Mutual Something or Other

A/N: Sorry the update took longer than usual. My creative flow was off and I had to give it time to come back. Anyway, hope you enjoy the next chapter. This story is kind of writing itself at this point.

Tsunade sighed heavily as she stood in the middle of the room, arms folded and occasionally glancing either at the furious pounding at the door, or Orochimaru just barely out of sight crouched around the corner of his small apartment.

"Open this door you weirdo! I know you can hear me!"

Jiraiya pounded on the door, still fuming about what Orochimaru had said to him at school. To Tsunade's amazement, he'd easily outrun Jiraiya back to his apartment, slamming and locking the door behind him. Following Jiraiya, she'd been unable to suppress a sigh at the fact that Orochimaru had seemingly become quite used to his new living space if he felt safe enough to hide in it.

She'd decided to take the initiative and climbed up the old crumbling bricks alongside the wall to the window of his apartment, knocking on the glass. Standing off to the side, listening to Jiraiya fuming on the other side of the door, Orochimaru had noticed her quickly and hurried over to open the window and let her in. She scrambled inside, watching as he'd shut the window and returned to sitting against the wall of the hallway leading to the other room. She struggled to resist the urge to ask him about what had happened at the academy. She was finding it hard to believe herself that he'd actually spoken for the first time since his arrival. Of course, what he'd said exactly was entirely different context, but the fact was that he'd said an actual sentence. So his shock invaded his mind enough to make him selectively mute. That was understandable. She crossed the room and pulled her fist back, slamming it against the door with enough force to rattle the hinges. That shut Jiraiya up as she finally unlocked the bolt and opened the door, hand on her hip and glowering out at him.

Clearly expecting Orochimaru, Jiraiya stumbled back in shock when he registered that Tsunade was standing there glaring at him.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" she snapped. Regaining some of his composure, he scowled and gritted his teeth, "I wanna speak to that creep! Where is he?"

"Minding his own business, like you should be doing!" Tsunade yelled, "You were the one antagonizing him and—"

She froze when she felt that familiar sensation of someone coming up behind her. Whirling, she blinked in amazement when she saw Orochimaru approach the door, standing beside her and and looking out at Jiraiya with an eerily blank expression on his face.

Clearly not expecting this, Jiraiya hesitated a moment before stuttering, "W-What the heck was that for at school, huh?"

For a minute or two, he received no answer. Orochimaru lowered his head slightly, his bangs covering his eyes, rendering his expression unreadable. Tsunade peered over at him curiously, "Orochimaru?"

To her surprise, he stepped back with a sidelong glance at Jiraiya, watching both him and Tsunade expectantly. The spiky haired oddball was obviously lost, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Idiot, he's inviting you in," Tsunade grumbled, "Don't expect it to happen too often; he's still nervous around Lord Hokage,"

Wary, but too curious and hyped up to back down, Jiraiya hesitantly stepped into the small apartment. He kept a suspicious eye on Orochimaru the whole time, even as he casually pushed the door shut and moved further into the room toward the small kitchen area. Tsunade followed him quietly, leaving Jiraiya at the entryway, "Don't forget your shoes, idiot," she called. While Jiraiya fumbled with his sandals, grumbling under his breath, she watched as Orochimaru moved around the tiny kitchen, searching through various cabinets, emerging once with an old copper kettle and a box of tea packets. Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at this. Wards of the village received their allowance roughly once a week. She assumed that he'd probably gotten his in advance in order to purchase food. He must have bought that stuff sometime beforehand.

"You know what you're doing?" she asked, leaning on the counter. Her only reply was a blank, sidelong stare right through her, as usual. He returned his gaze to the sink as the kettle was filled, shutting off the water. He lifted it somewhat clumsily onto the stove and bent his neck slightly to check the flame as he turned it on. He seemed much more self-reliant than Tsunade had figured.

Jiraiya finally joined them, standing beside Tsunade as he watched Orochimaru watching the kettle. No one moved for the duration of the surprisingly long time it took the water to boil. Once it finally did, proving that a watched pot will in fact boil, he turned the stove off and lifted the kettle onto a cool burner, searching around for cups.

