The cavern he was entering was damp and cold. Orochimaru shivered slightly as his body temperature began to drop. Pouring more chakra into the green fireball that he held in his hand, he used it to warm himself up. Other than the pitter patter of dripping water from the hanging stalactites, there was only silence as he continued along the dark path. He noticed that the further he went, the more the caverns seemed to sparkle.

After awhile, he stumbled upon a huge lake, and here the cavern curved upward in a dome-like manner. There were holes in the ceiling, shedding down pale white moonlight that made the waters sparkled, giving it an air of serenity. He noticed that some weird glowing mushrooms and lichen clung to the rocks near the waters, along with viney dark plants that clung to the walls.

Minutes passed by and he started to grow impatient. All Lady Mito had said was for him to come here. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Almost feeling stupid, he said, "Hello?" When he received no answer, he muttered, "This is a waste of time."

Trying not to fidget or allow himself to grow nervous, he forced himself to remain calm. Undeniably though, he was apprehensive. No one wants to face their faults and fears after all. He knew he was ruthless but at the same time, the icy coldness that he showed to others was also a double-edged sword. He rarely let himself embrace his emotions, and even with his teammates, he always partially held back, not daring to let them know too much about him. The most simple reason as to why he hated cold food, he only gave them a half truth. It was simply too hard for him to open up completely. While they saw much more than others, he didn't want them to see everything about himself.

He stood there patiently for a whole ten minutes, listening to the dripping of water and lull of the lake. But nothing happened and he was wondering if something had gone wrong. Tilting his head, he stared at the lake for a few seconds before beginning to walk over its surface, standing right in the middle. The water was strangely warm. He could feel it through the sole of his sandals. A sudden strange feeling overwhelmed him and he found his mind go blank as he stared down at his reflection. Falling to his knees, the water rippled from the movement before turning back into a crystal clear mirror, reflecting the pain that laid deep in his heart.

What was it that poisoned your heart? The blood and death? The realization that you will never get another chance to have your loved ones with you? The cold indifference to your sorrows?

It is the knowledge that there will never be a happy ending for me in this hellish world.

"Mother…" Orochimaru blinked his large round honeyed eyes at his meal, picking at the cold salad and egg with his blue baby snake shaped chopsticks. "Daddy and I don't like cold food."

His mother gave him a sad smile as she sat down beside him, tucking back her long raven hair. "I know it makes you drowsy, Orochimaru." Her slender hand reached out to smooth down the hair he had inherited from her, the sleeve of her midnight blue kimono brushing his cheek. "But we will need to cut back on utilities like heat and water if we're to make the payment for the house this month."

He was a smart child, picking up on what she meant. "More cold food to come then, mother?"

Her clever blue eyes sparkled in merriment as she formed a hand seal, making the lone candle on the table light up. "I will keep you warm with my songs and this."

Orochimaru looked up as his father walked in, a smile crinkling at the corner of his lips as he took off his lab coat and draped it over the back a dining chair. Kissing his son and wife on the forehead, he winked and tried to cover up how tired he was, his eyes the color of dead straw from his fatigue. "With the three of us together, we'll never be cold, no matter how much cold food awaits our future. Right?"

"But I'll study harder, to receive funding," Orochimaru said eagerly, knowing that he's already caught the village's attention with his intelligence. "Then, we'll have the money to have hot food."

Both his parents squeezed his small hands and hugged him. In their arms, he burrowed himself into their chest. He only wish he could be bigger and help earn money. Cold food had become synonymous with being poor and that made him sad. It wasn't fair for his family to suffer and be denied something so simple as a hot meal. With his parents moving to Konoha, they had to start all over. Foreigners and practitioners of ninja arts that was rather frowned upon by the world, they had a difficult time with getting by despite their talents and skills. He thought it horribly unfair and wrong to fear their powers, and had asked why they had moved here. When they told him it was because they seeked the peace that the place offered, from being the first village to form that ended the fighting between clans, he quickly understood why. They had moved for his sake, wanting a life free from the terrible clan wars his father often told him about.

