Reprieve
Luna Silvereyes
"C'mon, Tsunade, you've been cooped up in here for three days straight! Get some air,"
The irritated blond threw Jiraiya a stern look, reached behind her and shoved her window open, "Air," she stated flatly, returning to her work. Jiraiya rolled his eyes, "That isn't what I meant and you know it. Tsunade, both Shizune and Sakura tell me that you've barely slept or eaten all this time. For the world's greatest medic nin, you're certainly not above gambling your own health,"
Tsunade pointedly ignored him as she sifted through the massive stack of papers lining her desk. Mission requests, supplies, reports from the other nations and other Kage, along with various reports of activities within Leaf pretty much made up the sum total of the Hokage's life. Ten percent glamor, ninety percent paperwork.
Jiraiya groaned in frustration, "Listen, Tsunade, I understand that being the Hokage is a demanding occupation and that you have a lot on your plate right now. But if you keel over from exhaustion in the next day or so, how much good will you do the village then, huh?"
"I don't 'keel over', Jiraiya," Tsunade muttered, not looking up at him.
"Well, whatever you call it," the Toad Sage said, shrugging, "You aren't going to last much longer. Even Naruto's getting worried about you and believe me, that kid ain't exactly the type to worry subtly like he has been. Please, just go somewhere with me for a bit, huh? Just a few hours?"
Tsunade eyed him irritably, fatigue beginning to show on her otherwise young face. She brushed one of her ponytails back behind her and leaned back in her chair with a sigh, "All right, assuming I go along with this suggestion of yours," she said, alerting him to the fact that his suggestion of leaving for a while sounded tempting, "Where exactly does 'somewhere' imply, and what?"
"Just a little area a few miles to the west of here. It's a cliff famous for its views of the southwestern mountains. Maybe a little scenic hike will relax you a bit, you know?" he said with a carefree grin.
Tsunade twirled her pen, her expression doubtful, yet at the same time, thoughtful. Jiraiya knew she'd spotted the bait. It was very appealing bait; the opportunity to ditch the paperwork for a few hours and get the blood flowing on a rejuvenating hike through the treetops. Now that she was the Hokage, she didn't get to go on her own trips as often, both for the village's safety, and her own. Jiraiya knew she secretly missed the days of her self-imposed exile where she wandered freely with Shizune and Tonton. He also knew she was aware those days could never return. He'd dropped this very tempting bait in the water. Now, he just needed to wait for this powerful, stubborn fish to bite.
"To tell you the truth...," she mumbled.
Hook.
Her eyes glanced skyward and she sagged in her chair a bit, "It is getting a bit stuffy in here,"
Line.
Jiraiya watched with baited breath. Tsunade smirked wryly, "Maybe a sprint through the countryside will clear my head a little,"
Sinker.
Her eyes turned steely, "All right, I'll go on a hike with you," she said, "But if you try to do any impromptu 'research', you might not live to regret it this time," she growled.
"Tsunade, I give you my word, my books won't even grace my thoughts today," he said truthfully. He knew that this was a small price to pay. He'd succeeded in luring Tsunade out of the office, just as he'd planned.
Step one; Complete.
/ooo/
Tsunade placed Shizune in charge of half of the mountain of paperwork, with Sakura to assist her once she'd finished her daily training sessions. She told them she was going to take a rest for a bit, preferring to keep the truth that she was leaving the village for a while a secret. As Kage, she was perfectly allowed to wander from the village, especially since she was remaining within Fire Nation territory, but the entourage of ANBU that often accompanied her on such trips got tiresome quickly. Half the time, she had to slow down and wait for them to catch up, lessening the fun in such adventures tremendously.
After departing the village, Jiraiya steered them in a southwestern direction, toward the cliffs he'd mentioned. However, after getting her out of her office, he'd started to act a little funny, checking behind them every so often to make certain they weren't followed. Tsunade noticed, but said nothing on the matter.
"Say, Tsunade," he called as they soared through the treetops, "By any chance, do you know what day it is?"
Tsunade, easily bounding from branch to branch with barely any chakra loss, frowned, "The eleventh, right?" she replied.
"Well, yes, it is the eleventh," Jiraiya responded, hurtling over a particularly fluffy patch of branches, "But what day specifically? Any significance?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Significance? What are you babbling about? It's the eleventh of June and it's bloody hot out today. That's significant,"
Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head, "Tsunade, your memory is as sharp as a brand new kunai. How on earth do you not know what I'm talking about?"
"How on earth am I supposed to grasp it when you're being so ridiculously vague?" she snapped back at him, thrusting harder than she meant to on the next tree she hit, causing it to creak and bend ominously low.
"Well, I guess you'll get it before too long," the white-haired Sannin mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing,"
They continued on in silence for a while, the miles growing further from the village as they continued on their way. Tsunade had to admit, it was invigorating. She hadn't done this in a while and was quite pleased to see she wasn't rusty after two months without any hard training. Still, there was a dull ache in her left ankle that pulsated uncomfortably with every chakra-laced bound. Basic medical instinct hinted at arthritis. At her age, it wasn't unthinkable. However, it also wasn't something she cared to think about.
She glanced over at her former teammate as he shifted a bulky-looking bag on his shoulder, faltering only slightly in his speedy steps.
"What's in the bag, Jiraiya?" she called.
"Oh, just supplies for my mission next week," he said casually. Instantly, Tsunade was put on guard. Jiraiya was nothing if not a terrible liar. He could fool Naruto anytime he liked; but most people saw right through it. However, while the man annoyed her out of her skull (much like a certain blond-haired knucklehead who refused to stop calling her Grandma), she trusted Jiraiya enough not to question him too thoroughly.
"So then, how much farther is this place?" she asked him. She'd caught a glimpse of a wide, forested ravine off to her left through a break in the trees.
"Not much farther. This terrain is nearly inhospitable. We're coming up on a popular rest stop for travelers and the more adventurous Shinobi. The view is amazing from that place,"
"Any particular reason you decided to drag me here of all places?"