"I think I saw some in that cabinet," Tsunade remarked, pointing to the one above her friend's head. He paused, blinked once and then looked up, as if processing what she'd said to him. This confused her more than anything. By this point in time, it was clear that this kid was highly intelligent, easily outstripping her in class within just a few days. She was finding that it served to fuel her competitive nature as she struggled to catch up with him, matching him, but just barely. However, with simple, everyday mundane tasks, he seemed oddly slow. He clearly knew what he was doing, but it was almost as if he had to remind his brain that he was performing other tasks and it had to catch up with what his body was doing. It was really weird.

He fetched down three chipped cups from the cabinet, rinsing them off in the sink before pouring the scalding water into each one. He cautiously slid a cup to each of them and pushed the box of tea packets to the center of the counter. He then pushed the last cup to the empty spot at the counter and went around to the other side to take a seat, staring at his own cup with a slightly glazed expression. Tsunade opened the box and pulled out a tea packet, dropping it into her cup and waiting. She threw Jiraiya a meaningful sidelong glare, hinting he'd better take one if he knew what was good for him. Fortunately, the spiky-haired kid seemed to catch on, hurriedly taking one and putting it in the water, watching as the tea dissolved. Orochimaru was the last to fix his own tea, but still didn't seem to acknowledge them. Tsunade cleared her throat and faced him, "So, this was nice of you," she said, trying to drown the awkwardness of the air at the moment. He didn't say anything, but tried to sip his own tea, visibly jolted as he burned himself and set the cup down with a light sigh. Tsunade blinked in amazement at this and let her head droop in bewilderment. How was it that this kid received top marks in school and yet didn't know to let boiling water cool a bit before drinking it?!

She turned her gaze to Jiraiya, staring hard at the cup of water in front of him. She groaned in dismay, "Moron, you watched him prepare it. It's fine to drink,"

Jiraiya stared at her skeptically a moment before picking the cup up and tipping his head back, downing the whole thing in one go. Tsunade jumped at this, especially when Jiraiya leaped to his feet and started screaming that it was hot. Orochimaru and Tsunade both watched him race about the room, yelling that his tongue was on fire. Tsunade sighed and gently sipped her own tea, now cooled enough to drink, "I'm surrounded by idiots," she grumbled.

Orochimaru tilted his head at her statement in confusion before getting up and grabbing Jiraiya's cup off the floor, moving to the sink and rinsing it out before filling it with cold water and putting it back on the counter. Jiraiya paused in his pained raving to look over at him curiously, while Tsunade just watched him, confused. He went back to his seat beside her, pulling his cup back closer to him. She hummed, "Hey, what's with the 'polite host' bit, now? Why are you doing all this?"

Jiraiya scoffed as he sat back down at the counter, grinning sardonically, "Like a creep like him is gonna know any real manners, Tsunade,"

He yelped when Tsunade punched him on the shoulder, "You're the creep here, Jiraiya," she snapped, "Wise up for once!"

"...umm...,"

Both of them whirled as Orochimaru started mumbling slightly, not meeting their gaze as he swirled the tea around in his cup. His head lowered even further, his bangs further hiding his eyes, "...I...watched mom...doing this..."

Tsunade's eyes widened, both at his statement and the fact that he'd spoken again. She fell silent, but Jiraiya, obviously unaware of the volume of that sentence, sighed heavily, "Yeah, whatever, creep," he growled.

Tsunade was about to scold him for his rudeness, but when she felt her neck prickle suddenly, she ducked instinctively as something went flying over her head, smacking Jiraiya on the side of his and sending him sprawling on the floor. She jumped up in alarm, "Jiraiya!" she cried, whirling, "Orochimaru? What the heck are you doing?!"

He was standing up, shaking slightly, his cup now missing from the counter. His face seemed confused and angry both at once. Tsunade shook her head in bewilderment and turned back around, hurrying over to check on Jiraiya, knocked senseless. The offending cup lay a couple of feet away, the carpet now soaked from the tea. She sighed heavily and sat back slightly, "Dang it, he's out cold," she grumbled under her breath. She glared at Orochimaru, "I know he's annoying, but that was horrible!" she yelled, "Don't do that ever again!"

He shuddered slightly and looked away, irritation evident on his face as he sighed heavily. He moved past her and into the next room. She heard a door open and shut again, listening to him as he moved almost silently through the apartment. She heard a faucet running close by and shutting off again before he reappeared around the corner with a damp cloth in his hands. He knelt down and placed the cloth gently on Jiraiya's head where he'd struck him.

