Wandering the streets of Uzushio, I couldn't help but recall my brief glimpse into the afterlife. These streets I saw now were broken and scarred, yes, but I could still clearly picture the village as whole and lively so, in a way, was it truly lost?

With a contemplative hum, my hands formed a familiar seal.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

I once vowed that Uzushio would be reborn from the ashes.

I never broke a vow.

Reconstruction of Uzushio was slow going and lonely work. I had the company of my summons and the other animals who had not left the island after the invasion but, for the years it took for me to build a new home for my once-people, I had only myself to truly talk to. Despite the solitude, or perhaps because of it, the work on Uzushiogakure was completed- though not polished or perfected- in a narrower time frame than I had expected. By the time whispers of the war had ended, four years after my banishment, Uzushio stood once more.

I couldn't stay in Uzu no Kuni, though. The ghosts of the village were much harder to avoid or placate when the village seemed all but untouched by war or the siege that had been laid upon it. As such, less then a week after construction was done I packed up my scarce belongs and left once more for the inhabited world.

The world hadn't changed much, I noticed very quickly, in the four years I'd been absent. The war had ended, yes, but the atmosphere was still tense despite or perhaps because of Konohagakure's victory. I knew that the victory was anything but solid, probably won by the skin of the Sannin's teeth, but victory was enough to stop the bloodshed.

Even with the war over, the business of a ninja never ended. As I strolled along through the streets of the seedy Tanzaku Gai, I knew that better than ever.

"And stay out!" I ignored the drunken stumblings and mumblings of the man who was forced out of the bar, walking away faster as he began approaching me. I realized as I walked faster, however, that his pace quickened as well, just fast enough that he was slowly but surely gaining on me. I was sure I was paranoid. The irrationality of the paranoia disappeared when a trio of men, substantially more sober appearing than the first, rushed out of an alleyway, grabbing my arms and attempting to force me to the ground.

"Every kitten has claws, boys," I warned lowly, standing my ground. One of the men leered at me, showing off a smile that was missing more than one yellowed tooth. It was times like this when I regretted not having a hitai-ate. It meant that I couldn't warn stupid men like these that I wasn't worth the time or the injuries they'd get trying to have a bit of fun. On the other hand, it was always nice to put the scum in their place.

"Got ourselves a nice-"

He never got to finish his sentence as I easily kicked him away. I twisted my hands around to break my arms out off the other men's grips and, holding their wrists together, all but swung both of the men towards the door of a casino. That was exceedingly unfortunate for a woman and a young girl who, at the very moment, were exiting that casino. Luckily for me, the woman clearly had ninja training as she managed to punch at the closer man, knocking him and his buddy both unconscious and a safe distance away from her young charge.

I did a double take as I took in the woman's blonde pigtails and the small diamond resting in the middle of her forehead.

"Tsu-chan?" I asked incredulously. What was Tsunade doing this far from Konoha? Where is her hitai-ate? Who is the little girl?

After a very tight hug, an invitation to her hotel room, and half a bottle of sake, all of my questions and more were answered.

Tsunade had left Konoha, abandoning it to its own devices after what she perceived as failings of the system. Her lover and her precious little brother were both taken by the war in the last handful of skirmishes against Suna. It was cruel to have lived through so much war, only to be cut down as the light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Unable to continue living in Konoha, plagued by the memories that the village constantly brought up, Tsunade had taken Shizune- the little girl who happened to be Dan's niece- and left. Just like that. I didn't blame her. She left Konoha for the same reason that I left Uzushio. Sometimes it was healthier to try to move on and let the wound heal with distance. It would leave a scar but that was infinitely better than allowing the wound to tear itself open with every resurfacing memory.

Tsunade and I didn't travel together long. We had left our homes to escape the memories permeating our respective villages but being around me didn't do anything but remind her of the harshness of her village. Conversely, being around Tsunade only made me think of Jiraiya and the life we might have had if we'd been given the opportunity.

We split ways after just a few months, in which Shizune had plenty of time to wrap me around her fingers. With a promise to help train her offensively in the future, the three of us would be drawn back to Tanzaku Gai to meet.

Tsunade and I made it a habit to get together once every other month or so to drink a toast to our fallen loved ones and remember the good memories we had together. I found myself looking forward to those brief flickers of companionship more than I would admit to Tsunade, glad for the ties to my once-home, but somehow I knew that she felt the same.

I found myself wandering the streets of Tanzaku Gai once more. Tsunade would arrive in a few days, I knew, but I had ended up coming early to our meet. The last hunt- which had been for a puppeteer for hire- had taken less time to complete than I had allotted so I had found myself waiting again among the less than reputable streets with time to kill.

Bounty hunting wasn't the nicest business to partake in but it was the easiest way for me to make ends meet without turning my back on my morals. I had standards with every mark I took- I only went after criminals and violent rogues for hire- and I had kept up my name in the Bingo Book with my hunts. I was still known as the Umi Ryokou but, with every month that passed, the name began to lose its meaning. I was the Sea Traveller but hardly anyone remembered why I had travelled across the sea to begin with.

Sighing softly to myself, I deadened my senses to the ever present white noise of such a city. So intent on drowning out the yelling voices, loud machines, even the rain gently pattering against my skin, I didn't notice the figure leaving a hotel until we had collided. The man's arms wrapped around me so quickly that I knew it was instinct alone that had guided his body and he began to release me immediately once he was sure I wasn't going to fall. After a flicker of hesitation from him, I blinked the rain out of my eyes, annoyed at the man.

The annoyance vanished as I recognized the warmth of those arms and the eyes of the man looking down at me.

Always looking down at me. Stupid Sannin for being so tall...

"J-Jiraiya." I hadn't allowed myself to say his name, to think his name, for so long but as soon as the name passed my lips, all of those old feelings were thrown back at me with a vengeance. I stopped trying to think about him so long ago because he hadn't sought me out. I had told him where I would be, but he hadn't tried to find me. For over eight years, he hadn't tried to find me. I thought... I thought...

Judging by the relief in Jiraiya's eyes, my old doubts weren't worth anything. He released me from his embrace, but only long enough to wordlessly reach into his pocket and pull something out. Tears formed in my eyes as he gently brushed my hair to one side, slipping the object around my neck and tying it loosely.

"Always."

My hand ghosted up to touch my Uzushio hitai-ate, once again home around my neck, and the tears silently escaped. I didn't give Jiraiya long enough to even think about forming a sentence, though. I threw my arms around the idiot's neck, dragging him down to my level for a searing kiss.