"I've always wondered why you come here so early... almost every single day."

Orochimaru didn't have to look up to know who was crashing through the underbrush, walking his way. "Because I wish to," he said simply, furiously buffing his kunai.

"Must be boring."

"Sometimes," he admitted, looking at his shiny weapon. A pair of feet were clearly reflected in the surface, stopped right in front of him. "But it is a welcome break from Jiraiya... something you, too, could appreciate. Am I right, Tsunade?"

She chuckled lowly, plopping down onto the ground before him. "How did you know?"

"The only reason you would ever show up early for training is if you were running from that idiot. You and I both know this is the last place he would look."

"You read me like a book," she said, leaning back onto her hands.

"Hmm."

They sat comfortably in the silence, Orochimaru pulling out a new kunai to polish and Tsunade watching him through half-lidded eyes. He's really an odd kid, she thought, noticing the way he sat ramrod straight up against the trunk of a solid old tree. Like an old man trapped in a little boy's body…

"What did he do?" Orochimaru finally asked.

Tsunade blinked. "Who?"

"Jiraiya."

"Oh." She stretched her legs out before her. "It's not really that important."

"Of course not," Orochimaru said, one eyebrow slightly raised. "It's nothing at all, and you're just hiding from him because you feel like it. Did you do something to him? Beat him into the ground again, perhaps? My guess is that he is out seeking retribution."

"Him? Get revenge on me? Ha!" She grinned wickedly. "Not likely."

"Then why are you in hiding?"

The grin faded. "Because, I... he's... it's complicated."

He paused his polishing, looking up at her annoyed, slightly red face. "Elaborate," he commanded.

She glanced at him, then averted her eyes. "He keeps asking me out," she said lowly, tone showing she was obviously embarrassed.

Orochimaru snorted, returning his full attention to his kunai. "You act like he's threatening to murder you in your sleep."

"It's embarrassing!" Tsunade lifted her chin, jaw jutted out defiantly. "I can't even go to the freakin' bathroom without him knocking on the door, telling me I'm beautiful and he loves me and who cares if I'm a little flat up top, nature will take care of that in a few years. People will start to think that I—"

"That you care for him also? How terrible. Tsunade-hime's reputation will be ruined forever."

Her defiant stance fell a little. "You know I hate that nickname."

"Then stop acting like that," he snapped. "You sound exactly like a stuck-up, spoiled little princess."

"I am not!"

"You are," he muttered. "You are complaining of a problem that is petty and insignificant."

"Well, fine." She crossed her arms and turned her head, sulking.

His eyes flicked up to the side of her face, resting there for a split second. "If it bothers you that badly," he said, sighing, "why don't you just beat it out of him? You already do it pretty much every day, anyways."

"I can't beat him up for liking me!" She whipped her head around, expression shocked. "I don't want to scare away other boys for the rest of my life, thanks."

"Then what else are you going to do?"

"I... have no idea," she said. "Maybe I can just hang out with you--you're like a Jiraiya repellent, with the way he hates you so--"

"That would not be wise," he said hurriedly, a mental image of a talkative, angry Tsunade attached to his side. "He would just... redouble his efforts."

"Oh."

Orochimaru flicked the kunai upwards, admiring the new sheen. "Perhaps your girl acquaintances can help you solve this problem," he said. "I am no help in these types of matters."

"Don't be silly," Tsunade scoffed. "You're loads of help, just the way you are."

He looked up. "I don't appreciate sarcasm."

"I didn't mean it that way," she said, holding up her hands defensively. "Really, Orochimaru, you are helpful... the other girls are just so annoying, the way they giggle and laugh and never seem to be able to shut up."

The way you are half the time, Orochimaru thought rather unkindly.

"But at least you listen," she said, smiling slightly. "And you sometimes offer advice, even if it usually is a little... unorthodox.

"I tell you, Orochimaru, you're one of the best types of friends to have."

The kunai he had been twirling around his finger stopped. "Friend?" he asked.

"Well, duh! You think I just talk to you for the heck of it?"

"Of… course not," he said, beginning to twirl the kunai again.

"Good." She flopped on her stomach, resting her face on her hands and kicking her legs back and forth through the air. "If you had, I would have thought there was something wrong with you. I mean, me and you and Jiraiya... we're all friends, right? Teammates and friends, even if some of us tend to get on one another's nerves." She pursed her lips angrily, obviously thinking about Jiraiya.

"Hmm."

"But... oh! Did you hear what happened to Sarutobi-sensei the other day? It was so funny..."

Orochimaru glanced back down at the kunai in held in his hands, studying it carefully before throwing it, hearing the solid sound it made as it connected with the tree trunk twenty yards away.

"No," he said, settling back against the tree. "Tell me it. I must have missed it."

A/N:

So I was watching the english dub--it's pretty bad, but not TERRIBLE--and was getting refreshed on all the Sannin interaction, and it sort of rekindled the Sannin love within me.

I just don't think Orochimaru was ALWAYS an evil bastard. Maybe when he was still a kid, full of hopes and dreams of meeting his parents again... maybe he was different. Still a little cold, maybe a little harsh, but... he was a kid. I like to think his emotional growth was kind of stunted with his parents' death--like Kakashi after his father died--but maybe his teammates helped pull him out of it a little. Like, before he grew up and turned into the awesome villain we know and love.

Reviews would be pure LOVE, people!