Simple Remembrance
Luna Silvereyes
A/N: It's been a long time since I sat down and started a chapter fanfiction, mostly because I'm all but retired from writing these things. My goal is to finish my current chapter stories, remove ones that have no chance at surviving, and continue to publish the occasional oneshot. Obviously, this is the exception, as I've had this planned for a while. I published a trilogy dedicated to the lives of the Sannin as they each reminisce in their own way, the days when life was simpler and when they still shared a bond that, as recent chapters seem to be showing, they clearly miss deep down. But I wanted to do one more addition to that series showing my take on how they met and interacted those first few years. Very little information on their backstories are available, so I'm taking what's already there and combining it with the dots I connected myself to form something of a cohesive narrative that's accurate as well. I hope you enjoy it, as this will probably be my last new chapter story while I work on finishing the others so I can officially retire.
This story is a means to explore the once close friendship these three had and how it might have evolved over the years. I know Jiraiya obviously has a crush on Tsunade, but I don't intend to explore any non-canon romantic pairings. Also, for a good portion of the story, they're all around the same age; Jiraiya and Orochimaru are both six and Tsunade is about five and a half, turning six before graduation. Yes, I'm aware this makes a plothole in my Reprieve story, but I'll fix it when I can. It's not a hard plothole.
The First Quiet Days
To say that the Leaf village was boring wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. Moments of excitement and terror were fleeting. Shinobi kept to their posts and missions throughout the village, the civilians acted as normally as humanly possible for living within one of the great hidden villages, and the youngsters behaved as youngsters always do.
"Dammit Jiraiya, get back here with that rice!"
"Aw c'mon, I gotta eat too!"
To the regular shopkeepers, the sight of the old rice shop man barreling after the spiky-haired idiot and the sagging bag of rice was fairly commonplace. They charged through, whipping up a brief and wispy dust cloud that settled quickly, once again returning life to normal along the sunny, dusty roads.
One of the civilians sighed, pausing in her sweeping to stare in apathy after them as they disappeared down the road; "Honestly, you'd think old Daikichi would give it up after a while," she said, scratching her head beneath the kerchief keeping the dust away. The older woman sitting beneath the bamboo awning, repairing a reed mat, chuckled, "Ah, I'm convinced he does it for fun these days," she chortled, "After all, Jiraiya usually snatches rice from the Komori shop a few roads down,"
The younger woman sighed, chuckling, "They probably started posting sentries. Daikichi may be old, but he's no pushover. He was quite a shinobi in his day," she said, smiling.
The old woman beamed, "As will Jiraiya be if he actually decides to focus on his studies, Tomoko,"
Tomoko snorted and covered her mouth, stifling a laugh, "You must be joking, grandma. That boy has too many screws loose to even hope to reach Daikichi's level,"
The old woman sighed, shaking her head, "Never judge someone so irresponsibly, Tomoko. What with that man you married, I'd think you'd know that better than anyone,"
Tomoko instantly petrified, her face reddening, "Koji's not that crazy! The Inuzuka clan has a reputation, but they're very honorable!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, yes, wolves are quite honorable, but there's no changing the fact that they're wolves. The same can be said for that clan. I think you understand what I mean, correct?"
Tomoko whirled and stalked into the shop, "That's totally different from this!" she vented, slamming the door behind her. The old woman sighed and shook her head, "My, how the youth of today has changed. Next thing you know, our young Village Madness might decide to buckle down for once,"
She fell silent, resuming her repair work.
/ooo/
Jiraiya skidded to a halt around a corner, panting heavily as he slid to the ground with a groan, "Aw damn it, now what am I gonna eat?" he whined, "I was gonna pay him back tomorrow, I swear!"
He folded his arms with a hefty sigh, "Ah well. I still have some cans at home that'll do. Ugh," he cringed, making a face at the thought of canned food. It couldn't be helped though; Daikichi was faster than he'd thought. Jiraiya had been forced to dump the rice bag and take to the rooftops if he wanted to escape the wrath of the crippled old soldier's walking stick. And now, his stomach was reprimanding him for it, big time.
He heaved himself to his feet, feeling exhausted and achy from that intense run. He made a mental note to never steal from Daikichi Morino ever again. Or at least to never let him catch him at it.
"Aw who am I kidding? It's not like I want to steal the stuff; I'm just hungry and I left my money at home," Jiraiya grumbled.
He looked up at the sky; the endless, cloudless expanse was starting to get red as night began to set in. For as long as he could remember, a red sky had always symbolized some kind of calamity of despairing event for him. Now, he stared up blankly, feeling that weird tingling sense of foreboding settle over him, though for the life of him, he wasn't sure why. Besides, it was quickly overshadowed by the grumbling in his stomach.
He desperately fished through his pockets for any change or something, even enough to buy a snack bar at one of the stores. Something, anything!
He gasped and turned his pocket inside out to quickly reveal—two ryo. His face fell and he groaned, "Aw, that's not even enough for a seasoning packet,"
He shoved it back into his pocket and kicked a pebble, hating life.
Since he had no family, he'd become a ward of the village, his living expenses and tuition at the academy covered by the council, as was the case with all children who were either orphaned or living on their own. As such, he received a small weekly allowance of sorts to cover his necessities, such as food. However, he couldn't deny the voracity of his appetite at times and his money never lasted long as a result. On nights like this, when a whole day would pass without food, he paid for it.
He decided he'd just trudge back home and hope he found something decent in the cupboard.
He paused when he heard a faint chuckling from close by, turning abruptly, "Hey! Who's laughing back there! Taika, is that you?" he yelled, expecting his classroom rival to come bursting out of the shadows. However, he wasn't expecting to see this person jump down from one of the rooftops, hand in a pocket and watching him bemusedly. He stammered a bit in shock, "L-Lord Hokage,"
"In person, Jiraiya," Hiruzen Sarutobi said nonchalantly, "So, what are you doing skulking about the streets at this hour?"
