to report the results of his mission.
"Are you sure Granny Tsunade won't be mad?" Naruto asked, "I don't want to be in her bad books. She can be quite cranky."
"I'm positive, just leave it to me." Jiraiya assured the boy.
"Okay." Naruto shrugged and headed in the direction of his home, "Good luck Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya watched as the boy walked away from him and instantly felt a nervous sweat drip down his back. He now had to stand before the Hokage and tell her why he was late in reporting back to her. He just hoped that she was having a good day and wasn't in a mood that would result in him being punched a mile in the opposite direction. He could only hope.
Tsunade was now back in her office, attaching her signature to numerous documents, setting those aside to be filed later, and completing other forms. It was a lot of paperwork to go through, but so far, she had completed one of the four stacks that sat before her. She felt somewhat accomplished, but she was soon defeated when one of her assistants came into her office and delivered another stack of paperwork that resembled nothing but a tall building that looked as if it were about to topple over in any minute. She muttered a few expletives under her breath and her assistant excused himself out the room, trying so desperately to avoid the wrath of the Hokage. Tsunade imagined herself being anywhere but that office in that moment in time. How did they expect her to finish all that work? She wondered how the Hokages who came before her managed to get it all done with their sanity still in check.
She sighed heavily and realized that the paperwork was not going to disappear into thin air no matter how much she wanted it to and reached for another document. As soon as she finished reading the contents of the paper in her hand, she signed her name at the bottom of it and reached for another one. Just as she was about to start reading the information she had before her, she felt the presence of a familiar chakra coming from outside her window. She knew automatically who it was and smiled gently to herself while still focusing on the task in front of her.
"There's no use in sneaking up on me." She said so that her visitor could hear, "You should really just use the door like a normal person Jiraiya."
Jiraiya realized that it didn't make any sense to surprise her by showing up at her window. He just wanted to attempt at making the situation lighter than it ought to be. He just didn't feel like being on bad terms with her again just as they were starting to make progress on patching up the damage that was done to their relationship.
He stepped into her office through her window and immediately stood right in front of her desk. He noticed that she was focused on the work she had before her, so he took that as a sign that she was not aware of the fact that he failed to report to her as soon as he stepped foot in the village, "Hi Tsunade." He said.
Immediately upon him greeting her, a rather heavy book was thrown in his direction and knocked him on the head, "OW!" He yelled in pain and held the spot on his forehead that received the hard blow, "What was that for?" He whined.
"The gate keepers told me you came back over an hour ago!" She started, "You know damn well that you're supposed to come here as soon as you return from your missions!" She scolded while trying her hardest not to unleash the full extent of her short temper, "I didn't expect any better from Naruto, but you're supposed to be the responsible adult idiot!"
"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry." He said cautiously, afraid to have another book be thrown in his direction, "It won't happen again."
"It better not." She warned and reached into one of the drawers of her desk to receive a blank sheet of paper, and the stamp of The Leaf Village, "Go on, tell me about your mission."
"It was a success." Jiraiya started, "We managed to escort that diplomat back to his village safe and sound." He explained as he recalled the details of his mission, "And so far, I don't have much information on the Akatsuki, so right now we'll be okay."
"Good." She said as she quickly recorded everything Jiraiya told her. When she was finished writing down all the relevant information, she stamped the document with the seal of The Leaf Village and put it aside in her 'to be filed' pile of paperwork, "You can go now." She said.
He was about to usher himself out the room until he took notice of all the piles and piles of paperwork that she had to complete. He wondered just how they expected her to do all that by herself. He then looked up at Tsunade who was busy scribbling away at the numerous documents scattered on her desk and instantly felt sorry her. There was a lot of work to be done and he could see the toll it was taking on her. She looked stressed and tired. That was evident in the dark circles that formed below her eyes. Overall, she just looked like she needed a break. It was probably a bad idea, and he might end up regretting it, but he had some free time on his hand and decided to ask her to join him.
"Hey Tsunade." He started.
"Hmmm?" She asked, never looking up from the paper she was writing on.
He took a big gulp before speaking up, "How about you spend the day with me?" He asked and she immediately stopped writing and looked up at him with questioning eyes. Before he allowed her object, he spoke again, "Before you say no, just think about the break you need from all this." He pointed to the multiple stacks of paperwork waiting to be completed.
He was right, she needed a break, but she just couldn't abandon all her work, "Sorry Jiraiya, I can't." She said regretfully and proceeded to turn her attention back to her document. The truth was she wanted to spend time with him, but could she actually do that at the expense of her work?
"Yes, you can." He said and walked over to her to take the pen out her hand, an action that earned him a disapproving look from the Hokage, "You can do whatever you want." He smiled.
She shook her head, "I already got busted by Shizune earlier." She recalled, "And that Koharu would certainly kick my ass out the village if I don't finish all this crap."
