In Death, Truth
Orochimaru loved drama.
It was a trait he had developed over his long career as a shinobi and one which served his purposes well. Although he caused it mainly to distract his enemies, he had to admit that a part of him basked in the sheer chaos it created – he himself was a man of chaos, after all. There was something exhilarating in witnessing two siblings meeting in battle, a mother going wild after seeing her children die, a man breathing his last in the arms of his beloved… It wasn't because he was a romantic or emotional man, no. He simply enjoyed observing people at their lowest or highest points, how they reacted and what he could stand to gain from it.
As he stood beside Sasuke, Suigetsu and Jugo, watching the stone covering the entrance to the depths of Uchiha's shrine slowly rise, Orochimaru found himself having something of an internal debate. Keeping relative control of the four Hokage was going to be barely possible, but still doable. Summoning him, on the other hand, was going to tip the balance against the Snake Sannin, which was unacceptable. And yet… he probably wouldn't get a chance like this again. It really was awfully convenient that there were six Zetsu clones spying on Sasuke – one to save himself from dying, four to summon the Hokage, and one left… he could just kill it, but that seemed like a waste of a perfectly good body. His mouth twitched in a barely suppressed smirk.
Well, Jiraiya always did have the flair for dramatics, so I might as well go for it.
Blackness.
Then, a flicker.
It started to grow, forming a flame in the corner of his field of vision.
He was standing, he realized somewhat bemusedly. Somewhere, in the darkest reaches of his mind, a niggling sense of utter wrongness started to make itself known. He tuned it out, instead deciding to focus on what was in front of him.
And a shiver almost went up his spine.
Orochimaru was picking himself up from where he was kneeling, a smug smirk on his deathly white face, yellow eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
No. This isn't happening.
Slowly, his eyes turned to his right.
This time, he did shiver.
Minato, Sarutobi-sensei, Tobirama and Hashirama. Summoned by Orochimaru.
"This is… The first Hokage… The man who was said to be the God of shinobi, the real Hashirama..." a white haired boy stuttered out (one of Sasuke's comrades, his mind belatedly supplied).
He clenched his fists so hard that it should have hurt. If he were still alive and not a reanimated corpse, that is.
"You sick bastard..." he growled.
Every eye turned to him.
"Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Jiraiya?"
He couldn't even look at them. The crushing guilt settled heavily on his shoulders and he bowed his head, tendrils of hair obscuring his face.
"Forgive me, Minato..." he whispered, burning shame coursing through him.
A hand landed on his shoulder and Jiraiya forced himself to raise his head, meeting his former student's calm gaze.
Minato smiled sadly. "There's nothing to forgive, sensei. I'm sure whatever happened, you did your best."
Before Jiraiya could protest, Third came up to them. "While we're on this topic… what happened, Jiraiya? How did you..."
Well, I'm not getting out of this anyway, so why not mess with them a little?
He threw his head back and laughed, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Glad you asked, sensei! Well, I finally managed to fulfill my life-long dream… sneaking a look at Tsunade in the onsen, that is! But you know how she is – she caught me and then proceeded to beat the crap out of me, just like back when we were kids, remember? Only this time, she didn't heal me and left me to bleed out, the cold-hearted woman!" He grinned like a madman at his sensei and student, who were wearing matching expressions of absolute shock.
Suddenly, there was a finger pointed at his chest. "HEY! How dare you ogle my little granddaughter, you old pervert! Who are you, anyway?!"
A bored looking Tobirama slapped his brother on the back of his head. "Shut up, Hashirama. You're a disgusting pervert too, anyway." All of Shodaime's anger evaporated and he slunk away, depressed. Meanwhile Sarutobi, who seemed to have shaken himself out of his shock, turned to address his predecessors.
"To answer your question, this is Jiraiya, my-"
"Hold on, sensei! Let me introduce myself properly to such distinguished men!" He went into his trademark pose and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "I am Jiraiya, Mount Myoboku's Toad Hermit and one of the three Sannin of Konoha! It's a pleasure to meet you, Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama."
Out of the blue, they heard Orochimaru laugh.
