Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
Jiraiya felt like there was nothing in his stomach, there probably wasn't, but he hoped he would have enough energy to last the day. He would get paid today and treat himself to the first full meal in weeks!
He ignored the stabbing pains in his stomach and tried to focus on the spar with Oorochimaru. He ducked Oorochimaru's fist, side stepped it and tried to find an opening. Apparently, he focused too hard in his "starving state" because he started to see black spots.
Thankfully, Hiruzen sensei shouted, "That's enough! Oorochimaru take a break! Jiraiya come here!"
Both boys nodded.
Oorochimaru headed towards Tsunade to take a break while Jiraiya stumbled towards their sensei.
Sarutobi sensei frowned at him.
"Jiraiya, what's wrong with you lately? Do you have some type of cold? If you do, you should stay at home, not come out to training. You'll only get worse."
Jiraiya's black spots were getting worse now. He could barely see sensei's face. He swayed. He mumbled, "sensei…" and passed out.
He woke to the sound of a nurse screeching at his sensei.
"This boy hasn't eaten for weeks… WEEKS! His body simply does not have enough energy to do the ninja training that you ninjas do! What have you been making that boy do? His body is littered in scars. Most of his muscles have been torn repeatedly from strenuous exercise making them weaker, not stronger! The only reason he can stand up right now is because his chakra are bigger than average children, its been reinforcing his body with whatever nutrients it could find..."
He saw his sensei, Tsunade, and Oorochimaru's eyes pop out. If the situation weren't so dire, he would've laughed himself sick! Their faces were hilarious!
"… And he hasn't had any vaccinations from when he was born! The only medical sheet we received from his parents was his birth certificate. What kind of parents does he have?"
The nurse threw up her hands and stalked towards Jiraiya. When she looked at Jiraiya, her eyes softened and she smiled.
"Jiraiya?"
"…"
"Your body lacks a lot of nourishment that you should've been getting and the physical labor isn't helping much. I need you to stay in the hospital for at least two weeks until you can recover enough. Then three months of very healthy eating to match your body to your age category."
Jiraiya thought very hard about her comment. He did pay back around half of his debt, but the debt collectors might come back and demand for more if he waited too long to pay back. It was better to die from overwork then work longer for more money.
"No." Jiraiya said.
The nurse's eyes narrowed and the temperature in the room dropped forty degrees.
"Sorry I didn't hear that, would you mind repeating what you said?"
Jiraiya felt cold sweat rolling down his back. This nurse was scary!
He worked up his courage and said, "No, I have to work."
The nurse's eyes narrowed more, "Who said anything about working? Don't you have to train to become a ninja?"
Uh oh… "Um…" Jiraiya stuttered.
Hiruzen sensei smoothly said, "They're genin, they are already ninja. When Jiraiya said he was working, he meant the C and D rank missions that he and his team mates performed."
Inside Jiraiya cheered, 'Go sensei!'
The nurse snapped, "Well, he's not moving out of the hospital for at least two weeks!"
Hiruzen nodded. "Of course."
The nurse opened her mouth to retort, but realized that he agreed with her. She blinked and muttered, "You were easier to convince then those other idiotic ninjas."
She turned, pointed at Jiraiya threateningly and said, "You had better not move from that spot young man or you'll find the next visit to the hospital…" She smiled sadistically, "less than enjoyable, especially with me medically removing a very, very important part of your body..."
The nurse walked out of the room.
Everyone sweat dropped.
"…"
"Ano, sensei?" Jiraiya whispered.
"Yes Jiraiya?"
"Could you help me get outta here?"
Hiruzen, Tsunade, and Oorochimaru looked incredulously at Jiraiya.
Oorochimaru hissed, "Are you brain damaged? That woman threatened to castrate you!"
"Nah, I'm too handsome! Besides, nurses are supposed to take care of their patients, it's in their job description teme!"
Jiraiya struggled to get up from his bed, but Hiruzen sensei pushed him back down.
