Tsunade's Bond

While ensuring Shido goes to the concert safely...

Tsunade made herself bait.

She's not Mariudo by blood.

She was Mariudo by adoption.

Shido adopted her into his clan, giving her a family.

He took her in when her own family abandoned and rejected her.

Her loyalty to him was solid because of that and he knew it.

He taught her some skills. The Whistles needed to control and the ability to understand animals as well as the Mimicry Techniques.

With this, she can pass off as a Mariudo.

She whistled many Beast Whistles to lure the enemy to her...

'So, its a child this time.' many adults in suits came out of hiding.

'Hehe, I was hoping you guys will show up.' Tsunade spoke.

'Our mandate is not to let a single Mariudo live.'

'You can only blame your misfortune for being born as one.'

'Fools...its you who's not gonna leave alive.' Tsunade smiled as a swarm of rats came out, flooding the park. 'Leave not a scrap on their bones!' she commanded with a sadistic smile as the swarms of rats did her bidding

'UWAAAARRRGHHHH!'

'Did you seriously think I'm playing around with Beast Whistles? Morons.' Tsunade sneered. 'I was gathering my army! Sucks to be you.'

The rats soon left, leaving nothing but clothed skeletons behind.

She vanished.

"Wha?!"

Whack!

The mysterious figure got knocked out by Tsunade from behind.

She took out her cellphone.

And so...

'Really, you called me all the way for this...' said Himiko as she made the last guy forget his memories with one of her perfumes.

'Sorry but today is an important date for Shido and my future sister-in-law, can't let these guys get in the way.' said Tsunade, paying Himiko up with crisp 10000 yen bills. 'Really, they just had to come on a concert day.' she huffed.

'Concert...' Himiko blinked as she accepted the pay for her services.

'Yeah. She's a musician but the development is so good she'll be family soon.' said Tsunade with a wistful smile. 'So these bugs can't be in our way.' she snapped her fingers and Himiko could see tiny fireballs in the place they were in.

'H-hey...'

'We're a tribe of beasts...and these guys are a tribe of bugs. Our enemies.'

'I see...' Himiko frowned. 'Well, this guy won't remember a thing for 24 hours, OK? But they might come after you and Shido later.'

'Actually, they don't know our faces so they were roaming around for anyone who can Beast Whistle.' said Tsunade. 'As long as we blend in well they can look for us in a hundred years and never find us.'

'If you say so...'

xxx

That same night...

Out of desperation, Ginji called her for financial help.

The catch?

Paul will be the one playing and will be the one to decide if 'its enough' and there's something else for the duo.

'Hummm...so this is your tab?' Tsunade looked at the loooooong tab list. 'How on earth did it get to this point?' she sweatdropped.

580000 tab on food and drink.
30000 for the car.
105000 for Akabane-induced injuries back in Mugenjou that Paul paid for.
Cigarettes Ban smokes cost 16000 a month.
Money Ban owes to a Music Club is 159269.

Total: 890269 yen

'Well, they're broke most of the time.' said Paul. 'Well, I'm ready, Tsunade!' he said as he wore a suit, ready to go to the casino.

'Hey! What about our money?!' Ban cried indignantly.

'Most of them will go to your tab obviously! And I'll play for about five million bucks.'

'You're using the Gambling Lord for a cheap chump change when she could earn you millions?! You're outta your mind!'

'Now now, greed is bad, you're good example of it as it is.' said Paul wryly. Ban is so driven by greed for money he tends to make extremely risky investments and gambling only for his bad luck to backfire on him that he gets more debts. 'Now, I'm off to finally get paid!' he whistled happily. Upon getting five million, he took half of it 'out of interest' for taking so damn long to pay him.

The cons?

'Clean your barn?' Ban twitched. This was the other half of the condition Tsunade set.

'Yup...my period sucks so bad and Shido went off to take Madoka-chan on a date so he begged me to switch chores with him when normally we run a tight fair schedule.' said Tsunade sheepishly. 'I'll start my period tomorrow morning so clean the barn for me to the point it looks brand new and no smell whatsoever and you get a free bath, laundry and dinner~!' and she left them with the tools needed.

'...good gawd, we get only 2.5 mil to clean a stinky, smelly barn...' Ban wanted to cry real bad. 'We should get at least 7 million for this...'

'Maa maa, at least our tabs are fully-paid and we got extra money...we can finally sleep in a nice 2K Apartment Ban-chan, stay strong...' Ginji whimpered, patting Ban's back as the barn is...utterly messy in a really gross way. Poo, pee, stains of either of the two, blood as some females gave birth recently...as well as messed up, old and filthy hay nests.

He supposed for owning all those animals, this much mess is to be expected.

'Yeah.' said Ban half-heartedly staring gloomily at the gross mess. 'Stay strong, riiiight...'

xxx

That night...

