Night On The Town [Jiraiya]

[Tsunade]

Well, the fact that Jiraiya and Naruto had returned to town was a good thing, nonetheless, and being Hokage, Tsunade wanted to know of the boy's progress, not to mention she was certainly looking to a night on the town for once. Of course, it was certainly to Shizune's distaste, but Tsunade could really care less about that. If she wanted to sit around and drink sake, then she would; she had that right, now didn't she? Jiraiya had mentioned gambling as well, and although she knew full well that she shouldn't, perhaps it would just be a simple game of cards. She could handle that, perhaps they could play without money, because Tsunade knew a little too well that she probably wouldn't win anyways.

As usual, she wasn't dressed in a very casual way, but was in her normal attire; the green haori, the grey kimono-esque top, her navy-blue kapris, and her black heel sandals. Seeing the Hokage out on the streets at this time of night wasn't really anything new to any of them, but Jiraiya had said he wanted to travel to one of the other towns on the outskirts of the village, something which Tsunade was fine with. There weren't really any bars or anywhere to gamble in Konoha anyways, and somewhere like Tanzaku Town or Otafuku Town would work.

Of course, if they went to Tanzaku, Tsunade would have to make fully sure to either avoid the baths, or just keep Jiraiya in check. Last she'd heard they were mixed baths, and he knew better than to peep on her ever again. The last time he'd done that, she'd kicked his ass to the point that she'd ruptured some of his internal organs and nearly killed the man. In her opinion, it served him right. He deserved to get an ass kicking to that degree with something like that. Nonetheless, after all that had gone on, Tsunade had been forced to treat the man to make sure that he didn't die, a fact that strangely enough wasn't to her dismay.

For some reason, although he was a pervert, she enjoyed Jiraiya's presence. He seemed to have a sort of calming effect, and knew how to be absolutely serious when the time called for it. She liked his sense of duty the most; the fact that he'd declined the position of Hokage only to find her and offer her the job had surprised her a little. In looking at Naruto, she could see that the man's ways were rubbing off on the blonde, both in a good way and a bad way. Tsunade could easily see Naruto achieving something like Hokage, to say the least... However, it was a long road for him, and Tsunade knew that one a little too well. It probably didn't surprise most that she was the Godaime Hokage, for the simple reason that she was the granddaughter of the First and the student of the Third... None would be surprised by that.

Standing at the gates of Konoha, the kunoichi casually waited for her accompaniment to arrive, hoping he wouldn't be late this time, or at least, that he wouldn't show up with some perverted comment to put her into a raging mood. It wouldn't be very good for his health, now would it?

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya walked down the main street of Konoha in fairly good spirits. It was getting towards warmer summers, which meant one thing for sure. SHORT-SHORTS!!! Jiraiya quickly shook his head and swiped his jaw to make sure the thought hadn't started him drooling, that was the last thing Tsunade would be willing to deal with, he was pretty sure. Much as he'd like to take the night out with Tsunade to Tanzaku town, he'd learned from experience that peeking around Tsunade was a matter of life and death. He was grateful he'd been younger and could take the abuse then. Though he didn't like to admit it, even to himself, he was getting older and he just wasn't in his prime any more.

"Oh well, Jiraiya, don't worry yourself over it too much, you never were any good at worrying..." He turned the corner that would take him to the main gates and brushed his clothes off, driving invisible wrinkles and dust from his shirt. Might as well look the best I can. A night with a beautiful lady that has the ability to crush all my bones can make anyone start nitpicking at appearances... He approached the gates and looked side to side eventually spotting Tsunade standing by the gates.

"Ah, Tsunade! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long? Naruto was trying to make me treat him to ramen tonight, but I managed to pawn him off on Kakashi for a while." Jiraiya wondered for a moment if he should've brought something like a handful of flowers or something. Eh, oh well, its a bit late now.