Jiraiya didn't answer her. His gaze was hard and dare she say anxiously pointed directly in front of them. It was almost like he was timing something. She repeated her question in a somewhat harsher tone. Jiraiya snapped out of his reverie and grinned, "It's just a very nice, relaxing place. I'll tell you something, Tsunade, this spot is a well-known place for gatherings. It'll be deserted on a day as hot as today, but there's plenty of shade,"
It almost seemed like he was hedging. Tsunade knew she wouldn't pry an answer to her satisfaction out of him without breaking two or three ribs in the process. She let it go, though not as peacefully as the other few times she had today.
After an hour of swift leaping through the trees, Jiraiya dropped sharply as the trees began to thin out. Tsunade instantly followed after him, landing delicately on the ground below. She could see a rocky trail leading up and out of the forest, toward a flat expanse of the cliff about fifteen feet above them. Jiraiya sighed, "All right, it's just up there. And don't worry, I brought along some cold sake after that trip. Would it be pointless of me to ask you to drink water, first?"
Tsunade threw him a sarcastic grin as an answer. She followed him up as he nimbly ascended the trail. As she climbed easily behind him, her eyes fell to the sandals he wore and she sighed heavily, "I'll never understand how you can be so active in those awkward shoes," she grumbled.
"Just one of my many, many talents, Tsunade," he answered cheerfully. Tsunade rolled her eyes and bit back a laugh. Though she'd never admit it aloud, she'd forgotten how fun he was to be around when he wasn't outright flirting with her all the time.
Jiraiya stopped suddenly at the top of the trail where a large cluster of boulders blocked her vision from the grassy clearing ahead of them. He held a hand out, indicating she stop, "Hang on a sec," he whispered, "Let me just double-check,"
Tsunade sighed, a hand on her hip as he crept forward, peering around the rocks toward the clearing beyond. His eyes narrowed and he smiled faintly, "Okay, all set. C'mon, Tsunade,"
She refused the hand he offered her, nodding her polite, but independent thanks as she did, "You're being awfully secretive, Jiraiya,"
"And you're being awfully forgetful," he said, "You still can't remember the importance of today's date,"
"It doesn't matter," she grumbled, "It's a hot day and I'm ready for some of that sake you promised me,"
"Just please drink some water first," he said again as they moved out into the clearing, "You and I both know that drinking alcohol on a dehydrated body isn't good for you,"
"If I say yes, will you hurry up?"
He chuckled mirthfully. They cleared the pile of rocks and Tsunade stepped out. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings.
It was a spacious clearing, no, meadow more like. Thick, tall spruce trees flanked the perimeter until they stopped at the grass. The grass wasn't too tall, indicating a heavy population of deer in the area. The meadow sloped downward, continuing toward the side of the cliffs where a rope guardrail had been set up to keep accidental falls at bay. The wide, majestic canyon stretched out before them, leading to the tall, mist-covered mountains swathed in green as far as the normal eye could see. She chuckled, impressed, "Wow, Neji and Hinata would sure like practicing here. I'll bet their eyes could see all the way to the ocean from this spot," she remarked.
"Come on," Jiraiya said, motioning her to follow him further into the meadow. Tsunade turned around. She could see a few wooden benches set up along the trail facing toward the ravine, each one with a tall, shady tree planted behind it. She frowned when she saw someone sitting on the bench farthest from them, staring out over the view, "Huh. Looks like someone beat us here," she said.
"Looks like it," Jiraiya said quietly, continuing forward. Tsunade followed, staring at the person sitting motionless. As they drew nearer, she sucked in a sharp breath and froze in her step. Her eyes widened, "...Wha...What the?"
She whirled to Jiraiya, eyes blazing, "You...what the hell is the meaning of this?" she snapped. At her outburst, the person sitting on the bench looked up, long, straight black hair framing a paper white face.
Jiraiya watched as Orochimaru stood up and faced them, maintaining his distance. The Toad Sage was secretly glad the oddball had decided not to wear that weird Sound uniform and had opted instead for casual wear consisting of dark purple robes and a loose-fitting off-pink vest. This way, he at least appeared somewhat normal, though that word was probably an overstatement for him.
Tsunade started to stalk forward, fists clenched. Jiraiya grasped her shoulder and held her back, causing her to lash toward him furiously, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Just settle down a moment. I called him here," he replied. Then, he smirked dryly, "Actually, I'm amazed he showed up, much less found this place,"
"I have a better sense of direction than you think, Jiraiya," the snake-Sannin called over to him, "After all, I've seen you become hopelessly lost in tunnels, before,"
Jiraiya looked up, grinning, "Ah, so you can hear me all the way over there," he taunted jokingly, "Fair enough; I won't tell Tsunade anything weird about you, then. Well, anything weirder, anyway,"
He fought to suppress a laugh at Orochimaru's agitated and somewhat bewildered expression.
"Jiraiya, you moron," Tsunade yelled, "Damn it, let go of me! Ugh!" she snapped as she wrenched herself free of his grasp, stomping a few steps forward and glaring daggers at her former teammate, "What do you mean by calling him here? What the hell are you thinking?!"
Instead of answering, Jiraiya strode forward and stopped at the bench in the middle of the row, keeping a neutral distance between both Sannin. He set the bag down and stretched, "Ah, that feels good," he grumbled as he felt the bones in his neck crackle, "See? What'd I tell you guys? Isn't this a great spot? Found it by accident last year while I was—and you keep quiet—" he said with a pointed look at Orochimaru; "—Lost in these mountains on my way to the Sand village. Stopped here for a bit of rest and a bite to eat and then marked it on my map to remember the exact location. I'm happy to tell you two, if you'd like," he said, pulling the map out and waving it back and forth with a huge grin on his face.
Both Tsunade and Orochimaru watched, neither understanding what the point of this was. Every now and then, they'd exchange savage glares with each other before refocusing on Jiraiya who was busily getting out the aforementioned bottle of sake and, of all things, a couple of boxed lunches. He set them on the bench and straightened up, "I asked Sakura to make these for me. Told her I was going to meet some old buddies of mine. Luckily for me, she didn't ask too many questions," he said, laughing.
