After that somewhat tedious (but very necessary) prologue, I greatly appreciate anyone who is willing to continue reading my story, because that is some strong curiosity you have there. :)
A great, big thanks to Ichigo-chan and FruitySmell for reviewing, and all the kind people who have followed or favourited this story!
The last thing Senju Tsunade ever wanted to do was become the principal of Konoha's Gensho Academy. But how, just how, could she refuse such a request from the distinguished Sandaime Hokage himself? It wasn't like he couldn't have chosen someone else to do the job - someone much, much more willing than she'd ever be. It wasn't like she was the best candidate for the job either. Heck, anything to do with being in charge of a group of horny, volatile teenagers gave her the worst headaches - ever. And it certainly wasn't because she was the most responsible one of his three students; especially since she was spotted holding a bottle of sake at least twice a week. By a student.
But after being chased down relentlessly by her idiotic, perverted teammate and his hyperactive godson, she found herself sitting inside a well-furbished office with a stack of paperwork and application forms positioned innocently on her mahogany desk. She sighed and tiredly placed an elbow on her desk, cursing when it missed the hard, wooden surface. Recomposing herself, Tsunade's eyes flew to a photograph of her former teammate and old - dare she say it - friend Jiraiya standing next to a young boy with striking blonde hair and a happy grin on his face. He wore a striped orange and yellow party hat and was holding a large cake that had a large "14" candle stuck in the middle of it to mark the occasion. She smiled softly; the boy was like the sunshine, always walking around with a gleeful smile on his face and yelling his motivational catchphrases to everyone around town. Deep down, she thought to herself, I probably do love these two.
A loud ringing sound brought her attention to the phone vibrating at her side. She picked it up, took one glance at the caller ID, and groaned miserably.
"This had better be quick - I have work to attend to." Boisterous laughter was her response, and she held the phone away from her ear with a grimace.
"Don't tell me the Princess can't even spare a few minutes for her good old pal Jiraiya!"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
Jiraiya's mirth slowly vanished at her sharp tone, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "He's back."
Tsunade frowned. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."
"Well, you know that one guy you dated a while back?"
She rolled her eyes and glanced at the mahogany wood clock on the wall beside her, cursing him for interrupting her schedule. She had a school assembly in a few minutes and the last thing she wanted to do was sit back and gossip idly with her oaf of a friend. Whatever drove him to suddenly bring up her past, she had no idea, but Jiraiya would have to wait for another time to have this conversation with her. She had grumpy parents to appease and a bucket-load of new arrivals to welcome. Grabbing hold of several files in her hand, Tsunade briskly stood up from her chair and gulped down a bottle of sake.
"I don't have time for this, Jiraiya. Goodbye."
As it turns out, she was given more than enough time for 'this'. Standing up in front of a substantial amount of people and repeating essentially the same things she said in previous years wasn't the best part of her day. It was boring, it was grueling, and she was nursing an irritating hangover. Though, she supposed the word "irritating" applied more to the man currently standing beside her on the stage.
"A huge congratulations to those entering their senior year this year - may you have the best of luck conquering your obstacles, a big pat on the back for those who have passed your tests and moved on to the next level, and a warm welcome to the new students - your journey begins here." Tsunade paused for a quick smile up at the crowd. "And, of course, after an extremely long voyage around the world, we welcome home our new Advanced Combat teacher and Vice Principal - Kato Dan."
"What the hell were you thinking, Sarutobi? Bringing Dan back?"
"That's Hokage to you, Principal," he looked up from his paperwork and fixed a steady gaze on Tsunade's face, "And besides, I really don't see the issue here. His skills are beyond his years, he has vasts amounts experience fighting deadly criminals worldwide, and he's good with people. Give me one very good reason why I shouldn't have hired him."
"He broke my heart? Struck me down and left me for dead? And in the middle of a bloody storm, I might add." She paced around the Hokage's office furiously. "I thought staff additions had to be reviewed by everyone! They're all supposed to be unanimous."
"I went to the board and they all agreed that Kato Dan was extremely qualified for the roles. Tsunade, we all knew that you'd put your foot down at Dan, and that is why we didn't go to you - you're so overcome with emotion around him that you fail to see what has changed. He's not the foolish boy he used to be - one month of working with him should have made that clear."
