Title: I Hate Heroes.
Series: Naruto Pairing: Tsunade x Shizune Author's note: They haven't said in the show yet how these two meet, so I decided to take a shot at it. Expect sap and yuri-ness. No real spoilers for the show, just my muses playing around. This obviously takes place a little after Tsunade left the leaf village. It doesn't need an exact date, you get the idea.
It was late in the night and all the houses of the town were closing their doors and windows down. Late enough that the sun had set quite some time ago and the streets were deserted save for the occasional procrastinator who elected to get a drink rather then wander home to their own bed. The heat of the day was lingering into the night, upset only by a small breeze just cool enough to remind you their was air around you, but not much else.
A tugged close top and a bag hitched on one shoulder accompanied the young woman as she walked down the road. In the night time silence she could only hear her shoes on the gravel road beneath her and the occasional shout or cat call from the local bar. Neither bothered her, in fact she actually enjoyed the silence around her. After a long day's work and walk to the next town it was refreshing to suddenly be the only one around, rather then listening to panicked voices from impatient onlookers and relatives.
She wasn't much to look at initially and actually quite normal when one did catch a better glimpse of her. Her dull brown hair was cut unevenly, short enough to just brush the bottoms of her ears and stay out of the way on it's own as she did her daily work. The dull color of her hair was echoed in her eyes, which were just a shade between brown and black, containing little to no color unless she were in a bright light. And the normalness was echoed in her clothing, quite intentionally, by the simply cut short brown kimono and black sandals. A white belts wrapped around her waist served the double purpose of belt and needle holder, aiding her in whatever she or her talents were needed for. Normally she didn't carry such a bag as the large pouch laying over her shoulder. This was a favor for a friend, in reality she hated such large bags.
Her quiet steps carried her down the road and around a corner, to stop at a small cart which was still lit up and still cooking food for the night. Scents of various fried and boiled foods filled the air around the cart and she stopped for a moment to savor the smells, before ducking under the short curtain and smiling at the owner.
"Shizune, I was wondering when you would get back. Tough trip?" The man was quite a bit older then her, most likely twice her age. But he was quite pleasant and quite healthy from his days as a young and talented ninja of the town. Somewhere along the line he'd decided to lay down his throwing daggers and pick up a pair of chopsticks and it had only seemed to make him a happier man. Some people enjoyed protecting others from death, while others took pleasure in keeping others alive with such simple things as food and the occasional bottle of sake. He had always been one of the latter.
"No, just long. There were a lot of little errands on the way." She slid the bag off her shoulder and handed it to him, careful so the strap didn't drop into the small vats of grease he used to cook his food. "Here's all that you need. I took the liberty of adding a couple extra spices that you might want to experiment with. One of the ladies in town offered them as payment and I really have no need for them."
The man seemed surprised and his normal greeting smile turned warmer. "Thank you. I'll be sure to let you be the first one to sample them." He took the bag and his smile wilted just a bit as he glanced over at the lady sitting next to Shizune. The lady had just finished off another bottle of sake and had set it out, silently asking for another.
Shizune turned her head to look at the woman next to her. The blond woman actually ended up looking only about a year or two older then her, but certainly not as normal. As much as she hated to admit it, the first thing that Shizune noticed was that the woman was quite well endowed for her age and it looked good on her, in spite of the drunken slouch which she was now sitting in. Her cheeks were covered with a red blush from the drink, attempting to hide a pretty but stubborn face. Shizune didn't have to ask, she could tell that this one, when not drunk and about to fall over, was quite a determined spirit.
"You've had enough for the night. You should head home," the older man took the white bottle and began to clean it with a cloth as he watched her. A frown crossed the woman's face, and she shot him a small glare, but otherwise didn't move.
Shizune sighed a bit. It never quit. Leaning over she touched the woman's arm.
"Come on, I'll help you to the local inn."
