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Alive-+-
Any other time, Tsunade would have killed them for sleeping so close.
Well, maybe not killed but at least broken some major bones. After all, Jiraiya and Orochimaru should have their bodies nowhere near her body unless they were training. It wasn't proper for twelve year old boys to touch girls, especially their teammate.
She let it go, though.
Maybe sleeping in a dog pile was awkward and socially unacceptable but it was comfortable, both emotionally and physically after the mission they'd just gotten finished with.
They'd almost died, all three of them.
They may be the one of the best teams of Chunnin in Leaf history but that didn't change how young they really were. To die at twelve would have been a waste. It would have been a waste of potential talent, of much needed shinobi, and of life. They weren't always sure which of those things the village cared about more but at least they were cared for.
They had gotten back and went straight to their sensei's home, not wanting to see their parents quite yet. They just wanted to breathe and be thankful that they were alive, not be asked a million questions or fussed over like children. Four years as ninja in the middle of a war-filled decade made a person grow up fast, whether or not their family back home was willing to see that.
So for now, they stayed away, touching each other to reassure themselves that they were all still alive; listening to each other breathe because it was the only sound their exhausted ears wanted to hear.
Any other time, Tsunade would have killed them.
She let it go, though.
This time, there would be a tomorrow and that was reason enough tonight.