"Jiraiya…" Hiruzen frowned. "You need to recover! You're not going anywhere in that condition. You're not moving from this bed until the nurse deems you fit to move."
"But I need to take care of my mom, she's really sick and I'm the only one who can take care of her." Jiraiya smoothly lied with a pained expression. All those days lying in front of the mirror were for this purpose only; to get out of sticky situations regarding his parents, his numerous jobs, and home life. People were idiots! If you mixed in a sob story with a slight bit of truth, they could believe whatever crap you gave them!
"Fine…" Hiruzen sighed.
"Thank Kami! Could you help me get up?"
"No."
Jiraiya glared at his sensei. "No?"
"We'll take care of your mother while you're here." Hiruzen smirked. "You didn't think that I'd let you go off in that state, did you?"
Tsunade shouted, "Yeah, baka Jiraiya!"
"Your mother would be happier if we came, we're much better than you are dead last!" Oorochimaru said smugly.
Jiraiya's smile vanished. They fell for the lie, but not in the right way! He needed to think of a new plan! No one ever helped him when he used a family problem excuse! What was with them?
"My mom… urrr… doesn't like strangers. She's…" Jiraiya racked his brain, "She has agoraphobia! She gets extreme panic attacks in the slightest change in her environment. If you guys showed up, she might have a seizure or something."
Jiraiya remembered reading about the disease a few years ago, when he sorted through medical books in the bookstore, hopefully the info was correct… hopefully they didn't suspect ANYTHING.
"Oh…" Tsunade's shoulder slumped.
Hiruzen sensei scratched the back of his head. "Sooo there isn't anybody else who can take care of your mother?"
"uuuhhh no?" Jiraiya twiddled his thumbs. He felt a twinge of guilt for making Tsunade feel down… kind of…
"Okay."
"But, Hiruzen sensei… wait what?"
"Okay Jiraiya, we'll free you, but after I have a little talk with Oorochimaru and Tsunade."
Jiraiya grinned, "Okay!"
Unfortunately for Jiraiya, he missed the all too meaningful glances between Tsunade, Oorochimaru, and his sensei from the excitement of escaping the hospital.
The door closed behind them.
"Hiruzen sensei, its obvious that Jiraiya is lying to us. He shrugged his shoulders, kept looking at the exit, looked at your eyes a little too much, and kept shaking his head. The lying signs he exhibited are blatantly obvious!" Oorochimaru hissed. "Only that baka would make such a mistake at lying."
Tsunade scratched her nose, "The problem is, what is he hiding? Why couldn't he tell us? I mean, why would he lie about his mom? Oh… you don't think?"
"Yes, Tsunade", Hiruzen sighed, "He might be an abused child, but I don't know."
"Then, we should help him!" Tsunade yelled, "He's our team mate, he's one of us!"
Oorochimaru scowled and nodded.
Hiruzen grimaced, "Yes, but you won't be coming."
"Why?" Tsunade and Oorochimaru shouted.
"Because it's his own matters. I need to check up on him to make sure he does live properly, but you do not. If he wants to discuss this with you, he will say it, I forbid you to push him."
"But…" Tsunade interjected.
Hiruzen snapped, "But, no! You will not, do you understand?"
"Yes, sensei." Tsunade mumbled.
Hiruzen looked at Oorochimaru, "You too."
"Yes, sir." Oorochimaru scowled even further.
Rubbing both their heads, Hiruzen smiled, "Then, I will carry Jiraiya to his home. You can do what ever you want for the day. You are dismissed." He waved, entered Jiraiya's room, and closed the door.
"Jiraiya, I am going to pick you up and very sneakily, we are going to escape from this place. The nurse frightens me." Hiruzen and Jiraiya shuddered at the thought that the nurse would find them leaving.
Picking up Jiraiya in his arms, he asked, "Which direction do you live?"
Jiraiya pointed west and Hiruzen with Jiraiya in his arms, shot out of the window.
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