Chapter 4:
– Blake –
"Oh my god! My freaking legs!" I groaned, trying to walk properly. Every step felt like my thighs and calves were on fire. As a nephilim, I was naturally stronger than the average human my size and weight, but not by much, especially since I currently only had two wings.
And right now, I had 100 kilograms strapped to each leg. It was pure agony.
"Is it too much? I can lower the weight if you want," Shizune asked, her tone calm but her eyes watching me closely. She had that look—the one that made me blush because it felt like she was evaluating how much of a wimp I was. I know that probably wasn't true because of how nice she was, but it still felt that way at least.
"No… you said you wore these leg weights when you were 13… I can handle them," I said, gritting my teeth and taking another shaky step. The strain in my legs made every movement feel like I was dragging a car behind me, but I wasn't about to back down now.
I kept walking around the inn, trying to adjust to the weights. Passing travelers gave me odd looks, no doubt wondering why I was struggling like this, but no one stopped to say anything. This world seemed used to ninjas and their weird training routines, so I guess I didn't stand out as much as I thought.
After she'd cleaned herself up, Tsunade had gone straight to the innkeeper and paid for an additional room. Then she had the staff spread the word around town that the legendary medic was offering to treat illnesses and injuries—for a fee, of course. The line of people that had shown up was enormous. I doubted she'd even put a dent in her astronomical debts, but according to Shizune, it was nice for them to have some actual physical money for a change as they wandered the country. Apparently, hauling around IOUs and promises of payment wasn't exactly convenient.
I took a few more steps, trying not to collapse under the weight strapped to my legs. I wondered idly if I could even fly with an extra 200 kilograms on me, but I didn't want to call my wings out with so many people around. There was still a crowd gathered to see Tsunade, and the last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself.
Both Tsunade and Shizune had warned me repeatedly about showing off my bloodline.
According to Tsunade, ninja villages would go to insane lengths to capture people with rare abilities. She'd told me about how they'd drag people back to their lands and… use them. Her exact words were, "like breeding horses until they're completely worn out." The way she'd said it, so matter-of-factly, had sent a chill down my spine. I'd said it before, but this world was crazy.
Shizune interrupted my thoughts. "Are you sure you're okay, Blake?"
I groaned again, taking another step. "I'm okay, but I feel like my legs are going to fall off! How did you even manage something this heavy when you were thirteen!?"
Shizune shrugged like it was no big deal. "I don't know. You get used to it. Eventually..." she added with a small giggle.
It went on like that for the next few hours. Shizune taught me the proper way to move with all that weight strapped to my legs, correcting my posture and steps every time I faltered. After that, she moved me into a full-on workout routine that made my sparring session with Tsunade earlier in the morning look like a warm-up.
Despite Shizune being so kind and supportive, it became clear pretty quickly that she didn't tolerate slacking. Any time I slowed down or tried to catch my breath for too long, she was on me, nudging me back into motion. I pushed myself through endless push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, planks, and running laps around the inn's courtyard.
"Keep your back straight, Blake. You're going to hurt yourself if you don't!" Shizune called out as I struggled to hold a plank. My arms were shaking, and I felt like collapsing.
"I'm trying!" I grunted, adjusting myself and holding the position for a few more seconds before I collapsed onto the dirt. I lay there for a moment, gasping for air, but Shizune gave me a light nudge with her foot.
"No slacking. You can take a break when we're done with this set," she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument.
I groaned but pushed myself back up, determined not to disappoint her. The workout felt endless, and the fact that the line of townspeople waiting to see Tsunade only seemed to grow longer made it clear we'd be here for hours.
At least this world didn't waste hours on useless paperwork. Tsunade could diagnose people with a few hand signs and move on to the next patient without any delays. It was efficient, but it also meant there was no end in sight to her work.
...
By the time Shizune finally let me stop, I was sprawled out on the couch in our inn room, drenched in sweat and trying to catch my breath. My body felt like it was on fire, and I wasn't sure how I was going to get up again.