"Since when do you care about rules and regulations?" Jiraiya asked, "The Tsunade I grew up with never gave a damn about all that. Where's your sense of adventure?"
She thought about it for a minute and looked at all the paperwork she had to complete. She was about to say no again but then he interrupted her thoughts, "All you have to do is say yes Tsunade."
He said that with such sincerity, such conviction that she felt as if she could just melt in his arms, "Yes Jiraiya." She said, "I'll hang out with you."
"Great!" He smiled and started to exit her office through her window and motioned for her to join him, "By going through here we'll avoid all your annoying guards."
She chuckled at how ridiculous she must look following Jiraiya out the window as if she were a teenager sneaking out of her bedroom window to meet up with her boyfriend, "Let's go before someone sees." She said and the pair escaped the confinements of that boring, stuffy office through the window successfully.
From there, the two managed to jump off the roof of the Hokage building, going unnoticed by all the unwanted security guards. Tsunade felt a sense of adrenaline as she managed to escape all the paperwork she left behind in her office. Maybe he was a bad influence on her, persuading her to put her work off until another day, but she didn't care. All she was concerned with at the moment was looking forward to whatever her white-haired teammate had in mind for them.
They walked through the village strategically avoiding the places around the village Tsunade knew Shizune would usually frequent. They even ducked off into a dark alley every now and then when they saw a few of her guards, and even members of the ANBU come into view. It wasn't too long until they made it to Jiraiya's apartment building. He quickly turned the key in the door and opened it for her to walk into the apartment before he did. Once inside, he flipped the light switch on and all of a sudden, memories of the last time she was there flashed before her hazel eyes. They were happy, yet sad memories since the last time she was in his apartment was when they slept together for the last time and conceived their child. That was the same night she left him and broke his heart in two. She pushed all those thoughts to the back of her mind, not wanting to relieve those painful moments.
"Why are we here Jiraiya?" She asked, suddenly feeling somewhat uncomfortable to be standing in his apartment.
He was in the kitchen, rummaging through his cabinets until he retrieved a bottle of sake and two small shot glasses, "I came to get these." He said and held up the items he gathered so she could see them.
A devious smile graced her face upon seeing her favorite beverage. He knew exactly what she needed was alcohol. Surely, she would not go unnoticed in a bar, so they had to drink in the company of just each other. No doubt if the villagers saw Tsunade in a bar in the middle of the day, word would start circulating around the village that the Hokage was a day drinker. The last thing that Tsunade needed was for information like that to get to the village advisors.
"Just what I needed." She said happily and tried to take the bottle from Jiraiya, but he held it away from her, "What gives?" She asked disappointed that she was not yet drinking away all her stress and exhaustion.
"We're not going to drink here." He told her, "I have another location in mind."
With that being said, he led Tsunade out his apartment and all she could do was follow behind him, wondering where on earth he was taking her to.
The pair ended up in a familiar grassy field where they visited frequently in their youth. It was now late in the afternoon, and the sun was just about ready to set. Tsunade looked at the environment around her as if she was living in one of her dreams about her childhood. How could the place where she used to train look exactly as it did when she abandoned it so many years ago? Her eyes immediately focused on the three stumps that stood proudly in the middle of the field. The sight of them warmed her heart as they reminded her of the very first day she became a member of team Sarutobi. That was one of the most memorable days of her life, as it had such a lasting impact on her. She looked at Jiraiya and smiled softly at him, silently thanking him for taking her there.
They both sat against a stump and Jiraiya popped open the bottle of sake. He handed Tsunade a glass which she happily accepted, and he poured the alcohol into it before he helped himself to a drink. They both sat there in silence for a few moments, allowing the sweet taste of sake to seep into their systems and put them at ease. Jiraiya felt at peace to be sitting there with her. For some reason, he no longer felt the resentment he kept bottled up inside him towards her as he sat there. Instead, he felt as if he was in the company of a friend he has known his entire life. He had no clue what kind of life she lived when she left the village and felt compelled to ask her when curiosity got the better of him. He didn't know if it was a good idea to ask, but wanted to try, nevertheless.
"Tsunade can I ask you something?"
She looked at him, "What is it?"
"I was just wondering what kind of life you lived when you left the village." He said and watched as uncertainty became evident in her eyes, "Do you mind telling me?"
She took a deep breath, not necessarily wanting to relieve all the horrors she had to face when she made the decision to leave the village and the life she knew behind. However, here he was, curious as to how she survived with Shizune. How can she possibly avoid his question and then expect to rekindle their friendship? She made the decision to tell her story, her truth to the man sitting beside her.
