Darkwings13: (º﹃º ) Uhhhh... warning, some mature discretion is advised. Aka things got sexy.
Tsunade sighed and dropped her head onto her arms, groaning as her stomach rumbled. She hated waking up early so she had skipped breakfast in order to get more sleep. Lunch was also skipped because the food was burnt and gross. She really really really needed dinner RIGHT now!
"Are you alright?" Yanona asked softly, her brown eyes crinkled with worry.
"My stomach is eating itself," Tsunade mumbled to herself as she banged her head on the table. She noticed that Asuita was looking nervous, probably because he's also heard of her raging short temper. Well for certain, her temper was much much worse if she was hungry. All of a sudden, a fantastic smell of cooked meats, fragrant herbs, sweet bakery goods and heady scent of sauces wafted up her nostrils and she sat straight up. If she was a dog, her tail would have been wagging and her ears would be twitching.
Servants came out with a tray of food in hand, placing it down on the table. When all the food was placed, Orochimaru arrived and began dabbing at his forehead with the apron. There was a cream stew (Yoshoku) that consisted of meat and veggies in white roux, battered lobster, fried panko pork chops, cold chicken and onions with cilantro over white rice, skewered beef that was still dripping with sauce, deep fried shrimps with accompanying hot sweet sauce and lastly, yakisoba noodles with sliced chicken.
"You made so much," gasped Asuita.
Orochimaru glanced over at his girlfriend, who was already digging into a crispy battered lobster, accentuated with baked asparagus. She was practically glowing as she happily chomped away without a care in the world. "My... fiancee has a very healthy appetite. You've heard of her immense strength, I assume?" When Asuita laughed and nodded, Orochimaru went to take his seat as he himself was also getting quite famished. A piece of skewered beef was plopped down into his dish and he looked up to see Tsunade smiling sweetly at him as she drew her chopsticks back.
"Thanks for the food, Orochi. I appreciate it."
Orochimaru dug into his rice, quietly pleased. Throughout the rest of the meal, Asuita praised his cooking and even Yanona asked to break her plain diet to try some of the delicious-looking food.
When most of the food was done, Tsunade sighed happily and leaned back in her chair. But then she shook her head and straightened up in her chair. "Yanona, can I ask you something? How did you... injured your legs?"
Yanona pulled her pale strawberry shawl around her, almost seeming to draw inward. Looking over to the evening skies and falling snow, she said quietly, "I don't remember actually. I went out riding in the forest. Next thing I know, I woke up to find myself in a horrible snow storm, people around me and my husband holding me against him." She moved her hand over her knees sorrowfully. "When I tried to move my legs, I realized that I no longer had any feelings in them." The woman's expression grew even more downcast as she said, "I am a burden. I don't see much of a reason why to even waste your time with these legs, they're completely dead. It'd be better if he just remarried."
Orochimaru didn't look up as he spooned more rice into his mouth and deftly swallowed. "I was always under the impression that when two people pledged themselves to each other, they'd be there to carry each other." He placed his bowl down with a gentle thud. "No one is perfect, but what's important is if the bond is real. If one of you gets sick, you should be there for the other. If someone does something wrong, you wouldn't just give up on them."
Yanona bit on her lips and said tearfully, "But I just want what's best for him."
"You don't get to choose who you love. Even if there was a woman who was prettier than you, better than you, he only cares about you," Orochimaru replied curtly. "If you keep pushing him to look for another woman, you're only hurting him and yourself." After all this time, he truly understood why Tsunade had decided to remain so faithful to the feelings she had for him, despite the hardships they both had to embrace. He didn't want someone else to follow in his footsteps of doubt.
Asuita leaned forward. "He's right. I only want to be with you, Yanona. I married you for that reason."
Standing up, Orochimaru beckoned Tsunade to stand with him. "You two need to talk the whole thing over. Tomorrow, Tsunade-hime will come to take a look and do an examination."
With that, he turned on his heel to head back towards their bedroom with Tsunade following closely behind him. Almost in a timid manner, she said, "Orochimaru, what you've just said..."
His gazed remained focused on the hallway before him, with its portraits and carpeted floor. But his hand moved back to grasp hers. "After all this time, I finally understood why you never chose someone else, never chose Jiraiya who was so willing to give you his heart while I kept you waiting for so long."
Her blood shot up to her neck at the touch and words, knowing that nothing more needed to be said. Her fingers tightened around his and she speeded up to hug his arm tightly. "It's not like the windmill can spin for the sun or river nearby," she said wittily, but her voice trembled slightly from shyness.
A low rumble of a chuckle vibrated from his throat to his chest. "Only for the wind." When she nodded happily and rubbed her face against his arm, he felt a slight ripple of pain. She was important, that is the truth. He'd never thought his heart could feel this way for her. But... could he claim that he had no loyalties greater than her and their village? He doubted that. He doubted that immensely. The fear that had always broiled in the back of his mind was loss. The power and immortality he sought which had stemmed from despair over his parents' deaths and then love for his team, he feared it was growing twisted. At the same time, he couldn't stop it.