The woman's glare leveled on Shizune and she jerked her arm back from the touch, obviously not accepting any help. Shizune frowned back at her and stood up. Without waiting for permission she slide her hands under the woman's arms and pulled her off the stool forcing her to her feet.
The woman responded angrily and stood up quite well on her own, or at least enough to shove Shizune down onto the ground. It was quite obvious she didn't want any help. But Shizune had had a long day, and the last thing she wanted to deal with right now was some prissy, beautiful drunk lady with a bad attitude. Moving close to the woman she grabbed her arm and moved with the intended throw. It was just enough to get close, then she spit a small needle from her mouth. It struck it's target, landing in the woman's neck and immediately she began to calm down.
Shizune moved and caught the now stumbling woman, letting her lean on her shoulder as her world spun around and her consciousness floundered. "I'll see you tomorrow," she called to the booth owner, then began the long work of leading the staggering woman back to her home.
"The last thing I need is a sedative," the woman half grumbled as she struggled to keep her footing through the door of the small one room cottage at the edge of town.
"And the last thing I need is some drunken woman beating me to the ground for trying to help her after a very long day. You can sleep here and yell at me in the morning when you're sober." She moved the woman over to the bed and ended up nearly dropping her there. Ignoring the annoyed snort and any other protests Shizune helped her take off her shoes and covered her with a blanket. Finally the woman stopped protesting and her eyes slid shut as she stopped fighting against the sedative.
Shizune sighed and slid off her own shoes, tossing them over by the door. Grabbing the extra blanket she settled down to sleep in the corner, tucking it around herself and using the wooden and clay covered wall for a pillow. It was an old habit, she'd taken home drunks before to let them rest. There'd been too many times where a drunk had refused to leave the booth, then the next morning had created quite a ruckus about his treatment the next morning. It was the least she could do to let the person borrow her bed until they were able to sleep it off. The local inn didn't like patrons who weren't sober enough to pay before they got the room.
It wasn't that she was a bleeding heart or too naive to realize she could be taken advantage of, but more that Shizune was in the habit of doing everything she could for those around her. It often left her spent with long days and little sleep, but it was something she felt good about doing. If she could do it, she did, usually without accepting much in return. She was the little known and barely mentioned savior of the town. However the towns people viewed her as little more then an errand girl. It wasn't much to speak of in any way at all, but she didn't mind. She didn't care because every night she fell asleep with the sense she'd accomplished many things. And that was what was most important to her.
Tsunade woke up the next morning with a rather large headache. She rolled over in the bed and gave a soft moan, rubbing her forehead a bit. One would think that one of the infamous sanin would actually be able to hold her alcohol without a major hangover the next morning, especially one who'd gotten into the habit of drinking nearly every night. But no, of course not, even with the jitsu she'd discovered to change her aging ability, she still didn't have a complete cure for the morning hangover until after it hit. This of course meant that she had to concentrate to channel her charka to the correct area to clear the pain, while experiencing it. Master ninja or not, it was a horrible way to start the morning.
She'd never get used to it no matter how much she tried, but she was at least able to do it at a relatively quick speed. Massaging her temple she closed her eyes and focused her charka to that area, letting the warm energy flow fill her mind and chase away the morning pain and haze. A moment later it was gone and she pushed herself into a sitting position as she surveyed her surroundings.
The small house around her could barely be called even that. It was small, a single room and even had a dirt floor that was snuggly packed with ages of walking, but still dirt. A rug covered the area in the center of the floor, doing it's best to hide the fact of the mud floor, but it fell short of covering the edges near the walls and bed. Her bed was situated in a back corner, while the front wall had the workings of a rather simple and barely used kitchen. A chest of clothing next to the bed was closed and locked and looked to be the only thing of any type of value in the entire house. Nothing else seemed even in the same century and Tsunade highly doubted there was even a lock on the door, thanks to there being nothing to steal or even look at.