"I knew it was a good idea to bring you back too, Jiraiya. I must admit, I haven't had this much fun in ages, so I suppose I should thank you." His eyes went to the previously ignored members of their odd little gathering. "Now, I'm sure you're convinced that I'm going to make you attack Konoha again. In fact, that is not my plan anymore. I simply wanted to create an occasion for him to talk about his strong wish." He pointed to the young, murderous looking Uchiha.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Now that you've stopped your idiotic little show, there is something I want to ask you."
The Fourth Shinobi World War, huh?
Jiraiya's head was buzzing with all newly acquired information. For example, the revelation of Itachi's motives for murdering his clan and turning traitor to Konoha was something he had long suspected, simply because the official version of the events didn't add up for him. Of course, he was slightly irritated with his sensei for not having revealed the truth when he was still alive, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter. Yet when he looked at the only Uchiha left, he wished none of those things ever happened. When Jiraiya fought alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru in the Second Shinobi World War, he and his team often encountered children just like Sasuke – with darkness lurking behind their eyes and nothing but hate and disdain for the world. He remembered the promise he'd made to himself back then – to help make the world a place where kids were free to just be kids, not dead-eyed murderers and avengers.
Here's another thing to add to my list of failures.
Of course, there was still hope. When he found out about Naruto's success with taming the Kyuubi, his heart swelled with unimaginable pride. He still didn't know the details of how he managed to accomplish such a feat, but he supposed he was going to find out soon enough, seeing as Sasuke apparently wanted to join the fight against Madara and with Orochimaru supporting him, the people summoned with Edo Tensei would have no choice but to follow. He was still surprised by the change he saw in his old teammate – perhaps he realized the same thing that Jiraiya did before heading out to find Pain. They were the old generation now, and the best thing they could do was to help their descendants in achieving their goals, even as unclear as they were in the young Uchiha's case.
His train of thoughts was derailed with the sudden appearance of Sasuke's clingy, redheaded Uzumaki companion, whose antics strongly reminded him of Kushina (when she wasn't being clingy, of course).
He eyed Orochimaru, slightly amused. "What is it with you and all these unhinged people you surround yourself with?" But then his expression darkened and he added, "Well, I shouldn't be too surprised. After what you put them through with your twisted experiments..."
The Snake Sannin just raised his eyebrow and smirked. "I don't expect you, of all people, to understand how fortunate my subjects were to be chosen for my experiments."
The Hozuki brat snorted somewhere behind him, clearly expressing just how fortunate he considered himself.
"As much as I agree with you, Jiraiya, now is not the time to discuss ethics. There's a war going on. We have to join the battle as soon as possible," said Sarutobi gravely.
"Sasuke-kun, it would be the best if you and the Hokage went ahead. There is still something I have to do." The Uchiha sent Orochimaru a questioning look, but shrugged after a moment, clearly not very interested in the Snake Sannin's further actions.
Jiraiya, however, was immediately put on alarm. Allowing Orochimaru to go on his merry way to do who knows what? I might be an enormous idiot sometimes, but certainly not a fool. "And just where exactly do you think you're going?"
A mock wounded look crawled on Orochimaru's face. "What have I done to warrant such lack of trust? I have only the best intentions, believe me." Then he smirked. "Tell me, Jiraiya, do you know who first fought against Madara when he appeared on the battlefield? Allow me to answer that for you." And this time, his yellow eyes flashed wickedly. "Your precious princess Tsunade and the rest of the Kage. Of course, they stood no chance against an enemy of Madara's caliber, so who knows what condition they're in now…?"
Jiraiya froze.
Damn it, Tsunade! You can't be…
"Get a grip, Jiraiya. We can still save them. Karin, Suigetsu! Let's go." He shot a piercing stare at Jiraiya. "You too, you idiot."
In. Out. In. Out.
The two-word mantra became her entire world. In her mindscape, an endless ocean stretched out before her, waves coming and going, gently washing over her feet partially buried in the sand.
A wave comes. Breathe in.
The wave recedes. Breathe out.
Suddenly, she hears a voice in the distance. Then another, slightly different. And another. She forces herself to open her eyes.
White and blue. Katsuyu. Shouting at…
"…Orochimaru…?"
And then she heard him.
The rhythm of her breathing falls apart and the next thing she knows, she's coughing, warm blood trickling from her mouth.