"What do you say to taking a walk down to..." Jiraiya frowned for a moment, locked in an internal debate. I could say Tanzaku town, but she'll assume its just for the springs, which is entirely true...or I can...not do research and...not...go....So difficult to decide! "...Tan...Otafuku Town? I hear they've got a mean...uh...sushi?"

[Tsunade]

Her face became a little shifty when he seemed to be debating with himself, probably between Tanzaku Town and Otafuku Town. Well, it was good to know that Tsunade could keep Jiraiya in line with a single glance, because while he could be quite the pervert, he knew his limits, especially around a woman who could kill you with one single blow. Well, at least, most shinobi could die by one blow from the former Sannin, and surely Jiraiya knew that a little too well.

"Sushi?" She queried, raising her eyebrow at that comment. Well, if he wanted to get creative, he could at least be realistic about it. "You just don't want to go to Tanzaku so I don't kill you again," she stated bluntly. It came in handy when you could read such a man like an open book. Then again, they were both in their fifties, after all, and had been somewhat friends for the longest time.

"Well, if Otafuku's where you want to go, then we'll go there. I hear they have better sake, anyways, and more places to gamble, last I checked," she said with a sly smile. She was just itching to get on the slots as soon as she could, even though she knew she wouldn't win. Good thing she'd managed to grab herself a sum of money before she could... A rather large sum, actually. It wasn't like some random thief could take it from her, anyways; she was much quicker, with her ability to read moves of a person ahead of time, and she was the Hokage. She had to be tough, didn't she?

"So Jiraiya, I haven't heard yet," she started as they began to walk on the path towards Otafuku Town, "How much has Naruto progressed? Sakura's grown in skill faster than I would've expected from her... She's picked up so much in the last couple years." In her opinion, from what she'd seen from Sakura, it was possible that the girl could someday surpass Tsunade herself. The kunoichi didn't think that to be very likely, but it was certainly possible. "She's even picked up that from me rather quickly, too, I must say." Jiraiya would understand what she was talking about. Tsunade's strength was probably the most prominent aspect of her abilities, and Jiraiya knew that fact first-hand.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya would have winced at the thought of a second Tsunade running around, but then didn't as he realized that in his own fashion there was now a new Jiraiya running around. Add Orochimaru and Sasuke...Jiraiya shook his head. "The past really does repeat itself doesn't it..." He shook his head and returned his attention to the question at hand. "Naruto has definitely improved, anyone would be able to tell that, but that's not at all what you asked." Jiraiya took a few more steps along down the path towards Otafuku Town. "It won't be long now. Once he's learned just a few more things he'll be at least at Kakashi's level, I believe. It'll happen sooner than you know it. These new generations, they sure grow up fast don't they, Tsunade?"

Jiraiya's gaze turned serious and he stared ahead at the road. The Nine Tails is still under control, but its power hasn't waned at all. Naruto's learned how to surpress it, but supressing it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Once the fox's chakra manifests, it becomes easier and easier for Naruto to lose that control. He loses too much control and you and I both know what will happen." Jiraiya turned his head to look at Tsunade beside him.

"I don't want that to happen any more than anyone else. Maybe even more so... Hopefully by training with Kakashi he can learn some things I can't teach him and he won't have to rely on the Nine Tails." Jiraiya shook his head again, feeling his mane of hair sweep from side to side with the motion. "But this kind of deep conversation isn't right to go with relaxing over a few rounds of sake. Makes it taste funny."

[Tsunade]

Ironically, she couldn't do more than agree with Jiraiya's words. As he spoke, she nodded accordingly, making small noises here and there, agreeing quite throughly to his words. "Yes, it does surprise me how the past manages to manifest itself. But... Kakashi's level, already? The boy's progressed fast, I guess. I don't even know if Sakura's quite that far yet, but she's proficient, I'll say. While we can't really say much about Sasuke... I would assume it's like there's three more Sannin coming out of the next generation. Even they could surpass us, possibly." It was scary to think of such a thing, but in the long run, it was true. Wasn't the next generation always supposed to surpass the first?

