Chapter 62 Onsen

The fire temple wasn't far from the leaf, at least it was in the land of fire, unlike our previous mission. While we shinobi could probably go a few days without stopping, it wasn't recommended for the monk and child. So we stopped at a small city.

"This place sure is lively," Sasuke commented looking at the residence that ran about as though preparing for a large event.

"The chunin exams are coming up," Chiriku explained. "It's being hosted by the leaf this year so everyone close by is preparing for the influx of tourists."

"Oh yeah, Neji said he was gonna participate this year," Naruto said walking relaxed. "Hey, Kaka-sensei, are we gonna take part as well?"

"It's up to you really," Kakashi replied, smiling at him.

"That and if the Hokage doesn't ban us from participating." There was silence at my words. The fact that it could very well happen had everyone speechless. Well, almost everyone.

"It's for your own safety," Chiriku said. "If you're too weak, you could die in the exams, it's happened before." he smiled gently at us. "If the Hokage bans your entry, just know he does it out of love."

"Is this guy looking down on us?" Naruto growled.

"Too weak to participate?" Naruto repeated. "You must be tired of living."

"Ha!" I burst into laughter. "You're right about one thing. The Hokage is truly trying to protect the weak if he keeps us out of the exams."

"Fragile things should be protected," Sasuke smirked.

"We wouldn't want to break anything, heh heh, '' Naruto grinned.

Kakashi sighed as the clueless Chiriku laughed. He seemed so pleased with himself. It didn't matter what anyone said, team seven would be a part of the exams. This year the chunin exam was being held by the leaf and was the only time Naruto would be safe. In the leaf, they could step in to protect him but in another village, they couldn't do that easily. It's a known fact that the Chunin exam is a place you could die, in fact, the villages have been accused of killing the young genin to weaken the other villages. It was all a war of power.

The setting sun painted the inn in an orange hue as it set. Sitting by the window I admired the sight while everyone settled down. This would be one of two stops we had to make before reaching the fire temple. And one of the only times I could take a bath. Traveling with boys is so tough.

"The onsen is ready," Yamato reported, landing on the balcony of our room.

"Thanks," I got up and made my way to the door. "Going for a bath, don't wait up~" I called behind me, before exiting the room. I heard Naruto yell okay, as I walked down the hall.

Ping!

I stopped and looked to where I sensed it.

A shinobi passing through?

I dismissed it and walked to the bath, the others could handle it.

"Honestly walking this close to the village is beyond reckless."

Two ladies, and a pig, walked through the streets of the small city. Though they wore heels, not a click could be heard from their footsteps. If that wasn't enough to clue you in, their walk was graceful in a way no normal person could imitate. These women were shinobis.

"You worry too much," the blond said to her companion. "No one expects us to be this close so being this close is fine, it's not like anyone is looking for us anyway."

"Have you forgotten the Uzumakis that approached us, Lady Tsunade," the younger girl -was she younger?- stated as she glanced worriedly around. "They're not normal, they were about to not only find us but isolate us without us knowing."

The blond -Tsunade- grit her teeth, her brown eyes narrowing. She remembered how they were covered by the Uzumakis well enough. It wasn't that she let her guard down, but that those people were able to hide their presence from even her. She didn't want to make such people her enemy, but she wasn't about to become their lackey.

"Forget it, what's done is done, I'm not going back on my decision, Shizune, and I won't live in fear because of them," Tsunade's face shifted to announce. "It's bad enough we had to leave early. Let's hurry up and get to the hot spring village. I need to relax."

"I believe there is an onsen in one of these inns." the younger woman, Shizune, said, pulling out a pamphlet. "Let's see, the inn's name is…"

Flower peach inn had a great view of the city, stationed on a hill it over looked the city that came alive at night. The lights were like fireflies of various colors, and it was a breathtaking sight, even for her.

"Wow, it's so beautiful here!" Shizune exclaimed. Looking out the window of thor newly booked room. Because the Uzumakis brought bad luck, she was on a winning spree and was able to afford the luxury without any issues. The prices weren't as bad since that was a small city without a single landmark.

