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tampered2007-01-21 09:32 pm
gamblingmedic.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-01-21 09:32 pm
Log; Completed
When; January 21st, noonish
Rating; PG
Characters; Shizune [![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
medicassistant] and Tsunade [gamblingmedic]
Summary; Shizune decides to tell Tsunade about her relationship with Kabuto.
Log;
Shizune bustled about the kitchen, the steam rising from the small pot she had set on the stove. The soup was almost ready, which was nice, since she’s taken a walk in the chill that morning, and it had been quite cold. And Tsunade-sama was here, which comforted her a great deal. The presence of her teacher, her friend, was soothing to her no matter the situation. The medic stirred the soup, checking. There. Done. With a small smile of satisfaction that she had been able to do this well enough, she poured two bowls, taking them gingerly in her hands and heading out into the living room. “Soup’s up.” Shizune said with a smile, placing one bowl in front of Tsunade before taking a seat beside her, bowl in her lap in front of the small bump of child.
Tsunade had been in a nearly meditative state, trying to think of how to address the issue. It really had surprised her at first when Shizune told her the child's father was a traitor, and one that she had a run in with at that. As much as she hated him, something in her told her that her assistant must have a good reason. She opened her eyes quickly as Shizune entered the room and gratefully accepted the food offered to her. Her mouth opened as if she was about to talk, but she slowly closed it. Shizune would tell her what she wanted to, and that's all she needed to hear.
Taking a small sip of the soup, Shizune quickly put it back down again, fanning the rising steam away. Too hot. It was with a slight tingle of guilt that she noticed the expression on Tsunade’s face. … She had always felt that, a slight feeling of wrong and unease about her relationship with the sound ninja that had only vanished when she was in his arms. Waiting a moment, she tried another sip, nodding. Warmth in her throat, her body. Finally, she spoke. “… It started when I first arrived here…”
Tsunade slowly blew against a spoonful of soup, cooling the hot liquid and taking a sip. It was good, as Shizune's cooking normally was. The younger woman spoiled her sometimes. She set the spoon back down into the bowl, deciding to let it all cool while she listened to the story. She lazily slid back into the chair she was sitting in, nodding attentively.
“… I didn’t… there weren’t any from our world, really…” Shizune continued. “… The ticking… the curse- it was a curse day- and… he found me.” She shook her head with a small smile. “I thought it was all a dream, you know? And he was trying to insult me, or… make fun of me, or something, I’m not sure… and he invited me to dinner.” The jounin almost laughed, thinking about it. “And he managed to talk me into staying the night,” She stopped suddenly, blushing. “Nothing happened, though! I still thought I was dreaming!”
Tsunade couldn't help but smile back, her only regret being that she couldn't have been there to see Shizune so happy. Thinking back, Kabuto did seem to have a good side, though to her it was all an act. She knew how love could make a person feel, and was glad to hear Shizune had been able to feel it, even if it was just for a while. "I assume Orochimaru was not present during this time."
“No… he wasn’t.” The mention of Orochimaru was painful, for it wasn’t until Orochimaru had arrived things had turned for the worse. “… It wasn’t… well, first there was this curse day… that lowered inhibitions…” She was trying not to blush, Tsunade always did manage to make her feel younger than her age. “I mean, nothing happened then either, but… ah, I got drunk… and I thoughtsomething happened, but it didn’t, and… well… we were talking about it later and he admitted that um, when we weredoing some things, he… wasn’t drunk like I thought he was…”
Tsunade could sense that it was a hard subject for the younger girl to talk about, and decided to help her a little. She smiled, a soft expression coming over her face. "Did you love him?"
“Then?” Shizune shook her head a little, pausing to take another sip of the soup, the warmth filling her. “No… not then. I was trusting him… though. Trusting I wouldn’t be dead when I woke up, that maybe I could talk to him… without worrying.” She was smiling, though it was hard to tell if it was a sad or content one. “But… then… Orochimaru showed up. … He moved in next door. We… talked about it… I thought I should go… but…” She shrugged her shoulders. “He asked me to stay…”
Tsunade visibly flinched. Orochimaru had been living next door to them? No wonder things had been hard. She leaned forward in her seat, eager to discover why the father of his best friend's child was no longer here. "And what happened?"
“… We grew… closer.” Shizune tried to think only of the good times, the times when she’d been at ease, could just lay out in the living room with him, not worrying about anything. But of course, it hadn’t lasted. “… After another curse day… he told me… he had feelings for me.” Shizune laughed bitterly. “I didn’t believe him, I thought… he had gone back to before, that he was only trying to hurt me, to play with my feelings… but…” Her shoulders were hunched. “It wasn’t until later, during a curse day… it made me understand everything. Why he did what he did, what he was doing, why… and I realized that he was telling the truth… that… maybe even If I didn’t want to admit it… that maybe I loved him, too…” The medic coughed into her hand. “That’s when-, you know…”
Sensing the pain in Shizune's voice and posture, Tsunade slowly rose and walked around to the other side of the table, sitting next to her. She took one of Shizune's hands into her own, placing the other on top of it and nodding at her reassuringly, trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible. "Yes, I understand. What happened next?"
