Chapter Text
Today officially marks the last day of the last week that Tsunade is operating as Hokage. The Senju can finally commit to endless hours of gambling and drinking, and Shizune couldn't be more disappointed in herself.
Shizune still has a job to fulfill, and that is to be Kakashi's advisor and attendant for 10 more years. Apart from that, she still hasn't dated and the person qualified for that position in her life is just as busy as her; perhaps even more busy since he's now appointed as Kakashi's personal bodyguard, as one of the people in charge of the Chūnin Exams and of supervising the newly-promoted Chūnin, as well as training the new Hokage guard recruits.
Admittedly as peaceful as the world is right now, this might just be the busiest time of their lives. And it's enough for Shizune to think that work is all she's ever destined for.
As if the day couldn't get any more interesting, she sees Tsunade first thing in the morning, with an uncharacteristically sly smirk on her face. Whether it had to with today being her last official day as Hokage and passing on the suffering to the Hatake, she didn't know.
But Tsunade was clearly sober, and the grin on her face could mean anything but the latter.
"Good morning, Shizune." Tsunade greeted her assistant, adviser, former apprentice, and long-time companion in an unsettlingly cheerful manner.
"Good morning Tsunade-sama, you seem to be in a good mood today." The jet-black-haired woman returned her greeting with a smile of her own as well, even though she was starting to get suspicious herself.
Shizune tried to unhear the chuckle that came out of Tsunade's mouth upon her reply. "Indeed. Did you sleep well last night?"
Tsunade's attendant nodded hesitantly. "That may have been the best sleep I've gotten in years. How about you?"
The blonde woman remembered the brief meeting she held a couple of minutes before Shizune entered. Tsunade replied with a grin, "Better than I thought, actually."
The jet-black-haired remarked rather enthusiastically, "Great! Then you must be feeling energized to deal with more paperwork today!"
Tsunade's facial expression took a double turn from sweet to sour, but part of her dropping the chirpy act was crucial to her ongoing scheme. The blonde woman said with an impassive face, "Sure."
Shizune started, "Excellent. I'll go and bring in the reports–" but was cut off abruptly by Tsunade before she could finish her statement.
"-wait! Before you do that though… I need you to grab two buckets of sake."
The request did not necessarily perturb Shizune as she was merely used to being ordered around to tend to her master's drinking desires; nevertheless, the amount of bottles as per requested (one bucket equals 4 bottles) made her concerned for the woman's long-term health.
"Tsunade-sama, you do know that sake, let alone eight bottles of them is bad for your–"
To prevent the incoming lecture, the blonde woman interjected, "Oh for crying out loud, just go and grab as many bottles as you can! You should be tired of lecturing me about what's good and bad for my health by now."
Well, at least she got the message… somehow. Shizune sighed in defeat. She clearly expected too much after being greeted by a rather cheerful Hokage for just one morning, hoping she would take her job seriously now that today's her last day in the office.
"Alright, Hokage-sama. I'll be back with your sake." The Hokage's assistant bowed in reverence before leaving the office to run the errand as requested. Unbeknownst to her, the Godaime Hokage's insides were churning with guilt for putting through with this act against her conscience. Though as soon as her assistant was out of sight, she tapped the glass window thrice.
Having heard the signal, Aoba turned to Raidou, who proceeded to head to the second level of the tower as instructed. The scar-faced ninja did not take long to locate the designated window and entered right away into the guard's lounge room.
Inside, a certain senbon-sucker could be seen sorting through piles of paperwork on the coffee table. After several years of friendship and partnership in their respective jobs as Elite Hokage guards, Raidou's presence was already made known to the other man.
"Tsunade-sama's requesting for your presence. Be upstairs in 5 minutes."
A tired sigh escapes the copper-haired's lips, but he doesn't look up from the stacks of papers. "Yeah. I'll be there in a few. What does she need me for?"
"Paperwork. Shizune's running an errand for her, so while she's not there, you have to help her sort out the mission reports from the mission requests." Genma's senbon tilted downwards, showing his clear disinterest.
Genma drawled, "Of course she wants one of her bodyguards to do the paperwork for her. It's not like she has an assistant or anything."
