Chapter 23: Cold As Ice

Shikaku arrived at work early on Monday morning. He didn't mind having to wait a few minutes for Tsunade to show up, it gave him time to reflect over the weekend.

He and Yoshino had spent almost the entire weekend together, it was great-fun-scary-awkward-breathless-exhausting-exhilarating-relaxing in a rushing-at-you-all-at-once kind of way. She'd stayed until Sunday afternoon, shortly after Chouza and Inoichi returned. Shikaku puzzled over that for a moment, he thought that they were due back Friday night, must have had to extend their mission for some reason.

The other puzzling aspect of their return was the lack of Inoichi's little shadow, Kakashi. Chouza had told him that they had left him at his parent's house. Inoichi's time with him was up on Monday, he was due back at the Academy. They'd left him with the Akamichi's until they could find out from Jiraiya what to do with him.

Catching his eye, Tsunade waved at him from across the street and then crossed to join him.

Before she made it to the front door, Jiraiya appeared and intercepted her. He saw a range of emotion wash over her face, from a faint flicker of happiness at first to shut-down steel-eyed resolve and a flash of anger. Yeah. Orochimaru was right. She was avoiding the inevitable. She couldn't deny it, she came alive around Jiraiya in a way he didn't see otherwise. What was it the snake sannin had said – Jiraiya enhanced her?

Shikaku couldn't really recall to much about Dan, but he did know that he had been an observer of Tsunade for a long time now and yeah, now that he thought about it, the only time he ever saw her with that first faint blush of unabashed happiness was whenever Jiraiya was around.

"Can I talk to you?" Jiraiya was asking her.

She glanced past his shoulder at Shikaku then looked back at him. "About what?" she snapped back.

Sighing, Jiraiya answered, "You know it's about Amegekure. I want to talk about what you and Orochimaru saw there."

Once again, looking past his shoulder, she spoke to Shikaku who was leaning up against the wall, waiting for her so they could get started. "Shikaku, why don't you go get breakfast. I'll see you in about," she glanced skeptically at Jiraiya, "in about an hour, okay?"

He nodded and watched the two of them go off. Idly he thought about following them, but then remembered that Orochimaru had been impressed that he'd been able to pull it off once. He decided not to risk it.

She and Jiraiya went off deep into the forest, in a clearing near a pool of water. Like two fighters facing off in their respective corners, they stood apart, each with their arms crossed over their chest. Tsunade was glaring at Jiraiya, his look was more resolute.

"Jiraiya, just stop being such a pathetic jealous fool, will you?" she asked crossly. "Just…give up."

He shook his head, "No, Tsunade, it may surprise you to learn that I gave up on that a long time ago. I just don't want to see you get hurt. And this is going to split wide open soon enough. You should know that Koharu has enough…"

"Koharu, too, huh? Why did you have to go and drag that old spider into this? What kind of a web is she weaving now?"

Jiraiya smiled at her, "Now who's the jealous one? I remember when you were positively throwing yourself at sensei and he wouldn't even give you the time of day because of her."

Posture relaxing, tension leaving her just the slightest bit, she smiled back, faint and wan. "Bastard. You're never going to let me forget that are you?"

Jiraiya stepped closer to her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "Koharu has enough to go over the Hokage and the rest of the council straight to the daiymo. I don't know when she'll move, but she could at any time. I just wanted you to be ready. And Tsunade…"

He gently took her chin in one hand and tipped her face up to look into her eyes. "I know you know I'm right. I know because if you really thought I was crazy, you would have told Dan all about it. And you didn't. Orochimaru told me."

"I know him, Jiraiya, I know he wouldn't do anything like this – he isn't capable of something this cold-blooded. I think…he must be in over his head. They've misled him or something and…"

"And that alone means he isn't qualified to be Hokage."

For a brief instant he braced himself for the blow he was sure was going to land across his face. Instead she flung herself into his arms, holding him tightly around his waist and burying her face against his chest. "I wish it was like it used to be. Just you, me, and Orochimaru. I wish we could go back to that."

"Tsunade," he whispered to her, "Tsunade when this is over, I'm leaving."

"What?"

"I'm leaving. I'm going back to Mt. Myoukobo . I can't stay here after this. I can't make people not be stupid and I'm tired of trying. If they don't want to wake up and see that it's damned off that they are living in a continuous state of national emergency and military build-up when there is no war going on , then I can't make them see that. I told Koharu that I would stay and get to the bottom of this thing but after that I'm gone." He paused, "Come with me."

"I can't," her answer was firm.

"Can't? Or won't?"

She paused for the longest time before answering him, "Both, I think. You're the part of me I have to get rid of, the warrior spirit. I can't…do that anymore. I can't be on that warrior's path anymore. I have a different path now, and it's medicine."

"And you call what you're working on now, medicine?"

Tone crisp, edging back toward frosty, "I'm doing the best I can right now."

"Yeah, well, Hime, when I'm gone, look out for Minato. Don't let them make a hero out of him or anything. They'll just use him up." And he wanted to add 'like you and Orochimaru' but he didn't.

"Sure. I'll do that."

Pulling her close to him, folding his arms around her, he whispered against the top of her head, "I really want to kiss you good bye."

"I really don't think that's a good idea." And the frost was in her voice for a reason.