Taking comfort from her teacher, Shizune closed her eyes. She had not been this open, this detailed, in speaking to anyone about her fleeting relationship with Kabuto, and it was both hard to do and something she desperately needed to. “We both knew it wouldn’t last. … When Kabuto began turning from Orochimaru’s cause…” A pause, before she found her voice again, soft, tremulous. “… He performed a jutsu to remove his memories of the past five years, and filled him in again according to his specifications. … It was… over after that.” Shizune smiled sadly and shook her head. “I actually thought as a medic he would believe me when I asked him to check his hormone levels, but…” Another shake of the head. “… Orochimaru addressed that by having Tayuya…” She couldn’t finish it. “… He wanted nothing to do with me, or the child, after that. And one day… he was just gone.”
Tsunade felt rage as she learned of Orochimaru's treachery, but she calmed the feeling back and stared off into the wall for a second. Her hand rose and landed on the back of Shizune's head, urging her to lean against her teacher's shoulder. "Shizune...I'm so sorry." She knew the pain of losing a lover, but having one turn on you instead seemed like it must be nearly unbearable.
She thought she was fine. She thought she could be mature about this, not show too much sadness, too much of anything, just talk about it. Calmly, sensibly. … But… Shizune leaned against Tsunade’s shoulder, eyes squeezed shut to prevent tears. “… Just… don’t you leave either, Tsunade-sama, please… don’t leave me here…”
Tsunade managed to force a fairly convincing chuckle, and rubbed her assistant's back comfortingly. "You were the one who left me to deal with those debt collectors." One hand still holding on to Shizune's, she squeezed meaningfully. "Don't worry Shizune, I'm not going anywhere."
"Okay..." Shizune mumbled. At thirty years of age, Tsunade-sama always did manage to make her feel like a little girl again, a genin trotting off after the legendary healer with a smile on her face. Her teacher, her friend... The medic rubbed the tears away with her other hand, nodding. "Okay." And for the first time in a long while, she thought that maybe things really would be alright.
Rating; PG
Characters; Shizune [
medicassistant] and Tsunade [gamblingmedic]Summary; Shizune decides to tell Tsunade about her relationship with Kabuto.
Log;
Shizune bustled about the kitchen, the steam rising from the small pot she had set on the stove. The soup was almost ready, which was nice, since she’s taken a walk in the chill that morning, and it had been quite cold. And Tsunade-sama was here, which comforted her a great deal. The presence of her teacher, her friend, was soothing to her no matter the situation. The medic stirred the soup, checking. There. Done. With a small smile of satisfaction that she had been able to do this well enough, she poured two bowls, taking them gingerly in her hands and heading out into the living room. “Soup’s up.” Shizune said with a smile, placing one bowl in front of Tsunade before taking a seat beside her, bowl in her lap in front of the small bump of child.
Tsunade had been in a nearly meditative state, trying to think of how to address the issue. It really had surprised her at first when Shizune told her the child's father was a traitor, and one that she had a run in with at that. As much as she hated him, something in her told her that her assistant must have a good reason. She opened her eyes quickly as Shizune entered the room and gratefully accepted the food offered to her. Her mouth opened as if she was about to talk, but she slowly closed it. Shizune would tell her what she wanted to, and that's all she needed to hear.
Taking a small sip of the soup, Shizune quickly put it back down again, fanning the rising steam away. Too hot. It was with a slight tingle of guilt that she noticed the expression on Tsunade’s face. … She had always felt that, a slight feeling of wrong and unease about her relationship with the sound ninja that had only vanished when she was in his arms. Waiting a moment, she tried another sip, nodding. Warmth in her throat, her body. Finally, she spoke. “… It started when I first arrived here…”
Tsunade slowly blew against a spoonful of soup, cooling the hot liquid and taking a sip. It was good, as Shizune's cooking normally was. The younger woman spoiled her sometimes. She set the spoon back down into the bowl, deciding to let it all cool while she listened to the story. She lazily slid back into the chair she was sitting in, nodding attentively.
“… I didn’t… there weren’t any from our world, really…” Shizune continued. “… The ticking… the curse- it was a curse day- and… he found me.” She shook her head with a small smile. “I thought it was all a dream, you know? And he was trying to insult me, or… make fun of me, or something, I’m not sure… and he invited me to dinner.” The jounin almost laughed, thinking about it. “And he managed to talk me into staying the night,” She stopped suddenly, blushing. “Nothing happened, though! I still thought I was dreaming!”
