Day by Day Chapter 1: The Beginning

The battlefield was filled with fallen comrades, those who had survived the great ninja war were either getting their wounds tended to by kunoichi's and their counterparts, or were recovering fallen bodies from the rubble. It didn't take long for Tsunade to realize how many lives were lost, as she looked down at the roster there were a couple names that made her heart sink and made her wonder if all this blood shed was even worth it. Taking a deep breath, Tsunade headed out of the medical tent to meet with some of the other jounin to figure out what their next step was. Looking to the sky as it began to cover itself with gray clouds it reminded her of the day she lost Dan, the sky looked exactly like this when he died. Looking around her Tsunade had to take a moment to catch her breath once again, how did things get this far? What caused all this bloodshed? War was always started based on money, ego and status in life, but why did the land of fire have to be part of some sick twisted plot. Why did it have to always boil down to them? Looking back to the roster Tsunade dreaded what she had to do, she had to look at every single body that was recovered and mark a name off, anyone who was missing would go on the marble in the center of the village as MIA (Missing in Action). Her eyes stopped at one name, Neji Hyuga; Why did children have to fight in a war with adults? At what point is it going to be enough? How many have to die before the people in this world realize bloodshed just isn't worth it, Tsunade had hoped that this would be the last war this generation and the many after it would ever have to experience. Taking several steps across what was the battlefield, Tsunade watched the pained faces of many of her comrades as they pulled their friends and families up, she had hoped they'd find more people alive but at this point she was sure that the people who were left, were dead.

Tsunade had reached the final name on her roster, it was the name of her dear friend and secret lover and by secret she meant she hid her true feelings from everyone including him, everyone she ever loved died and even though Jiraiya promised he'd come back in one piece, that was simply a promise he couldn't keep. Tsunade knew slightly before the final show down that Jiraiya had passed on but it wasn't until Pein had mentioned it and his name ended up on the KIA (Killed in Action) roster that it really solidified he was gone. Tsunade took a moment to remember the sunny day in her office, the day she sent him on the mission to try and stop Pein.

It was your typical sunny day in the Leaf Village, Tsunade sat at her desk looking at the mountains of paperwork she still had yet to complete, within that paperwork included sightings of the Akatsuki and most importantly sightings of who was believed to be the leader of the organization. Tsunade stared at the name for a couple moments before hearing a loud knock, setting the paperwork down and sitting herself up straight she spoke "come in!"

Jiraiya himself had been on several missions, most of them were for "research" but as the days for war drew closer, he realized he needed to protect what was most important to him, the village he loved and the people he loved within said village. When Jiraiya had gotten a messenger hawk from the Hokage herself he couldn't help but smile, it was no secret that he loved her. He felt a deep yearning for her but over the years she brushed every single advance he made aside, always spouting off something about how she had no time for love, yet she always found time for alcohol, chuckling for a moment before brushing the thought of her from his mind, he knew he had a mission. His first step was to get back to his home and meet with Tsunade, no Lady Hokage. After a long journey he had finally reached the gates of the Leaf Village, bowing slightly to Izumo and Kotetsu who were standing guard at the large wooden gates that held the symbol for the leaf village. Jiraiya couldn't help but take a few moments to himself to bask in the warmth of the sun, the peace everyone once knew was about to come to an abrupt end. As he made his way to the main tower also known as the Hokage Tower Jiraiya took a look around making sure to engrave such peace within his brain. Once he climbed the stairs and reached the giant oak door that held the Hokage office, he knocked. His heart felt like it had skipped a beat when he heard Tsunade's voice telling him to come in. Slowly he opened the door and took a step inside "Lady Tsunade, its been awhile"

Tsunade looked up from her desk to watch her life long childhood friend walk in, seeing the smile on his face irritated her, how could he be so carefree when a war was about to happen. "Jiraiya, you're late. I sent that messenger hawk several days ago. Did you stop at a hot springs on your way in?" Tsunade loved the way his lips curled into a smile, the way the deep chuckle that came from deep within his chest sounded. At the same time it infuriated her, how she wish she could be as free as he was, she felt any second she was going to break and the entire village would go up in flames. "I have a mission for you, I know its been awhile since your last actual mission. But this is important, Pein was spotted in Amegakure and I need you to go and collect as much information as you can, and Jiraiya? Be careful, we've already lost Asuma, we can't afford to lose anyone else." Tsunade said the last bit slowly, as if trying to make sure he heard the last part more than the rest of it, leaning on crossed hands she sighed.

Jiraiya could hear the seriousness in her voice but he could also hear the pain, it pained him to be reminded of the fact they lost such a kindred spirit. "I'm always careful! I promise, I'll stop him and I'll come back safe, you can bet on that. When I do we are finally going on a date Tsunade." Jiraiya was rarely one to beat around the bush, especially when it came to Tsunade. Staring at her for a moment before walking closer to her desk, walking behind her he placed a hand on her shoulder "I'll be fine, I promise."

Snapping out of her train of thought Tsunade fought back the tears that threatened to roll down her face at any second, the scene unfolded from the memory and into the current events happening around her. She was back on the battlefield "Oh you fool, how I should've told you how I felt." Tsunade suddenly heard clapping, was it thunder? Was it finally going to start raining? No it was the sound of people. Turning around she found numerous ninja's clapping, before she could say anything she heard the crunch of foot steps on the dirt beneath them, looking more closely she saw Kakashi carrying a sleeping Naruto on his back, the image reminded her of that time years ago when Naruto was just a child hell bent on preventing his teammate, no his best friend and brother from making what he deemed to be the biggest mistake of his life. Behind them was Sakura and Sasuke with Sasuke using Sakura as support. Team 7, finally at last together again. Tsunade recognized the look on their faces, pure exhaustion. Right about now she was sure everyone was starting to feel the exhaustion, even with all the lives they lost. They won, the war was finally over.