'Uwaaa! You did a really great job!' Tsunade beamed happily, coming out in a plain black dress with a hot compressor strapped to her stomach. The barn is sparkling clean and no smell remained. 'Well, take a bath first boys! I'll have your clothes in the wash! Dinner's long ready!'

'Hey hey Tsunade-chan, Kazu-chan asked your help for 1 billion right?' Ginji asked as Ban's ears perked up at the amount. 'What'd he do in exchange?'

'Ahaha, he swore me to secrecy Ginji-san and its on my honor to keep these lips sealed.' Tsunade giggled, clearly looking amused. 'But he's willing to do it for Juubei. Idiot made himself blind with his needles.'

'What an idiot.' Ban sighed. 'I wonder what ito-maki did now if for 2.5 mil we get to clean a really gross barn after Paul walked away with interest...'

Really, the interest he took was huge in his opinion!

After a nice hot bath and grooming, their filthy clothes are newly-washed and ironed.

Then there's a biiiig dinner.

'Wooow! Food!' the pair drooled as on the table is full of food. Inch-thick steaks with sauce, bowls of curry, bowls of Soba noodles, plates of fish fillets and shellfish and vegetable hotpots.

'Well, considering our lifestyle, we have to eat healthy.' said Tsunade. 'Training is really hard you know.' she said as the hungry pair scarfed down what they can reach on. "They're not even listening..." she sweatdropped. "When did they last eat?"

That, and it was good she did shopping beforehand otherwise their pantry will be emptied by two hungry idiots who haven't eaten in days...

After a large meal and putting the dishes in the sink...

'Yeesh, when did you two morons last eat properly?' Tsunade asked them wryly.

'Ah, that's four days ago with your food actually.' said Ban, remembering the meal he had in one of their bases.

Tsunade sweatdropped.

'Man I'm jealous of Shido...' Ginji pouted. 'He gets to eat Tsunade-chan's cooking every day...'

'Well, its either home cooking or take-outs.' Tsunade scoffed. 'Besides, I'm a much better cook than even a high-class restaurant anyway!' she huffed snootily. 'Learn how to cook because its cheaper that way.'

'What made you a good cook?' Ginji asked her after she poured tea.

'It perhaps came fro my trauma as a child so I'll have to tell you my past. Shido adopted me into the Mariudo Tribe.' said Tsunade. 'He adopted me after I told him how I ended up in Mugenjou. At the time I was there for months after leaving my hometown. Though I can't really even call it home.' her gaze went sour.

'At first, my life was happy. My parents doted on me and loved me. Not to mention I remembered that I was a normal kid. I was who I am today. A fast learner that my parents had high hopes for me in school because when I was four, I mastered Japanese Grammar so fast and I learned Grades 1 and 2 Kanji by the time I was five, and Grades 3 and 4 at age 6. I was also taught English and Mathematics. But suddenly, one day there was a blank in my memory and somehow, I became so clumsy I trip even on air to the point I'm a joke. At school, it was the reason for the heinous bullying I endured and the fact that I had trouble remembering my classes. If not for my advanced lessons before school, my situation would have gotten worse. I failed all my subjects that weren't Japanese and Math.'

'My mother was baffled and my father was overseas in his job...she gets calls from the school on a daily basis a month into school because of my clumsiness, poor performance in my other subjects, and the trouble I get into because of the bullying on me.' she continued. 'My homeroom teacher tried to help me but the other teachers could care less, so the kids thought its OK to make my life hell since nobody's stopping them. I go home with my things severely damaged. She tried to deny reality...and then the neighbors started gossiping about us, all of which are so untrue. It was cruel, those things they said.'

'Its perhaps, too much that one day, she told me that she'll go out on a trip and she'll be back in a few hours.' said Tsunade as her expression was something the guys couldn't describe. 'But for several days she never returned. I never left the house because I hated the neighbors who talked bad about us and we did nothing wrong. I can't go to them for help. Since I can't cook I just drank water. Perhaps my skill at cooking came from the desire to learn how to cook since I remember how helpless I was back then. One day water just didn't cut it anymore. I was delirious and ill from hunger...I learned what dying was like back then...I thought that was it.'

'I learned that after several weeks...mother abandoned me. No phone calls from my father either. I realized that as I was gonna die from hunger.'

'To leave you for a dumb reason like that...' Ginji choked out. 'They could have gotten you some help!'

'I got really angry about that you know.' said Tsunade bitterly. 'I was their beloved genius and yet so quick to drop me if I'm no good all of a sudden. It was my only worth to my parents. Those six years are all a lie. When I thought that was it...I think its at that moment that my incredible intuition woke up and energy surged my body, urging me to do all means to survive. I left home at night because that's when groceries and supermarkets dump bentos into the trash since only fresh stuff are sold after all. When they were done, I grabbed some, ran home, and reheated an armful of bento and ate them all. I also decided to leave too. I tore apart family photos, left behind a letter and left. My feet led me to Mugenjou somehow...and it was already too late. I regained my former genius self, but not the blank in my memory when I tested myself by reading books in the library after I lost my clumsiness somehow...and I met Shido since I made a living by thieving, I was gonna slit his pants. He was eighteen back then.'

