DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO. Yet this loveable and unique story is all mine.

After my TMM story concludes probably in the next two weeks than this story will become my main focus now that school is ending, and I'll have more time.

This is a story involved Jiraiya and Tsunade, but it does not take place when the show does. Instead I decided to do something different, the story takes place during their days as Team Sarutobi 3rd Hokage when they are teenagers. It will include Orochimaru being not psychotic just yet. They are all chuunin at the time and they are obviously still a team. If it's not exactly accurate sorry but I'm trying and I wanted to do it when they were younger and innocent.

Enjoy Chapter one. :D!

Blame it on Bad Luck

Chapter One: Reluctant Confession

Perhaps admitting is the first step into having an effective relationship. Sexual tension especially among friends, teammates, and co-workers can only lead to quarrels and even more fear to admitting one's feelings. Of course when someone is a ninja and romantically interested in another teammate there's always the scenario in your mind that they may never see them again or even that the person could die. This would sway one person's mind to confessing feelings before it is too late, just so they could have the chance. On the other hand, unrequited love on a team could create either awkwardness or hard feelings between teammates. Maybe all anyone needs on the subject of love and confessing someone's feelings is a teacher.

The tinkling of bells was the loudest noise heard in the training grounds of the village. The grounds consisted of a forest, a clearing, three posts, and the ominous tablet containing all of the ninja who had fallen in battle. Currently four ninja were occupying the clearing; three of them were training while one was testing their abilities to successfully obtain the bells from him. A thin, pale boy with raven hair was standing quietly next to a grinning, blond haired girl who was protectively clutching a bell in her hand while looking at their teacher with adoring eyes.

The last of the four of them was tied to a post with an unpleasant look on his face. The white haired boy glared with jealousy at Tsunade who was waving her bell maliciously in front of his eyes. Orochimaru stood on the side of her with the same indifferent look on his face holding his bell like it was nothing more than a piece of metal with a string attatched. The bell represented more. It showed how capable they were as ninjas and Jiraiya had failed to get one.

"You flat-chested hag," he began to yell, his white hair blowing in his face, "How the hell did you get a bell?!"

"Jealous much?" she commented back dangling the bell in front of his face. "I guess this test proves that Orochimaru and I are the better ninjas while you're nothing more than a joke."

"I blame it on bad luck!"

"Whatever," Tsunade mumbled placing her hands on her hips with much attitude radiating out of her body.

Within moments she was latched protectively onto Sarutobi-sensei's arm keeping a flirtatious smile on her face. Ever since they had become a team after graduating from the academy, Tsunade had always had some sort of attraction towards Sarutobi-sensei. From the first moment her big brown eyes fell upon him at the training grounds her eyes filled with some sort of desire to make him hers. There were her constant attempts to impress him by bringing down Jiraiya in some way, making him appear to be the inferior ninja. One day he could've had swore that he noticed her bra was stuffed with probably socks. Of course if he had ever addressed her on the issue of anything concerning her unmentionables she would concentrate so much chakra into her hand that when she punched him, he would no longer be breathing.

Instead of contemplating about his jutsus sometimes he found himself staring at her wondering what she saw in their sensei instead of him. There was obviously a certain sex appeal because he was older, rugged, and a more experienced ninja, but he was married and expecting children soon. Older men were way too experienced for her anyways and they wouldn't want some flat chested hag. The fact was that he was in his late twenties and they were teenagers, Tsunade should've been giving those adoring eyes to one of them instead of their own teacher. Well… that's at least what Jiraiya wanted to happen. Of course admitting that to Tsunade would never amount to anything. They were teammates. Getting involved romantically or even getting attatched as good friends would only amount to weakness.

"Come on Sarutobi-sensei," she cooed leading him away from Jiraiya and Orochimaru. "Let's go get some Ramen to celebrate our latest accomplishment of being good enough to gain the bells."

