Naruto : A Fool's Errand.

Tsunade walked towards the Senju compound with Shizune and Tonton, her arms occasionally trembled and Shizune was looking at her with a worried gaze.

"Tsunade-sama…." Shizune whispered but Tsunade didn't stop or even react to the sound, her eyes remained focused on the dusty path she was walking on while trying her best to ignore the swimming feeling that was taking over her vision.

Shizune said nothing anymore and continued to walk along with Tsunade as they arrived at the outskirts of the village where Tsunade's home was located.

*Click* *Click*

Tsunade placed her hand on the doorknob and tried unlocking it, but her hands weren't able to make a full turn.

"Shizune do you have the keys to the door?"

Shizune placed her hand in her shinobi tools pouch and quickly pulled out a sealing tag that contained the keys. "Here Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade grabbed the key and stuck it into the door but much to her surprise and annoyance the key didn't go fully into the slot.

"Huh?"

"Did that bastard of a teacher sell away my house too?"

Shizune frowned at this, but she quickly stepped in and tried opening the door herself with the help of the key.

"Is it broken Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked after finding the lock to be as still as a rock.

"Tsk." Tsunade clicked her tongue and then walked up to the closest window before trying to open it, and to her relief, the window was left open so she could quickly enter the house.

Shizune followed behind her, but as soon as she stepped into the house both Tsunade and Shizune froze for a few seconds as they saw used dishes on the table and in the kitchen sink.

"Did we not clean the table and the room before we left?" Tsunade asked with a frown.

Shizune shook her head, "No, Tsunade-sama, I remember clearing everything. I made sure that if we'd ever return the house would be waiting for us in the best condition."

"So someone else is living here?" Tsunade asked annoyed, her brows had furrowed and she looked angrier.

But before she did anything else, Tsunade looked at Shizune and gave her a simple order.

"Figure out who's staying here. And make some food for us if you can, I'm feeling hungry and don't feel like going into the village. I will go clean myself."

Shizune nodded and left to search around the house while Tsunade released a stiff *sigh* before walking slowly towards the washroom.

As soon as Tsunade entered the bathroom she quickly picked up the bucket that was filled with water and drenched herself from head to toe with it.

She hadn't even undressed but she made sure any blood that remained stuck on her body was quickly scrubbed away.

She felt disgusted by the sight of blood, her hands rubbed them away even while they trembled when her eyes fell on them.

Images flashed past her eyes as she remembered the day and its happenings before she dropped into the bathtub that had been filled with warm water.

'What a stupid day.'

Tsunade spent the next few minutes soaking herself into the warm water as she kept her eyes closed and wondered about what she would do next.

'...should I go back to Tanzaku?'

'No…I'm sure they'll send someone to come find me to cover for both those traitors that tucked their tails and ran away.'

Slowly, Tsunade's thoughts came to a stop as she indulged herself in relaxing her muscles before stepping out and drying herself with a towel from her storage scroll and changing her clothes.

After she was done, Tsunade calmly walked out of the room and stepped into the living room where she found Shizune waiting for her with a confused expression.

"Figure out anything about who's living here yet?" Tsunade asked and Shizune quickly nodded.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. It is someone called Tachibana Rei. He's living here and is quite close to the Daimyo."

"The Daimyo?" Tsunade asked confused and Shizune showed her a set of letters that she'd uncovered from the room upstairs.

"I found out that he's been receiving and sending letters to the Daimyo quite often-.

"The person is a royal family member and is likely the son of the Daimyo-"

"-It seems like the Hoka- the Ex-Hokage assigned someone the mission of delivering his letters to the daimyo court on his behalf, but whoever the person lived here was kept in touch often as long as they were in the village."

Tsunade took the letters and read a couple of them before frowning.

"So that bastard allowed this man to live in our home? How low could he get? Do you know where he has gone to and when he'll be back?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. It seems he is on a mission assigned to him by the Daimyo. The mission seems to have been quite important since the Daimyo of the Land of Iron is also interested in it." Shizune explained pulling out the most recent letter.

Tsunade frowned but then quickly shook her head.

"Well that's none of our business, let's just clean everything up and tell him that he can't live here when he returns. I'm sure the village can give him a better living space than this one that is on the outskirts."

Shizune nodded and just as she was about to leave to cook dinner, they heard a soft *click* that dragged their attention towards the door before it *creaked* open.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows and looked at Shizune before quickly walking towards the door and yanking it open.

But what she saw left her a little confused.

"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked as she looked at the boy she recognised. But before he could speak, she spoke again, quickly-

"Did Shikaku send you here? I don't want to have anything to do with this village. Tell him I will be leaving from here as soon as I want to."

Tsunade was about to shut the door but she suddenly opened it and looked at the boy on the other side again.

"Also tell Shikaku that whoever is the son of the Daimyo that lives here should be given another area to live in. I'm going to be taking over this place since it is mine."

Tsunade was then about to slam the door shut but the boy finally managed to speak.

"This is where I live."

"Huh?" Tsunade's arm froze midway through swinging the door and she slowly opened the door once again.

"You're Tachibana Rei? The son of the Daimyo?"

Tachibana nodded.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. And this is where I live."

Tsunade immediately frowned.

"Then that's good. You can pack up your things and quickly leave."

"..." Tachibana looked at her and frowned for a second.

'So she was the one that lived here before?'

'...but where do I go to stay now?'

'...isn't this a little rude? How did she even get inside when the door was locked?'

'And why is she kicking me out of the place I was living in all this time…like three months…'

Tachibana's frown deepened but he finally nodded.

"Alright. I can pack up and leave. Do you know where I can go to live though?"

Now it was Tsunade's turn to frown.

"Don't you have friends? Ask one of your teammates to take you in."

Tachibana nodded as he thought about Sasuke and Naruto before speaking up again, "Alright. I'll leave then. Let me take my stuff. Not a lot of things that I have around here."

Tsunade nodded and allowed Tachibana to enter the house. And instead of following him around she quickly walked over to the sofa in the living room and collapsed into it.

Leaving Tachibana free to do his thing.

Shizune on the other hand helped Tachibana pack up his things before she saw him off at the door and waved a short good bye before starting to work on dinner for Tsunade, herself and Tonton.

Just as Tsunade and Shizune were about to eat, however, they heard a *knock* again.

Tsunade opened the door and frowned.

"...why are you here again?"

Tachibana gave her a wry smile before speaking, "My Teammates are missing…and I don't know anyone else in the village."