Anko began laughing a bit while Tayuya shook the Hokage's hand, wiping her face with the other, "Aww, see what you did, Fifth? You made her cry."

"Sh-Shut up..." Tayuya retorted weakly. No matter how much she wiped her face and told herself to stop acting like such a pussy, her tears still continued to flow.

"Inoichi told me how rough you had it out there when he searched through your memories." Said Tsunade, "He said that most people would have just taken the easy way out if they went through most of the stuff you've been through. Now that I'm really thinking about it, anyone who has such a strong will to live under those odds must have some sort of potential to become a valuable kunoichi."

"So you're serious?!" Naruto asked Tsunade with an excited grin, "You're really letting her stay here and become a kunoichi?!"

Tsunade looked off, apparently thinking about something, "I never said that I'll definitely let her become a kunoichi... Despite everything, I'm still not one-hundred percent on the idea. That being said, I definitely am letting her stay here. I'll work on finding her an apartment of her own, and a job for her to earn money for things she needs. Until then, she'll just have to stay living with you Anko." Tsunade's eyes cut to Naruto and did so with a subtle smirk, for whatever reason, "Or she can stay with you, Naruto. It's up to you guys."

Tayuya hated how her bottom lip began to quiver from her overwhelming emotions, "Th-Thank you..." She sniffled, "You must think I'm pathetic... crying like this."

The female Sannin member chuckled, "Nonsense, Tayuya. You're just overwhelmed with happy emotions right now. There's nothing pathetic about that." Her face then hardened a bit, "But I will say this; If you give me any reason to regret this decision, you will be thrown out of here, if not killed. Not even Naruto will be able to save you from that. So I'll need your word that from here on out, you'll remain loyal to the village and to me as Hokage."

"You have my word." Tayuya nodded, standing up straight. For now, her tear well ran dry, "I won't let you down."

Tsunade smiled slightly, "That's what I like to hear. Now, I'll just have to request that you and Shikamaru give me a minute to talk with Naruto and Anko alone."

Tayuya and Shikamaru both nodded and exited out of the room. They stood out there with crossed arms, leaning on opposite walls of the hallway in somewhat awkward silence.

"Just so you know..." Shikamaru mumbled, "I took it easy on you back then because I thought you were attractive."

Tayuya closed her eyes and began laughing, "Is this you still trying to cover up for the fact that you were getting your ass handed to you by a girl, or are you just hitting on me now that I'm one of you guys?"

"The former." Shikamaru grinned, "That girl that helped me fight you-"

"You mean the girl who took over your fight." Tayuya corrected.

"Whatever. She and I are dating now. So I'm pretty sure that I'd end up in a similar situation she put you in three years ago if she found out I was flirting with another girl."

"Awww," Tayuya mocked, "That's cute, being the damsel in distress that gets swept off his feet by a strong kunoichi saving his ass."

"... You're never going to let me live it down, are you?"

"Nope."


In the closed Hokage office, Tsunade sat back in her chair and looked at the two ninja in front of her, "Alright, even though I may be enlisting her as a certified member of Konoha, I still can't find it in myself to fully trust her. At least not yet. So there's something that you two should be aware of that would be best if it were to be refrained from her knowledge."

"Like?" Naruto inquired.

"I will be taking those chakra seals off of her. She will be granted full privileges as an ordinary villager, and will have full independence to do whatever she may please around the village. However, I will keep her under a two-month long probationary period where she will be under watch by ANBU to keep track of her every move."

"Oh, that's all?" Asked Naruto, "I mean, I get that you're being careful, but what difference does it make if Tayuya knows about it or not?"

"Because she wants to see if Tayuya will pull anything while she thinks we fully trust her." Anko answered, "If she knew about the ANBU watching her, she'd still possibly put up a façade during that time to trick us into making us trust her."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Said Tsunade.

"Geez, that makes you sound a little paranoid, Baa-chan..." Naruto mumbled.

"Being 'a little paranoid' is what saves your life as a shinobi, Naruto-kun." Tsunade stated matter of factly, "I just thought you two should know in case you spot a few ANBU around you while you're around her."

