Orochimaru
The Beginning of the Team
Jiraiya collected as many of those books he could find hidden there and stacked them in front of him. He snickered as he read.
"Who knew Old Man Hashirama was such a pervert?" I heard his whisper to himself.
"Rai-kun!" a voice exclaimed.
We both whirled around. A man with wide, honest looking onyx eyes and short dark brown hair entered the room. He wore a chef's uniform and had his name inscribed on a plastic tack on his shirt.
Hajime.
"Uh... Hey, Dad, what's up?" Jiraiya said, grinning sheepishly.
His father's eyes widened.
"Jiraiya, what are you doing!?" he exclaimed, looking at the mess of books around us. "You're making a big mess! Itama or Tszumi could walk in any minute!"
"I was helping him learn to read." I spoke up.
Jiraiya glanced at me with raised eyebrows. His father's frightened expression turned to surprise.
"...Really?"
Jiraiya nodded hard.
"Yeah, I have to learn or else... You know... I'll fail school." He improvised.
His father let out a large breath, taking the excuse with no questions asked. He walked up to Jiraiya, squatted down next to him and patted his head.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." He said. "It's just that... You know how important it is that we keep working here."
Unlike his mother, his father had a much calmer voice and demeanor. He kept looking back at the door fervently like he was afraid that someone would walk in any minute.
He looks like a coward with a low self concept...
"I know, Dad." He responded.
He smiled and pulled Jiraiya in for a hug but when he did, his eyes widened as he saw the open book behind him.
"Rai-kun! These books...they aren't for little kids!"
I sighed, getting to my feet.
This is not a problem I can fix.
"I know but they're the only books I can understand. All the other books I have to read for class are too hard." He complained. "And I have to learn or else I won't pass."
I book marked all the pages I was on in all of the different books, picked up my tank and walked off. Behind me, I heard his father sigh exaggeratedly.
"Alright... You can have them. But on two conditions. Only until you learn how to read! And you can't tell your mother!"
Jiraiya laughed.
"Will do, Dad!"
I glanced back at them as I stood in the doorway and stared.
He claims he feels like a nobody... But his parents certainly see him as somebody, or else, why would they try so hard to keep their jobs?
I wandered through the hall with my tank listening to the dull sounds of happy, healthy voices.
I need this place. The information they have in that library is of the likes I've never even dreamed of.
My snake got up on its belly again, swaying back and forth quickly as though dancing.
That's why I helped Jiraiya... Because I know that, in order to get to that library, I must make friends with those two.
My snake turned and looked at me.
But... I doubt that I'll be able to do it. I'm certain that... Neither of them will even remember my name tomorrow.
"Are you talking about the pale looking kid?"
I froze. On my way to the exit, I had passed a slightly ajar door. Upon pushing it open, I found it led down a spiral staircase.
"Yeah, you know? The one with the weird eyes." Another voice said.
"His name is Orochimaru. Please, call him as such."
I discreetly made my way down the rocky, cobblestone staircase until I could peer into a brightly lit room. Hiruzen, Tobirama, and the rest of the ANBU jounin sat down in chairs, smoking cigarettes and sipping sake.
Koharu frowned.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if, in about a week or so, that kid dies of the Senju plague. Doesn't he look sick to you guys?"
Everyone scoffed, not taking her seriously.
"You're always trying to diagnose someone with something." Danzo mumbled.
"I'm just calling it like I see it!" she said. "He is my student."
"Speaking of which, the reason I brought it up is because I wanted to be sure with you." Hiruzen said. "Did one of your students truly throw his snake out of the window this morning?"
She shrugged, pouring a bit more sake into her glass.
"The kid gets picked on basically every day." She said. "I've just starting ignoring it so I can't tell you for sure."
"You're encouraging bullying?" Kagami questioned.
"Of course not, but he's a ninja!" she pointed out. "Yeah, they're six year olds, but the quicker he learns no one is going to play Mommy with him, the better."
Exactly like her... Stern and by the books until the very end. In her eyes, no ninja, however old, is a child.
"Easy for you to say." Kagami said, bowing his head. "You know... I used to be bullied."
She gave him a softened look.
"...Really?"
He burst into laughter.
"Heck no!" he exclaimed.
Everyone joined in with him except the 2nd Hokage who readdressed Hiruzen Sensei seriously.
"You're telling me the snake got up and found its way to his house all on its own accord?" The Hokage asked.
"So what? The snake's well trained." Homura said.
"Yeah, the little sucker probably knows the kid's the only one who'll feed it." Torifu said.
Wrong. Snake's cannot be tamed or trained. Snake fact number 12.
Hiruzen Sensei sighed.
"Snake's cannot be tamed or trained." He recited.
They all raised their eyebrows, even Tobirama.
"How do you know that?"
"Oro-kun told me. He...documents them. He's steadily been creating 'facts' about their lives and habits and will spout them off to you any chance he gets."
"Aw, how cute." Kagami snickered.
"Sounds kind of freakish to me..." Koharu mumbled.
"In any case, I believe he's actually done with snakes something that no one before him ever has."
Danzo and Tobirama's eyes widened simultaneously.
"You mean..."
"Created a new summoning animal." Tobirama said, nodding. "Of course..."
"A new what?" Homura asked.
"As you all know, summoning animals are creatures people must make contracts with in order to use in battle." Hiruzen explained as he paced back and forth. "But what most people don't know is that for a contract to even be created so humans can sign them, one human, a very special one, must make a bond with an animal that is so powerful that the animal acts as a summoning animal without having a contract. Thus, the animal grows an affinity for ninja and then makes contracts with other humans."
"So, you mean, once there was a guy that really, really like monkeys and could summon them without a contract and now, because of that, you can summon them?" Torifu asked.
"It's more complex than that." The 2nd Hokage said. "The first contractor has a relationship with that animal greater than that a regular contract can make. Instead of just appearing for battle and disappearing, the contractor has the prolonged support of that animal forever, throughout their natural lifespan. It's like an unbreakable bond."
Tobirama leaned back against the wall, pensively staring at his cup of sake.
"And what's even more remarkable is that snakes were the one animal no one believed could ever be turned into a summoning animal. They're too dangerous and isolated. Because of that kid's obsession with them, it seems that he's just opened up an entirely new world of jutsu."
Hiruzen smiled.
"Well, he is special... Brightest kid I know."
I looked down at the snake in my tank feeling overwhelmed.
Does he...really mean that?
"I'm dismissing the rest of you." Tobirama declared. "There's something I want to ask Hiruzen."
"Something that none of us can hear?" Danzo questioned.
Homura nodded in agreement.
"Patience." Tobirama told them. "I'll explain it to you all later."
They all did the quick hand movements for transportation and disappeared from the room.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"I'm thinking that... I'll trust you with a job more important than all the others." He said.
Hiruzen raised his eyebrows.
"As Hokage, I now have the power to directly choose which children from the academy are assigned to which jounin instructors." He said, rounding his chair and facing him squarely. "I want you to be the Sensei of Orochimaru and Tsunade."
"Just the two of them?"
He tapped his chin and shook his head.
