The air was filled with the sounds of drunken revelry and bustling casinos as Jiraiya's group entered town. The sage paused in the middle of the street, stopping in order to take a deep breath. "Ah... Smell that, kid? That's the smell of paradise right there!"
"Smells like booze, cheap perfume, and smoke to me. Why are we stopping here anyway? I thought that were trying to get back as fast as possible!" Naruto shot back, fairly winded by the day's long trip.
"Show some respect brat! Tanzaku is one of the crown jewels of the Land of Fire, and you should be happy to be back here! And we are getting back as fast as possible. We're going to spend the night here so that we can make it back to Konoha in one burst tomorrow. Now then, go get us a room. I'm going to go... scope out the area." Before anyone could respond, Jiraiya was already gone, leaving the other three standing alone in the street. Naruto sighed, turning back to his new traveling partners.
"Sorry about that... He's always like this." Ieyasu just laughed in response and waved the comment off.
"It's not your fault! In fact, he reminds me of someone else that that I know..." Naruto began to walk down the road, putting his hands behind his head as he turned.
"Well, I'm sure that he's a pain too, whoever he is. Well, I guess we should go find a hotel before it gets too late to get a good room. Though, is your friend going to be okay with that?" Ieyasu began to walk alongside Naruto, the crowd of civilians parting slightly for the group of obviously experienced men.
"Tadakatsu? He'll be fine with whatever you choose. After all, he can take the armor off if he needs to. Though, he does prefer staying in places with a good bathhouse attached. It was actually just last week when we were talking-." The group had walked around three blocks when their conversation was interrupted by a sudden shout of "Hey! Ieyasu!"
"I thought that you were completely separated from where you came from..." Naruto and Ieyasu both began to look for the caller, while Tadakatsu stood ready, scanning the crowd for threats.
"So did..." The two men quickly identified the source of the voice. A large casino dominated the right side of the street, with large signs proudly displaying the name Ryūgū-jō. Large arches left much of the front room open to the street, with a number of black suited bouncers standing around the entrances. What really drew the pairs' attention, however, was a man standing near one of the craps tables. He was youngish looking, no older than his early twenties. He stood out from the surrounding crowd in several ways, from the red streak that covered the entire left side of his hair, to the cocky way that he held himself, and especially the armor that was covering most of his upper body and his legs, marking him as a seasoned fighter. But the thing that made him most notable to the travelers was the fact that he was turned away from the table, and staring at Ieyasu with his mouth hanging slightly agape. As Naruto turned back to his new companion to see why he stopped talking so suddenly, he saw that he was looking back with a similar expression. "... Sakon?"
The other man laughed weakly in response, slowly walking towards the pair. "It's been a while, hasn't it..."
Ieyasu, in comparison, had not moved an inch from when this started. His voice was barely above a whisper as he replied. "This is impossible... I was told that you died in Osaka."
Standing between the two, Naruto was left looking back and forth between them in confusion. "Alright, one of you really needs to tell me what's going on, because I'm really lost right now."
Sakon seemed to brighten at that, losing his shocked expression what seemed like an instant. He turned to the shinobi and flashed him a smile as he replied. "Ah, I'm sorry! I should fill you in on who I am, since it seems like someone hasn't mentioned me! You see, me and him met a long while ago, back when I was first joining-" It was at this point that he was cut off by someone from the table behind him.
"Excuse me sir, but if you recall, you're currently the shooter. Please move this along." Sakon froze, looking back over his shoulder at the stickman, before slowly looking down at his hand, which happened to still be clenched around a pair of dice.
"Right. Hold on for a second guys, I need to take care of this." With that, Sakon quickly blew on his hand before tossing the dice backwards over his shoulder. The dice quickly hit the ceiling, before banking back down onto the table. A few seconds later, the stickman called "Two craps two! Collect your bets!" Sakon turned back to Ieyasu and Naruto with a cocky smile.