Surprised and a bit moved by this sudden gesture, Tsunade found herself regretting shouting at him, but said nothing. She just watched as he sat down a few feet away, folding his knees up and resting his chin on them, watching his unconscious classmate.

Gradually, Jiraiya began to stir, mumbling in his sleep as he opened his eyes blearily. Blinking, he struggled to sit up, clutching his head painfully, "Ow...what hit me?" he muttered. He looked around, remembering where he was and—what happened. His face darkened in fury and he charged toward Orochimaru, who instantly leaped up and stepped back, moving toward the wall warily. Tsunade yelled for them to stop as Jiraiya pulled his fist back and drove it forward with surprising force. Orochimaru ducked sideways, but couldn't avoid the hit altogether, resulting in a hard blow to the chest, knocking him into the wall where he sagged to the floor, gasping for air. Jiraiya was about to go after him again before Tsunade jumped between them, blocking his way, "Stop it! Knock it off!" she screamed. However, a blur to her left alerted her of Orochimaru's presence as he leaped toward Jiraiya, bashing him backwards and crouching defensively. Tsunade watched in alarm, noticing instantly that while crude, his fighting style was already surprisingly direct. Orochimaru braced as Jiraiya jumped back up and crashed into him, sending another blow aimed toward his head. Orochimaru brought his arm up to block the hit, and threw a counter blow to Jiraiya's stomach, driving him backward and choking harshly from the hit. The quicker boy charged toward his stunned classmate, reaching toward his neck. The spiky-haired kid hit the ground and quickly scrambled out of the way, using the momentum to grab his opponent and slam him against the floor a few feet away. Stunned slightly, Orochimaru didn't move for a few seconds while Jiraiya turned, preparing to strike him again. His fist struck empty floor as Orochimaru vanished, reappearing behind Jiraiya and grabbing his neck in a firm strangle hold. Unable to breathe, only gasp and struggle for air, Jiraiya brought his fist back, bashing his opponent's head again and again, trying to force him to let go. Even as his face began to go gray from lack of oxygen, Orochimaru continued to hold out, though clearly weakening as blow after blow struck his skull.

Tsunade, so far only able to watch in horror, finally gathered her senses at this crucial moment, rushing forward and clenching her fist tightly, "Knock! It! OFF!" she shrieked, bashing both of them on their heads and knocking them down. Both boys landed on either side of her, Jiraiya coughing and sputtering as his lungs heaved for air while Orochimaru's eyes were squeezed shut from the splitting pain in his head.

"Are you too complete idiots!?" Tsunade yelled, looking back and forth at both of them, "You're gonna get him evicted from this place if you keep that up!" she gestured toward Orochimaru as she scolded both of them, "And if Sensei finds out about this, you'll both get suspended from school or worse! We're allies you morons!"

Her shoulders sagged as she caught her breath, her fury finally beginning to subside. Both boys were now sitting up, staring at the floor sullenly. She huffed and grabbed their collars, dragging them both up against the wall and giving them each a sound flick on the foreheads, "Stay put!" she snapped, heading over to the sink, "Orochimaru, tell me where the washcloths are now!"

He jolted sharply with a short gasp, pointing quickly to a drawer beside the stove. While Tsunade bustled around angrily in the kitchen, preparing cold compresses for their various bruises, Jiraiya and Orochimaru both watched her from their peripheral vision, occasionally glancing at one another warily. They didn't need to communicate to mutually understand that pissing Tsunade off was definitely a bad idea.

"Orochimaru! Where are the medical supplies? I know you have some so where are they!? Tell me Now!"