"No... Also, the servant's son, Jiraiya."
Hiruzen raised his eyebrows.
"May I ask why you're choosing them three?" he asked.
"Well, seeing their interaction at dinner tonight gave me a closer inspection on the type of children they are" he said. "As Tsunade's uncle, I've know her since birth and she's clearly a convergent thinker. The kind of child who believes there's always one correct answer to a question and never considers otherwise. This makes her stubborn and unidirectional in thinking but also very strategically strong."
"Jiraiya's the exact opposite. A boy who is so steady thinking about one hundred different things, when faced with a one-answer question that Tsunade would conquer without even batting an eyelash, he consistently falters. He's is a divergent thinker, incredibly creative, flexible and able to see multiple different ways to beat an opponent at a time. Though, he's lazy, with a lot of work, he could be an excellent combative ninja."
Hiruzen nodded.
"That certainly is true. Tsunade's book smarts make her shift more toward paper-work whereas Jiraiya's boisterous personality make him very hands on. But then... Where does this leave Oro-kun?"
He crossed his arms.
"That boy is incredibly unique. He seems to be able to think creatively and strategically."
"So you're saying he doesn't have a weakness?"
"Everyone has a weakness." He said, finally looking at him directly. "And if there's one thing I do know about human beings, it's that any person, man or child, which can lie without changing their facial expression even slightly should be watched very, very carefully."
My snake hissed. I was lucky that Tobirama began speaking again so they didn't hear.
"In any case, you know him better than I do. Figure it out yourself." The 2nd Hokage said. "Starting next week, they'll be all yours to do with them what you want. But handle them carefully, I sense that the three of them have more promise together, as a unit, than any other trio I've ever set eyes on."
Hiruzen laughed.
"I don't think Danzo and Kagami would be happy to hear that."
He shrugged.
"They'll live."
I turned, slowly tip-toeing up the staircase.
If what he's saying is true then that means... No more academy... It's certain now. This has to be all a dream.
I continued on my way out of the house, stopped only by Tsuzumi-san, Tsunade's mother who carried a sleeping toddler Nawaki in her arms, and Mito-san.
"Going home already, Orochimaru-chan?" Mito asked me.
"It's a boy, Mito-san!" Tsuzumi reminded her exasperatedly.
"Sorry! Sorry!" she said, shrugging. "Orochimaru-kun, then."
"I'm sure Tsunade and Jiraiya are busy creating a game you can join." Tsuzumi told me. "You should stick around."
"My Caregiver asks that I be home at this hour." I lied.
"Aw, how unfortunate." Mito replied.
"But if it's okay with your family, I was wondering if I could come back again soon." I said.
"Of course." Tsuzumi said. "Anytime!"
They nodded and smiled kindly as I exited their house.
Truly, this day should be marked down in my biography... The day I gained access to all of Konoha, and in extension, the world's classified war files!
Three Can Do Together
The door burst open and I jumped, scattering my papers that I had so painstakingly tried to organize by chronology, name and subject. I glanced up as Hidoi-san strode into the small, isolated bathroom I was forced to call my home.
"What are you doing?"
I said nothing and focused on trying to quickly pile the papers together before she realized they were important to me and ruined them.
She snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"Hey, dumbass. I asked you a question."
It's not like you care what I'm doing anyway.
I succeeded in stacking the manuscripts and resolved to organize them again later. It had taken me almost all day shut up inside the library in the Hokage Manor to find records of war that was that good. But I was never able to actually enjoy them because that woman and the triple threats were constantly in my way.
"Fine then!" she shouted. "Pretend you're stupid. I don't give a damn."
She was turning to leave when something caught her eye and she paused. She pushed past me, bending over to grab my bedsheets which were folded up together in the bathtub, where I had to sleep at night. My snake had been curled up on it and as she picked it up, he fell to the floor, hissing angrily.
"What the hell is this?" she asked.
I didn't even turn to look. I knew what she was referring to.
Here we go...
She knelt over me, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look up at my bed.
"What. Is. That?"
I hate this...
"It was an accident." I said, staring blankly at the wet sheets.
"You remember what Kenichi said would happen if you pissed your bed again, right!?"
...this place...
"What did he say?!"
I hate it so much.
"He said I'd have to sleep outside." I said quietly.
"Go!" she said, pointing toward the door.
She pushed me back to the floor.
"You're six damn years old!" she hollered at me. "Acting like people have money to wash your fucking sheets every damn day!"
And you...
I stared at the floor as I raised myself to my hands and knees.
"Get lost! And don't you dare come back unless we say so!"
I hate you!
"AHHHHH!" she suddenly screamed.
I whirled around. My snake had risen tall next to me and snapped at her. She stumbled backwards, falling backward into the tub with the wet blanket falling over her head. It continued snapping at her.
My surprise quickly vanished. Slowly, a smile crept onto my face as I watched it snap at her again and again.
"What's going on?"
All humor left my face. I turned, seeing Kenichi-san enter the room with his eyebrows raised. Hidoi-san pulled herself up out of the tub.
"I'm so fucking sick and tired of these damn snakes in this house!" Hidoi-san shouted.
She kicked out but instead of hitting my snake, which quickly slithered around her and out of the door, she kicked the wall.
"Fucking hell!" she cursed, hoping up and down.
This...is funny.
But before I could even think of smirking again, she pulled her hand back, leaning down to bring it swiftly across my face but before she could make contact, Kenichi-san caught her hand.
"You really think he can control snakes?" he asked, snickering. "The kid's just a retard, Onee-chan."
Hidioi rolled her eyes, retracting her hand.
"Whatever." She muttered, pushing past me. "Just get the hell out of my house."
Kenichi-san leaned down and ruffled my hair. I cringed slightly as he neared me.
"You can thank me later." He said, winking at me.
I sat there long after he'd left, pulling the floorboards up so I could hide my books and papers down there. It was the only hiding spot I had. After that, I walked as quietly as I could through the hall. Luckily, the triplets had left the house early that day. I slipped outside, with my snake hot on my heels, jumping down the old, rotted porch steps and out onto the main street.
I wasn't too discouraged about Hidioi-san kicking me out because I had an appointment to make anyway.
It had been around a month since I was told I was graduating from the academy to join Tsunade, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sensei as a team. Since then, I had been visiting Tsunade's house frequently to borrow, or steal depending on if they noticed or not, books and documents from the library. It was all I had to look forward to everyday. Consequently, I saw and spoke to Jiraiya and Tsunade almost every day. Unlike my previous assumptions, they didn't stop treating me like a normal human. Not only did they expect my presence in their home every day, it was almost like they looked forward to it... But I wasn't so stupid as to put all my bets on that.
If there was anything I really learned in life by the time I was six was that people never did anything for free. And if they told you that, they were lying.
My snake nudged my ankles as I walked and I smiled, bending down to pick it up. He wrapped himself around my shoulders and neck like a scarf and rested on me as I walked.
"Thank You." I told him.
In response, he nudged my hair and hissed softly.
"But I have to go to my first practice today. It would be dangerous for you to come." I pulled him from around my shoulders and lay him down on the grass in front of the rotten old wood house. "I'll come back later."