Shizune was kneeling between my legs—no, not like that!
She was using a medical jutsu. Her hands glowed softly as she massaged my sore leg muscles. The warmth from her technique seeped into my skin, relieving the pain and helping my muscles heal.
"You're doing well, Blake," she said as she worked on my inner thighs. "This should help you recover for tomorrow. We'll need to leave early in the morning."
I did my best not to focus on the sensation of her hands and instead turned my attention to Tsunade. She was sitting at the table in the small kitchen area, staring at a decent pile of money she'd earned from treating the townsfolk. It was obvious she was itching to take it all across the street to the local casino. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, and her eyes darted toward the window.
To her credit, though, she was doing her best not to chase the dragon and give in to her impulses.
"How long do you think we can keep this up?" I asked her, breaking the silence.
Tsunade glanced over at me. "What do you mean?"
"I mean moving from town to town like this. I don't know how many towns there are in the Land of Fire, but eventually, we're going to run out if we're moving every day."
Tsunade shrugged. "There are plenty of towns. But yeah, you're right. This isn't sustainable in the long run. It's fine for now, though. We'll figure something else out when we need to."
"We can always take on other kinds of work if we need to. Bounty hunting, bodyguarding… There are options. But for now, this is the easiest way to make money without drawing too much attention..." Shizune chimed in, still focused on massaging my legs–while I was doing my best to not get a boner with her face only a foot away from my boxers...
Tsunade scoffed. "Despite being as skilled as a Jonin, you've never done many really ninja missions, Shizune." Tsunade said. "None of those are as exciting as they sound. Especially being bodyguards for some pompous noble. They'll always try to cop a feel whenever they can, and if you slap them, then you fail the mission and the Hokage ends up yelling at you…" she trailed off.
Yeah… That sounded like it came from personal experience.
Tsunade reached deep and pulled a scroll out from between her large breasts before unfurling it and storing all the money on the table inside. She shot me a wink as she did so. I had no idea how she was keeping a scroll like that between those and figured she was messing with me using some kind of ninja sleight of hand.
Shizune was still massaging my inner thighs, but then her fingers brushed against my boxers, grazing a certain bulge underneath. She froze for a moment.
"Sorry," she said quickly, her cheeks turning pink as she brought her hands lower again.
I bit my lip hard, trying to focus on anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if I drew blood, but it was better than thinking about what just happened.
"You two are both so freaking innocent it's sickeningly adorable," Tsunade said as she slipped the scroll with all their money back underneath her shirt. She walked over to the couch and plopped herself down right next to me, so close our legs were practically touching. "I heard you did pretty good with your training today, Blake."
"Yeah… I gave it my all," I responded.
Tsunade nodded approvingly. "That's good. Slackers don't have very long lives in this world." And then Tsunade, who was already pressed up against me, decided to join in and heal the rest of my aching body after telling me to take off my shirt. She didn't hold back either, running her glowing hands up and down my chest and back, shamelessly taking her time as she erased every ache and bit of soreness from the brutal workout.
Having two women rubbing their hands over me while I was sitting there in just my boxers was bad enough. But with the way Tsunade's hands kept moving, I couldn't stop myself from getting an obvious erection.
"Wow, Blake," Tsunade said, full of amusement and...appreciation.
"That's… um… quite big. Would that even fit inside…?" Shizune mumbled, her voice trailing off as her face turned bright red. Realizing what she'd just said out loud, she quickly stood up in embarrassment. "Never mind!"
She bolted from the room, heading straight to her bedroom and slamming the door shut behind her.
Tsunade and I both watched her go, and Tsunade let out a long sigh. "Honestly, Shizune is a grown woman but still gets embarrassed like a schoolgirl. No wonder she's never had a boyfriend."
As she spoke, I used the distraction to grab my clothes and start putting them back on. I managed to slip into my pants and was halfway through buttoning my shirt when her words fully registered. "Never?" I asked, turning to her in disbelief. "But she's so hot!"