Memories of the night before drifted into her mind and she frowned, remembering what had happened. She'd drunk herself into a nice mindless stupor at one of the roadside carts and hadn't wanted to be disturbed until it wore off. Unfortunately the particular cart she'd chosen wasn't an all night cart as they usually were and she'd been kicked out.
Not kicked out. Drugged and dragged away to be exact.
Tsunade rubbed the side of her neck where she remembered the needle hitting. The skin was still a bit numb, but the drug had worn off long ago. Had she not been quite so drunk last night she would have easily been able to fight the drug, but as it were she hadn't been given enough time to even consider it, before she found herself being blindly helped down a road and dropped unceremoniously into a bed.
The least the person could have done was taken her to the local inn. She would have paid, or at least gambled her way out of a room.
She found said person sitting in the corner, resting with her head resting against the wall, looking more like she'd fallen asleep while being sentenced to time-out, rather then a hostess who decided to give up her bed for the night. To Tsunade the girl was very simple looking, someone who could easily disappear into a crowd, not because of years of practice but because there was nothing about her that was really remarkable enough to remember. Unless of course she used her needles.
Tsunade frowned and stood up, stretching a bit, then she walked over to the corner. Kneeling down she shook the woman's shoulder a bit.
Plain and very boring brown eyes blinked open in surprise, before closing again as she gave a small yawn. Sitting up the girl rubbed her eyes.
"You could have taken me to an inn. You shouldn't sleep in the corner."
The girl shrugged as she stood up. "The local inn doesn't accept drunk patrons. They would have kicked you back out onto the street."
"So you're answer is to drug me and drop me off in your bed?"
A frown crossed her face and she turned a glare on Tsunade. "Would you have rathered I dumped you on the street? And the drug was to keep you from punching me into the wall."
"You shouldn't have tried to move me. I was fine on my own."
"Fine on your own?" The girl glared more. "He was closing shop and he already asked you to leave, you didn't listen. It's just plain rude to expect him to stay up and away from his family just so you can drink yourself into oblivion. Fine if you have problems, do not make others accountable for them. He has every right to go home to his family at night and you have no right to keep him there. And as for me drugging you, I see it didn't improve your mood any. I gave you a free bed to sleep in for the night and the last thing I want to do is wake up to some fight. The least you could do is say 'thank you'." With those words she shoved past Shizune and stepped outside of the house, into the back yard, nearly stomping on the ground as she walked.
Tsunade couldn't even muster the anger to glare after her, she was too surprised.
"Maybe that drug is still affecting me," she muttered as she walked over to the bed and dropped back on it, a hand resting over her head.
How in the world had that blown up like it did? She'd spent a couple years now wandering from town to town, with no real destination in mind. Most of her time was spent dealing with bar tenders, cart owners and anyone who was willing to entertain her small addiction to gambling. But none of those ended up being independently spirited girls who took it upon themselves as a daily routine to help take care of drunken people so their friends could go home at night. The people she was used to dealing with were never that self-less. But had it really been so long that she'd be taken this much off guard?
This girl owned nothing, that much was obvious by the style and set up of her home. But it wasn't for lack, rather for choice. She wasn't thin or sickly like most homeless were, instead she was quite healthy and probably had quite the strong punch if she ever raised her hand to do something else then help a person.
How often was it that she helped strangers like this in such a way? Even more important, Tsunade realized, how many times had she been snubbed and disrespected like she just was right now. The girl had made a valid point, she had helped Tsunade. She did deserve at least a thank you.
Tsunade hated to apologize.
Standing up from the bed she walked to the back door and looked out, searching for the girl. What she found was a stark contrast to the inside of the house. Where the small cottage lacked nearly everything that most people would have, the back yard was packed with a well kept garden full of nearly every plant Tsunade could name and certainly more beyond that. All the plants looked quite healthy, a testament to the great care that was given to them. Fruit, vegetables, herbs and some things that didn't even look like plants at all, all perfectly tended by the one who was currently on her knees with her back to Tsunade, working to even the ground around one that looked like it had been just freshly moved to a place in the garden where it could better spread its leaves. Tsunade watched as the girl finished smoothing down the dirt and stood up, working to move another.
