Night On The Town [Jiraiya]

[Tsunade]

As Jiraiya pushed the suggestion of notifying the other villages a little more, Tsunade knew she would have to put it straight to him. She didn't think that there would be any way that he would stop pushing the idea, but she knew he understood. Just the way he said how other villages would have espionage for the other members of the Akatsuki sent her the message that he understood... but Tsunade didn't think he understood well enough.

She was quiet as they both paid for their rooms and came to the staircase, him stopping to allow her to go further. "Shizune will live," she said, her voice just a little bit tense. Her heels clicked fairly loudly up the stairs and along the tiled floor, but she didn't really care. She was used to the sound by now, and the doors of the hotel rooms would keep the sound from entering to the ears of the sleeping residents. It seemed they'd gotten lucky; they'd been given a two-room suite with a door in between, right next to each other. Well, at least they wouldn't have to walk out into the hall in order to get to the other's room if need be. It made things a hell of a lot easier, that was for sure.

Once they were before the door, Tsunade turned around sharply, a look of pure determination on her face, and yet behind it, care. "Jiraiya. I'm not sending a message out to every village. If they know that we sent the message, the first assumption will most likely be that we are the ones with the espionage agent. Why? Because we are the leading shinobi village. We literally trump every other one. And I know that you know such a thing would put you in danger," she snapped, both hands now resting on her hips. "Jiraiya, I have a feeling that... If I lose you, I'll lose the last of everything I ever had. Yes, Shizune and I are close. Sakura and I have become close, too. But not as close as you and I. Orochimaru's gone. He's no longer one of us. Dan and Nawaki..."

Tsunade swallowed the lump that was forming her her throat, now fighting back tears. He was breaking her down, by making her think of them like this. She really would need some alone-time now. "Dan and Nawaki are dead. That leaves you, and only you, as the only person who's really close to me now. I'm not letting you slip through my fingers like they all did." It was taking everything she had not to break down and cry like a little baby now. She portrayed herself as such a headstrong, confident woman, and yet she was so weak inside. It pissed her off just to think of it. She hoped she wouldn't dare make a fool of herself and cry in front of Jiraiya. It would ruin everything she seemed to stand for in her own opinion.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya turned as Tsunade reached the door to her room. He smiled as Tsunade spoke. So she can show she care's after all, Jiraiya thought, almost smugly. After she had finished speaking, he picked up one of Tsunade's hands with both of his own.

"Alright. I won't go. But Tsunade, you have to remember that neither of us are going to be around forever and that if by doing nothing many people will die, I will do something, whether you like it or not. I cannot let myself be idle then, no matter the danger to myself. I know that you understand." Jiraiya looked into Tsunade's eyes.

"Tsunade...Dan and Nawaki are gone, it's true. Some day I will be too. You have to be strong, use that monster strength of yours. You can't let anything you feel for me get in the way of the fact you are the Hokage...Besides, how can I win you over during the festival if you're like this before it? My job'll be too easy!" Jiraiya grinned and tried to keep Tsunade's spirits up. He hated when she was depressed and brooding.

"Good night, Tsunade..." Jiraiya said, bowing politely before letting Tsunade's hand go and stopping in front of his door. He turned back. "If ever need me, call me, and I'll come running. I promise." With that said Jiraiya entered the room, observing the rooms features, particularly the desk already stocked with paper and pencils.

"Bingo! Time to start on that new book idea...Hmm, what should the title be...?"

[Tsunade]

[[fixed your tags for you, lulz... I think we can probably just do a quick timeskip where they're sleeping now, 'cause there probably won't be anything interesting going on anyways. Iunno, you choose, it'll depend on your next post anyways.]]

The worst part behind his words was that she fully understood that, and she hated every bit of it. If it came down to it, she knew he'd sacrifice his own life if it meant more for anyone. She knew he'd even do it for her, not because she was Tsunade, his friend and comrade, but because she was the Hokage. Konoha needed her more than anything, and that was the worst thing. It was one of the things she now hated with being in such a position of power; everyone had to protect her. Everyone had to give up their life just to save the head of the village. It was sick, in her opinion, but that was just the way it was. Just as she could send people to save the lives of others, she could also send people to their deaths without even knowing it.