Power was intoxicating and he wanted more. He wanted to be able to do anything he wanted, no laws to hold him back. He wanted his enemies to grovel at his feet and people to worship him on a pedestal. There was no reason why he should associate himself with the common man, the ones so content with stagnation and the ones to be cannon fodder in war.
It bothered him why his mind and theirs were so different. Why was everyone such complacent sheeps? Why did no one dream of greater goals? In Konoha, the biggest and most common dream was to be Hokage. It was laughable. They've had three generations of Hokages, and what good did that accomplish? Not even twenty years, and they were facing the threat of another war. What was needed was not another Hokage, but a means to an end. A perfect solution of some sort.
The other ninjas of the village, the few he actually talked to, all they could ever talk about was 'protecting' the village. They were all so short minded. Throwing your body and soul at the enemy was only holding back the inevitable. Sooner or later, the walls would be breached. If their people became powerful, would anyone dare to even attack? And then if their bodies became infallible, if they could live forever, would they not finally obtain true peace and happiness that no one could rob? Hashirama, so potent was his healing powers that all wounds would close up without him even making hand signs. His death was a horrible blow in Orochimaru's opinion. Not because he was Hokage, but because his powers and vitality could have been so beneficial in researching immortality. A dead body was much less effective than a live one. But as he was also Tsunade's grandfather, he couldn't quite bring himself to break into the man's resting place and disturb his remains.
"If only our bodies were so much stronger."
"Hmmm?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Even a wrong fall can paralyze your entire body. Humans are such... fragile creatures."
"Cheer up," Tsunade chirped, not knowing what he was thinking about, only noting the regretful tone. "I haven't even looked at the woman yet."
He silently squeezed her hand in reply.
Feeling slightly troubled (despite him being usually stoic), she decided to ruffle him up abit. When they've finally returned to their bedroom and Orochimaru went to his pack to get out a book to read before bedtime, she stopped him in front of their fireplace. "Y'know, I've been thinking..."
One of his slender dark eyebrows quirked up.
"I love you, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She leaned in closer to him, giving him innocent puppy eyes which seemed to make him more confused. "Want to have a chaste marriage?"
He slowly repeated, "A... chaste marriage?" Ten whole seconds passed before he said, "Are you out of your mind?"
Tsunade immediately giggled and jumped him, making him drop his book to the ground as she hugged him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He buckled for a moment before he steadied himself while carrying her and she said, "So you do want to do me!"
He smirked. "I do alot of people. Not in the way you're thinking."
She pouted. "But you refused a chaste marriage!"
"One, I think the stress of not being physically intimate with me might kill you. Secondly, how can we consummate the marriage if we don't sleep with each other?" He faked a sigh. "After all, if we get divorced, I need half of the Senju's fortune to fund my research for world domination and shampoo. If the marriage isn't consummated, it might not be binding."
It was now her turn to laugh. "Orochi, you know very well that you're only going to be inheriting my massive debt from the loan sharks!"
"Not if we have a chaste marriage," he murmured as he kissed her and slipped his tongue inside her, his back hitting the wall and feeling her legs tightened around his waist in a most wonderful grip.
Her hands wandered through his silky tresses and she moaned as his tongue explored her caverns. He really was an expert with that amazing muscular organ. When she broke the kiss, she panted, "Doesn't sound like that's happening."
"I do want strong healthy Senju babies screaming their heads off in the night and keeping us both awake and up to our armpits in diapers," he said, still smirking as he dropped her down and went to get his book.
Leaning against the wall and watching him settle down on the red couch to read, she sighed happily. Well, she had to count today as a definite success. An amazing room they got to share with each other, they were being treated as honored guests, a fantastic dinner and now Orochimaru had practically admitted that he wanted to do her. What could possibly go wrong?
The next day...
Orochimaru glanced over at Asuita who was pacing the hallway nervously while Tsunade was conducting her examination over his wife in the master bedroom. This was to be a full body examination and was going to take a long time to pinpoint why she had no feelings in her legs. It was strange. When the woman was found, there were no signs of injuries on her. Not even a bruise. What could be the reason as to why she couldn't move or feel her legs?
The door clicked open and Tsunade came out with her medic kit, wiping at her forehead. Immediately the man was at her side and she crossed her arms in frustration. "Her nerves aren't dead. They've literally been locked."
"What?"
Orochimaru said, "You're sure?"
"I'm not some noob medic ninja, sheesh. Of course I'm sure!" Tsunade began to bite on her lips. "I don't have the machines to scan her more closely but she showed me past scans when Mr. Makito took her to a hospital in another town. Everything looks perfectly fine from the MRI and X-ray I've read. But from what I'm seeing, it looks exactly like a traumatic blow to the spinal cord has cut off communication from that to the nerves. The nerves aren't being fired and they're not receiving any signals. It's... very strange."
"Not a single bruise or cut was discovered on her when she was found," Orochimaru pointed out.