Ban and Ginji tried to picture that imagery.

She then told them how she and Shido met and first talked...and how they came to join VOLTS.

By then, she was already learning Mariudo skills until another near-death awakened her powers.

'So that's how you got to be with monkey-boy huh?' Ban mused. 'So you regained your genius when you were near death. You were somehow sealed away.'

'Me? Sealed?' Tsunade blinked.

'There's a blank in your memory and then you got no-good all of a sudden.' Ban frowned. 'Maybe the seal is of a shoddy work it affected your body too. Question is...who and why?'

Silence ensued.

'And to think you realized the truth about Mugenjou back then too, your ability is that formidable.' Ban continued. 'Just that, you were steps away as neither you or monkey-boy know computer stuff at the time until you studied under Makubex in getting past security and no more than that. Had you studied more under geek-boy, you woulda realized Mugenjou's screwing us around with Virtual Reality.'

'Yeah, I heard you guys on that hacked broadcast.' Tsunade said wryly. 'Realizing that...I thought that some twisted bastards in Babylon City's creating people and places like the Sims game on Playstation. Its a game wherein you design your characters' house, design your characters, and then control their actions. Only, in a Playstation game, you don't create psychos who kill your characters while Mugenjou sends Belt Line bastards to toy us to death.'

Ban's eyes glanced at the TV by the living room to see DVD Player and Playstation Console.

'Hooo? Monkey-boy knows how to use those?'

'It was hard teaching him.' Tsunade giggled. 'Apparently in the mountains, no such thing as technology. The tribe only cares for strength, survival, strong bonds of family among clansmen and balance of life and nature. I said that if his bride will be a modern girl, he has to learn how to use the appliances and electronics or married life will be hectic...if not for Madoka-chan he wouldn't even bother learning how to use the TV. He's serious about her she's definitely going to be a sister of mine one day.'

'Serious with Madoka eh? and how old is he again?'

'22. He's 10 years older than me y'know.' Tsunade smiled. 'And Madoka-chan's 17. Not much of an age gap, and they hit it off a mere three days after they met that we spend most of our days in her mansion despite having this house. He trains me over there physically by leaving me instructions and teaches me skills at home...because the Mariudo Martial Arts Style can only be taught by clansmen to clansmen. It'd be bad if the servants picked it up and stupidly used it and a member of our enemy tribe is around, the Kiryuudo.' she explained. 'If not for that, we'd be in her house most of the time.'

'Heee...when does Shido intend to marry?'

'Traditionally in the tribe, you move out of home at 13, and marry by 15.' said Tsunade. 'Shido would have married earlier but the Kiryuudo happened and attacked his village. He's the only survivor of his tribe's branch. So yeah, he's pressed for time while at the same time, being considerate and understanding of how society works for Madoka's sake. He has to adapt to the new situation.'

'Moving out at 13...when will you be thirteen Tsunade-chan?' Ginji asked her worriedly.

'In October 14 this year.'

'That's a couple months away now...' Ban frowned. 'So you'll be leaving this house then?'

'Nope...Shido will live full-time with Madoka leaving this house to me.' said Tsunade. 'Because he'll be marrying as soon as she goes legal. Besides, we're wealthy by our own right. He's also looking for ways to enter College, Graduate and start a business because its a man's duty to provide. But out of necessity for survival, he broke many clan rules that it'll be obsolete with the two of us while still remaining Mariudo in power. As the clan head by default, he decided to literally trash most of clan rules for Madoka's sake. The only thing that didn't change, was the rule for Independence that will end with me and after that, no more clan rules and we're free to live as we please without compromising our powers and bonds with animals.'

'Heee...'

'Well, long before I met him I was doing fine on my own anyway.' said Tsunade. 'And despite moving out, I can still visit and stuff like normal families do. As for marriage...well, since clan rules are obsolete now, I can marry anytime I want. I can't imagine marrying at 15!'

xxx

'Wow...we learned a lot in Shido's house huh, Ban-chan?' Ginji mused as they drove for home.

'We learned about Tsunade, not Shido.' said Ban. 'But by understanding that kid...I got the gist of her character. Abandoned for a stupid reason instead of doing right by the kid, and distorted by the world around her plus Mugenjou. If not for monkey-boy, the Lord of Flames would be a distorted, twisted mess hating the world and with a power like hers? It'd be bad if she was found by the wrong person and her talents against us the good guys. She already has moments of Akabane-level cruelty in the short time I've known her. Perhaps, her intuition making her target Shido was a means to lead her to a good person who'd do right by her.'

'I guess so...but she's a genius again...'

'Yeah. Who sealed her and why?'