Jiraiya looked down in irritation, mostly to himself, "Nothing, I was heading home,"
Sarutobi nodded, completely seeing through the kid's farce, "I see. So I must have imagined I heard someone complaining about being hungry,"
Jiraiya froze, looking on in disbelief as Sarutobi looked skyward, scratching his chin as if in deep thought, "Yes, you see, my wife made a couple of sandwiches for me today, but my old teammates invited me to go with them tonight so I wasn't sure what to do with these. I certainly can't just throw them away; that would be terribly wasteful," he said, holding up a boxed lunch in his other hand and smiling.
Jiraiya bristled and looked away, horribly torn. He knew that the somewhat dual-natured Hokage was offering him a free meal, but at the same time, he felt his stubborn pride shine through, preventing him from even looking in his direction.
"Why not just save them for later?" he said, confused as to why Sarutobi would even offer them to him. The Hokage shrugged and chuckled, "They only taste good on the day they're made. Besides, I happen to have overheard what you did earlier today, Jiraiya," he said, a touch of knowing mischief sneaking into his voice. Jiraiya cringed. Busted.
"T-That was—" he attempted to explain, but Sarutobi cut him off, walking over and plopping the box atop Jiraiya's head with a smile, "I'll tell you what," he said, "I know that you'd never stoop to outright stealing, right Jiraiya?"
"R-Right,"
"So, with the hope of both preventing any further impromptu rice races through the village, as well as extending your next weekly allowance, I'll give these to you on the promise that you try to be a little more conservative from now on, all right?"
Leaving the box balanced on Jiraiya's head, he stepped back, an amused grin on his face as he watched the kid's baffled expression shift with the confusion of the situation. He reached up to take the box off his head, holding it with a bit of a sour expression on his face, "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. I swear I was gonna pay him back tomorrow, but I just...,"
Sarutobi scratched his head with a sigh and then reached forward to ruffle Jiraiya's spiky white hair, "It's okay," he said gently, "I understand, but if you want any hope of passing the class at the academy and being assigned to a team, you need to be a little more discreet. If you can't even steal a bag of rice properly, how do you expect to sneak into an enemy compound and steal a scroll, huh?" he said, laughing. He clapped Jiraiya on the back, "I'd better not catch you again,"
Jiraiya stared at him gape-jawed, unable to believe that not only was he not going to get into trouble for attempting to steal the rice, but that Sarutobi was advising him to become better at it. Fortunately, Jiraiya caught onto his real meaning. Don't terrorize the villagers, but when necessary became necessary, don't be a complete idiot about it and alert the whole village.
Sarutobi turned suddenly, eyes narrowed as a blur of black landed catlike on the ground before them, straightening up and approaching soundlessly. Jiraiya stared wide-eyed as the Anbu agent approached and muttered something to the older man. Sarutobi frowned and then smiled and nodded, "Oh, so they've arrived. Very well, I'll head to the tower now. No doubt they'll go there first. Jiraiya, stay out of trouble, all right?"
"S-Sure," the kid stammered, watching as the Hokage and Anbu agent took off across the rooftops. It was fairly common knowledge that the Third Hokage liked to wander the village at his leisure, greeting the people and making idle conversation whenever he could, unlike the Second, whose reign Jiraiya barely recalled, and who often liked to keep to himself in order to prioritize his work for the betterment of the village. Glancing down at the sandwiches he held, he couldn't suppress a happy and relieved grin at the prospect of actually getting to eat soon.
/ooo/
The following day found most of the younger generation attending their classes at the academy. The day was overcast, creating a bit of a cold front which came as a welcome boon from the scorching heat the past few weeks.
Sitting a few rows up from the main floor, one girl yawned slightly, resting her head in her arms for a few precious moments before the teacher came in. She couldn't believe how tired she was. The previous day had been spent in Taijutsu training, her developing forte. But she hadn't taken the time to warm up or cool down before and after due to threats of rain, so now she felt it. She rubbed her sore shoulders and grimaced, "Ugh, what a way to start the day, Tsunade. Good job, I'm proud of ya," she grumbled to herself before plopping down again with a sigh.
She felt a tap on her back and turned, facing the younger girl with pigtails sitting behind her. She smiled, "Hey Tsunade, you okay?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine Midori. I just overdid it on yesterday's training session," Tsunade said, grinning, "Give me an hour and I'll be good to go,"
Midori giggled, "You might get it. I heard a cool rumor this morning,"
Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, somewhat intrigued at the prospect of gossip, "Oh? What's that?" she asked, leaning back to hear her better. Midori leaned forward and whispered, "I heard that our class is taking in a new student. I overheard Sarutobi-Sensei talking to Kaiyo-Sensei about it this morning. He said, and I quote 'make sure to keep an eye on him for his first day,'"
Tsunade hummed, looking away, "This might be interesting. Are they planning to introduce him soon?"
"Probably today," Midori said, flipping her braids back over her shoulders. She glanced toward the door suddenly and shot back in her seat, facing forward blankly. Tsunade quickly did the same, as this signaled their teacher coming into the classroom.
The door slid open and Sarutobi stepped inside, moving aside to let someone through. The whole room fell silent as a young boy appeared, walking slowly behind the Hokage as they entered the room. Every set of eyes focused on him curiously, trying to get a better look at him. It wasn't often new students were moved into the class. On top of that, this kid was new. Tsunade instantly realized that she, like everyone here, had never seen him before, which was saying something. The Leaf Village was big but not that big. Just about everyone knew everyone else. There were very few people who went so unnoticed that someone wouldn't recognize who they were.
He was small, probably only about five or six. His hair was long and pitch black, covering part of his face as he walked with his head down. Tsunade couldn't see his face well, but she could see his hands clenched at his sides and was startled to see that they were an extremely stark white. Her first thought was 'albino', but the sight of his contrasting dark hair expelled that thought instantly. His clothes were odd, too. They consisted of a plain off white, almost lavender robe and sash. It gave him a bizarre ethereal look.
Sarutobi stopped in the center of the room and cleared his throat out of habit when speaking, "Class, today we have a new member joining us. This is Orochimaru,"
He gently nudged the boy forward, hoping he'd at least look at his new classmates. However, he kept his eyes firmly trained downward. Sarutobi looked up, "He's recently arrived from outside the boundaries of the village walls and will be living within the Leaf from now on. I'm sure you're all curious about this, but I ask that you respect his space and give him some time to adjust. With that in mind, please try to make him feel as welcome as possible, all right?"