Tsunade threw her hands up. "Which is why everything is frustrating. It's all contradictory. But it looks like there is hope for her." The words seemed to relieve Asuita and he thanked her profusely.
Wearing a thoughtful expression, Orochimaru said, "Why not go to the woods where she was found? Perhaps we'll find something that will help. But first..." He looked over to Asuita. "Would you care to show us the rest of your mansion, Mr. Makito? It is quite big."
"Most certainly! Wouldn't want you to get lost now would we?" the man replied easily, moving to show them his home.
It was only when they headed to the northeast section of the mansion, that Orochimaru finally found what they were looking for. In a room that held cabinets of collective antiques and treasures, along with weapons of every kind hanging on the wall, the room was like that of a museum. The silver glint of the weapons was mesmerizing and as the room was on the upper floor, half of the room had opened out into the open air, to show a view of one of the living rooms below between three massive pillars. It was currently afternoon and the weather was fine, so the whole room was doused with bright sunlight.
"May I?" Orochimaru asked, gesturing to the walls of weapons. When Asuita gladly acquiescence, he stretched his arm and picked up a metal laced whip. The two of them stepped back to give him space and he began trying it out. The whip whistled through the air as he swung and whirled it around his body with expert grace. The chain of deadly silver, with an easy flick of the wrist it looped in circles, being able to easily wrap itself around a few necks like hungry snakes if there were actual targets available. Orochimaru put it back and nodded in the quality. "A very fine weapon."
"I'm quite proud of my collection," Asuita said, noticing Tsunade admiring a particular talisman. "Ah that one caught your eyes?"
Tsunade bobbed her head at the item they required for their mission. "It's very pretty." The talisman was handcrafted from a beautiful honey amber wood, carved into a picture of what looked like a flower. A tasseled little rope hung from it and she placed her hands flat on the glass of the cabinet. It was a pretty trinket, but why did that noble pay so much for it? Surely there were more beautiful things out there.
"We should get going before it gets dark," Orochimaru spoke up, hiding his disappointment that while the collection was great, it did not hold the sword he was looking for.
Asuita bowed as she ran over to her pale companion's side. "I'm so grateful to you both for your help. I have good news, I've sent the letter about your situation to head back to your village. If it doesn't work out, please consider staying here in this land. It's cold but the people are warm."
Tsunade and Orochimaru both shared a glance, their guts twisting inside them. His look read 'Your father is going to shoot me.'
She stuck her tongue out at him and shot him a 'You only ruined my virgin lips, calm down' look.
Orochimaru clucked his tongue and pulled sharply on the reins of their horse once they were a good distance away from the mansion and the village. Swinging his legs over to dismount, he shivered underneath his fur black coat, already missing the warmth of the mansion. Forming the signature hand seals for a summoning, he slammed his palm down on the thick snowy grounds. Beside him, Tsunade did the same thing and they both cried, "Summoning Technique!"
An explosion of smoke engulf them as his giant purple serpent, and her light blue slug appeared, towering close to the height of a big pine tree. Immediately, Manda hissed and thrashed from the cold and in a desperate attempt to get warm, he wrapped himself around Katsuyu, shivering like crazy. "ARE YOU CRAZY OROCHIMARU!? WHY WOULD YOU SUMMON ME IN A FROZEN WASTELAND?!"
Tsunade's slug squirmed and blushed as the snake hugged her even tighter. "Ple-please Manda, let me go. This is embarrassing." All of a sudden, a cold wind brushed past and now the slug was shivering as well. Her eye stalks abruptly turned away from the wind and she squeaked, "Never mind, please don't let go."
"OROCHIMARU! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU!"
Orochimaru put his face into his hands and muffled his groan into it. Meanwhile, Tsunade had run up to her slug to comfort it. Shaking himself, he said, "I need you to track down a messenger for me, Manda. He couldn't have gotten far. You can catch him within three hours and then you can go home. I'll feed you well for this."
"Go kill yourself!" With that, Manda poofed away, making Katsuyu even colder.
"L-lady Tsu-Tsunade," said the slug as it shivered. "I-I am so-sorry, but I'm too slow to help."
Tsunade petted her slug on its side. "Actually, I just needed you to make clones and help heal Manda from the frostbite. But... uhhh, maybe not right now." With that, she let Katsuyu go as well. Turning around, she put her hands on her hips cheekily. "What's the plan now?"
The next part of the plan was now her taking over her reins while Orochimaru sat behind her, stretching his arm to loop around her waist while he knitted a giant snake cover for his snake. She pouted even more as she struggled with controlling their horse. "You know, it's not so bad if the letter gets home. Honesty is the best policy."
The corner of his lips twitched as he continued to knit a yellow and purple pet snake cover. "Good things comes to those who wait." When she made a sound, he cut in. "Enough hime. Concentrate on the horse and let me focus on my knitting."
"Well, should we head back to the village first? Get lunch and then visit the woods?" She said questioningly, "Why didn't you let eat lunch before we left anyways?"