"Roger that." Anko nodded. The Jounin then turned to Naruto, "Hey, why don't you babysit her for a change? Since you're sooo determined to have her around you all the time."

This made Naruto blush, "Don't say it like that! I only recommended that she stay with me if there was no other option!"

"Well now I'm commanding that she stay with you for the time being, so there is no other option."

"Commanding me?!" Naruto questioned, "Why do you want to have me keep her all of a sudden?!"

"Because it's your turn, duh. I already did my share." Anko then smirked, "Besides, it's obvious that you like her. I knew that from the day we bumped into her."

Naruto's face was now as pink as a cherry blossom, "Sh-Shut up, I do not! She's a nice person and I can see us becoming friends, nothing more! Besides, I already like someone else."

Anko rolled her eyes with a childish smirk, "Hmm, I smell bullshiiiit..." She sung, which made Naruto growl, "Anyway, she'll be staying at your place regardless, so I recommend you spruce your place up while I help her pack her things."

"Wait a damn minute!" Naruto said, "Why don't I get any say in this?!"

"Because it was a command, as I said previously."

"You can't command me to do something like that!"

"I clearly outrank you, so I don't see why not."

Naruto turned to the ruler of the village, who was spectating the conversation with amusement, "Baa-chan!"

Tsunade laughed and raised her hands in surrender, "I'm staying out of it. Like I said before, it's up to you guys to decide what you're going to do with her. If Anko commands that you do it, then she has the right to do so."

Naruto hung his head in defeat, "That's so not fair..."

"I don't know why you're bitching so much." Anko scoffed, "Most guys would kill to have her as a roommate. She's gorgeous. And her tits are just as big as mine. Now you get to stare at them all you want."

Naruto's face was so red at this point, one could assume eighty percent of his blood was now in his head, "Didn't I tell you I don't like her like that?! And that I already have eyes on someone else?!"

"Oh yeah, that pink-haired girl, right?" Anko tapped her chin, "Hm, maybe you have a thing for flat-chested girls. That would explain everything."

The only genin in the room was about to blow a gasket.

"As someone who used to be flat-chested, I take a bit of offense to that." Tsunade stated.

Anko's eyes grew wide, "NO. WAY. You, of all people, used to be flat-chested?!"

Even Naruto took shock at hearing this.

A vein popped in Tsunade's forehead, "Yes, Anko."

"Holy shit." Anko laughed, "And to think that I thought I understood the true concept of irony up until now!"

"ANYWAY." Tsunade growled, "Naruto, Shikamaru, and I have important matters to tend to, so she'll be staying with you for just one more night."

"That's fine." Anko nodded.

"Good, you're dismissed for now. Bring Shikamaru back in for me, will ya?"

"Roger that." Anko then turned around heading for the door.

"The biggest tittied woman in all of Fire Country used to be flat-chested growing up..." Anko mumbled to herself lowly with a snicker, "Man, will Yugao get a kick out of this."


"So how does it feel?" Anko asked Tayuya after walking out of the Hokage tower with her, "To finally have a home after so long?"

"As if you couldn't tell already, considering my reaction in there..." Tayuya scoffed with a bit of embarrassment.

Anko laughed and nodded, "I honestly didn't think Naruto would manage to convince the Hokage to let you stay. You must have given him the time of his life on that date you two had for him to have it that bad for you."

Tayuya leered at her through the corner of her eyes and shook her head with annoyance, "Get the hell outta here. You know it was nothing like that."

"You're wrong, I don't know that." Anko teased, "Anyway, since it's official, I guess it would be nice to go celebrate, huh?"

Tayuya shrugged. She wasn't familiar with celebrations or commemorations, especially not those dedicated to her, "I guess... What do you have in mind?"

Anko grinned, "Don't worry about it. I have the whole day mapped out for us."

"We're gonna go get shitfaced, aren't we?"

"Hell yeah." Anko replied a bit too happily, "It's way too early for that right now, though. Right now we can just go ahead and get some breakfast."