It didn't take long to get to the training field where I was due for my first day of practicing with Team Hiruzen. I was clearly around two hours too early. But I wasted the time, practicing Taijutsu and Ninjutsu as I normally did to waste time.
It wasn't long until Hiruzen joined me. And then, about thirty minutes later, the notoriously tardy duo joined us.
"You two are going to have to buy a watch if you're going to be ninja."
"Hey, I told her it was noon but no, she swore on her life you said it was later!" Jiraiya protested.
Tsunade put her hands on her hips.
"You told me that one time and it was yesterday!" she retorted.
Hiruzen sighed and clapped his hands together.
"Okay! Line up team!"
I stood on the right of Tsunade and Jiraiya stood on her left.
"I guess I should get to know you guys." Hiruzen Sensei said. "Since we're a team now."
"So, this is for real?" Jiraiya asked. "We're really Genin now!?"
Hiruzen shrugged.
"Eh, not quite. I suppose if there was ever an emergency and the village was attacked or all ninja needed to be deployed then, yes, you'd be classified as Genin but..."
"But we've definitely graduated from the academy, right?" Tsunade asked.
Hiruzen nodded.
"Yes, for the most part."
Jiraiya launched himself into the air using a chakra boost.
"Awesome!" he declared.
"But you won't be getting headbands until you can work efficiently as a team. It's something new the 2nd Hokage is trying." He explained.
I cocked my head.
"But if we're not Genin and we're not academy students then what are we?" I wondered.
He smiled at me.
"You're Team Hiruzen." He declared. "And as Team Hiruzen, we have to be like family, meaning, we have to know each other like the backs of our ninja scrolls."
He looked to Tsunade.
"Introduce yourself."
"My name is Tsunade Senju. I'm six years old. I'm the daughter of Tsuzumi and Itama Senju, granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki."
"Anything else?"
"Uhm, I like to read." She said, then she looked at me and smiled. "But snakes scare me."
Expected as much.
"Jiraiya, your turn."
Jiraiya, who was still chakra bouncing everywhere, stopped and grinned.
"Oh! Uh, my name's Jiraiya. I'm the son of Junko and Hajime, servants of the Hokage family. I'm also six." He said. "My parents call me Rai-kun but I hate that nickname."
"And...?" Hiruzen asked, prompting him.
"Uh... I like girls." He said, then he winked at Tsunade. "You can send me a love letter later."
She rolled her eyes and looked away from him.
"I guess reading and writing are the only things I dislike." He said, frowning.
"And you, Oro-kun?" Hiruzen Sensei asked.
"I'm Orochimaru." I said, then I paused.
I don't know what else to say...
I froze, mind completely blanking.
"Oro-kun?" Hiruzen repeated.
What is there to say about me?
It was quiet for a long time. It felt like years to me. And then another voice piped up.
"He's an awesome ninja." Tsunade said.
"Yeah, and he likes snakes." Jiraiya added.
I looked to them both. They stood there, contemplating the enigma of who I was.
"Oh! And he likes reading these huge books with all these big words." Jiraiya recounted, stretching his arms out wide.
"And he's kind of shy." Tsunade explained. "And quiet."
"Yeah, really quiet." Jiraiya added.
Hiruzen smiled and rubbed the top of my head.
"I guess they already know you really well." He said.
I looked around at all them. Jiraiya grinned widely, Tsunade's smile was small and tender and Hiruzen nodded at me.
Is that...really me?
My snake, which I could've sworn I left at home, slithered up next to me and nudged my leg.
Their eyebrows rose.
"Wow, I didn't see you bring your snake along." Jiraiya pointed out.
"I didn't." I replied.
He just follows me... Everywhere I go...
My mind flashed back to the conversation I'd overheard Tobirama and Hiruzen having and stared down at the snake in my arms, slithering onto my shoulders.
Could my snake really be the original summoning animal of its species?
"Did you name him yet?" Tsunade asked.
Name... That's right, I haven't yet...
Unlike Tsunade who was afraid of snakes and Jiraiya who would rather avoid them, Hiruzen Sensei bent down and stroked him.
Maybe...
"Hiruzen." I stated.
Hiruzen Sensei looked up at me and smiled.
"You wouldn't want to name him that. It's boring." He said, chuckling.
"You could shorten it to Hiru." Jiraiya said.
"You're disrupting the vowel sound then." Tsunade pointed out.
A visible question mark could've popped up over his head.
"Hiruzen's name is pronounced He-row-zen." She said phonetically. "If you shorten it to Hiru, it would make it sound like He-rue instead."
Jiraiya nodded as he began to understood.
"That's something a two year old would know, Jiraiya." Tsunade pointed out.
He frowned.
"I haven't completely figured out how to read yet."
Suddenly, her expression softened. She looked away from him.
"I said if you needed help, I could-"
"No." he said sternly. "I'll figure it out myself."
Hiruzen smiled and patted him on the back.
"That's a gusty statement, Jiraiya! You think you can?"
"I know I can!" he declared.
I pondered the art of words in my mind momentarily and arrived at an answer.
"Hiro." I told them.
They all stopped and looked at me. I raised my snake and pointed to it.
"His name is Hiro."
Everyone seemed to be satisfied with the name almost immediately. Hiro, however, made his way off of my shoulders and slithered away, disappearing into the mass of flowers.
"Okay, before we start anything..." Hiruzen said. "Do you know why you three were chosen out of all the children at the academy to graduate so early?"
"Because you think we're awesome." Jiraiya said.
Hiruzen smiled.
"That's true, but not quite the answer I was looking for."
"Because you took pity on Jiraiya." Tsunade replied.
Hiruzen laughed.
"Try again."
"Because we'll be entering another warring period soon and we need to prepare the youth for all the bloodshed." I answered.
Everyone stared at me.
"Uh... Not that...either." he said, giving me a strange look.
He sighed, signaling the beginning of a story.
"Every human being has three types of genius." He explained. "I believe that each of you have practiced one of those genius types until almost perfection."
Jiraiya squinted in the sunlight, shaking his head.
"I'm no genius."
"Sure you are." He said. "You're a creative genius."
"Creative?" he repeated. "I don't do anything like that..."
"In class, have you ever felt out of place? Because you didn't answer the question the way you were supposed to or the way everyone else did?"
Jiraiya nodded hard.
"All the time." He said.
"Give us an example."
"Well, one time, Koharu Sensei asked the proper way to discharge a line of shuriken." He said.
"The pick and flick motion." Tsunade said immediately. "You're supposed to grab and fling the weapon in and smooth simultaneous moment without slight hesitation."
Perfect. Like she has a textbook right in front of her nose.
"I said a dip and flick motion." He said grinning. "Putting your finger through the center and flinging it because then, you'd be less likely to cut yourself."
"Calluses are a ninja's best friend." Tsunade recited. "Injuries happen."
Jiraiya shrugged, kicking the dirt dully but Hiruzen nodded.