He's at her side instantly. "Take it easy, Tsunade..." A hand brushes her forehead and she wishes he looked somewhere, anywhere else but at her, her age bared for all to see. She can't even bring herself to look at him. But then something else hit her.
"If you're.. here, am I… dying?" she rasped out, shaking with effort.
He sighed. "Don't be silly, princess. Just look at me."
Slowly, she let her gaze travel to his face. Black eyes stared back. Edo Tensei.
"Move aside, Jiraiya, or make yourself useful," said Orochimaru, apparently finished with convincing Katsuyu not to kill him with her acid.
The healing process that followed ranked high on her list of the most bizarre situations she'd ever been in, although she had to admit the girl's ability was insanely useful. Now that Tsunade wasn't crippled with pain and could actually think straight, she felt herself growing angry, and when Jiraiya tried to help her stand up, she finally snapped.
He didn't even see her fist coming.
He flew through the air in a graceful arc before slamming into a rock formation, crushing it with the force of the blow. But Tsunade wasn't finished. As she walked casually to where Jiraiya landed, she heard Orochimaru snicker like a kid who just pranked someone.
"Take care of the remaining Kage, will you? We really should get going..." And with that, he and his companions were gone in a flash. She ignored him. He was going to pay later, anyway.
She came up to Jiraiya and grabbed a fistful of his clothes, lifting him up, and drew her fist back for another punch.
"H-hey, Tsunade, now is really not the-"
"Shut up, idiot!" Her fist slammed into his jaw and sent him flying again. She punched, kicked and threw him around until she felt some of the anger subside.
She heard him laugh in that obnoxious, idiotic way from where he sat in an undignified heap and she cursed herself when she felt the first tears slide down her cheeks. Her knees folded under her and she sat heavily on the ground. You fool. You complete, utter fool.
After a moment she felt his arms encircle her from behind, his head resting on her shoulder. He said nothing. It just made her cry harder. They sat like this for a while, neither of them saying anything. She was acutely aware of the fact that he was dead and it was downright twisted, sick of her to be enjoying the way his hair tickled her face, how he radiated pleasant warmth, how he casually stroked her arm, settling into a soothing rhythm of up, down. Her hand moved seemingly on its own to intercept his, weaving her fingers through his.
Finally she sniffled and cleared her throat. "You know… when you went after Pain, I promised myself something." Tsunade paused, suddenly afraid of what she wanted to say. But then he hummed, prompting her to continue, so she gathered what remaining shreds of courage she had and tilted her head so that she could meet his eyes. "I wouldn't allow you to put on a tough front for me anymore." She smiled at his dumbfounded expression.
He closed his eyes, a pained grimace twisting his mouth. "I'm the stupidest man in the world, aren't I? Went and got myself killed like that… you don't know how sorry I am, Tsunade. I can't even imagine what you must have gone through..." His eyes opened and glinted playfully. "I still bet you didn't cry for me as much as you did for Dan!" He grinned like the fool he was. Anger rose up in her again and she elbowed him, wrestling herself free from his arms. She started pacing in front of him.
"Don't you dare joke about this, idiot! You have no idea what it was like after you died! We barely had any time to prepare for Pain's attack, much less for mourning you! I was up for days, trying to get the village's defenses up to a reasonable level and even when I got some time to rest, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing your stupid face! And don't even get me started on Naruto! The poor boy was crushed when he found out you died. And of course he blamed me." She bit her lip so hard it bled. "And you know what? He was damn right. It's all my fault." Damn it. She was crying again.
"Please, Tsunade, stop that. You knew full well I would have went even if you ordered me to stay."
Her eyes hardened and she glared at him. "I could have beaten you so hard, you wouldn't have been able to talk for at least a month, much less gone anywhere." He flinched. Then his eyes narrowed as he picked himself up.
"So Naruto blamed you, huh? I'm going to kick his ass for that when I see him. Ungrateful brat."
"You know he's right," she muttered dejectedly.
He rolled his eyes. "Usually you're so brilliant, I forget how utterly stupid you get at times." She started to protest, but he cut her off. "Listen, you silly woman. As much as I wish we could turn back time, we can't, so there's no point arguing who's to blame."
"Fine, it's your fault."
His eye twitched. "You're impossible."