Everyone responded 'yes Sensei' in unison. Sarutobi nodded in approval and scanned the classroom, eyes narrowed slightly, "Tsunade," he said.
She shot up, "Yes sir?"
"He's going to sit next to you for now. You have the highest marks, so please explain whatever he doesn't understand. I believe we're a bit farther ahead than he might be prepared for,"
She nodded, processing the details of her mission. She watched as Orochimaru slowly made his way up the steps and paused at the aisle to the long desk she sat at. For the first time, he raised his head enough that she caught a glimpse of his face. His face, like his hands, was a shocking white. She still couldn't see his eyes well. She stood up to let him pass to the seat beside the window. He moved past her without a word, not even glancing at her as he did. He pulled the chair out and sat down slowly, looking around almost blearily as if registering where he was. Tsunade sat back down and smiled, "Do you have any books yet?" she whispered, as Sarutobi had begun that day's lesson. However, instead of answering, Orochimaru seemed to shrink in on himself a bit, staring hard at his desk. Tsunade opened her book and slid herself and the book a little closer to him so she could see too, "Here, we can share my book until you get your own," she said in a hushed voice. She reached around for a bag and pulled out a sheet of paper and some pencils, "Here, for notes," she whispered, handing these to him. He took them mechanically and looked at them a moment before setting them down on the desk in front of him.
Tsunade started reading the current paragraphs talking about the importance of a three-person squad on the battlefield for beginning Genin versus the usual required four-person squad used by Chuunin and Jonin. However, she looked up momentarily to see that he was staring off into space toward the window. She frowned curiously; was he not interested or something? She turned to the next page and noticed slight movement to her left. Upon looking over at him, she saw that he'd returned his gaze to the book. He remained that way for a little under a minute and then turned away again. Tsunade's eyes bugged in amazement; he was reading, and fast! Really fast! No wonder he was spacing out; he'd finished the whole two open pages in less than half the time it took her to finish!
With the approaching next paragraph, Tsunade turned the page and watched as his head came back around to continue reading. This time, she was able to see his face completely.
She felt her breath catch in...amazement? Alarm? Consternation? She wasn't sure what to call it, but she was most definitely startled. His eyes were a deep golden color and rimmed with purple markings that ran from his eyelids to the bridge of his nose, almost like a...a...
Snake
She felt a chill run down her spine at the thought, but quickly shook it away. She was being ridiculous for feeling afraid of that strange concept; he was just a kid and even smaller than she was. She mentally berated herself for acting stupid.
It seemed to her that morning classes lasted far longer than they should've, because when it was time for lunch, she found herself more than relieved to move away from her despondent desk mate.
"Hey, Tsunade!" Midori exclaimed, "Do you wanna eat lunch with us outside?"
Tsunade grinned, "Yeah! I'll meet you guys—"
However, she was interrupted- "Tsunade, can I see you for a moment please?"- by Sarutobi standing by his desk in the lower corner of the classroom. Tsunade frowned and bit her lip slightly before smiling apologetically at Midori, "Sorry, maybe some other time. Gotta talk to Sensei," she said.
Midori groaned in dismay and sighed, "Okay. See you after lunch, Tsunade," she said, turning to join another group of girls headed outside. Tsunade cast one quick glance at Orochimaru who hadn't moved an inch from his spot. He was still reading the textbook, flipping pages farther into it than they'd covered yet. Maybe he was just bored.
She sprinted down the steps and skidded to a halt at Sarutobi's desk. He stood up, "Follow me a moment,"
Watching him curiously, Tsunade trailed after him, wondering if she'd done something wrong. Maybe he'd overheard her talking during class as she explained the book to Orochimaru, or maybe he'd noticed she hadn't actually been following the lesson that day.
He led her out into the hallway and next door to an empty classroom. He opened the door and bade her inside, shutting it behind them and sitting down at one of the desks with a sigh, "Take a seat, Tsunade," he said, "I have something to tell you,"
She did as instructed, sitting down across from him with her hands folded in her lap, watching him expectantly. He sighed, scratching his head in a stalling way, as if wondering where to begin.
"Tsunade, about the new student," he began quietly, "I'm sure you're wondering why I placed him with you,"
"I was wondering about that, but it's your decision," Tsunade said flatly.
"That's true, but you have every right to refuse, especially with what I'm about to tell you," he said almost wearily, "First off, there are a few things you should know about him. I'm sure you've noticed he's very quiet,"
That went without saying; Orochimaru hadn't so much as coughed the entire morning. Tsunade wondered if he was even breathing half the time. Sarutobi continued, "I mentioned that he came from outside the village. This is true, and this is also why you've never seen him, as he only arrived late last night with a group of Anbu Black Ops. I was aware that this would make the others curious about a student they've never seen before,"
"Why is he here?" she asked.
"That...that's the tricky part, Tsunade. I want you to promise that whatever is said does not leave this room. It's his business if he ever wishes to discuss it, but this stays between us, all right?" he said sternly. Tsunade nodded firmly; gossip was one thing, but this was private business. She almost felt honored that Sarutobi was deciding to trust her with this, whatever it was. He sighed, "About a week ago, Orochimaru's parents were both brutally murdered in their home," he said grimly, gazing off toward the window. Tsunade felt the blood drain from her face as she comprehended his words, "M-Murdered?" she repeated, horrified.
"Yes. They were found by wandering Mist shinobi when the door to the home was discovered broken in. He was found hiding in a small compartment inside one of the closets, but it's entirely likely he witnessed, or at least heard the entire thing occur,"
"But," Tsunade exclaimed, her eyes wide, "But why were they murdered?"
