2 years, 12 years old (edited)

/2 years later/

Zasu was worried, not because of the insane amount of training he had to undertake these past two years. No, he was afraid because Tsunade had decided to give him a day to rest. This had never happened before, as his 'rest' days were chakra control training days.

"Shizune, do you know where Tsunade is," He asked the blushing woman across from him. He had noticed that she had been blatantly staring at him since he entered the room. Though this was normal, his body had changed quite a bit in the two years.

"No, she left in the morning claiming it was for 'business. I can't help but worry for her; I don't want her to look for another loan shark," Shizune said tiredly, and He didn't blame her.

When Zasu found out that he was going to be Tsunade's second apprentice, he was overjoyed. He thought he had made it; now he has an in with the leaf village and an influential teacher who can help him grow quickly.

How foolish he was; after leaving the hidden steam village, the Tsunade, Shizune, and Zasu headed to the next town over. During the trip, Zasu experience Tsunade's hellish training. Although he had seen the show and remembered how sakura's training was, he had to admit that reality was far worse than he could ever imagine.

He was required to 'spar' with Tsunade every morning; these spars would leave him half dead before she healed him and went for another round. This continued until lunch; from there, he would study medical ninjutsu and human biology. During the evening, Shizune would teach him history about the leaf village and the other hidden villages.

This lasted six months, and it was then that Zasu understood why Shizune was always worried about Tsunade. Tsunade seemed happy about Zasu's progress, so she returned to her gambling habits. At first, it was alright with the group of three barely scraping by. It wasn't until eight months after Zasu left the steam village that Tsunade started to go to loan sharks that would lend her enough RYO to run a small clan.

This would lead to a vicious cycle that would run continuously for the next year and two months. First, Tsunade would 'borrow' money from the local towns gang, lose it all to the local casino, then have Zasu and Shizune deal with the gang. Then they would use the bounties from the higher-ranked gang members to pay for the inn in the next town and do it all over again.

Zasu had wondered when he watched the show how Tsunade could live that lifestyle since she had blown her Senju fortune. But, after experiencing the first cycle, he understood he had underestimated Tsunade's viciousness.

"Well, I scouted the town before we arrived; there seems to be no gang here or any official loan sharks," Zasu said with a sigh.

"Well, I would want to know what official business she has then in such a small town, Especially at night," Shizune said with a sigh of relief.

"I can always send Kiwi to look for her," Zasu said, as he sensed the Nature spring bird he named Kiwi on top of his head. When Kiwi first appeared in front of Tsunade and Shizune all those years ago, they were mainly curious as to why a bird was following Zasu. He claimed that his natural energy attracted it and that he liked the bird. So they both bought it and gave the bird a curious glance before they got bored and did other things.

"No, if she said it was for business, she should have a reason not to tell us. As long as it isn't anything we have to clean up later, it should be fine. we should listen to lady Tsunade and wait." But, Shizune told him, lady Tsunade had been sending letters back and forth lately deep into the night. Shizune thought she had been asking someone for money, if not because she somehow gave Zasu a ninja headband six months ago and told him he was a genin for the leaf village. This was around the time the letters started appearing.

'If it has to do with those letters, I'm almost certain Zasu is involved. The 3rd Hokage shouldn't be easily able to grant ninja status to outsiders. Even with lady Tsunade's influence.' Shizune thought as she looked at the boy who was meditating.

The boy had been becoming more and more beautiful as of late. Shizune thought that Zasu would have looked more feminine than masculine if not for the toned, lean muscles he was proudly displaying.

'Though once he puts on his robe, you can't even tell that his body is so well built.' Shizune thought it was a shame that Zasu didn't display his body more.

Zasu didn't know why but he could see that the woman he had been talking to was blushing far more than she had been these past couple of days. "You ok, Shizune?"

"Huh?… oh! Yeah yeah, I'm ok!" Shizune blurred out, seeing that she had been lost in her thoughts. To her embarrassment, this had been becoming more and more common these days. 'Lady Tsunade, hurry back,' Shizune thought; she didn't know how much longer she could take being alone with Zasu. She had always been nervous when she was alone with him. 'If only I were younger Shizune sighed as she blushed and became lost in thought again.