"That's why you love me, isn't it?"
She meant it as a friendly jape, nothing else. But he seemed to take it much more seriously.
"Well, it's one of the many reasons, I guess." His face seemed to soften, mouth curling into a sad smile. His eyes were shining oddly, almost as if he were… crying? "Not much I can do about it now, wouldn't you say? I really should have told you sooner..."
Tsunade's lip trembled, but somehow she managed to keep her voice steady. "You never had to. I always knew you loved me." She caught his incredulous stare. "Don't look so surprised. You've always worn your heart on your sleeve." She swallowed against the sudden nervousness. "I met Dan, you know?" His brows furrowed at the unexpected change of topic. "He was brought back with Edo Tensei, like you. Just before he vanished, he used his technique to come to me. And... I was happy to see him, don't get me wrong. But it was more like... meeting with an old friend you haven't seen in years." She studied her clenched hands - a young woman's hands, a woman who, it seemed, Tsunade stopped being. Because... "I think... I don't love him anymore, or at least not the way I used to. It feels like it was so long ago..."
Jiraiya's face turned sympathetic. "Part and parcel of getting old, I'm afraid. No one can stay the same after so many years."
"You didn't change," she pointed out.
He smirked. "Is that your way of saying I'm immature?"
"Actually, no." She smiled reproachfully. "It's ironic, really. Out of our team, you're the only one who managed to truly stay young. I'm just an old, bitter woman trying to look young, and Orochimaru... well, he doesn't look like he cares about age, just immortality. You have the spirit of a young man, so the way I see it, you came out on top."
"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me, princess! I'm honored." He beamed at her, but it just made her realize it was true. Jiraiya was a wonderful, caring man (aside from being perverted to the core) and she was ashamed to admit she never told him so. And I won't get another chance after Edo Tensei dispels. It was a jarring thought. Time to correct that mistake, Tsunade.
"Jiraiya," something of her thoughts must have leaked into her voice, because he looked intrigued. "I think... I owe you an apology. For everything I've put you through. You always gave me so much, only for me to reject and belittle you at every turn… and don't you try to give me this crap about rejection making a man stronger, because you know it's bullshit." She groaned in frustration. This wasn't coming out the way she intended. "Damn it...why is this so hard…?"
"Tsunade, what are you…?"
She drew in a shaky breath. "I thought I had all the time in the world. That you would be by my side forever. So I waited, and I stalled for time, tried to make absolutely sure that it wasn't just my loneliness making me imagine something that wasn't there… And of course, of course I didn't say anything. How could I, if I couldn't even admit it to myself? Oh, there were excuses." She waved her hand haphazardly. "I'm the Hokage, I can't allow any distractions. I'm a shinobi, I have to remain professional. I'm going to betray Dan's memory." She gave a humorless laugh. "It seems none of that mattered in the end, because you went and died on me before I could sort out my feelings." She looked up from where she tried to burn a hole in the ground with her eyes and fixed him with a defeated stare. "Look at me now - trying to confess my love to a dead man."
Something deep inside him twisted painfully at her words, at the cruel irony of the situation. He had hoped for so long that maybe, someday, Tsunade would finally let him in, only to get his wish fulfilled... after death. For a moment, he allowed himself to mourn what never came to be between them. A wave of grief washed over him, stealing the air from his lungs with its intensity. Jiraiya blinked furiously, trying and failing to stop the tears from falling as they followed the traces of the markings on his face. He couldn't stop the laugh that rose within him. "I knew you'd give in to my charms eventually - " a harsh sob nearly escaped him - "you silly woman."
This time she was the one to wrap her arms around him. He rested his chin on the top of her head, and if she noticed he was making her hair wet with his tears, she didn't seem to care. Tsunade drew back a bit, just enough to meet his eyes. She smiled weakly. "Now, Jiraiya, aren't men supposed to be strong?" One of her hands reached up to his cheek, and with the lightest of touches she brushed away his tears. He closed his eyes, imprinting this moment in memory – never, in all his life, was Tsunade so… tender with him. Her hand moved, tracing over the arch of his eyebrow, then lower, down the red line on his cheek, eventually stopping at his bottom lip. A shiver ran down his back. Suddenly, he felt like a giddy teenager whose heart raced after accidentally brushing against a girl he liked. He couldn't help but smile at the comparison, and the smile widened when she kissed his other cheek. His eyes opened just a bit. "Are you trying to give poor old me a heart attack, princess?"