Tsunade couldn't help but frown. She actually wanted to apologize, but she'd never been good and simple and apologetic words. She wasn't used to people being angry at her and not wanting to throw a fist. The situation was awkward to say the least and she had no idea what to do. So instead she just stood there watching at the door as the girl moved another plant and stood up, moving over to the edge of the house where several plants were hanging from the roof to dry in the sunlight. Depositing a large basket of picked plants, the girl began to hang more up with simple lengths of string.
Sighing softly to herself Tsunade stepped out into the garden and kneeled down, taking a hand full of the herbs and beginning to mimic the girl's movements to simply tie them and hang them up to dry. To the girl's credit, she didn't yell or explode or even walk away as Tsunade thought she might, but rather she only spared Tsunade a glance before silently returning to her work.
Neither spoke to the other, just working completely in silence. And even though they didn't speak, Tsunade began to feel the tension between them fading. The air wasn't as thick and she found herself even growing more comfortable as her hands repeated the same movements and they slowly moved down the side of the cottage, hanging up more herbs and slowly emptying the basket. Even a small smile began to grow on the girl's face.
"Shizune."
Tsunade blinked and stopped. "What?"
"My name, it's Shizune." The girl said, hanging up the last handful of herbs. She rolled up what was left of the string and dropped it in the basket, tucking it against the wall, then turned to look at Tsunade.
"Tsunade."
Shizune nodded and gave a small smile. "Hungry?"
"A little," she admitted.
"Come on, I'll fix something for both of us." Then the girl turned and walked into the cottage.
Tsunade blinked. Was making up really that easy? No apologies and no yelling, not even any real speaking. But then, Shizune was one of those people who held good deeds in high esteem. So maybe it wasn't that strange after all.
Series: Naruto Pairing: Tsunade x Shizune Author's note: They haven't said in the show yet how these two meet, so I decided to take a shot at it. Expect sap and yuri-ness. No real spoilers for the show, just my muses playing around. This obviously takes place a little after Tsunade left the leaf village. It doesn't need an exact date, you get the idea.
It was late in the night and all the houses of the town were closing their doors and windows down. Late enough that the sun had set quite some time ago and the streets were deserted save for the occasional procrastinator who elected to get a drink rather then wander home to their own bed. The heat of the day was lingering into the night, upset only by a small breeze just cool enough to remind you their was air around you, but not much else.
A tugged close top and a bag hitched on one shoulder accompanied the young woman as she walked down the road. In the night time silence she could only hear her shoes on the gravel road beneath her and the occasional shout or cat call from the local bar. Neither bothered her, in fact she actually enjoyed the silence around her. After a long day's work and walk to the next town it was refreshing to suddenly be the only one around, rather then listening to panicked voices from impatient onlookers and relatives.
She wasn't much to look at initially and actually quite normal when one did catch a better glimpse of her. Her dull brown hair was cut unevenly, short enough to just brush the bottoms of her ears and stay out of the way on it's own as she did her daily work. The dull color of her hair was echoed in her eyes, which were just a shade between brown and black, containing little to no color unless she were in a bright light. And the normalness was echoed in her clothing, quite intentionally, by the simply cut short brown kimono and black sandals. A white belts wrapped around her waist served the double purpose of belt and needle holder, aiding her in whatever she or her talents were needed for. Normally she didn't carry such a bag as the large pouch laying over her shoulder. This was a favor for a friend, in reality she hated such large bags.
Her quiet steps carried her down the road and around a corner, to stop at a small cart which was still lit up and still cooking food for the night. Scents of various fried and boiled foods filled the air around the cart and she stopped for a moment to savor the smells, before ducking under the short curtain and smiling at the owner.
