A late night soak (open)

[ladytsunade01]

Ahhh!! It was wonderful to finally get away from another stressful day of work and just enjoy herself! Sake would have been just as good but a dip in the hotsprings was an even better idea...

Well that's what she told herself as she slipped into the soothing, waters of the hotsprings and settled into a comfortable postion in the water. Amber eyes would close for a brief second, only to open again to search the areas around her. It was unlikely that perverts such as Jiraiya would be lurking at this time of night. Then why was she so on edge? It had to be because of all that damn paperwork she had but a few minutes, before, finished. Okay...half finished. Heh, if Shizune knew that...

A small chuckle escaped her at the very thought of her rather, worrisome assisant finding out that she had skipped out on work for the second time this week. There truly would be no end to her constant and annoying bickering, and Tsunade was in no mood to hear it. Hell, it wasn't like she didn't understand her duties as Hokage and all. She did, but the pressure had been mounting, especially considering how these last few weeks had been going for her. That Akatsuki...truly was an annoying and persisant bunch, one she was sure wouldn't stop at nothing to get what they wanted. The village was already paranoid enough, and those idiots, who called themselves, 'the elders' certainly weren't helping the matter any by putting extra strain on her, when it came to how she was handling things and about Naruto....

Another small sigh escaped her as she sank even lower into the hot waters that surrounded her. Here she was trying to relax and escape the problems that were bothering her, and work was already rearing its ugly head, and she hadn't even been here that long! That's it! There was no way in hell she was going back to work now. Her muscles and body ached, and time alone would allow her to relax! Work would come second for once....

[EBISAWA]

“Sir! You can’t go in there!” Hideyoshi heard the lady at the front desk of the hot springs scream as he tried enter through the cloth curtain. A smile crept across his face as he straightened his fancy white suit purchased from a faraway land. He turned to face the poor woman, a panicked look plastered upon her face, huffing a little as she ran up to him so she could make sure he went no further. “Don’t worry, I will be out in a second, I just need to chat with… an old friend,” replied Hideyoshi as kindly as he could, spinning his wrist in a circle at the mention of an old friend, as if he was on great terms with the Hokage.

“but, but,” she tired to protest, but Hideyoshi cut her off by putting his finger gently to her lips while making a quiet, shhhh, noise. “Look, darling, this is really important,” he began, “but once I come back out, I want to see you dressed up in something pretty so I can take you out for a night you will always remember.” And with that, he turned back around and entered the hot springs, leaving the front desk girl there for a moment.

“But I have a boyfriend…” she finally managed to get out.

---

Hideyoshi walked into the steamy hot spring, barely able to make out things inches from his face. The heat was almost unbearable in his suit, yet he was too full of himself to take it off. Besides, he knew he looked good when he sweated. He wandered around for a little bit before he saw the shadowy shape of someone deep within the hot spring.

“Tsunade!” he called out, “long time no see!” He spoke almost as if he was truly friends with her, rather than someone who she had met once while gambling. She probably didn’t even remember him. He continued to close in on the hot water’s edge before he knelt down and ran his fingers through it. Even with just that little touch, he could feel his muscles relaxing, quite a glorious feeling. “So these are the famous hot springs of Konoha! Quite wonderful! Why, if I wasn’t in such a hurry I would probably jump in there with you!” he continued to add, still loudly, wanting to make sure she heard him.

[ladytsunade01]

Ahh....No work, no Shizune...no... screaming out her name through the heavy fog that surrounded her. Wait.....what?

"Tsunade! Long time no see! So these are the famous hot springs of Konoha! Quite wonderful! Why, if I wasn’t in such a hurry I would probably jump in there with you!”

Amber eyes that had closed, opened again within seconds as the sound of the other's voice echoed throughout her ears. At first she had believed it had been Jiraiya but when had that perverted bastard, ever announced his presence after daring to spy on her and had managed to live to tell the tale? He had been lucky once, but he wasn't stupid enough to play that trick again. Getting beaten an inch from death could change a man's ways. So who in hell would dare bother her why she was relaxing....and on top of that acted like he knew her?

A small frown swept to her lips, as she slowly slid from her postion in the water, reached out and gripped the towel that lay within reach of her fingers, and wrapped it securely around her body before stepping out to face the one before her. She didn't even try to keep the unhappiness and anger radiating from her hidden. She was pissed, and she was just hoping this man had said his prays before bothering her.

"I hope you have a good reason for disturbing me, while I was relaxing..." She even went as far as to crack her knuckles to show that she was very much serious in her sudden bad mood, "You have five seconds to explain, before you're flying out that wall...." She made a small head gesture in the direction of the nearest wall to her left, before allowing her eyes to return to the man before her.

"Go..."