She snorted, so close he felt the air brushing his ear. "Idiot." Tsunade turned a little, putting them almost nose to nose. "It just seems I missed my target." And before he could say something, she closed the distance separating their lips in a sweet, short kiss that ended as soon as it started. "Oh? And that's it? I expected something more… heated, considering who you are," he goaded her, laughing to himself upon seeing the offended glint in the eye.
"Don't start getting cocky just because I kissed you once."
"Twice."
"Whatever! Besides, Katsuyu is nearly finished with the Kage. I would prefer not to have Mizukage wake up to us making out right next to her," she huffed in indignation.
"Why just Mizukage?" he asked, evidently missing some vital info.
Tsunade smirked. "Oh, the woman's crazy. She thinks everyone's mocking her for not having a husband." They heard muffled grunting coming from the general direction of the Kage and they turned to see the disgruntled Raikage trying to push himself upright despite Katsuyu's meek protests. Tsunade muttered something about a "stupid oaf" and went to him, Jiraiya following her, noting with some smugness that she did, in fact, consider making out with him.
He couldn't help but laugh when he heard Tsunade nearly biting Raikage's head off for trying to move while simultaneously checking up on Gaara, who also managed to regain consciousness. The other two followed soon and Tsunade jumped between them all, her hands glowing with medical chakra.
Onoki was the first to pay attention to Jiraiya's presence. "Well, if it isn't the Great Toad Hermit himself! Who summoned you, brat?" He felt a pang of annoyance at being called a brat, especially by Tsuchikage, who he had no love for. His face brought back unpleasant memories of war. "It was Orochimaru." Upon seeing the other Kage's alarmed expressions, he added quickly, "Don't worry, he has no control over me. He couldn't even if he tried, because he brought back all previous Hokage as well."
Raikage shot him a predatory grin. "Seems Madara is going to have his hands full."
Katsuyu's hulking form shifted. "I will report about the current conditions." Tsunade looked at her with surprise. "How did you get to the battlefield?" Her eyes widened and an excited smile curved her mouth. "Did Sakura summon you?" At the slug's affirmative nod, she grinned proudly. Who would have thought that girl could reach this level? You're right to be proud of your student, Tsunade.
"…in other words, it's a complex situation," Katsuyu finally said, finished with her report. Tsunade stood up, her face set in determined frown.
"If things are like that… then we should hurry up, too!"
Jiraiya smiled grimly. That was the Tsunade he remembered well. At least this time I'm going to be there with you. I won't let you almost get killed again.
When they finally arrived at the battlefield, he sought out Naruto (which, considering he was essentially a giant, yellow flame, was an easy task). The reunion was bittersweet, both of them happy and sad at the same time. Of course, Jiraiya remembered to chew his idiot godson out for blaming Tsunade for his death. Naruto seemed genuinely abashed as he lowered his eyes.
"I know it wasn't Granny's fault… I just got angry, and you know I stop thinking rationally when I'm angry." His mouth set in a childish pout. "Besides, I said I'm sorry, dattebayo!" Jiraiya sighed and tousled Naruto's hair. "Fine, fine, kiddo. Just don't do anything like that again, got it? Now..." He turned to where he could barely make out Tsunade's form jumping from one soldier to the next, healing the wounded. "I'm going to go make sure that old hag doesn't get killed in all this chaos. And you, Naruto… you go and show them who's the boss, right?" His godson grinned at him. "You've got it, Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya turned to Yondaime. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, will you, Minato?" At his nod of confirmation, he turned back and with a "See you later!", he went to join Tsunade.
Damn, damn, DAMN!
He shook Tsunade roughly, trying to snap her out of her trance-like state, but to no avail. And it wasn't just her. Everyone around him stared blankly at the unnaturally bright moon, Rinnegan in their eyes. Think, Jiraiya! There must be something you can do to stop this!
Before he could think of something, enormous roots shot out from the ground, branching out and twisting around every affected person, enclosing them in nightmarish cocoons. Jiraiya frowned, reaching for a kunai. He slashed at the branch holding Tsunade, but as soon as it disconnected from the rest, another caught her right away. So that's not going to work, then.