"Shizune, I was wondering when you would get back. Tough trip?" The man was quite a bit older then her, most likely twice her age. But he was quite pleasant and quite healthy from his days as a young and talented ninja of the town. Somewhere along the line he'd decided to lay down his throwing daggers and pick up a pair of chopsticks and it had only seemed to make him a happier man. Some people enjoyed protecting others from death, while others took pleasure in keeping others alive with such simple things as food and the occasional bottle of sake. He had always been one of the latter.
"No, just long. There were a lot of little errands on the way." She slid the bag off her shoulder and handed it to him, careful so the strap didn't drop into the small vats of grease he used to cook his food. "Here's all that you need. I took the liberty of adding a couple extra spices that you might want to experiment with. One of the ladies in town offered them as payment and I really have no need for them."
The man seemed surprised and his normal greeting smile turned warmer. "Thank you. I'll be sure to let you be the first one to sample them." He took the bag and his smile wilted just a bit as he glanced over at the lady sitting next to Shizune. The lady had just finished off another bottle of sake and had set it out, silently asking for another.
Shizune turned her head to look at the woman next to her. The blond woman actually ended up looking only about a year or two older then her, but certainly not as normal. As much as she hated to admit it, the first thing that Shizune noticed was that the woman was quite well endowed for her age and it looked good on her, in spite of the drunken slouch which she was now sitting in. Her cheeks were covered with a red blush from the drink, attempting to hide a pretty but stubborn face. Shizune didn't have to ask, she could tell that this one, when not drunk and about to fall over, was quite a determined spirit.
"You've had enough for the night. You should head home," the older man took the white bottle and began to clean it with a cloth as he watched her. A frown crossed the woman's face, and she shot him a small glare, but otherwise didn't move.
Shizune sighed a bit. It never quit. Leaning over she touched the woman's arm.
"Come on, I'll help you to the local inn."
The woman's glare leveled on Shizune and she jerked her arm back from the touch, obviously not accepting any help. Shizune frowned back at her and stood up. Without waiting for permission she slide her hands under the woman's arms and pulled her off the stool forcing her to her feet.
The woman responded angrily and stood up quite well on her own, or at least enough to shove Shizune down onto the ground. It was quite obvious she didn't want any help. But Shizune had had a long day, and the last thing she wanted to deal with right now was some prissy, beautiful drunk lady with a bad attitude. Moving close to the woman she grabbed her arm and moved with the intended throw. It was just enough to get close, then she spit a small needle from her mouth. It struck it's target, landing in the woman's neck and immediately she began to calm down.
Shizune moved and caught the now stumbling woman, letting her lean on her shoulder as her world spun around and her consciousness floundered. "I'll see you tomorrow," she called to the booth owner, then began the long work of leading the staggering woman back to her home.
"The last thing I need is a sedative," the woman half grumbled as she struggled to keep her footing through the door of the small one room cottage at the edge of town.
"And the last thing I need is some drunken woman beating me to the ground for trying to help her after a very long day. You can sleep here and yell at me in the morning when you're sober." She moved the woman over to the bed and ended up nearly dropping her there. Ignoring the annoyed snort and any other protests Shizune helped her take off her shoes and covered her with a blanket. Finally the woman stopped protesting and her eyes slid shut as she stopped fighting against the sedative.
Shizune sighed and slid off her own shoes, tossing them over by the door. Grabbing the extra blanket she settled down to sleep in the corner, tucking it around herself and using the wooden and clay covered wall for a pillow. It was an old habit, she'd taken home drunks before to let them rest. There'd been too many times where a drunk had refused to leave the booth, then the next morning had created quite a ruckus about his treatment the next morning. It was the least she could do to let the person borrow her bed until they were able to sleep it off. The local inn didn't like patrons who weren't sober enough to pay before they got the room.