Tayuya nodded. She was getting pretty hungry.


*Many hours later*

The day had went much faster than Tayuya and Anko had anticipated. Anko took Tayuya out to eat at a local restaurant that served breakfast meals before 12pm. They ate their food and then did a bit more shopping, from food that Anko needed in her home, to a few more clothes and outfits for Tayuya to wear (to prevent Tayuya from running to her wardrobe should she run out of clean clothes for the week). They took their merry time, with Anko even showing Tayuya around that part of the village along the way to help her become more familiar with her new home.

By the time they were finished with all of that, it was already 8pm. Anko had decided that they go to one of her favorite bars for drinks. Anko was a known local there, so she was able to convince the bartender that she was indeed of legal drinking age (Though it didn't take too much convincing, considering the size of Tayuya's bust). They enjoyed their night, and Anko quickly found out that Tayuya was far from skilled at holding her alcohol, which Anko assumed was because Tayuya never had an alcoholic drink in her life. Her lack of controlling herself while inebriated was demonstrated when she ended up breaking some villager's jaw once he showed very aggressive sexual behavior towards her. It was because of this that Anko and Tayuya were asked to leave. This didn't bother Anko, however, since she had been thrown out of the same bar in the past for similar reasons in the past.

Now, it was a bit past midnight, and Anko had just entered her home with Tayuya. Tayuya slumped down onto the couch while Anko grabbed a full bottle of sake, since she had only just reached a buzz by the time they got kicked out of the bar.

"You have quite the right hook." Anko complimented with a snort.

"Fucker shouldn'ta touched me." Tayuya grunted with a slur.

Anko nodded, "It was well deserved, so I'll give you that, too." Anko popped open the bottle and took a full swig from it, hardly even flinching from the strong contents.

"I hava confession..." Tayuya mumbled, "I never really, er... drunk alcohol *hiccup* before this..."

"No shit?" Anko replied sarcastically, "I could tell that by how much you flinched when you sniffed your first shot. What you had wasn't even the good stuff."

"Shuddup..." Tayuya groaned. She then rolled over on her back, holding her head, "My freakin' god... Why is this place spinnin' so goddamned much...?!

Anko took another swig, before snorting, "That's what you get for trying to hold your own with a veteran like me. That tough girl shit you got going on does have its consequences."

Tayuya ignored Anko's statement and simply watched as she sat down on the couch next to her, the large bottle still in her grasp. She took another large gulp, this time flinching a little as the contents went down her throat. Yeah, she was starting to feel it now.

Clearing her throat, Anko stared off into space, "Y'know, I'm kinda happy for you." She said suddenly, "That you don't have to live like a savage anymore. I know I give you a lot of shit, but I know you didn't deserve to live like that."

Tayuya simply looked at her, wondering where this was coming from.

"You seemed pretty indifferent about me leaving before Naruto stuck up for me." Tayuya replied.

"But I stuck up for you in the end, didn't I?" Anko coolly shot back.

"You did." Tayuya nodded lightly enough to prevent from making herself dizzy, "All I'm sayin' is that you were *hiccup* ready to have the Hokage send me back out there, until Naruto had initially said something."

Anko turned her eyes toward her, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Exactly what I just said."

This made Anko turn her whole head towards Tayuya, "Nah, I suspect there's some kind of hiding meaning in those words, Tayuya."

"For someone who's an interrogator, it shouldn't be much of a hidden meaning to you."

The urge to quickly bitch-slap the other person in the room ran through Anko for just a moment.

Instead of getting angrier, Anko simply chuckled, "You know what, you're drunk. So I'm not going to take you too seriously right now."

"I'm not drunk." The redhead replied unconvincingly, "And I'm being serious. I don't know why you'd say you're happy for me if you don't give a shit about me."

Anko rose an eyebrow. Yes, Tayuya was drunk. But Anko knew that people's true feelings almost always came out after some alcohol has entered their system.

"Right, I guess me having your back in the end accounts for nothing." She scoffed with a dry chuckle, taking another swig.