"I... I'll explain later. Essentially, I didn't want to cook again."
Once they arrived at the village again (a few people were surprised to see them head back just after half an hour), with its warm houses spitting out smoke from the furnaces inside and rambunctiously cheery people on the outside, they both had to admit that the place really did have charm. During the night, it would probably be very beautiful.
Orochimaru sidestepped a few kids playing tags without looking, keeping his eyes focused on his knitting despite the strange looks people were giving him for doing such a thing. He was never someone who really cared about people's opinions. He learned that from a young age, especially from the boys who called him girly for having long hair. Beside him, Tsunade crunched the snow beneath her feet, keeping a tight hold on their chocolate brown horse. When it came to eating out, he usually let her decide. With her spoiled lifestyle, she could easily pick out the best restaurant from a single glance and whiff of the air. But as they were running on a tight schedule (he did not want to be out in the frozen night), he said, "Find a bakery and grab some buns, Tsunade-hime."
"What?! No, I want us to settle down somewhere nice, enjoy the scenery, and have a hearty meal before we tramp around in the woods."
A family beside them suddenly gasped. What appeared to be a young mother, asked worriedly, "Woods? Which woods?"
Orochimaru tilted his head and looked at her curiously. "The one near the mountains to the west. The one where Asuita Makito's wife was found and rescued."
Peeking from his bright blue scarf, the little boy of the family squeaked, "The place is haunted."
"Haunted?" Tsunade pushed forward. "How is it haunted?"
"Anyone who goes there will always lose something. We all steer clear of it, even the hunters. It's now known as the Lost Woods," the husband said warily. "When we rescued the woman, she was found on the outskirt of it. We wouldn't have dared gone further, no matter how kind or how much Mr. Makito paid us."
"Lost Woods... how original," Orochimaru said, returning to his knitting without interest. He had never believed in ghosts and he'd be damn if he was going to start now that he was an adult. On the other hand, Tsunade was spooked.
"Any story behind it?" she asked.
The wife replied, "They say a woman was betrayed and ran all the way here, before succumbing to this icy land. No one knows what happened but she died while cursing those woods. Ms. Makito only lost her legs, and is considered one of the few lucky ones."
"And the ones that lost their lives are the unlucky ones?" Orochimaru drawled, untangling a knot in his yarn, his needlework clicking.
The woman was beginning to dislike his attitude, evident by the scowl. "One lost his mind."
"Well my entire team was considered crazy," Orochimaru replied back, putting aside his knitting to take Tsunade's hand to drag her away from the nonsense.
Tsunade bit her lips as he pulled her in the direction of the bakery. She wasn't even protesting anymore, about the idea of a simple lunch. "Shouldn't we prepare abit more? If the woods are haunted?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm surprised at you, Tsunade-hime. We're both researchers. There is no such things as ghosts. A series of unfortunate events probably led to the whole idea." When she pouted, he scoffed. "What? You want me to find a temple to ask for blessed relics? Holy water? Garlic?"
Sticking her tongue out at him, she fumed. "You don't have to make me sound crazy!"
He chuckled at her rising temper and tweaked her nose. She looked rather cute. Flushed cheeks, soft pouting pink lips, a ponytail of wild blonde hair being tossed back and forth from the wind and narrowed clever eyes. He loved the short statuesque woman glowering before him, always so unflinching, wild and beautiful like a lioness. And of course, dangerous. "Better to be crazy than boring," he said smoothly, turning on his heel to continue walking. "It's something I do like about you."
She paused for a moment before running to catch up to him, now smiling at the compliment. Why did his words always have such an effect on her?
After their quick lunch, they now headed in the direction of the 'Lost' Woods. As they rode through the field of snow and pine trees, she began to feel more and more relaxed. It was a beautiful day and the wind had died down along with the snowfall. Miles and miles around, all the snow glittered and sparkled from the sunlight. Her arms wrapped tightly around Orochimaru's waist while he controlled the horse. He had put aside his knitting to speed up their ride and hoped they could get back to the mansion before sundown. In private, she wondered if they were to get caught in a snowstorm, they would have to hide away in a cave somewhere. Would... the cold and confined space help move their relationship along so that something could 'happen'?"
Deciding that it was time to breach the subject, she peeked up at him timidly. Jiraiya was right, she had to openly talk this over with him, instead of playing this silly tug of war game. "Hey Orochimaru."
He glanced over his shoulder at her.
Her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat as he waited for her to speak. Occasionally his eyes would flicker back to the front but since it was a empty snow field with only an occasional few trees, they didn't really have to worry about riding into anything. She could feel her blood rising to her cheeks as she tried to form coherent words. Many times she had made him flustered about wanting to be physically intimate with him. But this time, she wanted to be as serious as possible, and convey to him how much this would mean to her. Any memories they could make, any moments they could have was special to her. To have him be her first, would literally mean the world to her. "Orochimaru," she began, her throat feeling like it was dying as it forced air through the windpipe. "I... On this mission, before we return home, I want you to make love to me."