As he seemed to look straight into her eyes and tell her that she couldn't let whatever she might feel for him get in the way of her status, Tsunade was slightly mesmerized, though she did what she could to hide it. Just for him, she forced a smile for making the job too easy for him, and she knew he was trying to cheer her up. Sadly, it probably wouldn't work for too long now. She watched him enter into his own room, then once the door was closed, she stood there for a moment, just staring at the ground. Shrugging, she opened the door to her own room and shut it quietly behind her. The room looked rather appealing to her; the desk was stacked with paper and pencils for writing, the bed looked comfortably inviting, there was a bathroom with a shower, and a dresser for one to put their clothes in.

Staying by the door, Tsunade methodically removed her heels and left them on the mat, feeling strange and generally shorter without them. It was a good thing she wore them, or her neck would've been even more sore with having to look so far upwards at Jiraiya. It didn't exactly help that he was almost a whole foot taller than her... And at times, it felt quite strange. It was the one thing she hated about being herself physically... Being so damned short. Walking further into the room, Tsunade sat herself down on the bed in the same methodical way she'd done with removing her heels, and fell sideways to let her head rest on the pillow. Uncomfortable like that, she brought her feet up onto the bed, not even bothering to really pull the covers over herself. She knew that sleep would await her soon, hopefully... But now it was time for a bit of release.

Burying her face in the pillow, she just let the tears flow, because she knew she just couldn't hold them back anymore. Partially silent sobs tore from her, muffled by the pillow as her red-painted nails grasped the corner, clenched hard in her strong fist. What kind of good would her "monster strength" be when it came to that?! Her strength wasn't even physically real. It was all chakra, and only her strong chakra control allowed her to have such monstrous abilities. If she had no chakra, she'd be weak. She wouldn't be the legendary Sannin and Hokage, Tsunade. She'd just be nothing. While she might've had this insane amount of physical-seeming strength, when it came to anything else, anything emotional, it wasn't hard for her to break with the right amount of pressure. Especially with the mention of Dan and Nawaki. It still hurt her, daily, to even think about them once; three times in one night was overboard. She'd almost stared crying like a child in front of Jiraiya, of all people!

Silently, the sobs began to subside as she fell into a hopefully deep, calm sleep.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya fiddled with the pencil in his hand, staring at the paper and willing the words to flow for this new story. As he continued on with his inner thoughts he thought he heard something from Tsunade's room. Standing up and moving towads the door Jiraiya could hear what sounded like Tsunade crying.

Baka, he scolded himself, That's all your fault and you know it. But...she needed to hear what was said, much as it might have hurt...she can't keep running forever... Jiraiya cast one last glance at the door between the rooms and whispered to himself. "I'll make this up to you...I will be the one that helps take that pain away from you..."

He turned and took a big breath, pulling out a small notebook from his pack as he did so and flipping it open. With his resources in his hand he started to write. He paused at the title and continued on to the first line.

"It was a time of darkness. Wars filled the world, and hatred was widespread amongst the ninja and people alike." Jiraiya paused, thinking what would be a good follow-up. After a few more seconds he continued to write.

"One shinobi was determined to end the fighting and hatred. "I shall break this chain of hatred," he would say. His name...was Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraiya, pleased with the start of his newest book, layed on the bed and turned off the light.

((Timeskip to next morning?))

[Tsunade]

The next morning, Tsunade felt a lot better than what she had the night before. Hell, she wasn't even really hungover; they hadn't had enough sake for that, because her body was just so used to it. As she sat up, she realized she hadn't slept with the covers... Meaning the bed was still made. Wrinkled, but made, and it didn't look like she'd really slept on it except for the soft dent about the size of her head that was left in the pillow. Well, whatever, she thought, standing up and stretching. Looking at the bright sunlight shining inside, she assumed Jiraiya was probably awake by then, and walked over to the door to slip on her heels.

"Get out of bed or I'll come drag you out," she half-teased, balancing herself on one leg as she slid the common heels on. A lot of people had often asked her how she could possibly fight in such shoes, but the way they were made, she didn't think she could fight with any other shoe on. She was too used to the heel they always had, and even walking around normally felt strange. Hearing not much noise from Jiraiya's room, she finished putting on her heels and gently knocked on the door.