In his mind though, facing discrimination in a foreign place, away from family and clan wasn't much of a fair trade for peace. Even the kids around his age tended to stray away from him, intimidated by his unique serpent-like eyes and pale white skin. They teased him, calling him scrawny, girly or weird. In turn, he considered them stupid and masked his hurt with arrogance. He could almost guess how much worse it would be for his father. His mother didn't even dare use her demon summons.

Even though he was only four, he knew that the world was something to be feared. The massive walls of Konoha that encircled them, did so to protect them. If the world wasn't dangerous, why would there be a wall? But even inside, a different world called Konoha was cold and cutting. It was only in the world that consisted of his family that he found warmth, understanding and love.

He wanted nothing more than a simple hot meal everyday with his family

Everything was silent and ice cold in that dark, musty wooden room that was packed with corpses. He collapsed to his knees, no longer being pulled back by the adults. Staring at the two mutilated corpses directly in front of him, he shook his head in disbelief, not wanting to accept the truth. But no matter how much he wanted to deny it, the azurite earrings that he had been called to identify belonged to them.

In that dark icy room, his heart was wracked with a pain he's never experienced before. He thought he was dying as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. His beautiful parents... were nothing more than decaying flesh clinging to charred bones that peeked out from the sheet that tried to cover them. A rotting hand hung low, with a slim gold wedding ring on its finger and he slowly reached out to touch it, despite nausea overwhelming his senses. If it wasn't for the tears streaming down his cheeks, he would have looked exactly like a beautiful statue. In a voice cracking with grief, he asked, "What was the meaning of their deaths?" What did the two most important people to him die for, was what he was asking. He wanted an answer that could somehow justify this horror, pain, sadness and loss.

"I'm sorry, child. It's because we're at war."

At the solemn reply, he bowed his head and his eyes stung even more, hating the world that had destroyed his happiness for such a selfish and cruel reason. They were called humans because they were gifted with reasoning and intellect. Yet there was always fighting, always bloodshed. Beasts tearing and devouring other beasts. Time and again from his history books, the rivers would run scarlet, the grounds a forest of bones. The world they lived in, was full of beasts, a nightmare of a reality that endlessly looped no matter how much blood is shed.

His tears stopped flowing as he understood how unfair and cruel everything was. Slowly standing up, he listened to the mournful keening of the icy wind outside and buried his heart.

If the world is full of monsters

Then he believed he must simply become the worst of them to survive

Slowly, his eyes opened and he was stunned to find his cheeks wet with tears. A single drop fell down and made the lake ripple, blurring his reflection enough for him to force himself to stand up and tear his gaze away from the waters. How was this supposed to help heal him, Orochimaru seethed. As if he wanted to relive the worst moment of his life and be reminded of the warm family he once had.

"What was shown is used to question. After all, we believe in the power of questions."

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he heard his own voice, but much younger, coming from deep down below the lake. Looking down, he saw his reflection as his younger self, staring back up at him.

"I am your heart," his younger child-like self said, his eyes still innocent and his features soft. "I know what you want, fear and wish for."

Orochimaru stood up angrily, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. "I most certainly did not wish to be reminded of what I've lost."

"Speak the truth," the child Orochimaru said softly. "You know that you want more from this world than just knowledge. Like the snakes that devour prey larger than itself, you take in knowledge as a coping mechanism to fill the void inside you after you lost your parents and faith in the world. But no matter how much knowledge you obtain, even those that are forbidden, you'll never fill that void."

Pressing his face into his cold hands, he said thickly, "Then what should I do? Everything in this world is fated to decay and end. Why should I place my happiness on human fragility or hope that this world will ever obtain peace and purity?"

"If I gave you the option to destroy the world right now, to avenge your parents and bring it under your control," his child-like self-said solemnly, "Would you do so?" Seeing the flicker of hesitation, he smiled. "Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi-sensei showed you that you were wrong. They proved that there is value in this world and in the bonds you have formed."

