Tsunade couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as the explosive tag her protection detail had placed on the rock wall that closed her and her comrades into the cave went off. Ino, Sakura, and Shizune crouched behind the barrier she had constructed to protect them from flying debris. It took a full minute for the stray chunks of earth to stop falling and a few more minutes for the dust to settle enough for visibility to clear enough for the mouth of the cave to become discernable. Tsunade dropped the barrier and strode confidently toward the opening in the rock wall. She heard the footsteps of the other three on the stone behind her. Cool evening air rushed around her in the dim light of the moon. "How are things in the village?" She asked the masked man standing at the head of the squadron.
"Fairly normal, a few teams have reported back and are waiting for official discharge and others sent back progress reports." The man reported. "The Konoha Council wishes to speak to you as soon as possible."
"Just tell them I have other obligations at the moment." She ordered, then held her hand up against his usual protest. "I know you're not my assistant but Shizune is going to be busy helping me catch up on my paper work."
Shizune tapped Ino's shoulder to signal her and Sakura to leave. Ino nodded and gingerly grabbed Sakura's wrist to lead her away. The pink haired girl silently followed her blond friend down to the forest that stood a few yards away from the mouth of the cave. When they had walked a little over ten yards into the protective screen of the trees, Sakura intertwined her fingers with her blond friend's. Ino walked quickly, almost dragging Sakura along behind her as she deftly navigated the undergrowth. "Why are you walking so fast? Sakura breathed.
"I haven't been home for a whole day. My mom is going to kill me!" Ino replied, speeding up.
"Oh, crap. My parents are going to skin me alive!" Sakura gasped, starting to run toward the city. Ino chuckled as she jogged beside the pink haired girl.
"You're so forgetful sometimes."
"I'm thinking of other things, my parents didn't even cross my mind!"
"Well that's to be expected. I'm sure I weighed fairly heavily on your mind over the last day. I wasn't even thinking of my mom until we got out."
Sakura halted as they reached the main path that lead through the forest. She squeezed Ino's fingers before letting her hand drop away. "My parents are civilians!" She groaned with a sudden spark of realization while following Ino on the path toward the city.
"What's the problem with that?" She asked.
"I can't tell them about us, about my nature." Sakura replied.
"Why not?" Ino asked again.
Sakura moaned. "Remember when the woman who own the fruit stand in the market came out?" Ino nodded. "My mom stopped buying her fruit and I think my dad and a few of his friends trashed her stand when they were drunk." Ino put her arm around the girl's shoulder.
"You're their daughter, they wouldn't do these things to you. They love you Sakura." The blond assured her.
"What about you? What will your parents do?" She asked.
"Well my mother will ignore me for awhile before she gets over it, then she'll just had another insult to hurl at me when she's pissed. My dad will tell me I'm just going through a phase and treat me normally." Ino answered after thinking for a second.
"Oh, I suppose that's good. Except for the part about your mom. Though would you be offended if I didn't tell my parents right away?"
"I guess not, but we'd have to keep our relationship secret to almost everyone in case they tell your parents."
"Yeah I know," Sakura replied. "I just don't want to spring this on them until I'm sure of their reaction."
Ino kissed Sakura's cheek. "Relax, I've waited long enough to hold you, I can do it privately for awhile." The blond assured her lover. "Besides, I think I'm going to need some time to be able to tell my parents as well."
The girls halted as they reached the edge of the forest. Sakura turned into Ino's embrace, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. She kissed her neck a few times before Ino bent down and kissed her lover's lips. They pulled apart after one more tight embrace. They mumbled saddened goodbyes before they parted ways to go home.
Tsunade sank back in her chair after Shizune left the office to go get more ink. The amount of paperwork they received in on day was simply unbelievable. When they had returned to her office her desk was filled with stacks of paper three feet high. In the past hour she'd gone through three inkwells and completed less than an eighth of the forms. The Hokage set the next form in front of her and began to read over it. It was the report from the team she had sent to retrieve Sasuke.