Sarutobi eyed her thoughtfully, blinking slowly, "I don't want to burden you with complicated political affairs, Tsunade. However, with what I intend to ask you, it's necessary that you know. Orochimaru's father was a very high ranking shinobi official in the Mist Village, assistant to the Mizukage himself, while his mother was of Leaf origin and lived outside the Mist village with Orochimaru. It was likely a political scrape that got out of hand. He was sent here and his parents have been given a proper burial here both to protect any secrets they might have carried and to lessen the burden on their son by allowing him to visit their grave. Mist shinobi rebels won't risk breaking into the Leaf and igniting a war simply for unearthing two corpses. The stakes are too high,"
He sighed, "As a result of all of this, Orochimaru is deep in shock, Tsunade, and likely to remain this way for a long time. Since you're so outgoing, I thought putting him with you would help to bring him out a little bit. Despite your age, you're intelligent enough to understand the weight of the situation and why it must be kept secret until further notice. Just remember, treat him like you would anyone else; don't let him know that I told you all of this. It's too soon for him to know; any further stress could cause his mind to shut down completely. If that were to happen, there likely wouldn't be any way to save him. All I ask is that you just be there for him, can you do that?"
Tsunade, floored by all of this shocking information, found herself nodding as her throat went dry. She swallowed painfully and stood up, bowing respectfully, "I-I'll do my best, Sensei," she declared.
"Good. Now, go on back in there. From what I was told by the Anbu, he hasn't eaten in over a day. See if you can get him to try something,"
Tsunade hurried back into the classroom and looked up toward her desk. To her dismay, she saw a small group of curious young shinobi surrounding the new student, flooding him with questions.
"So where'd you come from anyway? Are your parents famous ninja or something?"
"Do you have any favorite Jutsu? Can you do any yet?"
"Woah! You were reading way ahead in the textbook! Do you already know all this stuff? Where'd you learn it?"
Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. You could hardly blame them; it wasn't often new students were admitted to the academy so late in the year. However, she could see that Orochimaru looked quite uncomfortable with the sudden attention. He was hunched over slightly, looking back and forth somewhat fearfully at each student asking him questions. His mouth was open slightly, as if he were debating on whether or not to speak and couldn't think of anything to say. Tsunade could see he was getting upset. She sighed and trudged up the stairs, taking a deep breath, "Hey!" she yelled, "Come on you guys, back off and give him some space! Jeez!" she exclaimed, startling the group into scattering as she approached. She was glad to see at least one lingering student had stayed at his desk, hand bracing the side of his face as he dozed upright. He made a noise of disgust and looked over, "It doesn't take much to keep these goofballs occupied, does it?" he muttered.
"You're one to talk, Shinji Nara," Tsunade snapped, "You could've at least stepped in while I was gone,"
The lanky kid glanced over at her, "No way. It's too much of a hassle. Besides, the kid's gotta get a backbone or he'll never make it as a shinobi,"
"Jerk," Tsunade grumbled, turning to Orochimaru. To her surprise, he let out a soft sigh of what could have been relief that they'd all left him alone. She smiled and sat down beside him, trying not to let Sarutobi's words affect her. That's right; she was to treat him like anyone else. Don't pity him for his tremendous loss, don't be awkward for his silence, and just act normal. That was simple enough. Sure, she knew something absolutely horrible about him, including the reasoning for what happened which even he didn't know yet, but Sarutobi had given her her first mission; just help him. She could do that.
She reached to her bag and pulled out the lunch her mother had prepared that morning. She glanced over at him, "We still have another half-hour. Did you bring anything?"
He bowed his head a bit lower. The only sign that he'd shaken his head 'no' was his hair waving a fraction of an inch. Tsunade frowned and then smiled, "Okay, you can have some of mine. Mom does this all the time; I don't eat much, so she makes enough for both lunch today and tomorrow. Are you hungry?"
His head raised very slightly, enough for her to catch a brief glimpse of his face. He nodded once, but barely.
"Well okay, then," she said brightly, pulling the lid off and handing him a pair of chopsticks, "Go ahead and try something. Mom's great at cooking. I suck at it," she joked, knocking herself lightly on the forehead, "She said she'll teach me when I turn sixteen. Man, that's eleven years from now," she groaned.
She watched as he stared at the chopsticks sitting on the desk. He slowly reached up to take them, holding them a moment before trying to break them from the top. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this, "Uh, that isn't how you break them properly," she said, holding up her own pair and pulling from the bottom. They snapped easily, "See? They come apart really easy this way. Try it,"
He watched her blankly, blinking once and then returning his gaze to the chopsticks. He shifted them so he held them from the thin ends, pulling delicately. They snapped apart easily.
"Good, you got it!" Tsunade said, "Go ahead and eat something. You're new here so you get first pick,"
He arranged them clumsily at first. He looked at the box and then at Tsunade.
"Go ahead," she encouraged.
But to her surprise, he reached up and pushed the box back closer to her. She blinked a few times in surprise, but shook her head, "No, seriously, you can choose first. It's okay, there's plenty,"
He actually looked up and stared at her directly. She felt a cold chill rush down her spine at those eyes. It took a lot of willpower to force back the cringe of fear. Something about those eyes was incredibly chilling and unnatural. She couldn't place it exactly. However, as he looked away, it dawned on her what was weird about them.
Not only were they gold, but the pupils weren't round like in normal eyes. They were almost slitted, exactly like a reptile's.
Weird, she thought in bewilderment, I wonder if he's got some special ability like the Uchihas or something. God, I hope not. Those guys creep me out big time...
Movement on his part snapped her out of the reverie she was in. He'd finally reached up to take a piece of fried egg from the box, holding it with the chopsticks and just staring at it. Tsunade mustered up a grin, "Egg huh?" she said as she took a piece of her favorite grilled chicken from the box, "Mom's really good at preparing them. I think she knows at least twenty ways. It's insane,"
She watched with baited breath as he finally took a small bite of the egg, his expression as blank as ever. He waited a moment and continued to nibble on it, not saying a word. Tsunade sighed inwardly. At least he was eating. That was a start.
"So what's your favorite food, anyway?" she asked as he finally finished the piece of egg. She wanted to laugh when she saw him look briefly at another piece inside the box before looking elsewhere.
"Go ahead and take another one," she said, "Seriously, if you'd like another piece, then take one. It's fine,"
He did so, albeit almost reluctantly. She smirked in amusement; Guess that answers my question, she thought.