It wasn't that she was a bleeding heart or too naive to realize she could be taken advantage of, but more that Shizune was in the habit of doing everything she could for those around her. It often left her spent with long days and little sleep, but it was something she felt good about doing. If she could do it, she did, usually without accepting much in return. She was the little known and barely mentioned savior of the town. However the towns people viewed her as little more then an errand girl. It wasn't much to speak of in any way at all, but she didn't mind. She didn't care because every night she fell asleep with the sense she'd accomplished many things. And that was what was most important to her.
Tsunade woke up the next morning with a rather large headache. She rolled over in the bed and gave a soft moan, rubbing her forehead a bit. One would think that one of the infamous sanin would actually be able to hold her alcohol without a major hangover the next morning, especially one who'd gotten into the habit of drinking nearly every night. But no, of course not, even with the jitsu she'd discovered to change her aging ability, she still didn't have a complete cure for the morning hangover until after it hit. This of course meant that she had to concentrate to channel her charka to the correct area to clear the pain, while experiencing it. Master ninja or not, it was a horrible way to start the morning.
She'd never get used to it no matter how much she tried, but she was at least able to do it at a relatively quick speed. Massaging her temple she closed her eyes and focused her charka to that area, letting the warm energy flow fill her mind and chase away the morning pain and haze. A moment later it was gone and she pushed herself into a sitting position as she surveyed her surroundings.
The small house around her could barely be called even that. It was small, a single room and even had a dirt floor that was snuggly packed with ages of walking, but still dirt. A rug covered the area in the center of the floor, doing it's best to hide the fact of the mud floor, but it fell short of covering the edges near the walls and bed. Her bed was situated in a back corner, while the front wall had the workings of a rather simple and barely used kitchen. A chest of clothing next to the bed was closed and locked and looked to be the only thing of any type of value in the entire house. Nothing else seemed even in the same century and Tsunade highly doubted there was even a lock on the door, thanks to there being nothing to steal or even look at.
Memories of the night before drifted into her mind and she frowned, remembering what had happened. She'd drunk herself into a nice mindless stupor at one of the roadside carts and hadn't wanted to be disturbed until it wore off. Unfortunately the particular cart she'd chosen wasn't an all night cart as they usually were and she'd been kicked out.
Not kicked out. Drugged and dragged away to be exact.
Tsunade rubbed the side of her neck where she remembered the needle hitting. The skin was still a bit numb, but the drug had worn off long ago. Had she not been quite so drunk last night she would have easily been able to fight the drug, but as it were she hadn't been given enough time to even consider it, before she found herself being blindly helped down a road and dropped unceremoniously into a bed.
The least the person could have done was taken her to the local inn. She would have paid, or at least gambled her way out of a room.
She found said person sitting in the corner, resting with her head resting against the wall, looking more like she'd fallen asleep while being sentenced to time-out, rather then a hostess who decided to give up her bed for the night. To Tsunade the girl was very simple looking, someone who could easily disappear into a crowd, not because of years of practice but because there was nothing about her that was really remarkable enough to remember. Unless of course she used her needles.
Tsunade frowned and stood up, stretching a bit, then she walked over to the corner. Kneeling down she shook the woman's shoulder a bit.
Plain and very boring brown eyes blinked open in surprise, before closing again as she gave a small yawn. Sitting up the girl rubbed her eyes.
"You could have taken me to an inn. You shouldn't sleep in the corner."
The girl shrugged as she stood up. "The local inn doesn't accept drunk patrons. They would have kicked you back out onto the street."
"So you're answer is to drug me and drop me off in your bed?"
A frown crossed her face and she turned a glare on Tsunade. "Would you have rathered I dumped you on the street? And the drug was to keep you from punching me into the wall."
"You shouldn't have tried to move me. I was fine on my own."