"You're both exemplifying what I mean." He said. "Jiraiya, the reason you're not good in school is because you're gifted with the ability to create, design and imagine. Only someone like that could think of a new way to use a shuriken."
His dismal expression turned to delight.
"I get it."
"And Tsunade, you're an analytical genius. You score such high marks in class because you're able to judge, analyze, and compare and contrast very well. Hence, your book smarts."
"That sounds about right." She agreed.
That's exactly what the 2nd Hokage told him... But the 2nd also said he couldn't figure me out...
"And Oro-kun."
I looked up.
"You're a practical genius."
I raised my eyebrows.
I'm...
"You're able to do best what these two can't. You can take Jiraiya's wayward theories and Tsunade's textbook answers and put them into practice. You're the bridge between them."
He looked at the three of us individually.
"With those three geniuses types; analytical, creative, and practical, you all can get each other's backs in a way no other team can." He told us. "You're a perfect team."
A warm breeze lifted our hair, and our spirits. With those words of wisdom, we suddenly looked at each other with new eyes. I had consistently felt out of place next to them. Like they were a dormant disease, ready to explode and infect any second. In truth, I was frightened of them...what they were capable of doing to me. But with those words... I could suddenly see how I needed them...and how they needed me.
This is strange... I've never felt like I needed a person before.
"Today, we'll just start with stretching and then we'll move onto body building later."
Jiraiya and Tsunade made faces.
"Whaaa?" Tsunade asked. "Stretching?! That's so lame!"
"Yeah!" Jiraiya agreed. "What about all the cool stuff?!"
He ran around showing us.
"Like Taijutsu! And Ninjutsu!" he said, running around and trying to do a mid-air kick.
He, somehow, tangled his legs in air and fell flat on his face. Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"You're making everything look worse." She mumbled.
"You have to crawl before you can run, guys." Hiruzen Sensei told us. "The real battle geniuses always have the basics down pact."
"This sounds boring." Jiraiya complained.
So we stretched. Which for me, was not even slightly taxing. But Tsunade was struggling and Jiraiya looked like he'd never stretched a day in his life.
"Himiko and Misa and I were close to doing a split once." She said. "But just that one time."
Days passed... And we worked... Every day, the other kids went to the academy learning theory and we practiced out in the fields. Soon, though it was around two months later of stretching, we began to notice our progress.
"Hey, look Tsunade, you're completely down in a split now." Jiraiya commented.
We were also working on body building, which was nothing more or less than brute strength. This, very interestingly, was where Jiraiya and Tsunade soared and I faltered.
"Push-ups look like this, Oro." Jiraiya kept reminding me.
I know what it looks like... That doesn't make it any easier.
"Alright, now fifty crunches, no breaks." Hiruzen Sensei said. "Start...now!"
Life was atrocious those first couple of months but, like with stretching, we began to see progress with body building, too. After six months...
"Oro, touch my muscles." Jiraiya said, leaning his arm toward me.
I sighed, reaching out.
"Feel it? That's like a brick right there, man!" he bragged.
"So what?" Tsunade asked. "You still can't do a split!"
"Yeah, I can! Check it out!"
He slid down from where he was standing into one without a problem.
"I bet you still can't do that backflip you were messing up on."
"Yeah, I can, dummy!" she retorted. "Just watch..."
She lifted her hands straight up in the air and flipped backwards, pushing her hands into the dirt and then propelling herself back up onto her feet, and without a pause, she did two more in succession.
"See?" she asked, face pink from exercise.
Hiruzen had been watching all of us with his arms crossed.
"Have you been practicing your push-ups and crunches and everything?" he asked me.
I nodded.
Not only was I able to do more than a hundred push-ups and crunches by myself. I was also able to do at least fifty pull-ups from a tree branch with either Jiriaya or Tsunade hanging on me and the same amount of push-ups with either of them sitting on my back.
Hiruzen nodded, knelt down in front of me, and put his hands in front of himself like a barricade.
"Then punch me." he said, showing me his palms. "Right here."
I stared at him, unsure about what he wanted. I hesitated momentarily, cocking my head at him but he nodded encouragingly. I slowly raised my hand and obeyed, plunging my right fist into his hand. He pushed me back almost effortlessly, causing me to stumble a couple of steps back, nearly tripping over my own feet.
"Harder." He shouted at me. "What was that supposed to do? Tickle me?"
I punched again and he pushed me back and then again and he still pushed me back, even harder that time, knocking me back even more steps.
"Harder!" he yelled. "You're making me embarrassed to call you my student, Oro. Hit me!"
I was startled by his tone... But at the same time, angered by it.
Is this what it was all along? His kindness... Just a way to get me to do what he wanted?
I thrust my right hand into his, losing all restraint and going as hard as I could, he edged backward slightly.
"Come on, kick at me. Right now! Kick!"
I lifted my foot immediately swinging it and making contact with his left hand. He grabbed my foot roughly and tapped it.
"Exactly! That's what a kick is supposed to feel like." He said, nodding at me. "Not that flimsy crap you were throwing earlier."
And suddenly, it was clear to me. My mind washed back to my first memory of fighting with him. Trying to grab his bells. And him telling me that I wouldn't ever succeed until I perfected my Taijutsu, which he described as weak, though stylish looking.
"Is...it perfect now?" I asked him.
He smiled, getting to his feet.
"Almost." He said. "But first, you still need a bit of practice. It needs to be firm like that every time. Be strong."
He snapped his fingers to the other two.
"Listen." He told us. "Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Kenjutsu might look cool..."
He grabbed my arm and pushed my leg back, positioning my body so that my right arm was up with my elbow pointed down and blocking my body and my left arm was back, horizontal to my body. My right leg was bent forward and my left leg slanted backward. He positioned Tsunade and Jiraiya the same way, too.
"But Taijutsu is where it all comes from." He said. "And when you've got no chakra, no ninja tools, no sword and no sheath, where are you going to turn?"
He walked out, standing in front of us.
"But Hiruzen Sensei." Tsunade protested. "It's impossible to have no chakra. We'd be dead if that were the case."
"There's an old tale that says people didn't used to have chakra a long time ago." He told us.
My ears perked up.
I just read about that legend... In a manuscript called "The Supposed Tales of the Uchiha Tablet".
"And back then, what did they do?" he asked.
We all stared at him.
"They fought!" he declared. "And with what did they fight with?"
"Taijutsu?" Tsunade questioned.
He put his hand to his ear.
"I can't hear you!"
"Taijutsu!" we yelled.
"So what are we going to use?!" He exclaimed.
"Taijutsu!" we shouted.
"Then let's begin again!" He bellowed, clapping loudly to gain our attention.
"Left kick!" he yelled.
We shifted our weight to our right leg, kicking out left as hard as we could.
"Right punch!"
We slammed our left legs down, thrusting our right fists out to that move, too.
"Left punch!"
We moved in unison, kicking together, punching together, and even making mistakes together.
"Jiraiya, why did you move that arm?" Hiruzen asked him one day.
"Sorry... I forgot."
"What was the reason I told you all not to move that arm?"
We were used to the routine and so he didn't have to shout to us what leg to kick or what punch to do. We continued moving around him in unison.