"Hey, this is the last week you'll have to deal with this. With Kakashi taking over, it's going to be very possible to skip a work day. Think about it."
Genma tentatively plucked the senbon out of his mouth. "Please, don't even get me started with Kakashi. He's technically worse when it comes to paperwork. That pervert classmate of ours would rather sit around with his nose stuck in his debauchery of a book. The thought of paperwork or showing up on time won't even cross his mind. The next thing you know, that jerk will ask either Shizune or me to become Hokage next if his lazy ass feels like it. Putting up with Tsunade-sama is a lesser evil than putting up with that former stuck-up, honestly."
Raidou was surprised that his friend openly expressed his grievances towards Kakashi's role as Hokage; nevertheless, he replied with, "If you ask me, it's a blessing you and Shizune were able to put up with her behavior for this long! Imagine what you both can do with Kakashi taking over. You guys will make great parents."
Realizing the implication of his last statement, Raidou choked. Genma's head rose up almost instantly, immediately shooting his scar-faced friend a calculating gaze. There was a hint of wariness from the way his teeth tightly clenched his senbon. "You just said what now?"
You dumb-ass. Raidou realized his slip-up and nearly fumbled with his reply, but he managed to make a good save: "I said, 'You guys have great patience!'" He finished his back-up statement with a cheeky smile, hoping to ease the curiosity that was already brewing within his friend.
Thankfully, Genma's reply was a simple hum before immediately dropping the subject to avoid further suspicion. Raidou thought that the ongoing scheme was simply too good to ruin right now.
"Well then… you should start making your way upstairs right now. I have other stuff to take care of at the moment. Catch you later." The scar-faced ninja waved at Genma before escaping out the window to where Tsunade was seen waiting downstairs by the entrance with Aoba, Kakashi, and Yamato.
"He'll be up in about 5 minutes," was all Raidou could report to the Hokage, who was currently feeling smug.
"Good. Aoba, I need you to be on the lookout. Once Shizune and Genma are both in the room waiting, I need you to signal Kakashi to do his Mud Wall jutsu over the windows so he can block the office's exit points. Raidou will guard me and Yamato, who's going to partially use the Four-Pillar Prison on the door to prevent them from leaving." Tsunade said.
Kakashi closed his book and sweat-dropped, looking at Tsunade with slight ridicule. "You have all the time in the world to finish paperwork, but you decide to waste it on attempting some elaborate prank?"
"Kakashi, this is more than just an elaborate prank. This is me trying to fix things. What better way to end my last week as Hokage by bringing those two workaholics together?"
"If this is you trying to play matchmaker, then I'm most definitely concerned." The silver-haired remarked.
"Senpai, the only thing you need to be concerned with is the fact that you'll be taking over the role of Hokage by tomorrow. This may be your last day to have fun, so to speak." Yamato said, to which Kakashi's face sunk in saddening realization.
For him, this would mean less time "reading" and more time trying to act serious and professional. No excuses, even though he considers himself as a master thereof, when needed.
"Damn. We're a bunch of old people with nothing better left to do, huh?" Aoba's comment somewhat ticked the older woman.
"Nonsense. We're doing Kami's work here, just stick to the plan." The four shinobi said no more and scattered to their assigned spots. Tsunade, Yamato, and Raidou hid in the bushes as they patiently waited for Shizune to return.
Somewhere a few blocks away from the Hokage mansion, Aoba perched himself on one of the nearby telephone lines to gain sight of the Hokage's office. At the same time, he made sure he was far enough not to be discovered.
Meanwhile, Kakashi stationed himself right below the Hokage's edifice and created two clones to help fortify and heighten his Mud Wall jutsu.
A few minutes later, Shizune is seen making her way back to the Hokage mansion with two buckets of sake in her hands. Raidou and Yamato were surprised by the amount of alcohol the woman was sent to gather.
"Those are all for us, right?" The scar-faced ninja couldn't help but ask. Unfortunately for Raidou, Tsunade's glare seemed to make it clear that she wasn't planning on sharing.
The jet-black-haired casually made her way upstairs to Tsunade's office. She ignored the way the bottles clanked noisily each time her arms swayed and acted as a counterweight for the buckets.