Lunch was finished in a half silence. Tsunade continued to tell him about the village, even showing him a map of the general area used by traveling merchants. She circled important places in red marker and explained what each one was, as well as how to get to each place.
"You know, this village looks small, but it's actually really big," she said, "You can see that when you climb up the Hokage monument. Oh, hey, there's an idea! Lets' go there after school! I'll take you up the monument and you can get a bird's eye view of the whole village! How does that sound?" she asked excitedly.
Orochimaru didn't answer, not that she expected him to by this point. But he nodded very faintly, not looking at her. She handed him the map and he slowly reached out to take it, pulling it close to examine it.
"Don't worry; I know it looks like a lot, but you'll get the hang of it in no time,"
The door slid open again as the students began filing back in from outside. She quickly took the map from him and folded it up, "I'll hold onto it for you, okay?" she said quietly.
As the students took their seats, Tsunade noticed Midori hurry in last and rush up the steps toward her desk. She practically threw her bag down as she took her seat and leaned forward toward Tsunade, "So is that him?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah," Tsunade whispered, "I'll introduce you two after class, okay?"
Midori rolled her eyes, "Dang, you never stop thinking about school, Tsunade," she joked. Tsunade scoffed, "Hey, I have to set a good example. You get the picture," she said, grinning.
Sarutobi came back into the classroom and cleared his throat, "Now then class, as you all know, the Genin exam is in just two weeks. You'll all be expected to know at least two simple Jutsu and perform them before myself and the other teachers here at the academy. No one is absolutely required to take it, and anyone may attempt if they wish to graduate and be placed in a team,"
"Lord Hokage," Midori said, raising her hand, "Does it matter what Jutsu we use?"
"Yes. This year, you'll be required to do either a basic Henge Jutsu or a cloning Jutsu of some variety. With the clone, you must create an exact duplicate of yourself using material you're comfortable with, such as water or earth. The Henge Jutsu requires you to take on the form of another person and hold that form for two minutes without faltering,"
"And anyone can take it!?" someone yelled from the back. Sarutobi sighed, "Yes, anyone may take it. And raise your hand next time, Kuma," he said in exasperation. He turned around, "For those of you feeling confident in your new found abilities as impending Genin, I have a sign up sheet here on my desk. Please write your name down clearly and we'll add you to the roster,"
He moved to the blackboard, "Now, lets' get back to the lesson, shall we? We were discussing the usage of Fuinjutsu and its connection to the former Land of Whirlpools. Can anyone tell me why this Hidden Shinobi Village was destroyed?"
Tsunade raised her hand first. Sarutobi nodded for her to continue as she stood up, "Yes sir. The Land of Whirlpools was renowned for its ninja who specialized in the art of Fuinjutsu, or sealing techniques. The rest of the world feared their abilities and brought about their destruction, causing the survivors to scatter,"
She sat back down. Sarutobi smiled, "Very good. Now then, as a way of welcoming our new classmate, here's a question for him. Orochimaru, can you tell me what the symbol was for the village. It's a fairly common symbol,"
Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru who didn't move for several seconds. Then, to her surprise, he took the sheet of paper she'd given him earlier and looked around for a pencil. She quickly handed him hers. He drew a spiral shaped symbol on the blank paper, followed by a small set of characters underneath it. He sat back and put the pencil down, suddenly looking uncomfortable again. Tsunade realized what was wrong and stood up, "Sensei, if I may, I'll read his answer to you," she said, taking the paper, "He drew a spiral that looks like a whirlpool, along with the word 'Uzushiogakure' beneath it," she said.
"Ah, so he also knows the ancient name of the village. Very good. Yes, that's correct," Sarutobi replied, drawing another spiral symbol on the blackboard, "Many people know this common symbol of a spiral, also called 'Uzumaki'. This was the symbol for this former hidden village before it was destroyed. Not many people can recall its original name, though, so keep in mind what was answered, all right class? It may be on the written exams,"
This was met by a groan of dismay all around. Tsunade giggled and looked at Orochimaru, still sitting perfectly still and not really looking at the front. The surface of the desk appeared very interesting. She had to admit, that was impressive. He couldn't have been that much older than she was, so to know that kind of information and submit it without request to was surprising. But then again, he was clearly the quiet type; those kids tended to be smarter than appearances tended to give. Something told her that hanging out with him was going to be interesting.
/ooo/
"Wow, I didn't expect him to be that smart," Midori said in amazement once class had ended. She and Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru, still flipping through the textbook. He was nearly at the end of it. Midori shook her head, "I also didn't expect him to be such a bookworm," she stated.
"You're one to talk, Midori," Tsunade grumbled, "At least he uses his brain,"
"Hey, what are ya gonna do?" Midori muttered with a shrug, "I don't even wanna be a shinobi. I'm here 'cause dad was some kinda famous shinobi or something. Once I graduate, I'm gonna open my own business,"
Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? What kind of business?"
"I'd like to own a dumpling shop," she replied, grinning.
Tsunade nodded, feigning interest, "Well, have fun with that," she said. She turned to her new desk mate, "Orochimaru, class is over. Are you coming?"
He looked up, regarding her silently a moment. Then he closed the textbook and pushed his chair back, standing up slowly and handing the book back to her. She blinked and looked down at it, but smiled and shook her head, "Nah, you can hold onto it until you get your own. I know most of what's in there already; it's just basic Genin stuff. Most of what's left to learn will be taught out in the field,"
He hesitated, and then slowly shifted the book to one arm at his side, watching her expectantly. For the first time since lunch, he looked up completely, revealing his face.
Here, Midori froze up with a squeak, "W-What the?" she exclaimed.
"What?" Tsunade asked, quirking an eyebrow at her somewhat ditzy friend. Midori raised a shaking hand, "H-He looks like a snake!" she exclaimed.
Tsunade scowled and smacked her hand down, "Knock it off, that's rude. Look, I'm taking him up to the monument. Do you want to join us?"
The smaller girl shook her head rapidly, unable to tear her eyes away from the new student.
"Oh for...come on, Orochimaru," Tsunade grumbled, grabbing his other hand and dragging him along behind her. He stumbled a bit before falling in step alongside her, staring at the ground blankly. He glanced back at Midori, still staring at him fearfully.