"Come on, let's go; I don't want the springs to be crowded, if we're going to go," she said, crossing her arms. "Shizune won't come looking for me - or at least I hope - and I definitely want a good soak before we go back!"

[[craptastically crappy... Dx I couldn't think of anything.]]

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya who had spent deep into the night trying to assemble his latest book continued to sleep even after Tsunade called out to him. He lay asleep under the entangled in the sheets covering his bed as well as lying crooked across. The blanket covered his bare chest, obstructing his scar from view, but it wouldn't take much to change that.

As Tsunade spoke a loud snore emitted from Jiraiya followed by some incoherent muttering along the lines of: "Me? Heh, heh...I could...get to like...no please, it tickles...mmhahah...no please...well, if you...insist...zzzz." At this last a faint blush crept across Jiraiya's sleeping face, revealing at least some more context of the conversation within the dream.

Jiraiya scratched his arm and unconciously put his hand on his chest, further covering the scar that his pupil had caused. On the desk lay what he had managed to write last night.

"It was a time of darkness. Wars filled the world, and hatred was widespread amongst the ninja and people alike. There had been a boy who was no exception to the hatred raised in the Fire Country. Though he was hated and himself hated he said one day "I will break this chain of hatred. No matter what..." His name was -"

The book lay unfinished, the handwriting growing steadily sloppier as Jiraiya had apparently grown more and more tired. From the pile of crumpled papers lying on the floor, Jiraiya had been writing a while.

[Tsunade]

Some of the rather... Strange things Jiraiya seemed to be muttering in his sleep were quite irritating to the blonde woman, because she knew exactly what it was all about. Glancing down, she thought her shoe might make a nice projectile... But she wasn't about to ruin her heel, and it would probably cause a little too much damage. Then again... Even if she caused damage, chances were she could fix it. Groaning, she decided she might try again.

"I'm serious, I'll come drag you out," she said, her tone a lot more serious than before. Shrugging as she didn't get an answer, she began to poke around the room, finally finding a couple of the bottles of numerous objects in the bathroom; mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner... They were small enough to make annoying yet harmless projectiles if needed. She'd probably warn him once more, and if she didn't receive an answer, she'd have to resort to her form of violence.

"GET OUT OF BED!!" she crowed through the door, not daring to open it yet. Thinking up a few more ideas, she set the small projectiles down near the door and walked to the bucket half-filled with ice... It had obviously been set there when she'd paid for the room, and it had half melted by now. Oh well, the hotel staff could clean up the mess. She needed some way to get him back for the hell he'd caused last night, and this was probably the only way she could think to do it. Besides, it never hurt to have a little fun with a few pranks, now did it?

Bracing herself and trying to keep as straight of a face as she could manage, Tsunade set the bucket of ice and ice water down on the ground and picked up the small bottles. They were plastic, so they wouldn't cause any damage with how hard she'd throw them, but it'd still be a bit painful nonetheless. Throwing open the door, she quickly hurled them at the sleeping man, but her assaults were quickly followed by throwing the bucket forward with such force that the ice and water spilled out towards him. Once the ice and water had left the bucket, she skillfully shut the door and set everything back in its rightful place, locking the door between the rooms and waiting to hear his... Hopefully hilarious shriek.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya was laying on a couch, the beautiful girls of the establishment all gathered around him. "You're the Jiraiya? You're soo strong!"

"Oh ho ho ho, please, I'm blushing." Jiraiya drank again from the cup that the girls had kept full for him and felt the cool liquid drip down his throat. "Now girls, please, be gentle, I know my rugged good looks may be misleading but I'm actually pretty old. Hey, hahahaha stop that tickles!" Jiraiya was smiling when suddenly the door opened. "GET OUT OF BED!!!" Before Jiraiya could turn to fend himself off from the assault he knew would inevitably come from the source of that voice when she caught him in this place but was hit instead by an icy tidal wave with little plastic rocks in them.

Wait...what?

Jiraiya opened his eyes to find himself the former target of many of the little sample size shampoo bottles and a bucket of ice-water. The situation only took a moment to register on his still not fully aware system.

"UUUUAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S SWEET AND SUGARY THAT'S COLD!!!"