Shizune was convinced that she was the only person assigned to enter the office, but a cool and familiarly deep voice caught her off-guard, which nearly caused her to hurl the loaded buckets at the owner himself.
"Oi, easy on the buckets. It's just me." Said a gruff-looking Genma, earning a sigh of relief from Shizune. His casual RBF furthered her inability to respond. She knew it was just his usual face, and in no way did it imply that he was in a foul mood. Although she couldn't help but think he looked more tired than usual.
"Ah, Genma! Nice to see you this morning. Were you on your way to see Tsunade-sama?" The Hokage's assistant inquired and the latter replied with an upward twitch of his senbon. Shizune knew since her genin days, that this was his unique way of responding to a 'yes' or 'no' question.
"Do you need help opening the door?" A small and kind smile forms his face, contrasting his previously disinterested look. Shizune nods, mumbling a small "thank you" in response.
Once they both entered the room, with Genma being a gentleman and letting Shizune enter first, all they could see was the empty seat behind the desk and a peacefully napping Tonton at the side.
"Oh great, she's not here. Again." The jet-black-haired huffed in exasperation.
"Again?" Genma eyed her with curiosity.
"She probably sent me to grab sake while she went off to go gambling. Classic Tsunade-sama. Why did I not refuse…?" Shizune said, clearly regretting the fact that she didn't politely decline her request. Genma shrugged and patiently told her to wait.
As soon as the two ninjas were on sight, Aoba alerted through comms, "Tsunade-sama, they're both in your office right now. Your group can start heading up. Kakashi, get ready."
"Hai, hai," came a bored reply from the future Rokudaime Hokage. The silver-haired man began weaving a couple of hand seals before unleashing a massive Mud Wall with the help of his shadow clones.
The huge block of earth created a rumbling effect, causing the floors of the office to shake violently. Consequently, the buckets fell from Shizune's hands, allowing the sake bottles to roll in different directions.
Without realizing, the woman's heels came in contact with the metal buckets, causing her to lose balance. Genma's instincts told him to pull her to safety, but the weight of her body accompanied by the rumbling and the scattered bottles on the floor immediately caused a chain reaction, which sent him tripping backwards while his arms were secured around her waist.
Outside the door, Yamato could be seen weaving a few hand seals and placing his hands on the floor, releasing the partial Four-Pillar Prison as a way to fence the pair in from getting out.
From outside, Aoba leapt off of the telephone line once he saw that the Mud Wall covered the entire side from where the Hokage's office was located. Both he and Kakashi retreated upstairs to the Hokage mansion so as to avoid causing any more confusion with the current situation, even though the commotion may not have escaped two certain Chūnin's line of sight.
Kotetsu and Izumo, who were leisurely taking a break from their shifts as gatekeepers were prompted to check the disturbance, seeing as they were within the premises of the Hokage mansion.
Speeding their way upstairs, the two gatekeepers were planning to warn Tsunade of the upcoming danger. Only to be surprised when they see Kakashi, Yamato, Raidou, and the Hokage in question right outside the office, magically unaffected by the ruckus.
"Tsunade-sama, what's the meaning of this?" Izumo questioned.
A malicious grin was etched on the older woman's face. "A plan. I figured bringing them back together would be a better way to spend my final day as Hokage."
"Them? Uhh, who's inside?" Kotetsu wondered in curiosity.
"Genma and Shizune. Don't worry, we're not keeping them in there forever, so we'll listen in until we feel like they've sorted themselves out." Raidou replied. Izumo and Kotetsu have never been more confused yet excited in their entire life. Sadly, they can't stick around to see the magic happen, as they still have gatekeeping duties to fulfill.
Sensing that there was no sign of trouble or struggle, Kotetsu and Izumo wished the group good luck before they used Shunshin to teleport back to their posts.
"You do know there are better ways to get them to talk, right? Ways that don't involve trapping?" Yamato suggested, but his suggestion only earned an eye roll from the Hokage.
"If you think about it, this is the lesser evil. Had we executed the 'other' plan, neither one of us could get out of this alive." Kakashi said.
"Why? Is there a greater evil here? Something even greater than trapping them completely with a Mud Wall and a Four-Pillar Prison? What's the other plan?" Yamato probed with a string of questions. All of a sudden, Kakashi started giggling like the pervert that he is.
