She blamed the sake…
Tsunade, a veteran shinobi of Konoha, one of the legendary Sannin, the greatest kunoichi to ever walk the planet, was terrified.
The cause of her fear?
A blond-haired, blue-eyed man named Uzumaki Naruto, the Hero of the Fourth.
The man she loved. Her… lover.
Lover… The word was so strange to her. Only one other man had held that title in her long-lived life, and he had been gone for many, many years. Love was all but nonexistent in the medic-nin's life after Dan died.
But then Uzumaki Naruto walked into her life, first as a snot-nosed brat with an overwhelmingly large bark and an admittedly larger bite, and then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he turned into a wonderful man who put others before himself. He became a selfless hero, truly and absolutely.
Naruto was loved by all. Konoha worshiped the ground he walked on, revering him as the "savior of humanity." All very true, though Tsunade found the title quite silly. Kakashi, now the Lord Sixth Hokage, had always cherished him, being both the student of Naruto's father, and later Naruto's sensei.
Suna nearly worshiped him just as much as Konoha did. Naruto had saved their Kazekage, Gaara, more times than either would ever admit, first from Gaara himself, and then from the Akatsuki, an organization that tried to force peace upon the world through pain.
Kumo had a strong opinion of Naruto, one that mostly stemmed from Killer Bee, the Cloud's Jinchuuriki. And there was the whole saving the world for the sake of peace alone thing, too.
Iwa and Kiri were of the same mind when it came to the "Orange Hero," yet another silly title, one that Tsunade suspected originated from the blond-haired idiot himself. "A savior of the people." "A true hero." These were used to describe Naruto on a daily bases within these nations.
General consensus?
Naruto was the messiah, sent by whatever god one believed in, to save the world from its worst enemy: hate.
Uzumaki Naruto sought out the hate in everyone's hearts, unburdening them from it with only one encounter. Tsunade herself had witnessed this ability, this phenomenon to connect with people, to completely understand their pain and, somehow, help free them from it.
He had done so with her, after all.
Tsunade had hated… well, life in general.
Life wasn't fair. It took and it took, and it didn't care about the pain it caused the world. She had lost her grandparents, her parents, her brother, her lover, countless friends… life took everything she cared about away, and she hated it for that.
And instead of facing that hatred head on, instead of accepting the help those that were still around offered her, she did the most cowardly thing a person could do. She ran. She ran away from her responsibilities, her remaining friends and family, her home… her duty.
For so long, Tsunade ran away from her past, drowning her sorrows in unhealthy amounts of alcohol, dragging the last person – at the time – in the whole world who she felt like she had left along for the ride.
But then Uzumaki Naruto showed up and decided to change… everything.
| An Equal |
"Why?" Tsunade asked, completely confused by what she saw before her. A boy, no older than Nawaki was when… when he passed away, refused to back down, refused to run away from his obviously superior opponent.
Uzumaki Naruto, the little orange-clad brat, stood in between her, and sure death. She was splattered with blood during her fight with Kabuto, Orochimaru's henchman, and her Hemophobia kicked in full swing.
He was hurt, too. First by the snake summoned by Kabuto, and then by Kabuto himself, using his medical ninjutsu as an offensive tactic. But even still, he refused to stay down.
"Why?!" she asked again, as he slowly rose to his feet, having been knocked down by the white-haired spy.
With great effort, the blond-haired genin stood, drops of blood falling down off of him, splashing against the never ending green beneath them.
"Tsunade-baa-chan…" Naruto managed to say through the pain.
"You're still going to get up?" Kabuto asked, irritation bleeding though.
Making a hand-seal, Naruto spoke. "Just like our wager, I will definitely win that unlucky necklace from you." She couldn't respond. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
She didn't understand why he created a Shadow Clone. It wouldn't do anything against his opponent.
"Enough… Don't protect me, Naruto." Tsunade begged. "Stop it!"
Kabuto brought out a kunai. "I told you that you'd die if you were obstinate like that, right?" Then he rushed the young ninja. "If you die, there will be no dreams, no nothing."
"Just get out of the way. Run away!" Tsunade shouted, wishing he'd just listen to her and not risk his own life.
Kabuto thrusted his kunai at Naruto.