Orochimaru's eyes widened and he lost all train of thought. By the time he realized it, the reins had slipped out of his hands and the both of them tumbled to the snowy ground. At the last moment, he rolled himself under her protectively and his back hit the ground with a solid crunch, his breath completely knocked out of his lungs. When he opened his eyes, he could see her staring right back at him, her own amber orbs meeting his. When he tried to wiggle out from under her, she immediately pouted and pinned him down. If there was one thing he was literally never going to beat her in, it was physical strength. She was not going to let him go without a straight answer.
Suddenly, the coppery smell of blood surrounded him as he opened his mouth, tasting it on the tip of his tongue. "Tsunade, there's blood nearby."
"There will be blood if you don't answer me," she grouched.
"No there really is blood nearby!"
Seeing that he serious, she scrambled up to her feet and looked around. "Where?"
He lashed his tongue out and swiped at the air, focusing on the scent. Raising up a hand, he pointed. "The woods." Tsunade looked at him worriedly while he just frowned. Bringing his fingers to his lips, he whistled and their horse returned to their side, leaving aside the grazing.
It only took a few minutes before they came upon the sight. Three cold bodies laid down in the snow, marring it dark red. Orochimaru bent down and turned one of the corpses over, and upon seeing the headband and clothing, he said coldly, "Kiri dogs."
"Could they have followed us here?" Tsunade asked. She examined one and was confused to see two deep bite marks on the necks. It only took a few seconds for her to realize that the body she was holding had no blood left. "Orochimaru! This man has been drained dry!" She then gestured to the bloody snow. "This isn't theirs. The other two has no injuries. It must have been their enemies."
"How did they die?"
"I don't... know." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's like they just dropped dead. But I'll check on the inside to make sure." With that, she began cutting them open.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he began to search through their belongings. Shurikens, kunais, poison needles, some medicine, and a bundle of dry food was tossed unceremoniously aside. Finally, he pulled out a mission scroll and unwrapped the tie around it to begin reading. When he finished, he held up the scroll and said, "They came here to search for a kinjutsu. Curse Technique: Frozen Touch. The reason why it's been banned, is because the user will experience a terrible cold, ravaging them from the inside. The only cure for the pain is to drink warm human blood. It also helps strengthens the technique if the user drinks it."
"Blood?" Tsunade had never heard of someone using blood in any techniques.
Orochimaru stood up and read her expression. "Clans that use blood in their techniques in any way, have all been persecuted for it. The only technique that I know of, is Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood. It's practised by some strange cult called Jashin."
Tsunade came to his side and looked down at the three bodies warily. "They've risked alot to get here. You think it's because of the threat of war?"
"The threat of war would be the only reason why Kiri is desperate in gathering power. This land is terribly far from everything else, and freezing cold." He looked down at the scroll in his hand and said, "Their killer is out there somewhere. Judging from the fact that one is drained of blood, it really does look like this cursed technique is here."
"Is it a kinjutsu?"
"Almost all curse techniques are forbidden," he replied. "Curses are very powerful, and none can be stopped. But they require a price from all of their users. My mother told me so."
She had almost forgotten that his mother came from a clan that was skilled with using curses and demons, along with their auditory genjutsu. Perhaps that was the reason why Orochimaru was so skilled with assassination and sneak attacks, having inherited a snake's predatory nature and his mother's own tactical preference. She jumped slightly when Orochimaru snapped the scroll shut. "I know why you were confused by Yanona's conditions now. She's been cursed. We need to head back to the mansion and prepare."
"You're not thinking of trying to look for this cursed technique are you?" Tsunade said immediately. All of a sudden, the place felt suffocating. It was all too much. The looming dark trees, the distant howls of wolves and even the coppery scent of blood was nauseating. Worst, the bun she had ate now felt like a heavy rock in her stomach.
"One, obtaining it would help Yanona's legs. Secondly, if we get it, we prevent Kiri from laying their hands on it and we'll bolster Konoha's own strength."
"Screw it all," Tsunade snapped. "I don't care about any of that." Pointing to the corpses, she said, "I didn't come here for this. I came here to spend time with you, not to see you put your ass in danger for a cursed technique." She said strickenly, "Two of them DIED without any marks on them. No cuts, bruises, internal damage or anything! How the fuck are we supposed to defend against something like that?"
He said curtly, "I can do this alone if you wish. I have faith in my abilities."
She screamed at him. "I'm sick of worrying about you when you're out on missions, now I have to worry about you when we're supposed to be spending time romantically with each other?!"
"IT would greatly help add to my achievements to be with you," he said pointedly. "I've been on 15 S rank missions already. Don't you have any confidence in me?"
She crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out at him. After a few seconds of impatiently tapping her foot rapidly on the ground, she poked his chest furiously. "I'm going to come with you for this and then we're going to cure Yanona and stay for the LONG ROMANTIC VACATION I DESERVE!"
"Fine."