"Icha-Icha Tactics."
**
Once the rumbling had stopped and the state of the building assured her it was stable enough to move, the jet-black-haired lifted her head up from the crook of the copper-haired's neck. His left arm was still hooked around her waist, and her bare right leg rested on top of his torso.
Shizune's yukata was slightly dishevelled, and on top of that, the proximity between their faces would've implied that they were well beyond their way of making out.
For some apparent reason, Genma couldn't bring himself to let go, not even for a second. The copper-haired man carefully watched the way her obsidian eyes scanned his unreadable expression, as if she was waiting for some kind of reaction from him.
Guaranteed, if the woman on top of him had a great sense of hearing, she would've heard the wild thumping in his chest, and his usual cool would've been lost in a matter of seconds.
Interestingly enough, staring at each other's eyes drew them into a memory blackhole from seventeen years ago. The only thing that's keeping their faces from getting closer as of the moment was Genma's senbon, its tip raised alarmingly close to her nose...
Yet seventeen years ago from their memory proved that nothing, not even the sharpest end of his senbon, could increase the distance between their faces.
**
In contrast to the time of peace that Konoha has reached in the aftermath of the latest war, 17 year-old Genma was an Elite Hokage Guard and 15 year-old Shizune was Tsunade's apprentice. Both took to the woods to meet up as usual, but they understood that each meeting would be less and less frequent.
Shizune went to their spot feeling anxious. She did not know how to break the news to him without breaking him first. In fact, she didn't know how in the world she can walk away without turning back on what she's about to do now.
He saw her make her way to the abandoned tree stump deep in the luscious forests of Konoha. The stump has and always has been their meeting place, ever since he accidentally aimed his senbon right at her shoulder.
He remembered the animosity that occured between them in the initial phase of their relationship, but one joint mission in particular forced him to change gears and step in and protect her from the slash of a kunai.
Since then, they've been making it a point to spend time talking and/or training with each other in their free time. They were close enough to know that they can easily confide in each other about the losses they face in battle, or the trauma that follows after every mission.
But the grief and anxiety that Shizune's feeling was too great and therefore was not worth the consolation, and neither one of them can back away from it.
"Hey," Genma beckoned her to sit beside him, the warm look on his face temporarily settling her worries down. Shizune proceeded to take a seat beside him.
"I honestly thought you wouldn't show up. Don't you have guard duty today?" The jet-black-haired girl questioned. The downcast look never left her face, but she didn't direct it at him.
The copper-haired replied, "I'm off-duty today. Minato-san wanted me to take a break."
"That's nice, I guess," was all Shizune could utter in response. Sensing the change in tone, Genma placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The girl didn't shrug him away, despite the negative feelings pooling into her heart.
"Something troubling you?" His tone was gentle, and in no way seemed demanding.
"I'm just tired." Shizune knew it was useless to lie around him, since he could easily determine from the way she fidgeted the obi on her kimono. Though she couldn't bring herself to tell him that she's leaving at the break of dawn, due to her losing her uncle Dan, her shishou's lover.
"You don't have to, but… if you want, we can talk about it." His hand retracts from her shoulder, and instead he shifts himself so that he's facing her directly. Suddenly, his RBF takes a hundred-eighty-degree turn the moment he sees the hurt and apprehension written in her eyes.
The moment their eyes locked, the feeling in her chest got tighter. Her conscience engaged in an endless battle, racking her from the inside to choose whether she should walk away remaining truthful or dismissive towards him. All sense of rationality disappeared the moment her eyes started welling up with tears.
Perhaps the one thing that worried her the most besides having to leave the village with Tsunade, was having to leave Genma, the one she secretly loved. And she didn't want to talk about it.
Not when she could potentially break his heart.
Genma was more than a friend and a confidant to her. Maybe this was the worst time to admit that she indeed cared for him more than he thought she would, but she will admit this: she loved him a little too much.
And it's not only because of the way he effortlessly looked cool wearing his usual RBF or chewing his senbon, or the way he had a unique charm and a carefree vibe that Kakashi lacked, or even the way he looked annoyingly handsome without even trying.