His eyes widened as he realized… "I'm not affected. So the Hokage must be, too."
In that moment, the ground shook. A giant blast of chakra appeared – but it wasn't Madara's. This is it. Maybe if I go there, I might find out what happened.
He cast one last look at the tree. Hold tight, princess. I'll get you out of there.
He dashed in the direction of this new chakra. When he arrived, the Hokage were already there, just as he suspected. As they gathered around Madara's lower half, Shodaime and Nidaime arguing whether to use Edo Tensei or not, a figure came out of it, introducing himself as The Sage of the Six Paths. When he told them that Team 7 was still fighting, Jiraiya felt his hopes rise. I know you can do it, Naruto! Still, it annoyed him that all they could do was wait for them to come back from whatever dimension they ended up in.
"Sensei," Minato came up to him, looking grotesque with both arms missing. "Now that we have some time… will you tell me how you really died?" He paused, laughing softly. "As funny as your first explanation was, I'm sure Tsunade-san would never have done something like that!"
"I have to agree with Minato, Jiraiya. Now, out with it," Sarutobi said, pinning him down with a stare. Jiraiya sighed and plopped down on the nearest rock. "Alright, alright. As you know, I was tracking Akatsuki's moves over the years. One day, I finally found out their leader was hiding in the Rain village, but that was all I had on him, so I went there to investigate further. Turns out it was one of my former students, Nagato. I'm sure I've told you about the orphans from Rain I once took care of." When then nodded, he continued. "Well, he had the Rinnegan, and used six bodies to fight. I knew I couldn't win against him, but at the time I still hadn't figured out the true extent of his abilities." Jiraiya exhaled heavily. "By the time I connected the dots, it was too late to save myself. I barely managed to send a message with one of my toads to the village before he killed me." He studied their expressions. Minato just looked sad, but Sarutobi-sensei…
"You imbecile!" he barked at Jiraiya, who slowly backed away from his teacher. "What in the world were you thinking, going into the heart of enemy territory all alone! You should have brought someone with you! And Tsunade just let you go like that? I'll be having words with her once we get rid of this hellish tree!"
"She didn't want me to go, sensei. And, well, I guess you're right – I am an imbecile." He hung his head, the pain of his earlier encounter with Tsunade still fresh on his mind. "She even wanted to go with me, you know? But I didn't want to place her in danger – nor anyone else, for that matter. Actually, I almost..." I almost stayed, that hint of… something, in her eyes, begging me…
Sarutobi seemed to pick up on his thoughts, his eyes widening in realization. "You hopeless fool… even after all these years, you're still in love with her, aren't you? I thought you grew out of it."
In contrast, Minato smiled at him a bit playfully, his eyes alight with laughter. "A pervert and a romantic soul? Not bad, sensei!"
Jiraiya frowned. "Hey, I'll have you know there's plenty of romance in my Icha Icha series, so don't be so surprised, kid!"
"Finally, they did it!" the Sage's voice cut in and they all looked at him. He made a seal. It's time. "Are you certain you won't need my help, Rikudo-sama?"
He sent Jiraiya a fatherly smile. "Don't worry, young man. All the previous Gokage will be quite enough for this. Besides, I can sense you still have some unfinished business here, am I right?" Can't argue with that.
"So… see you on the other side, I guess?" Minato smiled sheepishly. Jiraiya nodded. "I have a feeling you won't have to wait too long for me." He felt someone touching his shoulder and he turned to see Sarutobi flashing him a crooked smirk. "Give my regards to Tsunade, hmm?"
"You've got it, old man." With a final pat, his sensei went over to the others.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" They vanished in a giant cloud of smoke.
And now I have to wait again.
To be honest, this time the wait wasn't as long. He was surprised, however, to only see Kakashi and Sakura appear before him. They both looked like hell.
"Jiraiya-sama. Rikudo-sama said you were waiting for us," Kakashi spoke up.
He frowned. "Yes, well… I expected Naruto and Sasuke to come here, too." Something in his brain clicked. "Wait, don't tell me they went to fight each other again! Geez, honestly?" Jiraiya heaved a mighty sigh. "I don't even care anymore. Let the stupid brats fight."