He glanced at each of them in turn, "Well? Come on, it's been a heck of a hike and I'm sure you guys are probably hungry,"
"Would you care to explain what the point of this is?" Orochimaru grumbled.
"For once, I'm in agreement. Jiraiya, if you don't give me a sufficient answer, I'll have you charged with conspiring with the enemy," she hissed.
The Toad Sage sighed heavily, "All right, I see that neither one of you is aware of the date, today," he muttered irritably, "So, I guess I gotta spell it out. It's a bit funny, really; for once, I know something the two geniuses don't,"
"Then kindly elaborate while you have my attention," Orochimaru said dryly, his eyes narrowing.
Jiraiya turned, facing out toward the ravine. His gaze was faraway, "June eleventh. It was a pretty important day, you know. At age six, all three of us graduated from the academy on this very day. We were some of the youngest to graduate. That same day, we all met officially for the first time as we were assigned to a team together. We were introduced to our leader, Sarutobi and two days later, we tackled our first D-ranked mission as Genin; the retrieval of some old lady's lost purse. You guys still don't get it? Jeez, this is the anniversary of the day we all became Shinobi,"
Tsunade's expression had contorted slightly for a moment, becoming a bit nostalgic at the mention of their former master, the late Third Hokage. Across the way, Orochimaru had turned his head, his hair hiding his eyes from whatever expression he might have allowed through at the moment.
"So what?" Tsunade snapped, "You dragged me out here for this? What, like today would call for a truce or something? Like hell that's happening! Not with that snake hanging around! I can't believe you'd do something like this, Jiraiya," she snarled.
"To think I answered such a pathetic message," the snake-Sannin grumbled, "Once a fool, always shall be a fool, Jiraiya," he turned slowly, heading back toward the trees in the direction of Sound.
"And what makes you think you can just walk away?" Tsunade shouted furiously, starting forward with her hand pulsing in bright blue chakra. Orochimaru turned, eyes chilled, "I'm hardly in the mood for a battle, Tsunade," he whispered menacingly, "But I'm more than happy to oblige if you're willing to take the brunt of my frustrations,"
Jiraiya watched the back and forth for a moment as the two approached the center rank toward him. He sighed heavily and quickly formed the hand seals for boar and tiger; " Earth Style! Swamp of the Underworld!" he declared.
Tsunade and Orochimaru both yelled as miniature versions of the normally deadly red swamp materialized beneath their feet, sinking them down several inches and immobilizing them. The dark-haired Sannin barely managed to maintain his balance with his damaged arms, while Tsunade, somewhat steadier on her feet, held her balance easily, glaring at the interfering man with rage, "What now, Jiraiya?" she demanded, "Let us go!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Jiraiya said with another sigh, approaching the seething Orochimaru. He reached out and clapped him sharply on the back, slightly knocking the wind out of him, "For starters, this place is too pretty to rough up with a pointless battle. Also, even though neither of you appear to really care, this day is very special to me and I don't want to spend it playing referee to less-than-witty banter. I came here to relax, have some lunch, and hopefully remind you two of the reasons we made such an effective team in the old days,"
He whirled to Tsunade, "Now, before you say anything, I'm more than well aware of the fact that things can never go back to the way they were. You'll always be bitter and jaded over your losses, Chi here will always be an S-ranked criminal we all know and loathe, and I'll never forgive him for his betrayal of not only us, but the entirety of the Leaf village,"
Orochimaru bristled angrily, "I told you years ago to stop using that ridiculous moniker," he snarled.
Jiraiya draped an arm across his ex-teammate's shoulders and poked him lightly, "C'mon, your name's a mouthful and you know it. I'd hate to have been you at age three trying to pronounce your own name," he chuckled, moving back toward the middle bench where the boxes still sat.
They didn't notice Tsunade clear her throat slightly to stifle a chuckle.
Jiraiya sat down on the ground by the bench, crossing his legs and folding his arms, "So then, here's what I propose. Whether or not you like the idea, this place is a neutral zone. No battles here. Since all three of us are already here and it looks like Sakura made plenty, we might as well have some lunch before returning home. After all, it's a long trek back, particularly for Chi, here,"
He pretended not to notice the venomous glare Orochimaru threw at him. Instead, he glanced at both of them in turn, eying each one carefully. This was a very delicate situation. Having all three of the legendary Sannin in one place usually ended up as a catastrophic mess. He was taking a big gamble, but he had faith in his bets, unlike Tsunade's.
He watched as she clenched her fists in and out, biting her lip in frustration. He turned to Orochimaru, staring off to the side, his eyes narrowed as if stalking some small prey. Both of them were still firmly stuck in the miniature swamps and would remain that way until Jiraiya freed them. Neither of them spoke. Finally, the Toad Sage heaved yet another hefty sigh, "I also had Sakura make each of your favorites," he revealed.
That got Tsunade's attention, at least, but only to the extent that she raised her gaze to him. However, with Orochimaru beginning to fidget slightly at his position, Jiraiya knew he'd laid out good bait again. As long as he'd known difficult people, he'd come to understand full well that sometimes, a favorite food could do wonders to raise an otherwise sour mood in the air. He reached behind him and deftly lifted the corner of the one of the box lids, "Yeah, eggs are tough to keep warm for extended periods after preparation so I asked her to triple wrap everything so it stayed warm. The box is insulated, too. I doubt any heat could escape,"
He fought the urge to smirk as the snake-Sannin turned his head away completely, staring off into the forest. He'd gotten to him, at least. He glanced at Tsunade, "I also stuck this bottle of sake in Naruto's freezer for the night and took it out this morning. I have two here, but this one is perfect for a hot day like today. By now, it's probably just the right temperature,"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsunade jolt ever so slightly, a barely audible curse leaving her lips.
Both of them had slipped just a little bit. He felt this battle beginning to tip in his favor. If he could just establish a temporary peace, he could free them without much fear of retaliation. Even though they despised one another, neither one was entirely unreasonable.
