finally || naruto and tsunade

ix

"This is so cool!"

Tsunade didn't think so.

"Our first real mission together, boss!" Sarutobi Konohamaru shouted excitedly.

Tsunade mumbled something under her breath about damned offspring of old monkey bastards.

"Yeah..." Her idiot sounded conflicted. As he should be!

On one hand, he was able to spend some time with someone he viewed as a little brother and pupil. On the other, the little brat was cutting into their alone time!

Why that smut reading, poor excuse of a Hokage assigned a brat to her protection detail last minute was beyond her. Really, what couldn't two S-ranked ninja handle on their own?

It was infuriating.

"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade! I'll guard you with my life!"

The brat's enthusiasm pissed her off.

| Her Personal Sun |

After the first day, Tsunade got over her irritation at the less than satisfactory situation she found herself in with regards to Konohamaru crashing her trip, and found herself enjoying his company.

Naruto seemed different with him around, even more mature than she thought he was.

Sure, he joked around and acted a bit childish in Konohamaru's presence, but there was a subtle undertone of maturity to it. Like an older brother messing around with his younger sibling.

And they didn't just goof around, either. She watched Naruto train with the boy for at least an hour and a half the night before. It was oddly heartening.

Like... like peeking into a window that showed the future, or a possible one. One where... where Naruto passed down his knowledge to his own son, his own child.

The thought did strange things to her stomach.

Whether those strange things were positive or negative, she wasn't really sure.

| Her Personal Sun |

The soft click of her door closing was all the warning she received. It didn't matter that someone had snuck into her room, though. She knew exactly who this person was.

Strong arms wrapped around her after pulling the blankets back to allow entry. A warm body settled behind her, a warm chest pressed into her back.

"About time," she said, wiggling a bit into the body behind her, trying to find the most comfortable spot.

"Sorry," Naruto's voice whispered into her ear, his warm breath sending small shivers down her back. "Konohamaru was too excited to sleep."

Tsunade snorted. "Figures. That kid's way too much like you were back then." The thought brought a small smile to her face.

Naruto was Naruto, no matter how old he got.

She felt him chuckle breathily, tightening his grip around her slightly, much to her delight.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Tsunade nodded her head minutely. "Of course I am."

His breathy chuckle felt nice against her skin.

| Her Personal Sun |

The journey to the Land of Water wasn't too terribly long. Most of it entailed walking east through the Land of Fire (from Konoha, at least). After that, the trip consisted almost entirely of boat rides.