His eyes narrowed to slits before turning and facing forward again.
"Don't worry so much about her," Tsunade told him, "She's a ditz, but she's really nice. She'll get used to you before too long, I'm sure,"
One of the pathways leading up to the monument was located alongside the back end of the academy property on the other side of a small fence. The two kids made their way over to the gate and Tsunade lifted up the locking bar, causing the gate to swing open, "The Hokage tower is up there, too. I'm sure Lord Hokage is probably on his way there already, if not already up there,"
She looked back at him to see a somewhat confused look on his face. She smiled, "Lord Hokage is actually our Sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi," she explained, "He refused to give up teaching, even after he was chosen by my uncle to be the next Hokage,"
Orochimaru blinked and tilted his head slightly. Tsunade chuckled, "Guess I forgot to tell you. My great-uncle and my grandfather were the second and first Hokage, respectively," she said, "You can see it from here; the faces of previous Hokage are carved into the granite cliffs high above us," she said, pointing, "See? The one on the far left is my grandfather, Hashirama Senju. The one in the middle is my great-uncle, Tobirama Senju, and the one on the far right is Hiruzen Sarutobi, our Sensei. The thing is, that granite wall doesn't completely encircle the village, so I'm not sure what will happen for the fourteenth of fifteenth Hokage," she joked, grabbing Orochimaru's arm and hurrying up the trail, "Anyway, the tower is all the way at the top and so is the best view in the whole village! You're gonna love it!"
He followed blindly after her, not saying a word about the steepness of the path or the fact that she was pulling his arm a little too hard. He kept quiet, watching the trail for any rocks or jutting pieces of earth to avoid tripping over. However, when you weren't in control of your own movements along such an erratic pathway, things didn't always go as planned. He couldn't avoid a large rock in time and Tsunade was made aware of the sudden lack of weight on her hand when she heard the thud. She gasped and whirled to see him picking himself up off the ground, grunting slightly in shock at the collision and mild pain from the fall. She dashed back, "Oh my god! Orochimaru, are you okay? I am so sorry! Are you all right?" she exclaimed, reaching toward him. He sat up and sighed, his gaze trained on the ground. He looked up at her, his expression somewhat distant, but not angry or hurt. She exhaled the breath she'd been holding in relief, "I'm really sorry," she said, "Guess I got a little carried away. Are you hurt?"
She looked him over. He was a bit dusty, but otherwise, he appeared fine. She reached out and brushed the dirt off his shoulder, "I'm sorry about that," she said, smiling sheepishly, "You know what's funny? Grandfather used to drag me up here the same way because he was always excited to show me the view. I can't tell you how many times I fell under the same circumstances. Then he'd spend about ten minutes in a total panic, thinking I'd been critically hurt. You'd think I'd learn to be more careful," she laughed. She sighed and looked back at him, "You okay?" she asked one more time. He lowered his head slightly, nodding twice. Tsunade smiled, "Well, all right then. Do you want to keep going?"
Hesitation...he nodded once more. She stood up, watching as he got to his feet slowly. She put her hands on her hips, "You know what, maybe we shouldn't run up this trail. Could be dangerous,"
To her surprise, he nodded again, only this time it was a firmer and more resolute gesture, as if he were wholeheartedly agreeing with her. It was interesting, she thought as they continued up the steep trail, the more time she spent with him, the better she was becoming at reading him, even though he had yet to say a word to her. So far, this was pretty simple. He wasn't talkative by any stretch, but he wasn't unpleasant to be around. In fact, she was enjoying being around someone who wasn't a total smart alec for a change. Sure, she was doing most of the talking, but he was still communicating. Maybe he wasn't as deep in shock as Sarutobi had told her. Maybe she could bring him around.
At this time of day, the sun was beginning its descent to the west, bathing the valley and forest in a harsh orange blanket. Shadows were growing long, signaling the approaching night.
Tsunade heaved a sigh when they finally reached the top and stretched, "Ah, finally made it," she said, turning to Orochimaru. He came up alongside her, gazing out over the horizon. She gave him a gentle push toward the railings over the edge of the monument, "This is the plateau where the Hokage Tower is," she told him, "And this is that view I told you about. You can even see over the walls from here,"
She glanced over at him briefly. For the first time, mild amazement could be seen on his face, accentuated with the light breeze blowing his hair from his eyes. Tsunade once again caught sight of his unusual eyes, standing out even more with the added orange glow from the dying sun mixing with the natural gold. The result was an almost flame-like illusion.
"This is the highest point in the village," she explained, "That's why the tower was built up here. The Hokage watches over the whole village you know. It's an important job and my grandfather and uncle took it very seriously,"
Orochimaru didn't answer, no surprise. He was staring out over the horizon to the north. Tsunade realized that his original home was in the north. She recalled what Sarutobi had told her about his father being assistant to the Mizukage. She wondered how much about the political world Orochimaru was aware of.
"You arrived late last night, didn't you?" she ventured cautiously.
He bowed his head slightly. He nodded once.
"I see. I know it's kinda scary right now, but do you like this village at all?"
He flinched a bit and looked away without doing anything. Tsunade didn't really expect much else from him. After all, he was brand new to the village. He probably didn't know what to think yet. No doubt he was terrified and hiding it with silence. Really, she was grateful he even answered her inquiries, wordless though his answers were. Hoping to make him feel more comfortable around her, she decided to take a calculated risk.
"Sarutobi Sensei told me you're from the Mist village. He didn't tell me why you came here, though," she lied, "I've heard that the fog there never lifts, even on warm days, that condensation from the sea keeps it shrouded in perpetual mist,"
She looked out toward the horizon, enjoying the breeze that ruffled through her hair, "But I've also heard that it's a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by water and nature. I'm jealous; wish I could go there," she said wistfully.
A glance toward him revealed his expression contorting slightly, though to one of pain or confusion, she couldn't tell. She wisely changed the subject, "You know, right now starts the rainy season here, which means it's gonna get hot. Mom always makes me cut my hair around this time of year, but grandfather taught me a special Jutsu to grow it back, so she always gets so annoyed!" she exclaimed, giggling. She snapped her fingers, "Hey, maybe you can get yours cut too," she suggested.