She watched as he went over to mount their horse. Looking down at the fallen ninjas, she screamed and began jumping up and down on their bodies before kicking one into a ditch. "Stupid power hungry fools! I'm in a frozen wasteland and I still can't get away from you jackasses!"
Orochimaru silently watched her violent temper tantrum. What can he say? The woman he had fallen for was really one of a kind. Another twenty seconds of this passed before he coughed. "Hime, at this point you're making wine." He sat still as she huffed her way over, jumped up behind him and grabbed his waist.
"There'd better be ice cream back at the mansion," she grumbled under her breath, wiping at her bloody cheek.
"But it's cold-"
"I WANT ICE CREAM!"
Orochimaru suddenly remembered the time she had knee him in the crotch out of anger and decided to remain quiet for the sake of his health. He couldn't help but think that if she was like this when she was normal, how much worse would it be if she was pregnant?
Evening...
Tsunade scowled as she scraped the bottom of her strawberry ice cream container, while sitting in front of the fireplace. She had dragged one of the couches over in order to simmer and get warm in front of the fire. Before she knew it, the sun had set. She hadn't even had the chance to wash the blood off of her clothes. With the scary look on her face and blood, everyone steered clear of her once she got the ice cream she had demanded. Orochimaru too was avoiding her, going to talk to Asuita to tell him what they had discovered today. It was a ridiculously long talk but she supposed that with the mood she was in, it was for the best.
On the inside, she wondered if he wasn't just doing this for himself. He did have an obsession over discovering new techniques, with forbidden ones being on top of the list. She sighed and tossed the container into the fire, watching it curl up and slowly burn to ashes. "At least with him getting so strong from learning new techniques all the time, no one can hurt him," she said softly, her eyes sad. Getting up, she dragged herself over to the bathroom while stripping off her clothes until she was clad only in her pink bra and panties. She didn't quite care, he was probably only going to return once she's fallen asleep since he knew that she was pissed off at him and she didn't feel like picking up after herself right now. In fact, she just wanted to be a pig and wallow in a deep dark depressing mud hole. But as she was human, she was going to wallow in a giant bathtub with lots of bubbles and hot water.
Walking into the bathroom, she nudged the door behind her and proceeded to turn on all five golden faucets. While the hot water poured in, she dug under the cabinets for bubble bath soap. "Cheery blossom, orange tango what the fuck, roses and apples, lavender... and vanilla." Her expression softened as she grabbed the light purple bottle that read lavender and vanilla.
Standing up, she went over to light the candles that was sitting on the edges of the bathtub before going over to turn off the lights. The bathroom immediately grew atmospheric with the soft glow of the candles. The only missing thing now was to spread the scent of the bottle all over it. She smiled slightly as she leaned over and poured it in, watching as bubbles immediately formed a thick layer on the top. Corking it, she placed it aside and turned off the faucets. Slowly, she reached behind her to take off her bra and then slid her underwear down her legs before gingerly stepping into the giant tub. She shivered with pleasure as the warmth surged around her. Pulling off her hair band, she shook her hair out and leaned back, letting the scent of vanilla and lavender whirl around her. As she closed her eyes, she could almost imagined him hugging her and enveloping her in that scent to soothe her.
"Lavender is marvelous for quelling anxiety and promoting relaxation of the body. Same thing for vanilla. I've used them to mix in my shampoo sometimes when I'm stressed. Tonight, I used some of the oil to rub onto the pillows that I've washed and prepared for you. You seemed like you need it."
She couldn't help it as a tear slipped down her cheek, sniffling as she remembered him putting the scent onto her pillows to help her relax when she was worrying about Jiraiya telling on him. That stupid snake had his sweet moments, she just sometimes wished it was more often.
"Tsunade..." Orochimaru stood outside the door, watching her silently cry. His gut twisted inside him and he suddenly felt incredibly ill, knowing that he was the reason for her sorrow. When he came back and saw her clothes strewn on the floor, and the bathroom door half opened, he almost made to back out to give her privacy. But when he heard her whimpered, he knew he couldn't leave.
Slowly, he walked in, his emotionless mask cracking at the sight of her looking so incredibly vulnerable. Once he reached her side, he got down on his knees and leaned over the edge of the tub, his pale fingers brushing at her wet cheeks.
"Orochimaru..." she hiccoughed, leaning into his touch. With tearful eyes, she said, "It's always like this. You're always worrying me."
"I know," he said softly.
She squeezed her eyes shut and cried. "Why can't you put me first? I know you're doing this because you also just want the technique for yourself." Hitting the soapy bubble filled water, she said in frustration. "I don't want this life anymore. I don't want any of it! I just want to be a simple woman and live with the person she loves. I'd give all of it up to be with you. But sometimes I think that you wouldn't do the same for me."
