[Ray's POV].
Tsunade's question took me out of the daze of the warm bath. I felt Azrael's hands clutching against my chest even though she pretended to be asleep. When Tsunade and my eyes met, she had this longing and expectation.
Marriage, we haven't touched this topic before; although I already consider her my wife. I would say my problem with this matter is not my unwillingness to get married, but instead the hassle of carrying out so many ceremonies. They all deserve it, not all of them want it...
"I..." I drifted, thinking of when this ceremony would take place and how it would be done, surnames, status, politics... it wasn't as simple as just signing a paper, I wanted it to be done the best way possible.
"I'm not a little girl, Ray… I have responsibilities. We can fool around all you want, but I need–"
"Something tangible", I finished for her.
Tsunade looked away, perhaps in shame at her demand. I extended my foot forward until it was resting on her; She looked at me, confused.
"I'm not a kid either, Tsunade" I coughed, although I still technically was, "You know things are complex because I have, hmnn…"
"A harem", she crossed her arms beneath her chest and rolled her eyes.
"Yes. Some of the girls don't care about that stuff. I also don't think that it is so important personally, but I married Anna, Yasaka, and Amaterasu because they needed it for politics".
I felt a brief shiver at my mentioning that I didn't think it was important. I am not even married to Elysir... she also never raised that topic to me.
Seeing my pensive expression, Tsunade took my foot and started to massage it. I squinted my brows and sent her a sallacious look, intending to correct myself.
"I may not think it is important, but if you want us to marry, I'll go on my knees and put a ring on your finger. I'll cover the costs of the ceremony, I'll deal with everything as soon as possible"
Her eyes brightened up, thinking her massage worked.
I sighed once again at my own incompetence when it comes to these things. I am living this immortal life at a very fast pace, trying to focus on everyone without leaving anything out, but even I can miss things.
Tsunade is a mature human woman who, despite being immortal now and looking young and perfect, is still in her fifties. She's not like Haku, an immortal Yokai who wanders around the world destroying societies and having fun out of it; the last thing that woman cares about is marriage, she's too busy milking me every day.
Tsunade, however, is the type who would have wished to already be married and have children by now. Certainly, we love each other and our relationship is very juvenile-feeling, but this fact doesn't change... her needs are unmet.
"I love you, Tsunade. I'm sorry that things are this way... I should have been asking you without having to bring it up,"
"Don't say it. I understand…" she smiled in satisfaction, "that's enough for me. Although I personally want to marry you, the majority of the reason I'm doing it is because of my clan".
She beckoned me to give her my other foot and started massaging both of them. I resisted the urge to just sleep like this. After peeking at our conversation and seeing it conclude, Azrael got more comfortable around me.
I guess she also had been wondering if marriage was necessary for her, and concluded that it wasn't. There was only the slight noise from the spring and the breeze around us, utter peace.
"My Senju Clan is one of the founding families of Konoha. I am the last living member," Tsunade began.
"Do you have responsibilities?"
She remained silent for a bit, then nodded in a form of surrender, "Yes, I have been avoiding them".
My frowning brows told her to elaborate.
"Once I graduated as a Jonin, I joined the war and forgot everything that had to do with the clan. Dan died, I started living a rather lavish and insignificant life until you saved me, wasting all my money and energy, I didn't really care about anything, Ray".
Her words contained regret, realisation and ultimately, repentance. But I felt through the aura and the massage she was giving me, that she was already over it, giving it the best she had.
I think the biggest reason for her to want to become a Hokage and do something for her village is to prove to herself that she's no longer what she was. After all, her brother, her lover and her sensei are already gone... she has no one to prove anything to except for herself... and maybe me.
"I want to make things right. I want to be responsible for my clan, for my village, for the land of fire" She then sent me a warm gaze, "For us, you and I".
"..." I smiled in silence, as she massaged me, I sent my own energy, and she released a slight moan. Our energies danced together in the warm water. She was like me, a being of Sun Energy, the only one in our household aside from me and Elysir.
"My plans haven't changed. Being a Hokage is only a stepping-stone; I want to unify this world the same way Japan was unified in your history books," She mumbled resolutely.
"It is quite an ambitious plan", I said.
"I know I can do it. I already have the power to do it... But it is not something that will be accomplished with just raw physical strength or higher energy reserves. It requires a complex, structured political plan... I have no doubt there will be another war, but I believe we can lower the casualties immensely and on the other side of this catastrophe, there is peace, I can see it".
"I believe in you. Everything went the way you planned it in the other world, every part of it. There is no reason why you wouldn't be able to do it again".