"Fine on your own?" The girl glared more. "He was closing shop and he already asked you to leave, you didn't listen. It's just plain rude to expect him to stay up and away from his family just so you can drink yourself into oblivion. Fine if you have problems, do not make others accountable for them. He has every right to go home to his family at night and you have no right to keep him there. And as for me drugging you, I see it didn't improve your mood any. I gave you a free bed to sleep in for the night and the last thing I want to do is wake up to some fight. The least you could do is say 'thank you'." With those words she shoved past Shizune and stepped outside of the house, into the back yard, nearly stomping on the ground as she walked.
Tsunade couldn't even muster the anger to glare after her, she was too surprised.
"Maybe that drug is still affecting me," she muttered as she walked over to the bed and dropped back on it, a hand resting over her head.
How in the world had that blown up like it did? She'd spent a couple years now wandering from town to town, with no real destination in mind. Most of her time was spent dealing with bar tenders, cart owners and anyone who was willing to entertain her small addiction to gambling. But none of those ended up being independently spirited girls who took it upon themselves as a daily routine to help take care of drunken people so their friends could go home at night. The people she was used to dealing with were never that self-less. But had it really been so long that she'd be taken this much off guard?
This girl owned nothing, that much was obvious by the style and set up of her home. But it wasn't for lack, rather for choice. She wasn't thin or sickly like most homeless were, instead she was quite healthy and probably had quite the strong punch if she ever raised her hand to do something else then help a person.
How often was it that she helped strangers like this in such a way? Even more important, Tsunade realized, how many times had she been snubbed and disrespected like she just was right now. The girl had made a valid point, she had helped Tsunade. She did deserve at least a thank you.
Tsunade hated to apologize.
Standing up from the bed she walked to the back door and looked out, searching for the girl. What she found was a stark contrast to the inside of the house. Where the small cottage lacked nearly everything that most people would have, the back yard was packed with a well kept garden full of nearly every plant Tsunade could name and certainly more beyond that. All the plants looked quite healthy, a testament to the great care that was given to them. Fruit, vegetables, herbs and some things that didn't even look like plants at all, all perfectly tended by the one who was currently on her knees with her back to Tsunade, working to even the ground around one that looked like it had been just freshly moved to a place in the garden where it could better spread its leaves. Tsunade watched as the girl finished smoothing down the dirt and stood up, working to move another.
Tsunade couldn't help but frown. She actually wanted to apologize, but she'd never been good and simple and apologetic words. She wasn't used to people being angry at her and not wanting to throw a fist. The situation was awkward to say the least and she had no idea what to do. So instead she just stood there watching at the door as the girl moved another plant and stood up, moving over to the edge of the house where several plants were hanging from the roof to dry in the sunlight. Depositing a large basket of picked plants, the girl began to hang more up with simple lengths of string.
Sighing softly to herself Tsunade stepped out into the garden and kneeled down, taking a hand full of the herbs and beginning to mimic the girl's movements to simply tie them and hang them up to dry. To the girl's credit, she didn't yell or explode or even walk away as Tsunade thought she might, but rather she only spared Tsunade a glance before silently returning to her work.
Neither spoke to the other, just working completely in silence. And even though they didn't speak, Tsunade began to feel the tension between them fading. The air wasn't as thick and she found herself even growing more comfortable as her hands repeated the same movements and they slowly moved down the side of the cottage, hanging up more herbs and slowly emptying the basket. Even a small smile began to grow on the girl's face.
"Shizune."
Tsunade blinked and stopped. "What?"
"My name, it's Shizune." The girl said, hanging up the last handful of herbs. She rolled up what was left of the string and dropped it in the basket, tucking it against the wall, then turned to look at Tsunade.
"Tsunade."
Shizune nodded and gave a small smile. "Hungry?"
"A little," she admitted.
"Come on, I'll fix something for both of us." Then the girl turned and walked into the cottage.
Tsunade blinked. Was making up really that easy? No apologies and no yelling, not even any real speaking. But then, Shizune was one of those people who held good deeds in high esteem. So maybe it wasn't that strange after all.