It was true. Dan had transformed from a baby-faced idealist to a calm, humbled and level-headed leader who never failed to teach his students to the best of his abilities. In-office, he was a professional. Everything was done promptly and submitted on-time, and his performance levels were phenomenal.
But, outside of school, he was such an asshole. It was as if everything he'd ever constructed for himself disappeared the moment he walked out the large door of the Academy. Pranking, insulting, obnoxious confidence - and it was mainly around her.
"I expected more professionalism from you, Tsunade. Leave."
She knew she had a drinking problem. The alcohol always left her grouchy and tired, but it worked well enough to erase all the bad memories from her mind.
In all honesty, Tsunade hadn't touched a drink in months after her conversation with the Hokage. She had been working her butt off, and even hired a secretary to assist her with the excessive workload. As luck would have it, she was Kato Dan's beloved niece, Shizune, but she worked just as well as he did and always had a pleasant countenance inside and outside of the workplace. She could let that small problem go.
As though Kami had acknowledge her efforts, Dan had even stopped the hassling outside of work and she was on good terms with the Hokage again. Things were looking up, at least for a little while.
She'd decided to throw a party at the end of the year to celebrate the hard work of all the employees. And, as Tsunade-parties usually went, it was at the local bar, and apparently she hadn't been working all too well on her alcohol addiction. Just the mere sight of the sake bottles brought back the cranky drunkard she was a year ago. But everyone let it slide - it payed to make friends in the workplace.
The night was reaching an end, and most of her co-workers were either buzzed or drop-dead drunk from the excessive drinking. Frankly, she knew she should've thought twice about treating teachers to alcohol when most of them hadn't even touched a bottle since the start of the year. But Tsunade quickly drowned that voice out with another cup of sake.
"You know, despite being here for over four hours, you seem to be holding up pretty well." The owner of a male voice seated himself beside her, chuckling slightly when she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I've had practice. Seven years of it."
Dan sighed, catching onto her implication, and ran a hand frustratedly through his long hair. "I'm sorry."
Tsunade scoffed.
"I was young, idealistic, stupid. I thought that if I took that mission, my career would skyrocket, I'd be famous - and it worked."
"Let me guess," she added sarcastically, "And now you have everything you've ever wanted."
She could feel his gaze locking onto her face, with its make up slightly worn off from the night's events. "No." She raised an eyebrow and returned his gaze. Dan rested his palm on her cheek, flushed red from the excessive alcohol. "You're everything I've ever wanted."
Golden eyes widened upon hearing these words, but Dan went on before she could reply.
"When the mission was over, everything I'd gained throughout those seven years became...insignificant. I have power, but I don't want it. I have riches, but I don't need it. I have fame, but the only person I want recognition from is the woman that I am talking to. The strong, resilient, beautiful woman whom I have neglected and treated like dirt for several long, long years."
She was looking directly at him now, torn between flinging her arms over his broad shoulders, and beating him to a pulp for bringing up memories she'd pushed out of her mind a long time ago. All the times she'd spent crying in her apartment, lamenting the loss of her family, and then her lover. All the time she'd spent isolated and unfeeling, both among and apart from others. All the times she'd spent gambling away her fortune in a shady casino. All the times she'd sought solace in the comforts of alcohol.
"Tsunade, I don't ask for your forgiveness, you have every reason to despise me. But I lo-"
"Enough," the blonde woman made a move to get off her seat, but was stopped by a warm hand. Enraged, Tsunade pulled herself out of Dan's grasp and glared at him. He flinched. "Bringing up past events will do nothing for our situation. What's done is done, so why don't you take a piece of my advice? Move on, or move out."
Looking back, there were many things Tsunade wished she could've changed. She wished she'd listened to Dan's words before she'd cut him off. She wished she hadn't been so stubborn and accepted him back into her life. She wished that she'd at least looked at him, and memorised his beautiful features, before storming out of the bar last night. But most of all, she wished she'd known that that would be the last time they would ever speak.
But there were some things that could never be changed.
A freak accident during one of Kato Dan's most intense Combat classes set fire to the entire classroom before spreading out to engulf the school. Only one life was lost.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. At all.
I promise that this chapter isn't just a random filler - there is some cataphoric tie to events that will transpire later on. And, I swear that it's a NejiTen one as well. Please review!
~misspandalily