"C'mon, you guys," he prodded, smiling, "You gotta admit, this place is awesome. And there's no one around for miles. I checked before we got here. What the others don't know won't hurt 'em and once we depart, nothing will have changed. How about this, then? Two hours. That's all I ask of you two; just two hours' of peace. No arguing, no fighting. Just a quiet afternoon, a good view, and a good lunch before the hike back to our respective homes, okay?"
The hostility radiating through the air had lessened considerably. Jiraiya decided to take a mild risk, releasing the jutsu holding the two of them hostage. The swamps beneath them dried up into the earth, allowing them freedom of movement once again. However, neither one was willing to move first, which was a definite switch from the norm.
Finally, much to Jiraiya's surprise, Orochimaru took the first couple of cautious steps forward, eyes closed as he moved, signifying his willingness to cooperate. He paused, eying the Toad Sage warily, expecting some sort of trap. But Jiraiya just waved idiotically, lowering the snake-Sannin's wariness ever-so-slightly. He reached the shade by the bench and sat down slowly on the ground, folding his legs beneath him. He shakily brought one arm up to rest on his thigh, wincing as he did so. He looked over at Jiraiya, his eyes slightly less icy than before, "Two hours, you spiky-haired annoyance," he grumbled, "Not a minute more,"
"That's all I ask,"
Jiraiya looked over at Tsunade, "Well, are you coming?" he asked quietly.
Just the sight of Orochimaru so close to Jiraiya and herself seemed to nearly cause her receded anger to boil forth again. Jiraiya immediately braced, prepared to activate another jutsu to restrain her. However, as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared in the form of a heavy, aggravated sigh. She strode forward much more quickly than he expected and sat down on Jiraiya's other side, her back stiff and straight with all the dignity she could muster as Hokage. She glared openly at her nemesis seated across from her, "I'll tolerate you for two hours," she growled, "Try anything funny before then and I'll snap you in half,"
To Jiraiya's relief, Orochimaru didn't answer to the threat. He was staring out over the ravine, his eyes surprisingly mellow. The Toad Sage had to admit; he was surprised that Orochimaru had allowed his guard to drop as low as it did. He felt safe enough to almost become oblivious.
"Well, lets' see what we've got here, then," Jiraiya announced, taking the boxes down and opening them up. There was an assortment of different things inside, as he'd requested from Tsunade's able apprentice. In one box, he could see several of Tsunade's favorites and a few of his own mixed in. In the other box was a mound of white rice and the eggs wrapped three or four times in tin foil.
"Damn Tsunade, whichever lucky guy gets past your radar is gonna find a hell of a good wife in that apprentice of yours," he remarked with a grin.
"Huh, like that'll happen anytime soon," Tsunade grumbled.
"Aw, protective much?" the Toad Sage teased. Tsunade took one of the pairs of disposable chopsticks, breaking them with slightly more force than necessary, "No. I don't care what Sakura does on her own time. She's addicted to her work," she muttered, taking a piece of grilled chicken out and nibbling on it. Her eyes widened a fraction before returning to their usual irritated glaze. She watched mistrustfully as Orochimaru slowly reached out to shakily grasp a pair of the chopsticks, clumsily bringing his other hand up to (shabbily) attempt to break them. Jiraiya groaned, "Jeez, Chi, are you telling me that after all this time, you still try to break them from the top?" he exclaimed.
"Excuse me?"
"You're supposed to break them from the bottom. It's a lot easier,"
Orochimaru regarded him coldly, either from the unsolicited advice or from the ridiculous nickname. But he said nothing in reply and shifted them in his hands, pulling weakly from the bottom half. Even so, his grip was so flimsy that they could see that even that tiny effort had to be killing him.
"Oh, for the love of—," Tsunade snarled, lashing out and snatching them from him, "Just watching you is pissing me off,"
She snapped them open easily and hurled them back at him before snatching another piece of chicken from the box. She glowered out toward the far off mountains, ignoring them again. Jiraiya stared at her in amazement/befuddlement and glanced at Orochimaru. The snake-Sannin didn't seem too concerned as he awkwardly arranged the chopsticks in his hand, shakily reaching to take a piece of the fried egg from the box. Jiraiya helped himself to some of the rice as he watched out of the corner of his eye. At first, his former teammate seemed a little hesitant to try to take a bite of it, staring hard at it for a moment or two. Then, he slowly raised it to his mouth and hesitantly bit into it, keeping the rest of it close to his other hand so as not to drop it. He hummed and turned to Jiraiya, "You said that it was Sakura who prepared this?" he muttered.
"Yeah,"
"Tell her that a small amount of heat goes a long way,"
It took Jiraiya a second to work out the meaning behind what he said. Then, he burst into laughter, "She overcooked 'em, huh?" he said, chuckling, "Sorry about that. Maybe you just got an overdone piece. The rest look all right,"
As the snake-Sannin finished off the rest of the piece of egg, his expression stiffened, "Also, a little sugar never hurt anyone," he muttered. Jiraiya started laughing again, "Oh man, she would mess up your favorite, wouldn't she? If I didn't know better, I'd swear she guessed they were for you,"
"She's a bright girl," Tsunade remarked dryly, "She's found her calling as a medic-nin,"
Orochimaru was struggling with another piece of egg, "Yes, she did show a surprising amount of promise during the Chunin exams," he said. He scowled when his weak grip dropped it back into the box again, forcing him to try again to pick it up.
"Hearing that from you is creepy," Tsunade grumbled.
"I know potential when I see it,"
"Now now you two, remember what you promised," Jiraiya reminded them. He took out a cup from the bag and poured some sake for Tsunade, who accepted it eagerly. He poured a little for himself and then turned to Orochimaru, "Any preference?"
"Water, thank you," he answered quietly.
"Oh, that's right. You never did like the stuff, did you?" Jiraiya muttered, pulling a water bottle from the bag. He set this next to Orochimaru who initially struggled with the tamper-proof cap, finally succeeding in opening it. He sighed, "Not one of my favorites, no," he agreed.