Seeing my confidence in her, Tsunade smiled lightly. She took my foot out of the water and kissed it.
!!!
"Tsunade... don't––" I felt moved, but still didn't think it was right for her to do that.
"It wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for you, Ray".
"Still, don't kiss my feet, it is weird", I sighed and sent her a heated glare, "If you want to kiss me, kiss me up here".
"I will do that in a bit, let me kiss your feet for now~"
I felt so much adoration from her, ironically, it wasn't the love with which you worship your god... more like, just treasuring someone to no end. I guess I can't blame her... I'd kiss her feet, too, if it made her happy.
"How can I help you?" I asked.
"I don't need help for the most part. As I said, there is very little that can be done with just strength. Even now, I still don't know what role Akatsuki plays in all this... I don't have enough information to know what I should do with them. Whether it be to exterminate them, capture them or use them... only time will tell. There is someone that is very capable of helping me, though, I just don't know how to approach her to ask for her help".
"Solution", I smiled.
Tsunade gasped, her countenance went from shock to amusement and then pride, "You are learning, Ray~".
"Thanks~".
Solution is what you'd call an ultimate political weapon. She can take over someone's identity, take their memories and behave the exact same way they would without being detected. Even now, in the other world, Solution is taking the form of a lot of aristocrats across the continent, slowly paving the way for my Sun Church to dominate the world by using the influence of those aristocrats.
And they don't have a fucking clue.
What's more, after I did my therapy on her, it is almost like there is no limit to how many identities she can take over and how far she can control her other copies.
She's just terrifying. Perhaps in this regard, the only other ones that can keep up with her in the domain of espionage are Yasaka with her illusions and Kurumi with her time clones, but never quite being able to reach her level of danger.
"I will ask her––".
"Don't", Tsunade frowned.
"Huh?".
"You may be the centre, but we are one big family, Ray... I want to be able to ask her myself without much drama. You have given us the group, a useful tool for us to communicate, I just have to use it".
"Then why are you doubting? Solution is loyal to me, she'd never reject you".
At most, Solution would contact me and ask me permission to follow whatever Tsunade wants to do; she wouldn't outright reject.
Tsunade started fidgeting, like there was something she wanted to say but didn't know how to.
"Right now we are at odds with one another, I don't think I can ask for her help" she mumbled lightly, sounding evasive.
I gasped, 'They had an argument? When did this happen and why did no one tell me anything?'
"You had a fight with Solution?".
"No, not with Solution. You see... while you were slumbering and attending Azrael, something happened... I will tell you".
Tsunade told me everything reluctantly, all that took place while Azrael and I were in our sweet dreams. I was focusing all my energy on trying to regenerate her. During that time, the girls all had a meeting in the moonlight mist that Elysir herself hosted.
The topic was Tsunade's jealousy and how her demands were taking a toll on me, how I was 'working too hard' trying to please everyone.
I thought it was ridiculous that they'd worry about me that way.
Then she mentioned the duel, the stakes. I couldn't help but take my hands to my forehead and ask internally Why did things have to reach this stage?
"Cancel the duel–"
"I won't, Ray… I will fight her" Tsunade said naturally, not budging, not backtracking.
The next time I looked at her, she knew I wasn't happy.
"Don't look at me with those eyes, please... you have to understand me" She tried to reason with me, but everytime I thought about them fighting, I could only thinking about Kurumi and Solution fighting.
How bloody that had been and how Kurumi had cracked Solution's core, nearly killing her.
"What you're doing is ridiculous. It's just not something between Sirzechs, Grayfia and me. Millicas is there too, Tsunade!"
Their deal was that if Tsunade won, Grayfia would have to leave Sirzechs and become a maid at our home... if Grayfia won, then Tsunade would give up her job as a Hokage and become a 'housewife'.
Both stakes were vicious; they were the next worst thing after directly asking them to cut ties with me, they aimed at the other party's freedom, and that's why I knew their duel was not going to be honourable.
"I have allowed her to stay with Lucifer because I don't want Millicas to grow up missing his mother. Why would you ask that from her?".
Seeing that I pressed onto her, Tsunade's countenance contorted in anger, and she rose, her aura flaring enough to wake up Azrael.
"She's the one who told me I should retire and give up on you. Am I supposed to accept that!? She's also the one who challenged me to a duel; I didn't challenge her! If you want to scold someone, go and scold that maid, not me!"
I frowned and held her wrist, "I will call Grayfia to come here, and you two are going to cancel this duel in front of me".
