Ficlet: Sixth sense
Summary: It was a comforting thought - that Tsunade's sixth sense could also pick up on the positive aspects of life.
Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's.
Theme: 035. 6th Sense ( fanfic100)
Over the years, Tsunade of the Three had fine-tuned the art of interpreting her luck at gambling, or lack thereof, to the point where she could accurately tell hours in advance when some terrible, life-changing event would take place. It had been so when that slot machine in Tanzaku town had spilt its contents, heralding Orochimaru's arrival and subsequent proposal that had put her heart and soul to the test, and countless other occasions had only verified the strange phenomenon.
Today, though, was proving to be one of the worst days in her life and Tsunade was feeling rather betrayed that this week's lottery ticket had not spoken out to her or that she had not won a single game of dice or cards or anything for six days in a row - a remarkable feat, even for her.
Konoha was under risk of being destroyed before her very eyes and all she could do was try to keep as many people alive as possible using her summons, supporting the ninja under her command as they fought off the leader of Akatsuki, Pain, in the middle of the streets.
Sensing through the slugs that the enemy had changed tactics and had started to converge towards a single location, Tsunade was hit by the realisation that they had most likely found the one they had come for: Naruto. The situation had just gotten a lot more dramatic and Tsunade cursed her luck for failing to warn her of this tragedy in advance.
Sparing a quick glance at the ANBU team that was standing around her in a protective circle on top of the Hokage tower, the Fifth Hokage wasted no time in jumping over the edge and dashed towards the spot where she felt Pain's six bodies were headed as fast as she could. She had to get there in time to help Naruto, to protect her people, to confront Pain and show him how gravely he had underestimated the strength of Konoha with such a bold attack.
When Tsunade and her escort finally got close enough to see first-hand what had drawn Pain's attention, however, her heart got caught in her throat and all traces of confidence were replaced by despair.
Naruto - her precious Naruto, who had rekindled her Will of Fire all those years ago and made her realise that it was all right to have dreams and hopes - was kneeling exhausted on the destroyed pavement, covered in blood that she was sure was entirely his own and looking like he did not have the strength left in him to lift a finger - much less get out of the way of the deadly weapon that one of Pain's bodies was aiming at his head.
And Tsunade was too far away do to anything but watch the inevitable unfold.
A familiar flash of yellow chakra suddenly materialized in front of Naruto, though, and somewhere amidst the Slug Summoner's rush of instant relief, the thought came to her that she had never paused to consider if too much bad luck could ever indicate that something good was also going to happen.
It was a comforting thought - that her sixth sense could also pick up on the positive turns of life - especially since it meant that Naruto would be fine now and that Konoha's chances of surviving the attack had just gotten a lot better.
(4. Jan. 2009)
Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's.
Theme: 035. 6th Sense ( fanfic100)
Over the years, Tsunade of the Three had fine-tuned the art of interpreting her luck at gambling, or lack thereof, to the point where she could accurately tell hours in advance when some terrible, life-changing event would take place. It had been so when that slot machine in Tanzaku town had spilt its contents, heralding Orochimaru's arrival and subsequent proposal that had put her heart and soul to the test, and countless other occasions had only verified the strange phenomenon.
Today, though, was proving to be one of the worst days in her life and Tsunade was feeling rather betrayed that this week's lottery ticket had not spoken out to her or that she had not won a single game of dice or cards or anything for six days in a row - a remarkable feat, even for her.
Konoha was under risk of being destroyed before her very eyes and all she could do was try to keep as many people alive as possible using her summons, supporting the ninja under her command as they fought off the leader of Akatsuki, Pain, in the middle of the streets.
Sensing through the slugs that the enemy had changed tactics and had started to converge towards a single location, Tsunade was hit by the realisation that they had most likely found the one they had come for: Naruto. The situation had just gotten a lot more dramatic and Tsunade cursed her luck for failing to warn her of this tragedy in advance.
Sparing a quick glance at the ANBU team that was standing around her in a protective circle on top of the Hokage tower, the Fifth Hokage wasted no time in jumping over the edge and dashed towards the spot where she felt Pain's six bodies were headed as fast as she could. She had to get there in time to help Naruto, to protect her people, to confront Pain and show him how gravely he had underestimated the strength of Konoha with such a bold attack.
When Tsunade and her escort finally got close enough to see first-hand what had drawn Pain's attention, however, her heart got caught in her throat and all traces of confidence were replaced by despair.
Naruto - her precious Naruto, who had rekindled her Will of Fire all those years ago and made her realise that it was all right to have dreams and hopes - was kneeling exhausted on the destroyed pavement, covered in blood that she was sure was entirely his own and looking like he did not have the strength left in him to lift a finger - much less get out of the way of the deadly weapon that one of Pain's bodies was aiming at his head.
And Tsunade was too far away do to anything but watch the inevitable unfold.
A familiar flash of yellow chakra suddenly materialized in front of Naruto, though, and somewhere amidst the Slug Summoner's rush of instant relief, the thought came to her that she had never paused to consider if too much bad luck could ever indicate that something good was also going to happen.
It was a comforting thought - that her sixth sense could also pick up on the positive turns of life - especially since it meant that Naruto would be fine now and that Konoha's chances of surviving the attack had just gotten a lot better.
(4. Jan. 2009)