Only One Thing to Do

[usedhealingwave]

Who: Tsunade and Jiraiya; CLOSED
Where: Ekruteak City
When: 11/27, about dusk
Summary: Two ninja, weird place shifting, the obvious answer is alcohol, right?
Rating: Uhh. PG-13
Log:

Comments

[usedhealingwave]

It wasn't only him that had regrets, there were a few about in her own mind, though that was one of the reasons she'd turned to drinking lately. They'd slowly been creeping back up on her, threatening to turn her mind away from the peaceful-like nature that this place tended to offer. She had no obligations here other than to keep her team in shape and to keep them from being harmed or anything else. Caring for two instead of a whole village's worth was a lot easier than anything else and offered less chance for something bad to happen. Deaths happened, that was a natural part of the shinobi lifestyle, but there were so many things that could've been avoided but ended up not being avoided.

A small frown crossed her lips for just a moment, attention shifting from the bottle to her companion. That expression, on the other hand, got a soft snort from her. She certainly wasn't unaware of his intentions towards her or anything, but there was just that whole... wall of communication thing that never really ever went away. Not that she'd ever really admit to that fact, instead covering it up in whatever way was necessary.

"Why're you looking at me like that?"

[usedswagger]

"I can't help but be captivated by your beauty!" He grinned at her, more of a leer really, and refilled her cup. That wasn't entirely true, though her looks were a part of it. He was captivated by her fire, her strength of will, her compassion for others, her intelligence--he could go on all night. He could compose songs to her good qualities!

...He wasn't drunk enough for that yet, which was probably a good thing, because his poetry wasn't nearly as good as his prose. He raised his cup in a toast instead, crowing, "To Princess Tsunade, the ravishingly beautiful Godaime Hokage!"

[usedhealingwave]

An age-old answer, really. In regards she merely rolled her eyes, though the frown turned into a tiny bit of a grin. Despite the fact she found his comments a little less than amusing, it was still nice to at least hear them, even if she figured they were a bit more stock-worthy than anything else. But it was the familiarity part of it that made it quite a bit worth it.

"Idiot, there's no reason to be toasting me like that," Her voice wasn't terribly forceful on the subject, half-heartedly raising her cup in return.

"If we're going to do that, why don't we remember that this place actually thinks you're useful alive, hm?" Not that she didn't agree with that decision, but that was going to remain unspoken for now.

[usedswagger]

"There's every reason to be toasting you," he returned, with a casual air. His responses may have seemed like stock ones, but they had never not been true. Well, not since he'd finally decided that annoying her wouldn't work as well as compliment her. He'd only been half wrong, even.

Her next comment sobered him, relatively speaking. It felt strange to have gone to his death with acceptance and suddenly be alive again here. Here with her. Maybe it was some divine sign that he should do what he'd never had the courage to try before? "Maybe this place just knew you were missing me."

[usedhealingwave]

"There's not a single reason," she quickly replied, frowning a good bit more at him. She knew his responses weren't false, that much she'd learned a good many years back. But it was still kind of weird to hear compliments she couldn't really deny with any kind of authenticity behind it. ... As far as annoying and complimenting, both ended to violence, but complimenting at least got her anger to dull down quicker.

It was worth a try, wasn't it? A second chance, the divines certainly seemed to be pointing towards that. Tsunade shifted a little bit at the comment, looking back down at her cup for just a minute or two.

"Maybe so. It was weird thinking that out of the three of us, I was the only one left."

[usedswagger]

He stared at his empty cup, watching the last drop slide around the bowl, for a few minutes before speaking. "I didn't want to leave you behind. It was the last thing I wanted. I just-- I failed. Again."

That was a depressing subject he never wanted to bring up with her, ever. He took a deep breath before refilling their cups and trying to laugh it off. He was still sober enough to realize it sounded flat.

[usedhealingwave]

In return she remained just as quiet, ignoring the eventually refilled cup there. It was a sore subject, yes, but to hear him speak like that was a bit of a sore spot to begin with. "No, you didn't. He's gone for good, Konoha's rebuilding, but he's gone. I'd say it was a success."

Even if there had been deaths throughout it all, it was still something of a success. At least it left one less dangerous threat to the village and the people and that was what mattered in the long run, for the most part.

"But, ah, enough about that, hm?"

[usedswagger]

"At least I got the message out. I wish I could have done more." Jiraiya held back a sigh. She was right; he shouldn't feel guilty about it.

"Let's talk about more important things!" He grinned at her suggestively; that was always a sure way to get the subject changed.

[usedhealingwave]

"You did more than enough, more than we could've asked for." In the end it all ended up in the best shape, that was what mattered, didn't it?

... The grin, however, returned a frown in his direction. "Like what? Even drinking I'm not above hitting you, you know~"

[usedswagger]

"Well, we haven't gotten to explore the new town yet! We should do that, no? I bet the sights are even better under the sunset." It wasn't the best suggestion, but it was the safer one. Jiraiya didn't want to get punched yet; the night was still young!

[usedhealingwave]

"I suppose it'd be a good idea to do that, not that this town really looks that large." With that she shifted around to awkwardly stand up, getting up was the problem, walking wasn't that big of a deal.

Taking a moment or two she stretched, getting out a few knots in her back that threatened to be rather obnoxious. "Let's get going then."

[usedswagger]

Jiraiya grinned, and picked up more than enough sake to keep them supplied while on their tour. "I'm ready when you are. Which way should we explore first? Those towers looked interesting!"

Even as drunk as he already was, he was steady on his feet. It would take a lot to start effecting his balance.

[usedhealingwave]

"I'm sure the towers'll be a great first stop," she replied, grinning a bit at him as she took careful note of just how much he had picked up of the sake. Good, a nice supply, that would keep them amused for a good chunk of time while on this ridiculous little tour.

[usedswagger]

"We should do the burned one first while there's still some light, no?" Jiraiya hands her one of the jugs, having abandoned his cup in favor of just drinking out of the bottle. It meant he was drinking more than otherwise, but what was the night for, if not for sake and good company?

[usedhealingwave]

"Probably. Less likely to have any kind of light source at night." Gladly she took the jug, pausing a moment to take a rather large drink from it. Worked better that way, of course. "Maybe figure out some lore or see if this teleporting junk has something to do with it."

[usedswagger]

"Let's hope we don't disturb any mystical guardians or anything, no?" Was his response to that, as he set off toward the tower with a familiar swagger.