A/N: I like the young sannin, and it's fun to imagine how they acted together as a team.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
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It's mid-afternoon and Sarutobi is watching his students. Jiraiya, ever the instigator, is teasing Tsunade about her flat chest and Sarutobi winces when the blonde girl punches him across the face. The fact that Jiraiya's nose and mouth are bleeding worries him a bit, and he wonders if maybe he should tell Tsunade not to punch so hard. But he doesn't, and turns to watch Orochimaru.
The boy, who's features were almost snake-like, is studiously reading one of his scrolls, paying no attention to his teammate's antics. Sarutobi frowns slightly, wanting to tell him that he should relax on their day off. Jiraiya, however, beats him to it.
"Hey, hey! Orochimaru! Stop reading those stupid scrolls for once!" A flicker of annoyance crosses the pale boy's face, and Sarutobi sighs. He raises his eyebrows, however, when Jiraiya pokes Orochimaru in the forehead.
"Come on! It wouldn't kill you to stop studying for a little while." But it might just kill you, Sarutobi thinks when he sees Orochimaru's expression.
"Jiraiya, leave him alone! Not everyone wants to be a dunce like you!" Tsunade tells him, hands on her hips. The white-haired boy just sticks his tongue out at her, and then does something that surprises everyone. He snatches Orochimaru's scroll and starts running, grinning like a mad man. Sometimes, Sarutobi has to wonder if Jiraiya has a death wish.
Orochimaru is shocked at Jiraiya's audacity, apparently, but he recovers quickly. Sarutobi is amused by just how fast Orochimaru moves as he chases after Jiraiya.
"Give it back!" he yells, but Jiraiya is still running, and he tauntingly waves the scroll around over his head. Tsunade is shouting things at Jiraiya as well, mostly threats. Sarutobi shakes his head when Orochimaru finally catches Jiraiya, and he thinks it's funny how slight, thin Orochimaru, who is usually very neat and careful with his appearance, looks so disheveled. Jiraiya, instead of begging for his life, is laughing, and he hands Orochimaru his scroll.
"Why did you take it if you were just going to hand it over?" Orochimaru demands. He's never usually so flustered and angry, so Sarutobi watches with interest, and Tsunade does too.
"Because I wanted to have some fun, and you weren't gonna play with me if I didn't take it," Jiraiya answers, still grinning from ear to ear. Sarutobi smiles and Orochimaru blinks.
"Shinobi don't play," he says, crossing his arms. If Sarutobi didn't know better, he would say that Orochimaru was pouting.
Jiraiya isn't at all put out by Orochimaru's words. "Yeah, maybe normal ones don't. But we're special, so we're exceptions to the rule," he responds confidently. Orochimaru stares, and Tsunade mutters something under her breath that sounds like 'idiot'. Sarutobi watches and smiles.
In the end, Orochimaru decides to put away his scroll for a little while, which makes Jiraiya happy. Tsunade tries to kill Jiraiya (again), Jiraiya begs Orochimaru to help him, and the dark-haired boy promptly refuses. Sarutobi is thankful that at least one of his students isn't suicidal.
Later, when they're all going home, Sarutobi watches as Jiraiya talks excitedly to teammates, who look annoyed, though Sarutobi is sure that he can see the faintest of smiles underneath the annoyance.
He smiles and thinks that he really is lucky for getting a team with such a strong bond.