Left kick, duck down, dodge roll, right punch, left punch...
"Because that's our weapon hand." Tsunade answered for him. "When we have a kunai knife-"
"I asked Jiraiya!" Hiruzen interrupted her.
"Because..." Jiraiya said, struggling not to break formation. "Our left hand is for...throwing weapons."
"And your right?!" he asked.
"Redirecting attacks!" we all yelled.
Pretty soon, we were able to go up against each other. Jiraiya and Tsunade sparred with each other, easily back flipping across the training ground when need be or dipping into a split or back-bend to avoid an attack. Our footsteps were quick and almost weightless in sound.
In slightly less than a year, Hiruzen Sensei somehow had transformed a trio of rag-tag, elementary kids that barely enjoyed each other's company into a firm set of Taijutsu mastered comrades.
But there was still a score I had to settle.
"I'm ready now." I told him.
Hiruzen cocked his head, giving me a look.
"Ready for what?" he asked me.
I pointed at the bells that he still wore on his belt. I knew he kept them there simply to keep me engaged, egging me on that one day, I'd be perfect. As far as I was concerned, that day had come.
"I can take them now." I said.
He smiled.
"You don't want to try with Tsunade and Jiraiya with you?" he asked.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. After Hiruzen Sensei had seen how the bells could motivate me to shape up, he tried the same thing with Jiraiya and Tsunade, trying to get us to work as a group to collectively take them. It didn't work at all. It was when we'd first begin working as a team and Jiraiya was still too unorthodox then and Tsunade was too rash. Jiraiya ended up being caught in almost every single trap he set up...even the obvious ones.
I shook my head.
"Just you and me." I said.
Jiraiya and Tsunade, sensing something interesting was happening, stopped sparing.
He nodded, beckoning to me.
"Well, come on then."
I ran at him and he immediately kicked outward, I ducked down and rolled to his left side where the bells were. Before I could even try to reach, he grabbed my head, forcing it down and jumping over me. I darted for him, moving to dig my elbow into his ribs but he moved swiftly out of the way. I punched at him again and he tried to push my arm to the side but I was stronger then, firmer. I pushed back against him, grabbing his hand and bringing my knee up into his stomach but before I could land it solidly, he hopped up onto his toes, pulling his stomach up and out of reach and yanked his arm back, the one I was grabbing, forcing my head right next to his. Without even a second wasted, he pulled his head up and slammed it down into mine, knocking me back into the grass. I raised my hands to my forehead struggling to get back up to my feet.
Hiruzen Sensei turned around with the bells on his belt dangling along with him.
"Nice try, Oro-kun." He said. "Maybe one day..."
"No." I said steadily, getting back to my feet.
Tsunade ran to my side and Jiraiya tried to help me to my feet.
"Oro, just relax and-" Jiraiya said.
"No!" I shouted, pulling my arm away from him. "I can still fight! I can do it!"
Hiruzen stopped in his tracks.
"Oh?"
"Let me try again." I told him.
He looked over his shoulder at me. I expected his expression to playful, like it normally was, and he'd allow me another go, as many as it took...but instead, he seemed displeased.
"You lost, Orochimaru." He told me. "You know, there's practically nothing in this world that's worse than a sore loser."
"But I can-"
"And your focus is off!" he shouted.
I paused, watching as he lifted his forefinger.
"What one cannot do alone..." then he raised three fingers. "Three can do together."
Jiraiya and Tsunade watched him intently. I said nothing, eyes lowering to the grass.
"Until you understand that concept, you'll never prosper."
Even though almost a year had passed since we began training, it felt like I was still back at square one.
Love and Hate
I wasn't rid of the horrid family I despised as quickly as I had hoped. The 2nd Hokage's revoking of the Caregiver Program wasn't set to begin until the apartments for the orphaned children in the newer district was completely built. And with the First Hokage having passed, construction was moving at a snail's pace. Therefore, the entire time I was extensively training with Team Hiruzen, I was still on assisted living.
I woke up with a start, mouth open, gasping for air, and arms swinging around. Three faces loomed over mine.
"Hold him down! Hold him down!" one shouted.
"Help me with the water!"
I choked, tangling myself in the bedsheets as they poured buckets of water into the basin I had the misfortune of using as a bed. I gripped their arms, struggling to pull myself up but then they poured another bucket of water in and it all washed over my head.
My hair swam in my line of sight, warped and tangled. I bucked against them, pulling my head up past the surface.
"Let me g-"
They dunked my head again.
If this goes on...
I struggled against them, grabbing at their sneering faces with my fingers not closing on anything.
They'll kill me.
I kicked out hard, sloshing water everywhere.
I'll drown.
I pushed my head up again seeing Kenichi-san standing just outside the door, seemingly amused by the sight in front of him.
"Hurgghh!" I tried to shout before the pushed me under again.
He held his hand out in front of his ear comically like he couldn't understand me.
I don't want to ask him... I don't want to... I don't want to... But I don't want to die...
I used all my newly mastered seven year old Taijutsu strength to push them off me long enough for me to yell.
"Kenichi-san, help!" I shouted.
Hearing me call his name, the triplets turned around. He entered the room, rolling up his sleeves.
"What the fuck is wrong with you guys?" he asked them.
"We were just playing with him." Toru said, grinning.
"Yeah." Sen agreed. "Just innocent fun."
He smacked each of them in the back of their heads.
"Why don't you go try that innocent fun bullshit somewhere else and lay off the kid for five minutes, huh?"
"Sheesh, Kenichi-san..." Sen muttered.
They all turned, walking toward the door.
"You always play favorites with him." Koto added.
"Another word and I'll drop kick all three of you!" he shouted.
They ducked and ran, leaving me with nothing else to do except to pull myself out of the basin. Kenichi-san pulled a towel off the rack and walked over to me.
I pulled myself as far back as I could as he reached down and softly wiped the water from my face with the towel.
"Remember..." he said, smirking. "You owe me one."
He tossed the towel at me and turned around, leaving the water soaked bathroom. I looked up at Hiro who was trapped in his tank with a couple of books stacked on top of the opening.
No wonder he didn't come to my rescue...
But as I watched him, something else became apparent to me. The tank was pushed almost to the edge of the toilet seat...like it was about to topple to the floor.
But the triplets wouldn't leave it like that... Or else, Hiro could attack them.
I leaned closer to the tank, pressing my nose against the glass.
"Hiro...are you strong enough to move your own tank now?" I asked him.
His tongue flicked out, licking the spot my nose was.
It wouldn't be a far cry... He's grown a lot larger in the past year... His tank's almost too small now.
"What the hell did you do in this bathroom!?" a voice rang out.
I didn't even have to guess. Hidoi-san stood over me, fuming. I'd never seen a person look like they were five seconds away from a stroke until that day.
"You're like a demon child sent from hell just to torture me!" she exclaimed.
Hiro got up on his haunches, hissing at her.
I didn't even bother telling her it was the triplets. I just got to my feet and turned the tank over, letting Hiro slither out.
"Step aside and let me leave." I said.