"Once a weirdo, always a weirdo," Tsunade grumbled, already on her second cup. Jiraiya made sure to keep track. He was going to limit her to five, since that was her safe traveling limit anyway. Besides, with Orochimaru still around, he didn't want to take any chances. He figured it would be safe once he was five or six miles away from her current location before allowing her to have anymore.
"To each their own, Tsunade," Orochimaru said dryly.
"True enough,"
Jiraiya smiled in relief. What had at first promised to escalate into an argument actually resulted in a terse agreement. He took a piece of chicken from the box and smirked, "You know, this kind of reminds me of the first time you attempted to cook, Tsunade. Right, Chi?"
"Stop calling me that," Orochimaru growled. He sighed, "And yes, I recall the incident quite well, actually. As I remember, it was inedible and left you sick as a dog and myself somewhat dazed and hallucinating for an hour or two,"
Tsunade felt her face heating up from embarrassment rather than from the sake. She hissed through her teeth, "Not as bad as when you tried it, Jiraiya. We both thought you'd tried to put coal in the lunchboxes, they were scorched so badly,"
"Hey, gas stoves are unpredictable," Jiraiya said with a sheepish smile.
"You nearly burned your home down in the attempt," Orochimaru pointed out.
"Right. Then you and Tsunade were wandering around outside waiting, noticed the smoke and...which one of you brought the bucket again?"
Tsunade jabbed her chopsticks in Orochimaru's direction, "He did. He grabbed the water bucket in your breezeway and filled it downstairs before bringing it up. As I recall, he missed completely, hitting you instead of the stove,"
Jiraiya snickered, "Yeah, for an accident, it was pretty well-timed," he chortled.
"Whatever gave you the idea it was an accident?" Orochimaru muttered, looking away. What neither of them knew was that the story had earned a bit of a smirk from him which he was now attempting to hide.
Jiraiya stared at him gape-jawed, "What!? Then that means that you were the reason my house nearly burned down!" he exclaimed.
"Remember Jiraiya, we're supposed to be getting along today," Tsunade pointed out snidely with a smirk toward Orochimaru, who chuckled lightly. Jiraiya glared at each of them and then sighed with a wry smile. Okay, so their shared humor had been at his expense. It was worth it to have them actually getting along for a change.
"I hope you've learned since then to turn the dial halfway," Orochimaru muttered, still struggling to pick up the same piece of egg and looking more and more frustrated with each attempt. Jiraiya skimmed his remark and sighed, "Don't worry too much about it, Chi, you can take the leftovers with you," he said, grinning, "I'll get Sakura a new lunchbox,"
"I'll have a difficult time explaining it to Kabuto,"
Jiraiya shrugged, "Shouldn't he know by this point not to question you too much? We all learned that pretty early on when you decided to show up to class with green hair one day,"
Tsunade's brow quirked, "Oh yeah, now that I think about it, you did do that, didn't you?" she said to him, "Sarutobi asked you about it, but you wouldn't answer him. What was that about anyway?"
Orochimaru's body was quivering with barely suppressed anger as he glared at them irritably. They were both watching him expectantly as he finally sighed and looked away, "I was attempting a transformation jutsu that went awry," he replied, "And I couldn't figure out how to return my hair to its natural color before class began,"
"Yeah, I'll buy that, but why green? Just who were you trying to mimic?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade started snickering madly all of a sudden, causing them both to look at her in bewilderment. Sputtering, she grinned wickedly, "Oooh," she said devilishly, "I remember now,"
"Tsunade...," Orochimaru growled warningly. She ignored him, "There was that old lady down the street who simply adored him, remember Jiraiya? Her name was Momoko. For whatever reason, she thought he was the cutest kid ever and took every chance she got to hug him. Naturally, this freaked him out, so I'll bet he was trying to disguise himself from her and got the jutsu wrong,"
Jiraiya laughed heartily, "Oh yeah, I remember that. Yeah, I found him hiding in one of the mailboxes one morning trying to avoid her,"
"Wasn't that the day he was almost shipped to the Sand village along with the mail?" Tsunade asked.
"Yeah. Sarutobi was barely able to get him out of there before they left. Luckily, no one was the wiser thanks to that Genjutsu he used to distract them,"
Orochimaru grumbled irritably, "All right, we all get it, Tsunade; transformation jutsus weren't my strong point back then,"
"I never did figure out how he got into the mailbox in the first place," Jiraiya chuckled, "Maybe it's because you were so scrawny back then, Chi. Ouch!"
Jiraiya clutched his head where Orochimaru had chucked the water bottle at him, thankfully closed. Groaning, he smiled painfully, "Okay, I deserved that," he grunted, sitting up and handing him back the water bottle, "Well, since we're apparently telling funny stories of our idiocy as kids, anyone else got one, preferably not to do with Orochimaru?"
"Sure, I do," Tsunade said, "There was that time when a boy from the academy asked me out and I agreed to go with him. Naturally, you all said it was fine, so I spent that next day off hanging out with him,"
"Oh," Jiraiya exclaimed, clapping his hands in recollection, "Yeah, and then Chi and I spent the whole day tailing you two to make sure he didn't try anything funny,"
Orochimaru chuckled, "I do remember that," he said, finally succeeding in picking up the piece of egg, putting in his hand this time to make sure it didn't drop, "Yes, as I recall, that particular boy was quite a miserable student,"
"Not just student," Jiraiya grumbled, "He was a miserable excuse for a human being. This kid was depraved, I swear. Not sure why you agreed to go out with him, Tsunade,"
She looked away irritably, snatching a piece of chicken from the box, "Like I really knew any better back then," she snapped, "In any case, you two completely messed up the whole date. First, one of you accidentally dumped a rain gutter on the poor guy, and then you spooked him so badly at the training grounds where we were talking that he took off right then and there!"