It wasn't much of an accomplishment to gain the bells now that they had all passed the chuunin exams with flying colors. The only reason Sarutobi-sensei made them retake the bell test was to reassess their skills after passing the exam. The first time they had all taken the test, they all had done pretty poorly. Orochimaru was the most motivated out of the three of them since Tsunade was at the age when she didn't realize being a ninja wasn't for the boys while Jiraiya only used many jutsus for jokes. They had all fallen for the tricks that every jounin was highly skilled in, but now they were all more experienced. Everything was different from the first time except for the outcome. Jiraiya always ended up on the post.

Tsunade had now exited with Sarutobi-sensei leaving Jiraiya still attatched to the wooden post next to a silent Orochimaru. Orochimaru was the only person he really considered to be a close friend. Even though he was silent almost all the time with a very serene and kind look on his face, he was a highly skilled ninja with powerful drive and enhanced skill for his age. Sarutobi-sensei always told Jiraiya to be more like him then he would be a truly glorious ninja. Orochimaru told him in confidence one night that he wanted to become Hokage and be known as one of the greatest ninjas who mastered every jutsu. Before that night, Jiraiya had only seen Orochimaru as a rival and nothing more. After that he began to notice a different side where he was vulnerable and ready to show his dreams but only to a selected few. The immaturity that Jiraiya was known for stopped for that night as he realized that he did not want to be a ninja just like Orochimaru. Instead he wanted to be remembered for something different. That was the night when Jiraiya realized he wanted to be a unique ninja and create his own style. Maybe with Orochimaru on his side, they could accomplish their goals together.

Obviously the relationship between Jiraiya and Tsunade was different. The only person she seemed to ever confide in was Sarutobi-sensei. Her relationship with Orochimaru was just average, nothing special they shared a few good laughs and had each other's backs if they ever needed anything but there was nothing more there.

Over the years since they had all become a team, Jiraiya quietly waited and watched from a distance. Waiting for something… anything to happen with Tsunade. His personality would never allow him to become close to her without possibly insulting her in some manner. Feelings were not his forte.

"Why…" Orochimaru began to speak after sitting in silence for a couple of moments, "don't you just tell her?"

"What?" Confusion was what was filling Jiraiya's mind at that moment. "I would never like that stuck-up flat chested brat!"

Had he really been that obvious? Maybe bickering was a sign of affection in Orochimaru's sick and twisted world, or maybe in the real world their constant bickering really did confide some sort of hidden meaning on the inside.

"I perhaps am wrong, but I can generally read people well," Orochimaru fidgeted for a moment. "What I am trying to say is that if you wish to tell her than you may wish to do it soon since you never know what can happen during our lives as ninja. I would… do that if I was in your situation."

Orochimaru wandered behind Jiraiya and began untying him from the post he was tied to being silent as usual. Even when he was silent Jiraiya understood exactly what he was trying to say; his wisdom did surpass his years. Jiraiya hit the ground with a thump and crossed his arms immediately giving Orochimaru a discontent glance. All he did was shrug and began to walk away. The wind blew his hair in his face as he looked up at the setting sun. Maybe it was time to tell her. It had been a couple of years and maybe the immaturity act was something he was beginning to outgrow. Maybe it was time for him to settle down. They were sixteen, they lived short lives.

In the spur of the moment, he took off running; his destination was the home that belonged to Tsunade.

Peering above the bush, Jiraiya glanced above him to see a roof that would provide the perfect view of Tsunade's window; at least he hoped it was her window. Sometimes he was just bad at figuring out whose house is whose. One day he thought he was peeping into the bathroom of a very attractive ninja by the name of Lyra only to find himself peering into the bathroom of Orochimaru. From that day on, he vowed to keep his eyes above the waist when looking at Orochimaru, but he most say… whoever gets involved with the quiet oddball will be a very happy person.

Placing his hands together and focusing his chakra he transported himself onto the rooftop overlooking Tsunade's window. He fell backwards and waited patiently. What approach he was going for was the Romeo and Juliet approach. Maybe if he romantically appeared below or at her window she would overlook his obviously young and immature behavior to favor him over Sarutobi-sensei. Of course he had only come up with a plan up until he was below her window. What he was going to actually say to her wasn't fully planned out yet. A figure appeared at the window but he couldn't make the person out fully yet. The curtains concealed their figure.

"Jiraiya," a familiar, slightly annoyed male voice bellowed him behind him.