The report said the team had received heavy casualties but had managed to kill a few of Orochimaru loyal agents, they were requesting permission to retreat. Tsunade put the end of the brush into her mouth. She did not want to cause unnecessary deaths in that team but she didn't want her snake like nemesis to escape into another of his many holes in the ground either. By the time Shizune returned with more ink, about five wells worth, she had a solution. She wrote in code on the back of the original message for the healthiest three to stay behind and watch for any signs of movement on the part of Orochimaru. When she finished writing out her response she carefully blew on it to dry the ink fast then handed it to Shizune with the order to get it to a hawk as quickly as possible.
Tsunade groaned as she stretched out her sore back and arms. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon and she had only just finished up the neglected paper work. Her work day was about to begin all over again and she'd had no sleep. She looked over at Shizune and realized that she was just as tired. Her attendant was practically sleeping against the wall she had begun to lean against. "Shizune," Tsunade called. "Come sit over here." The brunette startled awake and blinked at her. The blond patted her lap suggestively. Shizune blushed but moved to sit down anyway. Her attendant snuggled up to her shoulder like a child when she wrapped her arms around her.
The Hokage stayed partially alert so she would recognize when Kotetsu and Izumo came to collect the finished paper work and deliver more. The pair of Chunin came to collect her work. They were relatively quiet, having seen the blond and her attendant passed out in the office before this.
Shizune was the first to wake up in the office. She shifted around, enjoying the supple warmth of her pillow before it began to groan at her. Startled, she opened her eyes. At first the light blinded her, then her vision cleared and she could see a picture of green fabric. Blinking in confusion, she pulled her head back before she finally realized she was in Tsunade's arms. "What the?" She muttered, rolling off of the chair and landing in a crouch on her feet. The brunette stretched our her back and arms, scanning the room. The sun had risen almost to its highest paint and the desk had a small stack of paper placed on it.
Tsunade groaned as Shizune shook her awake, turning away from the woman. Her attendant moved and continued to shake her. The blonde swatted her away, mumbling at her angrily. It took a few minutes of gentle coaxing for Tsunade to open her eyes. After that it took almost twenty to convince the Hokage to begin working.
"What would the citizens sat if they knew you acted like a child?" Shizune scolded her. "I know what they would do, nothing. Just like you, lazy bones. You are such a bad example for the young ninja of this village."
"It would help my image and attitude if you stopped scolding me like a child." Tsunade growled as she straightened up and took her brush in hand.
"I wouldn't treat you like a child if you didn't act like one." The brunette retorted, setting a form in front of Tsunade. "If you're good, I might treat you to something later."
Tsunade looked up with a look of vague interest on her face. "What kind of something?" She asked warily.
"You'll just have to behave and find out." Her attendant replied. Tsunade scowled and looked down at the form sitting in front of her. She scanned it become scrawling her signature onto it and handing it to Shizune.
For both women the day passed slowly. A tired haze hung over both of them as Tsunade pored over the small stack of paperwork and slowly moved through it. By the end of the day Tsunade had managed, barely to finish her paper work and Shizune was filing it for Izumo and Kotetsu's morning pickup. It brunette finished and held her hand out to help her blonde lover out of the office chair. "So where do you want to go?" She asked.
"I thought you had a plan." Tsunade replied.
"Not really, I was planning on going home and kicking back with a few drinks."
"Works for me." The blonde responded, more eager then she had been all day as she wrapped her arm around Shizune. Shizune shrugged out of her lover's embrace, offering a small apologetic smile.
Tsunade rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "You're place or mine?" She asked.
"Your's, its closer." Shizune answered.
"Alright, I warn you I haven't cleaned in there since I moved in." Tsunade told her.
"Doesn't matter, just blindfold me until I'm drunk enough not to notice." The brunette joked.
The two walked out of the office together and left the building. The two women walked for three blocks before turning into a side alley and walking into an apartment building. Inside was a door that lead to a large, box shaped building with no other doors and a few windows. This was Tsunade's house. Once they were inside, the two of them embraced for a short moment before Tsunade showed Shizune to her futon, one of three pieces of furniture she kept in the place. She left her attendant to go find the booze she had stashed around the place. Shizune looked around her, taking in the shear amount of grime that had built up on the wood flooring and fabrics of the futon and blankets. The place was strewn with empty bottles and books, along with a few of Tsunade's personal items. Tsunade's returned holding four bottles of sake in her hand and passed one to Shizune and put two more down on the ground while sitting down on the futon with the remaining bottle of sake.