Orochimaru pressed his lips together into a thin line, feeling his heart still clenching up.

"It is facts that birth a perceived truth. There are indeed facts that we have faced, that proved that this is a horrible world with only beasts, all fighting to survive and doing whatever it takes to do so. That is why you base every decision upon your own self-interest. But there are also facts we've obtained that we are loved and cared for, no matter how cold we are, proving that the world is also capable of righting its wrongs. You lost your parents because of the world... but it also gave you two true friends and a man who loves you like a son. The world is capable of changing."

Orochimaru put a hand to his eyes and whispered, "Can this world really change?"

The waters rippled as his child-like self slowly faded. "People can change, or they die before they do. If you cannot change yourself, how can you expect the world to change, Orochimaru."

Those last words ran deep and he understood the meaning. Sometimes, it was by one's own hands that bring their own ruin. Lady Mito had said that with the way he was, he was walking towards an end he did not want. If he continued to hold reservation in his feelings towards his team or doubt their future, would they one day grow apart? Would their relationships stagnate?

His hands slowly moved to touch the earrings that meant more to him than any valuable technique in the world, and he caressed the smooth azurite with a touch that could only be described as tender. One last tear trailed down his cheek and his hand trembled slightly. His parents may have died, but he had no regrets in loving them, no matter how painful their loss had been.

With this understanding and clarity, he finally knew what he had to do, and he headed back to his friends. As his tear dripped down to hit the waters of the lake, his reflection flickered briefly to his child form, smiling as he left the caverns.

If there was ever a sign from the heavens that it was a bad idea to give his team his heart, it was now. When he came back to the hot spring resort, a piece of paper saying he owed nearly a hundred thousand yen to fix up the place was shoved right into his face. He couldn't believe it till he was shown the destruction. The baths were completely destroyed. Where the water was, was just a deep muddy crater. The gardens were in ruins, with broken stones chunks literally ripped from the ground. Worst, there was even blood. Luckily, the rest of the guests were unharmed but apparently Jiraiya was in life-threatening conditions at the hospital and Tsunade had booked it out of there, presumably to go home without them.

He wasn't sure what had happened. Tsunade had always beaten up their white hair teammate for either being stupid or perverted. But for her to go this far, Jiraiya must have done something terrible. He knew she cared enough that she did not kill him. With her strength and immense pool of knowledge on the human body, she could kill someone with a pinky if she aimed correctly. The fact that Jiraiya was near death, meant that no matter how great her rage was, she held back in the very end.

Back in their room, he saw that she had packed up so hastily, she had even forgotten her necklace that she usually takes off whenever she wanted to polish it. Pocketing the treasured heirloom, he then made haste to head to the hospital to check up on Jiraiya.

Three days later...

When Jiraiya finally woke up, he thought he was hallucinating to find Orochimaru sitting by his bedside, his cheek resting in his palm. It took more time for his eyes to adjust to the dark hospital room, but when he could more clearly, he noticed the shadows hovering around Orochimaru's closed eyes. Weakly, he said, "Pssst, Oro. Here's my illegitimate son you need to take care of."

Orochimaru straightened up in his seat immediately, his eyes snapping open in terror. He had once had a nightmare that Jiraiya decided to travel the world and 'spread his seed' along the way, and all of the women ended up dumping their babies at his house because they mistook his joke title as 'number one housewife' and thought he was Jiraiya's official wife. Once Jiraiya found out, instead of taking it as a cautionary future, he decided to use it as a joke threat.

Orochimaru grumbled. If he could find the strength to joke, maybe Tsunade hadn't maimed him hard enough. Ok maybe that was an overstatement. From his feet to his neck, he was bandaged and covered in a cast. Reaching over, he flicked on the light of the bedside lamp. "Are you well enough to speak, Jiraiya?"

