#100thseal

❝ how are you feeling, GODAIME-SAMA? ❞ his timid voice fills the silence, and the jinchuriki expects no answer. it's a stark contrast seeing her like this -- tsunade had always been powerful and proud; steadfast like the foundations of the earth, violent like raging ocean, and still her hands must've saved more lives than lee could possibly count. his included, and yet he cannot repay her in any way that matters. he stands guard like a rugged dog, in silent wait for whatever danzo would send her way. ❝ he's beginning to make a move for the hokage seat. ❞

he wouldn't dare to lean down to take tsunade's hands, though he wanted to, he really wanted to. lee's scared, danzo's cancerous influence has corrupted konohagakure for years now / / / DRY ROOTS DIGGING THROUGH DIRT AND GRAVEL, lest his venom spreads to the precious leaves. a shaky breath betrays his attempt at renewed composure, the audacity of this man, not even waiting a week before moving the pieces. ❝ konoha needs you, hokage-sama, I NEED YOU. ❞ wake up, please wake up, don't make him serve as ambassador under the likes of danzo shimura.

 ❝           i    …       i'm   sorry,   lady   tsunade.    ❞         she'd   been   speaking,   but   all   he'd   heard   was   static   after   the   initial   question.   maybe   it   was   the   three-day   travel   and   lack   of   sleep,   or   just   the   overwhelming   stress   of   the   last   year   settling   in   his   bones   in   the   unfamiliar   place.  @100thseal's   office   smelt   like   incense   and   sweets,   and   unlike   his   office   in   suna,   the   room   was   overwhelmingly   quiet.    

❝ TSUNADE-SAMA, please- my son, jiraya-sama must've told you- ❞ he stumbles over his own words, if by his will or want alone, he'd rag her along, using the gate of joy if he must. ❝ the toad sage assured me he'd inform you - my lee is at home, in confinement, the elders have forbidden - ❞ the words alone clench something harsh and aching in his chest, daily he reminded of his own failures, as both a master and father; but! with tsunade's help, he could begin to make up for it at last! ❝ BUT BE ASSURED - !! the nibi has yet to show itself, or even so much as stir in it's flimsy seal - ❞

something about tsunade's expression makes him halt. ❝ the nibi. . . the two tails?? during orochimaru's attack my lee was forced to become it's jinchuriki. . . you have been informed?? ❞

first meeting sentence starters. send one to have our muses meet for the first time.

she jests; painted lips brimming with a sly smile. as her manicured teasingly grips along hinata's shoulder, a startled meep slips from her lips. " i-it was .. a joint effort, " a shy admission of all the kunoichi deciding to make their girls-only dinner a frequent occurrence. pale eyes lift, meeting with tsunade's now softened expression—a stark difference from her usual fierce and serious demeanor. even she, head of the village, deserves a break now and then with her fellow villagers &women alike. " s-sakura-san mentioned you haven't had much of a break, so .. " ( what better way than to share a meal in such trying times? )

he sizes up that little cup in her hands with a squint. he can smell the earthy root which serves as the base of this tonic, something like mugwort. it'll be bitter on his tongue. the taste itself could wake a corpse , he's sure ... for something held in such a small vessel, it's potent. deadly, he dares think, something ironic in the medicinal blend meant to aid in his recovery. naruto's eyes find hers, a silent plea for mercy. but she remains steadfast, unhelpful. ( oh, the cruelty ! ) finally, his head jerks to the side. his eyes are squeezed shut, as though it'll make her go away. she doesn't. finally, he is done testing her patience and resigns himself to this fate.

this should teach him to place higher value on knocking before entering—though, in his defense, the door had enticed him with a dim lance of ambient light that'd pierced through an unattended gap into the hallway. like an open invitation. like he's being expected. and now it's just him, the fifth hokage, and the massive crater engraved into the wall right beside his head. ... maybe it hadn't been an invitation so much as a trap laid out for a different kind of visitor. lure them in, like moths to a flame. he's happy enough to not be the target moth tonight; even happier to possess decent-enough reflexes to sidestep a mislaunched punch. ( surely she would've managed to stay her hand if anyone less agile had come along? ... he dares not imagine it. )

Without moving, Madara turned keen sight upon painted nails, how they take in the harsh white light of his ward, and seem to glow.     ❛ Hmm, ❜ he considered for mere moments.     ❛ That will make a good canvas. ❜ A diplomatic way for him to say that it was still too plain in his eyes. Between leaders, Madara maintained a long practiced grace to conversations. ❛ Upon which daisies shall find delight. ❜