"I believe the gutter incident was my fault," Orochimaru admitted almost sheepishly, "I don't believe I was paying enough attention to where I was walking,"
"Yeah, but summoning that gigantic boa constrictor was a stroke of genius, Chi," Jiraiya said, grinning fiendishly, "And it wasn't even a summon, it was a Genjutsu,"
"Hindsight is always very clear," the snake-Sannin answered, "I suppose it could have been smaller,"
Tsunade watched them both discussing the details of the event as though it were still a fresh one. She looked back and forth from Jiraiya to Orochimaru and admitted to herself alone that now, thinking back on the incident and how honestly creepy that kid had been, what they'd done had in all actuality been very sweet. Back then, they really had cared enough about her to spy on her while she was out with a questionable guy. She knew that if anything had happened, they both would have stepped in and beaten the guy senseless. Sure, she probably would have returned the 'favor' immediately afterward, but she knew it would always remain in her memory of what they'd done.
"In your case, hindsight is more than likely clearer than all of us," Orochimaru said to Jiraiya, "Especially after that incident that first winter,"
"What incident?"
"You remember," the snake-Sannin said silkily, "The rare snowfall we had. You accepted that bet from that boy in the other class,"
Jiraiya thought for a moment and Tsunade groaned, "Was that the year Jiraiya got his tongue stuck on that metal light post?" she grumbled.
"The very same,"
Jiraiya winced, "Oh...that year," he said awkwardly, "Yeah, I still don't know what I was thinking. Guess it was a good thing you saw what happened, Chi, otherwise stubborn pride would've had me stuck there all day,"
"I suppose it's probably a good thing I didn't find nearly as amusing as the others did," Orochimaru said bemusedly, contradicting himself.
"Yeah, but then they laughed even harder when you had to pour hot water over me to get me unstuck. That was quick thinking," he said, chuckling. Orochimaru shrugged, "It's called thinking logically, Jiraiya. You should try it sometime; it's quite beneficial,"
"Ah, shut it. But you know, I think my favorite bit was Tsunade's birthday that one year," Jiraiya said, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up, "What about it?"
"Remember that present we got you that one year?" he asked, "I think you had just turned thirteen. Remember it?"
Tsunade thought hard, staring at the ground and wracking her brain. What had they done for her on her thirteenth birthday? What was it?
"Oh," she breathed slightly, "That's right...the earrings,"
"Yeah," Jiraiya encouraged, "Those little silver kunai earrings you always secretly admired. Every time we passed that shop in the village, your eyes always lingered on that pair in the window until you couldn't see it anymore without turning your head. You never thought we noticed, but we did. So for two months, the two of us took on odd jobs around the village to earn enough money to chip in and buy them for you,"
Tsunade's head shot up in surprise, "What?"
Orochimaru sighed, shaking his head, "Bringing that up, are you?"
"Well sure," the Toad Sage replied, "Believe me, it wasn't easy. For a couple of weeks, we delivered milk, which worked out fine until the scent of it started drawing Chi's snakes from all over. We had to quit and I thought for sure they'd be purchased before we even had a chance. They might have been, too, if it weren't for Chi taking matters into his own hands," he said, beaming.
"Shut up," Orochimaru hissed, knowing that it was futile.
"What'd he do?" Tsunade asked warily.
"Simple. When I told him we might not get enough before they were bought, he took the money we'd already made, went into the shop and put a down payment on them so the shopkeeper would hold them for us until we had the rest of it,"
Jiraiya took a drink of sake, "In the end, we missed your birthday by three or four days, but still managed to get them, just the same,"
Tsunade stared at him in disbelief. What Jiraiya probably didn't know was that she did in fact recall that day, but that she also remembered that Sarutobi had been the one to give her the earrings. Their master had told her that the boys had asked him to buy them for her as a birthday gift, not that they'd both worked for two months for it. In fact, if what Jiraiya was saying was true, Sarutobi hadn't even known they were planning to do this. She guessed they'd both chickened out at the last minute and asked their master to give them to her for them.
Tsunade sipped her own sake, eyes narrowed in thought. "I see," she muttered.
All three fell quiet for a few moments. The ensuing silence was actually quite peaceful, which Tsunade found astounding. Casting furtive glances at the two people with her, she found herself wondering how the hell today had ended up like this. Here she was, sitting with her former teammates, one of whom she would claimed to despise and regularly attempted to kill. Her eyes flickered briefly toward him as she turned to gaze out over the horizon. He was lost in thought about something; he had the same expression he'd always had when deep within his mind. Tsunade knew that look well. Too often when they were kids, he spent long hours by himself down by the river at the training grounds, the one place he'd found solace. She only knew this because back then, she'd been honestly worried about his fragile state of mind. She was all too aware of his circumstances, though she didn't really understand him at all. Nowadays, everything she'd learned about the human mind told her that maybe letting him spend so much time alone hadn't been a good idea. In the very least, while he might not have spoken to her, she should have at least just sat with him by the river. She did her best to shove her thoughts deep inside her mind, but she knew, and always would know that there were things she could have done as his teammate to help him and she never did. Now, it was probably too late. This day was a fluke; a weird little side trip Jiraiya had planned and dragged both of them to. She knew he would've kept them trapped in that swamp for as long as it took for them to agree not to fight today. After today, it would be as if nothing had happened. However, the part that disturbed her was the small piece of her that wondered whether or not she was truly okay with that.
In the end, over three and a half hours had passed by quietly when Jiraiya finally looked at the watch he'd stuck in his pocket. His eyes widened and he whistled, "Wow, how about that you guys? You made it almost four hours without a single argument!" he exclaimed.
"What?" Orochimaru said in disbelief.
"You're joking," Tsunade growled, snatching the watch from him. Her jaw dropped, "No way...we got here around eleven, and it's going on three now!"