Nodding, Jiraiya looked around at the soft yellow room with a window, green curtains and a hanging portrait of the sea. "Short conversation yea. By the way," he coughed briefly before asking, "Who paid for this private room for me?"

"Me." Rubbing his face tiredly, he muttered, "I'm going to pray and hope that Tsunade is returning home to get the money to pay for the damage back at the hot spring resort. Otherwise... I'll be eating cold food forever."

"I'll pay," croaked Jiraiya. "It's all my fault anyways."

"What did you do, to make her so mad?" hissed Orochimaru. "She is short-tempered and violent but to push her this far, you must have done something stupid beyond reason."

Jiraiya looked ashamed of himself as he said, "I... I peeked on her."

"Are you insane?!" Orochimaru said angrily. "You can peek on any girl in this world but her. She is your teammate. We grew up together." When Jiraiya struggled for words, he stood up and huffed in exasperation. "You violated her privacy and dignity. It's no wonder she broke both your arms and ruptured more than half of your internal organs."

"I'm really sorry about what I did." His heavily cast arms twitched as he tried to raise them.

Orochimaru folded his hands behind his back and thinly, "Do you understand what you've done? You have broken her trust in you and placed her on the same level as all those other women you've peeked on. She's more important than them and deserves respect. Also, by doing something like this, it shows you only care about her physical appearance."

"Oro, I'm dying from pain. Don't have time for one of your endless explanations," said Jiraiya, his face scrunched up in discomfort, feeling his entire wracked with agony. His painkillers must be wearing off, that's for sure. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I know I shouldn't have peeked on her. I was wrong and I regret it. Not because she nearly killed me, but because I can tell she was really hurt by what I've done."

"You're right about her being hurt. She ran off and even forgot her necklace," he said, still scowling at his idiotic friend.

A worried expression crossed Jiraiya's bruised face. "She's never run off before, especially without telling you. You gotta go after her Oro."

Sitting down heavily, Orochimaru sighed. "I can't leave you like this, idiot. You can't even scratch your nose."

"I'm physically in pain, but her pain is on the inside. It's much worse for her." Jiraiya looked up at the ceiling and said, "I'm quite sure, she doesn't want me to be the first one to see naked. Go find her and take care of her. You always know what to say to comfort her."

Orochimaru stared down at his friend, slightly sorrowful. "You know... if you weren't such a pervert, you'd have a chance with Tsunade. You always put her happiness before yours."

Jiraiya tried to smile, looking down at his thick neck brace. "The one time I don't put her wishes before mine, and I end up like this." He then added, "You care alot about her too. You care about all of us actually. You're just too proud to admit it. Ha... I think you'd be good with her too. You two are both so intelligent and beautiful. Makes me alittle jealous."

He knew how much Jiraiya wanted to be with Tsunade, and how long he liked her. For him to say something like this, touched him. Slowly, he put his hand over Jiraiya's bandaged one and said quietly, "You are a rare golden hearted idiot."

"I only want my pretty princess and number one housewife to be happy," Jiraiya said cheerfully. He looked to the door and said, "Go on and look for her."

Orochimaru said, "I've left my Kusanagi as a guarantee for payment. As an imperial treasure, it's worth just as much as Tsunade's necklace. When you're all healed up, just focus on getting back home. I'll make sure that Tsunade pays for the damage as well. Quite frankly, you're both at fault, even though you're the one that started the whole mess."

"Thanks Oro." With that, he fell asleep, his body no longer capable of enduring the pain and exhaustion.

Staring down at the one he could consider his own brother, he bent down and placed a good luck kiss on his forehead. "Get well soon, Jiraiya."

After going over the details and last minute adjustments to Mitsurugi's barrier technique and ensuring that it worked, he made to head after Tsunade. Out of the three of them, he had the best tracking skills and he found himself confused as to why her tracks suddenly veered off from Konoha's direction. There were no signs of a struggle, so she must have chosen to go herself. But why?