"Humph… It's okay." The blond said, before grabbing the hand that Kabuto had his kunai in, catching the blade between his index and middle fingers. Red flowed down his arm. "I…" Tsunade could see her shock mirrored in Kabuto's eyes. "I definitely will not die… until I become the Hokage!"
Tsunade couldn't say a word. The amount of determination within Naruto's tone silenced her to her core.
"This way, I can hold on to you. Here I go!" Naruto shouted. Tsunade couldn't see his face, but she knew that he was smirking.
Then, the clone beside him began to spin chakra in his hand. She now understood why he had made a Shadow Clone…
Even as she witnessed Naruto driving the orb of pure chakra into Kabuto, Tsunade could hardly believe it. He had done the impossible. He had kept his word. He mastered a technique created by the Yondaime… in just a week.
"Rasengan!"
As the world seemed to fade to blue, Tsunade had realized, for the first time, just what kind of person Uzumaki Naruto was. And, for the first time in so many years, she didn't feel like running away any more.
| An Equal |
It felt like it happened just yesterday. The look within his eyes, the sheer power of his determination… it was breathtaking, even then.
He had erased all the hate in her heart with a single act of bravery. That's who Uzumaki Naruto was to her. Someone who would never give up, and never, under any circumstances, go back on his word once he gave it.
That kind of person, the person who was literally loved by thousands, now terrified her.
Not because he was the most powerful human being she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Not because he knew every single Kage in the Elemental Nations on a first name basis. Not even because he was able to completely tame the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and gain the favor and trust of the other eight Bijuu.
No. Senju Tsunade was terrified of Uzumaki Naruto for one simple little reason.
She was in love with him.
Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a problem. But…
But those Tsunade loved seemed to die far too early.
| An Equal |
"But it's a day off…" Naruto whined in a petulant tone, rolling in the bed stubbornly.
"Yes, it is. Which means it's a perfect day to train." Tsunade countered, smirking at his childish display. The two of them were in her house, Naruto having spent the night with her… again. They'd been doing so since her birthday.
"Why do I have to practice using medical ninjutsu anyway?" Naruto asked, reaching behind him to wrap his arm around her. "If I get hurt, you can just heal me." His eyes were closed, so he couldn't see the uneasiness on her face.
"What if I'm not with you when you go and hurt yourself, smart guy? What then?" She countered, placing her own hand over his, just feeling the warmth he gave off. She really loved that feeling.
"Then Sakura-chan will. She's been fixing me up since we were fifteen." His carefree smile irritated her.
She leaned down, her head now just above his, close enough to feel his steady breathing. "And if Sakura isn't there? If there isn't any Medic-nin around when you get hurt? What'll you do then?"
This time, he didn't have to see her to know that something was off with his lover.
Naruto opened his eyes, blue meeting bronze. And within those beautiful doe eyes, Naruto saw worry.
Tsunade saw it all. Recognition and understanding within azure orbs before they bled red, skin lighting with gilded fire, powerful hands grasping her, positioning her under a bright, powerful body that couldn't possibly be anything but a god disguised as a man.
In the blink of an eye, faster than she could possibly hope to keep up with, Naruto was on top of her, his gold-shrouded form close enough to be effected by the pure life energy that he naturally produced while cloaked. His red-orange, slit eyes peering into hers with a look that no one could possibly hope to escape. His gaze didn't allow you to look away, it refused to not be met.
"Then I'd heal myself." Naruto finally replied after just staring into her bronze eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Again, he was silent, not simply looking at her, but into her. It felt like he could see her very soul. "What's wrong, Tsunade? Why the sudden feeling that I'll need medical treatment?"
God… A commanding, intellectual Naruto was a hot Naruto.
Tsunade swallowed, somehow managing to break eye contact with her lover, turning to look at the wall to her left.
"No particular reason…" She tried to lie. "I just thought you'd like to spend some time together and learn something new along the way." She tried her absolute best to scoff. "But if spending time with me is such a horrible idea for you, then–"
Naruto gently grasped her chin with a gold-clad hand, bringing her back so that he could look her in the eye. "Tsunade." Idly, she wondered how he could be so gentle even when he had near unlimited strength and power within that gilded hand of his.