"So, let's continue? Why don't you guys walk and talk with me while I go cash out? Though, Tadakatsu probably has to stay outside... Just like old times, eh?" Extending a hand, Sakon gestured for the others to follow.
"Alright. Just so long as you start with what happened to you." Ieyasu had regained his composure by this point, though he still looked like he had seen a ghost. "Naruto, if you and Tadakatsu want to go get that room, I wouldn't mind. I mean, I could hardly ask you to sit and listen to the troubles of someone that you've barely met, after all."
"Screw the room! I said that I wanted to know more about you, so I'm staying." Replied Naruto, drawing the confused glares of several patrons as he almost shouted his words.
"Well then, where do you want me to start? I assume at the beginning, or has he already told you about back then?" Sakon had turned back to the table at this point in order to gather up his prodigious stack of chips.
"I haven't really had the chance to tell him much past my time going from noble house to noble house..." Ieyasu filled in, still struggling to find his voice.
"Oh, you mean your hostage days?" Now cradling his pile of chips, Sakon began to make his way through the crowded casino, deliberately going slow enough to allow Naruto to keep pace at his side. "Well, I met him sometime after that, so I can't tell you much about those. I met this ball of sunshine right here after I joined up with the Toyotomi. He has mentioned Hideyoshi, I assume?" Sakon looked over at Naruto, who gave a small shake of his head in response. "No? Well then, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was one of the biggest, toughest generals around, who dreamed of unifying the land through his strength. Ieyasu and I, as well as several others served under him as vassals. We were like brothers; though I suppose that fighting together really does that for a group."
Naruto cut in, "So this group of yours- you all went on missions together, then?"
Sakon paused in mid-stride for a second before continuing on. "Not really... We were mostly assigned to be troop leaders during attacks, as well as lending a hand to the men during the battles. Anyhow, we all bonded, especially me and this guy, Ishida Mitsunari... I owed him a lot, you see. Ieyasu was really the center of our little group, though. You should have seen him then! Always going around with a smile on his face, like there wasn't a care in the world... He must have befriended every person in our camps, from the servants to Hideyoshi himself! Though, if my memory serves, you were closest to Mitsunari as well, Weren't you?"
Ieyasu still appeared to be lost in thought, though he snapped to attention quickly as soon as it registered that someone had been trying to talk to him. "Hm? Oh, yes... Yes. I was."
"See? Well, everything was great until shortly after we had taken Odawara Castle... You see, we had all been split up to different battlefields, as Hideyoshi was finalizing his hold on the country. I was assigned to subdue a Lord further south, but as I was facing off against her, right out of nowhere- BANG! Tadakatsu shows up to reinforce her! And as you know, Tadakatsu does nothing without Ieyasu's say so. Looking back on it, he had been acting strangely before that- all sullen and withdrawn- but I never saw what happened coming..." Naruto was completely enraptured at this point, barely managing to avoid running into some particularly slow moving patrons as they walked.
"So? What happened?" When he began again, Sakon spoke with uncharacteristic seriousness, his hair hanging low over his eyes as his entire posture lost its vibrant edge and slumped downwards.
"When we all separated, he didn't go to his assigned point. Instead, he rallied his own army and cut Hideyoshi's main force off. He launched a surprise attack, and killed Hideyoshi and his strategist both in one fell swoop." The entire group had to stop walking as Naruto slammed to a halt, almost knocking everyone behind him over. He also attracted the attention of almost half the floor with his next exclamation.
"WHAT?! There's no freakin' way that he could do something like that! Right, Ieyasu?" Naruto turned to the other man for confirmation, but was only greeted by a slow shake of his head.
"No...I did kill them. It was the only thing that I could do. I promise that I'll explain why later, but this is hardly the place for it... In fact, Sakon, you couldn't have waited to tell that part at a better time?" Sakon gave a grim smile, and started walking again.