"I won't".
Tsunade slapped my hand away, leaving me aghast. She stood up and left the bath. I couldn't believe it.
"My lord, you should go after her..." I heard Azrael mumble next to me. When I looked at her, I could tell she was restraining herself.
"It angers me, but we should try to put ourselves in her perspective, even if just once".
"..."
This angel of mine had really started to become more human and emotional. I kissed her, apologised that I couldn't continue this bath with her, and then chased after Tsunade with slow steps.
I only had to follow the wet trail that she left behind. She walked up to the kitchen, where she picked up some robes and wrapped herself in them. I stood up behind with a bit of distance, watching what she was doing.
Tsunade looked in some stalls and took out some bottles of what I presumed was alcohol. I didn't say a word, I only watched her.
She turned around with a bottle, looked at me once, and proceeded to serve herself a cup. She downed it all in one go; her countenance looked distasteful.
"After you massaged me, alcohol doesn't taste the same. It doesn't have the same effect on me that it used to have" She took a seat and filled up another cup; she didn't even offer me some.
"Why do you want to drink?" I took a seat opposite her at the table.
When she saw me sit down, she took another cup and served me one, although her expression told me she knew I wasn't going to like it.
When I tasted it, however, it was nice and sweet.
"It's good".
"... lucky you", She rolled her eyes, "Perhaps it's because I have drunk so much in my life and become an addict... I no longer appreciate alcohol for what it is"
"It only matters if it makes me drunk or not".
"..."
"You asked me why I drink? I don't know... this is the first time we have fought, I feel angry... exalted, a bit disappointed," She said, downing another cup... she looked to see if my cup was empty to fill it back up, but I had only taken a few sips.
"With me?" I asked.
"Yes, with you".
"Because I don't want you to get injured? You are angry with me because of that?".
Her eyes contorted once again, and even her rinnegan came out as she cracked her teeth. I thought we were having a normal conversation, but she was getting angrier by the minute.
"Do you think I will lose to her? You are taking Grayfia's side".
"It is not about who wins or loses, Tsunade! Solution and Kurumi almost massacred each other! You all don't know how to hold back with one another! Kurumi and Solution were very hard to kill, but you are not; Grayfia is not immortal either!"
These women are reaching a point in strength where I can't stop them easily, even if I wanted to.
"I can't run from a fight... and who says I am going to kill her? Besides... does it matter if either of us dies?".
I gasped at what she said. She sent me the most venomous gaze while drinking directly from the bottle.
"You have so many women anyway... does it matter if two of us go missing? You're unaffected, you don't care, stop trying to pretend you care..."
She finished downing the complete bottle, almost desperate to get drunk, but when our eyes met, she realised she had gone too far... she realised she had hurt me with her words.
"I-I'm sorry–" She stuttered with regret.
I took the collar of her robes and yanked her to me. Once our lips met one another, there was shock, like an electrical circuit complete once more. Tsunade didn't move or say anything for a long time. The kiss came out of nowhere... she was maybe even expecting me to slap her.
But I would never do that.
After I finished savouring her lips, I stared at her straight in the eye, "I know those are empty words... I know you don't mean that..."
I saw the tears well up in her eyes. Tsunade crawled on top of the table, discarding the empty bottle and the others she was still trying to drink. She straddled me and sobbed.
"I am sorry... I am sorry... if I don't get drunk, I just start spitting nonsense... things I know I will regret".
I kissed her again, harder this time, trying to remove her tears and also trying to remove the bruise her words had just caused in me.
It was in the middle of our kisses, our first fight and our first make-up, where we felt a couple of presences lurk in the shadows.
Tsunade separated from me, alert, only to let it down when the darkness materialised into a giggling silhouette, a tall, ravishing woman with a white dress and a gorgeous hat.
"Popopo~ it is good that you apologised, Tsunade".
"Don't pressure her, Haku" I said, trying not to exacerbate the situation.
"Right~".
While Haku materialised from the shadows, Yasaka came out of limbo as if she had appeared from the nothingness. She glared at Tsunade just slightly and then smiled.
"We all have our problems... I guess being tolerant is also a part of what makes us family. You said you wanted to get drunk, right?".
She waved her hands and a bottle materialised on the table. However, this was not a common bottle. Straight out of Takamagahara, it was a beverage for gods.
"Would you like the lighter version..."
She then waved her hands again, and another bottle appeared, this one didn't have Japanese scripture, but rather, greek.
"Or the strong version?~".
Tsunade looked at both bottles and then at me.
"I need something strong, Yasaka".