Sakura stared morosely at some random point in the distance. "I should stay close to them… they'll probably beat each other into a pulp and they need someone to pick up the pieces." He eyed her incredulously. "You can barely move, girl." Her gaze didn't waver and in that moment, she eerily reminded him of Tsunade. "Oh fine, let's have it your way." Without warning, he went and picked her up, earning an indignant yelp. "Don't complain now – isn't it what you wanted?" he huffed as he shifted to grab Kakashi.
"Valley of the End, I assume?" They both hummed in agreement. He started to run.
They saw the first flashes when they were still a good distance away and Jiraiya pondered just how close they could get without putting themselves in danger. The moment came when he realized the ground itself was shaking faintly, so he carefully placed his two weary passengers under a nearby tree. "We can't go any closer. Let's wait here."
He sat down, crossing his legs and settling into a comfortable position to meditate. He didn't get very far before Sakura decided to break the silence. He cracked one of his eyes open, noting idly that Kakashi had nodded off.
"Why didn't you vanish like the other Kage…?"
His eyebrow went up. "They didn't vanish because Edo Tensei was broken, they just used up all their chakra for that summoning. Besides," he allowed his eye to close again, "there's still something I have to do."
"Is this about Tsunade-sama?" His eyes snapped open. This girl... She grinned weakly at him. "I'm glad." He blinked at her, unsure what to say. She went on, "She was devastated after you died, you know. And I know she didn't even try to cope with it. She just… pushed all her grief aside and tried to go on as if nothing happened. So maybe if you talk to her, let her say goodbye to you properly… she might finally come to terms with your death. She's carrying enough burdens as it is."
A sad smile appeared on his face. "You're a smart girl, Sakura. So here's a piece of advice for you." He met her eyes seriously. "Stop pining after Sasuke. Nothing good is ever going to come out of it. Even if he returns your feelings someday, you won't have a normal, healthy relationship you deserve. Unless you're willing to abandon Konoha for him?" Confusion painted her face. "Do you think he's going to be allowed to stay in the village? Don't be naive. He'll be lucky to get off with lifelong exile, no matter how much he helped during this war. So I'm telling you now – don't settle for him just because he's your first love. There are plenty of good men in this world whose last name isn't Uchiha."
She looked away in silence, chewing on her bottom lip. He took this as a sign that she was at least thinking about his words. His job done, he closed his eyes yet again. This time, she didn't interrupt his meditation.
She peeled her eyes open sleepily, blinking in the surrounding darkness. Twisting around in the arms holding her loosely, she studied the man's face in the unusually bright moonlight. It brought out his handsomeness, she decided after a while. She brought her hand to his cheek, tracing that ever-present red line running down his face, almost like a trail of bloody tears. Carefully, she wriggled out of his embrace and got up, shivering against the cool breeze. Padding across the room, she opened the window and stuck her head out. The entire village was bathed in the moon's glow and her eyes went to the faces carved in the stone. To his face, in particular. Unlike the others, this one's edges were still fresh, untouched by time and weather. The artist did a marvelous job, somehow managing to capture the gentleness she knew so well. She heard shuffling followed by muffled footsteps. He stopped right behind her.
"Can't sleep again?" She felt the rumble in his chest pressed against her back.
"The moon is too bright."
He hummed lightly and followed her line of sight. They silently studied the stony visage of their new Hokage. "It's so weird, seeing his face there. It will take some getting used to," he muttered.
"Yeah. But I'm happy for him. He's dreamed of becoming Hokage for so long, worked so hard... he deserves it." She glanced at her companion from the corner of her eye. "Hmm... I guess."
She rolled her eyes at his reluctant tone and turned to face him fully. "Are you still jealous of him? It's been years since Dan and I broke up, you moron, so stop sulking every time he comes up. I'm not going to stop being his friend just because you don't like him."
A childish pout appeared on his face, but he said nothing. Tsunade sighed and closed the window. "Come on, Jiraiya, let's get back to bed. I don't want to fall asleep over a patient tomorrow," she paused and looked at the clock, "uh… today, more like."