In an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability, something Naruto seemed to bring out in her more and more often, Tsunade spoke in a soft, almost weak voice.
"The… The people I love tend to die on me…"
Silence.
For precious, chaste seconds, the world seemed to stop completely. There was only the sounds of soft breathing, Naruto staring into Tsunade's eyes, his expression not betraying his emotions at all.
Then the proud-to-be Jinchuuriki of Kurama of the Nine Tails closed the gap between their bodies by hugging the woman he loved so tightly, there was no way to escape. With the hug alone, he conveyed more than most could with words.
He would never let go of her, and he would never let her be alone again.
"I've lost loved ones too, Tsunade." Naruto whispered into her ear, his voice gentle and soft. "We all have."
When she heard these words, Tsunade felt terrible. At least she had time with her parents. At least she made precious memories with her brother and Dan. Naruto, though, lost his everything the moment he was born.
His father, a great and powerful hero of Konoha, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed himself to the Death God for the sake of the village.
His mother, a beautiful and powerful woman that was loved by many, Uzumaki Kushina, was taken from him by the misguided hatred of her husband's student.
His freedom and prosperity of living a normal life was stripped the moment he was made the next Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, taking on his mother's burden around the same time he took his first breaths of this world.
His happiness was stolen by the very village that now revered him as a savior, its ignorance and fear leading to unjust treatment.
And even though he was able to get him back, his greatest friend had been lost to him for years, the shinobi world of hate and pain to blame for it all.
The Sandaime Hokage, a grandfather figure that Naruto depended on as a child, was taken from him by her greed-driven (and now "reformed") teammate.
Hyuuga Neji, a friend and rival, had given his life for the sake of Naruto's, dying on the battlefield for the sake of humanity's only hope, it's champion.
And worst of all, Jiraiya, the bastardly pervert who you couldn't help but care about, was taken from his life far too soon, dying for the sake of peace.
If anyone in the entire world could possibly understand her, it was Uzumaki Naruto, a man who had already lost so much by the time he was sixteen.
And yet, he never stopped smiling. He was so much braver than she.
Naruto pulled away, his eyes once again meeting hers, his skin of gilded fire so warm and fierce, yet also gentle and caring against her flesh.
"But they never really leave us." He explained, placing his hand over her breast. "We carry their love and memory in here, in our hearts. And as long as that's true, you will never be alone, because I will always be here." He then took her wrist and placed her hand on his heart, her fingers tingling in the sensation of pure power. "And you will always be within me, Tsunade. Forever."
"Naruto…" Tsunade leaned forward, pressing her lips in his. She had never kissed him while he was in his golden cloak, but she was now convinced that it was the greatest feeling she had ever experienced. It felt like unadulterated bliss was flowing into her with ever second that passed by.
"So, seeing as how we lose the people closest to us, we'll just have to protect each other." Naruto said after they parted from each other's lips. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, dattebayo. And if I have the super powerful and awesome Tsunade-hime of the Sannin to protect me, I'll be perfectly fine, right?" He said, his shit-eating smile making another appearance.
Tsunade didn't say anything for a few moments, instead simply staring at the man before her, the Hero of the Fourth, the Savior of Humanity, the Orange Hero… her lover.
Someone she was no longer afraid of.
Then, she smirked, her fear and anxiety completely gone from her body. She was the Tsunade again, a woman (and proud of it) who all other women aspired to be.
"Protect each other, huh?" She said, leaning in close, her smirk still on her face. "I don't know, Naruto, do you think you can handle that?" She asked in a playful tone, laughing even as Naruto's skin turned back to normal and he pinned her back down on the bed.
As he devoured her in hungry passion only one that truly and absolutely loved you could, she thanked whatever god existed for allowing Naruto to walk into her life. He was so different than most men, most people, even.
Even though he could probably take the whole world on by himself, he wasn't arrogant, a sociopath, or narcissistic. He didn't belittle those who were weaker than him (which was probably everyone except Sasuke). Instead, he encouraged people to be better, to get stronger and to love themselves.
He tackled people's hatred, and helped them conquer their inner demons, just as he himself had done.
He walked beside people, never in front of them. He stood beside the weak, never above them. He treated her the way she wished, even though he really didn't have to.
As an equal.