So yeah, my first...thing. Feedback is much appreciated.
I don't own Naruto.
It rains so hard in Ame, Tsunade marvels that it doesn't wash everything away. She wishes it would; with each split neck, slit throat, and strangled scream, she can feel Jiraiya's facade grow louder and more jarring, Orochimaru become more reserved and withdrawn. She hurts for what this war has done to herself and to her village, but above all, she hurts for what it has done to her boys, and even as the rain pounds them into the gore-soaked earth, she begs for more to wipe them clean. But, Tsunade muses, blood runs thicker than water.
To her left, Jiraiya stirs, and with all the subtlety of one of his toad summons downing a barrel of sake, lets loose a yawn that she hopes the Ame squad they are trailing will mistake for a rumble of thunder. "What is HQ thinking, anyways?" he grumbles, almost cheerfully enough for the untrained observer to mistake as normal. But Tsunade is anything but untrained, and she sees the weary lines on his face and sallow bags under his eyes for what they are. "Sending the three of us to take on fifty Ame guys? They should've left the snake bastard at home, he's just gonna get in our way, eh, Tsunade?" He sends a lewd wink her way that once might have cost him a trip to the Konoha hospital to restructure his skull. Now, Tsunade can only long for those days.
Orochimaru doesn't move, but he deigns to hiss back: "Idiot. They're going to hear you if you keep talking that loudly."
Jiraiya laughs heartily at this. Tsunade wonders if Orochimaru can hear the pain in the chuckles that sound so harsh and discordant to her. "These guys couldn't beat us if-"
He's interrupted by shouts of anger as the camp below hears him. The cries quickly shift to fear as the three of them jump down from their tree and are recognized. Tsunade's blood chills as she realizes that some of the screams of terror belong to children - no more than twelve years old.
"Well," Jiraiya announces with false cheer, "here goes nothing."
The screams soon shift again, from fear to agony, and then die out entirely.
She's healing Jiraiya now. Nothing serious, no more than a freak injury, because he's right; no combination of Ame nin short of Hanzo himself can hope to do much more than slow down the three of them.
"Embarrassing, really," he's rambling, and she wants nothing more than for him to just shut up for once, because really, she's not stupid, she can hear how broken he is and it has nothing at all to do with his flesh wound, but he's continuing, "Getting hurt is for sissies, how was I supposed to know my Rasengan would blow him up like a grenade and send little skeleton-pieces back at me? That is such bullshit, probably the worst way to go really. You better not tell anyone about this, fucker," he shouts at Orochimaru, "I'm never gonna live this down-"
And just like she knew it would, his voice chokes off and his head bows, and all she can do is smile fondly at him because of course Jiraiya would be the one to try to bluster his way through this with just his words.
Jiraiya looks up at her and she's not sure if it's rain or tears or blood that's streaming down his face as he whispers, "Tsunade. They're using kids now?"
He searches her face and waits for her to deny it, but all she can think of is Nawaki and the other genin back home, and she just doesn't have the tools to deal with this, so she does the only thing she can do. She brings her glowing green hand up to his face, and a genjutsu later, Jiraiya is asleep at her feet. Orochimaru stands a few feet away, silent and impassive, and Tsunade wants to scream until the madness is over.
Planning on continuing the angst, but no promises, I'm a lazy guy. Thanks for reading.