He himself had wondered if he cared more about power or his loved ones. The question was difficult and he tried to keep it at the back of his mind, allowing it to fester in the darkness. But at this moment, seeing how much he had hurt the one who had always waited and loved him, he could say for certain that it was her. "Look at me." When she shook her head, he repeated his request. "Look at me, Tsunade." He tugged gently at her wet shoulders and when she finally faced him, tears still streaming down her cheeks, he said, "You are everything to me. It's the truth." Leaning forward, he gently kissed her lips, tasting the salt from the tears. She hesitated, but only for a few brief seconds before kissing him back. He felt her arms wound around his neck as she pulled him into the tub with her, making the hot water splash over the side. He tensed up at the wonderful warmth of the waters and her exquisite flesh. Her hair was a radiant halo, the edges swirling around her like liquid gold. Her skin slicked with water and dotted by perfumed bubbles, burnished by the candle light. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
He pushed her back against the other side of the tub, their tongues battling for dominance. She may be physically stronger than him in every other area, but his tongue was not going to lose this. As he pushed it into her mouth and his fingers dug into her shapely hips, she moaned into his mouth while he tasted strawberries in hers, the taste making him crave it like nothing else ever had. When they finally had to break apart to breathe, he cupped her beautiful face and watched as water droplets and some stray tears cascaded down her soft skin, disappearing into the crest of her breasts that was hidden to him by the bubbles.
Tsunade felt her heart speed up slightly when she saw his gaze grow hungry. "Orochimaru..."
He brought his lips close to hers once more and breathed, "I want you, Tsunade." His voice was like velvet, brushing across her naked skin and making her squeeze her legs together uncomfortably.
She blushed and looked away, her usual tomboyish attitude completely absent. She was beginning to realize how erotic and sensual the whole situation was now that she wasn't crying her heart out. Her, completely naked and pressed up against Orochimaru, in a softly lit bathroom from the candles glowing around them. Struggling to find her voice, she whispered, "I don't want my first time to come from pity."
He smiled and put a hand under her chin, tilting her head back to expose her neck. She felt her stomach tighten up as he leaned in to rubbed his nose against the skin before gently licking it with his long tongue, drawing a sharp gasp from her.
"Pity is far from it," he whispered, leaning over her, tasting her desire on his tongue. "Right now, this snake wants to tempt the princess, seduce her..." His fingers brushed across her stomach, teasing her and making her squirm. "This snake wants everything from you, hime."
"Aren't you... nervous?" she asked, brushing back his long wet hair.
He smiled. "Just the sight of seeing your panties on the floor sent my heart racing. But right now, I feel perfectly at home. Holding you like this feels nothing but natural." He tugged gently on her jeweled necklace, his hand brushing her breast at the same time.
She half smiled and wiped at her eyes. "Do I look ugly? My eyes always get all blotchy when I cry."
"I didn't fall for you for your looks," he reminded her gently. Pecking her on the forehead, he breathed, "I love your strength, will, passion and your love for me. I am not a rock, I can tell when someone is good to me. The reason why we're together now is because you've shown me that how faithfully the windmill can wait for the wind. It's what I love best about you."
"For just waiting?" she said, her cheeks pink.
"You've waited enough." He pressed against her alittle more firmly, his hand going to her back and rubbing out slow sensual circles. "Now tell me, Tsunade Senju," he said, his voice growing deeper and huskier. "What is your answer? Should I give in to my heart's desire tonight?" One hand moved up to cup her face. "Or should it be my turn to wait? I don't want you to have regrets about this moment nor do I want to take advantage of you when you're sad."
"Take me." With no hesitation, she stood up, letting the waters and bubbles slide down her body, reveling in the way he was looking at her as he slowly stood up to have the waters come to his hips. She kissed him hard and began yanking on the white belt under the waters, her hand tangling into his wet black hair. All she could taste was green tea in his mouth, all she could smell was the beautiful scent of lavender and vanilla, and all she could feel was his hands touching every part of her skin. If the esteemed clans and council knew what they were doing right now, they might just all have a heart attack. But she could be going to hell for all she care; nothing was going to stop this serpent from corrupting this princess in the most blissful and sinful way possible, she thought as she threw back her head to let him trail kisses up her neck.
"You are mine tonight," he growled hungrily against her lips, his golden serpent eyes dilating in lust.
"All yours," she murmured, taking his hand and placing it over her heart.
Darkwings13:
-So we've finally reached that point LOL. Am I going to write a lemon? Uhhhh yea. They're too hot not to. Huehuehue. Will it be the next chapter? Nooooooo. In my personal opinion, I feel that when people are reading a romance mature fic, they kinda just jump to the hot sex. I don't want to lose the analysis perspective of examining Oro's life and relationships for this story, as it's the main focus. SO the lemon for any of you pervy readers expecting it will be coming out as a separate fic that is gonna be rated M. Might want to check my profile for it next week.
-It's abit amusing to me that Tsu literally has to be crying and sad for Oro's concern for her to trump his shyness/embarrassment with relationships. This felt the most natural way for me to write for some reason.
-When Manda hugged Katsuyu for warmth, it was inspired by the Sannin battle where he wrapped around her and constricted her lol.