Jiraiya sunk back under the sheet, even though it was wet, it was still warmer than his bare skin. He lay there and shivered. And shivered. "I-I-I-I'm u-u-up n-now T-T-Tsundade...and v-v-v-very c-c-c-cold..."

[Tsunade]

Well, in her opinion, he'd deserved it, and she deserved a good laugh after the horrible night she'd had last night. Well, it hadn't been thoroughly horrible, but it had been quite detrimental to her in a few ways. She hadn't broke down like that in years, and to just hear him shriek the way he did and mutter about it being so cold absolutely brightened her day. Now it was time to return to her composed Hokage-like face and be the woman she was supposed to be.

She hadn't heard him shriek like that in years. It felt good to think about that, just for a moment, and to hear it when she was in one of her less violent moods. The last time she'd heard him scream like that - it was rather feminine, in her opinion, which made it even funnier - was when she'd beat the snot out of him and nearly killed him. It brought back very violent and yet hilarious memories of her younger years...

Opening the door, she leaned against the frame with one arm up and her forearm resting against it near her head, the other placed on her hip and somewhat showing off the bright red nail polish she always wore. A very sly and cunning smile graced her face as she continued to chuckle, raising an eyebrow and trying to keep herself from bursting into full-out laughter at the sight before her.

"So are you going to get up, or do I have to get another bucket?" she threatened lightly, drilling her fingers on the doorframe lightly. " 'cause, I mean, it really wouldn't take me all that long to grab another bucket full of ice, add some water, stir it around a little bit, and turn it into some more ice water if you'd like... You can warm up in the springs, so stop complaining." Sure, she knew she was being a little harsh, but it was all fun and games. She needed some fun every now and then, and this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to get it.

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya scowled as best as he could at Tsunade from his currently drenched state. "I'm going, I'm going. Sheesh."

Jiraiya stood up from where he was his bare chest fully exposed, scar and everything. Jiraiya moved to where his upper torso clothing lay ontop of his pack and scroll only realizing as he reached for his shirt that the scar was fully visible to Tsunade.

"Oh, right...well...now you know the results." Jiraiya shrugged and put his top back on. "Not too attractive for the ladies I suppose, but at least I can tell when its going to start raining now!" Jiraiya put on a big grin. Tsunade would be worried about the scar, he knew. She had enough on her plate to keep her occupied without himself adding to that.

"Well...did I hear you say hot springs?" Jiraiya collected his loose failed drafts and disposed of them, picking up what he'd finally fallen asleep on and folding it up, tucking it inside his sleeve. "Sooner we hit the springs the sooner...uh...good stuff will happen?" Jiraiya shrugged. At this point out his life was essentially in danger. Both he and Tsunade knew what he'd try to pull at the hot springs and if Tsunade actually caught him...well, at least Naruto had his old sensei Kakashi teaching him new things...

[Tsunade]

Just from seeing the scar, she could tell what the extent of the damage had probably been. Her face was in utter shock, and she knew Jiraiya knew she'd be able to tell such a thing. Even his light jokes couldn't break through her shock... It was bad. Worse than she'd ever thought.

"You're damned lucky you survived that, Jiraiya. Even by looking at it, I can only imagine the extent of the damage it must've done." Perhaps she'd have to teach him a miniature - without really beating the snot out of him, of course - lesson on dangerous ideas without her being around to save his ass. He surely deserved it. "Next time, send me a message when you decide to do something as stupid as provoking the Kyuubi. At least then I can be there to save your ass when you're near death." It was a snappy comment, sure, but she needed to get the message across. He needed to know.

At his mention of the springs and his obvious cover-up, she raised an eyebrow, took a couple steps forward, and crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest. "It's a shared spring, so don't think I won't be scrutinizing your every move. You made that mistake last time, and hell, I'm fine with digging your grave if it means there's one less pervert in the Hi no Kuni." She was joking about digging his grave, of course, but it was a warning that pretty much stated he'd be back into a near death state and probably be bedridden for quite a while. "And trust me, you'll be bedridden... Which'll mean no festival for you. Meaning, you lose." She wouldn't have forgotten his little gamble, not even for one second.