Tsunade laughed quite brightly when he mentioned the sake beginning to taste funny. "Oh, we haven't hit the alcohol yet, so I'm sure it won't hurt. But nonetheless... Did you encounter the Nine-Tails any further than what we've seen? If I remember correctly, he went into the one-tail form against Sasuke, or at least, from what I heard from the reports. If he's gotten that far just as a young kid, I'd be almost scared to see what he could possibly do now." Tsunade wondered, genuinely, what exactly the nine-tails could possibly have done in whatever state Naruto was able to bring it up to.

"And yes, he needs to stop relying on the Nine-Tails as soon as possible. If he loses control, it could be like the whole situation with Minato again, and the village doesn't need to experience such a tragedy again." Tsunade's tone was darker now that she thought about that, about how Minato and Kushina had both died, Minato to seal the demon fox into his own son. She couldn't remember how Kushina had died, but whatever it'd been, it had left the poor boy without a family for the entirety of his life. Tsunade wondered how he was able to manage; she herself was barely able to deal with the deaths of her brother and lover, and even so, Dan's death had caused her hemophobia, or her fear of blood.

Thinking about the bloodshed that would be caused if Naruto let the fox go out of control, Tsunade shuddered, becoming a little shaky. Even the thought of bloodshed made her queasy, but she wasn't going to express that weakness in front of anyone. To her, it was fine around Jiraiya, because he already knew. He knew she froze up at the sight of blood, no matter if it were real or fake. Shaking the thoughts off, she regained her focus and continued.

"Now, I wonder if that one bar still has the slots... hmm..." Already Tsunade was thinking about gambling, which wasn't a surprise. "Are you sure you don't want to go to Tanzaku? It has a better hotel anyways, what with the springs and all."

[Jiraiya]

Jiriaya nodded at Tsunade's comment about a new generation of Sannin. "Heh, one day these kids won't even need us in the slightest. Can't wait for it, means I can spend more time on research."

At the mention of Naruto and the tails Jiraiya once again fell quiet and somber. "Naruto's definitely gone beyond one. Even one can be dangerous enough. Too many tails and not even I can keep up with him. That Nine Tails is strong. It no surprise that it dealt so much damage to the village before Minato could seal it away..."

"Well, regardless, Naruto should never go beyond two tails, lets put it that way...anything more is too dangerous and Naruto begins to lose his control..." Jiriaya fingered the scar hidden under his clothing that Naruto had dealt him. At times it was still sore in the morning, a side-effect, no doubt, of the Demon Fox's chakra...

"Eh? Tanzaku? W-well if you figure we should go, I'm sure we'd be able to find our way to the springs--I mean, uh, the bar! Eh heh heh..." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head slightly awkwardly, he really didn't want to be beaten to a bloody pulp tonight...

[Tsunade]

" 'More time on research'?" Tsunade said with a raised eyebrow and a bit of a glare. "I could fix that in an instant, if you'd like," she snarled, sending that I-will-kill-you look towards Jiraiya. The hint was there, she was sure he'd get it. "Tanzaku's mixed springs, anyways. You might get more chances at your damned research, but that means it's easier for me to keep you in line." Nonetheless, going back to the mention of the Nine-tails... Well, it was keeping a good topic of conversation up. It was probably one of the only topics they could possibly speak of without her wanting to brutally murder Jiraiya.

Noting the somber sound of his tone and the look in his eyes, Tsunade fell silent. From what she could tell, from just reading it in his face, it had been bad. She wondered if it compared to that incident, and as her curiosity began to creep up on her, she simply had to satisfy it.

"How bad was it?" she asked, glancing at how he seemed to finger something to do with his abdomen. Obviously there was something that was abnormal with it now... "Does it compare to the time that I put you into a state of near death?" She knew he probably didn't want to remember that incident where she'd literally put him down to near-fatal wounds, but he'd been lucky that she was there to fix that little mistake, too. If she hadn't been a medical nin, chances were Jiraiya probably would've died. If whatever had happened with the nine-tails had brought him close to something similar to that, then he had to have just barely scraped by on the train of life.