"Nope. After all, the last part my little tale wouldn't make any sense that way, right?" Not waiting for any sort of reply, Sakon plunged back into his story, his sparkling tone back in full force. "Anyway, I immediately rushed back to Sawayama, where we were all supposed to meet when we had finished our fights. That's where I met up with Mitsunari... He was inconsolable... Well, no, that's not quite the right word. Hideyoshi was his life, his everything. He was so devoted to the man that when he learned of what happened, he snapped. He couldn't even recognize me when we met! I knew that if he could just calm down a bit, start thinking rationally again, then we could work this all out... So, I let him take it out on me. Really tore me up, too! Last thing remember was him snapping out of it, saying my name... Then, I died." The group stopped for a third time, as this time, both Naruto and Ieyasu stopped dead in their tracks, mouth agape.
"You what?!" They both cried, almost in unison. Ieyasu was the only one to continue on, however. "But, that's-"
"Impossible?" Sakon cut him off, with a cocky smirk. He then gave a small shrug before turning around and continuing on towards the cashier's desk. "Well, believe it or not, that's what happened. Last thing I remember is falling to the floor and blacking out, feeling cold as ice, and then waking up in a dumpster behind one of these buildings with my armor and clothes all fixed up like new! I may not know how I got here, or where here really is, but I can definitely tell you that I was dead." He abruptly cut off here, turning to the girl working the cashier's desk with his most charming smile. Dropping his armload of chips onto the counter, he leaned in close, resting his arm on her workspace.
"Though with angels like this, I might just be in paradise!" The cashier came to a sudden stop in her work, turning to expressionlessly stare at Sakon. She held the stare for a solid minute in dead silence, before Sakon coughed awkwardly and slid the chips under the window.
"I'm looking to cash out for the day, and would love if you could put a rush on it... For me?" The awkward silence still continued for the better part of a minute, but the cashier took the pile of chips, replacing it with several stacks of bills. Clearing his throat, Sakon started to thank her, but she had already turned away to the next customer. Shrugging, he turned back to Naruto and Ieyasu.
"Well then, should we head back to your place? After all, it's your turn to fill me in on everything that I've missed!" Hardly waiting for a reply, Sakon just turned and started walking for a door, leaving his companions to rush to follow.
"Welcome to Mankai, honored custom- Ah! Jiraiya-sama! It's so good to see you again! And after so long, too!" The toad sage gave his most charming smile, and grabbed the hostess's hand.
"It's been a long, lonely three years, Hitomi-chan! Full of tension, intrigue, and yes, a little bit of romance! But, I never stopped thinking of you, or this lovely place. Indeed, in the end, it was the mere memory of your charms that bade me return! So, call over Makie-chan... and Yumiko-chan... and Naoko-chan as well, and I'll tell you all about it- down to the very last detail!" Pulling away, Hitomi laughed softly.
"That sounds most tempting, Jiraiya-sama, but I'm afraid that I am the only person left on call tonight. The rest of the girls are all occupied, as is your favored spot. My apologies."
"What?! How- Why- It's not even that busy in here!" Jiraiya gestured to the wide open space as he talked, indicating that only about half of the tables seemed to be full. He continued, his voice taking on a whine as he started pouting. "Come on, it's me! Your favorite customer! Surely you can make some sort of exception..."
"As you said, it has been three years, Jiraiya-sama. And besides, the guest at your spot is somewhat... special as well." Jiraiya's fallen countenance perked up a bit at that.
"Special?" Hitomi simply nodded in response, before lowering her voice slightly.
"He showed up at our door around a week ago, completely lost. We were just going to let him spend the night, but the girls voted to let him stay until he gets back on feet. And as it happens, he has quite the gift for storytelling as well, and they simply will not let him rest for the evening without telling at least one of his stories- and we both know how often one turns into three, then four... I apologize, but I must insist that you settle for somewhere else right now."
Resignation written across his features, Jiraiya's posture drooped. "Well, if that's the case, then I can't reall- Hey, should he be doing that?" As he spoke, Jiraiya pointed over Hitomi's shoulder to a table near the back of the establishment. Turning back to look at the source of his confusion, she noticed nothing unusual, except a short burst of wind coming from behind her.