ԅ(º﹃ºԅ) Hehehe, you're right Lumichan, Oro was trying to take the initiative alittle more in the last chapter. He does know that it's abit unfair to Tsunade that she's always the one who has to take the first step so he tries. He doesn't always suceed but he tries (like looking at porn hahahaha). It's ok if you're alittle pervy, I happily claim all the fault for it ;D Will I be seeing you for my upcoming lemon chapter?
(*≧▽≦) Hi again Alexa! Thank you! I'm pretty flexible with writing alot of different situations. Humor is my more natural approach teehee. I'm glad you like my description of the scenery. I tried! It's not my specialty but I tried! XD I'm so happy you can picture the place.
(⊙ᗜ⊙) I always had abit of a weird inkling that countryside kinda people, especially in an isolated location, are more friendly, xxhebi-himexx. I think they have a tendency to be more cooperative, as it's necessary to survive. It is nice to have Oro and Tsu not have to deal with traveling to wary ninja villages all the time. Asuita only happened to know of Oro and Tsu's fame because of his friend traveling to Konoha for a request, and then telling him about it. It only took about forty chapters, but yea, Orochi finally managed to tell her about the little weaknesses about him, like why he hated cold food. He's a hard rock to crack, thankfully she managed to chip to the soft insides. It's also a headcanon of mine that Oro doesn't like anyone that he would consider 'boring'. He's crafty, witty, and overall very intelligent. He'd like to have to use his brain when he's conversing with someone.
（๑✧∀✧๑）I'm happy your support the ship, sinnerlust. Oh yay, your writing is so much better now. Also it's quite funny but yea, Dan and Oro are like... identical twins with exactly different personalities. Their colors are almost like it's intentionally planned to be opposite of each other. Not only that, Oro's favorite word is 'destroy' and 'chaos' while Dan's is 'peace'. It's like they're made to conflict each other.
v(≧∇≦v)三(v≧∇≦)v Laughing to tears?! That's so great to hear, KHB123! Hehe, with me writing, Orochi would definitely find all these crazy situations typical. I'm so evil. Bwahhahahah! He'll be more suave once he gets more 'experience' and knowledgeable about physical intimacy. For the most part, I think he'll still be more focused on power and knowledge than lust when he got older, especially when Tsu left the village. Sex has never been something at the forefront of his mind, sort of like Sasuke I guess. When he's traveling around to look for clues or whatever, with Sakura back home, I don't think he's boning girls lol. Both Sasuke and Oro got this tendency to focus on the bigger picture and put their works as first priority alot of the time. (I still think Sasuke failed as a dad). I don't necessarily hate Danny boy, but I feel that he personally didn't deserve Tsunade. Even Jiraiya deserved her more. Especially when you compare the way Dan died (it was kinda really pitiful, and dying that way would CRUSH his girl. He wins the award for the least romantic death in history), while Jiraiya courageously embraced his and even rejected Tsu coming to help beforehand, concerned for her. I feel that with Dan dating her, she'd also be under an immense amount of pressure with trying to help him be Hokage. I'd argue about him having much of an impact. His stats were never extraordinary, he never earned a nickname like Sakumo, Minato, etc, he was claimed to have killed alot of people during the war with his ghost technique, but it wasn't enough to even be on Chiyo's level. I can only claim that he has the village's best interest at heart, and not for his own agenda. But Tsunade can talk for hours, and I doubt Hiruzen would pick Dan over Orochi and Jiraiya. The God of Shinobi would just keep the seat until Minato came along. I calculated lol. Shizune is born when the Sannin are 23. I calculated last time that Jiraiya became Minato's sensei at age 23. So I'm having Dan have another sibling, they also died in the 2nd war and so Tsunade ends up taking care of the baby cuz apparently Dan said his sister died when they first began dating. And yea Happy Late Halloween! :D
v('∇'*)⌒ Hi ileangie23! No worries, I'll just repeat what I said above to KHB in regards to Dan's sister. Shizune is born when the Sannin are 23. I calculated in the last chapter that Jiraiya became Minato's sensei at age 23. So I'm having Dan have another sibling, they also died in the 2nd war and so Tsunade ends up taking care of the baby cuz apparently Dan said his sister died when they first began dating. Oh yea, I am still pretty humored when people get confused by his sometimes androgynous appearance. Over time, Orochi just didn't care anymore and decided to use it to laugh instead. I'm happy to know that you liked his reasons for falling for Tsunade. I think it's a bit like Sasuke marrying Sakura. At some point, both were touched by how the two ladies still loved them no matter how hard it was. And Orochi is definitely brutally honest. I like that alot about him lol. He only puts in the effort to lie when he's hiding something himself. Tsunade knows him so well, that even after years of not seeing him, she could tell when he being dishonest. Also ,you're so right about the bath tub LOL ! I hope you had fun reading this my friend xD
(o￣∇￣)/ Hi BlackLady777! I can't reply to your review as it's not showing up on the site and the email cut part of it out. I'll address it in the next chapter/fic. As always ,I'm very grateful for your input and thoughts. I wish this site wouldn't keep having this issue Dx