Tsunade couldn't help but smile back, her only regret being that she couldn't have been there to see Shizune so happy. Thinking back, Kabuto did seem to have a good side, though to her it was all an act. She knew how love could make a person feel, and was glad to hear Shizune had been able to feel it, even if it was just for a while. "I assume Orochimaru was not present during this time."
“No… he wasn’t.” The mention of Orochimaru was painful, for it wasn’t until Orochimaru had arrived things had turned for the worse. “… It wasn’t… well, first there was this curse day… that lowered inhibitions…” She was trying not to blush, Tsunade always did manage to make her feel younger than her age. “I mean, nothing happened then either, but… ah, I got drunk… and I thoughtsomething happened, but it didn’t, and… well… we were talking about it later and he admitted that um, when we weredoing some things, he… wasn’t drunk like I thought he was…”
Tsunade could sense that it was a hard subject for the younger girl to talk about, and decided to help her a little. She smiled, a soft expression coming over her face. "Did you love him?"
“Then?” Shizune shook her head a little, pausing to take another sip of the soup, the warmth filling her. “No… not then. I was trusting him… though. Trusting I wouldn’t be dead when I woke up, that maybe I could talk to him… without worrying.” She was smiling, though it was hard to tell if it was a sad or content one. “But… then… Orochimaru showed up. … He moved in next door. We… talked about it… I thought I should go… but…” She shrugged her shoulders. “He asked me to stay…”
Tsunade visibly flinched. Orochimaru had been living next door to them? No wonder things had been hard. She leaned forward in her seat, eager to discover why the father of his best friend's child was no longer here. "And what happened?"
“… We grew… closer.” Shizune tried to think only of the good times, the times when she’d been at ease, could just lay out in the living room with him, not worrying about anything. But of course, it hadn’t lasted. “… After another curse day… he told me… he had feelings for me.” Shizune laughed bitterly. “I didn’t believe him, I thought… he had gone back to before, that he was only trying to hurt me, to play with my feelings… but…” Her shoulders were hunched. “It wasn’t until later, during a curse day… it made me understand everything. Why he did what he did, what he was doing, why… and I realized that he was telling the truth… that… maybe even If I didn’t want to admit it… that maybe I loved him, too…” The medic coughed into her hand. “That’s when-, you know…”
Sensing the pain in Shizune's voice and posture, Tsunade slowly rose and walked around to the other side of the table, sitting next to her. She took one of Shizune's hands into her own, placing the other on top of it and nodding at her reassuringly, trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible. "Yes, I understand. What happened next?"
Taking comfort from her teacher, Shizune closed her eyes. She had not been this open, this detailed, in speaking to anyone about her fleeting relationship with Kabuto, and it was both hard to do and something she desperately needed to. “We both knew it wouldn’t last. … When Kabuto began turning from Orochimaru’s cause…” A pause, before she found her voice again, soft, tremulous. “… He performed a jutsu to remove his memories of the past five years, and filled him in again according to his specifications. … It was… over after that.” Shizune smiled sadly and shook her head. “I actually thought as a medic he would believe me when I asked him to check his hormone levels, but…” Another shake of the head. “… Orochimaru addressed that by having Tayuya…” She couldn’t finish it. “… He wanted nothing to do with me, or the child, after that. And one day… he was just gone.”
Tsunade felt rage as she learned of Orochimaru's treachery, but she calmed the feeling back and stared off into the wall for a second. Her hand rose and landed on the back of Shizune's head, urging her to lean against her teacher's shoulder. "Shizune...I'm so sorry." She knew the pain of losing a lover, but having one turn on you instead seemed like it must be nearly unbearable.
She thought she was fine. She thought she could be mature about this, not show too much sadness, too much of anything, just talk about it. Calmly, sensibly. … But… Shizune leaned against Tsunade’s shoulder, eyes squeezed shut to prevent tears. “… Just… don’t you leave either, Tsunade-sama, please… don’t leave me here…”
Tsunade managed to force a fairly convincing chuckle, and rubbed her assistant's back comfortingly. "You were the one who left me to deal with those debt collectors." One hand still holding on to Shizune's, she squeezed meaningfully. "Don't worry Shizune, I'm not going anywhere."
"Okay..." Shizune mumbled. At thirty years of age, Tsunade-sama always did manage to make her feel like a little girl again, a genin trotting off after the legendary healer with a smile on her face. Her teacher, her friend... The medic rubbed the tears away with her other hand, nodding. "Okay." And for the first time in a long while, she thought that maybe things really would be alright.