Orochimaru snacked on an apple as he looked over the map in his hand, under the shade of a tree. If she continued to head west... she would eventually come upon a mountainous town. Yukaura town, according to his map. The place was situated up very high up and was a great tourist spot due to the popular hiking trails, great sights and old ruins from what he remembered from one of his books. Perhaps she wanted to go somewhere fun to help take her mind off certain matters.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out the gleaming green necklace and held it up to the sunlight. He couldn't help but feel his lips curve upward slightly, unable to deny that he was happy at the idea of starting his first romantic relationship and he wondered how she would react once he tells her that he accepts her proposal. Closing his fingers over the stone, he pocketed the necklace, took one last bite of the apple and got up to continue on his journey.

"Have you seen this girl? But with a bigger bosom?" Orochimaru sighed when another person shook his head and walked away. It was already getting late. The moon was high up in the sky and the streets of the town were packed. Vendors and food stalls were everywhere and the place was brightly lit. The air was slightly cold, but it was also very refreshing. Chewing on his squid on a stick, he adjusted his bag and continued walking around to look for the elusive kunoichi. Her trail had definitely ended up here, so she couldn't be far.

The place was better than he expected, truly a great tourist attraction. Being this high up offered a magnificent view. It literally felt like he was one step away from ascending to the heavens. He was also very fond of the traditional architecture and marveled at the lack of technology here. Lighting consisted of lanterns and torches. The people here have also incorporated small windmills into the buildings. Seeing them spin made him feel strangely at peace.

"I'm winning! Oh god I'm winning! I've won ten rounds already!"

"Woah little girl! You're on fire!"

"Heh heh. Call me lady luck. I'm not leaving this place till the crack of dawn!"

Everyone in the gambling den cheered and crowded around the lucky female to copy all of her bets.

"Excuse me." A pale white hand swept aside the curtained doors and Orochimaru stepped in, wondering why he hadn't checked this place first. The smell of tobacco and smoke was overwhelming and everyone in there looked incredibly shady. Some stairs led up to a second floor with even more tables for card games, dices, and other forms of gambling. In a corner, he spotted a bar where a busty bar maid was serving greasy food and sake for the customers.

Holding up Tsunade's picture, he asked emotionlessly, "Has anyone seen this woman?"

"Orochi?"

At the squeaky voice, he looked around in confusion. The tall burly men parted as a small six-year-old blonde girl pushed them aside and stared at him with wide amber eyes. Rubbing at his own, he stared back at her. "Tsunade?" Why was she using a transformation technique to look like a kid? Did the debt collectors somehow track her down? Without another word, she booked it for the back doors. "Tsunade! Tsunade! Come back!" Rushing after her, he skidded to a stop and said, "Is this her winnings?"

"Uhhh... yea."

He knew it. As always, whenever he showed up, she would always win a ton of money. Giving the people around him a dark look, he asked, "Why did you let a six-year-old come in to gamble?"

"She beat up all that wouldn't let her play. We had no choice," squeaked a gigantic man with a dragon tattoo that stretched from one muscled arm to the next.

Orochimaru facepalmed, wondering why he had asked such a silly question in the first place. Opening his bag, he threw her winning money in before continuing to chase after her.

He couldn't believe that it took him nearly an hour before he could catch her. With her petite size, she moved through the streets easily and managed to stay hidden extremely well. He only managed to corner her by using the shadow clone technique. Towering over her in a dirty alleyway, he crossed his arms and said sternly, "I expect a good reason as to why you made me chase you all over this town, Tsunade Senju." He completely did not expect her to burst into tears.

"Ji-Jiraiya sa-saw me n-naked!" she wailed, raising her pudgy fists to her eyes.

Bending down to her height, he sighed in exasperation. "And you nearly killed him. Did you have to go so far?"

"Are you lecturing me?!" she shrieked. "You have no idea how I felt to be peeked on!" Hugging herself, she continued crying. "I couldn't even stay at Uzushio anymore. The looks they would give me if they knew a man saw me naked!"