"All I'm saying is that you've acted like such a dick to me these past few days. So excuse me if I'm a little skeptical when you tell me that you're glad I'm here."

"I let you into my home."

"Okay, but-"

"I fed you."

"Yeah, but-"

"I let you wear some of my clothes."

"So? You didn't-"

"I let you sleep in my home where I sleep, and dropped my guard around you."

"I doubt that-"

"I gave you a chance back when we first ran into you. I could have ignored or executed you as soon as we saw you with the Curse Mark. You think Naruto had enough influence over me to decide that I should let you live? I didn't have to listen to him, I gave you that chance because I wanted to."

"..."

"And even right now, I spent the whole day with you to celebrate your permanent spot in Konoha. I didn't have to do anything that I've done for you. If I didn't give a shit about you, you'd still be out there hunting rabbits for dinner." Throughout everything Anko had said since she took her last sip of sake, Anko was looking forward, not at Tayuya. Now, she turned her head, giving her a steely look, "So don't try and tell me that I never gave a shit. You don't have the slightest idea what goes on in my head."

This shut Tayuya up for quite a few seconds, especially since Anko was still hitting her with that piercing glare. However, something still bothered Tayuya, and made sure that she express it to the woman before her.

"But why were you acting like such a bitch to me?!" Tayuya demanded. Her level of intoxication caused her emotions to magnify, while she leaned forward closer to Anko's face, "I mean, I get that I'm not the nicest person out there, but you seemed so ready for me to go! I know you owed me nothing! I know that I had no right to expect you to stick up for me! But something still wasn't right about how easy it was for you to expect me to go back out there, considering how you knew how bad I had it!"

Anko's expression never changed, "One thing that I'll give Naruto is that he has balls for stomping in the Hokage's office and demanding her to change her decision. If I'd have tried that, I would have gotten shut down quickly, or even would have gotten on her bad side for opposing her. So that's why I didn't put up any kind of fight. My word wouldn't have accounted for much if I did. But Naruto and the Hokage? They have a special connection. The Fifth Hokage wouldn't even be the Fifth Hokage if not for Naruto. And it's mainly because of that how Naruto's influence was strong enough to make Tsunade reconsider." Anko sighed, shaking her head, "Do you get it now? Even if you did end up leaving tonight, I did what I could so that it would have been at least somewhat of a nice break for you. It's not that I didn't give a shit about you leaving, it's just that I knew there wouldn't be anything I could do to change that."

Tayuya looked away, actually paying attention to what's happening. What was she doing? Why did she decide to pick a fight with Anko all of a sudden? What minuscule feelings did she have inside of her that would temporarily override her joy of finally having a proper home?

"... I'm sorry." Tayuya mumbled, "I don't... I don't really know where this is coming from."

"You're drunk." Anko dismissed with a wave of her hand, "Alcohol can distort your words and feelings, especially for those who haven't built up a tolerance for it. So don't worry about it, no hard feelings."

Tayuya groaned and held her head. Alcohol is evil, she quickly realized.

"I will confess something, though." Anko suddenly said after another sip from her bottle. It was a third of a bottle full now, and Anko felt the full brunt of the inebriation coming on, "Earlier today, after I woke you up, you may have noticed that I seemed a bit more harsh than usual. The reason for that was because I was trying to distance myself."

"Distance yourself?" Tayuya repeated, "Whaddya mean?"

Anko paused to think for a second. She had to figure out how to phrase her next response without making it sound... weird.

"You saw that I have the same Curse Mark you have." She started, unconsciously rubbing the mark with her hand, "We've both been used by a man sicker than most people in the entire world. For that, I respected you because I could relate to how you felt. And then I see that we're not much different, you and I. You've fought for your life, more than some shinobi would in battles during their careers. You didn't give up, even as Kami kept throwing you curveballs for years. And for that, I respected you more. And despite everything that's happened to you, you were never afraid to speak your mind. Yeah, you're attitude isn't the best and your manners could use a whole lot of adjustment. But even as it seemed like you were staring the Shinigami in the face, you never begged for anything. You kept your pride, and strength with you the whole time. And for that, I respected you even more."