"Because not only will you be unable to dance with your legs broken in eight different places, but you won't even be able to talk with a crushed jaw and your mouth wired shut. Oh, not to mention a few ruptured organs and both arms severely broken - no, rather, the bones literally shattered - and a genuine loss of blood." She could be a real snot when she wanted, and that was only the beginning. The funny part was, she would do exactly that to him and probably leave him in that condition to at least endure the pain. She might fix the organs, but she'd cruelly leave his limbs broken and his jaw, just so he couldn't talk and whine about it.

"I don't think I need to go into the more gory details of everything. I'm sure you know." The fact that it was a shared spring would help in her ability to keep him in check, even if she was enjoying the hot water. "One toe outta line and you'll be in the gutter and out cold."

[Jiraiya]

Jiraiya shook his head. "You and I both know that that message wouldn't have done anything at all. It'd just have gotten you in a tizzy and then trying to get me to back out of it." Jiraiya shrugged. It was likely true and they both knew it.

"Shared? ...Aw nerts." Jiraiya mentally set his shoulders. This soldier will just have to do his best, surpass unsurpassable odds and... Jiraiya's internal monologue faded as he listened to the string of things Tsunade was going on about doing to him if he were to be caught.

"U-Uh...careful there...I don't think my stomach's quite what it used to be...okay, didn't really need that image before breakfast..." Jiraiya turned a slightly delicate shade of green. Seriously, where did she come up with descriptions for stuff like this?

Jiraiya raised his head as a thought occured to him. "Hey, its' a shared spring, right? Does that mean they've got shared changing rooms too?" The thought made Jiraiya perk up.

[Tsunade]

As much as she hated to admit it, Jiraiya was right on the fact that it would have put her into a fit if he'd sent a message ahead of time. She definitely would have tried to talk him out of it, but she hoped at least now he wouldn't dare provoke the Kyuubi again. If he ever tried to, she was sure to hear about it later, and that would mean she would really have to teach Jiraiya a lesson. Of course, as much as she hated to admit it, it probably wouldn't be a violent one...

She laughed when he seemed to be a little green at her words, one hand over her mouth as she continually giggled with satisfaction. It was good; he would have learned his lesson. "Oh, I'm sure your stomach will live. If you really want, I could make it worse," she offered with a laugh as they continued to the springs. At the mention of shared change rooms, Tsunade rolled her eyes. "No, no shared rooms, but I hear they're doing shared coffins now," Tsunade stated dryly as the entered into the building for the springs.

"Only two? Ma'am, sir, if you wouldn't mind waiting? The baths are being cleaned at the moment." Well, that was just great. Tsunade sighed as they were directed towards the comfortable couch in the lobby, and she sat down on it, obviously comfortable now. Little did she realize that her eyes were still slightly bloodshot from the night before, and as thoughts of that came back, she hoped Jiraiya had neither heard nor would bring the subject up again. If he'd heard her, she wasn't sure how that would affect her pride. Of course, it also depended on how he handled the subject, too.

As the silence crept up on them, Tsunade thought about what he'd said that evening, about the whole 'just one date' thing. Should she bother with it? In her opinion, it would just be bothersome, but... The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that there was a different attraction between them, something stronger than just friendship. She wouldn't dare admit it openly like he might, but she would at least admit it to herself now. She couldn't help but feel a little towards him in that sort of way; while looking like he really wasn't much and resembling just a large man, at the same time, he was rather muscular... And somewhat young-looking, to boot. Not as much as she might seem - her, in her fifties, and indisinguishable from someone in their mid-twenties - but he still appeared fairly such.

Not only was there the concept of looks, of course, but while he was quite a pervert at times - although Tsunade had the ability to control it with ease - he was also genuinely kind. He knew her inside and out, even enough to break through her tough exterior and break her down to what she really was. He knew her too well, and he knew her reactions to things, her personality, even a lot of her background. For decades they'd known each other, and that made a difference. His sense of duty, his kindness, his care... It all worked in. He knew when to be serious, when to be stupid, and how to cheer her up, at least to an extent. It definitely made a difference.

Taking a deep breath, she made up her mind. "Fine. But one is all you're guaranteed." She was quiet after that, wondering if she would regret her decision. "I have to be there anyway, as the Hokage, so perhaps I can at least get something relatively interesting out of it. Do you know any social dances?"