"If it can compare to that... Then that's... Overly scary. Hell, I know the extent of the wounds I caused, and... I can say, there was probably a one in twenty chance you would've survived if I hadn't been there." She knew it was perfectly true, and in just thinking about it, a sort of worry crept up behind her eyes, but she tried to hide it in her face as best she could. It wasn't abnormal for her to worry about things, no, but it wasn't often that she worried about Jiraiya, of all people. It just wasn't her, really, but she couldn't help it. Around people - aside from Shizune and Jiraiya, of course - Tsunade rarely showed weakness, at all. To most she appeared tough, in-control, and somewhat hard-headed. Even being complimented by her face-to-face was probably one of the most amazing things a person could ever receive.

"To be honest, I think I could use a relax in the springs. I don't think I've relaxed in a long time..." She hoped he wouldn't take that as some way he could come after her in his ways.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head at Tsunade's threat on his life. "Oh, come on, its not like I've ever put you in one of those books...I'm not suicidal..." He fingered the scar once more as he thought about what had transpired that day.

Naruto and he had been training to see just what Naruto's limits were. Jiraiya had truly been forced to provoke Naruto further and further. At one tail Jiraiya had still been able to keep up with Naruto. At the second, Jiraiya felt he'd been getting a good workout, better than he'd had in months. At three tails it was taking everything short of Sage Mode just to keep up with Naruto. At the fourth tail it was a miracle that Jiraiya had even managed to place the seal on Naruto. He'd nearly died for that attempt as well.

"One could say the injuries are...similar. If were heading to Tanzaku and its mixed bathing you'll see for yourself." Jiraiya looked up at the sky tinged orange and pink with the dying rays of the sun. "The worst part is...the Nine Tails takes over...Naruto doesn't even remember anything that happens at three tails and above..." Jiraiya sighed and shook his head.

"We're getting so serious and we haven't even cracked into any sake yet! Jeez, what are we turning into, eh?" Jiraiya tried to keep his mood light as possible. He hated when he was forced to act serious, or at least more serious than the situation demanded...

[Tsunade]

Tsunade rolled her eyes at his comment about being suicidal. "So what are you saying, that I'm some mass murderer or what?" she said, giving him one of those 'yeah right' sort of looks. It wasn't often that she used sarcasm, but it came in handy. As he spoke about the injuries, a feeling of shock and care shot through Tsunade's being. The injuries were similar?! That seemed to hit somewhere inside Tsunade, not only in worry for her long-time friend, but also in shock. She knew she'd have to at least figure out the extent of the damage; perhaps there was something she could do about it, if there were any long-term effects. Well, that was another plus to the mixed bathing. She'd be able to assess it there...

"He remembers nothing? So... He mustn't remember that he did that to you, then,?" she said, trying her best to hide the worry that lurked behind her voice. She couldn't help it; she'd known Jiraiya for so long that she couldn't hold back her care for him. Of course, she had odd ways of showing it sometimes, and she could be rather violent, but... The injuries being similar struck her. She knew the sort of damage she'd dealt then, and she even remembered having to take care of it. It had been horrible, horrible like--

No. She wasn't going to remember that. She shook her head to clear it as the memories flooded up on her, the memories of Dan, and of the blood... She wouldn't remember it. No, she wouldn't; she simply couldn't. She was stupid... She was supposed to be a medical-nin, and yet she froze up at the sight of blood! It was stupid, really, because wasn't she supposed to be able to deal with that? She didn't know. At the mention of sake, Tsunade chuckled.

"Well, perhaps we should hurry, then... It seems to be getting dark, anyways. I don't need some old geezer chasing me down the street when we're trying to get to a hotel, thanks." When she said 'old geezer' she was mostly referring to the way elderly men who could be worse than other people she knew, but she knew that there were a lot of other people that would consider herself and Jiraiya 'old geezers' as well. Of course, Tsunade didn't really resemble someone that old, and neither did Jiraiya, but being in your early fifties did make a difference every now and then.