He jumped again and quickly gestured to the hall closet. She stormed over and threw the door open, pulling down a first aid kit and slamming the door shut once she'd found it. She stomped over and sat down in front of them, "Heads up!" she commanded. They did as they were told, facing her directly without a word. She grumbled angrily under her breath as she dabbed some antibacterial ointment on the small cut where the teacup had struck Jiraiya, roughly slapping a bandage over it and shoving a compress in his hands, "Put that on your neck," she said sharply before turning to Orochimaru. He was watching her somewhat hesitantly and Tsunade had to force back the urge to apologize, treating him with the same justified irritation as Jiraiya. There was a small cut on the side of his face where he'd hit the ground when Jiraiya threw him. She applied the same ointment to it, noting that the whole time, he didn't so much as flinch when she knew it had to sting sharply. She fixed a bandage to it and hurled the compress into his face, "You started that fight, Orochimaru," she growled, getting to her feet, "And once you two have finished cooling down, you can be the first to apologize,"

She stormed over to the sink to wash the cups. Jiraiya and Orochimaru just watched her blankly. She continued to bang around angrily as she put things away, still grumbling to herself as she did. Finally, she whirled, "I'm going to go and reassure the neighbors that nothing's wrong. If you guys start fighting again while I'm gone, I'll throw you both in the river,"

She headed to the door, threw it open and slammed it shut. They listened to her footsteps disappearing, the room falling silent. Jiraiya shuffled uncomfortably and cast a sidelong glare at Orochimaru, sitting slightly hunched over and facing forward. The silence in the room was near deafening. Jiraiya couldn't really focus on much else other than how his face kind of stung. He reached up to rub the side of his face with a frustrated groan, "Dang it, that hurts," he grumbled, "He-ey, why'd ya throw a cup at me anyway? What the heck did I say, huh?" he growled, turning to face Orochimaru.

The silent kid just blinked a couple of times and then shrugged. Jiraiya scowled and jabbed his shoulder, "I already know you can talk, kid," he said, "Why'd you throw a cup at me, ya creep?"

Orochimaru sighed and leaned his head back against the wall with a slight thunk, "...I...have a name, you know...," he mumbled, his tone irritated as he glared at Jiraiya.

"Well then this whole thing was easily avoidable!" Jiraiya yelled. He sat back with a huff, "Okay, so what is it then?"

"Huh?"

"Your name, stupid,"

The dark haired kid's eyes narrowed to slits as he scowled at Jiraiya, "...My name is Orochimaru,"

Jiraiya's eyes widened, his expression contorting to disbelief, "What the heck kinda name is that? That's...," he counted on his fingers, "Jeez, that's five syllables! What kinda kid's got five syllables in his name!?"

"...I do...,"

Jiraiya sighed, "Fine, whatever. I'm Jiraiya. I guess it's nice to meet ya, Orichomaru,"

The spiky haired kid yelled when Orochimaru suddenly punched him on the shoulder, his eyes wild, "Get it right!" he snapped.

"What!? What'd I do? I said your name! Whaddaya want from me!?"

"Say it right!" Orochimaru growled.

"I did!"

" No you didn't!"

"I did so!"

"Did not!"

"All right, then tell me again," Jiraiya snapped, turning fully to face him.

"My name is Orochimaru," he said again, "Get it right,"

Jiraiya scrunched his face, struggling to force his tongue to agree with what his ears were hearing, "O...Oro...Orochomaru," he said, grinning.

"Wrong again," his increasingly aggravated classmate snarled.

"Your name's impossible! To heck with that, I'm calling you Chi,"

Orochimaru bristled visibly, "No you're not! That's a girl's name!"

"So? I'd say it fits...Chi,"

/ooo/

Tsunade sighed as she finished at the last apartment closest to the stairs. The tenants within had definitely heard the racket and wondered what was going on, but were visibly relieved when she explained that her two friends were just having an argument. For a moment, she thought she'd managed to handle things maturely and that perhaps, she could return to the apartment and hopefully end the day on a good note.

However, when a tremendous thud reverberated through the walls, followed by enraged yelling, both she and the elderly tenant knew that peace had just flown further from their grasp. Tsunade chuckled nervously and apologized hastily before departing, heading toward the door. She really should've known better. She told herself this as she faced the door where she could hear yet another scuffle breaking out. She wondered what Sarutobi would think of this. In four days, she'd been able to bring Orochimaru far enough out of the shell to participate in activities and even communicate, albeit wordlessly. However, in the span of two hours, The Village Madness Jiraiya had not only gotten him to utter a complete sentence, but had also provoked him enough to start two fights with him. If anything, Tsunade now knew that Orochimaru was going to make one heck of a shinobi. However, for now, she needed to go inside and break up the fight before he got himself evicted.

"Nice start to your new life here, you idiot," she grumbled as she opened the door and rolled her sleeves up.