"Let's head to the spring," Tsunade said, turning away from the breathtaking sight. The sooner she got drunk the better her mood would be in the morning. It was while walking through the hall, pig in hand, that they felt it.

Shizune looked towards the room the chakra no doubt came from.

"Shinobi?" she questioned.

Tsunade spared the room a glance memorizing it so as to not go near it and walked off.

"Let's go, Shizune before they notice us." If they hadn't already.

"Ah! Yes!" Shizune jogged to catch up with her. It wasn't unusual for shinobis to be about, even in this small city. Perhaps it was a team mission and they were just passing through. Oh, sage, she hoped they were just passing through, she didn't want to have another run-in with shinobis. Haa.. the encounter with the Uzumaki shook her more than she thought.

Despite their worries, they two made it to the onsen without incident. The selves were empty say for one, indicating the hot spring currently had one user.

"I'm surprised it's so empty," Shizune commented, taking off her robe.

"It's probably because they're preparing for the Chunin exams," Tsunade offered, taking off Ton Ton's pearl and red jacket. The ninja pig squealed in anticipation of the bath. Tsunade could help but smile as he too undressed. "It's for the best, it didn't want the crowd anyway." They walked into the women's hot spring.

It was a beautiful sight, around a clear steaming pool were smooth stones that merged seamlessly with the tile of the shower cubicles. The hot spring was surrounded on three sides leaving the fourth wall open for a beautiful view of the city below. Even with the steam, it was all very beautiful.

"Wow this is incredible, let's visit hot springs more often, Lady Tsunade," Shizune cheered.

"Oink Oink," Ton Ton agreed. When Shizune didn't hear a reply she looked over to see Tsunade staring at the water with a serious expression.

They weren't alone, they knew that much from the basket in the changing room, and yet.

"Why can't I sense anything?" Tsunade thought, trying harder to feel the other person in the room. Shizune stood at attention at Tsunade's demeanor, unsure of what was happening but preparing for the worst. Shizune didn't sense anything and so let her guard down but perhaps not sensing anything was a reason to be alert.

"Hm?" a voice came from the steam, and the water shifted. "Didn't someone come in?" it sounded like a child. Tsunade swung her hand through the air and the steam cleared in a gust of wind. There, in the water, was a little girl with long pink hair looking at them with bewilderment. She blinked a few times before tilting her head with a "Huh?"

The steam soon covered her again but not before Tsunade dismissed her as not a treat. It bothered her that she couldn't sense the child but if it was a child she would be able to handle them no problem.

Tsunade washed along with Shizune and Ton Ton as the girl waited awkwardly. She started at them intently before sighing and sliding under the water. She didn't resurface after a while and Tsunade became certain. That girl was a shinobi.

The water parted for her slender leg as she stepped into the warm spring.

Haaa~ Shizune sighed as she leaned back and Tsunade couldn't help but agree. After all the fuss of the last few days, relaxing in a hot spring was just what they needed. Now if only they didn't have a third wheel.

The girl stayed on the other end of the spring, leaning on the smooth stone, and looked half asleep. She didn't express any interest in them after the initial shock wore off. She really was a shinobi. Any normal person would either run away or overwhelm them with questions.

Tsunade eyes her suspiciously and then notices. In the center of her chest between her still maturing breast was a jagged scar. Though round it was too wide to be a spear or even a pole; there was an indent in her otherwise perfect skin leading Tsunade to assume she was at least punched by someone with monstrous strength.

"Are you curious?"

Brown met emerald green as the girl smiled.

"I got it protecting someone precious to me," she explained. "Well I didn't really do much since that bastard was overpowered but I'd like to think I did something. Something flashed across the girl's face before she was smiling again.

She must have relived the incident, Tsunade thought. The girl looked sharply behind her to the city. Her eyes narrowed before she sighed and sunk deeper into the water.

"Are they still alive?"

"Hm?" the girl looked at Tsunade questionably

"The person you were protecting," Tsunade clarified. "Are they still alive?"

"Naturally," She responded as though another outcome was impossible.

"Then you did something," Tsunade said. She who couldn't protect those she loved, Tsunade didn't want anyone to know this pain. Thoughts of the past wormed their way into her mind and she trembled clutching her hands.