She looked down at the snake and rolled her eyes, stepping backwards and letting me out. I made a beeline for the front door, opening it to let Hiro out first. But before I could step out, too, someone grabbed my shoulder.
I turned, coming into contact with a thin, metallic objected that swiped across my face, from the corner of my mouth to my earlobe and knocked me to the ground. My hand shot up to my cheek as I turned to look at my attacker.
"You can take that damn snake and stick it up your ass." Hidoi-san spat. "I ain't afraid of shit."
My cheek burned hotly. Before she slammed the door in my face, I could see the object of my offense clearly in her hand, pointed side of an old, dull kunai knife. I got to my feet slowly, hoping that the gash on my cheek was minor and not the gigantic sore it felt like it was.
I didn't know where to turn to. It was a day off. One of the only days I wasn't scheduled to train with the team. If I remembered correctly, Tsunade was supposed to be going out of the village with her family on some kind of peacemaking arrangement with the Kage of another land and Jiraiya and his family was going with them. With the manor closed off to me, the only place I could think to go was the training field. Even if I was just going to be alone.
It was a brisk, windy morning when I found my way to the training field that we normally practiced in and was surprised to see Hiruzen Sensei lying against a tree trunk looking up at the billowing white clouds overhead. An echo of relief went through me.
For some reason, I'm happy I won't be alone after all...
I walked over to him slowly and cautiously but with ninja-like perceptive skills, he sensed me in closer than halfway across the field from him. He sat up and gave me one of his usual smiles as I approached him.
His arm...
It was bandaged and being supported by a sling around his neck. He saw me staring and shook his head.
"This? Don't worry about it." He said. "The missions over a last couple of days have been brutal."
"Where?"
"Just some disputes among the stone and mist villages." He said, shifting himself. "Hashirama-san believed that giving tailed beasts to all the other lands would make them more frightened of warfare but..."
I knelt next to him, sitting in the shade and out of the glimmering sun. My snake lowered itself into the grass.
"But it might have increased hostilities?" I asked.
He nodded, then shook his head.
"But don't worry about all of that." He added quickly. "It's adult stuff."
I picked at the grass.
"We're going to pick sides at one point." I told him. "And then the other side will pick their allies. And then...we're all going back to war."
"Don't say that." He said.
"It's true." I insisted. "That's why you don't want me to worry about it. Because you know what's going to happen soon."
"Don't you have faith in the protection of the village?" he asked.
Do I?
I sighed.
"Yes."
"Then trust Hokage Tobirama and everyone here." He told me. "We'll try our hardest not to let that happen."
We were silent for a while as I dug my fingers into the dirt. I glanced to the left, noticing Hiro slither his way into the trees.
"Oro-kun." He said.
I looked up at him. His expression was that of immense concern.
"What happened to your face?"
I had completely forgotten about my injury. My cheek pulsated as I remembered the place Hidoi-san had taken the kunai knife across my face. Hiruzen Sensei lifted his uninjured arm and touched my cheek and I quickly winced, leaning away from him.
"I don't know." I told him.
He stared at me and I stared back. Seconds passed...perhaps moments.
"...Are you lying to me?"
"No." I said.
I could tell from the expression on his face that he didn't believe me but he said nothing. He silently reached into the pack on his back and removed a roll of bandages and some liquefied disinfectant. He poured some of the liquid on the bandaged patch and motioned to me. Knowing what he wanted, I edged near him and winched as he pressed it against my injury.
"Injuries happen." He said.
I nodded slightly, remembering Tsunade having said the same thing back then.
"...But there's a sharp difference between an intentional injury and an accidental one."
I fidgeted as he pressed the gauze to my cheek and taped it there.
"If someone is hurting you, you can tell me." he said softly. "You know that, don't you?"
A cool breeze past moving my hair into my face. I closed my eyes.
"Yes." I responded.
Even if I did tell you about this, you'd want to know everything... And I can't tell you everything... Not ever...
"Okay. You're fixed."
"Thank you." I said quietly.
He grinned down at me, scratching his goatee.
"You want to do some sparring practice?" he asked.
"But you're hurt." I pointed out.
"I'm a ninja." He reminded me. "I can hack it."
He bounded to his feet quickly moving to the center of the field.
"Perhaps this will make us more even." He said.
Weren't you the one who said that time that a team is better than fighting alone?
But I ran for him anyway, beginning with just Taijutsu, I slid toward him, making large, round strokes with my kicks, trying to knock him down but he dodged them with ease, smiling as he did.
"That style of yours." He said, snickering. "Always so flashy, huh?"
I began with a kick and then froze mid-way, leaning forward to jab him with my elbow. Having hopped backward with his legs, his head was almost in my hair. I prepared myself for the blow of connecting my elbow with his nose but it didn't happen. Quicker than ever, he had bent backward, doing a one-armed back flip to get out of the way.
I slammed my hands to the ground. It had been a long time since we'd fought using only Taijustu. When Jiraiya, Tsunade and I had turned eight, Hiruzen tested our chakra natures and discovered that all three of us were Earth styles.
"So we're going to learn a whole bunch of earth jutsu now!?" Jiraiya asked.
"Nope." Hiruzen said.
Jiraiya basically collapsed right there. Tsunade gave him a funny look.
"Then...we're never going to learn Ninjutsu?!" she exclaimed.
"Of course you are." He said. "Just not in the way you're thinking."
We all blinked at him.
"Most ninja train in regular Ninjutsu arts, beginning with whatever nature they have an affinity for, and then, as they get better, gaining other natures along the way." He explained to us.
I've read that about a thousand times already.
"But I want to train you three differently." He said. "I'm thinking that you'll be stronger as a team, and on your own, if instead of being proficient in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu like most ninja, you're proficient in Taijutsu and Senjutsu."
Senjutsu?
I recalled hearing about it sparingly but not enough to know it verbatim. Instead, Tsunade picked up the bait.
"You mean the sage arts?" she asked. "Like summoning jutsu?"
"Exactly." He said. "Firstly, it'll be unexpected for children of your age to be able to do such a thing, and secondly, it'll reinforce your teamwork."
Suddenly, it all made sense to me.
This is why he spent so much time on Taijustu... Because this way, knowing only Senjutsu as the other alternative, we're not just encouraged to depend on each other... We're forced to.
"Here, I'll demonstrate it first." Hiruzen Sensei said.
He bit his thumb, slammed his hand down, and summoned a great monkey.
"See?" he said. "I've been able to summon this guy since I was around your age."
"Wow? Really?" Jiraiya asked, pumping his fists up and down. "So we all get our own special summons!?"
Jiraiya bit his thumb.
"I'm gonna get one right now!"
"Hey, Jiraiya, hold on a sec-"
He slammed his hand down and immediately disappeared. We all blinked at the spot he was previously standing. A couple of silent moments passed.
"He's killed himself, hasn't he?" I said.
"Better he dies now before we got too attached." Tsunade said, shrugging.
Hiruzen laughed.
"He's just reversed summoned himself." He said. "Probably to one of the great animal kingdoms. Hopefully, the species he finds there is kind or else...we might really have a funeral for him!"