To her amazement, he reached around, grabbed the ends of his hair and pulled them over his shoulder, cringing away from her with his head bowed and faced the other way.
Well, she certainly hadn't expected that reaction. She blinked rapidly and coughed dryly, "I was joking, I was joking," she assured him, "There's nothing wrong with liking it a little long for yourself. I mean look at Nagi Hyuuga; his is all the way past his waist for crying out loud," she said amiably. She stepped forward and put her hand on his head, ruffling his hair lightly, "Wow, it's soft. Darn it, I think your hair is even nicer than mine. That is so not fair," she grumbled playfully. He hesitantly returned his gaze to her, eying her questioningly. She shrugged and sighed, "Stop worrying; I'm not gonna make you do anything you aren't comfortable with, okay? You know, for someone hailing from the Mist Village, you're awfully timid," she said, hands on her hips and quirking an eyebrow.
He sighed and looked down at the ground briefly before returning his focus to the expansive village before them. By now, the sun had reached the far point of its journey across the sky, perched precariously atop one of the jagged mountaintops in the distance. Tsunade shielded her eyes and hummed, "We'd better head back down, now. I'll take you home. Where are you staying?" she asked him.
"Actually, that's an easier question to answer than you'd think,"
Tsunade jumped a mile as Sarutobi suddenly materialized in front of them, hands in his pockets. She stammered slightly and struggled to recompose herself, "Lord Hokage," she exclaimed, "Where did you come from?"
"Actually, I was watching you two from one of the windows and overheard your conversation," he said quietly.
"Oh, I see," Tsunade replied, "Yeah, I was going to take him home since it's getting late, but I don't know where he lives now," she said, placing her hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. He was staring up at the Hokage, an almost inquisitive look on his usually blank face.
"Given the fact that he's soon to become a shinobi, we've arranged for an apartment he can live in for now," Sarutobi answered, "It's close to the academy and the center of town, so it'll be easier for him to find his way around. Since you're right; it's getting late, why don't you accompany us?" he asked.
"Sure," Tsunade answered. Sarutobi smiled at both of them, "Excellent," he said, glancing over at Orochimaru. However, to the intense shock of both of them, Orochimaru made a short humming sound and moved behind Tsunade, partially out of view of Sarutobi. The Hokage blinked in surprise and then chuckled, "Well well, it seems he's already become attached to you, Tsunade. Good work,"
Tsunade sighed heavily, "No, it's not 'good work', Sensei. Orochimaru, stop hiding! He's our Sensei! Show some respect!" she admonished firmly.
"It's all right, Tsunade," Sarutobi assured her gently, "He'll get used to me in time. The important thing is that he's used to you. It says a lot about your nature,"
Tsunade made a noise of discontent, but realized he was right. After all, the kid was at least mildly in shock and probably scared to death. After having spent most of the whole day with him, she was surprised he'd warmed up to her that much in so short amount of time.
"Well, lead on, Sensei," she said with a shrug.
/ooo/
The apartment Sarutobi had spoken of was located three floors up in a somewhat older building a few streets from the academy. It was relatively tiny, but for someone as small as the new kid, it was actually overkill. They stood in the breezeway of the first room, surveying the surroundings. Sarutobi moved inside first, scanning the surroundings, "It's well ventilated and you can see the academy from here," he said, "He shouldn't have any trouble finding his way around. Biwako came by earlier with some supplies and a bed pallet for him, so it should work for a while,"
He stepped back against the wall and turned the light on. The room was filled with calming light, banishing the creeping darkness from the window. Tsunade watched as Orochimaru wandered slowly through the place, inspecting everything. He meandered in a small circle through the tiny apartment, his face blank. But she could tell from his slightly hunched posture that he was still a bit scared. Not that she blamed him.
"Now then," Sarutobi said, "I'm needed briefly for a meeting at the tower, but I'll be back shortly to check on you one more time. Tsunade, what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I'll stay with him a bit longer," she said.
"Won't your mother worry?"
"She always worries. I'll just tell her I was out with a friend and lost track of time,"
Inwardly, Sarutobi made a face of awkward amusement. It really was bizarre how so much like Hashirama she was in terms of occasionally ducking responsibility and not worrying what others thought. He sighed, "Very well. I'll be back in a couple of hours," he said, heading out the door. He closed it behind him and Tsunade glanced over at Orochimaru, staring out the window toward the center of town. She sighed and poked around the cupboards a moment, "I think I'll make us a snack," she said, "I can't make much of anything, but lets' see...darn it, not much in here...oh!" she exclaimed, finding a box. She grimaced, "Oh...crackers,"
She jumped when she felt him come up behind her, "What!?" she yelled in alarm. He was looking at the box in her hand. She followed his gaze, "Uh...you like these? They're rice crackers, not very tasty, I'm afraid,"
Never mind the fact that he'd managed to sneak up on her, but that he apparently hadn't even known he'd done it. She'd figure that one out later.
"Hey, I have an idea," she said. She hurried into the next room, hunting around for the stuff Sarutobi had said his wife had brought over. She found a couple of sheets, the bedroll and a big blanket and dragged them back into the front room. He watched as she dragged a few chairs away from the little counter and into the center of the room, setting them up in a four corner formation. Then she motioned him over, "Here, take this," she said, handing him a corner of the sheet. He took it, watching her curiously. She grinned at him and then flipped the sheet up into the air, the momentum forcing him to copy her actions. His eyes went wide as the sheet went sailing over the tops of the chairs, floating down to rest across them and draping down the sides. Tsunade grabbed the other sheet and hurried around to the other side, tossing it over that edge too and covering the open back. This left a decent entryway at the front. She grabbed the bedroll and blanket and dragged them into the newly constructed tent, setting them up inside. She crawled out and beamed, "Ta-da! Check it out, my friends and I do this whenever we have sleepovers," she said, "It's a ton of fun. We sit up and tell funny stories and ghost stories and use a lamp to make goofy shapes on the walls, and stuff,"
She crawled into the tent and sat down, "Come on," she called, "If it falls down we'll just put it up again,"
Very hesitant, he knelt down, placing the cracker box inside the tent and crawling carefully beneath the roof of it to sit opposite Tsunade. He continued to look around nervously before appearing to settle down. Tsunade watched as he quite literally relaxed for the first time in the entire day.