She and Orochimaru exchanged a bewildered and disbelieving glance before turning to Jiraiya, grinning like an idiot with his arms folded, "Now then, do you see what used to make us such an amazing team?" he asked. He stood up, "But, I guess we'd better all head back, now. No doubt Shizune and Sakura are probably feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that paperwork you left 'em," he said to Tsunade. He turned to Orochimaru, "And Kabuto's probably starting to think you've gone and ditched him for some other country,"
"Sometimes I consider such a concept," Orochimaru grumbled, standing up slowly, "He's been a bit pesky lately. Seems as though his failed attempts at his latest research are getting to him,"
"Well," Jiraiya said as he wrapped up the boxes, sticking one of them back into the bag. He wrapped the other one in a small sack and tied the drawstrings, handing it to the surprised snake-Sannin, "Then I guess he'll be too distracted to notice you arriving with an extra package,"
"What?"
"I'll just tell Sakura it got broken and buy her a new one," he said with a grin. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, his mouth set in a thin line as he glared at Jiraiya. The Toad Sage quirked an eyebrow, "C'mon, if you don't take it, I'll tie it to you,"
His former teammate sighed irritably and took the bag from him, wrapping the strings around his wrist since he couldn't hold onto it properly.
Jiraiya chuckled at his stubbornness. For the entire time they'd been there, Orochimaru had barely been able to eat anything because he'd had such a hard time picking anything up. Letting him take some of it back with him wasn't a big deal to Jiraiya, who knew he'd have to probably get Sakura and even better one than before.
Tsunade stood up a few feet away, staring out over the ravine with a faraway look in her eyes. Jiraiya looked back and forth between the two of them, smirking, "I have to say, this was actually quite enjoyable. What do you say to doing this next year?"
Both of them shot him an incredulous look at the same time. However, neither one said anything in reply. All three stood quietly for a moment, not really looking at anything in particular.
Tsunade sighed heavily all of a sudden, glaring over at Orochimaru and turning to Jiraiya, "You got a pen?" she asked.
"Uh...yeah, here," he answered, pulling an old one out of his pocket. She moved so she stood next to him, forcefully shoving him around slightly so he faced away from her as she whipped a piece of paper out of her own pocket. She placed it on Jiraiya's back to improvise a writing surface as she started scribbling something down on the paper. The Toad Sage shrugged at Orochimaru who eyed him curiously. They both waited patiently as Tsunade continued to write something quickly, her eyes steely. The only thing spoken was when Orochimaru asked to see the watch again, which Jiraiya handed over as carefully as he could so as not to jar Tsunade. Orochimaru studied the current time and then looked skyward, mumbling something to himself. He handed the watch back and then clenched his fist, a slight grimace spreading across his features. Jiraiya noticed and frowned, "They're getting pretty bad, huh?" he said quietly.
"Today has been a better day than most," Orochimaru said bitterly.
Nothing else was said. The subject of how the snake-Sannin's arms had been all but killed was a bit of sore topic for all three of them.
Finally, Tsunade ceased writing and stepped back, allowing Jiraiya freedom of movement once again. She handed the pen back to him and moved around toward Orochimaru. She stared at him for a moment, regarding him almost studiously. He stared right back warily, not quite sure what she was thinking or if she was planning to do something now that the temporary truce had ended. Truthfully, if she intended to fight, he'd be at a serious disadvantage. The near-useless medicine he'd taken hours ago before setting out was starting to wear off. What was now bearable pain would soon become agonizing. Soon, he'd be incapacitated. A battle in his current state was most definitely not a wise choice.
However, Tsunade just sighed heavily and held out the folded sheet of paper to him. He eyed it in surprise, looking back up at her, "What is this?"
"Biochemistry might be required of medic nin, but it was never my forte. I was always better with the hands on study of living things," she said sternly, "That's not to say I can't handle whatever they might throw at me. I simply have little interest,"
She pushed it toward him slightly, indicating he take it. He shakily did so, unfolding it one-handed to quickly assess its contents. He frowned in consternation and eyed her suspiciously. Tsunade shrugged, "You were always more into the guess and check methods of research. You're a bit fussy that way. That right there is a failed attempt at a new pain killer Shizune and I were working on. It's supposed to be more potent than anything currently available, even through emergency prescription. It's been almost a year and there's been no progress on it. I'm calling it quits on that one. If you can figure out how to make it work, it's all yours," she said, turning with a careless wave of her hand.
With that, she strode off toward the forest in the direction she'd come, her ponytails swishing behind her. Both Sannin stared after her in slight amazement before glancing at each other. Jiraiya chuckled, "Wow, she's quirky today, isn't she?"
"It's comforting to see one thing hasn't changed," Orochimaru said wryly.
"Well, I guess I'm off too," the Toad Sage said with a sigh, "This has been a fun day."
He stopped several feet away, turning his head back slightly, "You take care of yourself, okay Chi?"
"Please stop calling me that,"
Jiraiya smirked, "Fine, fine, I'll stop for now. Anyway, be careful getting back. That Kabuto is a pain in the ass when he's with you, but by himself, he'd be a holy terror,"
Orochimaru smiled lightly, "Fine. You as well, old friend,"
He turned, heading back in the opposite direction. Jiraiya blinked in surprise. Now that he thought about it as he watched the form of his former teammate disappear into the darkness of the trees, that was the first time in many decades he'd actually seen the old oddball smile.
/ooo/
Understandably, Shizune and Sakura were fairly pissed when Tsunade and Jiraiya returned nearly five hours after they'd left. The mere hill of paperwork had decided to procreate and developed into a mountain in the past couple of hours. Tsunade, however, didn't say a word as she took her seat at her desk. She dismissed the girls with a vague wave of her hand as she pulled a small stack of papers toward her, sifting through them absently. Jiraiya leaned up against the door after the girls had gone. His arms were folded as he watched her quietly. She looked up briefly before returning her gaze to her work.
"Jiraiya," she said.
"Yes?"
"You realize I could have you arrested for consorting with the enemy today,"
"I'm aware,"
"So why did you do it?"
"Why did you?" he countered. Tsunade glowered at him, but sighed and leaned back in her chair. She ran a hand through her hair with a small groan, "Today was...weird,"
"You think so? I thought it was rather enjoyable,"
"Hm?"