From behind the closed door of Shizune's bedroom, there was a squeak. "Eeeeep!"
My face burned as I realized she'd heard me practically shout that. Tsunade smirked, clearly enjoying the situation.
"That's what I'm always telling her," Tsunade said with a shrug. "But my apprentice can just be so freaking shy sometimes. I'm glad you popped up on the road in front of us. You not only cured me of my blood phobia, but Shizune has also started coming out of her shell. She barely ever spoke to anyone who wasn't me, and she never went out of her way to talk to any young men… or touch their crotches." She giggled, her eyes flicking down to my lap again.
"R-right," I sputtered, struggling to keep my composure as I finished buttoning my shirt.
"Let's give her some time to sort herself out and calm down," Tsunade suggested. "How about we go for a walk around the town? Might as well take in the sights before we're forced to leave first thing in the morning."
…
It wasn't a very large town, but it was surprisingly densely packed. There was a nearby community of farmers, and this was apparently the place for them all to meet up and shop for supplies. The streets were bustling, filled with the chatter of locals and the smells of food wafting from various stalls.
I used some of the money Tsunade had lent me to grab a couple of meat skewers from a stand. The vendor gave me a friendly nod as I handed over the coins, and I walked back to where Tsunade was waiting.
"Here," I said, passing her one of the skewers.
"Thanks," she replied, taking it with a small smile. We started walking again, eating as we went and checking out the sights. The food was simple but delicious, the perfect thing to refuel after a long day.
"This is nice," Tsunade said bluntly after a few moments. "It's been a while since I've been on a date."
I nearly choked on my skewer. "Do you have to always be so teasing?" I asked after swallowing, shooting her a look.
She chuckled between bites of her own skewer. "It's part of my charm." Then she bumped her shoulder into mine as we walked. "What's the matter? Are you ashamed to be on a date with such a beautiful older woman?"
"Not at all," I told her quickly. "If you really consider this to be one." I hesitated for a moment before admitting, "Although, I guess I should say I'm not exactly experienced in the whole 'dating' thing. I'm kind of like Shizune in that way. I've never had a girlfriend before or much experience with women at all."
"Really?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Are the girls in your world blind or something?"
I shook my head. "It was more my problem than theirs. Fallen angels are naturally creatures that indulge in sin more than regular humans. And with my fallen angel half sealed away, so was most of my libido." I paused, then added, "My friend Peter always thought I was crazy when I had so many girls at school propositioning me and I never bothered to give them the time of day."
Tsunade smirked. "Peter sounds like he was probably onto something."
"Maybe," I admitted. "Although, I couldn't help but be a little grateful, too. I didn't want to end up a dad that soon."
Tsunade giggled at that.
She then glanced at me. "You know, you've got me curious. Why don't you tell me a little more about your race and your world?"
I nodded at her. "If you tell me more about this world too."
We wandered a bit more before finding a small park that was mostly empty except for some kids playing. We sat down on a bench, and we just talked.
It was nice.
I told her everything I knew about the supernatural aspects of my world, everything my father, Barakiel, and my mother, Shuri, had shared with me. I even went into detail about everything that had happened to me leading up to this point. It probably took me a good half hour to get through it all.
"Wow," Tsunade said when I finally finished. "The gods are a lot more active in your world than in this one."
That caught my interest. I tilted my head curiously. "This world has its own gods?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Although I don't know much about them myself. I can tell you for sure that there's a shinigami—a god of death." And then she mentioned that this world also has its own version of Buddha. There were also rumors about some new blood god being worshipped in other lands, but she hasn't been able to confirm if it's true or just some random new cult.
"Tell me more about those time-traveling girls," Tsunade said after a moment. "The ones that declared they loved you…" she added with a smirk.