"It was far from a bed of roses." She started, remembering everything she lived through, "I had Shizune with me, so I wasn't alone but somehow I still felt alone. We didn't have money, so we struggled in many ways, but I tried my best to take care of her." The thought of everything was making her quite emotional so she took another shot of alcohol to keep her emotions at bay, "It wasn't until I lost the baby that I truly sunk into depression." She protectively wrapped her arms around her tiny body, "I moved us out of the town we lived in for many years and started to travel from town to town, never truly having anywhere to call home. I guess I just didn't want to stay in one place. It's like I didn't want to make a new life for myself. Not without Riku anyway." She then looked at Jiraiya gently, "But then you found me when I was at one of the lowest points in my life and brought me back to the village. Thank you for that." She smiled, "What about you? Where did you go when you left?"
Jiraiya remembered how he too lived a nomadic lifestyle. The only difference was that he was entirely alone. However, he didn't sink into a deep depression for he didn't know about Riku, "I moved from place to place as well." He started, "I was trying to find my destiny."
"Did you find it?" She asked with a pink tint now evident on her cheeks due to the beverage she was consuming.
He looked at her and wanted to tell her that he indeed found his destiny, but that would be bold faced lie. He still hasn't found it and wasn't sure if he ever would. However, he kept thinking about the dream he had and wondered if that could have been what his destiny should have been. Then again, that was just a dream, a figment of his imagination. He shook his head at her question, silently telling her that he did not find it, too ashamed to say the words out loud.
"I regret leaving the village." She said silently wondering what her life would have been life if she had stayed, "I miss Sarutobi Sensei." She admitted, feeling a wave of emotion overcome her being, "I should have been here for his funeral. I wish I could do go back and do everything so differently."
Jiraiya could see the regret in her eyes and hear the pain in her voice. She was truly remorseful. He recalled the close relationship Tsunade shared with their dearly departed sensei and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wished that she could have been there to hold his hand as he drew his last breath. Without thinking, he rose to his feet and took hold of her hand to pull her into a standing position. She was somewhat confused by his actions, but her confusion only grew when he started to lead her in the direction of the forest surrounding the training field.
"Where are we going now?" She asked, allowing herself to be led into an unknown location, but never losing her grip on the shot glass she had in her hand.
He didn't answer her question, he just continued to walk in the direction of the spot he hasn't visited in quite some time. Despite the fact that he was not a frequent visitor of that spot, he knew the steps he had to take in order to get there like the back of his hand.
They arrived in an enclosed area in the forest that was home to a rather large, shady tree. It was a very tranquil area and Tsunade wondered why Jiraiya suddenly decided to take her there. She only understood why he took her there when she laid eyes on a rock that resembled a tomb stone that was surrounded by blossoming flowers and had 'Sarutobi Sensei' in familiar handwriting carved into it followed by the symbol of The Leaf Village. Was this what she thought it was?
"It's not fancy like the one they have in the Leaf's cemetery, but this is how I chose to honor and say goodbye to sensei." He explained, "I figured that you wanted to properly say goodbye to him."
Tsunade visited her late sensei's grave on multiple occasions, but never felt a sense of connection to him. Somehow it just felt too formal instead of feeling familiar. Unlike many of the villagers, she knew Sarutobi on a personal level, and yearned to properly feel his presence all around her, "I think I like this one better Jiraiya." She smiled and sat before the memorial.
He followed her lead and took a seat beside her in front of the memorial he set up the day after his sensei's funeral. She traced the carving that Jiraiya made with her index finger and felt her sensei's presence all around her. That man was like a father to her and she missed him with every ounce of her being.
"Hi Sensei." She whispered and felt as a single tear ran down her reddened cheek, "I miss you."
Jiraiya looked at her with nothing but care evident in his obsidian eyes. Suddenly, he did not see the same woman who continuously hurt him over the years, nor did he see the woman he met in his dreams, instead he saw Tsunade, a woman who was incredibly remorseful for the mistakes she made in her past, and someone who was desperately trying to right all her wrongs. That woman was the one he loved ever since he laid eyes on her, and the woman he vowed to protect at all costs. He realized that there was no Tsunade of his dreams, there was only one Tsunade, and she was sitting right beside him. Instinctively, he wiped away her fallen tear with the pad of his thumb and protectively wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him.
She did not push him away, nor did she feel uncomfortable in his embrace. Instead she laid her weary head on his shoulder and felt completely at home. She was safe sitting there, breathing in his sent and feeling the warmth that radiated off his body.
"To Sarutobi Sensei." He said as he held his glass up to the memorial, never allowing his arm to leave her body.
She held her glass up as well, still resting her head on his shoulder, "To Sarutobi Sensei." She said in a small voice.
They joined their glasses together and each drank the alcohol within. This is what Sarutobi wanted, his two students together, rekindling the bond they once shared. Jiraiya looked down at Tsunade and couldn't help but think that maybe his destiny was within her all this time and he didn't know it.
After years and years, I'm back!
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