Slightly sympathetic to her plight, Orochimaru sighed and shushed her. "It's alright. I'm here now."

"Orochi." She ran into his arms and hugged his neck.

Rubbing her small back, he let her cry it out. When her sniffles seemed to subside, he said hesitantly, "Hime, why don't you transform back and then we can find an inn and get some rest."

Pulling back from him, she bit on her thumbnail and said sheepishly, "I have a room already booked. But uh... about transforming back." She pouted in a childish manner. "I'm stuck like this."

"What?"

Sticking her tongue out at him, she said, "It's all your fault! When you head out to do that task of yours, I decided to go look for that technique you've written down for me as payment. Then I had my bath, got peeked on, beat Jiraiya to a pulp and ran off here-"

"Can you get to the point already?"

"So anyways, I've been here for awhile and was losing tons of money. I tried that technique today when the loan sharks tried to catch me, but unfortunately I can't turn back!"

"Don't panic," he said, trying to calm her down."It's a complicated technique from what I've read. Apparently, only that man named Goro knew how to use it properly. We just need... some more time to figure it out. Perhaps your ratio of physical and spiritual energy is off or something."

"Ok," she mumbled. Hesitantly, she asked, "Orochi... so you came all this way for me?"

"I was worried about you," he admitted. "You've obviously left in a very flustered manner, to even forget your necklace." Taking it out from his pocket, he handed it back over to her and smiled shyly, summoning up all of his courage for this part that he's been rehearsing these last few days. "Tsunade, I have something to tell you."

"Hmmm?" She returned the smile as she took back her necklace to put around her neck, incredibly touched by the thoughtful gesture. She noticed that he seemed oddly cute today as he ran his hand through his hair nervously and his eyes changed to a rare molten gold shade.

"I... I've decided to accept your proposal to date me."

She squealed in joy, unable to believe what she had just heard. "Really really?!"

He chuckled when she hugged him. Even in this form, her strength was incredible. It actually felt alittle hard to breathe. "Absolutely." All of a sudden, she pulled back from him with a horrified expression.

"I have to panic now."

"Why?"

"YOU CAN'T DATE A SIX YEAR OLD!"

Wearing a thoughtful expression on his face, he murmured, "True..."

"How can you be so calm!" Tsunade demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

He smirked as he stood up. "Well, it is slightly amusing to see you being the one who's flustered for a change." He bowed over when she headbutted him in the stomach. "Tsunade," he rasped from the powerful shockwave.

Looking extremely smug, she ran over to his back and jumped on him. "Well, since I'm in this form. I'll just take advantage of it. Piggyback me Orochi!"

"I have half a mind to change my decision." He adjusted his backpack, carrying it with one shoulder before he let her wrap her arms around his neck. Once she was secured, he carried her off. "What's the name of the place you're staying at, hime?"

"The Windy Wave."

He should have guessed she would picked the most expensive and luxurious inn in the town, even when she was in debt. The building was situated on a higher plane of the town, and offered a most breathtaking view of the night skies, clouds and mountain peaks. Sitting on top of the roof, Orochimaru took in the sight of the glimmering stars and wispy clouds drifting by. They were big, poofy, and reminded him of cotton blankets. It was a rare opportunity to be somewhere so high up, that you were even higher than the clouds. Just how tall were these mountains anyway?

"Orochi, your dessert."

He looked over to see Tsunade coming over to his side with a bowl of sweet milk and jellied dessert. After helping her undo the seal (he discovered that she was misdirecting two of chakra paths), she was back in her old form. Wrapped in a fluffy white robe and with her hair down, he noticed that she almost seemed to be glowing with happiness. Her hair was impossibly golden and her pretty pink lips curved up sweetly. When she settled herself down beside him, he took the bowl from her and noted with delight that it was warm. "You got me hot dessert?"