By the time that Hitomi looked back at where Jiraiya had been standing, he was already gone. Using a weak shunshin, he was already moving through the silk curtain that separated his private table from the rest of the tea house before she could properly react to his absence. With no hesitation, he took his favorite introduction posture and announced himself to the room. "No, your eyes are not deceiving you! Standing before you is the Sage of Toad Mountain, beloved author, legendary Super Pervert! The man who makes the ladies swoon with every step! Now appearing before you is I, the great Jiraiya!"
The small room went quiet during Jiraiya's introduction, as all eyes were drawn to the newcomer. Jiraiya used this pause to scan the room. Most of the faces were familiar, as five of the geisha on call were fanned around the table , centered around the other guest. This guest was quite the odd figure, as it appeared he had dressed himself with the castoffs of a thrift store. Nothing in his outfit was symmetrical, from the yellow, white fur lined kimono with a torn off sleeve worn over one arm, to the armored red undershirt worn over his chest and one arm (not the one that should be covered by the kimono either, noted Jiraiya), and especially not the zebra striped leg and arm coverings (which looked almost thick enough to be armor in themselves). While he was trying to make sense of the disparate elements of the strangers outfit, the rest of the room recovered somewhat from the sudden intrusion.
"Jiraiya-sama? What are you doing back?"
"After three years of trials and tribulations, I simply could not be apart from your presence a moment longer! And I had to return even faster once I heard of this new guest of yours…" As a matter of punctuation, Jiraiya's eyes turned from Meiko-chan to aforementioned guest as a matter of punctuation. Silence continued to reign in the room as the gathered girl's eyes followed the same path, until all attention was directed onto the man, who was still leaned back, looking slightly taken aback by what was going on around him. He seemed to quickly recover, however, as he leapt to his feet in surprisingly acrobatic fashion, before assuming a pose quite similar to the one Jiraiya had entered with.
"Enemy to evil, friend to the Uesugi, Vagabond of the Maeda! Wandering the world in the name of love, I am Maeda Keiji! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure!" The two men stared the other down- Keiji still locked in his introductory pose while Jiraiya leaned steadily closer to him, never blinking.
"Are you… mocking me?" By this time, the toad sage's killing intent had formed an almost palpable aura around him while Keiji had broken into a cold sweat
"N-no, of course not!" Keji quickly backpedaled, stepping away from the older man while raising his hands protectively. "I thought that's just how we were supposed to greet each other… And besides," He reversed posture again, even more quickly this time, as he moved back in to stare Jiraiya straight in the eyes. "I've always introduced myself like that! If there's anyone copying anyone, it's you!"
"Me?! I've never even heard of you!"
"Well, I haven't heard of you either!"
"Fashion disaster!"
"Fake sage!"
"Hobo!"
"Hack!"
Hitomi pushed through the curtain suddenly, Interrupting the exchange before it could devolve any further. "Jiraiya-sama, Maeda-san, please! You are disturbing the other guests! I am happy to seat you elsewhere, but if this continues, I must insist that you leave, Jiraiya-sama."
The pair of men had the sense to look ashamed at this. "Ah… My bad miss! I guess I just swept up in the moment, ya know?" Keji was the first to respond, with his expression changing to a goofy grin as he looked over to the hostess.
"Sorry Hitomi-chan… I let my passions get the better of me as well! It's just been so long since I've seen all of you, and I just couldn't bear to be separated any longer… But, on that though-" Quickly grabbing the full bottle of sake resting on the table, Jiraiya poured a cup of the sweet rice wine. "I've heard that your guest here is quite the storyteller!"
"Oh, yes! In fact, he's the best we've had since you left, Jiraiya-sama" offered Makie, from her seat with the other geisha that had been watching the exchange.
"Well then, I'd like to offer a challenge! We both tell our best tales, and you lovely ladies decide who exactly is the best at the telling. The winner gets the use of this room, and the bragging rights!" Jiraiya said, holding the cup of sake out to Keiji. "Do we have a deal?"