"We're turning into old geezers, and I'm turning into a perfectly serious Hokage. That sounds about right," she said with a laugh. Maybe tonight could be a fun night after all...

[Jiraiya]

((Noooo >_< first case of short-post writers block on the site T_T ))

Jiraiya shook his head quickly. "No, you aren't a mass murderer! I never said that, eh heh heh. Just scary..." Jiraiya again turned serious and nodded a.

"Naruto didn't remember a moment beyond entering a fourth tail state. Given enough time he would have continued to grow more tails until he was surpressed or he reached nine. We both know what would happen then..."

At Tsunade's comment about hurrying before it got too dark Jiraiya laughed and put a large smile on his face. "You're right, you just never know when some total stranger is just going to start hitting on you, hahahaha!" Jiraiya looked down the road. "Ah! We're already here! Not bad for a pair of geezers, eh?"

[Tsunade]

[[d'oh, better pick up some slack there!! XDDD]]

The thought of Naruto going to nine tails was a devastating thought, and Tsunade did her best to push it out of her mind completely. What was with her tonight? It seemed that everything was coming back to some sort of bloodshed or other... Perhaps it was just the chosen topic of conversation. Nonetheless, once they reached the bar they would surely come up with something better to talk about, something that wouldn't turn Tsunade into such a little weakling in her own mind.

"Wait.. He entered a fourth-tail state?!" Tsunade suddenly turned around, hands on her hips, staring literally up at Jiraiya. Absolute concern flashed before her eyes... Was the seal weakening? "I thought Minato made the seal stronger than that?!" Apprehension started to take over, but as she remembered his geezer comment, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I'd have a random geezer that's a stranger coming up behind me," she said sarcastically, staring literally upwards at Jiraiya. "God damn it, do you have to be so tall? My neck hurts." Well, Jiraiya wasn't really that much taller than her, but when you were up so close to a person and they were about ten inches taller than you, it surely made a difference...

"Now. Don't make me have to put you into a hospital bed tonight, because I gladly will," Tsunade said sharply, in a half-joking tone as she stabbed her finger into his chest. It was her way of telling him that she would if she really had to, but she still wouldn't do it on a spur of the moment. Then again, he probably knew that, but nonetheless, she thought she might as well get her point across.

"Bar first, I want sake. And maybe I'll play you in a game of cards... she said, knowing she'd lose regardless. Of course, knowing her, she would pitch in all that she had and have nothing left for her sake and the hotel. That wouldn't be good, but it would be normal for her, anyways.

[/quote]

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, he did. I don't even want to see anything like it ever again, but I have a feeling that it's going to happen...its only a matter of time..." Jiraiya shook his head once more. "Anyways lets stick to more cheery subjects." Jiraiya's comment had not only been his own desire to keept the mood light-hearted for his own pleasure, but he could only imagine what all this talking of what Naruto would do if he went out of control had to be taking its toll on her. A quick glance at Tsunade's slightly paler than normal face revealed that instantly.

Jiraiya grinned childishly at Tsunade. "Hey its not my fault for being so tall and ruggedly handsome that you just have to look at me. People all over the world are envious! You should be honored to be able to take a nighttime stroll and have a drink with the manly man in your presence. Many would leap at the honor." Jiraiya held his hands up as he spoke as if explaining everything away on a simple gesture. The mini-speech was designed to make Tsunade laugh and Jiraiya sincerely hoped it wouldn't backfire and end up putting him in a hospital bed, as Tsunade said.

"Bar first, eh? Going to make sure you still have enough pocket change to have some sake? I can understand, considering your luck, Tsunade." Jiraiya skipped forward a few paces to avoid any blows that would probably come his way for that last comment, but Jiraiya would rather have a furious Tsunade on his hands then a depressed and quiet one...

[Tsunade]

Tall and ruggedly handsome..? As much as she hated to admit it, in her own mind he was rather correct. For his age, Jiraiya was fairly handsome, she had to say, but she wouldn't dare admit that out loud. But the envious part, although she tried her very best to keep a straight face... She simply couldn't. It was a battle between her personal thoughts and her face muscles as she tried to keep it straight, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep it.