She beamed and said, "I grew up with you, silly. Even when it comes to dessert, you don't like anything that's cold." She watched as he looked down at his bowl and stirred it gently with his spoon. Shyly, she turned her own attention to her bowl of sweet green tea ice cream and took a dainty bite. How silly of her to not realize that her handsome lucky white snake was coming for her when she started to win at her gambles. Inwardly squealing with joy, she took another bite of the ice cream before he started to speak again.

"I hate cold food because it makes me sleepy. But there is actually another reason I don't like it." His eyes half-heartedly took in the constellations as he tried to form his next words. Being honest with feelings was more difficult than he thought but at the same time, he deeply wanted someone to know and share in his sorrow. It was so hard to keep everything to himself for so long.

"You don't have to tell me anything unless you're ready," Tsunade said encouragingly.

Orochimaru felt his stiff shoulders relaxed and he said gratefully, "Thank you, hime. One day, I promise I will." He placed his hand over hers and squeezed. "Tomorrow, let's go on a date."

Tsunade choked on her ice cream. This soon?! Whatever it was that her grandmother told Orochimaru to do, seemed to have worked a miracle on the normally stoic teenager. Once she gets back home, she was going to wait on her grandmother for a week straight to thank her. Leaning her head onto his shoulder, she purred in content. "The windmill's patience paid off," she said softly, her eyes captivated by the huge round moon lighting down on them, along with the stars and the drifting sea of clouds.

Orochimaru smiled as he reached into the sleeve of his shirt and drew out his flute. Bringing it to his lips, he began to play a soft tune for her. The wind seemed to pick up in response to his song, and it pulled at their long hair and clothes, sweetly caressing their faces and adding to the melody as they continued to sit on the roof of the inn and stargazed together. Huddling against him, she closed her eyes to enjoy the music he was playing for her. It was beautiful, warm, and it touched her somewhere deep inside. She could only describe it as magical.

She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. All she could recall was her eyelids drooping and a strong pair of arms picking her up and carrying her. The chest was solid and she smelled clean soap and sweet honey tea as she pressed her face into it. "You smell amazing," she murmured.

Orochimaru chuckled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Sweet dreams, hime." Holding her tightly in his arms, he felt his heart swell with that same strange feeling he experienced the night she fell asleep in his embrace when they were at her library. Turning around, he gave the large white moon one last look before he dropped down to the roof to head back inside.

When you're with me

You make the world more beautiful for me

Darkwings13:

-Just from looks alone, when Ibiki was a kid he thought Orochimaru looked like a monster. Poor kid Oro probably never stood much of a chance befriending anyone till he met Tsunade and Jiraiya.

-The first part I wrote to expand on two points for Orochimaru's character. Every day there is some kind of injustice and with Orochimaru's parents deaths, he realized how little their lives were worth. Even with their deaths, fighting continues like some hopeless cycle. In turn, he rarely empathizes and doesn't mind hurting others, because he perceives it's just the way things works. Trained as a shinobi, he's also encouraged to keep a check of his emotions. Secondly, I've implied long ago that with the way he is, he would head towards his own ruin. There are already glimpses of it and he'll still have to face consequences for taking that kinjutsu from Uzushiogakure. Jiraiya will find out sooner or later, because his frog sages were in battle with him. Katsuyu doesn't know the whole story, but what little she does know will have Tsunade question. Oh yea this can sorta apply to Jiraiya. x'D If he wasn's so perverted and peeked on Tsu, he could have had a chance.

-The kid Orochi Sarutobi sees when he dies will always stick in my mind. There's something very beautiful, tragic but serene about that one scene and it inspired the pure reflection in the cavern.

-Next chapter, a great and hilarious date ensues. Hint, someone dares call Tsu a cow.

-Oki so with a new work schedule change expect updates on either Thursday or Friday now guys!