"Sure. I only wanted to show you two what made us such a good team in the old days," he said softly, "The fact that on the good days, the three of us could sit around and chat about nothing in particular. The hours would fly by and Sarutobi would occasionally find us all sound asleep beneath a tree at the training grounds. In fact...,"
He strode over to her desk, pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket. It was worn and yellow with age, wrinkled all over from folding and re-folding. He held it out to her softly, "Be careful with it," he said, "It's really old,"
Tsunade took it from him delicately. She held it in front of her, unfolding it carefully, minding the yellowed corners. Her eyes widened slightly, taking a small breath. She blinked a few times in confusion, "This...,"
"Sarutobi must have taken that after training one day," Jiraiya said, "I caught him showing it to his wife and he let me keep it. It's kind of cute, isn't it?"
Tsunade just stared at the photograph she held. It pictured she and her former teammates, all three deeply asleep beneath one of the big oak trees at the training grounds. She saw herself leaning up against Jiraiya, with Orochimaru passed out on the other side of him. All three of them seemed exhausted. Jiraiya saw a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth, "I remember that day," she whispered, "Sensei was downright brutal that day. I nearly wound up with a kunai embedded in my stomach, you ended up buried in the ground up to your neck for an hour, and Orochimaru was thrown into the river and almost drowned because he couldn't swim yet. It was a few days after a hard rain and the water had gotten deep,"
Jiraiya chuckled, "Yup, and if memory serves me, it was you who dove in after him when Sarutobi realized what was happening. After that, he finally called a break and allowed us to rest a bit. He took that picture while we were all asleep,"
Tsunade sighed, handing him back the photo, "Is this why you did this, Jiraiya?" she mumbled. He folded the paper back down again and placed it gently into his pocket, "Yeah. You both had forgotten how much fun we all had when we were still Genin. The fact that we worked so well together back then was what made us such a powerful force to begin with, the very reason we came to be called Sannin. I know that things can never be as they were back then, but I felt that both of you needed a little time to remember what it was like to be happy. Even Orochimaru laughed at things now and again back then, and he was a rock for crying out loud. It took everything out of me just to get that kid to speak when we first met,"
"Yeah, and it took everything out of both of us to get you to shut up once in a while," Tsunade countered with a smile, folding her hands beneath her chin. She sighed, "Still, I half wish you hadn't bothered. Now, I feel depressed about how the whole thing turned out. What could we have all done differently? Were there even options?"
Here, Jiraiya gazed out the window at the fiery sun sinking down over the western horizon, "I wish I had an answer. You, Naruto's been asking me the same thing recently; if there are options on how to deal with Sasuke,"
"I know. Sakura never says it, but I'm fully aware she never stops thinking about it. In fact, she uses her work to distract her from it. We all know that Sasuke and Orochimaru might as well be related, they're so much alike. Will Naruto and Sakura become like the two of us? Looking back on the past and wondering what they could've done differently, and what went wrong?"
Jiraiya stared hard at her, frowning. It was clear that today had dredged up a lot of old memories in the woman. A part of her that she'd long since buried had briefly resurfaced today when she surrendered the prototype pain killer to Orochimaru; the part of her that openly cared about people. Tsunade was a tough 'old bat' as Naruto put it, but in truth, she had a big heart, big enough to realize that not even Orochimaru, with everything he'd done to them and against them, deserved the kind of suffering he was going through. No one did. They'd probably never know for sure what the Third Hokage had done to him exactly, but at this point, it might have been kinder to just kill him.
"You know," he said finally, causing her to look over at him expectantly. He sighed, "The mere fact that Chi answered my letter and arrived at the meeting place well ahead of us proves something. In my letter, I told him I wanted to show him something he'd probably never find without help. I asked him to please meet me there at around the time we actually arrived. Since he was already there when we got there, I'm guessing he probably started out sometime early this morning, and not because Sound is so much farther away than we are. He probably wanted to ditch Kabuto for a while and didn't want to keep us waiting,"
"So what are you saying?" Tsunade questioned, genuinely curious. Jiraiya smiled, "I'm saying that maybe, he too pulls his old memories out once in a while. After all, he's only human. No matter what kind of experiments he does, or what kind of stunt he pulls, he's still human. During the war, all three of us suffered losses, though yours were probably the greatest, Tsunade. I think that watching both of us suffer as much as he had as a child probably scared him. That's what made me decide that even if for just one day, I'd like to remember him as he used to be. After today, I'm also daring to hope that maybe someday, he'll come around. You never know. As a bonus, I know that if he does, Sasuke will too. After all, like I told Naruto, those two are cut from the same cloth,"
Tsunade listened to him with a blank face, processing all she'd just heard. She hummed, "You said that maybe we should get together again next year on the same day," she said, pulling a stack of papers toward her. She lifted one off the top and smiled, "I considered it a bit. If you're up for it, and he's up for it, then I don't see the harm in it, so long as we keep it quiet,"
Jiraiya chuckled lightly, "He was right; you really haven't changed, Tsunade," he mumbled quietly.
"What?"
"Nothing," he replied quickly. As he listened to her rustling through the papers and documents, he stared off into the distance of the horizon looming before him, thinking back on the events of the day. He smiled at the success of his own scheme, realizing he was still alive to look back on it and grin. He leaned up against the window, arms folded as he kept her company for a while. Neither spoke, though there was no awkwardness in the silence. After today, they both felt as if a frayed bond had been mended just a little bit. But it was a bond that had once gone three ways and completely withered away, almost to the last thread which they both knew still hung suspended. Whether or not that thread was mended in any way remained to be seen.
Only time could tell what the future would bring for all of them. While he gazed out on the darkening sky, Jiraiya decided that he'd wait and see. Who knows? Maybe he'd live to see something change. It was something to think about.
A/N: I consider this kind of a sequel to Faded Photograph. I felt that I didn't do that story enough justice and decided to try something else on a new angle. This is probably the longest oneshot I've ever written, but the story of the Sannin just makes me so sad. I wanted to do something about it.