I blushed a bit at the memory. "Jean and Emma. They were both very, very beautiful," I said fondly. "They showed up about a week ago and had blatantly been trying to hang out with me at every opportunity. I don't know if they're crazy or not, but they both obviously had powers and were mutants." It was still pretty crazy to believe mutants were real. The rest of the supernatural world looked down on humans, thinking they were weak, but the existence of mutants changed things drastically. I still remember a ten winged fallen angel like Kokabiel getting manhandled by Jean and Emma.
"That's not a very nice word for the girls simply having special bloodlines," Tsunade said curiously. "Then again, you told me that the vast majority of humans in your world aren't even aware of chakra or any other special powers. And yet a bunch of them follow the teachings of this Bible book… which is literally full of such amazing feats."
"Yeah, it never really made much sense, but that's just the way people in my world are. They prefer blissful ignorance, but if crazy fallen angels and mutants are going to start fighting in the streets, I don't think that ignorance will last very long," I said.
"I imagine you'll want to find a way back to your own world…" Tsunade said, her tone dipping slightly. "Shizune will be sad…"
For some reason, I got the feeling that it wasn't only Shizune who'd be sad. I gulped before saying, "I could always come back and visit… as soon as I figure out how I even got here in the first place."
That made Tsunade smile at me.
"Maybe you have another bloodline?" Tsunade suggested. "You said you were half-human, right? Are you sure you're not also a mutant?"
"I… I hadn't even considered that," I admitted. Was that how I ended up here? If that was the case, that was just one more power I was going to need to master.
"You need to figure out how to use your holy lightning as well," Tsunade pointed out. I had told her about how I first used it to get revenge and kill the men who attacked my family all those years ago. I still felt it inside of me, but I'd been sealed for so long that I didn't think I had enough magical power to properly use it yet. Not without passing out from the strain.
One day, I'd find whoever sealed away my bloodline, memories and took me from my sister…and we would be having words. Violent words.
Tsunade suddenly poked me between the eyebrows, cutting off my thoughts. "You look like you're thinking too hard about something probably far off in the future," she said. "Take your time to live in the moment more."
I rubbed my forehead and smirked at her playfully. "You're right, of course. I'm on a date with a beautiful older woman and should properly enjoy it. What should we do next?" I tried my best at teasing her.
Clearly, I was trying to tease a master because my bravado didn't even faze her. In fact, she immediately turned it right back on me.
"Maybe we should try this," Tsunade said, leaning in quickly.
My eyes widened in surprise as her soft lips suddenly pressed against mine. Tsunade was kissing me! Her lips moved against mine, slowly at first. Until I caught up and did my best to reciprocate!
We continued kissing, just like that before she pulled her lips back, her cheeks slightly pink.
I had a feeling my face mirrored hers. "Um… isn't this a little fast? And what about Shizune?"
Tsunade smiled at me. "Thank you for being so considerate, but Shizune and I talked about this last night. We're both grown women and have known each other for years and don't mind sharing a nice charming and handsome man. If anything more than some harmless fun comes from this, then we'll see how it goes from there." Her compliments and explanation made me blush even more.
I didn't get to ask any more questions because my brain pretty much shut off when Tsunade leaned in and kissed me again. This time her lips moved against mine more aggressively. I even felt her tongue push against my lips and parted them slightly. Our tongues started tangling together.
I hoped I was doing a good job reciprocating everything that was happening do to my lack of general experience, but since Tsunade wasn't stopping to complain, I figured I was.
We stayed on that bench for who knows how long, making out and losing track of time. Things might have gotten even hotter and heavier if we weren't still in the middle of a public park. People were starting to notice us, and a couple of obviously jealous men and women were shooting us envious looks.
Tsunade and I couldn't help but chuckle as we both stood up from the bench.
"That was, um… very nice," I told her.
"It was very nice," Tsunade agreed. "We should do it again sometime soon… preferably without any interruptions. But I suppose we should head back to the hotel now. Shizune is probably wondering where we are, and we need to be up early tomorrow…"
XXX