（●＞ω＜●）Hehe that's a good metaphor, hxshigaki76. Especially since Tsu is manly with her love for alcohol, gambling and blunt personality and Orochi keeps being poked fun at with looking feminine. Oh that's awesome that you beat up the boys for being pervy towards you. Way to go! And his mission for Mito does end up being very crucial for the few years to come.

(o^∀^) Thank you lumichan, glad you had fun and laughed alot. I always think that with Tsu and Jiraiya's personality, they really help balance out Orochi's stoicism and push him to break out of his shell. Them driving him crazy is probably the best parts of his life bwahahhahaha. I will definitely write more funny chapters, Orochi deserves funny things in his life, even if it embarrasses him.

(*´∇｀*) That's very true, xxhebi-himexx. I think I've only read three fanfics that showed the Sannin undergoing puberty. One of them was something about Oro stealing Tsu's panties but then Jiraiya got blamed. Haha! But yea, Orochi discovering sexuality instead of always being buried in books, is abit of a challenge to write so I decided to use Jiraiya as a push (he's always buried in perverted books instead). And Tsu... big bosom, should have most definitely nudged her into exploring her own seducing prowess and sexuality. Also, glad to know that I made you smile my friend!

o(^▽^)o Oh hi KHB123! Yea I knew it had to be pretty violent since he nearly died, so I went all out last chapter when Tsu was beating him up. Teehee, after enough harrassement, Orochi will probably get the Talk and will try to reason that he's just trying to be educational for himself. Poor Sarutobi though, it's totally not in his job description to have the Talk. But I guess it's karma for going peeking with Jiraiya haha.

（*＾ω＾）It's understandable, JigokuShoujosRevenge. Bewbs was a pretty 'big' point of focus in the last chapter lol.

(ㆆᴗㆆ) Hehe, what you said made me wonder if Orochi would consider an experiment with seeing if women could have big breasts if they ate chakra laced food, BlackLady777. Jiraiya would probably pay him to do something like that LOL. But yea, when I first saw Tsu, I did wonder if she had back pain cuz of her bosom. And I'm glad to hear you laughed! It was very funny for me to write Orochi fleeing from sexual advances, something he didn't quite understand and is embarrassed about. I always considered Oro to be a pretty big nerd, and totally clueless when it comes to anything romantic. And the fact that he's trained to kill people instead of being trained to be romantic, makes him pretty hopeless at it in my head lol. My fingers itches to write his Talk with Sarutobi. And yea, they're still so young. I really wanted to delve into their heads as teenagers and the little ups and downs of growing up. I may be weird into writing those little details, but I'm happy to hear you and readers like xxhebi-himexx appreciate it. And yea, you're right that Tsu nearly killed both Oro and Jiraiya lol. Which reminds me that Oro tried to kill her back when he lost patience with her, and Jiraiya also threatened to kill her too. Sad that they moved apart... but good thing that the end showed that all three of them cared deeply for each other.

(・ω・｀) laughter is life, that's what I always say. I'm happy to know that you were so entertained by the last chapter, ileangie23. But yea, only Jiraiya could ask Oro if he has wet dreams and live. If someone else tried, Oro might just force feed them poison huehuehue. But yea, Tsu now thinks Orochimaru reads erotica. I'm gonna write more on that point lol. By helping Jiraiya, he scorched his reputation. I feel like he has so little experience in romance, and with Tsu being so blunt, he's intimidated by it all. Sort of like... living a really sheltered life and never experiencing much in the romance or 'urges' department, he's alittle innocent for it. Not having a Talk with his parents makes him all the more clueless for it, even though he knows he has urges and attractions. And poor Jiraiya... but at least he learns after and maintains a healthy fear from intruding on Tsunade's privacy now. Eh really?! I'll take a look. The thought of his face being even closer in the manga is making me laugh. Oh actually, that's not a bad idea! Thanks my friend! Maybe I'll have Tsu catch them and beat up Jiraiya for corrupting poor Orochi. Bwahahha. Will definitely write a thank you note to you when I write that.