Keiji looked at the cup for a second before shrugging his shoulders and accepting the offering. "Ah, what the hell?" Raising the cup in a toast, he fell back onto his cushion. "May the best man win!"
The rest of the night passed in a blur for Naruto and Ieyasu. Pooling their money, the group rented a room in the same in that Naruto had stayed on the search for Tsunade. After that, the three men conversed long into the night, with Tadakatsu standing guard in front of the hotel. Though he had said that he wanted to know what had happened after his death, Sakon dominated the conversation by asking about mundane things like local festivals and music. There was a slight break at around three in the morning, as a heavily drunk Jiraiya barged in with someone that he was calling his "new best friend." Both of them immediately passed out, however, leaving the three to follow suit a short time later.
The next morning, the entire group gathered in front of the hotel. Jiraiya and Keji both stood off to the side in the shade, shielding their eyes from the sun. Naruto was out in front of the rest, pack full of supplies already on his back. "So now Keji is coming back with us too?"
Keji responded with a nod and bright smile. "Yep! Jiraiya here makes a hell of a case, and besides, I was moving on anyway. Just staying in one place just doesn't sit right with me."
Ieyasu stepped forwards, offering his hand to Keiji, who took it in his own. "Whatever the reason, I'm honored to be traveling with you again, Keiji!" The pair shared a firm handshake, and Ieyasu turned back towards Sakon. "And of course, it is also my honor to be beside you as well, Sakon."
Ieyasu extended his hand out for Sakon to shake as well, only for him to disregard it with a shake of his head. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake, Ieyasu. I'm not going anywhere with you."
The group let out a dismayed sound as one, causing Jiraiya and Keiji to wince at the volume. Sakon didn't react, however, still staring straight ahead at Ieyasu. "You know, if we had met again any other way, I would have killed you where you stood."
With a hiss of steam and an angry sounding whirr of machinery, Tadakatsu shifted closer to Sakon, spear at the ready. He disregarded the bodyguard with a flippant wave of his hand, however. "Yeah, yeah. I would have tried, at least. But with you being here, you both being here… There's a chance that Mitsunari-sama is somewhere here as well. Before anything else, I'm going to find him."
Ieyasu stepped forwards towards Sakon, hand still outstretched. "I know that I must have caused you such pain… But please, even if you don't understand what I did, trust in our bond! Besides, these two have graciously offered to help me in my own search for Mitsunari! If you come back with us, I'm certain that we can find him faster!"
Sakon gave a small, sad chuckle before responding. "Sorry Ieyasu, but it's just not that easy. Hell, I might be able to forgive you one day, or at least understand why, but not here. Sure, it'll be hard searching out there, and I might never find him, but Mitsunari-sama bet on me once- how could I not do the same?"
Sakon turned away, facing down the road as Naruto ran up to stand next to Ieyasu, kunai in hand. "C'mon! You can't just let him leave like that!"
Ieyasu just shook his head sadly, turning to put a hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder. "Yes I can. Bonds are powerful things, Naruto. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to let them lead us, no matter how hard it might be for those around us to accept."
Beginning to walk away, Sakon chuckled again, though this time it was a more mirthful sound. "Ah, look at us now, both trying to sound cool…" Pausing to look back at Ieyasu, Sakon raised his voice. "Tell you what! If you can get Mitsunari-sama to forgive you, then I'll welcome you back with open arms!"
"Deal. Until then, Sakon!" Ieyasu called back with a sad smile. Sakon simply gave a quick wave back at the group before continuing down the road, soon lost in the early morning crowd. Ieyasu turned back to the rest of the group, back to the picture of composure despite the mist in his eyes. "Are we ready to head out?"
The rest of the group simply gave a series of nods and quick affirmations, no-one wanting to talk further about the emotional scene that had just played out. As such, the five men were soon leaving the city gates, on the final stretch back to Konoha.