Finally giving in, she started to laugh. "Okay, if that's what you think then, so be it," she said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. When he commented on the bar and the sake, however, she was ready to just cuff him one because he was so right. "As much as I hate to admit it... Yeah, I need my pocket change. I'm going to lose half of it anyways. Though... I've noticed something with it," she said, her tone a little different. "Whenever I do happen to win something... I don't know. I just think it's a bad omen, and so far it's been. The last time I won something, we fought Orochimaru not long after, and I came to find that Konoha was in ruins after the Exams," she said. "So you better not let me win, or it'll result in something bad: your death," she said in a jesting tone.

Knowing her way around the place fairly well, Tsunade led the both of them to the bar and walked in, taking a seat in an area that was quite secluded from everywhere else. As they waited for someone to come to serve them, Tsunade pulled out a deck of cards. The cards were blue on the decorated side, an old deck that she always used when gambling if she had her own. She pulled out half of her money, set it aside, and replaced the other half back in her pocket. She sorted out four hundred yen and put it on the table between her and Jiraiya. Just as she did that, a woman came over and asked them what they would like to drink.

"Sake, please," Tsunade replied.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya was still grinning when they finally entered the bar. "Heh. Now that you mention it, didn't you also win a game of cards the night before Orochimaru..." Jiraiya trailed off. What he was going to say was that Tsunade had won a game right before he had fled Konoha. Jiraiya didn't particularly feel like reliving the past too much tonight.

"Eh? Let you win? Why would I ever do that? Besides winning once in a while can't be a bad thing can it?" Jiraiya kept his tone light, but both he and Tsunade knew that her luck operated in reverse to the rest of the universe. In some ways Jiraiya thought that in itself was lucky. If she wasn't so unlucky he maybe could've actually died that day he peeped on her.

As the waitress came by Jiraiya held up a thumb and smiled, closing one eye, apparently giving a friendly thumbs up to the waiter, while secretly studying her proportions. "80 cm, er I mean, sake please, would you?" Jiraiya smiled and as the waitress turned and walked back towards the kitchen, Jiraiya attempted to discreetly observe her as she walked around the corner. Jiraiya knew that his conduct would probably earn him a beating at Tsunade's hands but by now it was all reflex. I don't believe I could stop myself now if I tried, Jiraiya thought humorously.

[Tsunade]

[[We'll just kinda half make up the card game rather than go into details about it xD 'cause we all know Tsunade's going to lose anyways.]]

She remembered that a little too well, the fact that she'd won a card game the night before Orochimaru had left. Nonetheless, she'd have to keep this man in line, and already it seemed she was slipping from the look on his face. Leaning her elbows on the table with the deck of cards in one hand, she rested her chin on the back of her hand, raising an eyebrow with that same don't-make-me-kill-you look flashing in her eyes.

"Sure, perhaps if your luck's different from mine it might be good to win once in a while..." she said, trailing off a little. Fluttering the cards with her other hand, she quickly shuffled them and dealt the right number, slapping down the deck on the table.

"I'm ready to win," she said sarcastically, and glanced at her hand. Bah, she'd dealt herself a really crappy hand, that was for sure. It didn't surprise her, but she had her poker face on, hiding her lips just behind her cards with a straight face. Oddly enough, when she really needed it, Tsunade had a good poker face; now she just hoped Jiraiya wouldn't break that face of pure concentration she wore. Once the woman came over with the sake, Tsunade poured herself a small little glass of it and downed it with a single gulp; she was a drinker, after all, and sake was her favourite at that.

"If I win, I guarantee the omen'll be you in a hospital bed tonight after you've been beaten to near death by me for some unknown reason," Tsunade stated in a jesting tone, grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't bad to make light of her luck every now and then, and she could easily see such a thing happening, too. Laying down a couple of her cards, she took another small cupful of sake and downed it, sighing.