After they were settled comfortably in their bed, Jiraiya's arms encircled her once again and he sighed in her ear. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly. "I'll try to be nicer to Dan, okay?" Tsunade smiled and planted a kiss on the palm of his hand. "I'll hold you to that promise. Now shut up and go to sleep." "Yes, yes, darling."
Slowly, she drifted back to sleep.
So why did it feel more like waking up?
Her eyes shot open. A panicked gasp left her as she tumbled down on the hard ground, the remains of twisted branches crumbling around her. She carefully picked herself up, ignoring her screaming muscles, and looked around dazedly. Thousands upon thousands of people, as far as eye could see, regaining their freedom. Some crying, some laughing, reuniting with friends. Tsunade felt strangely empty as bits and pieces of the dream floated around in her head, mocking her. Just a dream. Illusion. Fake.
No. Don't think about it. Focus.
She reached out with her senses, searching for the familiar chakra signatures. Of course, it wasn't hard at all, with Naruto acting like a beacon in the dark. She willed her legs to move and soon she was speeding towards him.
The sight that greeted her was bizzare, to put it lightly.
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto - each missing an arm, battered, dirty yet somehow still relatively fine – standing side by side, watching as multiple gigantic rock spheres crumbled, revealing the Tailed Beasts previously trapped inside. Sakura and Kakashi sat nearby, both looking exhausted but happy. The girl was the first to notice her arrival and waved at Tsunade. She swiftly approached her weary student.
"You look like hell, both of you."
Kakashi snorted. "I'd expect nothing less after what we've just gone through."
Suddenly, Sakura smacked her forehead. "Oh, I completely forgot! Jiraiya-sama is looking for you, shishou." Her heart gave a strange little lurch. "He's still here?"
"You're not getting rid of me so easily, princess!" She spun around and there he stood, grinning like an idiot. The memories of her dream assaulted her again, her mind subconsciously comparing this Jiraiya to the one from Infinite Tsukuyomi. A wave of bitter disappointment swept through her as she stared at this… dead mockery of him, with cracked skin and black eyes, so different from the very much alive man her mind conjured in that illusionary world.
He approached her, still grinning. "I hope you had pleasant dreams?"
Tsunade poured all that bitterness into the glare she pinned him with. "No dream with you in it is ever going to be pleasant, you buffoon." That wiped the smile from his face at once and she watched in grim satisfaction as his eyes flashed in understanding. "...oh. Well, I..." He seemed at a loss for words. Something in his expression shifted and he briefly closed his eyes. "I don't have much time left, Tsunade, so..." He reached out and drew her into his arms, almost crushing her to his chest. Slowly she relaxed, tucking her head under his chin and returned the embrace. She clenched her eyes shut in a vain attempt to stop the tears from flowing.
"I wanted to give you so much more, Tsunade…" he spoke quietly, his voice laden with grief. "All these years, wasted on second-guessing myself when I could've tried harder to break through those walls you've put up. But," Jiraiya paused, sniffling, "it's too late now. I just wanted to tell you..." His hold on her eased a bit and he met her eyes, somehow managing to smile. For her. "Be happy. You're still alive and there's so much you can do, so don't wallow in the past. Your friends will be there to help you. You have an amazing apprentice. If you're tired of being Hokage, pass the hat on to Kakashi and relax." Then his smile turned wicked. "Maybe find yourself a pretty young man who has a taste for old hags? I won't be jealous, I promise!" She smacked him on the arm. "Idiot!" He snorted. "So, I guess not!"
In that moment, one of the cracks on his face lengthened and a piece of skin detached, vanishing into thin air. "Damn it - " she silenced him with a desperate kiss and she didn't care that they weren't alone, that he tasted of salty tears and unspoken words and death, because it was still Jiraiya.
He drew away after what seemed like both eternity and a fraction of a second, now blazing with blinding light, more and more fragments falling away. He put his hands on her cheeks, eyes shining with affection. "Take care, princess. I love you." Then he leaned in and brushed the seal on her forehead with his lips. "Goodbye." With a final flicker, he was gone.
Tsunade exhaled shakily and wiped her eyes. "I love you too, you fool," she whispered.
When Sakura's hand landed gently on her shoulder, she felt her mouth curve into a smile.
Don't worry, you old pervert. I think I'm going to be fine.