"Tsunade…" Shizune muttered with sympathy.

"Don't live in the past, don't fret about the future, just live in the now, thankful for what you have left." the girl suddenly said, standing. "A person with nothing to die for," she locked eyes with Tsunade. "Has nothing to live for."

"So what if I have nothing to live for," Tsunade said in a mocking tone. "What if everything I love is already dead?" What was she asking a child? What could a child that didn't know war know? Someone who's never lost everything.

"You still have their memories right," the girl smiled sadly.

"What!?"

"There are two deaths that a person experiences. The first is death of flesh when you can no longer interact with those you love. And then there's death of spirit, where no one remembers you, and your existence is questioned. Did you ever exist if no one remembers you?" the girl laughed. "It's dumb but this thought keeps people up at night, makes them desperate to leave behind a legacy so they are never forgotten and become immortal in their others' memories. I guess that's why shinobis want to become Hokage."

Tsunade flinched.

"They know they're going to die someday and want to be missed, to be immortalized in tales of their achievements." She looked up at the night sky with an expression that didn't belong to a child. Right, that was the face of someone who was desperate to stay alive in this cruel world.

Just what had this child gone through?

Just then petals fell into the hot spring.

"Huh?" Shizune looked down at the sole petal before dozens of others followed. All over this small city petals fell, even though there wasn't a single cherry blossom tree in sight.

"So this is the game you want to play?" the girl muttered watching the petals fall.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said softly as her eyes closed with drowsiness.

"Shizune? Tsunade turned to her disciple as the woman fell asleep suddenly.

"Pink oi…" Ton Ton followed soon after. It was only after the two fell asleep that Tsunade felt the effects of the genjutsu.

"Kai!" With a burst of chakra the genjutsu left her and she was alert again but Shizune and Ton Ton we're already out cold. She clicked her tongue and pulled them out of the water. It wasn't until the two were safely on would ground did it occur to Tsunade to check on the girl. She looked back to the spring but the girl was still standing up looking at the sky, though her eyes seemed distant and unfocused.

"I just wanted a bath," she sighed and looked at Tsunade with tired eyes.

"Things have become troublesome."

At that a black barrier formed around the inn which was relatively isolated atop a hill. They were now cut off from the rest of the world. Tsunade clutched her necklace, she knew things were going too well.

"Greeting shinobis of the leaf, hand over your jinchuriki's and we'll let you live." A disembodied voice announced.

Tsunade didn't recognize the voice but it seemed the girl did.

"What the hell is that psycho doing here?" She muttered angrily.

Jinchuriki, a host of the tail beasts, great monsters made of chakra. There are nine in total and each great village has at least one. The only people who had two were the Hidden Cloud, the Hidden Mist, and the Hidden Stone, none of which were close to here, a town in the land of fire. If it was jinchurikis could it be the Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf had their Jinchuriki in the same place!? We're they crazy?

"If you choose not to cooperate, you will die." The voice spoke again and the girl laughed.

I wasn't planning on killing you so soon but if you're tired of living what can I do but offer you death!" The water exploded as the girl leaped from the hot spring and into the air and out of sight.

"Oh my, to think I would meet you here, Tsunade-chan~"

Tsunade stilled at the familiar voice, how long had it been since she heard this voice. It was still the same, this guy.

"Orochimaru," Tsunade greeted. "Prey tell why you're in the woman's bath, don't tell me Jiraiya has rubbed off on you?" She joked but she was actually shaken why was Orochimaru here when this place was under attack. She thought back to the room of shinobi and frowned.

"Don't worry I have no interest in 'your' body," he dismissed her. "Have you seem the girl with pink hair, I'm sure she was suppose to be here."

Tsunade paled, surely not.

"Y you." She struggled to speak. "You're into that kind of thing!? Orochimaru she's too young for you, don't you have any morals!?"

"Why would I have something so useless as moral?" He spoke as though it was only natural. "But don't worry I have no interest in her for 'that' purpose. I'm not Jiraiya."

"No even Jiraiya wouldn't dear."

…

"Right?"

Right?

Next chapter.

July 19