[EBISAWA]

Hideyoshi let out a little whistle as Tsunade began to threaten him, a thin smile still on his face. It was almost as if they hadn’t even phased him. Indeed, instead of filling him with fear, they caused only one word to run through Hideyoshi’s mind. Feisty.

He shook his head a little, a small chuckle escaping his lips. “Tsunade darling, we are in such wonderful hot springs. This is no place to be so bend out of shape,” he replied happily, clearly not taking confrontation as serious as Tsunade was. “Besides, even if you tried I doubt you would be able to hit me,” he continued, knowing it was foolish to boast when you couldn’t back it up. However, he was more than confident that he could evade anything she threw at him, even if it would require the assistants of some of his jutsus.

“But I have no desire to fight you. After all, why would I want to risk damaging such a perfect example of beauty?” he said after a moment of thought, trying to lay his charm down thick. Dispite knowing that he could probably last a long time in combat with her, he truly wasn‘t even sure if he could bring himself to hit her, leaving him at a crippling disadvantage. No, defusing this through diplomacy would be better. “Such a shame I am here for business rather than pleasure,” he said before taking a seat upon the ground, wanting to get comfortable.

“I doubt you would even want to kill me. You have no idea how many innocent, honest people would lose their jobs if I died. Why, all my gambling halls and hotels would be forced to shut down. It doesn’t sound very fair to punish all of my staff just because I am a little… inpatient,” he added, just having fun with his word choice now.

[ladytsunade01]

A single eyebrow twitched as the man's second words reached her. By this point she was very much tempted to prove him wrong with his "whole you wouldn't be able to lay a hand on me" type of attitude. She wondered, how many people in her past had said those exact same words, only to have her prove them wrong? In honestly she had lost count.

“But I have no desire to fight you. After all, why would I want to risk damaging such a perfect example of beauty?”

She snorted at that. If she had been in a better mood she would have laughed. Did he honestly believe she was the type of woman to be easily taken in with a man's false flattry or his sense of wanting to get on her good side? If he was, he was indeed a fool. All they were to her were cheap words with no meaning and she didn't appreciate him for wasting her time with such.

"I asked you a question. Why have you come here?"

Her words still held a small hint of anger behind them, but slowly it was dying down to something else altogether. Suspicion. Why was a full grown man out and about at this time of night, looking for her? Did it have something to do with another village? Was he an assisan bent on taking her out? These were merely the first two questions, that began to plague her mind, but after a few minutes of silence would another question fall from her lips instead.

"Does your reasons for being here, have anything to do with this 'business' that you mentioned before?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, and waited for him to answer.

[EBISAWA]

“Why, of course it is,” Hideyoshi replied, as if it was completely obvious. Indeed, he had little reason to leave the safety of his home in the Moon Country unless he absolutely needed something. “Why, there is actually quite a lot of business I would like to discus. I would like to line the streets of Konoha with hotels and gambling halls, maybe set up a pleasure center or two, get some of my maikos and geishas to come here. Perhaps I could even get a true red lights district going, I know the men who just go crazy over that. The money I would make off of them,” he continued, the glint of greed flashing in his eyes a wide smile still shining on his face. However, after a moment, his smile shifted to a smirk. “But, “ he began, “I could have just sent some of my men if I just wanted to increase my empire. No, what I came here for is something… personal. I want you to get me into Kirigakure.”

He knew it was an odd request, after all, he was able to get into the other hidden villages with ease, lining the guard’s pockets with money allowed him access almost everywhere. However, Kirigakure was the village he deserted, abandoned when it was no longer able to sustain him. Since then, he was branded a criminal, unable to renter his former home. “I would like to spare the details, so to put it simply, Kirigakure isn’t actually friendy towards those who leave it, no matter the circumstances,” he continued, cutting off the most obvious question about his request, “and although I am sure I would be able to crush the guards in an instant, I would eventually run into the Mizukage, perhaps the only women in the world equal to you in both skill and beauty. I wouldn’t want to ruin her pretty face.”

[ladytsunade01]

Amber orbs would blink in surprise at his rather odd request, but as quickly as the surprise had come, it vanished, and was quickly replaced with some of her old anger. He had interrupted her only time for relaxing for something so small as this!?

"What makes you even think, I could get you into Kirigakure? You just admitted to being a criminal for leaving and you wish to return there for your "personal" reasons!?"

She shook her head as the very idea ran through her mind. She had heard enough of this. Now that her relaxing soak had been interrupted there was no point in staying here and listening to so such absurd things.

"You wasted your time, approaching me on such a matter, because I can not help you. We have an alliance with your former home, Kirigakure, and if we were caught letting one of their missing nins back into the village, we would be on verge of another war. As Hokage, I will not let that happen, and I'm sure the Mizukage feels the same way."

She gave him hard and unfriendly eyes. It should have been second nature to him that even the slightest stupidity could deadlock a country into war with another. Konoha had been through its share of wars, and Tsunade was in no mood to repeat those past mistakes. Hell, they were already dealing with the Akatsuki, Konoha was suffering enough as it was.