The Special Jounin took a pause, feeling the eyes of Tayuya set on her to show that she had one-hundred percent of her attention.

"And it seems that you know your limits. You know when and how not to push your boundaries. And that's a nice trait to have, considering the rest of your personality." Anko closed her eyes, "So what I'm trying to say is... I didn't want to... respect you too much."

Anko knew that sounded weird, and knew Tayuya was going to call her out on it.

"You didn't want to 'respect' me too much?" She said with a small snort, "That's the first time I've heard that."

Anko looked at her bottle, "Fuck it." She grunted to herself before chugging down the rest of it. The liquid drained into her gut with a fiery burn passing through her esophagus, making her flinch and hiss.

Once Anko recovered, she turned her dazed eyes toward the redhead in front of her, "I'll just go on and say it; I didn't want us to be friends if it meant that you were just going to leave here. It's rare that I actually meet people that I can really relate to and consider a legitimate friend. So I didn't want to waste my time forming a bond, if it just ended up that it would be of no use in the long run."

Anko was disgusted with herself. What kind of sappy shit is this?! The damned alcohol was making her spew this crap.

Tayuya looked away for a moment. Anko was expecting her to make fun of her.

"But I'm not leaving." Tayuya said lowly.

Anko nodded, "So it seems."

The room got awkwardly silent. Both women were now drunk, and only the ticking sound from Anko's clock in the kitchen was currently making noise.

"Hey... I have a question." Tayuya suddenly stated.

"Shoot."

"Remember what you said yesterday about how we're the type to bully those that we kind of like?"

Anko raised an eyebrow, but nodded. She wondered where she was going with this, "Yeah, and?"

Tayuya didn't respond right away, "You didn't deny it when I said that you were the one bullying me."

Anko said nothing. Or at least not right away.

She soon let out a small chuckle, "Are you trying to say that I like y-?"

All of a sudden, Anko found herself unable to finish her sentence. Due to the alcohol and how fast everything had happened, it took Anko quite some time to realize that she was being kissed.

By Tayuya.

Tayuya was kissing her.

Anko's eyes shot open, and she used her hands to push Tayuya away. This ultimately resulted in Anko grabbing her breasts through her shirt, making Tayuya subconsciously bit her lip.

"Wh-whoa, what in the name of Kami do you think you're doing?!" Anko demanded.

Tayuya smirked. She complained about how the alcohol was making her feel earlier, but now... she embraced it. It freed her from her own restrictive and apprehensive thoughts. It allowed her to confidently do whatever it was that she wanted to do right then and there, without worrying about any possible negative outcomes.

"Making my move." Tayuya answered her simply before kissing her again. Anko was still so shocked, but despite her hands still being on Tayuya's chest to push her away, she couldn't find the strength to actually do it. And she knew she had the strength. So why wasn't she doing it? Anko never was one to think that she'd be into girls but... Tayuya's lips felt so soft. Her breath tasted heavily of alcohol, but so did hers.

With her lips still planted on Anko's, Tayuya reached a hand up to swat away the sake bottle that was still in Anko's right hand, being pushed against her breast. The empty glass bottle fell and hit the hardwood floor, leaving a crack in it.

The Jounin wasn't sure why, but her hands slowly went from feebly attempting to push Tayuya away, to slowly squeezing and massaging the flesh in her palms.

"Fuck it." Was Anko's last memorable thought before she allowed Tayuya's tongue to slip into her mouth.

Within two minutes, Anko found herself on her back, laying under Tayuya on her couch.

Within ten minutes, Anko found herself lightly moaning, as Tayuya's lips and tongue traveled to other places other than her mouth.

Within thirty minutes, Anko found herself bare nude, with a bare nude Tayuya still on top of her.

Within the hour, Anko found herself gripping at a handful of red hair, which belonged to a head that rested between her spread legs.

Anko wasn't sure exactly how long she and Tayuya kept at it. But Anko was sure she saw the sun rising through her window before they finished.