It's also because he ensured he would be there with her to watch the day turn night, to build her up when she feels broken down, and equally, to turn each other's troubles into accomplishments so that they as ninjas can look forward to the next day, no matter how troublesome or traumatizing it is.
And that's what's stopping her from telling him the truth. The question of whether he felt the same or not didn't matter, because she knew her feelings of fear and worry were far greater than what he felt for her personally.
What she didn't know? He felt the same, but there was no trace of fear or doubt in his eyes. If anything, he seemed generally at ease, save for the look of concern upon seeing the tears slowly collecting in her eyes.
She spoke to him without looking at him this time: "Genma, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" His cool exterior doesn't break as he asks her, but the inner tension was gradually eating him away.
There was a moment of silence between them as he waited for her to speak.
"Time is short and life is short… and I know that sometimes we're given choices that we can't walk away from, but know this…" she trails off before gazing at him with glassy eyes. She knew well enough that her statement was rather cryptic, so to speak, and probably carries more weight than it should.
"I love you," Genma's eyes widened at her confession.
"And whether I'll be here to hear you say it back, it doesn't matter. I'm just telling you before it's too late."
The stunned and shocked look on his face was no lie. Both ignored how the wind blew harshly on their stiff figures and how the thunder roared abruptly, yet neither were willing to move. A storm is coming, the rain is falling, and he takes this as a sign that an impending doom awaits them, but he stays rooted in his spot.
For Shizune, it was a good thing the falling rain provided a cover for her tear-stricken face. She didn't know if he had the slightest clue of what she meant to say, but he probably knew there was more to tell from her cryptic confession.
As the rain fell harder on their heads, the urge to turn away and leave without saying anything any further grew even stronger. Her body acted quickly on its own as she stood up and began running away from him, but he was quicker.
The Elite Hokage Guard raced towards Tsunade's apprentice, showing no hesitation to pull her to his side, but he failed to realize the muddy ground. As a result, he slipped and Shizune fell on top of him, adding more weight to his fall. His head harshly collided with the tree root embedded to the ground, causing him to seethe his teeth in pain and the senbon in his mouth to clatter away.
"Genma! Are you okay?!" Panic and concern was written all over her face as she brushed his drenched fringes to the side. Her tears and anxiety haven't washed away, even with the pouring rain, but her worry temporarily shifted to his current state.
Before she drowned herself in guilt and frustration for causing him physical pain, he took a second to realize that his left arm had wrapped itself protectively around her waist, and that her slim body added to the warmth that was visibly spreading to his cheeks. Not even the rain could hide the flustered and confused look on his face.
"Sorry, it was my fault I brought you down with me. I'm fine." He reassured her this time, and he was more than relieved to see her tensed figure loosen up and lean against him so that their bodies were locked into an embrace.
"Thank goodness!" Shizune cried freely against him, her emotions going haywire as he tightened their hug. Neither of them said anything about the confession, but he gently pulled himself away to look at her face once more.
The jet-black-haired's puffy eyes were now evident with tears; as vulnerable as she was now, he always believed she carried this unique beauty, both internally and externally.
From the way she held herself around with elegance and politeness, from the way she extended her care and love to those closest to her, and from the way she smiled with her eyes closed, he knew every second he spent gazing into her beautiful face… he realized he loved her too.
Truthfully, he had not the slightest idea as to why he only realized this now.
Genma found himself twirling a strand of Shizune's wet and silky hair, which was weird since it was usually her who played with his hair. In all honesty, it was rare for the copper-haired boy to initiate this form of contact, much less twirl her hair and look deep into the dark pools of her obsidian eyes.
Yet the instant he finished twirling a lock of her hair, and wiping her tears with his free thumb, he pulled the strand of hair to close the distance between their faces, and used it to kiss her wholeheartedly.
Shizune did not fight against it, the feelings of happiness and fluttering excitement temporarily replacing the fear festered in her heart. She felt him smile through their kiss as she returned them, her heart soaring with love and swelling with so much emotion, yet the longer they kissed, the easier it was to forget the fear that got the best of her a couple minutes ago.
Since that day—the tragic day when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife—Shizune mistakenly thought that some things were better left unsaid.
Little did she know that a certain someone will confront her and bring the truth to light in years to come.