"How are we supposed to know what species to study?" Tsunade questioned.
"Normally, you train under your master's animal." Hiruzen told her.
But seeing Tsunade wrinkle her nose at the monkey scratching its back next to her, he switched his sentence up.
"Or...you could reverse summon yourself like Jiraiya did and see where you end up."
Tsunade sighed and shook her head, mumbling something about asking her mother.
"And what should we do for Ninjutsu?" Tsunade followed up. "Nothing?"
Hiruzen smiled at us.
"I'm leaving that all up to you." He said to us both. "You're eight year olds now, right? That's almost chunin exam taking age. Do whatever you feel is best."
Tsunade nodded, punching her palm.
"Then I know exactly what to do!" she said. "I'll take Mito-san up on that offer to study medical Ninjutsu!"
Hiruzen nodded.
"I had a feeling you'd go that direction." He said. "And you, Orochimaru?"
"Well... What's wrong with learning...every dojutsu there is to learn?" I asked him.
He cocked his head.
"Well... Just that you probably won't live long enough to finish!" he said, laughing.
I didn't catch the joke.
"I'm going to begin with Earth, my natural chakra nature." I said.
He nodded, approving my choice.
"Sound decision."
I slammed my hands down into the dirt, raising a barrage of walls against him. Hiruzen Sensei's footing was dislodged by the hills rising under him.
"Whoaaa." He yelled.
He jumped off, landing next to me, and then let off a low whistle.
"Nice one." He said, looking up at the large hills before us. "Looks a lot like my Ground Raiser Jutsu."
"I based it off of you." I said. "But mine are higher and thicker."
"What?" he asked. "No way, mine are so much higher!"
"That's a lie."
"Not it isn't, if I had two hands, I'd prove it to you right now."
We stared at each other and then he laughed.
"Alright, you got me!" he said. "This is a helluva lot better!"
I couldn't help but smile. He turned.
Wait.
He walked, heading toward the tree he was sitting at previously.
Where is he going?
"Man, you really are something... I can't wait to tell Tobirama-sama about this one."
This isn't over.
"Sensei."
He stopped, then turned, looking at me.
"I haven't won yet." I told him steadily.
Wind blew across the field, bringing a couple flowers past us. He stared at me. I stared back.
"Come here." He ordered.
I reluctantly broke out of my fighting position and came over to him. He looked down at me, neither upset nor sad, his expression was curious.
"You like fighting?" he asked me.
I said nothing. I wasn't sure how I was expected to respond.
What does he want me to say?
"Or perhaps... You like winning." He stated.
I looked up at him in a matter-of-factly way.
"What's the point of trying if you aren't going to win?" I asked him.
He nodded.
"That's true... There isn't really a point, except, well then... What about life in general?" he asked.
Huh?
"Life is like a game you don't particularly win." He said. "You just do a little bit better each time."
He smiled as he said this, as though enjoying some personal joke but I didn't find it funny. He found his spot back next to the tree bark and rested, enjoying the sun on his skin. I stood there, looking down at him expressionlessly.
"Hiruzen Sensei, why do we live?"
Birds cawed overhead. He adjusted himself and pulled a cigarette out of his shirt pocket which he promptly lit. For a long time, he didn't say anything. The smoke drifted above us, swirling overhead silently. Slowly, he raised his eyebrows at me.
"That's a very heavy question." He said.
I said nothing, still waiting for a proper response. He snubbed the cigarette out in the grass next to him and pointed at me.
"You haven't discovered a reason yet?"
Have I?
"Well, I suppose you'll just have to settle with what I believe then."
He straightened himself up, preparing for a story.
"I believe that... Life is about finding your inner peace." He said. "It's about finding a couple people you really, really care about and calling them your friends, your family, your comrades."
I found a spot in the grass to sit down again.
"And it's about finding an even more special person that you'd like to spend the rest of your life with." He said. "And it's also about the little things... Times like this, just sitting down experiencing nature. We live for peace, Oro. It's that simple."
"That just sounds like wasting time." I remarked. "What about war? We have to make decisions and fix problems like the Hokage's do so that war doesn't happen anymore."
He nodded.
"True. It's also important to fix problems in life but even you said yourself that you believe we're all just going back to war."
I looked down at the dirt dismally.
"Sometimes, colossal issues like that cannot be fixed in one lifetime."
My eyes opened wide.
"But then how will they be fixed?"
"Well, that's the most important thing of all." He said, placing his hand on my head like he normally did. "It's called Legacy."
"Legacy?" I repeated.
"What you leave behind on this Earth can be even more impactful than you are." He said.
"Like...scrolls and manuscripts?" I asked.
He grinned wider.
"Even better." He said. "Your legacy is your love, Oro-kun."
My...love?
"Whenever you get a chance to find a woman that you love more than anything and have a child, he or she will be your legacy. He or she will carry on your will stronger than your own life force." He said. "Your children, your children's children and even their children will forever be indebted to you, carrying on your legacy after you've long been dead and gone."
He put his uninjured arm behind his head and eased his eyes closed.
"Life is all about realizing that there are some things that you can do and some things that you can't." he said. "And what you can't do, your love will do for you."
Legacy...
Hiruzen sat there with his eyes closed, enjoying the sunny warmth some more.
I want to understand this. I want to... But...
"Ahh... Well, I think it's about time for lunch, don't you think?"
I shrugged.
Just what is love anyway? I'm...not sure.
He stood up.
"They built a new walk-in eatery not too far from here called Ichiraku Ramen." He said. "Want a bite?"
I nodded.
"Alright, then let's have at it."
I looked around, trying to spot grass lines where Hiro had slithered through. I walked into the mass of trees behind us and ducked my head under a branch.
There you are...
He was swaying back and forth over a lump of green grass... Or so I thought. The closer I got, the more I realized the lump was moving.
It's a frog.
I knelt down, poking the frog gingerly. Though it's eyes widened, following my finger, it did not move.
Snake venom can have multiple different effects other than poison. Paralyzing one's prey is one of them. Snake fact number 9.
I stroked Hiro's back, bringing him out of his offensive position and up my arm, onto my back. But I didn't move, I continued staring at the still animal.
Perhaps, life isn't peace at all... Perhaps, it's war... War among all the species.
I reached out and gripped the webbed leg of it, stretching it outward, watching the widening of the animal's eyes as I did so.
If animals like this can experience pain... Do they also understand love?
"Oro-kun! Where are you?"
I snapped out of my trance and stood up, running out to meet him.
"Oh, you were looking for Hiro?"
I nodded, falling into step next to him.
One day, I'll understand. Love. Legacy. I'll understand it... I won't stop until I do.
"What'll you be having, boy?" the restaurant owner asked me as we seated ourselves at the eatery.
I had just begun getting used to eating food native to Konoha, but still, the only food I'd readily ask for was probably...
"Anything with eggs in it." Hiruzen responded for me. "Make sure it's hot."
I raised my eyebrows, looking at him with genuine surprise.
He grinned.
"What? You think I don't know my own student's favorite food?" he asked.