"Now, if you have other business in the Hidden Leaf, go and have them taken care of, once finished, leave. I believe you have overstayed your welcome...."

She watched him for several seconds, before deciding that getting back to work was certainly a better idea than returning to her previous pleasure. This man....she didn't trust him one bit to leave the village, after hearing her words. No...she would have to get the anbu to watch and take care of him, if he appeared hostile towards those around him. The moment she got back, she would send out the order. This man was not to be taken lightly of course.....

[EBISAWA]

Hideyoshi let out a little laugh at her adamant response to his request. “Do you really think I am just going to take no for an answer? I am not stupid, I knew I wouldn’t be able to convince you just by asking. Asking you to risk not only your safety, but the safety of your village? No, that wouldn’t be fair,” he replied. He knew it was odd for a man who prided himself on gambling and manipulation to use words like fair, but he thought he was fair. At the very least, he was honest about his intentions and wants.

“I know it sounds silly for me to make such a request, but I mean no ill by it. I haven’t been back there since I was a child. I have… changed since then, and while I am happy with my new life, I long to see old friends and family,” he said, being as honest as he could without getting into the reasons behind his desertion. “It isn’t like I wanted to leave. If I there was an option where I could have stayed and survived, I would have in a heartbeat. It just wasn’t a realistic choice anymore.”

“All I ask is you get me through the gates, and I would be able to give you things within my grasp,” he said, finally beginning to make an offer for her services. “Money, finest clothes, the greatest alcohol, anything. If I can find it, it would be yours. All for this one little favor,” he said, getting back on his feet, knowing he was desperate. He knew the other kages wouldn’t even listen to his plea, either being too quick to anger, or too young to understand.

Besides, he was ready for this to be over. After all, he had a date with the hot springs attendant, and he knew it was rude to keep a lady waiting.

[ladytsunade01]

Another small eye twitch on her part. Was it just her, or where all of her words going in one ear and out the other, when she talked to him? What part of 'no means no' didn't he understand? If he knew of such the risks that he was putting her through, why in the hell was he still bothering to ask such things of her?

She shook her head of such annoying and mindless questions and brought a hand to her forehead. The beginning of a long and painful headache, was rearing it's ugly head. This was definitely a time, when she wished she hadn't done the opposite of Shizune's wishes and had just gone on with her work. Even though a small part of her, really wanted to help and be done with him, another part of her was telling her it was a really really bad idea. She really couldn't afford a war with another country over something so stupid. He...would just have to find another way to get into his former home without the Hokage's help.

"I'm not easily tempted," Though the sound of the "greatest alcohol" part was tempting but she left that part unsaid and continued, "But I can not help you with your request, now as I said before, finish up whatever other business you have in my village and leave...."

With that she would turn away from him, not giving him her full back, and begin the small walk back towards the woman's entrance of the hot springs. She was cold and still damp from the hot water that had soaked her body a few seconds before, and not only that the towel she held against her was beginning to slip. But at this point and time there was only one thing she was concerned with. Bed. After having her soak interrupted, she was more than happy to finish the work that she had started out with, tomorrow.

Yet even as she moved closer and closer to her destination, she was mentally and physically prepared for anything he may pull on her, with her back to him. After all he had proved that he wasn't the type of man who took no as an answer. His bribing from before, told her that much already. But how far would he go to make sure she'd help him..? Well that was a question she hoped she wouldn't get an answer too....

[EBISAWA]

Hideyoshi a smirked, activating his Oni no Mai technique. It wasn’t even a mere moment before he was in front of Tsunade, standing in the door way. He knew he wouldn’t be able to move at those kinds of speeds forever, but using it in short bursts was almost refreshing. After all, moving at those kinds of speeds, just letting the muscles work so freely, it was magical. But he had no time to enjoy the feeling, knowing Tsunade wasn’t going to be happy with his refusal to drop the matter. “Come now Tsunade, I know you want me out of your hair, but I am not out of offers just yet. After all, you may not be easily tempted, but that means there is at least a chance that I can get your help.”

“So objects aren’t your fancy, I may not understand that, but fine. What if I could offer information? Aren’t you having trouble with some mercenaries? A group of folk known as the Akatsuki?” he said, knowing the perhaps she would have a more difficult time turning down this offer. After all, if these Akatsuki were as much trouble as he had been hearing about, then maybe she could really use the info. “I may just be able to provide some. After all, you meet plenty of strange people as a gambler, maybe I had come across one.”

“Or perhaps you would like some military assistance. I will admit those employed to protect me are far better at throwing drunks off of my property than actual combat, but every little bit helps. And if you can get me in without arousing any suspicion, you will have gained an ally would losing one. It would be a win for both of us, and no one would get hurt,” he added, almost as an after thought.