Sarutobi-sensei loomed over Jiraiya with his arms crossed in a fashion that gave out the feeling of disappointment. The only times he had ever seen his sensei with that look on his face before was when he took all the toads from the academy and feared them into the wild. When Sarutobi-sensei asked why he had freed all of the toads, Jiraiya keenly answered that they needed to be liberated.

"Sen-sen-sensei!" he stammered pushing back onto the edge of the rooftop. "What are you doing here?!"

"I always come here to think," Sarutobi answered calmly taking a seat next to Jiraiya on the edge of the rooftop. "It helps me clear my head before I go home to my family. I believe the larger question is why you are up here."

Jiraiya pulled his legs to his chest, clutching them with a reluctant look on his face, "I was just going to pull a prank on that flat-chested hag! She totally deserves it for screwing me over today."

The statement wasn't completely false. If it wasn't for Tsunade than Jiraiya would've had a bell instead of her. A bell lay keenly on the ground in front of him after he had used a massive cloning jutsu forcing one of the bells off of Sarutobi-sensei's belt loop. It hit the ground with a small clink while it glimmered in the sunlight. A victorious feeling overcame Jiraiya as he sprinted towards his newly acquired bell giving him immunity from the post for the first time. Little did he know what was lurking in the bushes. A clear string obstructed his direct path causing him to fall flat on his face while tripping a booby trap set up by the clever Tsunade. A log flew down from a nearby tree knocking the already down Jiraiya into a tree with a thud. The world around him was spinning.

When he came to he saw a blond haired figure holding a bell protectively in her hand while she stuck her tongue out at him in a mocking way. He was tied to the post.

"A bit of a sore loser, aren't you?" Sarutobi-sensei questioned as the shadowy figure behind the curtain finally emerged.

With a swift motion the shadow pushed back the yellow curtains and opened up a window in the room below them. Tsunade's blond head poked out from the window and glanced below her window before retreating back inside. Her hair was down and all she was wearing was a yellow towel wrapped around her small framed body. An unwanted blush formed on Jiraiya's face as he tried to look everywhere else but in her window. It wasn't his first time seeing a female in the buff, but with Tsunade it felt different and like he shouldn't be studying her so closely. It was so embarrassing that he could even feel his white hair beginning to blush. Sarutobi-sensei was looking down at her window with a cheerful smile on his smug face. Finally Jiraiya realized why this was his spot to come and think everyday.

"Gosh, Sarutobi-sensei, you're a perv," Jiraiya mumbled loosing all respect he had for his own teacher.

"Shut up you little toad, she'll hear us!" Sarutobi responded placing his hand over Jiraiya's mouth to silence him. This only caused Jiraiya to make more noises, lick his hand, struggle, and attempt to bite him.

Tsunade stopped moving in the bathroom for a moment turning around and glancing out of the window before disappearing.

"Where did she go," Jiraiya muffled through Sarutobi's hands while they both glanced around for a couple of moments.

A puff of smoke appeared behind them within an instant revealing a very unhappy looking Tsunade only wearing a yellow bath towel with her hair down. Her angry eyes instantly found Jiraiya skipping over Sarutobi-sensei in a forgiving manner.

"Heh, flat-chesty, this isn't what it looks like," he stammered while placing his hands in front of him and backing up away from her slowly.

"Thanks Sarutobi-sensei for discovering him," Tsunade began as she clenched her fist focusing chakra into it, "You perv!"

With those final words a chakra focused punch sailed towards Jiraiya slammed into his cheek. All he could remember was falling off of the side of roof after loosing his balance. While he was falling Tsunade peered over the edge of the roof watching him careen towards the ground until he landed in a pool of water below. Maybe he shouldn't have followed Orochimaru's advice.

To Be Continued...

This is where I put my input and opinion on how this chapter came out. Well... the chapter is long because I wanted to set the mood for upcoming chapters but I sort of fear that maybe the ending seems slightly rushed, but oh well. Orochimaru may have a love interest... hmmm... I'm toying with the idea but he'll appear again in the future.

Well, that's pretty much it for chapter one, hopefully chapter two will be up soon so R&R please. :D! Thanks for reading.