"Alright!" the man said, setting my bowl down. "One steaming bowl of eggplant and beef ramen it is!"
Suddenly, Hiro slithered across the table top, making a beeline for my bowl. I lifted it out of his reach just in time.
"Hey!" the owner said, suddenly angry. "Get that animal out of here!"
I bowed my head.
"Sorry." I mumbled, picking Hiro up and letting him onto the floor. "Go wait outside."
He slowly made his way past the anxious and uncomfortable customers sitting around us and into the walk-way.
"Geez, I hate kids..." the ramen man muttered. "Thinking of making this place adult only."
His son, who looked to be only around eleven or twelve rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, kid." He said, grinning at me. "I'm gonna inherit this business from the old guy one day and I'd never let him keep kids out."
"Good thing, too." Hiruzen Sensei said. "It's people like him that make me feel ashamed to be an old guy."
The kid laughed loudly and Hiruzen joined in with him. I looked down at my ramen bowl and my smile mirrored back at me from the soup.
Maybe...finding a legacy won't be so hard after all...
After we finished eating, Hiruzen paid the guy and tipped the kid and we walked off.
"That man and his son is like a legacy." I told Hiruzen Sensei.
"Yeah, if you can call running a Ramen Shop a legacy." Hiruzen joked.
Hiro nipped at my heels, reminding me he was there and I dipped down, raising him to rest on around my shoulders.
"Who's your legacy then?" I asked him.
"Well, I plan to be Hokage one day." He said. "And so... My legacy most likely be...everyone in the village I leave behind me. Everyone that carries on the Will Of Fire that Hashirama Sensei left us."
"Hokage...?"
I raised my eyes to the mountain in front of us that we were steadily walking toward with Hashirama's and Tobirama's faces carved into it.
"And you know... You could carry on the legacy after I do." He proposed.
I was so entranced by what he was saying, I barely realized that we were nearing my front porch steps.
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
"I mean, become the Fourth Hokage, of course!" He said smiling.
Fourth Hokage...?
He reached forward and knocked on the door.
And I realized... I'd never even considered the idea... But how perfect. In that way, I could change things I didn't like just the same way Tobirama did. Or create new systems or...do whatever I wanted. In the position of Hokage, I didn't see fame or acknowledgement, or even legacy... I saw...freedom.
"Hello."
And then it was all gone. Replaced by what was always holding back my hope and trust...a jail-cell named fear.
Kenichi-san stood at the door looking at Hiruzen Sensei curiously.
"Good evening, my name is Sarutobi Hiruzen. I'm Orochimaru's instructor."
Kenichi-san flashed him one of his award winning smiles.
"I know you!" he said. "You're next in line to be Hokage, aren't you? Basically, Hokage Tobirama's right hand man."
I edged back, gripping Hiruzen's pant leg.
"I've heard all about you, man. You're like a legend for us Genin working in the Tactical Espionage Unit, you know? I aspire to be like you!"
Hiruzen laughed, glancing down at me and giving me a curious look. Most likely wondering why I was all but hiding behind him.
"Ah really? Well, I'm sorry to be so late bringing him home, it's just I was wondering about this bruise on his face..."
Hiruzen Sensei took my chin softly, turning my face to show him the swelling.
Kenichi-san laughed.
"Yeah, well... I don't know what he gets up to." He said, shrugging. "See, I live with my older sister and she has three boys so, you know how that is. Lots of rough housing goes on."
"I understand that's how it may have been before, but you see, I can't help but feel concerned about random cuts and bruises showing up on my student's face." Hiruzen Sensei said, suddenly turning very serious. "Especially when he doesn't feel comfortable talking about them with me."
A chilly breeze floated by. I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to jump down the staircase and run as far as I possibly could from them.
He doesn't understand... It's not going to help anything. Not with him...
"I just feel that everyone in this situation would feel much, much more comfortable if you could make sure that this never happens again."
He's...different.
Kenichi-san nodded hard.
"Oh, yes, sir. Definitely. I'll get right on that."
"Not even a scratch, alright?" Hiruzen reminded him. "Or I'll be sending a platoon full of Uchiha's over here to arrest every single one of you."
"I understand, sir." Kenichi-san said.
"Go." Hiruzen said to me.
I was leaning against him with his pant leg still clutched in my grip like it was life support. The house was silent. Normally, if Kenichi-san held the door open for that long, the triplets would come poking around or Hidoi-san would complain of feeling a draft. Some noise... Something... But it was silent. He was alone.
It's always worse when he's alone.
"They're not going to do anything... Go ahead." Hiruzen reassured me.
And for some foolish reason, I trusted that reassurance and underestimated my enemy. I crossed the threshold and entered the house. I watched Hiruzen bound back down the staircase and turn the corner. He didn't look back once. He was completely confident.
"It must've really hurt, huh? For you to go rat Onee-chan out to your Sensei..." He said.
He slammed the door closed and then knelt down to my level. I craned my neck out of the way but he was still fast enough to stroke my cheek, fingers grazing the bruise.
"Geez... I thought you liked me." he pouted. "That guy made me feel like some kind of criminal."
You are a criminal.
"But, man..." He said, getting to his feet. "I cringe to think what Onee-chan's gonna do to you when she finds out."
That caught my attention.
"What do you mean? Sensei said-"
He put his hand on my head and walked, leading me away from the front door.
"I heard what he said." he told me, smirk crossing his face. "He said he didn't want to see a scratch on you. I'll relay the info to Onee-chan just like that."
And then it clicked. However, I couldn't say that I was surprised at all. There was no one better at hearing what they wanted to hear than he was.
But if they keep that up, I'll be covered in clothing from head to toe.
I pushed his hand off my head as he opened Hidoi-san's bedroom door. It wasn't until he grasped the sleeve of my robe, pulling me forward that I noticed he'd closed the door before Hiro could get inside. He lifted me up, which wasn't difficult at all seeing as how I barely ate at that house, and sat me down on the edge of the bed.
"Alright... Alright..." he said in a soft voice as he knelt down in front of me.
His light green eyes gazed into mine.
"I'll tell you what. We can make it an exchange."
My stomach dropped.
I knew it... I knew this would happen... I was right along.
"I'll tell her and her demon brats to lay off you in a way that'll scare 'em straight for good, if you do whatever I say tonight."
He never keeps his promises anyway...
"Besides..." he said, flipping his blonde hair out of his eyes. "Do you really think I like it when your face is all messed up?"
I stared him down.
"I refuse." I told him.
"You're feisty today, aren't ya?" he asked. "Well, it's no problem. You already owe me one for the bathroom incident early today."
No...
I could've screamed for him to let me go or shouted for help but...
It's not like there is a law against what he does to me.
He tugged on the tie of my robe.
"You should be grateful..." he said, running one of his hands through my hair.
With Hidoi-san, you can avoid it, or with the triplets, you can run... But with him? There's nothing to do except wait...
"I don't hurt you like they do." he reminded me, as my robe dropped to the floor. "I show you what love feels like."
Just what is love anyway?
He pushed me back to lie down on the sheets.
And why is it that every time I search for it, I only feel hate?