"It's kinda calming, isn't it?" she said, "I don't know why, but being inside a tent feels really safe. It's different than being in a house,"
She gasped suddenly, "Hold on,"
She scrambled out of the tent and into the next room; "I know I saw one here a second ago—aha!"
Her footsteps echoed through the small space as she reappeared carrying an oil lantern. She shook it lightly, discovering there was already some oil in it. Then she flipped the switch on the wall, flooding the room with darkness once again. She crawled back inside the tent and set the lamp down on the floor outside the tent flap. Then she switched it on, filling the room with a soft golden light. She smiled and turned to him, "There, see? It's like a mission we're on,"
He tilted his head slightly, confused. She scooted over to sit beside him and grabbed his arm, pointing to the other side of the tent, "Our mission is to find as many weird things as we can and bring back proof! There, look! A giant spider!"
She twisted her hands into the shape of a spider on the tent's opposite wall, shadows cast by the flickering lantern light. She moved her hands so the 'spider' moved up the wall toward them, "It's gonna get us!" she cried, "Quick! Evasive action!"
She ducked to one side and Orochimaru moved to the other. In truth, she didn't really expect him to do much in response, but when one of the rice crackers went sailing up to hit the 'spider' directly, Tsunade jumped, not expecting it. She looked over at him in amazement. He was holding another one, looking like he was preparing to fire it at the supposed target. The look on his face seemed a bit mixed; he didn't seem to be sure whether or not he'd actually participated in the game, but he seemed up to continuing. Tsunade smirked, "Nice shot with the shuriken!" she exclaimed, "Keep those handy! You never know when we'll need 'em on a mission like this, Orochimaru!"
She tried not to stare when he actually smiled a little bit and nodded a couple of times, fishing a couple more crackers out and holding them just like one would hold a shuriken, four to one hand. This was surprising; clearly he'd had some experience with real weapons already.
Now really hyped, Tsunade formed another shape on the tent, this time of a big bird with enormous head feathers, "A giant bird! This one's big! It's coming this way! Heads up!" she cried, diving toward him as the 'bird' prepared to dive bomb them. Orochimaru hurled another couple of 'shuriken' at the bird and Tsunade tore her hands apart with a fwoosh sound, "You scared him off!"
This went on for a while, Tsunade forming random deadly shadow 'enemies' on the wall and crackers flying from one or both of them in retaliation. It finally ended when they ran out of crackers to throw. The two of them went around the tent picking up as many crackers as they could find and pouring them back into the box. Now, with the light from the lantern the only light source in the room, they sat quietly munching on the crackers and staring at the lantern.
"You know Orochimaru," she said, finishing off her cracker and reaching for another one, "You've actually got really good aim. Who taught you how to throw like that?"
He was nibbling on a cracker and didn't appear to really hear what she said. He looked up with a muffled 'hm' noise. Then he looked away, eyes downcast. Tsunade regretted asking; obviously one of his family members, likely his father, had shown him how to throw shuriken. She sighed, looking toward the door, "Sensei still isn't back yet. And it really is getting late," she mumbled. She knew her mother was already mad, but she didn't want to make her worry if she could help it. Especially not right now. There was enough excitement going on as it was.
Tsunade sighed, "I should really get going," she said, "Mom's probably up the wall by this point,"
She was about to stand up when she felt a slight pressure on her arm. She looked back to see he'd actually reached out to delicately take hold of her sleeve, gaze fixed on the ground. At first, she didn't see it, but in the flickering lantern light, she caught sight of it as he twitched slightly. She turned around a bit and saw that he was actually shaking. Hi head was bowed so she couldn't see his face.
"Orochimaru?" she questioned softly, "Are you okay?"
He simply shrunk in on himself again, his light hold on her sleeve tightening slightly. He ever-so-slowly shook his head.
He was scared, yes. But the true ferocity of his terror hit her then. Here he was, recently orphaned in the most horrible of ways, uprooted and moved hundreds of miles to a strange, unknown village, surrounded by strangers and placed in a dark and scary building by himself, all at the fragile age of six. Tsunade may have been younger than he was, but she'd inherited her grandfather's excellent skills of observation, coupled with a good mind. She was proud of this and she knew why her classmate was scared. She knew she would be too if placed in his situation. It was a wonder he was still relatively sane after all of this. At least she hoped so.
She shifted backward slightly, pulling the blanket up with her and crawling over it. She laid down on her stomach and patted the space next to her, indicating he do the same. He did so slowly, folding his hands under his chin as she pulled the blanket up over both of them until it was all but covering their heads. She rested her head on one arm and reached to take his hand with hers. She could still feel him shaking viciously and she smiled warmly, "I'll stay until Sensei gets here, and who knows how long that'll take," she rolled her eyes to this. He let out a choked sound that might have a brief giggle, but was taken over by a barely hidden terrified breath.
She closed her eyes with a sigh, feeling herself close to dozing off. Half asleep, she barely felt him snuggle against her, seemingly also near falling asleep. It was strange, she thought vaguely, that someone with such cold eyes could be so warm.
/ooo/
Sarutobi knew he'd made the right decision to alert Tsunade's mother that she was staying with a friend from school before heading to the tower. He knew this the minute he walked in and smelled the distinct scent of an oil wick soaked in used fuel from being left to its own devices for an extended amount of time and not being shut off. He moved further inside and caught sight of a giant, shapeless object in the center of the room. Upon further inspection, he discovered it to be a large tent made of sheets and chairs from the kitchen counter. He knelt down a few feet away from it and sighed.
He smiled, "Well would you look at that," he whispered.
They were completely asleep, snuggled up under the thick blanket. He noted with surprise that even asleep, both of their hands were intertwined. He chuckled fondly and straightened up, moving away silently. It was still several hours until dawn, but as he left as quietly as he'd arrived, he told himself he'd be back long before they woke up.